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Sorry for the long story in advance, hopefully it will help in diagnosis....
A while back I posted asking for help regarding an oil leak on my 1994 Aero that was dripping on the exhaust, burning and making the cabin quite unpleasant. My mechanic at the time had first diagnosed it as the valve cover gasket and replaced the part. I brought the car back to him as it was still burning oil and he stated oil was seeping out from the head gasket. Realizing the expense involved, I waited about 6 months before finally deciding to take the plunge and get the head gasket repaired. I went to another mechanic (recommended by a Saabnet member) because my previous mechanic had retired. The new guy tested the block and cooling system, charged me a couple hundred bucks and then told me the prior mechanic was wrong- the head gasket was fine and, without knowing the previous mechanic did the job 6 months prior, stated the leak was coming from a bad valve cover gasket (I'm perplexed as to how the previous mechanic could screw so simple a job up but whatever). He went on to state the fan switch was cooked and that was why my car was running hot and going through a bit of coolant every month. He hypothesized this was why the other guy thought it was the head gasket. Although I was disappointed the other guy screwed up the first time, I was ecstatic to hear the head gasket was fine and thought I found an honest mechanic who was trying to save me money by doing his homework. I told him to go ahead and do what needed to be done. He replaced the valve cover gasket, fan switch, flushed the coolant and changed the thermostat. I drove home, still smelled oil, and went nuts! I immediately brought the car back and he told me, after about a week of diagnosis, the rear main seal was where the leak was coming from. He seemed apologetic and although he was a little pricey, I still had faith in him for saving me on the head gasket job. I told him to do the seal and a few other things as I intend to keep the car for a very long time. Work performed between the two visits:
1.) Valve cover gasket
2.) Rear Main Seal
3.) Fan Switch
4.) Heater Core / Blower Motor (Blower Motor started dying after leaving new mechanic the firt time)
5.) Belt Tensioner & Serpentine Belt
6.) Upper motor mount
7.) AC Drain / Recharge
8.) Transmission flush
9.) Coolant flush / Thermostat
So three weeks, over $2k later and listening to the mechanic swear up and down about how he test drove the car for almost an hour and found it to be perfect I pick the car up today and discover a new problem! When I come to a light, 50% of the time, the idle drops to about 500 RPM's and the car feels like its going to stall (wonder how he missed this one on that hour long test drive). Two questions, one what the heck is going on? Two, could anything this guy did result in the problem? Needless to say I'm quite irate, about to dispute the charge on my credit card, and am looking for help before his shop opens back up Monday. Thanks in advance!
-Alex
posted by 69.216.128...
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