Mechanic "friend" did me wrong!

[EFinCA]

California-
I paid my nieces boyfriend and his father to do some work on my pickup. They didnt do it right and now my transmission case is broke and my transmission might be shot! I consulted other mechanics and they all agreed it is their fault. I tried to give him the chance to fix it right and he said no, it wasnt his fault. I would like to know my options. Do i get a quote and send it to him? Or should I get it fixed (which would mean i have to charge it to my credit card) and send him the bill? Any advice would be greatly appriciated!!!
Thank you.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[Zigner]

California-
I paid my nieces boyfriend and his father to do some work on my pickup. They didnt do it right and now my transmission case is broke and my transmission might be shot! I consulted other mechanics and they all agreed it is their fault. I tried to give him the chance to fix it right and he said no, it wasnt his fault. I would like to know my options. Do i get a quote and send it to him? Or should I get it fixed (which would mean i have to charge it to my credit card) and send him the bill? Any advice would be greatly appriciated!!!
Thank you.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

What type of work did they do on your truck?

 

[EFinCA]

They replaced my clutch. And when they put the driveline back in, they didnt put "lock tight" on the bolts. They started to back out, causing a vibration and in turn broke the support bracket for the transfer case. Transfer case fell down about 3-4 inches and snapped the transmission case.

 

[Kiawah]

How long did you drive it with the vibration?

Sounds like you are suggesting that this happened over time. How would anyone prove that it was his fault, and perhaps not a situation where you were off 4-wheeling somewhere which stressed the frame as you went over a big boulder?

 

[justalayman]

They replaced my clutch. And when they put the driveline back in, they didnt put "lock tight" on the bolts. They started to back out, causing a vibration and in turn broke the support bracket for the transfer case. Transfer case fell down about 3-4 inches and snapped the transmission case.

sure would like to know what bolts specifically somebody thought required loctite®.

But even if loctite was not spec'd, the bolts should not have loosened if properly installed.


Even if you sue the guy, it doesn't mean he is going to pay you. Judgments are won every day that are never collected so, if you have to have it fixed (like you need the vehicle), I would get it fixed and then make your claim. This way, you will also have the suspected problems in hand (physically) to take to court with you.

 

[Kiawah]

That's some major damage however, and the cost to repair may exceed the value of the vehicle. You don't mention make, model, year, condition. However if you've already worn out a clutch (the original replacement need), then I'd suspect you've got over 100K miles on it.

You may have to price out pieces from a recycle yard (aka junk yard).

Also, if by some chance you sue and win and collect, if the repair cost is greater than the value of the vehicle it would be considered 'totaled', and the award may be less than you think you'll get, and less than the cost of the repair. Check NADA used vehicle prices, to get a ballpark for the area of the country you are in, with the make model options mileage and condition. Don't want to do a 2K repair, in a 1K truck.

And to echo Layman's comments, I've done a number of clutch replacements on my different vehicles many moons ago (when manuals were more 'standard'), and I've never used Loctite on any of them, one was specifically a PU. Perhaps that's what they spec now, or maybe that's something specific for your vehicle. Can't imagine how they would work loose, with as many bolts as there are. I'm really suspecting there is something more to this story.

 

[EFinCA]

This is a long story and I was just trying to keep it brief.

My niece had been borrowing it for about a month. Im not sure how much I believe her now, since she has pretty much disowned me for even asking them to fix it, but she said she was never off road, and didnt feel any abnormal vibration (it has big loud tires). It is a '97 Ford F-350 Diesel. Decent condition but does have almost 300k miles.

The bolts that needed the locktight are the 4 for the driveline. Ask around. Every mechanic, friends or not, said its needed on those bolts.

 

[justalayman]

and didnt feel any abnormal vibration (it has big loud tires). It is a '97 Ford F-350 Diesel.

abnormal vibrations? How would one tell?

The bolts that needed the locktight are the 4 for the driveline.

You are apparently using the term "driveline" as a specific part of the driveline, as I have become familiar with the term. If you mean the driveshaft, yes, the bolts that attach the u-joint yokes at either end of the shaft to their respective flanges, yes, those do often come from the factory with loctite used. Typically blue and it is an integral part of the bolt itself.

The problem with that though is; if the bolts I speak of come loose and cause a problem, the vibration caused by a driveshaft coming loose is going to be so severe, it's really hard to miss. Before the shaft came off completely, the driveshaft would be so misaligned that driving it at all would simply shake the driver so badly it couldn't be ignored.

I suspect you might have some sort of claim but depending on exactly what happened, they might also have a reasonable defense for some of the damages. A person has a duty to mitigate their damages so if they can make a reasonable argument the damages are so severe only due to failing to stop driving when it would have been obvious there was a problem, you might lose the major share of the case.

You might have a better action against your niece if she was driving the vehicle when this happened than the guys that "fixed" it.

the other problem: as Kiawah mentioned, the repairs might be more than the truck is worth. Even if they aren't, a trans for a 1 ton diesel is pretty expensive. If I remember, Cal has a very high limit on small claims ($7500) but this might exceed even that. If so, you might be relegated to a superior court which typically means you would have to hire a lawyer.

 

[wrongsometimes]

California-
I paid my nieces boyfriend and his father to do some work on my pickup. They didnt do it right and now my transmission case is broke and my transmission might be shot! I consulted other mechanics and they all agreed it is their fault. I tried to give him the chance to fix it right and he said no, it wasnt his fault. I would like to know my options. Do i get a quote and send it to him? Or should I get it fixed (which would mean i have to charge it to my credit card) and send him the bill? Any advice would be greatly appriciated!!!
Thank you.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

Get a couple of quotes and send him/them a nice letter asking for payment .. you can send the quotes if you like. But you could just send him the letter & then go to small claims if no payment is made.

 

[Kiawah]

You never answered the questions:

- How long ago was this clutch job performed, and
- How many miles driven since the job performed?