Mechanic in Wrong? Car Over heated.?

I took my car, a 2004 Volkswagen beetle to the mechanic to change an engine coolant temperature sensor (ECT switch). They recommended I change the temperature gasket also since the car will already be taken apart (which was $100 extra), so I did.



They said I would need a serpentine belt soon also. So, I changed that. They also changed my oil and gave me a wheel alignment.



I took my car on a road trip about an hour away. Soon as we made it there, my AC stopped working and the car started over heating. So we parked it. We came outside an couple hours later, lifted the hood, and noticed there was no coolant in it at all. We figured that was the problem, put some some coolant in there and proceeded to go home.



On the interstate the hot light came on and my car started to have white smoke coming from the hood of the car. Not ever the tail pipe! We pulled over (almost got lifted by 18 wheelers) and put some more coolant and it was leaking out and kinda looked like there was coolant sprayed all over under the hood. We made it to the next exit. And right before we parked, a red oil light came on.



I towed it to the mechanic and they are saying it's my fault. And the coolant bypass housing has a hole in it and it had calcium in it. and now I need a new head gasket and maybe an engine.



I think its an awful coincidence my car never ever overheated and the day after I get it from them, it has all of these problems.



WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED OR THEY DID, THAT CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN TO MY CAR???





I towed it away from the shop because when I went outside I noticed the battery was dead!!! The man was saying it would probaby over heat because he thought I was gonna drive it home. He didnt want to give me my part back. He lied to my dad about a core charge and tried to lie to me, but the other person butted in and said there is no core charge. So that was fishy.



Anyway, after I towed it home, i noticed it still didn't have any coolant in it. Is that normal for them to do that. And also, they killed my battery the first time I picked up. (Maybe because they left the doors and trunk wide open during the three trips it took them to fix my tail light.) So that makes it twice that they killed my battery which is still dead! Which shows how negligent they are....



Do you think all of this is their fault? And can you give me some theories on what happened so I can confront the owner?Mechanic in Wrong? Car Over heated.?
If you already had problems with them, you're a retard for bringing the car back to them.



Otherwise, they CANNOT cause a calcium deposit in your car.



Here is what happened.



You have a lot of problem with your car. You fixed some, which caused certain things to run more efficiently. By running more efficiently, it has caused other smaller problems, to become larger.



And now you have those to fix as well.



Also, let's consider something. You're engine temperature sensor needed replacement.



MAYBE the reason it never overheated before, was because your sensor was bad, and not giving you the proper readout. It was in fact overheating, but you just didn't know. Ever consider that?Mechanic in Wrong? Car Over heated.?
Boohoo. Looks like people still think I had the best answer.



Perhaps if you knew anything about your car, you wouldn't post stupid, un-informed questions....

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Mechanic in Wrong? Car Over heated.?
Read the first answer. It is right on.



As far as the battery, they do not last forever. The car is 5 years old. Change the batteryMechanic in Wrong? Car Over heated.?
Thats why I fix my own cars.. Its sux when all Ms Prisssy wants to date is rich Wall St guys that cant change a light bulb. Find a real man that can a keep a woman and her car straight and never broken downMechanic in Wrong? Car Over heated.?
The %26quot;New Beatles%26quot; have a lot of problems.



Because you said that the A/C went out, I want you to look at you serpentine belt. Is it loose? If the belt broke on your trip or is too loose, then that could have caused all your problems.



I believe your head gasket blew. That means that coolant can get into your engine and into your oil. This makes your oil worthless and your engine would then seize. If you got lucky, then the head gasket blew in a way that the coolant just leaves the engine but doesn't get into the oil. Then you just need a new head gasket. The first way you need a new engine, the second way you have the head gasket replace.Mechanic in Wrong? Car Over heated.?
The first clue is the a/c stopped working...usually a sign of an overheated car..or electrical problem that may have affected the cooling fans...either way should have stopped and checked it out...once the car started to overheat the pressure in the radiator probably exceeded 20PSI...more than enough to rupture a wekk part or hose...continuing to drive only made it worse...You never drive a car with an overheating problem...REGARDLESS...So what happened first is hard to say...who has more blame...You!! for continuing to drive it...What part would they not give you back??...as far as the rest goes you are probably right leaving the hood and trunl open probably drained the battery..Mechanic in Wrong? Car Over heated.?
I think they caused this. with all the extra work they recommended and charged you for then never fixed any problem. The calcium story sounds very fishy and a lie.It is very common for mechanic shops to lie to people who they know, dont know about cars. They did not check for leaks after they did the work. or they forgot to refill it with water. You will need to take it to some else that can tell you why it happened. dont tell them it was another shop, or they may not want to make trouble. tell them an aquaintance did it and you think they messed it up. then get there answer ans estimate in writing. if you choose to sue them you will need this type of documentation. take it a vw dealer or vw specialist so the report will be accepted as reliable. you will prob have to pay for the inspection. But it is something you will have to do.Mechanic in Wrong? Car Over heated.?
You cannot use anything but genuine VW coolant in this car. Read this again!! YOU CANNOT USE ANYTHING BUT VW COOLANT IN THIS CAR. Mixing it with another coolant will cause a chemical reaction that could look like calcium deposits. It WILL damage the head gasket and the radiator and heater core. To the best of my knowledge of these cars, there is no $100 temperature gasket. They burned you. I have a feeling that you did NOT go to a genuine VW dealer or even a genuine VW experienced technician. When you resolve this problem, you will probably need to have your operating computer re-programmed. VW operating computers must be told that something under the hood has changed. Sometimes an inexperienced mechanic will leave hoses disconnected or will not double check their work. Also, you SHOULDN'T be using any other oil in this car but Mobil One, or ELF oil, that meets SPECIFICATION 502/505. Read you manual 4 times!!!!! You are also overdue for a brake fluid (VW only fluid) change.Mechanic in Wrong? Car Over heated.?
it sounds like too much pressure built up and it blew the head gasket. now you can see why i work on my own car. i don,t trust these people that calls themselfs mechanics. a lot of them are wannabees.

2000 Ford Windstar 3.8L (bearing shot.. somewhere among 7 pulleys)?

How much play might a power steering pump pulley have?



I changed the belt and idler pulley(no change). The sound I hearing can get too loud at times to isolate the bad bearing. Serpentine drives: Crank, water pump, alternator, power steering, idler, and tensioning idler. Any ideas?2000 Ford Windstar 3.8L (bearing shot.. somewhere among 7 pulleys)?
i would get a can of wd40 and spray each one and listen for the noise to stop2000 Ford Windstar 3.8L (bearing shot.. somewhere among 7 pulleys)?
take the belt off and check each pulley for play and spin the p/s a/c idler and tensioner. you should be able to tell which one is the problem. most likeky the idler or tensioner2000 Ford Windstar 3.8L (bearing shot.. somewhere among 7 pulleys)?
I have seen the cam synchronizer go bad and thought it was a pulley problem. it sounded like the noise was right there at the belt. this was also a 2000 windstar w/3.8. good luck.

What type of belts are in a car?

96 toyota corolla 1.8L 192,000miles

Besides the timing belt, what are the belts in the car?

alternator belt, serpentine belt, what else?

How much would it be to change all of them?What type of belts are in a car?
Power steering, alternator %26amp; aircon belts.

These belts are %26quot;poly V%26quot; types, they are a little more expensive than a standard V- belt, but have a longer life.

You don't have any belt that could be classified as a %26quot;serpentine%26quot; belt. These are a single belt that snakes its way around all the accessories fitted to an engine, that's why they're referred to as %26quot;serpentine%26quot;.

You'll just need to get a quote for replacement.

Are you sure you need them replaced?What type of belts are in a car?
some cars have one belt and they range in priceWhat type of belts are in a car?
power steering air conditioning go to a good mechanic and get a bid

How do I get the tentioner back in place after changing my water pump?

I have a 91 saturn 5 speed. I changed the water pump but now I can't get the tentioner thing to go back in place in order to turn the serpentine belt. Is there a secret to this? Any input will be greatly apprieciated.How do I get the tentioner back in place after changing my water pump?
I hope you replaced the belt and the tensioner also.



At that age, they probably should have been changed long ago. If the belt breaks, it could ruin the engine (depends on engine type).How do I get the tentioner back in place after changing my water pump?
there is a nubb on the back of the tensioner that fits into a hole on your engine that lines it right up. good luckHow do I get the tentioner back in place after changing my water pump?
Its a spring loaded tensioner if you turned it to take the belt off and it didn't spring back the other way its bad.

How is the best way to change a water pump on a '98 caravan 3.3 liter engine?

the tensioner deal on the serpentine belt kind of makes me nervousHow is the best way to change a water pump on a %26039;98 caravan 3.3 liter engine?
and it should,( make you nervous ) keep your fingers out of the way take a bar or screwdriver and pry it back to loosen the belt and slip the belt of of any pulley that is easy to get to, keeping your fingers out from under the belt.

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How is the best way to change a water pump on a '98 caravan 3.3 liter engine?

the tensioner deal on the serpentine belt kind of makes me nervousHow is the best way to change a water pump on a %26039;98 caravan 3.3 liter engine?
The serpentine belt tensioner is not hard to deal with. They make a tool that makes it easy to move it, to allow the belt to be taken off.





The water pump itself is located in the front of the engine, near the bottom. The best way to gain access to it is to remove the left front wheel, and the inner fender liner. Remove the pulley, and the pump itself is held in with bolts. These bolts are very thin, and if you are not careful you can break them off in the housing. That will require the bolts to be drilled out, so you want to avoid that if possible. There is limited room to get a drill in.



If you are not comfortable with the belt, you really may want to consider paying a shop to change the water pump. If they break a bolt or three, they have to do the drilling and tapping at no additional charge.



I work on my own cars. I pay to have the 3.3 water pump replaced, because over half of them have the bolts break.

Have a 97 jeep grand Cherokee Lorado

The jeep is a dark Bergundy red.

The paint code seems to be scraped over and I can't read it.

Any one know what the code is? as i need to touch up some scrapes.

Also thanks for the advice on how to install a serpentine belt on this jeep

However the big problem was that the pulley attached to the crank was shot

I was able to clear all the pieces of belt wrapped around the other pulleys and got the jeep to the service station w/out overheating

Changing the Pulley was not a walk in the park but I got a lesson on changing pulleys and belts

Thanks for all your replies

I am now an RKP a ( reasonably knowledgeable person ) Have a 97 jeep grand Cherokee Lorado
This is mostly an educated guess but I would say your vehicles paint code is PEG which is dark rosewood, the part for a brush type bottle is 4796116ab $8.75 available in a day or two from your local dealership.



If you would like you can email me the last 9 digits of your vin and I can make sure the info I gave you is correct.Have a 97 jeep grand Cherokee Lorado
you can call n the vin to chrysler ,keep your jeep, itll last longer than most woman.

Have a 97 jeep grand Cherokee Lorado
I think if you look in the door there is a tag you may find it there hope it helps