Oil Change NIGHTMARE
 

Well..

Took my z06 to a "Brake Check" location for what i thought would be a simple oil change.

They drained the oil, tried putting 8 quartz in the dry sump. It was firing out so the tech popped open my valve cover and put 5-6 quarts in the engine.

Fired the car up and it was blowing out clouds of smoke so they turned it off. (Ran for about 5 seconds)

When i realized what they were doing, i ran out there and told them to STOP immediately. I had them drain out the oil and let it drip out for about 45 mins and put the oil in the dry sump where it belongs.

Fired the car up, it smoked again before going back to normal. (assuming it was burning the excess oil in there) - Car idled fine shortly after. I drove it home and everything seems fine. I only live 1 mile away from this place, so not much driving has been done since this.

I talked to AHP and they said that it shouldn't be a big issue as long as the car is acting the same. He said if it was popping / idling rough, they damaged a piston or something else.

I have in writing from the shop that they added 5 quarts to the engine via valve cover just in case something happens in the near future.

Thoughts / opinions on what i should do to ensure the car is healthy?

Now I'm wondering if they even realized the Z has 2 drain plugs....

wow, because of stuff like that is why I would NEVER take my car to a jiffy lube or similar spot for an oil change.

hope everything turns out ok.

I change the oil myself for these very reasons.

I am consistently amazed at two things. One people paying 75-100K for a car and letting a monkey work on it. Two, how much this scenario happens. It even happens at dealers!!!
I own and have owned a lot of cars. These days they are all different in some way. One takes 5 quarts the other 6 quarts, my Denali 8.5 quarts, my Zo6 10.5 quarts plus TWO drain plugs!!!! How can someone in the oil changing business assume anything regarding any car??? I even double check the amounts, filters, drain locations on EVERY car I do. 25 years ago they were all 5 qts and a filter 98% of time! Now none of them are.

To the OP: you now have to check the valve cover cap inside prongs to make sure they didn't crack off when they preyed that cap off. That would mean they are inside your motor. Yep, if so valve cover has to come off and you pray they are there. That cap is not made to come off like that. Good luck

I vote to make a oil change sticky…what not to do, know everything and tell the monkeys EXACTLY how to do it. Make NO assumption that someone in the business knows what they are doing, they don't, they are just winging it!!!! This happens every week for YEARS now!!!!!!

As posted above, remove the false oil cap and see if it broke. If so, pull the valve cover and hope the pieces are floating on top of the head... I'd also drain the oil and put in something the ls7 deserves.

I used to take my Vettes to a Jiffy Lube all the time. I took my own oil/filter and they used my service manuals to guide them on changing the oil even to using a torque wrench to tighten the drain plug. While they were working on the car they would let me down in the basement so I could inspect the bottom of the car (I didn't have a lift). Never had an issue with them. Anything they saw was brought to my attention and they told me everything they were doing. Very good guys that had jobs in an area where not a lot of people had jobs.

Bill

I change my own oil in everything we have that has an engine...That's currently 17 motors (oh wait, 3 of them are 2 stroke)...I don't care how much time I waste on them - no-one else is going to screw them up but me!! :eek:

Is there a proper way to remove the valve cover cap to ensure i'm not the one breaking the prongs? I brought this to the tech's attention and his response seemed like the cap was easy to take off / put back on.


Edit: as mentioned above... i didn't think changing the oil on a car was going to be such a task for a place that does it all the time. I chose this place ONLY because of how close and convenient it was to my house. They charged me $18 per quart on mobil 1 synthetic. Same stuff sells for $5 per quart at Walmart... they wouldn't price match. Complete ********.

Yep. I do the same thing when I don't have the time to do it myself and never had an issue :thumbs:

The cap came off super easy when i went to go check just now. Seems like it's missing the retaining prongs. Does anyone have a picture of what the prongs look like? Is there multiple pieces i should be looking for when i take off the valve cover?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...c20d4e3a13.jpg

If at all possible, get a set of jack stands, a jack, and do it yourself! NEVER take it to a place like you used! Use a dealer if you have to.

I'm not 100% positive, but it is my understanding you can't take the valve cover cap off without breaking the retaining prongs. I believe you should be looking for 2 prongs. Good luck - hope you find them.

Bill,
As with everything, there are good and bad places for services.
Yours was exceptional. Have you found any of similar quality at your new area?

I've used Jiffy and others for my truck simply because I don't have to bother getting rid of the oil later.
I'd have to really know the techs before I'd trust them with a Z06 vette.

I always bring my own oil and filter, so they knock $10 off the change price, and lube the front joints on the GMC,

But one Jiffy wanted to charge me the same price when using my oil.
Just a dumb manager. Went across the street to a small shop that took $15 off the price.

If you want to use any commercial place for a Z06, question them first to be sure they know how to change the oil.
And bring your own Mobil One or other Synth oil from Walmart.
$18/quart is thievery.

Oil caps on most cars are not hard to remove. The Z oil cap on the cover is tough to remove for a reason.....................you're not supposed to REMOVE IT!!!!!!!!

Removing the cap at the oil tank should give you an idea why the one on the valve cover is so much more difficult to remove and should be left alone.

Tony

I wouldn't be able to sleep until I pulled that valve cover. I hope you open it up and find them right on top. I would still be paranoid for the life of the car that one small sliver would make its way into an oil passage. I would definitely change the oil again after locating the prongs just in case a small shard is in the pan.

Yup. Lesson learned.

I've been doing some reading on this topic. It is possible to remove it without breaking the retaining prongs, but you need to be extremely careful. These morons weren't gentle.

I am waiting until i hear back from this shops corp office. I went in and demanded they have the car towed to a shop of my choice to have the work done. The car is siting in the garage and won't be turned on / driven until the prongs are found. If they deny it, i'll have no choice but to pull the valve cover myself and possibly lawyer up.

Yup. I had them put in mobil 1 synthetic. Charged me $150 for an oil change that will apparently be refunded to me via gift card... complete ********.

Changing your own oil is too easy not to do. I can do it twice in the time it would take me to go to jiffy lube.

Regarding a sticky, here is an old thread where someone took the time to lay out the steps:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...il-change.html