Arizona Valve Gasket Replacement Nightmare (1 Viewer)

[mkntrds]

Guys, I need some diagnostic help. My family and I moved to Buckeye, AZ from Missouri last Summer. We drive a 1998 that I try to repair as much as I can myself. In early December I replaced the original fuel pump. The result was fantastic. On a trip to Illinois its under-70 mph mpg was over 17. Before that trip I rotated the tires and changed the oil at a local Firestone. They mentioned that there was a slight oil leak and recommended a valve gasket replacement.

Upon returning from Illinois, I scheduled the job with them. The next morning (after picking it up) driving on I-10, my wife and I noticed surging, lack of power, and faulty temperature gauge. I turned on DashCommand and observed a cylinder 8 misfire. When we arrived at our destination (under 10 miles away), I looked in the engine bay. 7 fasteners were not put back. Two brackets were missing. The temperature sensor was unplugged. One of bank one's valve cover bolts was sheared off, and two appeared to not have been touched. That is, the job was not done on that side.

I took it back and the service writer agreed that the bank one gasket could not have been replaced. He suggested that the entire job be redone.

After the second attempt, things became worse. Cylinder 4 misfire now, with a check engine light flashing, engine shaking, and a massive oil leak on my garage floor the next morning.

Concerned, the branch manager wanted one of his master technicians to take care of it. Three weeks later, he finished. Apparently to fix everything, he had to send off the valves to be grinded and valve cover rethreaded. He replaced the timing belt, tensioner, spark plugs, one coil, head gasket.

Results as of right now:
1) White smoke upon cold starts
2) 199-205 engine temp (whereas it previously ran between 189 and 194)
3) What sounds like lifter ticking on bank one
4) Acceleration surging/jerking, most noticeable after reaching running temperature and from a stop or lower speeds. It feels like the transmission is confused at low speeds.

This Monday, March 22, I will take it back. The branch manager wants to replace the thermostat and let his master tech investigate the other symptoms. At some point he wants the Avondale Toyota dealership to inspect the work and verify it has been fixed.

From my description above, can any of you notice something obvious to check? Any advice is appreciated. Once this episode is over, my plan is to take the Cruiser to Right Toyota in Scottsdale and have Mr. Murphy take care of any future work.

Thanks in advance

 

[ramangain]

Does the white smoke have an odor? That can help you diagnose which fluid is making it into the combustion chamber (oil, coolant) that shouldn't be there.

Personally, I'd be suspicious of any further explanation that goes three deep or beyond. As in, we had to do xxx because of yyy since zzz was broken/snapped/warped etc. In my opinion 3rd order issues make it nearly impossible to trace back to the 1st order (root cause) original issue.

Hedge your bet and start pricing replacement top ends and full engines, and let the folks doing the work know you are doing so if they can't get everything resolved back to the original status.

 

[MountaineerLC]

I'd be very concerned that Firestone has junked the head on one side at least. Botched valve cover gasket replacement should not require valve grinding, head gasket replacement, etc... The white smoke makes me think they botched the head gasket install as well. The level of fail and jackassery it took to pull that off on Firestone's part is spectacular. I think at this point I'd insist it be corrected by a Toyota dealer or independent of your choosing and on their dime.

 

[MJK]

JFC.

They poorly rebuilt a HEAD to correct a poorly and halfway done valve cover replacement? And now based on oil pouring out, white smoke and stumbling they want to check the thermostat?

It sounds like whoever you are dealing with may have good intentions, but the people doing the work don’t give a s***. Half a dozen missing bolts and it never works right - but sure, ship it! But we don’t really know what we are doing so let’s have the Toyota dealer check it after we mess around with it some more?

There is no way I would let these guys touch my truck again. I hope for your sake this is not as an expensive of a lesson as it sounds like.

 

[abuck99]

Sounds like hell man- from bad to worse.

Start with taking the truck to a new service center: Prob Toyota for the repair estimate then start negotiating for your remedy.

I cant believe they gave up and pretended it was fixed after breaking valve cover studs, then went back and pulled the head and screwed you worse.

At a minimum you need a new head and then you need a competent mechanic to fix it. Post a request in one of the AZ clubs for a mechanic/shop recommendation.

Dont show firestone this discounted part price-you want your money back for the f’d up work + the msrp of all new parts ( new head, head gasket, valve cover gasket + the labor to cover the repair. Otherwise you can chase them through small claims court

1998-2000 Toyota Cylinder Head 11101-59166 | Toyota Parts

Genuine Factory 1998-2000 Toyota part # 11101-59166 - Cylinder Head. Toyota Online Parts is your choice for Toyota Parts and Toyota accessories. We are a factory authorized Toyota Dealer with Toyota parts and Toyota accessories all at wholesale prices for your Tundra, Tacoma, Camry, Corolla...

toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota.com

Lastly-lesson learned right? For mechanical repairs steer clear of Firestone, Goodyear, Midas, MrMuffler etc and similar shops.

Good luck

 

[FxFormat]

Sounds like you're going to need a new engine, or at the very least, a new head....everything you've described sounds awful and it's the reason why i wrench on my own cars. Firestone is a tire/lube place, i wouldn't even let them touch anything mechanical, let alone a cruiser. Hope you get this sorted, curious to see what they'll do, most shop will try to weasel their way out of it.

 

[mkntrds]

Ramangain, I'll check the odor tomorrow morning. I haven't noticed any odor in the garage, yet.

MountaineerLC, I'll mention the concern regarding the head gasket.

MJK, it's not expensive (for me) yet. So far, Firestone has covered everything after the original attempt (valve grinding alone cost them over $2,500); and they have even offered a discount on the original job.

Abuck99, I think the two service writers understood that the original tech's behavior was unacceptable and placed Firestone in a legally problematic position. And yes, final learning experience with those chains. In Missouri, I had the dealership take care of work outside of fluid changes and tire rotations. Thanks for the link, too.

As for the new head, is that something that the dealership will address during its inspection? In other words, does Toyota have more sophisticated means to discover that particular problem than would Firestone?

The branch manager has been very understanding so far. He's assured me that even if they couldn't fix it, they'd file a claim on my behalf to have it outsourced.

 

[mkntrds]

FxFormat, I'll update after Monday's appointment. The relieving thing is that the branch manager assured me that it will be fixed. I just hope it's before my family's next trip. It's the only vehicle we own that can accommodate all eight of us.

 

[flintknapper]

Concerned, the branch manager wanted one of his master technicians to take care of it. Three weeks later, he finished.

I'm sure you realize by now that a 'Master' technician/mechanic would not be working at Firestone. They sell tires, do lube jobs, minor brake jobs and change out batteries. Beyond that (and maybe putting in an air filter) you are really taking a chance.

 

[04UZJ100]

Man I’m so sorry to hear this. Rust and bad mechanics are the only things that can kill Cruisers.

get the truck to Toyota ASAP

 

[97 AZ LC]

Once this episode is over, my plan is to take the Cruiser to Right Toyota in Scottsdale and have Mr. Murphy take care of any future work.

Murphy is at Right Toyota in Scottsdale?

 

[JunkCrzr89]

From my description above, can any of you notice something obvious to check?

Yes - why did you choose Firestone, a tire and alignment shop, to do this kind of work when there are 4-5 really excellent Land Cruiser-specific shops in the greater Phoenix area??? At this point, I would get a lawyer, have the truck towed to Desert Toy Shop in Mesa, and ask Mike or Jason to send the repair bill to Firestone.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Yes - why did you choose Firestone, a tire and alignment shop, to do this kind of work when there are 4-5 really excellent Land Cruiser-specific shops in the greater Phoenix area??? At this point, I would get a lawyer, have the truck towed to Desert Toy Shop in Mesa, and ask Mike or Jason to send the repair bill to Firestone.

This is the route I would go. Honestly, even Toyota dealers are iffy. If you can get a master tech, that's great. If not, it can be a gamble regarding the quality of the tech.

I think you can approach it in a friendly manner with the Firestone shop and let them know you want the matter resolved and want it verified/performed by a specialty shop that you know will set you straight. Your time is valuable, after all.


Semi-related matter, my sister in law had her car "serviced" by a generic shop recently prior to a road trip. Car is a CRV and the shop was Grease Monkey or something similar. They were supposed to top off fluids. Instead, they removed multiple coolant hoses and didn't secure them. She drove away and on the way home the car overheated and blew coolant/steam all over everything because the hoses popped off. Road trip went to plan B (I think they rented a car) and I'm convinced that motor's got some permanent damage. Would have been better off doing zero maintenance and just driving the car.

Don't let generic mechanic shops perform work on your automobile - pristine 100 series or a 25 year old Corolla. A car is too vital an asset to gamble on with cut-rate mechanics. If you can't afford a dealer or specialty shop, it's time to buy the service manual and a $500 cart full of tools from Harbor Freight. The number of mechanics-gone-bad stories is ever-increasing.

Firestone, Grease Monkey, Les Schwab, Brakes Plus, Valvoline, BigOTires, etc... should all be on your black list.

 

[mkntrds]

JunkCrzr89, I'm new to the Phoenix area. Would you mind listing those shops?

 

[ramangain]

@JunkCrzr89

 

[planomateo]

Sorry you're going through this.

That valve cover leak probably could have been solved by just tightening it up, probably 5 mins of work.

 

[yngmrostrvile]

Head into your Buckeye N A P A, say hi to the owner Derek Van Arsdol ask him for a referal of a reliable shop or invest in some metric tools, a couple torque wrenches, a compression, a combustion leak & cooling system pressure testers and start reading the service manual.
Its never too late to develop new skills and ownership of these vehicles require that or an exceptional tech that you are on a first name basis with.

 

[97 AZ LC]

That valve cover leak probably could have been solved by just tightening it up, probably 5 mins of work.

What a killjoy! First of all it can't be done in 5 minutes, takes at least 8. And then it's only going to last for 5 or 10 years, and then you're going to have to spend another 8 minutes on it.

 

[flintknapper]

What a killjoy! First of all it can't be done in 5 minutes, takes at least 8. And then it's only going to last for 5 or 10 years, and then you're going to have to spend another 8 minutes on it.

^^^^

Hah.......exactly right. And that's 16 minutes of your life you can never get back.

MUCH better the way he did it.

 

[nissanh]

Installing a head gasket is a sophisticated process. Yet, I did my 92 Prizm/Corolla head gasket by myself without zero experience in 2012 and still runs good even after 50K miles. I'd say take your Cruiser to a good Cruiser shop near you. It is still better than taking it to a toyota dealer.

I take my vehicles to Firestone to get just an alignment and ask them NOT to open the hood.. They ask why, I say everything under there is pristine and no need to inspect.