car service

shane.

i left my car in for a service on monday, got a call a few hours later that the nut for the oil sump was threaded and they had to order one from the uk, after a bit of haggling they gave me a replacement car, was told mine would be ready tuesday but the part still hasnt arrived and have now been told it will be thursday, seems a bit incredible to take so long for such a small part, the last service was done at the same place so they cant blame the nut being threaded on the last service, at this stage i was gonna ask for a discount or does anyone think something fishy is going on?its a major dealer too not a backstreet garage

Alanstrainor

The sump nut should be replaced regardless I would have thought?!

shane.

Alanstrainor wrote: »

The sump nut should be replaced regardless I would have thought?!

should it be replaced at every service?

Yawns

as long as you ain't paying for the replacement car I wouldn't worry. Anything coming from UK will take about 2 - 3 days. They won't rush the order for ya straight away on day 1 so it's left to someone at the desk to order. It's easy for someone to thread the nut of they are a bit careless. Since they did the last service they most likely did the damage. Over tightened nut would be a cause. Surprised they went to get one in the Uk tbh. Shouldn't be hard to source a replacement in Ireland.

Not much difference between a main dealer and a decent independent for car services btw except price. Both places would generally let an apprentice do the job as it's not hard to do and frees up the more difficult tasks for the experienced mechanics.

Yawns

Alanstrainor wrote: »

The sump nut should be replaced regardless I would have thought?!

Would that not be the washer? Sump nut needn't be replaced every oil change unless you're over tightening. Take car when doing it and you would just need the washer replaced tho I have seen a fair few ppl reuse one several times.

Always handy to have a spare sump nut on hand in case tho.

Stheno

Depends on the car tbh.

I rang my mechanic last Friday week to tell him my thermostat had failed, and asked him to order one and I'd drop the car in Monday evening and collect it Saturday as I was going away

The part arrived the Friday before I collected it, he did the job and I go the car on schedule.

Turned out it's not a bog standard part, and takes a while.

AltAccount

I would have thought any garage would have sump nuts falling out their ears. Certainly you shouldn't have to go to the UK for one.

Was it the sump itself that was threaded? Is there a possibility the car was damaged and they're just buying time while they can get it repaired (it certainly wouldn't be the first time)?

shane.

its surprising that the nut and washer isnt a part that they would keep in stock as its sounds like its an easy thing to damage

shane.

AltAccount wrote: »

I would have thought any garage would have sump nuts falling out their ears. Certainly you shouldn't have to go to the UK for one.

Was it the sump itself that was threaded? Is there a possibility the car was damaged and they're just buying time while they can get it repaired (it certainly wouldn't be the first time)?

they said it was the nut, they also said that all parts are shipped from uk and something that small would be next day, im wondering if the car was damaged myself........as i left i could see it on the ramp in the garage section with the oil collected underneath so hopefully their telling the truth!

Cerco

Why are they calling it a nut? Surely it is a bolt that fits inot the sump or am I missing something? Would it be that difficult to source one locally?

AltAccount

Cerco wrote: »

Why are they calling it a nut? Surely it is a bolt that fits inot the sump or am I missing something? Would it be that difficult to source one locally?

It's a bolt, somewhere along the way the name changed.

randy hickey

I got caught out like that a few years ago while servicing a relative's merc.The last lad that worked on it must've used an air gun to tighten it- I had to use a bolt extractor to get it off, and this destroys the head of the sump plug.
While I did have a few different types of sump plug "in stock", this particular one had to be got from a main dealer.

Also, I would only replace the crush washer on a sump plug at each service, not the plug itself.

Mar4ix

must be very special car, if can't find plugs locally, i use to see sump bolts and washers in halfords and few local motorfactors.

Yawns

they can be got locally but as someone said if they had to force it off, they may have damaged the sump thread itself so they could be buying time while they repair.

Sump nuts can be got cheap in local motor factors, Halfords or ebay and the likes. Since they did the last service they certainly ain't gonna say it was the lads before them that did the damage. This way they would get it repaired and hope OP doesn't know to go to a place like boards to ask questions. Of course the flip side could be the nut itself is damaged only, their operation is run a bit backwards so they don't carry a supply of stock for common issues and do in fact need to get it from a UK dealer.

Did they provide the temp car free of charge? I would certainly hope so.

shane.

Yawns wrote: »

they can be got locally but as someone said if they had to force it off, they may have damaged the sump thread itself so they could be buying time while they repair.

Sump nuts can be got cheap in local motor factors, Halfords or ebay and the likes. Since they did the last service they certainly ain't gonna say it was the lads before them that did the damage. This way they would get it repaired and hope OP doesn't know to go to a place like boards to ask questions. Of course the flip side could be the nut itself is damaged only, their operation is run a bit backwards so they don't carry a supply of stock for common issues and do in fact need to get it from a UK dealer.

Did they provide the temp car free of charge? I would certainly hope so.

ye they supplied a temp car free of charge

sf80

The sump nut has a crushable washer which needs to be replaced most times, it's a risk to re-use it (might result in an extra oil change if it leaks).

The most likely damage from over tightening is damage to the threads of the sump, meaning the bolt won't go in properly. The quick fix is to insert a coil, but a better fix is to re-thread the sump. Rethreading would probably mean a larger bolt is needed, which would be nonstandard and might explain a delay.

Did they say the sump was already damaged, or did the garage do it? If they did it I would ask for a new sump.

Muckie

Have a good look when its all sorted.

Last thing you need is some "Oil leaking fun" next time you get the oil

changed and there is a problem once again.

GoodisonPark

Garage at fault here , mechanic over-tightened or cross-threaded the bung.