which one is the oil dipstick? pathetic story

[tomcat27]

A friend of mine sold a car to a neighbor. many months later the neighbor complained that the oil light was on even though the oil level was fine. As a service manager for a dodge dealer, my friend told him to take no chances and bring it by so he could check the oil pressure with a real guage. Of course, the neighbor never stopped by. until a month later when the engine was blown. my friend feels guilty and installs a used engine for the price of the motor. after starting up the new engine, he notices that the oil light on the dash was covered up with black tape. also, when my friend did the oil level check after installing the new engine, the nighbor asked what was the dipstick he was checking? apparently the neighbor was checking the tranny fluid, not the oil. very true story. some people dont deserve to own a car! 1966 Dodge Dart slant 6

 

[StevieC]

This should be in the humor section...

 

[Gary Allan]

Vietnamese guy in chassis class (1973 ..maybe 1974). Mista Millah ..Mista Millah ...what does O-I-L mean ..red light on dash ..bin on two day. Two or three plops ...refilled ..new filter ..left class a happy future American mechanic. Naturally, it was a Toyota.

 

[AdRock]

There are way too many people out there like this. Makes for great stories though. My favorite happened when i was working as a tech at a Chrysler dealership. This is long but worth it IMO. An old Dodge Dakota comes in. Say "check engine light on" on the work order. I get in and the CEL isn't on. I pull it in and pop the hood. Oh the horror. This thing looks like it never had any maintenence done at all. - Oil looked like tar - Trans fluid looked like 20k engine oil - Electrodes completely burned down on factory plugs - Plug wires burned up in quite a few spots and sheathing dried, cracking, & coming off. - Dist. cap & rotor in horrible shape - coolant looked like liquid rust - front pads about to start grinding and the rotors warped all to he ll. I check the ECU with a scanner and it tells me that the key has been cycled several thouosand times since the CEL was on last. Very odd. So, I write the truck up for everything it needs. Also put a diff service on there because I was positive it needed it without even looking, along with a fuel filter. They didn't like the amount that it came to but after I got them in the bay and showed everything to them they said to do it. So, everything gets replaced along with diff service, tranny & coolant flush & new thermostat & rad cap. Also, reset the ECU. I take it out for a test drive and it runs great, trans shift fine, engine is nice and smooth. Brakes work great with new pads & rotors. They come pick up the truck and I see them leave the lot. NOW the good stuff. About 5 minutes after they drive off I hear tires screeching and see this Dakota come flying into the service drive and lock up the brakes. The old laady gets out screaming like a crazy person that we ripped her off. Rips my service advisor a new one, and of course I get called up to the drive. She says that as soon as they got to the stoplight the CEL came back on. I check the ECU with the scanner again and iut tells me that the key has been cycled 6 times since I reset the ECU and the CEL hasn't tripped. I get in with her driving and her husband stuffed in the extra cab. We pull out and get to the stop light and she yells " there's the light right there, you ripped us off" then a lot of colorful language is heard, but I just sit and say "yes maam, yes maam" Once she calms down, as nicely as I can say it, I say "Maam, that's the windsheild washer fluid light"........................................... Her husbands head almost explodes as he tries to keep in the laughter. We went back to the shop and I filled it up for her. Then cycled the key several times and explained exactly whatevery light on the dash was and what it meant. She apologized, and I had a return customer. I was the only person to touch that truck up until I left that dealer.

 

[Drew99GT]

Great story AdRock!

 

[rshunter]

P.T. Barnum said a sucker was born every minute. I think he was wrong. It's not a sucker, it's a moron...

 

[hate2work]

Good story Adrock, but I can't help but think... You did all that work to the truck...and didn't fill the washer reservoir? I'm just saying

 

[AdRock]

 Originally Posted By: hate2work

Good story Adrock, but I can't help but think... You did all that work to the truck...and didn't fill the washer reservoir? I'm just saying

Ahhh, good catch. I thought I left something out of the above. The bobber was sticking. The light never came on when I drove it and the tank looked to have plenty of fluid in it so I didn't add anymore. I banged on the side of the tank to knock it free and told her thetank would probably have to be taken out & cleaned or or replaced if the light kept coming on with plenty of fluid in it. She never said anything about it and I checked it everytime she brought the truck in after that. It never did act up again.

 

[chet2]

what a A Ad is for neglecting wiper fluid...which is far more important than good brakes, clean oil, spark plugs and wires, tranny fluid and coolant...maybe the old hag was doing a controlled experiment on how long rig would last on zero maint...always good to have nasty coolant in Tx heat

 

[Sayjac]

Great story AdRock, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The washer fluid was just the icing on the cake. It would be very difficult for any BITOG member to relate to the Dakota owner. You sound like a patient guy.

 

[jsharp]

 Originally Posted By: Gary Allan

Vietnamese guy in chassis class (1973 ..maybe 1974). Mista Millah ..Mista Millah ...what does O-I-L mean ..red light on dash ..bin on two day. Two or three plops ...refilled ..new filter ..left class a happy future American mechanic. Naturally, it was a Toyota.

So you poured the oil in the tube with 710 cap?

 

[Kruse]

 Originally Posted By: hate2work

Good story Adrock, but I can't help but think... You did all that work to the truck...and didn't fill the washer reservoir? I'm just saying

Depends on the circumstances, I guess. Awhile back I was a tech at a Ford dealership. It was the policy of the dealership to get the "go ahead" from the customer on every part and every service done to the vehicle. In other words, if it needed parts or work done, the customer had to okay it before it was done. It was also the policy to do a "safety check" on every vehicle that came through the shop. It did not matter if this vehicle was six months old or sixy years old, it got it. (In reality, it was a way to drum up more business) Anyway, this vehicle, a large truck, was in for several thousand dollars worth of repair. I had finished the repair and was doing the "safety check" when I found out it needed a new taillight/blinker bulb. I went to the parts department, got a new one and installed it. THIS WAS WITHOUT THE SHOP FOREMAN GETTING THE OKAY FROM THE CUSTOMER. When it came time to pay the bill, the customer would not pay for the bulb. And get this, the dealer would not pay for the bulb either. The $.59 bulb had to come out of my pocket. I also got a repremand for installing the bulb and remember that this was from a vehicle that had been in for, if I remember right, a $3-$4 tranny job. If Adrock had worked at this dealership, he would had to talk to the shop foreman, have the foreman call the customer and talk to an answering machine, have the customer call back to the shop foreman and then finally get the "okay" to put in a little washer fluid. On the last day I worked there, I was a happy man.

 

[NJC]

Good story, and kudos for maintaining your cool.