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Went to get an oil change at a chain dealership. They found a few issues that were causing slow leaking of oil. (Which makes sense as I have been having to add oil to my car before my next oil change.) It is a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica.
How much should it cost for the following:
VALVE COVER GASKET
TRANNY PAN GASKET
BOTH REAR AXLE SEALS
REAR PINION SEAL
HEAD GASKET
FRONT AND REAR DIFF FLUSH
This would be for a mechanic (not myself).
Also, on a side note, I went to NTB 2 years ago for new tires. 2 of them have low threads. ON the paperwork below tires it says 60,000. Is that a warranty or expected life?
They have not identified the source of the leak. Instead, they are listing a bunch of places the oil could be leaking from in hopes that you will allow them to "repair" all of them, resulting in about a $2.5 -$4K bill.
If your car is leaking oil from all those places at once, it is a POS and should be replaced.
Instead, go have the engine and transmission (drivetrain) steam or high pressure cleaned, wait a week or two, and then see where the oil is appearing again, that will be THE source of the problem.
EDIT:
Also, head AND valve cover gaskets would most likely not both be leaking oil. Maybe oil from the valve cover and water from the other, but this sounds incredible suspicious. Are you also losing water?
Last edited by blktoptrvl; 03-23-2015 at 05:27 PM..
Sounds like a lot of unnecessary repairs that will have you parting company with the best part of $3000.
How much oil is actually leaking to warrant these kinds of repairs? Are there puddles of oil under the car when parked?Any loss of oil in the 1-2 Qt per oil change assuming a 5K oil change interval i would consider somewhat normal on a 10yr old vehicle and i would just run a thicker oil to solve any supposed leaking.I suspect you are about to get ripped off,get a second opinion from a reliable private mechanic.
PS. is this actually a chain dealership that sells cars or a quickie lube place that specializes in oil changes
Sounds like a lot of unnecessary repairs that will have you parting company with the best part of $3000.
How much oil is actually leaking to warrant these kinds of repairs? Are there puddles of oil under the car when parked?Any loss of oil in the 1-2 Qt per oil change assuming a 5K oil change interval i would consider somewhat normal on a 10yr old vehicle and i would just run a thicker oil to solve any supposed leaking.I suspect you are about to get ripped off,get a second opinion from a reliable private mechanic.
PS. is this actually a chain dealership that sells cars or a quickie lube place that specializes in oil changes
It is Midas.
No puddles. I usually add a quart per 3,000 miles or so.
They said they were slow leaks.
I purchase 10W30 oil and thought that's what they used... but they said it is obsolete and use 5W30.
Listen, find yourself a good local independent mechanic/shop.
Get all you oil changes there. Get your tires there (yes, you'll pay a few dollars more for tires). Get your repairs done there. Build up a relationship.
I'm sorry. But with many decades of car repairs, I have found that these franchise chains just don't cut it.
Yes, there are exceptions.
Sadly, the same holds true for most new car dealership service departments.
Example:
I found a promotion from a new car dealership for a discounted oil change and a "21 point vehicle check". I was away from home area at time.
Well, they came up with over $500.00 in work that "must" be done.
I later went to my regular mechanic/shop - and NOTHING needed to be fixed.
Since I travel a lot - I had another shop also check vehicle. Again, nothing needed to be done.
Yes, the last two places/shops could have been wrong . . . but I really doubt it.
No puddles. I usually add a quart per 3,000 miles or so.
They said they were slow leaks.
I purchase 10W30 oil and thought that's what they used... but they said it is obsolete and use 5W30.
And there is your problem.
The proposed work would never pay for itself. Probably all these gaskets and seals are leaking a bit, but, if you keep the fluids topped off with whatever the manual says your car should have - realize that many Chrysler transmissions require a specific fluid that you can but don't have to get at the dealer - you can keep driving it for a long time with it leaking a bit at all these locations.
The one thing I would look hard at is the head gasket. If that's leaking oil out onto the block, it may be leaking coolant into the oil, which would be bad.
You need to DIY or find a good indy shop. Stay away from chain garages. IMHO anyway.
No puddles. I usually add a quart per 3,000 miles or so.
They said they were slow leaks.
I purchase 10W30 oil and thought that's what they used... but they said it is obsolete and use 5W30.
That is less than "normal." Most people should expect to add a quart of oil every thousand miles or so. I would take my car home and not give that Midas a dime.
Went to get an oil change at a chain dealership. They found a few issues that were causing slow leaking of oil. (Which makes sense as I have been having to add oil to my car before my next oil change.) It is a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica.
How much should it cost for the following:
VALVE COVER GASKET
TRANNY PAN GASKET
BOTH REAR AXLE SEALS
REAR PINION SEAL
HEAD GASKET
FRONT AND REAR DIFF FLUSH
This would be for a mechanic (not myself).
Also, on a side note, I went to NTB 2 years ago for new tires. 2 of them have low threads. ON the paperwork below tires it says 60,000. Is that a warranty or expected life?
Thanks.
That list got progressively funny and ridiculous and almost had me rolling when I reached "Head Gasket"! They are really trying to pull one over on you. I remember I had an oil leak and I had suspicion that it was coming from the front main seal behind the crankshaft pulley, but I took it to a mechanic to make sure it wasn't possibly from the timing cover. They told me they would need to look at the rear main seal to fully diagnose the problem, or something like that. The rear main seal is behind the transmission and my oil leak was clearly coming from the other side of the engine. They said they could have it done for me the next day, to the tune of $1300. I laughed and just drove off, and was fortunate enough to have a friend, who was more knowledgeable, help diagnose and fix the problem. Sure enough, it was the front main seal.
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