Dealership screwed up repair is their solution ok?

[Malarkus]

Hi I recently took my 2018 Tradesman 1500 in to the local dealership to have them return it to factory conditions after I made a mess of the wiring under the hood while upgrading everything to 1/0 cable and installing a Self exciting high output alternator. Long story short they quoted me a total of $8800 to make the truck just like it came in from the factory. I also asked them to install a Mopar catback exhaust which they quoted me something like $1100 for and then a day later called me up and said they would also need to get me a different bumper to accommodate the now dual exhaust which would be an additional 800$. So, about 11k in repairs/ upgrades. This was supposed to take about a week maybe week and a half for which I went ahead and got a rental truck which I paid for since the work they were doing was obviously not covered under warranty.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was supposed to be the day everything was finished and I would be able to pick up my truck. My service rep was supposed to call me as soon as they were ready for me and at 4:45pm I finally called to see what was up. That's when they informed me that it was actually going to be another 5 days at least because I had a broken cylinder head. After some questioning they told me that there was a bolt missing from the alternator a week and a half ago when I brought it in and that's what caused the broken cylinder head. A little more prodding and ok well the tech had to remove your cold air intake and a nut fell off the alternator bolt when I brought it in a week and a half ago and its ok it's going to be covered under warranty just need 5 days for a new cylinder head to come in. And they will cover a rental in the meantime. What I was finally able to ascertain is the tech dropped the nut that holds the positive charge lead to the alternator post into the intake manifold, put it all back together, started the truck, heard clanking for "about three seconds", and the oh **** how do we fix this began.

The question I have is will replacing the cylinder head be an adequate fix? Should I be concerned that more damage was done? Should I be telling them I need a whole new engine? They showed me the spark plug that the nut hit which looked fairly mangled. I would think damage could have been done to the cylinder walls etc. The amount of knowledge I have relating to automotive mechanics is limited hence me ******* up the truck the first go around and throwing in the towel so any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

 

[chrisbh17]

How big was the nut? Even if it was in the intake and made it down to the valves, it would have to be a pretty small nut to actually make it inside a cylinder.

If they know which head is damaged when they pull it off tell them you want pics of the cylinder walls and pistons from that side of the engine.

 

[Malarkus]

Not 100% sure how big the nut was maybe 3/8" wide? I think it would had to have made it into the cylinder if it hit the end of the spark plug though right?

 

[Black W900]

$11,000 repair on a tradesman?
I'd have had an "insurance fire".

 

[chrisbh17]

Sorry I didnt catch the part about the spark plug....was the tip (bent electrode end) what was mangled? Or the threads, etc?

Because really only the tip is "inside" the cylinder. If the outer threads were messed up it could just mean the nut bounced around because of the pushrods, etc.

And I agree with W900 - 11K is awfully expensive. I applaud you being accountable for your mess up, though!

 

[Malarkus]

Yeah the tip was all bent to hell something had obviously hit it pretty hard. And yeah not my proudest moment but you make mistakes and learn from em'. No sense in hiding it.

 

[HammerHead]

Hi I recently took my 2018 Tradesman 1500 in to the local dealership to have them return it to factory conditions after I made a mess of the wiring under the hood while upgrading everything to 1/0 cable and installing a Self exciting high output alternator. Long story short they quoted me a total of $8800 to make the truck just like it came in from the factory. I also asked them to install a Mopar catback exhaust which they quoted me something like $1100 for and then a day later called me up and said they would also need to get me a different bumper to accommodate the now dual exhaust which would be an additional 800$. So, about 11k in repairs/ upgrades. This was supposed to take about a week maybe week and a half for which I went ahead and got a rental truck which I paid for since the work they were doing was obviously not covered under warranty.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was supposed to be the day everything was finished and I would be able to pick up my truck. My service rep was supposed to call me as soon as they were ready for me and at 4:45pm I finally called to see what was up. That's when they informed me that it was actually going to be another 5 days at least because I had a broken cylinder head. After some questioning they told me that there was a bolt missing from the alternator a week and a half ago when I brought it in and that's what caused the broken cylinder head. A little more prodding and ok well the tech had to remove your cold air intake and a nut fell off the alternator bolt when I brought it in a week and a half ago and its ok it's going to be covered under warranty just need 5 days for a new cylinder head to come in. And they will cover a rental in the meantime. What I was finally able to ascertain is the tech dropped the nut that holds the positive charge lead to the alternator post into the intake manifold, put it all back together, started the truck, heard clanking for "about three seconds", and the oh **** how do we fix this began.

The question I have is will replacing the cylinder head be an adequate fix? Should I be concerned that more damage was done? Should I be telling them I need a whole new engine? They showed me the spark plug that the nut hit which looked fairly mangled. I would think damage could have been done to the cylinder walls etc. The amount of knowledge I have relating to automotive mechanics is limited hence me ******* up the truck the first go around and throwing in the towel so any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

$8800? Your getting ripped off and they damaged your engine. I would say at a Minimum that the Piston and head would need to be replaced.
At 11k these guys know what their doing to you, and it's not right.

 

[liftedpsd2010]

Holy **** what did you do to truck? I would of rigged the wiring and traded it in. Holy hell 11 grand is a ton of money.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[chrisbh17]

Yeah the tip was all bent to hell something had obviously hit it pretty hard. And yeah not my proudest moment but you make mistakes and learn from em'. No sense in hiding it.

Yeah it aint just the head then. I bet one of the piston tops doesnt look pretty either and the cylinder wall might look ugly too.

 

[Malarkus]

yes it is liftedpsd2010. I cut into wiring harnesses cut factory grounds instead of leaving in place and placing upgraded wires over the top cut out factory radio bracket for a double din etc. Another dodge dealership actually cut out the factory positive charge lead to the alternator from battery when I asked them to just check all of my 1/0 connections and replace any that were bad. They cut the factory charge lead, wrapped friction tape around my 1/0 cable and told me all my connections were fine. So at this point I'm not feeling shy about insisting on them making things 100% right I'm just not sure what I should be asking for...

 

[Malarkus]

chrisbh17 I had a chance to look at the piston top and it had some dings from what I could tell didn't look down into it at the walls was only there for a second getting insurance card for rental

 

[HammerHead]

Hi I recently took my 2018 Tradesman 1500 in to the local dealership to have them return it to factory conditions after I made a mess of the wiring under the hood while upgrading everything to 1/0 cable and installing a Self exciting high output alternator. Long story short they quoted me a total of $8800 to make the truck just like it came in from the factory. I also asked them to install a Mopar catback exhaust which they quoted me something like $1100 for and then a day later called me up and said they would also need to get me a different bumper to accommodate the now dual exhaust which would be an additional 800$. So, about 11k in repairs/ upgrades. This was supposed to take about a week maybe week and a half for which I went ahead and got a rental truck which I paid for since the work they were doing was obviously not covered under warranty.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was supposed to be the day everything was finished and I would be able to pick up my truck. My service rep was supposed to call me as soon as they were ready for me and at 4:45pm I finally called to see what was up. That's when they informed me that it was actually going to be another 5 days at least because I had a broken cylinder head. After some questioning they told me that there was a bolt missing from the alternator a week and a half ago when I brought it in and that's what caused the broken cylinder head. A little more prodding and ok well the tech had to remove your cold air intake and a nut fell off the alternator bolt when I brought it in a week and a half ago and its ok it's going to be covered under warranty just need 5 days for a new cylinder head to come in. And they will cover a rental in the meantime. What I was finally able to ascertain is the tech dropped the nut that holds the positive charge lead to the alternator post into the intake manifold, put it all back together, started the truck, heard clanking for "about three seconds", and the oh **** how do we fix this began.

The question I have is will replacing the cylinder head be an adequate fix? Should I be concerned that more damage was done? Should I be telling them I need a whole new engine? They showed me the spark plug that the nut hit which looked fairly mangled. I would think damage could have been done to the cylinder walls etc. The amount of knowledge I have relating to automotive mechanics is limited hence me ******* up the truck the first go around and throwing in the towel so any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!

11k would be a nice down payment on a new truck; since they damaged your vehicle I would ask them to give you a decent trade in on the vehicle They damaged. You might be upside down a little but you will have a new truck and piece of mind. Honestly I think this is the best option; you will never know how much damage has been done or how long it will last. In 3 month down the road you could be doing this all over again.

 

[Bee1971]

chrisbh17 I had a chance to look at the piston top and it had some dings from what I could tell didn't look down into it at the walls was only there for a second getting insurance card for rental

Some dings on top of the piston won’t hurt a damn thing

However you need , I repeat , you need to look at that cylinder wall at all costs

And that is with the piston at the bottom of its stroke - A damn good light in your hand

Any scratches , dings that you can catch with your fingernails or anything that looks suspect on that cylinder wall , just think what your piston rings might look like

Tell them , you just bought me a new short block

 

[PatinAZ]

11k would be a nice down payment on a new truck; since they damaged your vehicle I would ask them to give you a decent trade in on the vehicle They damaged. You might be upside down a little but you will have a new truck and piece of mind. Honestly I think this is the best option; you will never know how much damage has been done or how long it will last. In 3 month down the road you could be doing this all over again.

And for the love of all things holy, don't go fixing **** that ain't broken!

 

[Coramie]

OP - I commend you sir for what seems like a pretty calm disposition. There’d be dead pets and a strained marriage at my house if I **** the bed enough to cost myself $11k on my truck. Best of luck to you. I hope it all works out!!!

 

[Malarkus]

Bee1971 That helps thank you. I think that gives me a good starting point with how to approach these guys. And for the record all, yeah... me no touchy trucky any more. Just gotta tell myself, "You're a carpenter, not a mechanic, there's a reason they don't make engine blocks out of mdf!" smh

 

[Riccochet]

This.......this is why I buy new vehicles.

you dun Boomhauer'd that entire truck.

 

[steven_sbs]

You're going to need a new block because the cylinder wall is damaged, no question on that. New piston, as you already know that's damaged. Head already being replaced, you know why. And then the truck will never be the same again.

The fun is really going to start when you try to sell or trade in what's left of the truck. The CarFax report is going to kill your resale value. If I read a report that said head replaced, cylinder damage, wiring replaced, etc, I wouldn't buy the truck. This is being fixed by the dealers insurance as employee mistake, not a warranty claim with Ram. Tell them you want to see the repair order (RO) to confirm what parts are being replaced. If they tell you "carfax will never know about it", ask them if they really intend to hide all the damage and repairs from a future owner. Then tell them you want a check for the retail value of a 2018 Tradesman PLUS what you paid to have the wiring replaced. You never got the value of the wiring repair before they broke your truck. They own you that.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[chrisbh17]

You're going to need a new block because the cylinder wall is damaged, no question on that. New piston, as you already know that's damaged. Head already being replaced, you know why. And then the truck will never be the same again.

The fun is really going to start when you try to sell or trade in what's left of the truck. The CarFax report is going to kill your resale value. If I read a report that said head replaced, cylinder damage, wiring replaced, etc, I wouldn't buy the truck. This is being fixed by the dealers insurance as employee mistake, not a warranty claim with Ram. Tell them you want to see the repair order (RO) to confirm what parts are being replaced. If they tell you "carfax will never know about it", ask them if they really intend to hide all the damage and repairs from a future owner. Then tell them you want a check for the retail value of a 2018 Tradesman PLUS what you paid to have the wiring replaced. You never got the value of the wiring repair before they broke your truck. They own you that.

Good luck and keep us posted.

But will all that stuff show up on a CarFax report?

 

[BTD07]

I like how calm he was when he said 11k. I thought I was going to read it saying they wanted to charge him 11k and he said ****, not that he'd pay it! Good luck to you OP, good on you for your honesty I suppose..