no oil in the transmission

[machine girl]

A customer called today had bought one of our overdrive transmissions. the shop that installed it FORGOT TO PUT OIL IN IT. now its a total loss. wake up call check that oil.

[Mitch//pa]

is it common practice to put a tag on the trans fill plug stating to fill with oil trans dry before shipping?
do you know what kind of shop installed it? no excuse for STUPID

[machine girl]

Step # 14 in the instructions highlighted in yellow tell you to fill with oil.

[hardtimes]

Tag on trans, tag in neck on finger and everywhere...might prevent such..lol

[Tom Wesenberg]

The same thing happened to me about 10 years ago. I bought a 1985 Caravan with a rebuilt 5 speed stick tranny. The dealer never put oil in it. After I drove the 30 miles back to my house, I checked all the fluids and found the tranny dry. The damage had been done, and even though I filled it, the tranny failed in Chicago, on my way to the National Model A meet at Dearborn.

Also happened with a 1962 Corvan I bought in El Paso while I was in the Army. The guy rebuilt the engine and never refilled the tranny. That one went out half way home on leave, 750 miles from base and home. Best to get under the car and check all fluids, as like Mitch said, you can't fix stupid.

[machine girl]

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Cant lol the poor guys out a lot of money and time. but good tag ideas!

[ursus]

This unhappy situation can also happen to any old car that hasn't had its fluids checked often enough. When I bought my coupe, it hadn't been driven for 10 years and the owner recalled that the transmission was "kind of noisy". After towing it home, I found no oil in the trans and the drain plug was stripped enough to allow slow leakage to the point where it was basically dry. Needless to say, with metal flakes all through interior, all the parts needed replacement. Check all fluids regularly!

[tbirdtbird]

Check all fluids regularly!

Why? It came with oil from the factory

If we do so much as a simple crankcase oil change on any car we put a NO OIL sign on the driver's seat

[machine girl]

Yes any service work we do the empty cans or bottles stay with the car until the owner takes it. and its oil out oil in not ill finish this tomorrow.

[700rpm]

Any time I drain any fluids from my cars I put a note on the windshield specifying what's been drained ("There's no water in this car!" for example). If something happens to me and I never get back to the car, the next person has a warning note. Even if I'm just changing the oil and I break for lunch, stuff happens. I could choke on my sandwich or have a heart attack. I think it's just a good practice, whether you're an amateur or a pro shop.

[Mike V. Florida]

The good news is, you sold another transmission.

[sidhartha]

Originally Posted by machine girl

A customer called today had bought one of our overdrive transmissions. the shop that installed it FORGOT TO PUT OIL IN IT. now its a total loss. wake up call check that oil.

If the customer had a shop put the transmission in the car then the shop should be liable for the damage. I had a friend that had the oil in his truck changed at an Iffy Lube and they stripped the drain plug so bad it fell out. It took some arguing and a letter from his lawyer but they replaced his engine.

[tbirdtbird]

being liable and paying up are not the same thing unfortunately

[Mitch//pa]

being the customer supplied his own part for a shop to install he should have supplied his own oil also lol

[Growley bear]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

being the customer supplied his own part for a shop to install he should have supplied his own oil also lol

I must agree.

Chet

[Ray in La Mesa]

A friend had a '29 tudor, was changing the oil, drained and replaced plug, got distracted and then went to hospital and passed away. "A" was used in funeral procession of 70 miles then family sold the car after three people looked at it & test drove it. The third friend got about 1/2 way home and it started to knock. He called me and we flat bedded it to his house, started checking and discovered no oil!. Original owner, who passed away, was into doing inserts and I had helped assemble the engine. We pulled the engine and I replaced the inserts and polished the crank--been running fine ever since. I guess it ran the 70 miles on the oil left in the dipper tray. Some times they just won't die!

[jrelliott]

Think the place that put in the OD unit should be responsible. That is one of the reasons why shops should carry insurance for those type mistakes. Had a tranny rebuilt by a shop recommended by a friend, and they did not fill all the way, had problems later, lost the carrier bearing. Got a new Jeep with a 9 speed tranny and there is no filler plug on the top. Tranny temp is on the engine monitor.

[sidhartha]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

being the customer supplied his own part for a shop to install he should have supplied his own oil also lol

This is true, but given the nature of the part and the fact that most shops are not familiar with model A supply resources. The customer most likely had to supply his own part. I would think a good shop would have at least checked the oil level and consulted the customer before releasing the car. The shop is still responsible in my opinion.