[SATINSTEEL1LE]

Originally Posted by UnknownJinX

Well, it's kind of like a car that has been in an accident. You know somewhere, something may never be the same.

Here is the thing, though, you are assuming it's easy or cheap to find a new ride nowadays. Even if money isn't a big deal, if there is no car, what do you do? And nah, I don't feel like modding the car just yet as my own driving skills haven't yet squeezed the last bit of the car out.

Let's focus on a more approachable solution for now. A system too lean code only has so many causes. It's just that I have limited resources to do a through diagnosis.



That's certainly a possibility, but again, I'd rather not throw parts at it. At least not on my dime.

Ideally I could swap someone's MAF sensor in and test that theory, but I don't think that's an option here.

I do have a service manual PDF so I will see if there is anything I can do to test it.

You shouldnt be touching it PERIOD. If you want the dealer to be liable for this in any way, you need to tow it back and drop it off and not except it back until its perfect. They will take anything you do including assisting troubleshooting as "you messed with it and broke it" clearing their liability. If you are not going to launch it and you want the dealer to make this right, do not touch it. NOTHING. They are the responsible party here.

[Chutzpah]

Why am I not surprised.

Personally, as soon as the engine blew, the car itself would have been dead to me. …Onto the next after the engine swap. I do try to be a optimistic about these things when they happen to others, because sometimes these things work out just fine. But not for me, way too many bad experiences with just simple stuff (at dealers). OP, I can just about feel your frustration.

Good luck, hopefully there’s a painless solution and you’re back on the road / track again soon.

[N Camarolina]

OP, I've been in your shoes with a blown engine replaced under warrantee, and where things did not go smoothly with the replacement (see my previous post near the top of this thread). I too, like you, was angry about the errors that were made, but merely stomping your feet isn't going to fix the current problem. Nor is listening to some of these other guys (who likely haven't experienced a blown engine) telling you to immediately sell your car or mod it at your own expense. You have a powertrain warrantee in place until 2024 and you have some leverage here to get the dealer to fix it right. I suggest you do the following, as this approach with the dealer wound up working for me:

1) Contact the dealer and get the name of the senior service manager (the guy who runs the service department).
2) Speak to him over the phone and tell him that they just replaced your car under warrantee and you're not pleased with job they did, as the car is throwing codes and it's clear they didn't clean out the intake before they reinstalled it. Emphasize the metal bits you found that could have gotten sucked back into the engine, putting the new engine at risk. Tell him that you'll send him an email that lists out the problems so he can review it, and have them give you an appointment to return your car so they can make it right

2) Write that email that lists the problems (computer codes, metal in intake, oil in intake, etc) and send it to the service manager. Be polite, respectful, but firm that the job they did was unacceptable. What you are doing here is creating a paper trail that documents that the service department screwed up. By doing this he'll see you're serious and he'll also see that he can't just sweep the problem under the rug.

Based on what you've said and documented in steps 1 and 2 above, the service manager will realize you are an educated customer (you scanned your own codes with the OBD, you inspected the intake, etc), and he'll realize that he probably can't pull a fast one on you. He will probably tell you (like mine did) they want to make everything right and please give them the opportunity to fix it correctly. Dealers don't want you to give them a negative review (GM will ask you to complete a review at the end of the process) because it seems they are concerned it will either impact their customer base or their relations with GM.

3) So respond by giving them the chance to make it right. Be respectful, thank him for his commitment to making you a satisfied customer.

4) But also make it clear that you'll be scrutinizing their work because it's your car and you deserve to have it put back together correctly. Tell him that when you come to pick up your car the next time, they should leave it up on the lift so that you can inspect the underside and make sure the diff cooling lines and wire harnesses were all reinstalled correctly (it's easy to spot if they've screwed this part up because you'll see wires and pipes hanging down, with the old pastic clips that have been cut, but not replaced with new ones to anchor everything in place). And tell him you'll want an explanation for what they found that was making the engine run lean and throw those codes.

BTW, you might want to have them look into the ECM. I don't have a CAI on mine, but seem to recall that when you buy the GM CAI, they had to modify the ECM settings, otherwise the engine would throw codes. Maybe when your engine got swapped, the ECM coding got set to non-CAI default.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by SATINSTEEL1LE

Hell no. You think the next guy wouldnt do it?? Be noble all you want but its not a noble world. Like I said unpopular opinion. Its not his problem the dealer is an idiot. This plain and simple should be a perfect car once fixed. There should be no reason to chase gremlins going forward with it. But alas this is reality where the dealer will lie, cheat and steal their way to making it your problem. At that point cut the cord.

Anything I'd want to say to this is off topic and I won't derail UnknownJinX's thread.

[UnknownJinX]

So one thing I should add: going back to the dealer that performed the repairs is not really something I am looking to do. That requires a ferry ride(since I live in Greater Vancouver and the dealer is on Vancouver Island) and there is also a total of about 2 hours of driving before and after the ferry ride, so yeah, going back is very, very time-consuming and inconvenient.

Originally Posted by SATINSTEEL1LE

You shouldnt be touching it PERIOD. If you want the dealer to be liable for this in any way, you need to tow it back and drop it off and not except it back until its perfect. They will take anything you do including assisting troubleshooting as "you messed with it and broke it" clearing their liability. If you are not going to launch it and you want the dealer to make this right, do not touch it. NOTHING. They are the responsible party here.

I know that and I won't mention that I did anything. I will just tell them that it has a code. Realistically, again, I can't do much on my own outside of the intake.

Originally Posted by N Camarolina

OP, I've been in your shoes with a blown engine replaced under warrantee, and where things did not go smoothly with the replacement (see my previous post near the top of this thread). I too, like you, was angry about the errors that were made, but merely stomping your feet isn't going to fix the current problem. Nor is listening to some of these other guys (who likely haven't experienced a blown engine) telling you to immediately sell your car or mod it at your own expense. You have a powertrain warrantee in place until 2024 and you have some leverage here to get the dealer to fix it right. I suggest you do the following, as this approach with the dealer wound up working for me:

1) Contact the dealer and get the name of the senior service manager (the guy who runs the service department).
2) Speak to him over the phone and tell him that they just replaced your car under warrantee and you're not pleased with job they did, as the car is throwing codes and it's clear they didn't clean out the intake before they reinstalled it. Emphasize the metal bits you found that could have gotten sucked back into the engine, putting the new engine at risk. Tell him that you'll send him an email that lists out the problems so he can review it, and have them give you an appointment to return your car so they can make it right

2) Write that email that lists the problems (computer codes, metal in intake, oil in intake, etc) and send it to the service manager. Be polite, respectful, but firm that the job they did was unacceptable. What you are doing here is creating a paper trail that documents that the service department screwed up. By doing this he'll see you're serious and he'll also see that he can't just sweep the problem under the rug.

Based on what you've said and documented in steps 1 and 2 above, the service manager will realize you are an educated customer (you scanned your own codes with the OBD, you inspected the intake, etc), and he'll realize that he probably can't pull a fast one on you. He will probably tell you (like mine did) they want to make everything right and please give them the opportunity to fix it correctly. Dealers don't want you to give them a negative review (GM will ask you to complete a review at the end of the process) because it seems they are concerned it will either impact their customer base or their relations with GM.

3) So respond by giving them the chance to make it right. Be respectful, thank him for his commitment to making you a satisfied customer.

4) But also make it clear that you'll be scrutinizing their work because it's your car and you deserve to have it put back together correctly. Tell him that when you come to pick up your car the next time, they should leave it up on the lift so that you can inspect the underside and make sure the diff cooling lines and wire harnesses were all reinstalled correctly (it's easy to spot if they've screwed this part up because you'll see wires and pipes hanging down, with the old pastic clips that have been cut, but not replaced with new ones to anchor everything in place). And tell him you'll want an explanation for what they found that was making the engine run lean and throw those codes.

BTW, you might want to have them look into the ECM. I don't have a CAI on mine, but seem to recall that when you buy the GM CAI, they had to modify the ECM settings, otherwise the engine would throw codes. Maybe when your engine got swapped, the ECM coding got set to non-CAI default.

Thanks a lot for your advice. I know I am upset, but as you can tell, I am still trying to solve the issue as calmly as I can in the end. Just needed a place with some like-minded people to vent.

What you said makes sense and is likely what I will pursue, though I think their compensation will have to come out some other way(free oil changes, etc.) since I won't likely be going back to that particular dealer. Simply too time-consuming for these troubles. I will just ask the dealer near me to diagnose and when that's done, I will just pass their results onto the dealer that replaced my engine.

I have thought about the ECM being reset as well, but would that cause the fuel trim to go that lean? Some folks drive around without a tune on their CAI and it works fine for them. Worth bringing up, though.

[N Camarolina]

Sorry, I forgot that the dealer that did your engine was near the track, not the one convenient to where you live.

When you take it to the dealer near you, don't mention that the codes are probably tied to the engine replacement, because then they won't touch it (the other dealer near the track already got paid for the work, so it's their problem to fix). Act like it's a totally new problem, and if they ask about the engine replacement just say, "everything has been fine since I picked it up. Then this new problem seems to have popped up."

Good luck. Keep us posted

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by N Camarolina

Sorry, I forgot that the dealer that did your engine was near the track, not the one convenient to where you live.

When you take it to the dealer near you, don't mention that the codes are probably tied to the engine replacement, because then they won't touch it (the other dealer near the track already got paid for the work, so it's their problem to fix). Act like it's a totally new problem, and if they ask about the engine replacement just say, "everything has been fine since I picked it up. Then this new problem seems to have popped up."

Good luck. Keep us posted

Thanks for your help again! Hard to express gratitude through forum posts here.

So it looks like I have it figured out just now after chasing it for some time. As I have said before, when the last engine went kabloom, some of the oil got regurgitated all the way out of the intake. In that process, a good chunk of the air filter got drenched in oil. The new air filter got here today(yay for Amazon Prime) and I took the GM CAI off again, cleaned everything up again with MAF cleaner, and installed everything back with the brand new filter, and the fuel trims have now gone back to normal.

It's a bit like those people who have trouble when they over-oiled their K&N. The oil droplets must have screwed up the readings.

I also tried my best to wipe off the oil that got onto the fender well guard to avoid ruining the new filter.

I will drive a bit tonight to see if I still need a trip to the dealer tomorrow. Live data on my phone shows no real concerns as I drove to a nearby Tim Hortons. To those wondering why I am doing my own troubleshooting, being 4 weeks apart with my Camaro is already rough. Not ready for a dealer to chase around a problem that came from an air filter that's covered in oil from the last engine.

As a side note, I noted some ding marks inside the intake tube that connects to the throttle body. No big deal, but I might pursue a new intake kit here.