October 31, 2003: I'm 2 months into working for Scottsdale Infiniti after being laid off by the State... I bring Quella in for her "mandatory" checkup after I ran a Consult PBT and got some weird readings. Turns out the #4 and #8 injectors are outta spec, so those are replaced. While they're at it, I have them replace ALL underplenum hoses (fuel lines and coolant) and check the KS and harnesses. All else checks out OK, so I'm set. Car is completed on 11/13/03.
November 13, 2003: I drive the car home after work - It is all warmed up for me, since they were "burping" the coolant lines. Feeels good, trip home is uneventful. No BMW's to pick on.
November 14, 2003: Start car the next morning (cold). Idles like a big-block '68 Impala with an RV cam and open headers. WHAT THE HELL? Immediately call Scottsdale and request an appointment, can't get in until the 21st.
Go to work in the "lope-mobile". Smooths out somewhat once operating temp is reached.November 21, 2003: Drop off car at dealership, grab my G35 and go about my now-miserable life. What is wrong with my baby? No one knows. Dennis doesn't reply. Fred's as baffled as I. I call anyone that will listen. Robert (DAEDALUS) comforts me via phone...
INTERLUDE: Daily occurrences during this time - Every day I show up for work at the dealership (miserable, truly a fish out of water, hate sales), and every day they take my loaner away to give to a "customer" (apparently the hired help doesn't count
). November 27, 2003: Service Manager asks me "What's going on with your car?" My reply - "I don't know - You're the Service Manager."
November 29, 2003: I overhear a segment of a conversation between the SM and the Service Writer, which goes something like this: "...Well, of COURSE he's not gonna be in a hurry, HE gets to drive a brand new car instead of his old Q - I want that thing out of my shop!"
*Keep in mind this "thing" he refers to has netted the shop $4500 in repair invoices in the past 2 years*
By the way, I'm still having to "grovel" for a loaner car at the end of my shifts - I'm considering parking a mile away from the dealership and walking to work.
December 1, 2003: Shop Foreman tells me "It's an old Q - They all do that." I can't help myself - I unload, questioning the sanity of such an absurd statement. Also question his competence as a tech. He retracts statement, swears he will take it upon HIMSELF to figure it out.
I catch the SM in the lunchroom and explain to him that I'd much rather be driving my Q than his damn "rental car" and that I didn't appreciate his comments - Also told him he's not getting my loaner car anymore - I'm a customer too, regardless of where I work. He won't speak to me. I later deduce that he's a world-class jerkoff.
December 7, 2003: Shop Foreman explains there's a "miss" in #5 cylinder. I stare blankly. "And?" He returns to the car.
December 8, 2003: Shop Foreman tells me there's a loss of compression in #5. Again, blank stare. "And?" He asks me, "What do you want us to do?"
- Two thoughts are running through my mind: What did you guys drop down into the intake runner? And please, please, please God don't let her have a cracked block/piston/head/bad ring....
So I offer - "Seems like a leakdown test is in order." SF replies, "We don't have a leakdown tester." *repeat blank stare* I ask him how he expects to determine the cause of the compression loss, he shrugs, refers me to the SM.
I go into the SM's office. He's a surly little guy, probably got beat up a lot on the playground. I'm polite, and ask him if they can do a leakdown test. He says no. I ask him why. He parrots the SF. I explain that it's a $75 tool, and the Snap-On truck is sitting out back. He says, "We're not gonna waste any more time on that car." I explain to him that "that car" has a fat warranty and it puts food on his tech's table, and that it's ridiculous that a multi-million dollar shop with factory-trained techs can't tell me what's wrong with my car! He waves me out of his office and speaks the word:
"Whatever."
You all know me. I don't like "whatever." Now I'm pissed.
Back to the SF. He asks me to give him until tomorrow, and that he's gonna find out what's wrong with it by morning, no matter what. I approve.
December 9, 2003: I show up for work. Can't find my car. Bad sign. I check the back lot. No Quella. I check the roof. There she sits, jammed in Purgatory, with all the "chain guide" victims and blown headgasket cars that the owners haven't made a decision on. There's a piece of paper on her dash. I retrieve it. It's a quote: "68K mile pull-out, 12 month, 12K mile warranty, $2890."
I'd have hit the roof, but I was standing on it. I fly downstairs. This is like hearing your own mother died on the TV news. I ask SF what's wrong with my car - He says, "I don't know - It's either a cracked head or a cracked block." I ask how he determined this. He says, "Well, that's all it could be." I ask him if there was oil in the coolant. He didn't know. I ask him if he observed smoke from the tailpipes. He said no. I ask him if it could be a foreign obstruction in the intake valve. He says he doesn't know.
SM joins the conversation, which doesn't help. I ask him if he would recommend open-heart surgery after talking to a patient on the phone. He says, "We've seen enough of these to know it's not worth messing with."
I decide right then and there I don't want another person from that dealership NEAR my car. I tell the SF to "button it up, I'm getting a second opinion."
December 10, 2003: I pick my car up - SF has the balls to tell me, "We could have that motor pulled and swapped in 6 hours." I restrain myself from the obvious. Make a mental note to get a real job. FAST.
Russ Glindmeier comes to the rescue (russg from NICO). He calls me, and we talk at length. He offers to introduce me to a guy that he trusts implicitly with all his work.
December 16, 2003: Russ and I meet for lunch, and he introduces me to Kenny Wann, SF for Midway Infiniti. Kenny has a kind and nurturing manner that's a little out-of-place for a technician. He adds that he's owned 2 Q's, and misses them. He listens intently to my tale, and strolls out to eyeball Quella. He has a tentative diagnosis, and time would reveal him to be RIGHT ON. He promises to be the ONLY one to touch my car, and I feel I can trust him to take care of her. I'm warned that this could take a while, as he has many other duties... I agree.
FAST FORWARD!!!!
Late January: I stop by the dealership to visit my car - Kenny gives me a full tour. He explains to me what he's done. He started with FOUR de-carb treatments, to make sure we weren't dealing with a carbon issue. He then began disassembly, and every part was cleaned and polished - Plenum, TB, intake runners, all bright and shiny inside. Amazing attention to detail.
He has the driver's side head off the engine, and shows me the problem:
Se how the normally straight bevel is concave? It was "sucked" into the valve seat really hard, enough to "flower" the sealing surface. Says it's the first he's ever seen do that, but there's no evidence of obstruction or any other damage to the valve or piston, and the valve is perfectly straight - Put it in a drill and spun it, no runout or wobble.
Also, he shows me: NO varnish on the heads - they're silver, with a light coating of Mobil 1. NO sludge in the valve covers - they're light tan. NO wear on the cam lobes - They mic-out identical to new specs. NO wear on the cam bearings. He explains that there is literally NO wear on the top end of this engine. NONE. I had considered just replacing the heads with the "crate" set from SoCal91Q45a. He says there's no reason whatsoever. He's replacing the valve and seat.
Then he goes a step further: He shows me the inside of the #5 cylinder bore, which is at the bottom of its stroke. NO lip at the top of the cylinder bore. What can be better? A bright flashlight and a crawl into the engine bay reveals the cross-hatching is STILL PRESENT in the cylinder bore. Phenomenal. He asks me, "What did you expect?"
February 5, 2004: The call comes - She's ready. She has spent almost 2 months there. They kept her 6" off the ground on a lift so as not to flatspot the tires. They've HAND WASHED her. They've put Mobil 1 in her. And an OLD stock OEM filter
. And a 70/30 distilled water/AF mix. AND they installed my 20mm sway bar with new polyurethane bushings (that were in the trunk) at no charge! They've put 40 "test-drive" miles on her to ensure she's perfect. $2,712 is the damage, and guess whose extended warranty company came through AGAIN? You guessed it. Words cannot express the appreciation I have for Kenny Wann, Shop Foreman and Kenneth Hutchings, Service Manager. I suppose the best I can say is, if youre anywhere near Phoenix, consider the Midway team for your service. I'm in awe.
She runs phenomenally - I missed my car!
: It must fell like the best birthday present you have ever recieved, glade shes back, you should take the paperwork to those other idiots and show em what a reall Technician can find when he knows his job and the product he works on, how does she run now with everything nice and clean?
