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Any Mechanics On RTF??? GDG

7K views 58 replies 21 participants last post by  jerod 
#1 ·
Went to a mechanic I've never been to before (my guy moved after many years) & they put in a new heater core . I got my Jeep back yesterday and just drove it home. Today I had quite a bit of driving to do. Driving in reverse seems fine, but when I go to put it in drive it just doesn't seem to have much get up and go. I noticed that the gear shift isn't lined up right, i.e. if I'm drive it actually looks like I'm in neutral, if it's in drive it's actually 3rd gear, etc.

Just called the guy and he said 1) It's an older vehicle and sometimes they just don't go back together right (??!!??) & then 2) that nothing they did to fix the heater core would effect what I'm describing. The Jeep ran like a top before I brought it in and when I went to pick it up I had to have the guy go back in and re-connect the radio. Bottom line is that it seems like they rushed to put it back togather without checking everything. It's a big, no-fun job. I get that, but for any of you mechanics-could something have been damaged and does it matter that the gear shift doesn't match what gear it's in.

Thanks in advance!! I'm logging off for a while, but would appreciate any help!

M
 
#2 ·
I am a Ford tech so I don't work on Jeeps. But it is possible that they knocked something loose while taking the heater hoses off. The shifter indicator should be adjustable. I would go have them recheck it to make sure everything is plugged in and then possibly find a new shop depending on how that goes.
 
#3 ·
Just called the guy and he said 1) It's an older vehicle and sometimes they just don't go back together right (??!!??)
This is a load of crap right here. Unless a vehicle has been damaged or in a wreck the parts go back together..unless you're in a hurry or a backyard mechanic. ;)

& then 2) that nothing they did to fix the heater core would effect what I'm describing.
A load of crap, but a little smaller than the first one. I'm with Jerod on this one. You may have a vacume line that was accidentally disconnected (bumped) or something of the sort, depending on where the heater core is located in a Jeep. Thing is, I remember Jeeps having both manual and automatic transmissions in the floor,..which if they had to go through the dashboard to get to it,(the core), someone may have put some weight, (their body), on the gearshift lever and knocked it out of adjustment.
 
#5 ·
It should drive the way it did when you took it in. No reason for them to mess with that part of the vehicle to install a heater core. Sounds like the did something to get more work from you.
 
#6 ·
On a lot of vehicles the dash has to be removed to replace the heater core also the shift linkage may have to be removed.
Looks like the shift linkage is out of adjustment.He should correct this for you..I would also be looking for another mechanic after his response to your inquiry.
 
#7 ·
On a lot of vehicles the dash has to be removed to replace the heater core also the shift linkage may have to be removed.
Looks like the shift linkage is out of adjustment.He should correct this for you..I would also be looking for another mechanic after his response to your inquiry.
ditto- dash probably had been taken off and linkage got tweaked...this would be why he had to hook up your radio again....
 
#9 ·
Hey Miriam

I would "borrow" one of Ken Bora's big male Chessies when you go back for that nice polite chat

Dawn
 
#10 ·
Ha!! Certainly be more threatening than Finn! :)

M
 
#11 ·
Miriam, if the linkage was bent or not put back right it could be between gears and would react with low power, poor acceleration. Think of if you put a car or truck with automatic trans. in like 2nd gear, when you try to take off it responds very slowly.Now if you are in drive the trans. starts at 1st gear and you have good acceleration..... Adding on to what Dawn said,,, bring Ken and the chessies
 
#12 ·
Maybe I can help. I do automatic transmissions for a living.

When you say poor acceleration, do the rpm's race up and you don't go very good? Or do the rpm's rise slow and you don't go very well. Generally speaking if rpm's race up with poor acceleration that would be transmission, if rpm's don't race up then that would be engine performance. Of course there are exceptions but that is usually an easy way to get an idea.

The linkage is most likely an adjustment. Even if the needle doesn't line up if your in D (yours may say OD) then you would be good. That is not something that would cause a transmission problem unless you were in a different gear than you thought.

Finally any mechanic who says what he told you first isn't very good. If I was going to brake something or have another problem taking something off an older car I would stop and call you. If I broke it and didn't tell you there was a chance of that happening then I'd fix it on my dime. Last thing, I ALWAYS drive a car before and after repair even if it was here to get a head light fixed. I do that so I have recourse if you get someone dishonest trying to get something from you for nothing. ( By no means am I saying your doing this.)
 
#14 · (Edited)
THANKS (& to EVERYONE else!) RPMs don't race up and having had a transmission issue with a vehicle years ago, this just doesn't feel like that.

I ASKED him if he'd driven it-especially since 1) there seem to be potential problems with this type of repair and 2) because he inspected it too. It was truly running like a top and his response is that it's just coincidence that now something else is wrong. BTW-if that's true that's the way it is, but they dont even want to look for a problem.

One other question per what Jim Person (Hi Jim!)& everyone else who posted: Is the linkage always a factor when replacing a heater core in a Jeep because if so-this is the best explanation yet of the problem.

Thanks again!!

M
 
#16 ·
Thanks! I HATE to post personal and non-dog related questions to this site, but evryone that has offered input has been a huge help.

Sooo-my question is: When he stated that there is "nothing mechanical" involved in the heater core repair is he just glossing over that the linkage is involved? Secondly, am I looking at $$$$$ to have someone else diagnose the problem? i.e. will it be as labor intensive as the work done to replace the heater core?

And no-I am NOT going back to this guy!!

Thanks again!!

M
 
#17 ·
Not sure how the indicater in a jeep is or what type, but alot of them are on the dash, and otheres on the console, and some are controled by a cable, that need adjustment.
After you take a dash apart and put it back.
If you have a newer vehicle the transmission computer may need re programing, after a rebuild if its a Chrysler product.
Jeeps and Chrysler used to use a lot of vacum hose in the dash to operate A/C vents and if you left them un hooked it could cause other problems, that depend on vacume .
Chrysler owns Jeep now, so if its a computer controlled transmission it may just need the TCM re programed
 
#19 ·
Miss Wade!

Gooser isnt a mechanic,, but i did rewire my basement before the fire!!:razz:

Anyways!:rolleyes:

Does you heater work better now?

Does it seem to get as warm as fast as when it was new?

One thing that COULD possibly have happened, is they changed the thermostat.

If they did,,it is very important that they put the correct temperature operating range back in. I bet it should be a 195 degree.

A thermostat that isnt the correct temperature MAY cause engine performance problems.

I am a bit surprised however, that if indeed your engine is performing as poorly as you say, that the computor hasnt triped a dash light.

Has the "Check Engine" or "Service Engine Soon" light come on?

if so,, it will store a code as to the problem.

It could be like what others have said:
The shift lever is been re assembled in such a way that the vehicle isnt starting out in the correct gear (starting out in second instead of first.)

Gooser
 
#21 · (Edited)
The engine light isnt on. It feels EXACTLY like I'm starting out in 2nd gear and then once I'm rolling it's fine, but every time I go from a dead stop it's very slow. It's fine in reverse. As someone else mentioned, the RPMs don't indicate it's the tranny. I really think the engine is fine and the thermostat wasn't and didn't need to be replaced. The linkage makes the most sense to me. I'm waiting for a call from someone (out of state unfortunately) who is a Jeep mechanic.

The guy who "fixed" it called a while ago to see if I want to bring it back in, so his buddy can check the transmission. He's not happy that I'm going to have someone else look at it. If it turns out to have nothing to do with what he did-I'll apologize, but my gut says not to trust this guy. I wish I knew more about vehicles to know what's going on and I feel he's taking advantage of that.

I'm sure I'm not going to get anyone to look at it until Monday. Until then I'll drive it as little as possible, but I do have some errands to run. I wish I could trust this guy to take it back today, but he's insistent that there's no reason to look at the work they did and it must be something else. Sigh.

Thanks again for all the replies.

M
 
#22 ·
From your description ( it feels like its starting out in second gear) Then the shift adjustment is incorrect and will not allow it to shift into first..This should not take more that 1 hour to correct as the shift consol will have to be removed to get at the linkage.
Can you have someone to take it out for a drive for you for a second opinion.Perhaps someone who is familiar with the model of your vehicle..
 
#24 ·
Good luck Miriam. The fact that the current mechanic refuses to even check what you're asking him to check is ridiculous. Whether he caused the issue or not, his attitude alone is reason enough not to do business with him anymore, which you've already figured out.

Car repairs are expensive enough without having to deal with a jerk. Whether they're good mechanics or not.
 
#25 ·
I am glad you don't think it is the tranny. Having gone through that, it sucks! It felt like I was starting out in 3rd or 4th though. Rebuilt tranny and $1,000 later and it is still having issues! Good luck to you!
 
#26 · (Edited)
Miss Wade

Read this thread from another site.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/aw4-solenoid-replacement-write-up-no-56k-717206/


The TCU (transmission control unit) is located under the dashboard and on the side of the steering collum.

Your mechanic had to prolly remove both these items to get your heater core out.

It might be as simple a repair as just plugin in the solenoid. He might have disconnected it,, but didnt re connect it.

Or,, he could have damaged it somehow.
It controls solenoids in the transmittion

This solenoid will cause the jeep to not shift into first gear,, and it will start off in second.

Can you MANUALLY shift the transmittion.

Your shift lever prolly shows a 'D"

underneath that,, it prolly shows "2" or second.

underneath that it prolly shows a "1"

Can you manually place the lever in 1,, then accellerate normally, then manually shift it to 2,,accerate normally again,, and finally once up to speed shift to 'D'??

Does the vehicle feel normal then?

If so,, I bet sumpins wrong with that TCU under the dash that Monkey boy fooled with!!:razz:

Gooser

I's just guessin!!
 
#27 · (Edited)
Again, thanks to everyone else who posted too. I try not to post personal stuff, but this has been stressful-especially during Christmas week.

Sooo-Gooser-this is making perfect sense and I'll try the starting out in low gear tomorrow.

What's most frustrating is his being adamant that there is NOTHING they could have done to have caused this and then have you & others post about vacuum hoses, solenoid, etc. He did hook some kind of scanner up that gave a code that referenced the transmission and said that I obviously need a new transmission (based on RPM, etc. it most certainly does not) and his buddy could do that for me. Again-Jeep ran PERFECT before bringing it him.

I also had asked him to please go over it with a ifne tooth comb because I potentially had a drive out west to make. When I asked him how he gave me a two thumbs up on that when it was doing this and asked him if he'd driven it, he said that he hadn't driven it and didn't need to. He said he pulled it in, inspected it, replaced heater core and since it had heat he didn't need to drive it. Interesting too that they didn't notice the obnoxious noise from the dash because the radio needed to be reconnected.

Knowing they needed to take out dash & console, I removed any "stuff" from car just leaving registration, insurance cards and things I keep in case of an emergency (Finns records, etc)-they lost/threw away ALL of it and acted like it was no big deal..:-(

So-last question: How labor intensive is diagnosing and probably replacing the solenoid? I'm obviously going somewhere else, but Christmas week is not when I need another huge expense.

Thanks again sooooooo much!! I baked Christmas cookies today and I see some being mailed to RTFers on this thread!! :)

M
 
#29 ·
Hi Susie-

Thanks! I'm off to bed, so won't be back on line 'til later tomorrow,but...

it's a 2000 (don't laugh folks-maintained these run forever and are great vehicles!) Jeep Cherokee Sport and I THINK the engine is a straight 6.

Thanks again!!

M
 
#32 ·
Hi-

I THINK it was 1968 or 1969. I only know because I did want to see what it said and also because less than 10 seconds after walking off to look it up, the guy came back out to ask me what it was because he'd forgotten already!

Also, when I went to pick it up they had the heat blasting so that I could see it had heat. I didn't need the heat yesterday, but this morning I find the heat/defrost only work if it's blasting at the highest setting.

Again-thanks to everyone even if I didn't respond to you directly. The timing on this is soooo bad and I jut can't believe anyone could be so incompetent w/out caring about making things right!

M
 
#31 ·
I just bet the code points to the solenoid in the transmittion.
I believe the part is inexpensive, and doest require many shop hrs to have replaced.
It coulds be done during a fluid change.

Dont pet the sweaty stuff Miss Wade!! It'll be OK!!
DONT take it back to Monkey Boy!!!!!
I wished ya lived out here! I have a guy you could take it too,, and He'd charge Gooser!!:):)


Gooser
 
#34 ·
The Transmittion Control UNIT (TCU) is the device located on the side of the steering wheel collum under the dash, that prolly had to be removed!!

See article I posted earlier.

Miriam take it somewhere else and have that looked at!!

Dont sweat this!! In the grand scheme a things,, and all the work and pleasure that jeep has provided for you,,, this is NOTHING!!!

Gooser
 
#38 ·
Thanks Gooser (& everybody!). What I don't understand is that all of you are easily able to see that this is almost 99% related to the work that was done and this guy was blue in the face explaining over and over again that there was NO WAY anything they did could result in what I'm experiencing. He has one check to cash (I gave him some money when I picked it up) tomorrow and I may stop payment to cover getting this fixed.

M
 
#40 ·
. He has one check to cash (I gave him some money when I picked it up) tomorrow and I may stop payment to cover getting this fixed. M
Miriam - I'd suggest getting some advice before issuing a stop payment. I'm not sure, but I think that (stop pay) may potentially open you up for some legal hassles that you don't need.

Document everything you can, then if you can't reach a settlement with him that you can live with, consider using what free/cheap options you may have for assistance (BBB, small claims, report to dept of commerce/licensing entity, etc).

Good luck
 
#35 ·
Miriam - not sure if you are in a metro area, but I you are you should call around to chain type auto parts stores. They will often scan for codes for free. Since you have other great offers to get technical info based on code(s) it would probably be good to double check to make sure (which code).
 
#39 ·
I'm going to call around right now, but I'm 99% sure that is a service I've heard of them providing. Burlington is our biggest city and we have a LOT of parts stores. THANKS!!

M
 
#37 ·
If I go to the doctor,, and he tells me I have to be neutered,, I's a gonna be askin fer several second opinions.

Even IF all a them agree,, I's a gonna make sure to mark the affected area with a sharpie,,so's they dont cut my leg off instead!!

Buts this is just me!!

Call me crazy!!

Gooser
 
#42 ·
Hello Miriam,
Good Evening. Sorry to hear you are being hosed. Sadly the typical girl at the repair shop stereotype can be alive and well. There is a place very close to you called master tech. I have not personally had work done there but two coworkers and a friend have. They have a spiffy web site and even an ethics page on it. click- http://www.mastertechvt.net/ The place is located just a little bit past the turn you take to train down at the McCray farm. You and Finn could walk home. Also, just reading the site, you can email them questions and see if they can work on your jeep and the list of cars they fix lists yours. One of the people I know who went there is a twenty-something, from out of state waitress. She was very happy with the work. Not much less pricy that a dealership, but qualified folk.
Now, to address those that think I can be more feared than little Finny. I am most bestest described as a cuddly Winnie The Poo type with syrup instead of a honey pot. And little Finny is a Male Field Bred Golden Retriever!!!!! Do a meaner critter exist???
kidding,
maybe,
 
 
good luck with the jeep.
 
 
.
 
#43 ·
Hey Ken-

I appreciate the "let bygones be bygones" approach to your post. I've had an honest mechanic for so many years that this is a nightmare and probably something that more people deal with, but don't realize it.

I have two other places recommended to me, but will keep this place in mind.

As for Finny-he IS a Winnie the Pooh type. Has shared the bed with cats and various breeds of dogs. Mr. Laid Back & I have affidavits!! You saw him with Scooby Doo!

Appreciate the Kate & Jim Green days!!

G'night-

M
 
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