Major RANT!! Arghgh!! - within the last

10 days, I've thought my transmission was on the verge of dying; then my volts started acting weird, good one day, low the next, then my battery acted like it couldn't hold a charge, truck slow to start, then to top it off my starter was making funny sounds 2 days ago, so I thought that was on it's way as well.

Double checked all battery connections, again, as we did find a loose connection at the cable 7 days ago.

Long story short, you know I had all knew V-belts put on just 3 weeks ago now, along with a LOT of other stuff. Well, for the 1st 3 days afterwords, truck ran like a champ, and then all of this other stuff started.

Turns out, the mechanic at the shop that I really like, failed to retighten the mounting/adjusting bolt on the alternator, so it's been in there wiggling, and along with that, the belt was REALLY loose.

I had just checked these belts at the time that we fixed the battery clamp, felt good then, but I had no idea the alternator itself was loose.

Tightened her all up, and gee, what do ya know - tranny's shifting REAL smooth, volts are up to 14, and the truck fired right up this morning.

I am SOOO very tired of not being able to feel like you can trust mechanics. I thought when I came back to Colorado this wouldn't be an issue, as the owner of the place I go to is a long-time family friend - however, he doesn't work on the vehicles himself anymore. But he's gonna get an earfull - this is the 2nd time in less then 3 visits that they've failed to do something correctly.

1st time the lower radiator hose clamp was real loose and dumping antifreeze everywhere.

This is why I never let anyone work on my vehicles. Unless its something that more involved then I can do in the parking lot, or I just really dont feel like doing it.

The first time I ever took my mitsu to someone else to have the oil done (tired of laying on the ground in snow or cold to change oil) not only did they lose the drain plug and put some oddball one in but they didnt even tighten it. I stopped down the road a bit to make sure they actually greased everything and saw oil dripping from the plug. Was just hand tight. That would have been a nasty surprise. I havent been back there since.

Ppl make mistakes but it shouldnt happen that often.

it seems that you have a mechanic who doesn't check his own work. accidents to happen and things get over looked when you rush jobs to get the customer out the door to open up your work bay.

it sucks.

that's why i am gathering all of the info i can,in order to work on my own truck.

I know what you mean about mechanics. They purposely mess with vehicles to get you to come back. I had a mustang befoer my rodeo and i needed a tune-up. The car ran perfect and after the tune-up there was this rattling sound from the rear of the car...Come to find out the mechanic that replaced the fuel filter loosened 2 body bolts!!! They didnt need to be loosened and the bolts were almost stripped by the mechanic!!!! So beware as to who works on your vehicles. This is why I'm part of this group. I'm by no means a mechanic but ever since then, I have replaced brakes, serpentine belts, all fluids, fuel filters, exhaust, tires, etc.

I do all my own work. We have alot of rip-off artist mechanics in this town. Alton's Automotive told my dad he needed new front brakes and new rotors. He brought me the truck to have me do the work and there was nothing wrong with anything. Pads had 2/3 left and his rotors were no where near the wear limit.

RF, I hear what you are saying.
Just two days ago a co-worker lady told me that a local tire shop (whom we both trust fairly well) charged her a little over $700 to 1) replace the coil packs and 2) spark plug wires and 3) inspect for coolant loss, found none and topped of the coolant reservoir. This was on a 1993 Olds Ciera V6 3.3 L.
This all started when she took it in to have the snow tires taken off the season and mentioned it was running a little rough in wet weather. They replaced the parts with NAPA brand, which can be bought at their counter for under $200 by someone WITHOUT a discount. They replaced all 3 coil packs, what are the chances that one or all 3 needed to be replaced? $700!!!! And they charge $78 an hour, which is more than six times the hourly wage of people around here.
She is a nice quiet mannered lady who felt obligated to say 'OK to do the work' because she needed the car to get back home at the end of the day. She felt that she was overcharged, and I agreed to some extent but didn't tell her the truth - she was ripped off - but felt that there wasn't much she could do about it without getting her really upset and start crying or something. She has no one to do minor repairs and puts too much trust in these mechanics. If I had known before she agreed to have the work done I could have coached her on what a realistic repair might be and cost, but it was too late. So it's not just shabby work to look out for - it's the overcharging and unneeded work too. I wish that I was in a line of work that if one of those guys needed something from me, that i can return the 'favor'.

I've just come to expect it every time I have to take it to a shop. Every time. As with just about everything else, nobody is going to treat your mobile the way you'd treat it.