Toyota Dealer in SoCal wants $7600 to replace the short block!!!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(timcapps @ Oct 20 2007, 04:36 AM) [snapback]527847[/snapback]</div>

Tim, if you didn't want any advice why did you ask?
Wasn't us agreed to a rediculous diagnostic cost, that's what landed you here so please don't get snooty at people trying to help. As for the high horse, maybe you just fell off your horse so anyone still on a horse looks high. Maybe you could accept the advice on how you might pull yourself back up with minimum effort and if you think the advice is crap suck it in and walk away. Sorry I ever wasted my time typing on this thread.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusBrian @ Oct 19 2007, 10:10 PM) [snapback]528085[/snapback]</div>

Yes, the HOV stickers which are not transferable to another car and which save him an hour during his evening commute.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Oct 20 2007, 11:47 AM) [snapback]528158[/snapback]</div>

I don't understand why someone would want to get bent over a stool for HOV stickers, you could still use the HOV lane if you carry some passengers with you.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(morpheusx @ Oct 21 2007, 04:40 PM) [snapback]528576[/snapback]</div>

Move out of Hicksville, then you'll understand.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(timcapps @ Oct 18 2007, 04:57 PM) [snapback]527482[/snapback]</div>

Well, if it were me, I'd tell him that I'll buy an engine from a salvaged vehicle and have it delivered to the dealership, so take that $2197 off the bill right now. As for the 39 hours at $90.00 an hour, I have two masters degrees and I don't even make half that when I'm paid hourly beyond my contract work hours. If he doesn't like it, I'll be glad to show up every day and spend the entire day sitting in the bay with a stop watch timing exactly how long they are actually working on my car and how long they're on breaks and just leaving in the middle to go work on something else.

No one jerks me around.

I'd say an $8,000 bill warrants a little more hard ball and a little less politeness.

And again, if they don't like it, it's probably cheaper to hire a hauling company to pick up the car and all of it's various parts and haul it to somewhere else to fix. As for the $3500, tell them you'll see them in court.

 

i was searching for a block to build another 2vz and found a cheap block lead in CA:
http://car-part.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi

get it machined, new piston heads to match the new bore for a few hundred bucks... few hundred more for a master engine rebuild kit... far cheaper than $3100. then the engine is like new again. and you'd probably still save while driving the guzzler for a week or so. even if you can't get much room on labor, three grand for all the parts is crazy.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 20 2007, 01:12 AM) [snapback]528107[/snapback]</div>

I'll slam you. You're a moron for not changing the oil and ruining the engine. That being said, you can move forward and cut your losses. Get a used engine from a yard. Get an independent shop to replace it. While you are there, have them check all your fluids, change any that are old, check the brakes, air up the tires, and maybe get some wipers, tail light bulbs (in case they are burned out) and maybe get the thing washed. It's also probably time for an alignment. No need to get defensive. In fact, instead of getting pissed off at me and spouting off about how rude I am, get up from the computer and go get the oil changed in the other car in your garage.

Nate

P.S. You wanna see high horse? Ask me how often I change the oil in my car. The answer? NEVER.

 

I think you should part the car out and buy a bus pass. The way you maintained your car, and your willingness to pay $3500 to have the dealership diagnose your vehicle demonstrates that you're unsuited for automobile ownership.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Oct 12 2007, 05:00 PM) [snapback]524471[/snapback]</div>

I repeat. Glad to see some agree with most of this post.
Out of the $90 per hour the mechanic would be lucky to see $20, it costs a lot to run a dealership, own a big house, a holiday home, a boat, a sports car for the weekends etc. Dealer principals have a lifestyle to suport.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Oct 22 2007, 12:22 AM) [snapback]528671[/snapback]</div>

Sorry buddy but I drive through DC, Baltimore and Northern Virginia routinely and you cannot possibly have any worse traffic then that, but over paying for repairs to get a slightly quicker ride. Maybe you should charter a helicopter.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Oct 12 2007, 04:13 PM) [snapback]524795[/snapback]</div>

Quote: "and the pistons can actually be moved SIDE TO SIDE in the bore" (my emphasis)
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Oct 12 2007, 04:13 PM) [snapback]524795[/snapback]</div>

Man, that's bottom-of-the-barrel, shadetree-mechanic stuff. If this is how you "rebuild" engines, please, PLEASE don't give advice. Someone might follow it.

Sandpaper, anyone?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jk450 @ Oct 25 2007, 06:08 PM) [snapback]530129[/snapback]</div>

Why not quote the whole post? didn't that suit your purpose here?

I was 16 years old and it was my old Yamaha 100 that wasn't worth spending money on and it ran for over 12 months after this. The piston was new a month before this happened (roughly, it was 30 years ago) but the bike had a problem with the automatic oil injection, which I repaired also. Where in the post did it say I rebuilt the engine?

Are you telling me that there should be zero clearance in the bore? Glad I didn't go to your trade school. You of course will be able to tell everyone why the skirt of a piston is larger in diameter than the crown, feel free to impart your wisdom on us all. When the mechanic shows a person the piston moving sideways in the bore do they tell them there is meant to be clearance between the piston and the bore? I think I would have. At a diagnostic cost of $3500 I would expect to be presented with a printed sheet showing all the piston and bore dimensions including ovality and taper and bore sizes taken at 6 points in each bore presented with the factory specifications not just a head off and a greasy arsed mechanic showing me that there is clearance between the piston crown and the bore.

Before you put me down on a 2 line post which was demonstrating that maybe you need to check my credentials. I don't know what your qualifications are but I know where I have been over the last 30 years of my life. Unless you are in the trade I doubt you have reconditioned 1/10 of the engines I have. I have worked all my life (since leaving school) in mechanical workshops as a mechanic until 7 1/2 years ago when I got out of the trade to make some money. Please feel free to post your mechanical trade qualifications and I look forward to reading all your future posts with the intention of making you feel like a worthless piece of dog dirt.

Now go away and grow up jk450.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Oct 25 2007, 06:31 AM) [snapback]530145[/snapback]</div>

Because the whole post is already visible on the website. Anyone can read it.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Oct 25 2007, 06:31 AM) [snapback]530145[/snapback]</div>

In relation to the request for help, what was the purpose of the story, then?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Oct 25 2007, 06:31 AM) [snapback]530145[/snapback]</div>

No.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Oct 25 2007, 06:31 AM) [snapback]530145[/snapback]</div>

I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you, but even conventional vehicles have changed immensely since you left the business. Have you worked on hybrid vehicles beyond normal service? Diagnosed any? Not to be blunt, but - why couldn't you make money fixing cars?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Oct 25 2007, 06:31 AM) [snapback]530145[/snapback]</div>

I'm sorry, but the credentials aren't going to help. I know many techs with thirty years of experience and an armful of qualifications. Some are incredible diagnosticians. Others - nice guys, but I wouldn't trust them to change my oil.

But on to your post. Sure, it helps a bit that you are now backing up and taking the time to post in full, but if I hadn't raised an eyebrow, your "I fixed a seized engine with a piece of sandpaper" story would have sat there for the neophyte to digest and possibly trust. Before you post, take a good long look at what you had originally written. Most folks probably chuckled and moved on after reading it, but you may want to ask yourself: is it likely to mislead the uninformed owner, who is eager to swallow any advice that appears to give him or her a chance of saving money?

And feel free to follow me or anyone else around the forums and post in response. If you have something to contribute, that can only help. I will suggest that if you do, you share experience that has been learned from actually diagnosing the problem in question. Good luck.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Oct 22 2007, 12:22 AM) [snapback]528671[/snapback]</div>

Move to Hicksville, then you won't need the pass in the first place.

Tom

 

Thankyou oh great and wise one.
Sorry I didn't know you were the boss of posting or I would have seeked your permission to post what I did. In future I'll run each post past you before I post, yeah right.

I don't think anyone but you though I was advocating the wet and dry method of engine repair but it got me going at the time. Relevance, it would have increased piston clearance but it had no adverse affect on the engine, it went fine.

In future I'll just tell people to PM jk450 for all the answers.
Have you seen me even attempt to post advice on repairs to the HSD system? What is so different about the engine? Yes there are slight changes in the layout but it's still a piston engine and as far as I have been able to work out they have piston clearance at the crown in the bore still.
You didn't just fail to quote the whole post, you plucked out part of a paragraph.

In Australia mechanics are the lowest paid trade, I went into compliance, which got me significantly more money. Right now the money in the mining industry is excellent and I'm tempted to go into that but I doubt I will.

Last post to you, this is way off topic, sorry all.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jk450 @ Oct 26 2007, 04:35 AM) [snapback]530385[/snapback]</div>

 

Give the OP a break. He lives in an area where the wildfires are still burning out of control. He has bigger headaches than a blown Prius engine.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(timcapps @ Oct 19 2007, 12:06 PM) [snapback]527847[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bwilson4web @ Oct 19 2007, 03:23 PM) [snapback]527928[/snapback]</div>

Dang - yea, I didn't think of getting a sample either, but would have been nice to know.
I'll have to dig into my reciepts - maybe you have something there.
Oh, granted, yes, on the commuting costs bit. I quite agree.

wow, that's an interesting thought about the Bank - never thought you could do that.

Thanks for the tips,
Tim





<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(patsparks @ Oct 20 2007, 12:56 AM) [snapback]528114[/snapback]</div>

Sorry, I tend to get snooty when the advice starts with "poorly maintained transaxle" in the future. Also, I take umbrage at the jabs at how horrible the paint condition must be, and the interior of the car. In case anyone cares, the car looks almost new inside and out.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 20 2007, 12:12 AM) [snapback]528107[/snapback]</div>

You are quite right, and you have a good point. The cost savings for a new gas engine would have been about $600, as opposed to just the short block, so it didn't seem worth it from a time/aggravation standpoint. The thing that worries me now is that at 85K, I'm rapidly approaching my 100K warranty end for the electrics. Now that may be a killer if I have any problems with that whole system.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Oct 21 2007, 09:42 PM) [snapback]528679[/snapback]</div>

Yea, you are probably right - I would have loved to sit in the shop with a stopwatch! Just couldn't get the time off from work. Of course, then the fires hit, and my life went to hell in a handbasket.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Oct 25 2007, 02:22 PM) [snapback]530446[/snapback]</div>

Thank you, IsrAmeriPrius! Fortunately, my house didn't get hit, though I got stranded up in Arrowhead for a week. It was very nerve-wracking and frustrating. So many homes got burned up there by those two fires, it's just so incredibly sad.

On Monday I had driven my newly repaired Prius down the mountain, and it died on the 210fwy in those massive winds (not sure why). So, I drove it over to the dealer. They were appropriately embarrased and gave me a rental car for the day for free, and said they'd take care of it. I got on the road and called my wife who was having abdominal pains prior to me leaving. They had become worse, so I changed direction and drove back home again to take her to the hospital. Apparently I missed the up-hill road closures by about 10 minutes - I had no idea. She's fine - kidney stone, which passed that evening, but I was then stuck up there and couldn't leave without being unable to return home again until who knows when. The entire time, the rental car sat in my driveway, and I knew the dealer was only planning on covering 1 day's rental. When I returned it today and picked up my car, the bottom line was $0 - Phil, the service mgr apparently got ticked and beat up the mgr and made him drop the rental fees. This is the first ray of sunshine in a long, very tiring week.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(qbee42 @ Oct 25 2007, 12:29 PM) [snapback]530394[/snapback]</div>

But that's exactly what I did, which is WHY I need the stickers ;-)
Heck, if I still lived in the city, it wouldn't matter as much.
ROFL

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Oct 22 2007, 01:27 AM) [snapback]528708[/snapback]</div>

Wow, nothing polite comes to mind.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(naterprius @ Oct 21 2007, 11:22 PM) [snapback]528695[/snapback]</div>

Well, we don't actually know if the oil had anything to do with it. That's what we call a theory, or best guess. At the very least, it didn't help. No need to get defensive? Sorry - that's what tends to happen when somebody posts, admitting not being the automobile God that some folks on here apparently area, and explaining exactly what happened and what the theories are, and then a bunch of idiots jump on with non-constructive posts like the "you aren't qualified to own a car" post. Useful. Very. Thank you. That's the marvel of the internet. Its so nice and anonymous. Nobody would make a crack like that in person because odds are they'd end up on the floor with a bloody nose. But here, whoooohoooo, let's all stick our tongues out and waggle our fingers in our ears because we just returned to 5th grade. (I'm not taking about you, Nate, your point is well taken, and I can deal with the Moron bit).

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Oct 19 2007, 01:47 PM) [snapback]527885[/snapback]</div>

If you don't understand analogy, don't use it. Feeding a dog would be analagous to putting gas in the car. Not changing the oil would be closer to not giving the dog glucosamine for joint health. Heinous, but hardly a cause for death.