Here is a story for the Monday morning incompetence newspaper and a few questions to gather some advice on what to do next.
Vehicle details:
2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ Crew Cab with 5.3L V8
Miles: 106,700
Purchased from a dealership in December 2018 with 99,465 miles; the previous owner ran a lot of highway miles as Trip B had 30,400 miles on it with an avg of 20.4 MPG.
Now back to the event on Monday morning.
I had a scheduled service for the tranny fluid to be replaced/flushed with BG (brand name) fluid and a K&N colder intake to be installed by a local mechanic shop owner that I go to church with. I dropped the vehicle off Monday morning for a 10 am service appointment. I picked up vehicle around 2 pm after receiving a call that service was completed. The mechanic who serviced the truck mentioned the fluid was pretty black on the way out, but all good now after the flush. I drove the vehicle home that afternoon (10 miles or so). I did beat on it a time or two to hear the growl of the installed K&N cold air intake.
Later that evening, I noticed some oil spots on the floor in the garage; didn't really think anything of it, but was near front passenger side headlight. Tuesday morning I planned to change the engine oil and filter as I had over 5400 miles on the current Mobil 1 0W-20 AFE and Mobil 1 Filter that I had put in the truck in February 2019. Before starting up for the day I checked the oil dipstick and noticed the fluid level was high and red looking…began to fear that the service on Monday didn't go as planned.
Drove the truck about another 7 miles to warm up and get over to my parent's house as my dad as a lift in the garage to complete the oil change. I pulled the plug and began to fully understand that yes, this certainly looks and smells like tranny fluid. Here again, I noticed some engine oil on the splash guard and other areas. Again as visual confirmation that the service on Monday did not go per plan.
We drained the fluid out of the engine and replaced the oil filter. We added about 8.5 qts of Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic 0W-20 and paired with a Wix XP filter. A great rebate going on recently for the Pennzoil products—I received $20 back on the 2 5qt jugs I purchased. We also checked the tranny dipstick and didn't really feel that this was new fluid; more gray than red—looked old and not changed. I filled a 5qt jug with the fluid we took out of the truck and visited the mechanic. Told him something doesn't add up. He looks at tranny dipstick and notices fluid doesn't appear fresh as one would expect to post a flush. One would think the mechanic would check this too post the service to a) check fluid level and b) realize this doesn't look any different from X mins ago. He asks the mechanic who serviced the truck which line he pulled from the cooler and he confirms the "top" one. Here is when the confirmation is audibly heard. The engine oil was indeed replaced with BG brand tranny fluid. They agreed to service the tranny correctly this time. Left the truck with them for the correct service and picked up later that day. They mentioned that they would call the business where they get the fluid from to see what their recommendation would be for such a use case.
After picking up the truck I was not told if the engine oil was changed by them nor did I receive any additional paperwork on the service completed on Tuesday. Just a "your truck is all set" confirmation by the aforementioned mechanic who might have been sleeping in on a Monday morning, but was "clocked in".
I am not overly pleased with the level of service and quality of the technician that serviced the truck, but that will take care of itself as I have a respect for the owner of the business.
I am looking for advice on what, if any, concerns I should have assuming that this motor ran while the fluid was being flushed through the system, test drove, and then I drove for another 20 miles or so on tranny fluid acting as the main lubricant for the engine.
My current plan:
1) Keep an eye on the oil level over the planned interval of 4K miles before changing engine oil and filter. 2) Collect an oil sample and send in to Blackstone labs for analysis after the 4K miles. 3) Monitor full economy over the 4K interval; so far seems unchanged with about 55 miles on it since the oil was changed. If any abnormal wear is detected by Blackstone labs I would share with the business owner and look into potential next steps at that time.
One would think that an ongoing business concern would look to retain a business reputation and would agree that this is worth more than a new 5.3 L V8 engine from Chevrolet. I don't expect it to come to this, but I also didn't anticipate this event when purchasing the truck as high mileage doesn't scare me when it is paired by consistent repair and maintenance behavior. My prior vehicle to this truck was a 2009 Honda Accord 2.4L with a 5spd manual with 237K miles at the time I sold it.
Any suggestions from folks here on what additives I may want to add now to protect the engine components that may not have protected as expected with the tranny fluid as compared to a high-quality engine oil? Any concerns with the amount of tranny fluid still in the system post the oil change. Not sure how much would not drain out when pulling the plug. Should I look to change the oil sooner than 4K miles?
Thank you in advance and for reading this long post.
