bad transfer case & wrong fluid = good court case?
Dec 7, 2006, 10:43 AM
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bad transfer case & wrong fluid = good court case?
So here is the deal. I have on 05 with 25k miles one it. At about 18k miles the stock clutch finally gave out and i upgraded to a ACT HD. A friend of mine said he knows a guy that owns a local shop and knows what he is doing, works on everything and is very careful while doing so. So i figure its only a clutch job, cant be to complicated for an expeiranced mechanic. I get the car back, everything is fine and no problems. Shortly after i install some goodies and make 325whp on the dyno and decide to take it to the track. After about 3 runs at the track i get the death whine/howl on the way home and figure more HP, racing clutch, 6k RPM launches what did i expect. I have been driving around with the howl for about 3 months and 5k miles now and it got worse yesterday out of nowhere. I have babied the car since the whine b/c i did not want to have to replace it in the winter months. So today i call Shep and he tells me that the TC should not of failed on me, to him it sounds like someone put the wrong fluid in when i got the clutch done. He goes on to tell me that is the main cause for failures with the TC's. So my next step is to call the mechanic who worked on my car, ask him what kind of fluid he put in my TC when he did the clutch and hope he says something other than DiaQueen LSD oil while i am recording the phone convo. If this does happen, do you think i would have a case in small claims court? $3200 for a new TC from Shep is not cheap and if this wasnt my fault i def dont want to pay for it. Any input or other options would be great, thanks.
Dec 7, 2006, 11:02 AM
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Depends on the size of you lawyer compared to his.
That is all that really matters in these things but it is just small claims court and he could always file for bankruptcy (sp) and never pay anything.
That is all that really matters in these things but it is just small claims court and he could always file for bankruptcy (sp) and never pay anything.
Dec 7, 2006, 11:04 AM
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can anyone elaborate more on why or why not i should try this? Im thinking about jus changing the fluid and hope it quites the noise and try and trade the car in for a new Civic SI or something, im getting sick of problems with cars.
Dec 7, 2006, 11:05 AM
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Recorded telephone conversations are usually inadmissable in court. In some states you may be able to use the conversation in court by begining the phone call with a statement saying that the phone call is being recorded. Does your reciept/service record have any info on the type of fluid used? Either way, calling him is a good idea... and try to remain calm 
Dec 7, 2006, 11:12 AM
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I am assuming since i have mods bringing it to the dealer is out of the question. Maybe ill get lucky and the thing will fail on me while driving on the highway, lock up all 4 tires and i crash into a guard rail and sue the sh*t out of Mitsu or that mechanic lol
Dec 7, 2006, 11:13 AM
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Originally Posted by 05evoGSR
I am assuming since i have mods bringing it to the dealer is out of the question. Maybe ill get lucky and the thing will fail on me while driving on the highway, lock up all 4 tires and i crash into a guard rail and sue the sh*t out of Mitsu or that mechanic lol
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Dec 7, 2006, 11:17 AM
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The same thing happpened to me at Engine Logics in Houston. I just had to suck it up and buy a new one because they deny causing the damage. 4k wasn't worth the legal time/trouble.
Dec 7, 2006, 11:18 AM
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No but for real, the thing still drives ok it just makes a loud noise. Is it basically safe to drive like an old lady till i get the time to fix the problem? Or might i end up locking all 4 tires up and killing myself?
Dec 7, 2006, 11:23 AM
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Originally Posted by chase123
The same thing happpened to me at Engine Logics in Houston. I just had to suck it up and buy a new one because they deny causing the damage. 4k wasn't worth the legal time/trouble.
Last edited by mac_05evo; Dec 7, 2006 at 11:25 AM.
Dec 7, 2006, 11:26 AM
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Originally Posted by chase123
The same thing happpened to me at Engine Logics in Houston. I just had to suck it up and buy a new one because they deny causing the damage. 4k wasn't worth the legal time/trouble.
Dec 7, 2006, 11:30 AM
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what would my odds be on getting one from a junk yard? I know someone that works at a huge junkyard here in NJ and they get the majority of the cars from NJ. I wonder how much they would charge me to get one out of a wrecked 05.
Dec 7, 2006, 01:08 PM
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it was a shop in Elizabeth on Elizabeth Ave., forget the name of it though. Im not saying he did bad work, for all i know he might have put DiaQueen back in the TC and i just broke it from driving hard. Until i give him a call i wont know for sure. I know that he had to order some gaskets or seals form Mitsu to do the clutch job so he may have gotten the QiaQueen also. It didnt say anything on the invoice what was used, just a total labor charge. This makes me wonder another thing, there are a lot of people that have the "death whine" with their TC's, did all of these people have the wrong fluid put in to cause this? How many are just abuse related?
