Question for the auto techs out there...

[DailyDrifter]

....Have you ever recommended a thermostat purely based off of mileage alone? Just curious.

 

[pdzz]

No, not on mileage alone. Now if I'm doing a flush and it has over 100,000. I'll recommend it. Any type of work that requires to drain coolant, ie. intake gaskets, head gaskets, yea, lets do the t-stat too. My two cents. Phil.

 

[87granny]

....Have you ever recommended a thermostat purely based off of mileage alone? Just curious.

No not unless there was an issue or it turned the check eng. light on (malfuntion in cooling system)

 

[GNTIM]

No, not on mileage alone. Now if I'm doing a flush and it has over 100,000. I'll recommend it. Any type of work that requires to drain coolant, ie. intake gaskets, head gaskets, yea, lets do the t-stat too. My two cents. Phil.

X2. Thermostats can do really wierd things when they go bad.

 

[gnpoweredrail]

I never have for maintenance but anytime it overheats at all I strongly recommend it.
But yes they can cause all kinds of issues.

 

[DailyDrifter]

My "boss" seems to think that they are a "maintenance" item that should be replaced on a car based off of mileage alone , I've also been making fun of him because of that the past few days by recommending them on every car that comes in :biggrin:. So today I have a van that is leaking coolant from the water pump through the weep hole (customer complained of no heat), filled it up with water and had the van running for a few minutes and the heat was blowing fine. I wrote on the repair order that the t-stat was working flawlessly and there is no need to replace it. Sooo he sells the t-stat AND the flush (Van was just flushed by ME a month ago, and I called him out on it).................while I do agree with the above about needing to replace them, I'm pretty tired and pissed off by this guy and the way he keeps phucking people out of money when a car gets pulled in for service. The guy is a total POS and scumbag, tried to tell a guy that the truck should have a fuel system service next oil change (truck had 11K at that time, lol). I'll probably end up doing it, but it might take awhile :wink:.


I also think that he wasnt too happy when he stuck his hand into my bag of chips today and got a mouse trap instead :biggrin:, that'll learn him.

 

[gofstbuick]

If your state has regulatory laws regarding automotive repair for compensation, you should review the regulation for your particular state. In some states if a consumer complains and you get a visit from a state investigator, you may be asked to provide proof based on manufacturer service intervals or nationally published repair manuals. If you cannot produce that documentation, what leg will you have to stand on? Best to check the regulations for your state and act accordingly. While most states only apply trade standards to a few selected repairs, most of the regulations are written to deal with documentation violations.

 

[chopped39]

I never sell because of miles. Most cars fail before they have many miles on them anyways. I have to lesabres here right now with P0128 . drove both and at highway speeds they never get over 160 degrees one car has 34k and the other has 53k.boil test shows one opens at 135deg and one opened at 140deg. It all depends where the thermostat is located . If your talking a audi A8 it stays till there is a problem or the timing belt is getting replaced. every 3.1 gm intake I do gets a new one. If it an easy one and system is getting drained wont hurt to change with a failsafe unit. I had service managers that used to sell like that all the time. Thats all they say is to suggest it. You can suggest an engine if you want. I had a customer that had a shop replace a timing belt and waterpump on her 2003 honda civic. they charged her 8 hours 4 for the pump and 4 for the belt. then they charged her for the serp belt and coolant drain and fill. There are thieves everywhere. People wonder why this business has a bad name and they are afarid to trust anyone to touch their car.

 

[DailyDrifter]

If your state has regulatory laws regarding automotive repair for compensation, you should review the regulation for your particular state. In some states if a consumer complains and you get a visit from a state investigator, you may be asked to provide proof based on manufacturer service intervals or nationally published repair manuals. If you cannot produce that documentation, what leg will you have to stand on? Best to check the regulations for your state and act accordingly. While most states only apply trade standards to a few selected repairs, most of the regulations are written to deal with documentation violations.

I would love to see them come in so I can watch the manager back peddle. He has a nervous twitch where he rubs his fingers on the bottom of the shirt.........I'm waiting for the shirt to catch on fire some days :biggrin:

 

[charlief1]

I would love to see them come in so I can watch the manager back peddle. He has a nervous twitch where he rubs his fingers on the bottom of the shirt.........I'm waiting for the shirt to catch on fire some days :biggrin:

Well I had my current boss tell some one that using to thick an oil will cause ring wear and a previous boss tell some one that we couldn't by pass his heater core because of state regs. Both are total idiots and are just trying to sell BS so they can make some money. Get the hell out of there and stat doing work at home like I'm doing now.:biggrin:

 

[Rivical]

Well I had my current boss tell some one that using to thick an oil will cause ring wear and a previous boss tell some one that we couldn't by pass his heater core because of state regs. Both are total idiots and are just trying to sell BS so they can make some money. Get the hell out of there and stat doing work at home like I'm doing now.:biggrin:

I've actually heard the "ring wear" argument made more often on 2-cycles, in reference to using too strong a mix. I can see how they'd make that a confusing issue! And I Reeeally wonder about using 5W20 for long in a V8 like they do now!

The bigger scam is in tires! Oh, we can't sell you the tire we quoted you for this vehicle. It has to have this rating, and that;ll be another $200. My a$$!!! I just take em rims now so they can't run a VIN!

Personally, I change the t-stat whenever I break the sytem and would recommend it to others as cheap insurance.

.

 

[87granny]

I never sell because of miles. Most cars fail before they have many miles on them anyways. I have to lesabres here right now with P0128 . drove both and at highway speeds they never get over 160 degrees one car has 34k and the other has 53k.boil test shows one opens at 135deg and one opened at 140deg. It all depends where the thermostat is located . If your talking a audi A8 it stays till there is a problem or the timing belt is getting replaced. every 3.1 gm intake I do gets a new one. If it an easy one and system is getting drained wont hurt to change with a failsafe unit. I had service managers that used to sell like that all the time. Thats all they say is to suggest it. You can suggest an engine if you want. I had a customer that had a shop replace a timing belt and waterpump on her 2003 honda civic. they charged her 8 hours 4 for the pump and 4 for the belt. then they charged her for the serp belt and coolant drain and fill. There are thieves everywhere. People wonder why this business has a bad name and they are afarid to trust anyone to touch their car.

The A8 sucks to do you almost have to remove the t-belt to do it and we only do them if they are overheating or when doing a t-belt cause if it's not bad it will be warr. time for a t-stat is 5 hrs on and A8 try selling that as a service

 

[GNTIM]

Well I had my current boss tell some one that using to thick an oil will cause ring wear and a previous boss tell some one that we couldn't by pass his heater core because of state regs. Both are total idiots and are just trying to sell BS so they can make some money. Get the hell out of there and stat doing work at home like I'm doing now.:biggrin:

Your bosses may be jerks, but the too thick oil thing is true. As far as bypassing the heater, it pretty much disables the defroster. I put many rejection stickers on cars for this back in the day. I don't know if a mechanic can legally bypass it though.

 

[charlief1]

Your bosses may be jerks, but the too thick oil thing is true. As far as bypassing the heater, it pretty much disables the defroster. I put many rejection stickers on cars for this back in the day. I don't know if a mechanic can legally bypass it though.

We don't have rules here that pertain to the defroster so it might be a moot point.

I remember someone trying to tell me years ago that to high an oil pressure would wash the bearings out in an engine and have never seen proof of it yet.

 

[gnpoweredrail]

Too much oil presure will wash the bearings out and have seen it but I havent seen it done under 90-100 or more psi.