Sabotage in CA

Full story start to finish:

Before I begin, I'm not going to use individual names out of respect for the vendors business. Regardless of how it happened, it happened and the experience is of importance...not any one individual. I also tried calling numerous times today and last Friday in order to get at least an excuse but to no avail. Any members that read this post on other forums please respond again in order to help my cause. So here it goes.......strap yourselves in, going to be a long ride!

I called the vendor/owner in late June '08 to see how much it would cost to get my supercharger kit taken off/GC restored to factory settings and was told via phone it would cost $600 total! I was happy with this price and made an appointment to drop it off the very next day.

Side note: This is the same company I purchased and had install the entire kit last summer '07. I NEVER had one problem with the system and credit the vendor for peace of mind this past year. However, this helps prove my point even more.

When I arrived, I met the owner's apprentice whom did not work there during summer '07 and proceeded to get a written estimate from him. We discussed taking the SC kit off and restoring the GC SRT back to factory settings. The next thing I know, the price increased from $600 to $1100 b/c I needed to buy a predator tuner in order for them to re-tune the GC. The extra $500 went to a new tuner and the tune itself while the original $600 was for labor to remove the SC kit only. I thought this was a little weird, couldn't they just re-set one of their own tuners and use it to tune...like when I got the SC kit installed!!

So now I am at $1100 and think it's over but the price continued to rise. *Next, the apprentice started talking about cost to remove my upgraded torque converter (day labor minimum) so the trans wouldn't be "spungy" b/t shifts. At this point my head is spining in disbelief so I quickly said, "what will it hurt by leaving the upgraded TC in place" The apprentice then went to ask the owner (owner was in the back doing yet another test on his industry first product) if it was possible to keep the upgraded TC? A few minutes later the apprentice returned with "good news" saying the owner can tune the GC to work with the upgraded TC! At this point sweating dollar bills turns into a sweet sigh of relief and I proceeded to have the vendor do the job.

I also wanted to leave my oil cooler in place and was told it WAS possible. Due to the high desert temps I experience, I wanted my ride to run as "cool" as possible. I was told "no problem".

I will say it was nice of the vendor to throw in a factory air box, considering they never sent me mine back after the purchase eventhough I requested having it back. thanks. Accept mine had a brand new K&N filter but it could not be located so I got a factory filter instead...at least it was clean!

The job was suppose to take a couple days so I figured if I dropped it off on a Saturday, picking it up the following Thursday would allow plenty of time to get the job done without rushing. I cooresponded with the owner a couple times that week to ensure the GC would be ready by 7/3/08 (Thursday) so I would have the vehicle for the holiday weekend.

Luckily I was able to get off work around lunchtime on the 3rd to drive over an hour to pick it up. Everything seemed to be going as planned and I was excited to pick up the GC. When I arrived, all of the techs had gone for the holiday weekend and the owner and apprentice were waiting at the front entrance but the owner was also in a rush to get on the road.? It's 3pm btw. After about 1 min of small talk, the owner bolted out the door on the way to enjoy his independence day weekend. Before he left I mentioned to the both of them "are my SC parts in the GC" the owner looked at the apprentice and said "I don't know-do you?" The apprentice said "not sure gonna have to check". I am a little suspicious at this point. The owner then left with a saddam Hussain type hand shake...not much to it w/a touch of kiss my A**. The apprentice (only person remaining at the shop) then took over.

When I was handed the bill, it was $30 more than expected but fine, I am a fair guy so I gave it the blessing. While I was looking over the bill before submitting Pmt, the apprentice quickly took off outside to check for my parts in the rear of the GC. I unexpectedly followed him without delay. The first thing I noticed when he opened the rear of my GC was the OIL COOLER! This was the first sign that things were not done according to plan. When I asked why the Setrab was in the back when we discussed keeping it on, the apprentice paused and then said "the owner had to take it off" but he never told me why. Ok, so I guess I'll let that one slide considering I have a fan mod and 180 thermo still in place. Or at least I think it's still in place. That should keep it cool along w/the appropriate tune.

The rest of the experience at the shop went fine, I was even given a free coke! LOL

I started the GC, heard it roar and off I went into the sunset with my GF following close behind on our way to enjoy the holiday weekend with family.

Well, I get about 2 miles down the road and notice WITH THE WINDOWS UP a rattle noise coming from underneath??? I was in denile for about 5 min and held my freakn head out the window just so I could process and possibly diagnos the issue. My first thought was "loose bolt or bracket". I convinced myself the noise would go away, put the issue aside temporarily and continued to enjoy my weekend. PS-THANKYOU TO ALL IN THE MILITARY WHO FAUGHT TO KEEP ME/US FREE SO WE COULD ENJOY ANOTHER HAPPY 4TH + SRT'S! Thanks Pappaw, Dad and Shaun!! :usflag:

A week went by and the noise seemed to get a little worse each day. So last Friday 7/11 I took it to a tech friend at a local dealer (since I now have factory warranty back...hey, why not) to see what the heck is going on. He thought it was a bearing or diff problem but I disagreed. A few hours went by and around 3pm in the afternoon he called and said "we found the problem, YOUR TORQUE CONVERTER HOUSING HAD LOOSE BOLTS WHICH WERE CAUSING THE RATTLE NOISE...WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN TO A GC SRT AND IF YOU WOULD HAVE LET IT GO ANOTHER 1-2 WEEKS...YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN IN TROUBLE".

I will quote what the report said exactly so we are all on the same page. "Customer states there is a noise from the engine @ idle and in gear but intermittant...check and advise". Diagnosis: "Perform star scan-Perform injector kill test to check for noise change". "Checked crankshaft end play". Removed inspection cover-FOUND TORQUE CONVERTER BOLTS COMING LOOSE". "Removed bolts, added loktite to threads, reinstall and retorque bolts". "Verify NOISE GONE"! I never had one rattle or issue with my TC or any other part in the kit since it was installed summer '07 UNTIL the day I picked it up two weeks ago. FIXED FOR FREE BTW--HAHA

Need I say more? What does everyone else think happend? Do you think my upgraded TC was replaced with factory and they did a slop job? Do you think GSM left the upgraded TC in place but sabotaged the housing so either they could fix for a fortune OR the dealer notice an upgraded TC upon repair of the housing and void my warranty? Any feedback on this will be much appreciated. I still don't know what TC I have but will bet the upgraded version is still in place due to labor cost on swapping them out.

Lastly, I am not happy while writing this thread. I actually liked the owner of GSM and thought he was one of the only strait shoot'n mod vendors in the USA but now I see that I was wrong and it sucks! Best of luck to him after this post...I'm done moding my cars aside from exhaust!!!

Sincerley,
Mach4

PS-My SC kit works great and is for sale! I will posted pics on the F/S section and funds will go to my dads chemo treatment for his cancer. Please PM me if interested.

 

M4,

As I stated on the OC, you should have NEVER been sold a Predator with tune.

Your jeep was still on the piggyback ECU which means that the OEM PCM was untouched! This in itself is WRONG!

After thinking about this awhile, you need to check your stall TC. Get out on the street, hold the brake, stall up and see where it begins to break lose. Bet it is right around 1400rpm.

I am still fumed over this and we have been chatting since this morning. ARGH!!


This thread will REMAIN as long as people conform to the rules and policies of this forum!

 

Sadly, this does not surprise me. Several questions immediately come to mind:
1) Why were they ever near your torque converter when just removing your supercharger?
2) If your Jeep had a predator tune, you should own the predator. If it was still running the piggy-back system, you shouldn't have needed to buy one...
3) If you were going back to stock, what did they need to re-tune?

I'd ask your tech if he noticed you have an aftermarket torque converter or not. My money is on that its stock now.

 

Hope this all works out

 

They tried to tell him that the TC needed to be removed or it wouldn't shift or drive well. When M4 questioned that, they said the TC will be fine.

Correct, the piggyback ECU was still in. The Predator was NOT need!

 

Thanks for the TC test tips R. I'll let you know as soon as I perform a test. I hope everyone stays calm in ref to this thread so it can remain on the forum. I may have gotten "hosed" but I don't want it to happen again to any fellow SRT owner and beyond. "Persistence and determination alone ARE omnipotent".

 

What was the stall of the upgraded tq converter. Should be easy enough to feel the difference.

If they sold you a tuner when you never needed one in the first place. (piggy back) That is sad.

 

Sounds to me like Ron gave you the best advice so far. Go check your stall. If it's different, you really got taken. I'm assuming you did not have heads or cam. If not, there was absolutely no reason to have the preditor.

 

Didn't have heads OR cam. I was so distraught over the news of my dad's health...I just wanted it back to stock and didn't do my homework. I blame myself but that doesn't excuse shady business.

 

My stall was either 2800 or 3000. Regardless, after the test is performed, if it's below 2k...I will know. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE TEST TIP!!

 

I very sorry to hear your dad is in poor health. He is in our prayers bud.

To comment anymore on what they have done isn't needed. You already know. Thank you for informing everyone about your misfortune. I hope everyone learns a leason from this.

 

Scott has burned lots of people, even before GSM was a company. I was in a conversation at an engine building shop here in Nor Cal and out of nowhere his name(Scott) came out about him blowing up a motor in this guys Dodge Ram years ago. And that GSM did nothing to fix the problem. I asked the person how many miles he had on the Ram after the blower and he said that he never even made it home to Nor Cal...So it blew in less tham 500 miles. I gave them another try(GSM) earlier this year, even though i knew the reputation of the shop(maybe things have changed) and I got screwed.. I was sold a "CMR" tune that make my car ping like it had 80 octane fuel in it. I emailed the tune to Diablo and within 10 min I got a reply to remove the tune before I blow my motor up(set WAAAAY lean). So nothing has changed in 8 years with Scott. I was a member of the Dakota R/T South West group when the whole GSM Saga began

Sorry to hijack just letting some info fly into the fire...

 

haha I just read this somewhere else. hehe


Yea, I thought GSM was turning themselves around as well. I got wise just over three weeks ago when I found that my tune was jacked up.

Thanks to two different tuners that I gave my tune to saw how F'd up it was. Both tuners were amazed that my engine did not blow up! <<<Short version!

 

Thanks buddy for sharing your misfortunes with us. Welcome to the Connection by the way. Hopefully we will see you around here a lot. My prayers are also with you and your family. - Rick

 

Sounds like a mess.

First off guys... always, ALWAYS get a written estimate for any significant work to be performed. Make sure it's sufficiently detailed. Not only do you have a price but you have a clear list and understanding (on both sides) of exactly what's to be done. At least to start with and then it's pretty clear when the customer needs to be informed of changes in plans or price as the job is being done.

Reading through the original post I could see where there was a possibility for confusion. Somebody calls and asks how much to remove a blower. Whoever answers the phone figures $x to physically remove a blower and button it up. Later somebody figures it's going to need to be retuned. Then the TC comes up. Remove the TC or not remove the TC? He said stock. He doesn't have to take the TC off but if he leaves it on then he's going to want it tuned for that. Shift points whatever. We do that with Predator tunes now, does he have a Predator? ... More confusion when you got there.

I think if I had a shop you wouldn't have walked out of there without a written estimate detailing what was to be done, what parts were to be returned, etc. And you would have been called if and when there were any deviations to that.

 

Ron's the only guy I know with quick release fasteners on his motor mounts.

 

Wow, GSM steps up to the plate and knocks another one outta the park!

 

lol...

 

Wow, best of luck getting this resolved, thanks for the heads up and prayers for your father and welcome to the C! *huff huff* :friends:

 

It is a mess, it was a mess but the "clean-up crew" is on the case. Your view on how it should have been handled is right on. When you (general) take someone's hard earned cash for any work, it needs to be earned hard.