I have strong confidence in the technical capabilities at Dan's Economy Transmission Service. However, I am not sure what happened this time, but the time it took to remove and replace the power steering pump was a little protracted. I did not have an appointment and used the drop off service leaving my truck, and parts on June 11. The first installation on June 15 failed because the front seal of the power steering pump leaked according to Eric the technician. I purchased another pump from Autozone and delivered to the shop at 9:30 am June 16. The shop did not get to my vehicle on the 16th and after talking with receptionist in the afternoon of June 16, I was informed it would be the week of June 19 before the shop could schedule my repair. Dale apparently took the job from Eric on June 22 and had Dan inform me he did not recommend using the stop leak fluid and I approved using his recommended power steering fluid. So the only issue I have is the length of time the vehicle was held awaiting repair maintenance.
I fully understand maintenance repairs after over 30 years in aircraft and manufacturing maintenance. The key is communication with the customer when to expect their vehicle repair and communication with the repair is going to be delayed. In this case, I was a contributing factor because I dropped off the vehicle with parts after I determined I did not have the right tools for the job. When the first installation failed, a recommendation from the mechanic to purchase OEM power steering pump would have been appreciated - and I would have agreed for the shop to acquire and install the OEM pump. I unfortunately made a decision to try to get an OEM part that was not available on June 16, but would have been delivered from Portland by June 19. I purchased another re-manufactured pump thinking the repair would get accomplished on June 16.
Bottom line?
- I still have great confidence in the shop's capabilities and performance
- Recommendation? Improve the communication on the schedule repair and recommendations from the mechanics.
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