acbulldawg
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia
To try and make a long story short, I have a 1993 Nissan 300zx that I care dearly about and I do all my own work unless it is something that could potentially cause catastrophic engine failure. After my motor crapped out due to age, I spent a couple months looking for a competent mechanic actually willing to do the motor swap. After many recommendations, I decided to use this guy I already knew who does lots of work for the dealerships around town. He successfully completed the motor swap and the basic rebuild and timing service I asked him to do. Car was running rough, which was just some kinks that needed to be worked out.
After fixing everything, myself, I was working on the car one day and slipped up and punctured the radiator hose. I had the timing belt covers off to inspect everything and the timing belt including the tensioner, pulleys, and all other parts got showered with antifreeze. Due to the caustic nature of the chemicals in antifreeze, I sucked it up and replaced the radiator hose and took the car back to him to do another timing service.
While removing the crankshaft timing sprocket, he was having a hard time, so instead of using an air impact wrench, he decided to cut it off with a torch and ending up cutting into my oil pump. He put everything back together and started the car to find oil spraying out of a crack in the pump from his torch. I didn't get upset and ordered a new oil pump (yes I paid for it) and he put the new one in and put everything back together.
When I went to pick up the car, he told me that he tried everything he could think of to stop the leak to avoid having to replace the oil pump because with everything having already been put back together, it is a very time consuming job to take it all back apart and pull the oil pan to replace the pump. I immediately thought, "I hope he didn't poor a bunch of stop leak into my motor..." After having difficulty with the battery cable, I got the car started and drove home. Once I got home, I could hear a very audible ticking coming from the motor. Sounded like a lifter tick to me, but to be certain I immediately turned around and headed back to his shop. The ticking stopped before I got to his shop but I talked to him about it anyways and he figured I was right and it was just a lifter.
The car sat for 2 and a half weeks while I got another battery cable to replace my old and corroded one that was causing all kinds of issues. I finally got one and replaced it and changed my oil. I started the car and there was an immediate ticking. I drove about 5 miles down the street and the ticking went away. The car sat for another 4 days before I found the time to drive it again. Immediate ticking at startup that did not go away after driving. I went home and added a half bottle of sea foam to my oil to clean any sludge that may have built up causing the lifter to stick and create the ticking noise. Drove about 50 miles, no improvement. I then did a complete engine flush as recommended and sold by Z1 Motorsports (a well known Nissan performance shop here in Georgia) with no improvement. It sounds like more than one lifter as well.
I began thinking the mechanic had screwed something up (like dumping stop leak into the motor to clog the hole he cut in the oil pump) and took it another mechanic in town that I've known much longer. After having explained everything to him and after he and his head technician checked it out, they both confirmed that it is indeed lifters ticking and that it is a very high possibility that it was something the other mechanic did. They agreed that he could have either dumped a lot of stop leak into it, got gasket sealer sucked into the engine through hole in the old oil pump from trying to stop the leak, and even threw pieces of metal up into the engine when he cut into the oil pump and the reason why everything happened the way it did was because whatever caused it had to get circulated through the engine and eventually gummed up some lifters or got underneath some and they are not seating properly creating the tick. For those that don't know, hydraulic lifters can get gummed up from engine sludge and create a ticking noise but bear in mind, this is basically a new motor. When I did the engine flush, had the motor been dirty, sludge would have washed out and the flush would have been black. Once drained, it was a very light yellow (like FRESH motor oil) and no sludge came out. Very clean.
I went back and asked the other mechanic about everything and of course he swore up and down he didn't pour stop leak into the motor and he has no idea why the lifters were ticking and he wasn't taking any responsibility for the matter. He rushed me away quickly. Surprise, surprise. I do not have a receipt from his services. I never bothered asking for one and he never tried to provide one. I trusted him because he has been a well known mechanic around town for a very long time and I know he can do a good job. To replace the lifters costs about $2000 to $2500 with parts and labor. To replace the heads, as recommended by Z1 who just wanted to make a ton of money off me, is about $4000 with parts and labor. After everything I've already paid for, I do not have any money to repair my car. I am absolutely certain that it is due to something the other mechanic did but I feel like I am screwed here. Do I have any sort of case here? I need my car running properly because it is the only thing I have. I have spent over $5000 since the first motor crapped out and would really hate to basically just be out of that money. I am a broke college student with zero parental assistance. I apologize for the lengthy post but just wanted to give all the details. Thanks!
To try and make a long story short, I have a 1993 Nissan 300zx that I care dearly about and I do all my own work unless it is something that could potentially cause catastrophic engine failure. After my motor crapped out due to age, I spent a couple months looking for a competent mechanic actually willing to do the motor swap. After many recommendations, I decided to use this guy I already knew who does lots of work for the dealerships around town. He successfully completed the motor swap and the basic rebuild and timing service I asked him to do. Car was running rough, which was just some kinks that needed to be worked out.
After fixing everything, myself, I was working on the car one day and slipped up and punctured the radiator hose. I had the timing belt covers off to inspect everything and the timing belt including the tensioner, pulleys, and all other parts got showered with antifreeze. Due to the caustic nature of the chemicals in antifreeze, I sucked it up and replaced the radiator hose and took the car back to him to do another timing service.
While removing the crankshaft timing sprocket, he was having a hard time, so instead of using an air impact wrench, he decided to cut it off with a torch and ending up cutting into my oil pump. He put everything back together and started the car to find oil spraying out of a crack in the pump from his torch. I didn't get upset and ordered a new oil pump (yes I paid for it) and he put the new one in and put everything back together.
When I went to pick up the car, he told me that he tried everything he could think of to stop the leak to avoid having to replace the oil pump because with everything having already been put back together, it is a very time consuming job to take it all back apart and pull the oil pan to replace the pump. I immediately thought, "I hope he didn't poor a bunch of stop leak into my motor..." After having difficulty with the battery cable, I got the car started and drove home. Once I got home, I could hear a very audible ticking coming from the motor. Sounded like a lifter tick to me, but to be certain I immediately turned around and headed back to his shop. The ticking stopped before I got to his shop but I talked to him about it anyways and he figured I was right and it was just a lifter.
The car sat for 2 and a half weeks while I got another battery cable to replace my old and corroded one that was causing all kinds of issues. I finally got one and replaced it and changed my oil. I started the car and there was an immediate ticking. I drove about 5 miles down the street and the ticking went away. The car sat for another 4 days before I found the time to drive it again. Immediate ticking at startup that did not go away after driving. I went home and added a half bottle of sea foam to my oil to clean any sludge that may have built up causing the lifter to stick and create the ticking noise. Drove about 50 miles, no improvement. I then did a complete engine flush as recommended and sold by Z1 Motorsports (a well known Nissan performance shop here in Georgia) with no improvement. It sounds like more than one lifter as well.
I began thinking the mechanic had screwed something up (like dumping stop leak into the motor to clog the hole he cut in the oil pump) and took it another mechanic in town that I've known much longer. After having explained everything to him and after he and his head technician checked it out, they both confirmed that it is indeed lifters ticking and that it is a very high possibility that it was something the other mechanic did. They agreed that he could have either dumped a lot of stop leak into it, got gasket sealer sucked into the engine through hole in the old oil pump from trying to stop the leak, and even threw pieces of metal up into the engine when he cut into the oil pump and the reason why everything happened the way it did was because whatever caused it had to get circulated through the engine and eventually gummed up some lifters or got underneath some and they are not seating properly creating the tick. For those that don't know, hydraulic lifters can get gummed up from engine sludge and create a ticking noise but bear in mind, this is basically a new motor. When I did the engine flush, had the motor been dirty, sludge would have washed out and the flush would have been black. Once drained, it was a very light yellow (like FRESH motor oil) and no sludge came out. Very clean.
I went back and asked the other mechanic about everything and of course he swore up and down he didn't pour stop leak into the motor and he has no idea why the lifters were ticking and he wasn't taking any responsibility for the matter. He rushed me away quickly. Surprise, surprise. I do not have a receipt from his services. I never bothered asking for one and he never tried to provide one. I trusted him because he has been a well known mechanic around town for a very long time and I know he can do a good job. To replace the lifters costs about $2000 to $2500 with parts and labor. To replace the heads, as recommended by Z1 who just wanted to make a ton of money off me, is about $4000 with parts and labor. After everything I've already paid for, I do not have any money to repair my car. I am absolutely certain that it is due to something the other mechanic did but I feel like I am screwed here. Do I have any sort of case here? I need my car running properly because it is the only thing I have. I have spent over $5000 since the first motor crapped out and would really hate to basically just be out of that money. I am a broke college student with zero parental assistance. I apologize for the lengthy post but just wanted to give all the details. Thanks!
