billed 5 times to install clutch by Pauls Auto, please read and give opinions (long)

beefcake · 02-23-2001, 01:51 PM

Okay, since we seem to always need 2 sides to the story, I will explain my dilema and the reason I am upset with Pauls Automotive for the work done on my clutch.

I will break it down again for those that didn't see the other thread.

Had clutch installed on the car. After less than 50 miles, it began sticking to the floor on me. I was told that because it was new, it probably just needed to be worked in. On the highway on a 3 to 4 shift, the clutch eventually lodged to the floor and had to be released.

I had to pay to have the car towed to Paul's. After inspecting the assembly I was told the car had a bad throwout bearing. I was billed to replace this and to reinstall the clutch. I was given the car back supposedly in working condition. I had an event to attend that weekend. I put the car on a trailer. After getting to Bowling Green, I pulled the car off the trailer and decided to do some city driving. The clutch almost immediately began hanging up again.

I wasted an entire weekend and money to travel and stay in hotels because the car would not perform.

The car was then dropped back off at Pauls. The assembly again was removed and inspected. I was told that the pivot point on the clutch fork was off by so many hundreths of an inch on my scattershield. Mind you the Lakewood only cost me $350. I was quoted a minimum of 8 hours of labor to measure, remove, and realign the pivot point. (I still wonder why a properly aligned shield wasn't reordered). I don't know the exact amount billed becasue very few of my invoices show a breakdown of the hourly labor rates. The assembly was put back together and then reinstalled.

I called the shop and asked the status of the car. I was told that it did not fix the problem. Was I still billed for the work, YES. I have to say, IMO if it did not fix the problem, it did not need to be done.

So, now we are on the 3rd time to have the clutch pulled on the car since the original install. Now, I will explain the clutch setup. The clutch is good to 1200 hp when using a 2100lb pressure plate. This is per George at Mcleod. I was told that a 2800lb pressure plate was put in the car and that fixed the problem. I personally spoke to George at Mcleod, I wanted the input of the manufacturer, just so I knew exactly what was going on. He told me that the 2800 lb pressure plate was sent only because the materials used in the 2100 lb pressure plate were found to be defective and the clutch could explode. The only reason 2800lb plates were sent was because they were the only ones in stock with the proper manufacturing materials. He told me that if the clutch was hanging up with the other pressure plate, the heavier plate was only masking the problem and eventually I will probably wear a groove in the transmission shaft and break it.

The car got about another 500 miles on it before I had trouble with the clutch not adjusting. By this time, I could not even get the car to shift into 4th gear over 4500 rpms. The synchros had worn so bad after only 1500 miles that the car wouldn't shift.

I dropped the car back off to get the clutch adjusted, 2 mechanics at the shop attempted to adjust the clutch with no success. The clutch then had to be removed and sent back to the manufacturer, Mcleod, to determine the problem.

Here is a link to the letter I received from George at Mcleod. There are 2 pages, so click them both in the order i have them.

Keep in mind, before I received this letter, I had already received the car back in working condition. I was told by Pauls that there was some damage to the clutch, that's why it wasn't working.

Here is the link to the letter pages.
http://www.fordcobra.cc/clutchletter2.gif
[url] http://www.fordcobra.cc/clutchletter1.gif

Remember, this letter states the findings from George and Les at Mcleod industries. They are the manufacturers of the clutch. They are the people Pauls sent the clutch to because they couldn't figure out why the clutch wouldn't adjust.

So, as far as 2 sides to the story go, I would be happy to here the other side myself. I guess that is what I have hired an attorney for. One thing that was funny was that George referred to the alignment marks as "idiot proof" marks when I spoke to him on the phone.

The thing that upsets me the most is that I was never forwarded any of this information. If I had not investigated on my own, I would be none the wiser. I was given a credit in the neighborhood of $500. To be honest, I don't think this scratches the surface of what i have been billed. BTW, this credit was given before I discovered this information. I think a shop needs to stand behind their work. Especially with a customer that has spent over $20,000 with them.

I hold integrity in the highest. Basically, I feel taken advantage of, lied to, and completely misled.

Well, this is my side of the story. Oh, I almost forgot, total time my car was down for this was in the neighborhood of 5 months. That's right, 5 months. The last time in the car was down for 3 months. I was told George is impossible to get a hold of. I have called George on 3 occassions personally. I have held no more than 3 minutes on any occassion. When I first mentioned calling George to Russ. Russ told me not to call him. He said I would more than likely make him upset and cause him to not work with us on getting the clutch problem solved. George has welcomed my phone calls and spent as much as 1 hour on the phone with me at one time explaining things in detail to me.

Yes, every story has a side, but the facts are the facts. Yes, I have a high performance application, Yes, I have 1 of the first 4.6's this clutch was on, but the clutch has been used for years on other applications, and it is now available for the 4.6's from Mcleod to the open public. The bottom line is, it was done wrong. No ifs, ands, butts, or excuses.

------------------
Follow your dreams, you can reach your goals, I'm living proof. Beefcake, BEEFCAKE!

Owner – Team Beefcake Racing Ultimate Bulletin Board
http://www.fordcobra.cc/cgi-bin/Ulti...i?action=intro

99' Rio Red Cobra Coupe--3586 out of 4040--Off the line 6/17 487 RWHP - ET 11.457@123.69

Mustang World Feature Mustang

Unit 5302 · 02-23-2001, 02:38 PM

Hey man, sounds like you got screwed. I'd be pissed as hell!

I'd be suing for every dime that has been billed to you by that shop related to the clutch. They screwed the install, that's pretty simple to prove. McLeod racing may want it to appear that way as much as possible to shield themselves, but the bottom line is, even if that's the case, this shop should have refused to give the car back to you without signing a waiver based on the clutch being a defective product.

I can't beleive a shop with whom you've spent $20k plus would nitpick with you over something this stupid!

What idiots!

I don't think you'll be able to recoup any money for your car being down to tell you the truth, you'll have to talk to your attorney about that, all I can say is, sorry to hear about this BS.

That and I think you can take a vaction from the gym, you're making me look bad, hehe!

beefcake · 02-23-2001, 03:05 PM

actually, under the consumer sales practice act, i could be entitled to all payments and insurance paid on the car during that time.

02-23-2001, 01:51 PM	#1
beefcake Registered Member Join Date: May 2000 Location: cinti Posts: 62	billed 5 times to install clutch by Pauls Auto, please read and give opinions (long) Okay, since we seem to always need 2 sides to the story, I will explain my dilema and the reason I am upset with Pauls Automotive for the work done on my clutch. I will break it down again for those that didn't see the other thread. Had clutch installed on the car. After less than 50 miles, it began sticking to the floor on me. I was told that because it was new, it probably just needed to be worked in. On the highway on a 3 to 4 shift, the clutch eventually lodged to the floor and had to be released. I had to pay to have the car towed to Paul's. After inspecting the assembly I was told the car had a bad throwout bearing. I was billed to replace this and to reinstall the clutch. I was given the car back supposedly in working condition. I had an event to attend that weekend. I put the car on a trailer. After getting to Bowling Green, I pulled the car off the trailer and decided to do some city driving. The clutch almost immediately began hanging up again. I wasted an entire weekend and money to travel and stay in hotels because the car would not perform. The car was then dropped back off at Pauls. The assembly again was removed and inspected. I was told that the pivot point on the clutch fork was off by so many hundreths of an inch on my scattershield. Mind you the Lakewood only cost me $350. I was quoted a minimum of 8 hours of labor to measure, remove, and realign the pivot point. (I still wonder why a properly aligned shield wasn't reordered). I don't know the exact amount billed becasue very few of my invoices show a breakdown of the hourly labor rates. The assembly was put back together and then reinstalled. I called the shop and asked the status of the car. I was told that it did not fix the problem. Was I still billed for the work, YES. I have to say, IMO if it did not fix the problem, it did not need to be done. So, now we are on the 3rd time to have the clutch pulled on the car since the original install. Now, I will explain the clutch setup. The clutch is good to 1200 hp when using a 2100lb pressure plate. This is per George at Mcleod. I was told that a 2800lb pressure plate was put in the car and that fixed the problem. I personally spoke to George at Mcleod, I wanted the input of the manufacturer, just so I knew exactly what was going on. He told me that the 2800 lb pressure plate was sent only because the materials used in the 2100 lb pressure plate were found to be defective and the clutch could explode. The only reason 2800lb plates were sent was because they were the only ones in stock with the proper manufacturing materials. He told me that if the clutch was hanging up with the other pressure plate, the heavier plate was only masking the problem and eventually I will probably wear a groove in the transmission shaft and break it. The car got about another 500 miles on it before I had trouble with the clutch not adjusting. By this time, I could not even get the car to shift into 4th gear over 4500 rpms. The synchros had worn so bad after only 1500 miles that the car wouldn't shift. I dropped the car back off to get the clutch adjusted, 2 mechanics at the shop attempted to adjust the clutch with no success. The clutch then had to be removed and sent back to the manufacturer, Mcleod, to determine the problem. Here is a link to the letter I received from George at Mcleod. There are 2 pages, so click them both in the order i have them. Keep in mind, before I received this letter, I had already received the car back in working condition. I was told by Pauls that there was some damage to the clutch, that's why it wasn't working. Here is the link to the letter pages. http://www.fordcobra.cc/clutchletter2.gif [url] http://www.fordcobra.cc/clutchletter1.gif Remember, this letter states the findings from George and Les at Mcleod industries. They are the manufacturers of the clutch. They are the people Pauls sent the clutch to because they couldn't figure out why the clutch wouldn't adjust. So, as far as 2 sides to the story go, I would be happy to here the other side myself. I guess that is what I have hired an attorney for. One thing that was funny was that George referred to the alignment marks as "idiot proof" marks when I spoke to him on the phone. The thing that upsets me the most is that I was never forwarded any of this information. If I had not investigated on my own, I would be none the wiser. I was given a credit in the neighborhood of $500. To be honest, I don't think this scratches the surface of what i have been billed. BTW, this credit was given before I discovered this information. I think a shop needs to stand behind their work. Especially with a customer that has spent over $20,000 with them. I hold integrity in the highest. Basically, I feel taken advantage of, lied to, and completely misled. Well, this is my side of the story. Oh, I almost forgot, total time my car was down for this was in the neighborhood of 5 months. That's right, 5 months. The last time in the car was down for 3 months. I was told George is impossible to get a hold of. I have called George on 3 occassions personally. I have held no more than 3 minutes on any occassion. When I first mentioned calling George to Russ. Russ told me not to call him. He said I would more than likely make him upset and cause him to not work with us on getting the clutch problem solved. George has welcomed my phone calls and spent as much as 1 hour on the phone with me at one time explaining things in detail to me. Yes, every story has a side, but the facts are the facts. Yes, I have a high performance application, Yes, I have 1 of the first 4.6's this clutch was on, but the clutch has been used for years on other applications, and it is now available for the 4.6's from Mcleod to the open public. The bottom line is, it was done wrong. No ifs, ands, butts, or excuses. ------------------ Follow your dreams, you can reach your goals, I'm living proof. Beefcake, BEEFCAKE! Owner – Team Beefcake Racing Ultimate Bulletin Board http://www.fordcobra.cc/cgi-bin/Ulti...i?action=intro 99' Rio Red Cobra Coupe--3586 out of 4040--Off the line 6/17 487 RWHP - ET 11.457@123.69 Mustang World Feature Mustang

02-23-2001, 02:38 PM	#2
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	Hey man, sounds like you got screwed. I'd be pissed as hell! I'd be suing for every dime that has been billed to you by that shop related to the clutch. They screwed the install, that's pretty simple to prove. McLeod racing may want it to appear that way as much as possible to shield themselves, but the bottom line is, even if that's the case, this shop should have refused to give the car back to you without signing a waiver based on the clutch being a defective product. I can't beleive a shop with whom you've spent $20k plus would nitpick with you over something this stupid! What idiots! I don't think you'll be able to recoup any money for your car being down to tell you the truth, you'll have to talk to your attorney about that, all I can say is, sorry to hear about this BS. That and I think you can take a vaction from the gym, you're making me look bad, hehe!

02-23-2001, 03:05 PM	#3
beefcake Registered Member Join Date: May 2000 Location: cinti Posts: 62	actually, under the consumer sales practice act, i could be entitled to all payments and insurance paid on the car during that time.