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I need advice / help please. Feeling lied to by the mechanic and seller of truck

boysmomoflabs

completely ignorant~
Yes, I know..buyer beware. This is why I took a mechanic to look over a 1994 F150 4x4 I wanted to purchase.

This mechanic looked at, what I thought, everything. Told me what he thought it would cost to bring it up to snuff etc. I purchased the truck, mechanic drove it 50+ miles back to town for me. When I pulled into the repair shop he works at the hood was up and he was quite enthusiastically going over it. He mentioned that the oil pressure gauge would fluctuate depending on whether he was idling or driving. I didn't think anything about it as I have no knowledge what that could mean.

He started on the truck Tues. Worked up an estimate on what I wanted and what he recommended. We went over each item step by step because I don't know what they affect/mean. Not one mention of oil pressure.

Went to pick up the truck today and he tells me he's check the oil pressure and it's not good. The truck loses pressure but seems to run good. I asked what that means. He described how the oil runs through bearing etc and I was still lost. Finally he told me that the engine could quit on me.

I was numb. I had just approved $2590. in work, mostly flushing out lines because the truck had previously sat for almost a year. If I had known that I potentially had a shot engine I would not have authorize anything, and tried to sell the truck with full disclosure for what I had in it.

At this point I'm trying not to sit here and cry. I feel betrayed by this shop. The owner kept telling how good this mechanic is and that I lucked out he was avail to drive 1 hr one way just to check it out. Granted this guy is young, and I now know inexperienced, but I relied on the word of the owner and an excellent reputation of his shop. All through the process he was avail to answer questions, offered kudo's to how nice of a truck I bought and generally made me feel I lucked out.

I'm out $5.5K at this point. Was going to go back to the shop tomorrow and talk to the owner. Let him know how I feel but I don't know if he can do anything right now.
I was excited about this truck...now I'm starting to resent it.

Does anyone have any advice, plan of attack...anything?

Thanks
 
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Truckin4life

Texas Chapter Leader
If the oil pressure gauge is teh same as it came from the factory. I am 98% sure it is a dummy switch. Ask him for the actual oil pressure. "not good" could be point of opinion, or lack of knowledge. Don't give up. Have another shop look it over, but don't tell tham anything the previous shop said. See what they think.


Also, where might you be located? With a big spread of members on here, somebody MIGHT be able to lead you to a good shop. Worth a shot.
 

silverz51

Georgia Chapter member
I know it sucks to have these kinds of thing happen. But you have not spent all that money yet, you might try to find a shop that will install another motor in the truck. A friend of mine who is a mechanic, often changes bad motors or trannies in cars. They get them from the salvage yards and they are guaranteed for a certain period of time. If they fail, it costs you $0 for them to replace it. They'll give you another engine and pay for the labor... At least you'll have a decent running truck.

Good luck!
 

73F100Shortbed

That's how we roll!
5,937
320
NJ
Maybe just a bad sending unit. Don't give up hope yet.
 

boysmomoflabs

completely ignorant~
I'm going to try and answer as I scroll back and forth for questions.

The seller used it to move out to the west coast from east. Truck wasn't needed after that. He did have an aftermarket tow hitch installed and towed a trailer.

I live south of Seattle. The truck has 138K miles on it. I have already paid for the work that was done.
The mechanic told me about the oil compression test that he performed when I went to pick up the truck. Not before, not during any conversations prior. It was the last 1/2hr they were open, owner was not there. Yes, I could have refused to pay at that moment and should have. Didn't think about not paying, to honorable I guess.

I plan on going back to the shop, asking for my money back, explaining that I would not have authorized any of the work done if I had known the engine was reading low compression. Mechanic stated normal is 40-to ?? Mine reads 15. The sending unit was tested, it works fine. The compression test was done the correct way. Believe me, I was asking how he knew this now.

If he doesn't give me the money (which I doubt) it will be my first time taking someone to small claims court. This mechanic did this work under the license of the owner. He knew the oil gauge was "off", I personally think a compression test should have been the very first thing. Actually, he should have said something while we were out looking at it.

How it acts: When you first start the truck up, gauge goes to middle reading pressure, as the truck runs a minute the needle will drop to low pressure. If you press on the gas, needle moves back up.
Tell me that's not a clue for a mechanic.
 
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5.0Flareside

GingaNinja
14,463
384
La Vergne, TN
honestly i dont see them giving you your money back.. you gave him the ok to fix the stuff wrong that they told you. but its not like they didnt tell you bout the oil pump go ahead and fix it then charge ya for that too...

take the truck somewhere else to get it checked out...

Polarbear (Ernie) lives in Oregon, but knows the NW really well.. he may know somewhere you can take it....
 

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
My 88 does the same, has for years. The check gauges light comes on all the time, yet the motor never sounds low on pressure. Before getting too excited over it, I would put a mechanical gauge on it that you can monitor. The next question on that, was it 15 at idle, warm? If so, don't sweat it. 15 psi cold, at 200 would be more concern. However, in the end, the light isn't set to come on until it sees 5 psi. I know another truck that behaves the same way, yet I read 40 psi on my test gauge. The needle goes to the middle, drops off to 0, and bounces back up, yet my pressure readings indicated all is well. it is an inherant flaw in the monitoring system of these trucks.I find it interesting that they would wait to the end to push you on the oil issue if it were truly an issue. You dropped more than I paid for my trucks in just having what you did get done, so they maybe think you will go a bit further, even though much of what they just did would be replaced. They should have given the warning ahead of time, not after if they truly felt it a problem.
 

boysmomoflabs

completely ignorant~
honestly i dont see them giving you your money back.. you gave him the ok to fix the stuff wrong that they told you. but its not like they didnt tell you bout the oil pump go ahead and fix it then charge ya for that too...

take the truck somewhere else to get it checked out...

Polarbear (Ernie) lives in Oregon, but knows the NW really well.. he may know somewhere you can take it....

Maybe I'm not reading correctly how you're trying to explain this.

The mechanic / shop did not say ANYTHING about an oil pressure test to tell if the engine was ok till after 4 days of working on everything else.
 

boysmomoflabs

completely ignorant~
My 88 does the same, has for years. The check gauges light comes on all the time, yet the motor never sounds low on pressure. Before getting too excited over it, I would put a mechanical gauge on it that you can monitor. The next question on that, was it 15 at idle, warm? If so, don't sweat it. 15 psi cold, at 200 would be more concern. However, in the end, the light isn't set to come on until it sees 5 psi. I know another truck that behaves the same way, yet I read 40 psi on my test gauge. The needle goes to the middle, drops off to 0, and bounces back up, yet my pressure readings indicated all is well. it is an inherant flaw in the monitoring system of these trucks.I find it interesting that they would wait to the end to push you on the oil issue if it were truly an issue. You dropped more than I paid for my trucks in just having what you did get done, so they maybe think you will go a bit further, even though much of what they just did would be replaced. They should have given the warning ahead of time, not after if they truly felt it a problem.

Exactly how I feel!!!! These repairs I paid for, were more than I paid for the truck itself. Thought, ok...this $$ for truck, this $$ for repairs and I've got a truck that should run for a couple of years...not a problem...."fail"....

When you talk about a mechanical gauge on it, do you mean permanently have something installed vs the gauge in the dash????? Is it something that works better??? Please educate this old lady.


BTW.. I called the shop this morning, wanting to see if the owner would be in today (we're having SeaFair out here). Owner wife answered and put him on. I told him I wanted to do this face to face but explained my position and how I felt.
He did state that the mechanic had mentioned the oil fluctuation and he too was concerned why he didn't do a test first thing. He even stated "you would be out only what you'd paid till that point". I told him I could have walked out last night, but paid my bill as it was the honorable thing to do. He stated they were honorable too and all 3 of us can sit down and decide how to proceed. I mentioned I didn't want this to be my very first court case. His reply was, it wouldn't get to that point.

Maybe there's hope???
 

polarbear

just growing older not up
12,878
607
Boring, Oregon
Yes, I know..buyer beware. This is why I took a mechanic to look over a 1994 F150 4x4 I wanted to purchase.

This mechanic looked at, what I thought, everything. Told me what he thought it would cost to bring it up to snuff etc. I purchased the truck, mechanic drove it 50+ miles back to town for me. When I pulled into the repair shop he works at the hood was up and he was quite enthusiastically going over it. He mentioned that the oil pressure gauge would fluctuate depending on whether he was idling or driving. I didn't think anything about it as I have no knowledge what that could mean.

He started on the truck Tues. Worked up an estimate on what I wanted and what he recommended. We went over each item step by step because I don't know what they affect/mean. Not one mention of oil pressure.

Went to pick up the truck today and he tells me he's check the oil pressure and it's not good. The truck loses pressure but seems to run good. I asked what that means. He described how the oil runs through bearing etc and I was still lost. Finally he told me that the engine could quit on me.

I was numb. I had just approved $2590. in work, mostly flushing out lines because the truck had previously sat for almost a year. If I had known that I potentially had a shot engine I would not have authorize anything, and tried to sell the truck with full disclosure for what I had in it.

At this point I'm trying not to sit here and cry. I feel betrayed by this shop. The owner kept telling how good this mechanic is and that I lucked out he was avail to drive 1 hr one way just to check it out. Granted this guy is young, and I now know inexperienced, but I relied on the word of the owner and an excellent reputation of his shop. All through the process he was avail to answer questions, offered kudo's to how nice of a truck I bought and generally made me feel I lucked out.

I'm out $5.5K at this point. Was going to go back to the shop tomorrow and talk to the owner. Let him know how I feel but I don't know if he can do anything right now.
I was excited about this truck...now I'm starting to resent it.

Does anyone have any advice, plan of attack...anything?

Thanks

First off, let's hit a few points, one at a time.

1. Tell us more about the truck. Specifically, Motor, transmission, that kind of thing.

2. Purchased used from a dealer or a private party? In Washington State, that's a really important question. The AG up there is very pro-active on consumer protection issues, but that only can help you if it was a dealer purchase. From a private party, as with a lot of things, you're on your own.

Now let's go to the specific problem. We've got a '95 F150 4X4 with a 5.0L V8 and and Automatic. Oil pressure guage reads the low side of normal, and has for the past... oooh... 35,000 miles or so. Truck doesn't use any oil, run hot, have any other obvious issues, so my take is to not stress about it (probably a sending unit in our case).

3. Back to the Washington State AG- they're proactive with auto shops too. I know this is a stoopid question, but there are a few very competant Ford dealers in your area up there that sure wouldn't have charged any more for what you're describing. check with Consumer protection at the Attorney General's office if you can't get something worked out with the shop. And for the love of Pete, you shouldn't have to drive an hour to find a good mechanic to work on a Ford pickup. 15 minutes, maybe. This is a generic pickup, not a Porsche fer chrissakes.

**
4. For everyone, including the OP, that's looking at an older used vehicle that's been sitting for any extended length of time. Assume the worst when it comes to the mechanicals. Actually, run screaming the other direction unless you've fully budgeted to replace every hose and seal in the darned thing. BTDT, no T-Shirt. I've been down this road. In my case, it was a mint '69 Dodge Charger, so getting the money back out wasn't an issue.

I'm at work, but hit me back with any more questions you might have.
 

boysmomoflabs

completely ignorant~
****UPDATE******

good news. before I get to that I'd like to thank Polar Bear for his input.

Purchased from private party, hence the mechanic going with me. Please realize I'm an over 50, mechanically disinclined woman. I know where you put gas in and I know how to drive. Stories of mechanics (unknown) taking advantage of us abound. This is why I brought my own mechanic.

Second, the reason I authorize all the work was to specifically flush out every line / system there was BECAUSE the truck had sat for so long. To me, that's just simple logic.

**GOOD NEWS****

The shop is paying for and installing another engine. They have located a compression tested etc used 351 and the mechanic will be doing the work on two of his days off.

I met with the shop owner, his wife and the mechanic. They are stepping up to the plate and "doing the right thing" per the owner. I truly expected them to ask me to pay for the replacement, they said no. I will not be charged any more money.

My faith in people has been restored. =D

Oh, Is there any questions I should be asking now????????????
 
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Skandocious

Post Whores Make Me Sick
19,076
655
California
The question you should be asking now is how far into the future that shop will be open because you need to bring all your cars there for the rest of your life :rofl: Replacing the engine at no cost to you? That's pretty awesome.

Hope it works out.


And just for the record (for anyone reading this thread), Chris is right about the oil pressure gauge-- it's only has 2 states: on and off. I checked the Ford wiring schematic for the pressure sender to make sure that this is the case. The sending unit is not capable of sending any signals other than "normal pressure" or "low pressure". Some gauges might read a little lower or higher than normal but that's strictly because of age or variances in the power coming out to the gauge-- it has nothing to do with the actual pressure.
 

Ton van der Sluijs

official Lucas dealer
Hi everybody
First I agree with the speakers about a bad oilsensor...
second, when bearings do run out, at first the bigend bearings will give up due to their oscillating load every stroke on. My experience is, when the oilpressure is low due to a wornout bearing, one MUST hear that! The way to investigate that, is open the hood, let the engine run approximate 3000 revs and play the throttle by hand quickly 200revs up and down; ten times. 3000revs (approx) is the point that the centrifugal force is nearly equal to the combustion force and therefore the bearings are "floating" around their pins.
playing with the throttle changes the load and with a runned out bearing your ears will tell you.
I can not imagine, that a heavy American V8 with oversized bearings will run out.... or it's nam is DodgesmilieFordlogo smilieFordlogo

best regards Ton
 

5.0Flareside

GingaNinja
14,463
384
La Vergne, TN
i would have questions bout the "new" used engine... what all was checked on it? what kind of warranty is the shop gonna give you on it?

a used engine not being rebuilt before put in is sometimes a can of worms. sometimes its more than perfectly fine.. just never know..
 

boysmomoflabs

completely ignorant~
i would have questions bout the "new" used engine... what all was checked on it? what kind of warranty is the shop gonna give you on it?

a used engine not being rebuilt before put in is sometimes a can of worms. sometimes its more than perfectly fine.. just never know..

I too was concerned about that. They stated that the engine has had compression tests and oil pressure tests. That they're paying $600 for it and it has a 90 day warranty to them, which will be passed along to me.
Owner said the first thing they'll do is put it up on the stand and take a good look at it??

To someone else who posted here, yes....I do believe they will be getting the rest of my business. I'm still surprised that they're "doing the right thing"
 

boysmomoflabs

completely ignorant~
btw...we had the oil sensor checked, they took mine off, replace with new, same issue, mine was fine.
Whatever test he did to find the engine wasn't right "bypassed" all engine systems and went right to his equipment?
 

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