Hi there, a couple of months I went on to rant about some car problems and issues I was having with my mechanic.

Here I Am,

3 Months Later and I my vehicle is still in the shop.

The Vehicle is a 5 Speed 2000 NIssan Maxima.

1 Year ago this month I set out to completely "recondition" the vehicle from a mechanical aspect.

This included:
Changing the entire suspension components and steering components as well as cooling and power steering.

In Novemeber 2013 I took my vehicle in for a Motor Rebuild as I spun a rod, and prior to this the Water Pump was replaced as the vehicle was heating up and changing the radiator and hoses did not solve the issue.

In January 2014 I received the vehicle back.

Within the first month, the vehicle over heated twice (When I checked coolant levels they were low)

Oil was burning as I checked the oil it was low within 1 week of driving.

The vehicle was consuming a lot of gas and the car went from averaging 420 Miles to a full tank to 350 Miles to a full tank.

I took it back to the mechanic who said the gasket was cracked and had to remachine the head.

This was mid MArch. We are now in June and My car is nowhere near done.

The overheating issue (according to the mechaninc was coming from the timin cover ... I forget what exactly)

However, he says the gasket cracked because fuel was mixing in with the oil and now he has rebuilt the motor AGAIN, BUT the car is burning too much fuel. A lot of grey smoke comes out of the vehicle at idle. And he has no idea what it is, he replaced the fuel Injectors and now he is saying the valves burned out again and yet a 3RD rebuild is needed, but instead he wants to drop in a USED engine with Wiring Harness.

He believes the fuel issue is due to the wiring harness. He is receiving a p0300 and P1130 codes. Not sure why.

I have had it, it's been so long and I have spent so much money on car rentals...

I don't know what to do anymore.

He is offering to replace the motor and wiring harness (But i dont know how long that will take)

or a Refund of my initial $1800 engine rebuild charge.

A friend wants me to take it to specialist who will diagnose the car and have in fixed within 2 weeks time.

WHAT SHOULD I DO? Should I take the $1800 and go elsewhere, but what if I have to pay more on top of that to fix this issue, what if other issues arrise due to possible incompetence. Not to mention all the time lost and money spent renting cars.

What is ny best course of action, what options do I have? The other mechanic told me the vehicle should have been diagnosed properly and these issues should not be happening. He wants to fix this for me and he says he will charge the entire bill to the other shop , but what if the shop doesn't want to pay up?

HELP!!

 

Your mechanic is an idiot, he does not know what he's doing.

The car probably has a bad head gasket.

Fuel does not mix with oil unless you have blow by past the rings, the coolant is mixing with your oil since you have a bad head gasket.

If you spun a rod bearing but everything else was fine he could have just put a low mileage 3.0 in the car and be done with it. He introduced way more headaches than necessary for this job and now the car is a liability.

Get your money back, if they don't give it back, charge it back on your credit card.

 

get your money back and run. Go to a new mechanic, maybe the one your friend is talking about and have him look at the car.

 

from the sounds of all the stress and potential money you might have put in this car I would just get rid of it because with all those rebuilds and whatever has been done so far who knows how messed up it is now

 

Does sound like a blown head gasket. Might just aswell be an idea to do a swap for a low milage engine rather than spending money on labour to pull and machine the heads and new gaskets etc. As for the over heating issue I didn't notice any mention of changing the thermostat which may have been stuck closed aswell.

 

swap a low mileage engine into the thing and be done with it. These engines will go 250,000+ miles without major work if you maintain them properly.

The shop that did the original work SHOULD at least be capable of dropping in a junkyard engine and replacing the water pump, thermostat, engine seals, and valve cover gaskets. The engine you've got has everything buy the new seals on it already so the cost to install that should be minimal.

 

Your "so called" mechanic is taking you for a long painful ride

 

He rebuilt the original Enhine in January. Said I spun a rod and rebuilt the entire engine. HE gave me a 2 year unlimitted mile warranty.

The engine was consuming oil and gas like no tomorrow and on top of that it was overheating.

I took it back to him, and he said the gasket was blown due to water mixing in with the oil but then retratced his statement and said I was running too rich and fuel was mixing with the oil causing the engine to run rich and hot.

He rebuilt the engine a SECOND time, after which the vehicle was dumping a lot of fuel, he said the injectors were bad, or stuck open... He couldn't find the issue and proceeded to state that the wiring was the reason for the malfunction. Within the 2nd rebuild and now the engine began to emit a lot of smoke and run extremely rich. He said the valves burned out.

SO NOW, he is dropping in a Low Mileage Used Engine with a 1 year waranty, however HE will warranty this for me for 2 years. I WILL NOT pay for anything as this still falls under the original rebuild's warranty.

I gave him until Saturday and he says he will cover my rental charges.

I just want this issue solved, I have not had my vehicle for 3 months and counting the previous issues this goes back to over 6 months.

I want to have faith in him, and I've always trusted him but IDK what to think anymore. 3 Months and you can't solve the issue??

 

This is ridiculous and is the type of situation that gives mechanics a bad name. I advise you to take your business elsewhere. Also a used motor would probably be your best bet.

 

If your paying insurance while your cars been in the shop for the past 3 months i wouldn't hesitate to send it to someone who can and will do a swap for you and appreciate the business that 3 months of insurance would have already been a good chunk forward the new engine. I'd have had it outta there after the first month.

 

This guy that you so call is a mechanic or your mechanic, probally has not changed the thermostat when the radiator and when the hoses were changed and the low coolant issue with the headgasket lead to many other issues. This guy is not a mechanic and he was more than likely the main reason why you need a new motor in the first place. The headgasket issue came probally because of the low coolant and the over heating that killed your motor. The Improper filling of the coolant level and the radiator and the thermostat not being changed it all adds up the old or failing water pump and seals. The lawsuit should be on the way and if any thing a motor on the house or a refund.

 

Sounds like your mechanic changes oil like this...

 

Take your car and run away!

 

Yes, please. Everyone else already stated every valid point there was to make.

 

Get to the choppa as fast as possible!