Rather Disappointed, Actually

The Toyota has a new used engine in it now, but they didn't tune it up right and I'm rather disappointed.

After nearly three weeks in the shop, I was expecting miracles. There were problems getting parts. There were problems with the parts once they'd acquired them. And, strangely enough, they failed to properly align the timing belt the first time and spent a couple days trying to figure out why it wouldn't work. But finally they got it all straightened out, and assured me it was "purring like a kitten".

A kitten with gas, I suppose.

There's something wrong with the exhaust system; it's making the same kind of noise that would occur if there were a hole in the muffler - but the noise is coming from the engine compartment. Perhaps they didn't get the exhaust manifold attached properly, or perhaps it has a hole in it.

The acceleration is sluggish, as though the carburator is flooding - but it's not quite the same because it never feels like it's about to stall. It just doesn't want to go too fast.

And the engine vibrates badly when it idles, as though the timing is still not quite right. It doesn't feel as though one of the cylinders isn't firing - I've felt that before from the original engine, when the cylinder with the bad oil seal would foul the spark plug and it wouldn't fire anymore.

I'm irritated and frustrated by it, because for the amount of money we spent, we should expect a perfectly-working engine.

But instead of taking it back to them and making them do it right, I'm going to do it myself, because even though I'm not all that knowledgeable about tuning up this kind of engine, I've lost any confidence in their ability.

The only person I really trust to do it right, my brother-in-law, is in Iraq. But I don't think I'll bother him with it right now. He's busy.

***

The van has been making odd noises, too, so we took it down to the Dodge dealer to have them perform the 120k-mile service on it. And have them find out where the squeaky noises are coming from.

I probably could've taken it to a regular shop, but the only one I knew about is the one I don't trust anymore, so the next-best thing is the dealer. At least they're supposed to be factory-trained.

They did OK, I suppose. A bit on the pricey side, but they found the source of the squeaking (bad brakes), and took care of all the regular maintenance checks that need to be made, like transmission and suspension.

And it only took a day, which is a far cry from three weeks!