Need opinion on repair shop negligence?

[jpfanner]

The quick and dirty is my truck was towed to a repair shop that is self-proclaimed very familiar with the GM lifter failure issue. That was the suspected issue with my truck. They drove the truck into the shop did the normal checks, compression etc. During that they found the #1 cylinder to only have 5lbs of compression. After that they decided that was enough diagnosis for the day and they started it up and proceeded to back it out of the shop. As they were backing it out something very bad happened and parts/pieces of lifter (suspected not confirmed) fell into the crankcase, began rattling around and cracked the oil pan very badly and most likely ruined the crank and put metal in the motor. Now, my question is; after diagnosis and me telling them multiple times that it had all the symptoms of a failed lifter, would every shop just continue to drive the truck around under it's own power to "get it out of the way"? 

[Mike GMC]

I can't really say what standard practice may or may not be, but if their running the engine caused additional damage, they should fix it.  Have you had any conversations with them about getting a new bottom end?  Obviously, it was damaged when it came in and you should expect to pay for those repairs, but they should take care of the additional damage.  Might be a blessing in disguise, you should end up with a totally new engine in the end.  You could even use this opportunity to do the AFM delete cam and lifters while your at it.

[jpfanner]

The short conversation was "it was a ticking time bomb and nothing they did different than any other truck". I didn't take it in with a blown out oil pan or a horrible racked in the motor...not sure how any normal person would be expected to pay for a new engine when more damage was caused while they were "moving it out of the way". 

[B R A D]

Personally, I wouldn't think they would be responsible. You brought in a vehicle that was about to break down. They inspected it, told your their findings and it was to the point it broke down as they were pulling it out of the bay. For all they knew it could have been like this for weeks or months. Is it unfortunate, yes. Is it their fault, no.

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[BlancoSilverado]

I would say to pay for the lifer failure but not for the negligence  damage they caused. They should replace all the parts that are damage after. 

 

you would be paying for any damage that can happen when a lifter fails ( lifters, gaskets, cam, head bolts, ......)

 

They would pay for the multiple oil flushes and the pan and the labor to remove the pan..... 

[Huntingfool]

You had the vehicle towed in, so to me that means you understood that running the motor or driving the vehicle would further damage the engine. You did your part. As a repair facility they should have done theirs. Proving it is their fault is a whole different story.

[Donstar]

Do you have any warranty remaining?  Did it expire recently? Was this a GM repair facility?  We have very limited information but I would be inclined to seek legal advice based on the information provided.  I would be cautious about basing your course of action on opinions from the internet.  

[jpfanner]

39 minutes ago, B R A D said:

Personally, I wouldn't think they would be responsible. You brought in a vehicle that was about to break down. They inspected it, told your their findings and it was to the point it broke down as they were pulling it out of the bay. For all they knew it could have been like this for weeks or months. Is it unfortunate, yes. Is it their fault, no.

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Well they moved a vehicle that had flashing CEL lights which even the owners manual says is a no-no. So, they should have used something to push/pull it into the shop. The truck did not have a cracked oil pan when I took it in and it does now. The truck was not knocking when I took it in and it is now. Wouldn't the first course of action be to pull plugs and use a scope when someone describes the symptoms and that they pulled over immediately and had it towed in instead of driving it in under it's own power? I mean, here's my assumption, a cracked piston probably finally broke and it flung around and hit the pan. Had they pulled the plugs and scoped it the would have seen a cracked piston and known that starting it up could have finished the motor immediately. I guess, I'm just lost as to why you would just be driving it around when it's missing and sputtering and clearly not running correctly. Especially when it's displaying symptoms of a well known valve train problem that they are self-proclaimed experts on? I don't know, maybe I'm the only one who grew up racing and would start by pulling plugs and looking for damage/signs there first? 

[B R A D]

Well they moved a vehicle that had flashing CEL lights which even the owners manual says is a no-no. So, they should have used something to push/pull it into the shop. The truck did not have a cracked oil pan when I took it in and it does now. The truck was not knocking when I took it in and it is now. Wouldn't the first course of action be to pull plugs and use a scope when someone describes the symptoms and that they pulled over immediately and had it towed in instead of driving it in under it's own power? I mean, here's my assumption, a cracked piston probably finally broke and it flung around and hit the pan. Had they pulled the plugs and scoped it the would have seen a cracked piston and known that starting it up could have finished the motor immediately. I guess, I'm just lost as to why you would just be driving it around when it's missing and sputtering and clearly not running correctly. Especially when it's displaying symptoms of a well known valve train problem that they are self-proclaimed experts on? I don't know, maybe I'm the only one who grew up racing and would start by pulling plugs and looking for damage/signs there first? 

Missed that you had it towed in, apologies. I was about to ask that. Still a tough call about what they will do going forward and what a court would conclude. But yes, they shouldn't have been driving it around, I assumed they just backed it out of the bay. Sadly, many of these shops only care about 1 thing, and that's easy money. Sounds to me they are careless/negligent at best. Probably a good idea to speak to a lawyer if they seem unwilling to budge. Best of luck!

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[16LT4]

The only one to say definitively is your lawyer. The shop won’t replace your engine without one. It will get ugly, and you’ll likely have to make concessions unless you have very deep pockets. I presume you’re out of factory warranty. 

 

That whole scenario is why I avoid shops. Nothing is ever done 100% right.  If I can’t do it in my home shop, it won’t be done. 

 

Good luck. 

 

And be wary of their “replacement engine” offers. 30 years ago my dad took his ‘86 Mitsubishi pickup to a trusted shop that did the work for the state police cars (he is a retired Trooper) and the owner said his engine failed at 120k miles. Sold him a replacement engine that ran like crap because it didn’t have the balance shaft installed. My dad took him to court but in the meanwhile went to the shop, picked up the original engine by hand out of the weeds it had been sitting in for a month, and brought it home. Turns out just a common valve adjustment issue common to every Mitsu motor. Ran it up to 345k miles without issue. I think all he got out of the lawsuit was the cost of the reman motor, nothing of his time spent swapping to engines in our home garage, or aggravation.