I dealt with a very shady mechanic today. Ended up so creeped out by his deamoner and his trying to sell me everything I didn't request. Anyway/

On the Ride Home From the Garage MY VAN OVERHEATED and spilled coolant and smoke. Lost all power and had to pull over 3 times.

What the hell could they have done??

I fixed my Overheat Problem long ago and have had many many trips with NO problem. ON the way there I had NO problem.

Someone tell me there is a dirty trick and how Do I find out about it ??

 

Yes there are shadies out there. This is part of the reason I quit turning wrenches. If you change the battery and they have a flat on the way home it's automatically your fault. Not placing blame, but be objective and maybe we can figure out your problem. At first glance smoke and overheat could be a ton of things. Was the smoke out the tailpipe or steam from coolant spray under the hood? Why was it there in the first place, and what did he tell you?

 

He could have swapped the thermostat for a higher temp or broken one, also measure the level of the coolant. If that truck uses a fan-clutch, check if it's working like it should (turn it by hand, then push it, it should stop itself rather fast). If you have any electric fans in the cooling system, check their wires. Check any fuse related with the cooling of the engine.

 

thanks guys.

This was a muffler and service shop. Had an exhaust leak on a flared down pipe going into the manifold on driver side. Wanted somebody to cut and weld on a new flared piece.

It was completely unrelated. But they had it in the garage for awhile and had opputunity to whatever they wanted. Tried selling me a new battery. ( works fine - i have a load tester) all sorts of crap..

This place is at max 15 minutes from my house. It was idleing in the garage for awhile while we went back and forth... I left and drove it 5-7 minutes @ 40mph. then smoke and coolant boiling over from just under the resorvoir. I jumped out and popped the hood at the red light. I thought the cap was unscrewed or something... I was in a rush...but I swear it was sealed. but I cranked it and I think that stopped the fluid,..

pulled into the gas station and it was angry. boiling. top hose hot. bottom hose warm. should be more equal i think. Top of radiator extremely hot.

I almost think something is now blocking the radiator. would they throw crap in there?

what are the odds this is just incredible timing? shady mechanic....instant overheat?????

Im still incredible pissed. sorry if this is incoherent. Im taking it to my old trustworthy mechanic who I used to use. He can get me in on wed.

I have this huge feeling I won't be able to do anything about it. Shady mechanics must know there is no reprocussions legally...how do you prove it.

Im just going to wait.

Any resources to report anything like this? I wanted to rip this guys head off before I even left the shop. I called him instantly when it happened and he said he never touched the cooling system.

I just needed a weld.

I want this guy to pay. But I admit. It could be extremely coincidental.

I need to sleep on this.

 

sounds like bad luck. i had a chevy one time, that i changed the exhaust manifolds and it lost and injector... it was just bad timing i guess.. i replaced the one injector and all was well..

 

also... this van has overheated on me before and I never noticed it so hot on top at the radiator AND I never noticed the lower hoses 'bucking' ... like jumping or pulsing sporadictly but constantly this was while running. probably just boiling pressure...but I never seen it before.

And to clarify my other post...tightening the cap at the red light stopped the fluid from spilling... but did not stop the overheating.

 

so you have had overheating problems before and now its the mechanics fault ? Fill the radiator to proper level, screw on the cap and test it out. Maybe its time to flush the radiator and heater and refill with new ? When was that done last ?

 

Try using Evans coolant, I've heard that product works great. If it prevents the overheating then it would be amazing.

 

overheated about 1,000 miles ago. ... water pump, thermostate, sensors. worked fine till today.

I admit. It could definetly be a coincidenc.

This guy was a ahole from the begginning. definetly trying to make money. He says he can do what I requested at the beginning... after looking at exhaust he mentions i have a flat piece of exhaust between cats and muffler that shouldn't be like that... I say ok and ask how much total to do both...he says 100. He prints up a bill or summary for 90 and then starts talking me out of fixing the leak I originally came in for...kept telling me it wasn't a leak ( he couldn't feel it with his hand) I tell him I sea foamed it and saw smoke billowing out of the flared fitting he said he could replace.. he basically refuses to believe it has a leak and When I said I want it fixed regardless he tells me he can't do it because its stainless steal ( Its freaking corroded with rust - i could be delusional ill confirm in the morning but I never knew I had any stainless under there!) apparrently its too difficult. His then surprised when I tell him Im leaving.

Car starts right up ( he mentioned my battery is dead ) I drive away....and Im stranded less than 10 minutes later.

Im just wondering if there's any old time tricks related to this. I have trust worthy mechanic looking at it wednesday.

I probably came off as a complete unknowing customer to him... he was a little surprised towards the end when I mentioned all the manifold work was me and the o2's etc. so whatever. i don't know.

hopefully i got it all fixed for not much.

 

stainless steel huh? must be the cheapest grade if its rusting.

 

Stainless steel does rust, actually what protects it from rust is the way it corrodes.

 

There are 300 series stainless like 304-309 that NEVER see any rust. There are 400 series stainless that do some minor rust on the surface due to material content. THey will not rust out, and no heavy corrosion is noted. Heavy corrosion is carbon steel.

 

Sir, all stainless steel alloys rust, it's they way they work. Do a little research on how they work and will see my statement more clearly.

 

i agree it seems a bit "fishy" to start selling things that you're not requesting.

but it is prolly is a coincidence, my guess is, that you might have a Thermostat that's sticky, giving you a bit of a issue 1000 miles ago and reared it ugly head again after your visit with mr. shady mechanic. It was running in a service bay where air flow is a bit limited...then driving home with presumably cooler air temp, was enough to make it stick again.

Unless you crawl under there and find a clamp on one of the radiator hoses or cut serpentine belt...it is all coincidence. BUT, go with your gut...if something isn't sitting right with you, don't go back.

yes many exhaust systems use stainless steel from the factory & it will get a light corrosion, but should not Rust through. That in way means it will never leak...they tend to crack instead

 

Sorry to hear about your luck.
First thing I would check to see if anything is blocking the radiator.
shop rags..a piece of cardboard slid down in front of it...etc...

Another thing to check is to see if the clutch went out on the fan..( I am guessing it has the mechanical fan still with a fan cluth..not electric)

If it has electric fans....check to see if they work....maybe got unpluged?