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Quick auto mechanic question

E

ed1564

Senior member
Took my truck in today because it was overheating. They replaced the thermostat and antifreeze. I go to pick it up, as I am about to leave I notice something leaking from under. Turns out my water pump is broken and needs to be replaced.

It was not leaking before I took it in, coincidence? or am I being screwed with here?

Any opinions appreciated.
 
are you sure its not just runoff form when they put more stuff in the tank?

I'd get it done at another place though. If its a newer truck go back to the dealer. Tehy cost a little more but they are atleast somewhat honest.
 
Overheating may have caused the waterpump seal to start leaking. The other possiblity is the water pump was the problem not the thermostat.
 
We have no way of knowing. You should find some place you can trust and never go anywhere else, though. That way at least you can be fairly sure you're not getting ripped off.

Only way they could make your water pump leak is if they loosened it or if they loosened the hoses going to it. You can check these yourself (see if the bolts look like they've been moved, otherwise they will be pretty dirty.) Waterpumps do leak sometimes when they're going bad, though.
 
trust me, with the difficulty involved in even SEEING most water pumps these days, I highly doubt anyone loosened anything.
 
With most car dealers and mechanics it seems like they fix what is the most common problem, change parts till it works. That might of been the case with your water pump. A water pump can slowly leak over time and then give out.


I think it is probably that they fixed what is most commonly the problem and left it at that. And I would go back and point it out. A truck is pretty easy to change the thermostat, but the water pump usually requires removal of a lot of hardware.


Btw if it is a toyota it might cost you as much as 700 bucks for them to change your water pump.
 
Sounds like they just tried the cheap fix first to see if it would help, but now you've discovered the real problem.

If they were trying to screw you, they could have just told you that you had a bad water pump right off the bat.
 
Originally posted by: resinboy
trust me, with the difficulty involved in even SEEING most water pumps these days, I highly doubt anyone loosened anything.
Click to expand...

He did say truck. If it is a full-sized, it wont be that bad. My Grand Cherokee took about 3 hours in the cold when I did it.
 
Originally posted by: gotsmack
are you sure its not just runoff form when they put more stuff in the tank?

I'd get it done at another place though. If its a newer truck go back to the dealer. Tehy cost a little more but they are atleast somewhat honest.
Click to expand...
In my experience in dealing with the service shops located within dealerships, they are far less honest than my other local mechanic shops. Dealerships only want to focus on one thing - profit and making lots of it. Why do you think dealerships pay their mechanics "by the piece" for the work that is performed? Mechanics are doing work that should take 3 hours in less than 1 hour - because they're using an impact wrench on your car and busting their tales - which leads to shoddy work.

Going to a dealership to have a repair done would be my LAST choice.
 
Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech
Originally posted by: gotsmack
are you sure its not just runoff form when they put more stuff in the tank?

I'd get it done at another place though. If its a newer truck go back to the dealer. Tehy cost a little more but they are atleast somewhat honest.
Click to expand...
In my experience in dealing with the service shops located within dealerships, they are far less honest than my other local mechanic shops. Dealerships only want to focus on one thing - profit and making lots of it. Why do you think dealerships pay their mechanics "by the piece" for the work that is performed? Mechanics are doing work that should take 3 hours in less than 1 hour - because they're using an impact wrench on your car and busting their tales - which leads to shoddy work.

Going to a dealership to have a repair done would be my LAST choice.
Click to expand...

I've had the exact opposite experience. But I drive an older Volvo. I've taken it to 3 guys in my town and they either didn't know how to fix my car, did a crapy job, or overcharged and did an average job.

The dealer always treated me fairly, did good work, and I only paid as much as the expensive local shop.

Maybe 2 years back a specialty shop that only does European cars (and Japanese cars if its a small job) opened up. The guy is nice, knowledgeable, does good work, and charges a fair price. He even owns the non turboed version of my car except his is a year younger.

If the specialty shop didn't open up I would defiantely go get everything done at the dealer.
 
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