Hi all.
First post here. Does anyone know a good mechanic in the Parksville area? I have a 2004 TJ that I have been taking to the dealer but not too happy with the result. I thought I had a slight oil leak and took it too the shop and they told me I needed a new valve cover gasket. Got that done to a $300.00 bill. The leak is still there and I am thinking it might be a coolant leak as it has a pinkish tinge to it. Its at the back of the engine and I have been trying to see it with a mirror etc but can see anything. It is not a lot and maybe a spoon full at a time. I'd like to find a good "mechanic" if I can. I also have a 2014 Grand Cherokee that I would still use the dealership for until the warranty runs out.
I just moved here two years ago so don't know any good mechanics. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Mark
sounds familiar to what im experiencing right now, a rear main seal...theres two seals in there, one is for back of engine, one is for front of tranny im pretty sure. pinkish usually means transmission, and if its leaking, probably the seal for it..hope you find what you need, these can be super expensive repairs
Thanks Sam
It has about the same color as the coolant so I am wondering if that it what it is. I have a manual transmission and not sure if that makes a difference. I think tomorrow I will check the transmission fluid levels and see how it is. I'd like to do a coolant pressure test to see if it drops but don't have the tools for it. I also understand you can put dye into your coolant and see where it is leaking from. I just wish I had a good mechanic to take it too. My father was a master mechanic and could fix anything but he passed many years ago. He taught me a few things and I have his tools but there is much I can't do. I hope I can do a few diagnostics and find a good mechanic here. Thanks for the input as I appreciate it.
Mark
First tell the dealer the oil leak fix didn't work an you want a refund for their misdiagnosis. It's like anything else. If you didn't get what you paid for you get your money back. As a technician for 40 years I can tell you that is what's supposed to happen. Too many people just go elsewhere or let the repair shop charge you more for a second fix. You said you had a leak. They said what it was and you took their word for it as they are the experts. They fu#$ed up. They owe you. In future when anyone agrees to a recommended repair they need to ask "if it doesn't work do I have to pay for it ?".
Thanks Glenn. Good point! The thing I don't like about dealerships is you don't get to talk to the technician. Be nice to talk to them and discuss issues rather than just a receptionist. I appreciate your suggestion. Thanks again
Mark
Sam
If you are having a similar problem you my want to to what I did. I got a bottle of coolant dye from Lordco, ($4.19) and put it in the radiator and ran it for a while. When it drips I will use a UV light to see if its from the coolant system or if it is oil. My oil is pretty clean so its hard for me to tell what it is. I tightened up a few bolts on the oilpan as well. I will leave it overnight and if the drips show up on the UV light I know its a coolant system issue. Once I get it diagnosed I will follow up as per Glann's suggestion.
Mark
nice thats a good suggestion! fortunately i got blessed today, i thought there was a chance i might still have powertrain warranty left since i bought a certified used toyota truck, and as matter of fact, i had 3 weeks of warranty haha! so they inspected it and sure enough, its going to be fixed under warranty on tuesday! thanks for the info though :)
Great news Sam. Nice to catch a break sometimes!!!
Mark
Gotta loooooove those warranties.
Honestly, if ypu had brought it to me and I started with a valve cover gasket cause it was leaking there would be no way I would give a refund cause that wasnt the leak you were looking at. However the bill would never be so high. And I dont have a secretary so you would only speak to me.
That being said, I know guys in errington with a shop, might be able to help you out. Little mountain towing
Thanks BeRad. I'll check them out
Mark
I'm tired of these so called experts not standing by their quotes. I did and it made my kelowna shop very successful.
Yea love those warranties haha
I have time and lots of jeep experience if you are in the Nanaimo area any time. I am the owner and mechanic so all technical details come directly from me. Although my front end lady is a pleasure to talk to as well.
Cam. Thanks for getting in touch. It looks like I may have coolant mixing with my oil. I put some dye in the coolant and it looks like coolant is leaking from the oil pan gasket. I don't anything on the dipstick and the oil looks like it is the right colour. I can't find and coolant leaks anywhere. I am going to drain the oil today to confirm. The engine runs just fine, no overheating etc. I don't want to drive too far if I do have a coolant leak into the oil. I will be able to confirm later if that is the case. Mark
Deffinitly recomend doing a leak down test on the coolant system to be sure that it is infact the coolant system leaking... if its dripping off the oil pan or seams to be weeping and is deffinitly coolant.. i would suspect head gasket leaking to the exterior of the motor.. or more likely the seal in the water pump..
Thanks BeRad. I drained the oil and there is no contamination that I can see so at least the coolant is not getting into the crank case. That is a relief. I just cannot see where the leak if coming from. I'll poke around some more with the mirror and flashlight. I'd like to narrow it down before I take the next step
Hi all,
We are in Duncan BC and are rebuilding the front end on a 1986 Jeep Cherokee. It has turned into a much bigger and more expensive job than we anticipated and we need some help. At this point, we need to remove the external threaded castleated adjuster that is highlighted in white in the photo. It is threaded into the steering yolk. We have tried soaking it in WD40 without luck. If somebody has an acetelyne torch to heat up the steering yolk, I think that is the only chance we have of removing it. We could take it to a garage or machine shop but we are way over budget on this and must now rely on the kindness of strangers to get this done.
We are having trouble installing the ball joints as well. The ball joint press we rented is too big for the upper joints. If anyone has a smaller press for the uppers that we could borrow, we'd appreciate that as well.
Thanks in advance for any help, advice or comments. Barb.