Opinions needed

[uptheorg]

I would ask them for a few bottles of Swepco and call it a day.

[mrgreenjeans]

Agreed, and if they don't spring for the Swepco

Call it a day anyway....... water under the bridge, lesson learned

[denson]

One of the great things about the Registry is that one gets to expose and share issues. In reading some of the replies, it is apparent that others have been in the same or similiar position to where I am now.

I emailed the vendor the billing invoice ($2,800) for all the extra work which was done due to him being a bit careless with cleaning the case out. His hourly rate is below what I pay, so I advised him that I would accept his rate as a refund and for half the hours billed and without the Swepco and other nominal parts. I asked that he refund me approximately $900.00 of the $2,800. I did this knowing it was best to go in and be understanding and reasonable with my request. If I "hit it hard", he would just probably say no, so I hope doing it this way left him with something to think about.

In this case, I would not have asked for the money had he installed a poorly manufactured part as my thinking would be that this would be beyond his control. Given that he failed to clean out the case properly (I think this is re-built transmission 101!) I think that was clearly within his control and it is clear he was sloppy, so he should pay something. Honestly, my opinion is he should pay the entire bill, but that thinking will not build a bridge in getting this done.

I'll keep you posted with the outcome.

Thanks for the ideas and assistance.

John

[Mr9146]

The re-builder claims to not have cleaned the old metal and aluminum shavings from the case and the new ring and pinion (not new, but used and said to be in great shape) must have had a crack and failed.

Wait a second ... let me get this straight.

The guy who rebuilt the trans that failed said outright that he failed to clean the trans case from the previous failure that promted the rebuild in the first place? That sounds almost unbelievable to me for the sole reason that, if a trans fails, you simply don't just stuff new parts into a dirty case. It's just not done. And, if you sent a trans to a guy to rebuild it and it came back dirty, why would you even install it in a car?

Something about this doesn't smell right to me...not even if this was a flat rate job.

[Frank Beck]

Wait a second ... let me get this straight.

The guy who rebuilt the trans that failed said outright that he failed to clean the trans case from the previous failure that promted the rebuild in the first place? That sounds almost unbelievable to me for the sole reason that, if a trans fails, you simply don't just stuff new parts into a dirty case. It's just not done. And, if you sent a trans to a guy to rebuild it and it came back dirty, why would you even install it in a car?

Something about this doesn't smell right to me...not even if this was a flat rate job.

I'm with you Marco. Even a blind, deaf, and dumb trainee would take a few swipes with a shop towel in the bottom of the diff housing and the gear cluster area. There's something missing from this story...
Just curious: What was the original catastophic failure? Is there by some chance a cooler plumbed into this trans? Do you have the list of parts that went into the "rebuild"?

Too easy to make assumptions and render a guilty verdict without all of the facts.

[Kris Clewell]

Wait a second ... let me get this straight.

The guy who rebuilt the trans that failed said outright that he failed to clean the trans case from the previous failure that promted the rebuild in the first place? That sounds almost unbelievable to me for the sole reason that, if a trans fails, you simply don't just stuff new parts into a dirty case. It's just not done. And, if you sent a trans to a guy to rebuild it and it came back dirty, why would you even install it in a car?

Something about this doesn't smell right to me...not even if this was a flat rate job.

Basically my brain couldn't get around this too, which is why I didn't respond. It just doesnt seem plausible that the guy left metal filings in the trans. My wife would likely see that and think it needed to be wiped up. I feel like the guy screwed up some other way and just used that as the reason. Though Im not sure what's more embarrassing than not cleaning up metal in the trans as thats about as dumb as it gets.

[sithot]

I'm with you Marco. Even a blind, deaf, and dumb trainee would take a few swipes with a shop towel in the bottom of the diff housing and the gear cluster area.

I know some folks you need to train. Shall I bus a load your way?

Tom

[denson]

As crazy as it sounds, this is what the re-builder stated in an email. My mechanic feels strongly there is much more to this story and the re-builder is not telling it. The re-builder did apologize via email about leaving the shavings in the case. Clearly, this is rebuilder 101 stuff. The re-builder is hugely experienced, is a racer and has been very active in this community for 30 years, so nothing adds up, except my huge mechanics bill to put it in, take it out and do it all over again. I agree with everyone that feels there is more going on here than has been offered.

The re-builder had to put a new ring and pinion in as the one he installed in the first re-build got chewed up. I think the ring and pinion had a crack and failed and in addition to that, he never properly cleaned the case.

I can't wait to hear back from the re-builder on how much, if anything he will pay.

I hate being put in this position as I am not a mechanic and look to trust others to do the right thing. Shame on me!

[Mr9146]

I hate being put in this position as I am not a mechanic and look to trust others to do the right thing. Shame on me!

That's why it's always best to bring your car to a reputable Porsche shop that has qualified and educated mechanics IN HOUSE that know how to properly build motors and transmissions.

I never understood why a shop would outsource things like transmission or engine rebuilds...

[denson]

Okay, here we go. The vendor advised that he got a bad ring and pinion from his supplier. That he knew there was a chip or missing small piece before he installed it, and that he did not think it would be a problem. Well, it did matter!. He calls his supplier who will not take it back and now this becomes my problem in the mind of the re-builder. As a business owner, one is responsible for their acts and how they run their company. This is not about the client as they have no relationship with the supplier and do not really care about third party problems which have nothing to do with them. Would it not be great if all companies that make mistakes, can say well my supplier is the problem, but now it is your problem. Goodness, where do some get this idea from?!

In addition to this, he has admitted to doing a poor job cleaning the case as shavings were left. When you put these two seperate issues together, one can see how and where the problems are. I have asked that he pay 1/3 of the bill for the added work given his errors. He is not getting it and fails to understand that this is about him and no one else.

I hope he wakes up to see that he indeed has a responsibility here and does what is fair and proper. I kind of feel like this may be up there with believing in the tooth fairy!