Jiffy Lube Tranny Crisis

[urbanistic]

I hope Im posting in the right forum. My truck is out of commission and I need immediate advice!

I went to Jiffy Lube 2 months ago and got a T-Tech done. 2 weeks later I discover leaking tranny fluid from the transcooler line. I go back, they fix it by tightening the clamp and topping off the fluid (It was almost dry). Another few weeks go by, I notice that it doesnt shift immediately. I check the tranny fluid, almost dry again. I go back, they fix it by replacing the clamp.

Now a few days ago I lost overdrive. I kept the truck at home and called Jiffylube to complain. The regional manager calls me and sends the store manager to look at the truck. He comes out and climbs under. Says that there is tranny fluid all over the bottom of the truck. I told him, that makes sense, there was a leak you guys cant fix right!

The regional said to take it to a shop. If they say that the tranny damage was caused by jiffylube not fixing it right, then he will send the adjuster. The regional called the shop I took her to today. (By the way, the mechanic I use was a master mechanic for ford and knows the pushrod in and out.) He said that they didnt speak english (the mechanic has an asian accent) and that the adjusters will be there to inspect the truck in the morning.

My question is, what do I do between now and then!? Is there anything I should or shouldnt do? Should I clean the fluid off of the tranny so they dont have the option of saying there are signs of other leaks? My mechanic knows it was thier fault and is well prepared to tell them so. In fact, they cut the line back because of a break in it, instead of replacing the whole transcooler line. I just dont want them to weasel thier way out if I overlook something!

This tranny was only a year and a half old, and I havent beat on it at all, no off roading no flooring it too much, nothing. I know it wasnt an existing problem or a chalkup to the a4ld life expectancy.

HELP MEH HELP MEH!

 

[IAmTodd]

Best thing to do would be to not touch it.

 

[urbanistic]

Has anyone dealt with a similiar situation like this?

 

[gavin]

what kind of work did they do? I'm assuming they pulled the tranny or what?
they were the last ones to do work on it.. and so if they pulled it, any problems were caused by their work.
now, if they didn't pull it... then it could get kinda iffy. I still wouldn't touch it though.

 

[jimbo74]

sounds liek he took it in to have a tranny flush done... and due to their negligence its acting up now... dont touch it.... all fluids move backward while driving.... dont touch it... let their guy look at it... and be there with the mechanic when he talks t o them... make sure he is set on the idea it was jiffy's fault.....

 

[urbanistic]

jimabena thats my exact plan if I didnt figure something better out. Im going to be taking pics tomorrow of what they did to show ya guys. Thanks for the advice fellas!

 

[Glacier991]

Yeah leave it be. Clearly they hooked into the cooler lines and buggered something up. And when you say "dry" be careful. The trannie starts acting up at about 1-1/2 quarts low. It holds 10.


[And Jimbena that's STILL a cute baby!]

 

[snoborder42]

Just like everybody else said dont touch it and never go to Jiffy Lube again. My friend had the same problem on his 99 Jimmy but his burned to the ground because of a tranny fluid leaking on the exhaust.

 

[410Fortune]

dont touch it. If you do go to jiffy lube or similar for this kind fo service, watch them and check the fittings when you get home.

Why do you think they are so familiar with the process to deal with you?
Because leaks, drain plugs, wrong fluids, whatever, it happens at quick e lube places all day long.......

this is why I do ALL my own work, and if somebody is doing work on my truck, I watch (unless I know and trust them)

 

[Lloyd10977]

Why do you think they are so familiar with the process to deal with you?
Because leaks, drain plugs, wrong fluids, whatever, it happens at quick e lube places all day long.......

this is why I do ALL my own work, and if somebody is doing work on my truck, I watch (unless I know and trust them)

I agree with 410Fortune 100%. Many years ago, I too a 77 Pontiac Grand Prix to a Jiffy Lube because of a grand opening special. Oil change, tranny fluid change, fluids check, safety check. They left the engine oil drain plug loose and the evidence was a puddle of nearly a quart of oil in their parking lot when I picked up the car. Also, the pan gasket on the tranny leaked forever after that no matter what I did.

I do my own work. I know that I will be the one driving or riding in it so I go that extra step to ensure that things are done right and put back as they should. Plus getting under lets me look for other things that may need tightening, adjusting, replacing, etc. something they may not normally do because it isn't theirs. For a flush, I would watch them like a hawk and inspect carefully before leaving.

 

[ActionJackson]

NEVER NEVER NEVER let jiffy lube nore any other type of quicky lube joint do anything other than change your oil. The reason why 99% of the clowns that work in those places are part time high school or full time morons who THINK they know how to work on cars. Take your vehicle to a mechaninc you trust for repairs or maitence services. It may cost ya a few extra bucks but at least youll be a lot more confident that the work was performed correctly.

 

[urbanistic]

Well today the adjuster for Jiffy Lube came out and inspected the truck. He took snaps of the tranny underside and the damage done by thier techinician to the oem line to the transcooler. In fact, the line bracket, that double loop bracket holding both lines, was not even reattached to the support bracket. The adjuster seemed like a jackass to me, but he didnt tell me one way or the other. We test drove it, he verified that the OD was out. That was it.

So he is supposed to relay this information back to the district manager. I suppose this guy gives the ok, but he left me high and dry for the weekend, never called the shop back friday. Im stuck waiting until monday.

 

[aldive]

NEVER NEVER NEVER let jiffy lube nore any other type of quicky lube joint do anything other than change your oil.

The reason why 99% of the clowns that work in those places are part time high school or full time morons who THINK they know how to work on cars.

Take your vehicle to a mechaninc you trust for repairs or maitence services. It may cost ya a few extra bucks but at least youll be a lot more confident that the work was performed correctly.

No, NEVER take your vehicle to those kind of places for ANY reason.

You simply can't make chicken salad out of chicken s***, no matter how much mayonnaise you use.

Sage advice.

 

[dreamr]

I sadly use the Jiffy up the street for oil changes
But the shop manager has dealt with me long enough and has just accepted the fact that I will be the one to tighten all the fittings and they're the ones that get to pull the filter, drain the oil, and pour the new in. Messy job that filter removal.

My first experience with this Jiffy was the loose drain plug, next time they forgot to tighten the filter all the way. Now they just let me due it to avoid my bad attitude.

I usually due diffs, PS, Brakes, and t-case. Ford does coolant and Tranny. Namely cause I like the ford service guys tranny flushing tool cause it is so very gentle on that sensitive POS tranny. They do coolant, because I do not want to have a bucket of the old stuff drifting around the garage even for a couple days.

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Messy job that filter removal.

Not really, cut the top off a 2 litre pop bottle, loosen the filter then stuff the bottle bottom up over the filter and continue to spin it off, no mess. Not even down your arm!

 

[dreamr]

Not really, cut the top off a 2 litre pop bottle, loosen the filter then stuff the bottle bottom up over the filter and continue to spin it off, no mess. Not even down your arm!

Nice when i was writing that I was invisioning a 1 gallon ziplock, but that works too. Me I just don't like changing my oil. The theory is if it costs the same too have somebody else get dirty as it does for me to buy the good synthetics and filter to do it in my garage, then they can do it.

 

[urbanistic]

Well if they dont fix it, I think I will be rebuilding the a4ld myself. Riiiight. lol

 

[Ranger Al]

I would gather all the work orders they performed onto your truck. Who perform the word, who come to see your truck and what he said and importantly TAKE GOOD NOTES. Ask them to pay for the repair of the tranmission from a shop of your choice. If they denied your request, go ahead and have the tranny rebuild and take them to small claim court.

Good luck

Al

 

[RickOTR]

IMO Jiffy Lube sucks. I took a car of mine to them once for an oil change and they put the wrong filter on it. This caused an oil leak and wouyld have fried the engine if I had not noticed all the oil splatered underneathe the car.

 

[urbanistic]

Update... So Jiffy Lube denied my request for repair. I have entered a complaint with the BBB and am now awaiting contact from a mediator. Next step from there, if JIffy doesnt want to pay, will be arbitration. Luckily, my GFs uncle and aunt are attorneys, yay me! I will have one represent me at arbitration. If I prove my case, I am hoping JIffy complies. If not, then they have a fat bad mark from the BBB and a lovely subpoena to appear in claims court


In the meantime, I need to fix my tranny. I dropped the pan and found about 8 grits of metal in the pan, just a tad larger then sand, 3 of which were about three times the grit of sand. Tons of sludge in there as well... but overall the transmission looked brand new. No burnt smell that was very noticable.

Now, while I was switching the filter, I noticed the space that lets you see some of the drums or something in there. if you are laying with head towards front of the vehicle and look up, on the drivers side of the tranny, there are 2 adjusting bolts that run into the tranny and press on a metal wedge. I recall something about 10ft/lbs on those from a buddy talking about adjusting the bands. Well, the upper one, or the one towards the front of the vehicle looked fine... the lower one, the wedge in there, looked as if it wasnt pressed down, a small space. I put on a clean latex and wiggled the wedge under the bolt and it moves. You can press the band in there and its able to move.

Im guessing this is my overdrive band which has busted loose. Just below, or towards the axle from the band, there appears to be some type of washer with cogs on the outside. There are a few fine scratches on it... appears to be copper or something... the scratches seem more yellow than steel.

My question is, are my suspicions correct, busted OD band? Also, should I be concerned with this amount of metal? Should I not drive it and rebuild asap? If so, I plan to do it myself with the bulletproof method.