Oil change Stupidity (spark plugs, engine, Chevy, head)

[timfountain]

I went to the local independent oil change place down the road from my house to get an oil change in my wife’s car which turned into a fiasco. Car is a Chevy Trailblazer and since I have had issues with them in the past, I always watch the entire process. True to form, on this occasion, one of the newer guys pulls the cap off the power steering reservoir and before I could stop him, starts to pump engine oil into the reservoir. Of course power steering fluid splashes out everywhere before the dofus says hmm, this isn't right.... Then the lead guy in the garage comes along and tells me it's my lucky day, I'm getting a free power steering flush and new PS oil.... Too right I am. I watch very carefully and they do an OK job of flushing and re-filling the reservoir.
I wonder if they would have said/done anything if I hadn't witnessed it? Also does anyone know if any long term damage could be done from a fairly small amount (prob .1/4 pint) of new engine oil being dumped into the PS oil and then flushed before the engine was started? I also got them to power wash all the splashed PS fluid off the engine before it could do any harm.

Sign

- Tim

PS I really must start to do oil changes myself....

[NJGOAT]

No harm from engine oil in the power steering reservoir as long as it was flushed out. It COULD cause damage if it was in there long term.

As for would they have fixed it? My guess would be probably not, oil change chains are some of the worst places to get work done. Better off taking it to a Firestone or Goodyear shop than the oil chains. Same price, better service and better techs.

[1200RT]

Discount oil change places? No thanks.

You get what you pay for.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by timfountain

... and since I have had issues with them in the past, I always watch the entire process.

Then why do you keep going back?

[M3 Mitch]

This weekend I changed the oil in my old Camry, pulled the car into Garage Mahal where I dropped the old oil (taking the plug out with a Snap-On end wrench that I have owned about 30 years), put on a Pure 1 oil filter after carefully putting at least a little oil in the filter so it won't wait so long to build oil pressure, re-installed the drain plug with a new genuine Toyota ring gasket, torqued it carefully with that Snap-On wrench, then poured in the correct 4.3 us quarts of Castrol 10-30 without spilling any.

Actual work time was probably about 5 minutes, although I generally let the car cool off a few hours after draining the oil and before messing with the filter, it's just easier to deal with when it's cold.

Once the car cooled down I changed out the 4 spark plugs, turns out I was diliquent as the old ones were well past their prime. New NGK V-powers of the correct type went in with a bit of copper-based anti seize on the threads. Thanks to the anti-seize I put on the old plugs although they were in the head probably 2 years they came out without any problem.

No grease prints on the car anywhere, I didn't have to listen to any BS about all sorts of "flushing" operations or sales pitches for cheap shock absorbers.

Remind me again why you don't DIY?

[tstone]

I hope they put the correct power steering fluid in there. I mean 100% compatible with the spec listed in the owners manual, not some kind of universal cure-all fluid. If they did that, you'll probably be ok.

[Grandpa Pipes]

Originally Posted by tstone

I hope they put the correct power steering fluid in there. I mean 100% compatible with the spec listed in the owners manual, not some kind of universal cure-all fluid. If they did that, you'll probably be ok.

Since Delbert Dumbutt screwed up your PS it's better ,and safer for you and your family, to bite the bullet and have a dealer do a reflush/refill so the system won't fail while you're driving.

[johnnytang24]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

Remind me again why you don't DIY?

Not everyone has a garage. Most places frown on doing car work in the parking lot. Where do you suggest one go?

[tstone]

Originally Posted by Tightwad

Since Delbert Dumbutt screwed up your PS it's better ,and safer for you and your family, to bite the bullet and have a dealer do a reflush/refill so the system won't fail while you're driving.

Yeah that's the fail-safe way, unless you want to drain, fill and bleed the entire system yourself. That's actually not a difficult DIY job, especially on a truck-based vehicle. Then stick Jiffy Screw with the bill.

[Grandpa Pipes]

Originally Posted by tstone

Yeah that's the fail-safe way, unless you want to drain, fill and bleed the entire system yourself. That's actually not a difficult DIY job, especially on a truck-based vehicle. Then stick Jiffy Screw with the bill.

DIY and you take 100% of the risk. Dealer do it and THEY take 100% of the risk. Now that's a no brainer!