at synfast oil change was told i had to pay more since my car was over 135,000 miles when i changed the oil

my friend said that was a common ploy and not true

this same oil change company said there were small leaks

last week at the trans. shop after spending almost 800 bucks, and about to get a "transm. service" which is like a tune up for 150 bucks which includes labor , i wouldve spent almost 1,000 dollars on this trans shop in 7 days

oil leak was confirmed by a lower level mechanic as I was leaving

i don't want to baby sit or constantly monitor oil fluids

i figure as they haul the car up to do the trans. service this mondy and change the trans. oil. filters, and gaskets, the trans. shop can kill 2 birds with 1 stone? and add dye to detect the holes in the oil pan area? and minimize labor costs

i am hoping to get a discount and have the oil leak fixed for $180 (which includes labor)

that's the same price synfast oil change quoted.

i may get a discount or i may not

I sport a Valvoline Sponsor racing decal on my 4th gen. hot rod, but am wondering if it won't get me any favors at getting the oil leak fixed at Valvoline Oil Change. This also has real bad customer service reviews on the same par as Jiffy Lube.

That brings me to this important question: Do all or at least most, Oil Change shops do oil leak repairs?

*Do also Transmission Shops to oil leak repairs

*The crux of the problem is the current oil gasket has to be replaced and a new one installed with Silicone

Silicone sounds like a temporary easy fix

Any ideas? I know that if you leak motor oil onto the trans. that would hurt the transmission

oh, by the way, Santa helped me pass California's very stringent smog test 2 days ago. happy about that. those fuel injector cleaners and CataClean and CRC g2p really help clean out emissions

thanks.

 

Your friend is right. Miles have no effect on the labor needed to change your oil. Some companies sell oil for high miles cars but generally they cost the same. In fact I am a former GM master tech and I have been working on cars for 35 years and I have never heard of charging more for a high miles oil change. Never take your car to that place again they just want your money.

As a general rule NO, Most "techs" at oil change places get about 40 hours of training. They are not mechanics in any way shape or form. I made the mistake of stopping at a jiffy lube right before I left for a trip. The tech decided to pull out my PVC valve to "show me it needed replaced. I asked if he knew how to test it, he said just look at it. I said put it back and don't touch anything else. When I started the car it ran like crap. He tore the o-ring going to the PVC valve. (this PVC valve was mounted in a housing.) I told them what he did and the manager said take it the dealer and if that is what is wrong they will pay for it. (the manager did not understand a basic vacuum leak). I said well you offered to install a new PVC valve I said the correct kit would come with the o-ring. Please just install it. I need to be on the road and the dealership was closed till Monday. He got the PVC valve and their kit did not have the O-ring. I had to drive to Pep boys buy the correct PVC valve kit and install the O-ring myself in the parking lot. I will never let those untrained people touch my car again.

It depends on the Trans shop, Some do some don't. A transmission tech is one of the more trained techs in the business having them do simple jobs can get expensive for you. Silicone is required on many sealing jobs. It is in you motor from new and is in no way a temporary fix as long as it is used per factory or gasket manufacture requires.


There is no real path that oil can get into a transmission unless a human is helping it out. You are talking about two sealed systems that are 10" away from each other. I have never seen it. If you accidently put oil in the transmission you just need to flush the transmission.

Cleaners help just don't use them all the time.

You are not going to get any deals or any special treatment because of stickers on your car. This is a business. Many mechanics are paid flat rate. That means they have an agreement to get paid a certain amount for each service. How much he makes per hour is set but each job he does has an hourly rate. Oil change .4 hours, front brakes .5 hours, service and flush transmission .7 hours. These guys are not going to except a smaller pay check because you have a sticker on your car.

Here is what you should do, Ask around to everyone you know, find a honest general mechanic. Use him for everything. Become his customer. Yes you will pay 5-10 dollars more for an oil change but it is more than worth it. Once he has it in his head you are his customer he will think of you for the long term not just how to make a buck today. Repeat customers are very important to a small shop. Even if he does not do everything he knows who's good at a fare price.

 

its tough to find a good mechanic ,I found that when you first start going to them its good ,then over time ,like mine he lets me buy my parts ,if I want but no warranty on the work,,so depending on what it is ,if it was a head or intake gasket then I would go with his ,incase of leaks ,I aslo found to be careful ,to get a personal relationship with them to ,as it can affect later ,like after I had my muffler system installed ,I found he was having issues with his girl friend wich I think affected my system in the end ,as he started off real well then at the end I kinda felt like he dropped to ball ,an now it needs to be tweaked at more cost to me , I know theres a price one pay for mods
,we don't have like the all in one shops around hear ,an anyone who does hot rods is either high priced or very far away ,I meen hear there are very few shops that you can just pull in an get an inspection without droping the car off for the day ,this I why I am trying to learn more do it yourself from this forum ,so the point is finding a good mechanic is hard ,when you hear them talk about the used cars they sell ,an putting an addative in the transmision before selling it ,ya they sell used cars there ,one guy is the salemen the other the mechanic ,an I am starting to see things I don't like ,I would not buy a used car from them as there grossly over priced from what I see on graigs ,I don't know ,I got a friend who has an old 75 3500 pick up who has some tools said bring it over next spring ,an help him ,an he will help me ,I may go that way with my front end work an go from there

 

copied and pasted this all as an ms word doc for review. that oil change place, put in regular castrol oil. they tried to upsell me. i went to them cos of their exemplary yelp or customer service reviews. but i guess they're a crap shoot and aren't always a good indicator of shops / oil change sta.'s none of this was on google btw. thanks for all of you Camaro-enthusiast-members input. I want an oil fix in addition to a "transmission service" / tune up by this Monday or Tuesday at the latest before my ex-wife has her grubby hands on my assets.

 

sorry about your bad experience Gorn; 2 days before my birthday last week the drive shaft on my trans. broke. with all the open questions, not a good birthday. my car was disabled 10 miles away from my home. anyway that problem is fixed. Midas is a franchisee; their motto is "trust the Midas" touch; they have employed a kind of immature front desk dude who wants to farm electrical work to one of the poorest areas of San Diego, national city because Midas doesn't do electrical work he said. after i came home to remedy a possible, relatively innocuous loose ground problem, I learned that electrical place in national city has only 2- 3 out of 5 star yelp reviews. U may want to know the manager who runs Midas is a nice guy, but he never asked the Franchise owner to call me back. ***Basically the manager and the front desk guy looks like they have just recently graduated high school. Im sure they would if they got the message relayed. basically even with Midas whose motto is "trust the Midas" touch and they do oil changes and probably oil leak fixes, and other general mechanical work, you need customer reviews and to size up each person working there for honesty and competence. Even a Midas franchisee can lose their franchise license if they do something wrong by The Franchisor. That's what these Franchises have like Aamoco & midas to keep them in check. thanks again.

 

Thanks. God is indeed Good, brother. It's important to keep the spirit, mind, and body strong. Although I love my 4th Gen. Camaro, I really only really love someone that can love me back like a relative a girlfriend or wife or a pet. Thanks for your input. If someone spells something wrong, I'm not immature enough to harp on them; I can make sense by the context of what they wrote. Good one. Thanks.