Valvoline Instant oil change horror story

4414 Views 21 Replies 16 Participants Last post by ppp1182, Oct 18, 2006

Dodge318

Discussion Starter · Oct 10, 2006

So about 2 weeks ago my girlfriend decides to (on her own, I usually do her oil changes) get her oil changed in her 96 ram at valvoline. In fairness her truck always has what I call oil seepage. You see oil around the bottom of the bellhousing and on the rear of the pan, But never enough to actually see oil spots on the ground. Saturday, I changed the oil in my truck and noticed a puddle of oil under her truck. I pull the stick and it's about 1 1/2 quarts low so I do a little investigating and I notice oil dripping down the bellhousing. I start working my up and notice oil on the heads by the back of the motor. So basically I'm thinking the Valve cover gskets are gone, Not a bad run with about 130K on the clock. I look at little further and notice that the effing oil filler cap isn't tightened down and oil has been leaking out of there for 2 weeks. I think we got pretty lucky on that one being she only works about 5 miles from the house and dosen't drive it much other than that.

I hope everyone will think of this story before going to Valvoline.

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1 - 20 of 22 Posts

flameon4x4

· #2 · Oct 10, 2006

they had some 15 year old kid do it that just started and didint know anything . that would have pissed me off.

2_Brew_Crew

· #3 · Oct 10, 2006

That sucks man I know I've heard the same story from people that go to Wal-Mart or Jiffy-Lube or whereever (mainly Wal-Mart) and they don't even put the filler cap back on at all just shut the hood and it's found whereever they set it.

dodgerulessa

· #4 · Oct 10, 2006

hey those quick lube guys can be real stupid. before I met my wife she said she went to these guys and they forgot to let the old oil out. so she drove from SA to eagle pass, tx(140) miles with about 7-8 quarts of oil.......dumb *******s.

flameon4x4

· #5 · Oct 10, 2006

i dont trust anyone else to do ANYTHING to my truck i do it my self or i stand there and watch what they are doing. its my investment and i dont need some little kid screwing things up..

Mn-Sniper

· #6 · Oct 10, 2006

me too, if anyone any ones ganna mess up my truck its ganna be me lol, i have the exact oposite problem thoe, someone tightened my oil filler plug on one of my valve covers too far and it cant be taken off anymore, its copletely stripped out, all the little things inside it that try to keep it form being tightened too far are twisted an bent up...... i believe this is form someone else changeing the oil because i cant see the person that owned the truck prior to me changeing the oil himself or being the one to tighten it that far, i cant even get it out with a screw driver , its in there that tight.
i geuss its just reason to buy nice new chrome valve covers

Dodge318

Discussion Starter · #7 · Oct 10, 2006

I always changed my on oil or had a shop by my house do it. The shop is run by a 70 man who has been a mechanic for 50 years so I know he does it right. I guess I should have been a good boy and changed her oil instead of going hunting, She knows I hate those places and was probably trying to get back at me for not doing it when she wanted it done.

I just feel lucky. It could have been a lot worse. At least no permanent damage was done, All I have to do is clean the motor.

Dadditruck

· #8 · Oct 10, 2006

"... was trying to back at me for not doing it when she wanted it done"

I'd give her the hose, some soap, and a rag or two and say, have at it hon, yeah, I'd be sleeping on the couch for a while, but the next time she'd think twice about letting some moron touch her truck just to get back at me.

gsmagnum

· #9 · Oct 11, 2006

I had one of the quick change places not bother to change my oil filter one time.
They back pedaled and made excuses left and right when I called them on it.
I tend to have mine changed if I can't make the time to do it myself.
I have one Valvoline shop that I trust. I tend to keep a close eye on them while they are doing it as it is.

xcguy

· #10 · Oct 11, 2006

I have a similar story as well... dont mean to highjack, just dont feel like explaining again...http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122119

Grantman31

· #11 · Oct 11, 2006

When I had my old old Blazer (yeah yeah I know lol), I went to a Mobile express shop to have my oil changed, and it was fine for a couple of days. Then I noticed a crap load of oil draining down, so I took it back. It turned out that they put the wrong oil filter on. I had the 4x4 s10 blazer, and they put the 2wd one on, which was not the right size, and the driveshaft chewed a hole in the bottom of it. It was pretty cool if you ask me..lol

bobem12

· #12 · Oct 12, 2006

My buddy asked me one time why I change my own oil. He doesn't understand why I don't just take it somewhere. :crazy: Stories like this is why.

satora

· #13 · Oct 12, 2006

Mn-Sniper said:
me too, if anyone any ones ganna mess up my truck its ganna be me lol, i have the exact oposite problem thoe, someone tightened my oil filler plug on one of my valve covers too far and it cant be taken off anymore, its copletely stripped out, all the little things inside it that try to keep it form being tightened too far are twisted an bent up...... i believe this is form someone else changeing the oil because i cant see the person that owned the truck prior to me changeing the oil himself or being the one to tighten it that far, i cant even get it out with a screw driver , its in there that tight.
i geuss its just reason to buy nice new chrome valve covers

Have you tried a large pair of channel-locks to remove the oil filler cap? Might work, just my 2 cents.

dodgerulessa

· #14 · Oct 12, 2006

bobem12 said:
My buddy asked me one time why I change my own oil. He doesn't understand why I don't just take it somewhere. :crazy: Stories like this is why.

yeah, how long does it take to change the oil in our trucks? 10minutes tops

when guys say they don't have time to do it I don't understand. some guys are just lazy, dumb, or were fatherless growing up and never learned shit about cars.

Grantman31

· #15 · Oct 12, 2006

Well, when your parents divorce when you were young, you don't learn much from your mother about vehicles. I did however learn from my grandfather, who knows everything there is to know about old diesel cars. He has an old '60's diesel Mercedes and he is always playing with that thing (has the old glow plug starter system). He just rigged his own fuel pump switch/sending unit out of some coat hangers, a block of wood, and other random objects. My Macgyver idol...lol

4x4_guy

· #16 · Oct 14, 2006

you think that is bad
my dad took his 89 honda accord
to one and the engine takes exactly 4 quarts
but the lube guy filled it with 7 quarts.
the result was a big accident
my dad got about a 1/2mile down the road and a huge
smoke screen came out of the hood for about 2 mins.
He was doin about 55mph when it started.
it didnt hurt anything but he towed it just in case.
and they paid for the tow.

-Jesse-

Racinfan83

· #17 · Oct 15, 2006

bobem12 said:
My buddy asked me one time why I change my own oil. He doesn't understand why I don't just take it somewhere. :crazy: Stories like this is why.

Yeah, I hear ya. I used to take mine to a "quick lube" place I trusted until I made a Sharpie mark on the oil filter before I took it there - and found the same mark after they were done. So I'm not even sure if they changed the oil. Worked out better in the long run - cause now I do my own and use Mobil 1 synthetic oil and it costs the same.....

Loud_Dodge

· #18 · Oct 16, 2006

I will only take my truck to the local Valvoline Express Care. I do know the owners and people that work there personally, so I know that they know what they're doing, and I watch anyways. But so far no problems, and I am a frequent customer and they treat me really well.

orangek5

· #19 · Oct 17, 2006

usually 99% of the time its younger kids or or older guys that have failed at everything else working at these places... they get paid min wage or alittle over and they're trusted with something that can be screwed up in two seconds. :WHT:

i did it for awhile at a local dealership and doing 30+ oil changes by yourself a day can get tiring esp if you have someone watching over your work or service writers and yes i remember not changing an oil filter or two because it would've prolly taken me an hr to change... but a ram cmon now

now i work in a warehouse makin 2x what i did and i love my job... moral of the story 99% of the people workin there want to be there just as much as you like taking your car into them

gsmagnum

· #20 · Oct 18, 2006

dodgerulessa said:
yeah, how long does it take to change the oil in our trucks? 10minutes tops

when guys say they don't have time to do it I don't understand. some guys are just lazy, dumb, or were fatherless growing up and never learned shit about cars.

Unless you are a thinned out meth head or a scrawny SOB by nature, you ain't just crawling under my van or my car. They have to be jacked up or on ramps.
My '75 pickup is easy to do.
How high do the 2wd trucks sit?

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

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