Racer X
SHO Pilot, Retired
So when I did my swap, I decided to replace my A/C accumulator, since the last time I had the system open, I didn't get a chance to, and I had a NIB one sitting on a shelf in my garage. Once I had the car back together, and replaced my control arm that was worn, I took the car in this past Saturday for an alignment and to have the A/C system recharged.
I should've just had the alignment done.
So I'm there, and I explain that I opened the system, that I replaced the accumulator and re-ringed everything, and that I needed a recharge and 7oz of oil added. I specifically told them this, and explained why I needed the oil charge as well. I wait, and about 3 hours later the car is ready. So I hop in, crank her over, and "what the **** is that noise?" I say to myself, as the exhaust noise in the cabin is noticibly louder. But my A/C is cold, and the car tracks straight now, so I figure maybe it's just me.
3 blocks later and I'm like "eff that, it's not me. Something isn't right." I hop out, and i look and my left tip is friggin' pointed behind the bumper. So back I go, and I tell the guy (Leslie is his name) that my exhaust wasn't like this when I brought it in to the shop. He pulls it in, but won't let me look at it on the lift (my first mistake). He comes back in the waiting area and says "I see the problem, but we won't be able to fix it today. Why not bring it back next week?" I reluctantly agree (mistake #2), and I brought it back this morning. So I get there, and he goes on to tell me about an exhaust leak at the y-pipe ******, and I say well what about the fact that the whole system is misaligned? To which he tells me "we didn't do that."
I calmly explained to him that when the car came in, it wasn't in that condition, and when I got it back and drove all of 5 blocks, I knew that something was wrong. He goes on to make his first really big mistake and tells me "well, how do I know that this didn't happen after you left the shop?" I quickly alerted him to the peril he was placing himself in by calling me a liar to my face, and that it would be in his best interest not to continue on that train of thought. I then asked to talk to the owner. At this point, I insisted on the car going back on a lift, and insisted on looking at it myself. Up it went, and I could not believe how mangled the undercarriage looked. The piping was scraped and dinged the whole way back. Even the fuel tank was scraped. Now I was livid, not so much at the fact that it looked like that, but at the fact that on Saturday he saw the piping in this condition, and still tried to play it off like I was trying to pull a fast one. I told him, in no uncertain terms, that if this wasn't fixed, and fixed right, that I will make life extremely hard for everyone who had a hand in this.
Around 1pm, I get a call saying that it's ready, but then asking "how do you start your car?".
I respond "With the key I left you. Why are you asking me that?" I head over there to find that (surprise) my car won't start. At 14 years old, and 215,500 miles, my starter decides to pick right then to crap out. So I push start it, and go about my day, picking up a new starter and what not.
So now it's about 3pm, and I'm sitting at a light, and suddenly, my A/C is starting to get warm. I'm sitting there wondering what now, and I see smoke, and I realize that 1+1=your 2 year old compressor just seized.
Oh, and it's 102º outside. And then it hits me... the only reason a new compressor would seize is because there wasn't enough oil in it.
Now, I remember Leslie (the one who almost got snatched for calling me a liar... that guy) telling me that they use a Matco A/C machine to service A/C systems. If it's anything like the SnapOn unit that I usually use, it should be able to recover and separate oil from the 134a. If this is the case, which I'm hoping it is, who wants to bet that they don't recover anything close to the 8oz that the system should have in it?
Devonshire Tire & Auto Center, may you DIAF if you don't make this right.
Oh yeah, pics and video to follow...
I should've just had the alignment done.
So I'm there, and I explain that I opened the system, that I replaced the accumulator and re-ringed everything, and that I needed a recharge and 7oz of oil added. I specifically told them this, and explained why I needed the oil charge as well. I wait, and about 3 hours later the car is ready. So I hop in, crank her over, and "what the **** is that noise?" I say to myself, as the exhaust noise in the cabin is noticibly louder. But my A/C is cold, and the car tracks straight now, so I figure maybe it's just me.
3 blocks later and I'm like "eff that, it's not me. Something isn't right." I hop out, and i look and my left tip is friggin' pointed behind the bumper. So back I go, and I tell the guy (Leslie is his name) that my exhaust wasn't like this when I brought it in to the shop. He pulls it in, but won't let me look at it on the lift (my first mistake). He comes back in the waiting area and says "I see the problem, but we won't be able to fix it today. Why not bring it back next week?" I reluctantly agree (mistake #2), and I brought it back this morning. So I get there, and he goes on to tell me about an exhaust leak at the y-pipe ******, and I say well what about the fact that the whole system is misaligned? To which he tells me "we didn't do that."
I calmly explained to him that when the car came in, it wasn't in that condition, and when I got it back and drove all of 5 blocks, I knew that something was wrong. He goes on to make his first really big mistake and tells me "well, how do I know that this didn't happen after you left the shop?" I quickly alerted him to the peril he was placing himself in by calling me a liar to my face, and that it would be in his best interest not to continue on that train of thought. I then asked to talk to the owner. At this point, I insisted on the car going back on a lift, and insisted on looking at it myself. Up it went, and I could not believe how mangled the undercarriage looked. The piping was scraped and dinged the whole way back. Even the fuel tank was scraped. Now I was livid, not so much at the fact that it looked like that, but at the fact that on Saturday he saw the piping in this condition, and still tried to play it off like I was trying to pull a fast one. I told him, in no uncertain terms, that if this wasn't fixed, and fixed right, that I will make life extremely hard for everyone who had a hand in this.
Around 1pm, I get a call saying that it's ready, but then asking "how do you start your car?".
I respond "With the key I left you. Why are you asking me that?" I head over there to find that (surprise) my car won't start. At 14 years old, and 215,500 miles, my starter decides to pick right then to crap out. So I push start it, and go about my day, picking up a new starter and what not.
So now it's about 3pm, and I'm sitting at a light, and suddenly, my A/C is starting to get warm. I'm sitting there wondering what now, and I see smoke, and I realize that 1+1=your 2 year old compressor just seized.
Oh, and it's 102º outside. And then it hits me... the only reason a new compressor would seize is because there wasn't enough oil in it. Now, I remember Leslie (the one who almost got snatched for calling me a liar... that guy) telling me that they use a Matco A/C machine to service A/C systems. If it's anything like the SnapOn unit that I usually use, it should be able to recover and separate oil from the 134a. If this is the case, which I'm hoping it is, who wants to bet that they don't recover anything close to the 8oz that the system should have in it?
Devonshire Tire & Auto Center, may you DIAF if you don't make this right.
Oh yeah, pics and video to follow...
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