Like Massey said the upper intake does not need to come off to replace the injectors. You unbolt the fuel rail and it all lifts up. From there your can just disconnect the injectors.

 

on the 3.4 the upper has to come off the fuel rail looks more like a fuel block

 

I took a look at my friend's car last night and yes the upper intake has to come off the 3.4L engine to access the injectors. Anything below that is not needed to be removed.

OH and doing you a favor is taking the car apart to check something and putting it back together for free, letting you know what they did as a curtsey, telling you what they found and giving their recomendations for repair. That is a favor. Removing parts and charging you for the service without approval written or oral is fraud.



Massey

 

So when/how would they have finally figured out the "real" issue? Maybe they put the new injector in and it didn't fix anything.

Also, what exactly would have been the reading(s) in general on the vacuum test with failed intake valve?

And, btw the owner told me that. "sometimes you just have to dig deeper when diagnosing". How can I prove that a simple vacuum test, initially, would have prevented the unnecessary further diagnostic steps w/o my approval.?

 

I have a feeling where you are trying to go with this but at the end if the day, do you want your car fixed or do you want to feel better getting into a pissing contest with a mechanic?

Your car will still be in need of repair but you could "show up" the mechanic.

have you ever had a bad meal at a restaurant? Not every cook/chef is the same.

Not every mechanic has years of experience for which there is no substitute.

I have a saying that I use, I don't water the driveway trying to get the grass to grow.

TO spell it out, I water the lawn if I want it to grow. How will expending energy on a pissing contest get your car in good shape?

I know this is an automotive forum but let the first person who has never ever made a mistake in their life disagree with me.

 

Should I just work the heads and get a short block for this thing? I've replaced a motor one time in an old Chevy truck. LOTS more room to work with so I know this will be pita. Not nearly as tight as the 5.7 I know but I think I can do it.

Jasper's are pricey. Any suggestions on where to buy? I'm afraid if I try and rebuild myself, I'll forget how to put it back together :]. Although I could beef it up a bit with the savings in labor.

Sidenote: This whole thing, notwithstanding mechanic issue, pisses me off. I got the Camaro from my buddy (original owner) at 53,000 miles. He put absolutely nothing but 100% synthetic in it from day one as I have also (127,000 now). Parts fail under many conditions and variables regardless of oil. So, what is the advantage with synthetic or is the jury still out? My bro-in-law said synthetic was just vegetable oil and over-rated.

 

Agreed Torque. I'm not going to waste time suing this guy although I mentioned it earlier. I'm not a rich person though so pissing on my bank account, albeit a moot issue at this point, sux. I used to work at Enterprise Rent-A-Car and knew one of the owner's fairly well. I have sent a lot of business his way and he knows it. So, my relationship with this shop goes a little deeper than one simple transaction. But, I agree with your comments and I know I am simply venting at this point. However, I have posted reviews on three different generic yellowbook-type sites explaining the whole issue in a fair and cogent way so we'll let future customer's decide.

 

Would a bad injector have shown a fluctuation in the vacuum test enough to give a false positive for injector failure?

 

synthetic oil is good oil and if used after the break in a motor will last longer. a motor thats seen yrs of use with dino oil and then changed to synthetic will last longer but if damage is done the oil is not going to make much difference. you need to pick up a factory service manual for your yr and model. so what is the yr and model of your car?

 

Synthetic oil has some very good avantages but, to me, it's not worth the super premium price. Sure, it can hold more contaminants longer than conventional oil but I'd rather get the contaminants *out* of my engine asap by changing the oil. Do some web research and you'll see that some people advocate 10,000 mile and even 15,000 mile change intervals with Mobil 1. No thanks.
Besides, to me the real problem with current spec oils is that the EPA has mandated the elimnation of a zinc compound that works as an extreme pressure lubricant. IOW *any* non-roller cam or rocker engine is in danger of premature failure with current spec oils *whether they are dino juice or full synthetic.*
With my rebuilt 3.4's first oil fill I added a product called ZDDPlus and I intend to keep using it as long as I have the car. I add the ZDDPlus at oil changes in every flat tappet car I own, which means Mercedes Benz, Chrysler, Lincoln, and Chevy engines.
I know of a couple Mopar guys who rebuilt engines, didn't use the zinc compound additive, and had cam/lifter failure in the first few thousand miles.
I'm not taking any chances. Here's what I use:
http://www.zddplus.com/