Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jun 13, 2013 6:43:12 GMT -6
I know this has taken me way too long, but my boss still tells me I need to get this ******* car done, and he's not making any money off of it by now, he tells me to spend every extra second on it that I have, even though I already know that and already do, and the owner said if she knew I didn't know how to work on these things, she would not have had me do it. I keep telling them that I said I would rather swap the motor, but it don't matter, it's all my fault now, lol. Regardless of everyone being crappy towards me I am still working at the same pace, I know it needs to be done, I am not stupid, but I also spend all my extra time on it, and it has not been an easy project. I am very thankful to aurora2001tan, he went out of his way and sent me information to help me with this motor, it all seemed to work out exactly when I needed it. Thanks everyone that helped in the thread, too. ACNA is a great place.
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jun 19, 2013 6:32:36 GMT -6
Dropped trans assembly and sub-frame, drive train re-assembly is almost complete, motor will be in and hopefully started today.
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jun 28, 2013 6:31:09 GMT -6
Can someone get a picture of a starter, particularly the wiring, on the Aurora V6? When I hook up the battery the starter starts turning on it's own, even with the key out of the ignition. From what I can see from the factory manuals I have it right, but I am not sure what is going on. Right now I have 2 wires hooked to the starter, the small one, and the big positive cable. I have what I think is a big ground cable that is also in the same area that I had hooked to the block, it may have something to do with it. No wires are touching other wires, I have already checked that out, and I also took the starter back off.
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Post by renaldo0613 on Jun 28, 2013 10:20:38 GMT -6
If you have a meter i would disconnect the starter cable at the solenoid and check for voltage passing through the solenoid when you attach your battery cable to the battery...if you are passing voltage with the key off disconnect the little wire on the solenoid so it has no way to turn on..if you are still passing power i would say your solenoid is shorted and you need a new one (or you have a powerwire touching something it shouldnt that is leading to the out post on the solenoid)....if it stops passing power with the little wire disconnected then you have a short in your ignition circuit. I believe that the solenoid might be bad. You can also try tapping on the solenoid with a hammer when you have it hooked up and if ut stops clicking tharlt will tell you the solenoid is bad too.
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jun 29, 2013 6:31:57 GMT -6
Awesome! Thank you! I too was thinking the solenoid was also bad. I took yesterday off, but I told them to have it tested, if not I will get it checked out today. I can't wait to hear this motor running again, and I have an '01 Deville waiting on coolant crossover gaskets, hopefully they go better than this 3.5 did. lol
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Post by silverstreak on Jun 29, 2013 20:14:49 GMT -6
Thanks for posting all these photos of this job. Great to read through and see what's all in there.
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Post by renaldo0613 on Jun 30, 2013 10:12:02 GMT -6
Ohhhh the cross over will go way!!! Easier then the heads lol. Make sure you have some off set wrenches to get to the bottom bolts on the cross over.
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jul 2, 2013 6:33:56 GMT -6
You are welcome! I am not worried about the install part of the gaskets, what I meant was, I hope it does not end up being another head gasket job, lol. I will keep the offset wrenches in mind, though, thanks for the tip. If I do another one of these insert jobs, I will tell them I need it for 6 months, then they will be happy when they get it in 3. I got it figured out last night, I had the alt and starter wire mixed up, got those switched out and got it started, sounds good so far. I still need to bleed the brakes and power steering and install the covers, then I will take it for a test drive.
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jul 4, 2013 8:32:04 GMT -6
I can't catch a break on this car. I basically just have to bleed the brakes to be able to test drive it, but the car has had a messed up master cylinder cap gasket, so the lines are full of sludge and I can't get them to bleed out. I flushed out the mc itself and I have a little fluid here and there coming out of the bleeders, I am afraid I am going to have to pull all the lines loose and flush them individually. The reason the lines are full of sludge is brake fluid naturally absorbs moisture if it is exposed, the longer it goes the worse it gets. Lame.
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Post by sall on Jul 4, 2013 9:41:04 GMT -6
A vacuum or pressure bleeder will clear that right up but I wouldn't go past 30-35 psi with a pressure bleeder. Good luck!
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jul 5, 2013 6:28:56 GMT -6
Thanks! I made a run to Harbor Freight yesterday and picked one up.
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Post by lanceslambos on Jul 5, 2013 19:27:54 GMT -6
sounds like you're about to get some Aurora work you can appreciate more (*_*)
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jul 10, 2013 18:17:07 GMT -6
Yep, lol.
3.5 Aurora is back on the road, bled and flushed the brakes as much as possible and changed a hose and caliper which helped a bunch, with all that sludge, all the hoses and calipers could have been affected.Customer said the brakes have been getting worse for a long time, now they are better, but will probably require more work in the near future.
Still have to figure up the bill, my Chilton guide does not give proper times on everything I had to fix. If anyone has any idea of what it should cost labor time wise, let me know. I lost track of all the time I spent on it, not that it really matters. I was thinking labor wise around 25 hours, but I don't know if that is enough, I want it to be fair for both the customer and I. I had a GM program that was working pretty good that would have told me, but it has crashed and I can't get it to re install on my pc.
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jul 12, 2013 18:48:03 GMT -6
Charged 27 hours plus parts, ended up being right under $3000, pretty good deal in my opinion, the customer and my boss thought it was pretty high.
The curse of this car will not end, my boss had the secretary contact me and let me know that they are only going to pay me 3 hrs per pay period for it, every 2 weeks. I am about to lose it on these people. I am starting to pack my stuff next week and looking for another job. I was planning on taking a mini vacation with my family and I was counting on that money to do it. I am not very happy, pretty upset and depressed about it. I saw my boss a couple times today, and did not even talk about it, I am afraid I may go crazy, and I need my job until I get another.
I get an hour of regular pay taken off for every hour of mechanic pay I get. I make $8.50 an hour, and $20 an hour when I do mechanic work. So, they even took the 3 hours off my regular pay for this pay period, it's not fair. So that means, if they pay me the 27 hours and they take off an hour pay for every mechanic hour they pay me, I will only be making $300 total on the job, that's not happening. I worked many late nights and Saturdays on my own time that they are not even considering. I probably worked 35+ hours on this car, I drilled and tapped every head bolt hole so carefully, tried to do everything right and perfect, stressed about it countless nights.
Does anyone have any advice? Customer is bringing the car back so I can retorque the frame to make sure it's still proper and double check everything. I don't know if I can take the car to my house and attempt to put a mechanics lien on it if they don't pay me, or if I should drop the motor back out and then tell them I want paid for everything. I want to figure out a way to get all my money and not get in trouble doing it. My boss made comments again today about how I bet I wished we never would have done this, and how the customer probably won't even pay. I turned around and walked off, it was too much to even say anything. He is the one that wanted to finance her, they are they ones that wanted the head gaskets put on and done right, and now I am the one paying the price with me getting screwed over again and having a bad day and weekend. I just wanted to go on a little 2 hour trip, do a little float trip and get away for a couple days, now after counting on this money and paying the bills I have $50 to last me 2 weeks.
I am not going to talk to him about it, after having this done to me I don't want to work things out, I want to find another job and get my money that I deserve. I would like to unlabor the car, drop the drivetrain out and rip it back apart into 200 pieces. Not very happy about this.
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Jul 12, 2013 19:55:00 GMT -6
That is BS. 10% over 18 weeks? I would definitely be looking for more gainful employment. Sorry you have to put up with that kinda mess.
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Post by ntrenn on Jul 13, 2013 16:22:02 GMT -6
So...let me get this straight....they pay $8.50 backstop wage and $20 flat rate? And them....your 'boss' wants to string you out over 3 or 4 months and then dock you for the backstop hours as well?
As far as the price on the head gasket repair - you're not too far off on the price - book rate I calculated on a 3.5 swap with a long block/crate motor is about 25 hours. Stud kit is $500 +/- so 3 grand is a very fair price in these days and times.
As far as your boss - he owes you the money in ADDITION to your regular wages in the WEEK you completed the work - especially if you worked nights and weekends. If he won't pay you this week - turn him in to the wage and hour commission and see how fast the money comes. Just be prepared to pack your tools and leave.
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jul 15, 2013 6:24:29 GMT -6
Thanks, I appreciate it. I am going to have to try to talk to him, like you said, if I want to get paid, I have to consider if I want to keep my job or not. I put a motor in a Plymouth Voyager this weekend on my own time, I will get my little vacation one way or another.
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Post by renaldo0613 on Jul 15, 2013 12:12:15 GMT -6
Man words can'teven express how pissed off iam for you!!! I'm no lawyer, so I can't issue legal advice. However that is jacked up either way u look at it. And it seems a bit illegal the way your boss is trying to pay you. Good luck brother.
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jul 15, 2013 18:13:30 GMT -6
I really appreciate it man! I have yet to confront him, I am going to try work on getting the cash for that motor swap, then take 5 days off, then I will deal with it when I get back. I will deal with it when I get the Aurora in and on the lift, I can drop the motor on the ground upside down in less than 5 minutes, 6 bolts and the rest will tear itself out, lol. I won't, but it's fun to think about. I talked to a Sheriff today, and he said I need possession of the car, then I can file for a mechanics lien.
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Post by lanceslambos on Jul 19, 2013 8:32:04 GMT -6
this isn't sounding good for me either!
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jul 22, 2013 6:18:09 GMT -6
this isn't sounding good for me either! Yeah, it does not change the order our cars will be worked on. I am hoping I will have my motor installed next weekend, and then I will focus on yours, if I happen to lose my job, it will give me more time to work on them. lol
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jul 24, 2013 6:36:45 GMT -6
I need my job to bad to start any trouble over this, I will call this a lesson learned, although I will let him know how I feel about it when I can communicate without being angry. I don't have the enthusiasm to work as much as I did before, and I will be keeping an eye out for better job offers. I would like to work at the local GM dealership.
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Post by ntrenn on Jul 24, 2013 16:22:33 GMT -6
Randy - really sorry you have to work for such an ogre. Would take you on in a heartbeat if it wasn't a 500 mi relo for you. It's been slow lately, but there's always room for guys with the drive to excel and the energy to back it up. So far, this week has been a GM week - a pair of 4L60's with busted sun gear shells and a Bonnie GXP that showed up for a tuneup with only 63,000 on the clock. Can't wait for the Bonnie to come back for it's test drive....
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jul 24, 2013 18:54:17 GMT -6
I really appreciate that! GXP sounds fun! You don't see very many of those.
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Post by aurora2001tan on Jul 28, 2013 20:18:48 GMT -6
I need my job to bad to start any trouble over this, I will call this a lesson learned, although I will let him know how I feel about it when I can communicate without being angry. I don't have the enthusiasm to work as much as I did before, and I will be keeping an eye out for better job offers. I would like to work at the local GM dealership. [glow=red,2,300]A successful R and R of the heads and drill and tap job would sure look good on a resume!!!!!!!!!![/glow] Trust me, that is your ticket to a better job! The 3.5 is a high tech motor. If you can make rate on stuff and can learn. Anyone will hire you and should!!!
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Jul 28, 2013 22:16:43 GMT -6
Yeah, that would look good on an resume for sure! I appreciate the comments.
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Aug 13, 2013 6:24:11 GMT -6
I said something, got 10 hrs @$20 an hr on my last check, still not what I was looking for, so I am still not done with this yet. He told me on the phone a few days ago he needs me to focus on servicing cars (oil changes) and keeping up on office work. In July we made more in a month than this shop has ever made since this guy owned it, and now he wants everything changed. Yesterday he stopped by and asked me what Lances car was doing there, it was across the street. I told him it was my friends and I had been working on it on my own time. He said I need to make a ticket on it or take it home. I said ok and brought it home last night, I also packed a trunk load of stuff out to my storage and will get another today. My tools will also be going, if I can't do what I want with my own tools, then they are going home with me. I still have to separate my 4.0 motor and trans and get them into storage, and I already have some leads on other jobs. I installed flooring for 10 years and I can work on cars, so I will find a job somewhere. I know this is not head gasket related anymore, but this still seems like the place to post this.
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Mar 13, 2014 6:03:52 GMT -6
Update, I still see this Aurora on the road, but I wish it would blow up, lol. The last straw on my job did not take long, I had more hours because I had to work through my lunches, boss called me complaining, and said that when he looks on the camera I am just standing around all the time, anyways, and I didn't deserve the extra time. I wrapped up my jobs and quit the next day. I took 2 weeks off and then found a job within 1 hour of looking. Now 5 months later of being a lube tech, and I started as a d tech yesterday. I am working at my local Ford dealer.
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Post by renaldo0613 on Mar 20, 2014 23:09:17 GMT -6
Update, I still see this Aurora on the road, but I wish it would blow up, lol. The last straw on my job did not take long, I had more hours because I had to work through my lunches, boss called me complaining, and said that when he looks on the camera I am just standing around all the time, anyways, and I didn't deserve the extra time. I wrapped up my jobs and quit the next day. I took 2 weeks off and then found a job within 1 hour of looking. Now 5 months later of being a lube tech, and I started as a d tech yesterday. I am working at my local Ford dealer. That's right. Working at Ford, pulling up in an Olds :-)
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Randy T.
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Post by Randy T. on Mar 24, 2014 6:16:55 GMT -6
Yep! lol Last time I worked at a Ford dealer I drove a Chevy shortbed, and then a Pontiac.
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