Is it toast?
 

Just got a call from the paint shop. After 3 months they're finished. Bad news. They said they let it sit outside and idle for 20 minutes to recharge the battery. And it got hot. When I asked how hot they said real hot, it burped some oil out and now it shows no oil pressure. This is a 76 930 that had a complete rebuild less than 5k ago. It was perfect when I took it in to them. Of course it is in the high 90's here. I feel like puking. I am going to go check it out in the next hour. What should I look for? How can getting it hot make it show no oil pressure? Of course they said they'd make it right, bla, bla, bla, they have no idea.

bummer, hope it is their inability to know what they are looking at rather than a real problem.

jim

:eek: WTF!!

The last rebuild was over 12k. That engine was perfect.

Where? What paint shop?

sound bit dodgy to have it burn up in less than 20 minutes of idling

there must be more to the story than just idling a good engine for 20 minutes...

Can you say "joy ride". Boy, that bite. I hope the shop has good insurance.

maybe the fan wasnt spinning? holycrap! i hope it works out.

I think they need to come clean & tell the real story, thats not it.

Should I have a legal document drawn up stating they will pay to have it diagnosed, and fixed? They are real nice but I don't think they know what is involved.

Yes. I'd call a lawyer before going down there - just to put your ducks in a row. 911s can idle for 20 minutes without problems. I don't know; this sounds all wrong.

I am a lawyer, and sometimes people jump to call their lawyers too soon.

If it were me, I'd go down to the shop and check it out first. Find out what happened. Right now you're in the dark, and have no information. When you talk to them, don't make accusations and don't admit anything. Just get information. Then, after hearing what's going on, if you need a lawyer, call one. Whatever you do, don't sign anything!

My $.02.

Naturally the owner was gone yesterday and when I called one of their body guys tells me the owner wants to talk to me first. When I asked him about the chance that any of the yahoos there might have taken it for a joy ride he assured me that was not the case. Damn I wish I'd written down the mileage before I left it there. Woulda coulda shoulda.

But why no oil pressure if it only got hot?

call the lawyer first & follow his advice, he can see the situation through if necessary.

I don't know wht body/paint work you had done, but maybe it's just a wire or the gauge or sender...something they inadvertently dislodged.

Have you looked at the car yourself? You won't know anything until you go and actually look at it. You may have to have it towed to a mechanic for analysis. But until then, it's all conjecture.

But Scott, he's in the dark other than understanding something is wrong with his engine. I would think initial legal advice would at least put him in the right frame of mind toward potential action. After all, he's not in the dark about the engine running well before he dropped the car off to be painted. So what really could have happened between then and now is a mystery for which he should be prepared...legally.

Here is my situation. I live in the absolute middle of nowhere. The panhandle of Texas. Think of death valley, only with one tree. So the nearest dealer is in OKC which is over 200 miles from here. Not that I would let them touch it. I had the last rebuild done at Powerhaus. Say what you will about them, but the engine is a jewell. Over 400rwhp.

I have a guy here in town that has done electrical work on it but is basically scared to death of it. I am not going to spend one dime out of my pocket for someone elses screw up.

Lawyers often have agendas...aka their bank accounts. If I were to get a call about this situation, I'd advise my client to go talk to the shop, look at the car, and find out what happened. What if the shop's description is wrong, and the only problem is a bad sending unit or a broken wire? Not likely, but until he eyeballs the situation he has zero information that's useful. And, on top if it, he's getting more and more stressed thinking about it. My advice would be to turn the computer off and go check on the car. If, at the end of the day, he has to sue them, so be it. For now, gather information.

In this case, he's not my client, so I'm sure he'll do what he thinks is best.

I agree with Scott. People are too quick to jump on the "call a lawyer" bandwagon. With limited information, there is not much a lawyer can tell you, or do for you, other than say, you might, or might not have a case, and this can change as more info comes to light. Bottom line is, you have to be able to prove something. The fact that it ran okay before, but not now, is not proof of their wrongdoing.

As far as it having run fine when dropped off, pretty much every engine runs fine before something goes wrong...

On my recent road trip, I got 200 miles out with the car running beautifully and all of a sudden as I pulled away from a toll, it started missing and puking oil. Turns out that the rocker shaft worked loose and just decided to go at this particular instant. Turns out the wrench who did the last rebuild stripped the hex bolt on the shaft and it wasn't snugged up enough. Shaft popped out, engine lost pressure and #6 cylinder stopped firing and the oil ran out the shaft hole in the cam housing.

So, go down, check the car out and take it from there. There may be a simple explanation.

My $.02