I would also let them know that you are thinking really hard about reporting them to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and see if they will cut you a deal since they tried to screw you.
Blake

 

I went there, they said the mud has caused a little rust to develop on the threads of the bolts. They said the bolt broke on it's own however, prior to them pulling it out. Which I don't quite believe, they said thats why I had a leak, but there is no way a bolt just unthreads itself, especially when the [still attached] portion of the threads were deep inside.

I am still upset they told me "We warned you about this, the bolts may break". Which is a lie. They should have been more careful as well.

Now as for my radiator, the leak is pretty bad and they showed me. I have a terrible time believing it just all of a sudden rubbed through a radiator tube the day I bring it there. It seems like it would be close to undriveable. When I get it back I will keep my eye on the temps, if my edge starts alerting me its overheating I will know for sure it wasn't like that and they did that themselves.

We will see, I went in there pretty irritated and the owner was very nervous...claiming all sorts of things about his reputation. The owner claimed he was just passing info from his mechanic that I needed a new exhaust manifold, I thought to myself well gee, don't you verify this sort of thing before you ask me to shell out a ton of cash for an OEM new one? I looked at the manifold, it was fine.

 

If the threads are broke off in the head then it didnt break till they tried to move it, or the rest of it would have simply fell out from the vibration of driving. If the mechanic lied to the owner to get you to buy a new manifold he should be fired, and I would have demanded that somthing be done about it immediatly. That way he would have eather fired him for doing wrong or come clean if he was lying to you.
Blake

 

Just to verify that the company gave no inclination to tell JK automotive to replace my manifold, I called the machining company back and asked straight out if there should be any reason to replace that manifold. They said NO. I caused a stir at their shop so I'm sure they are on their toes, when it comes time to pay I'm going to argue the price down. I am not a complete jerk, just very stern and let them know I'm aware of my truck. I took your advice Reaction to let you know.

They're going to love the sticker I'm having made btw. The town is somewhat small and everyone knows the truck so the sticker will be noticed.

 

I dont see it as being a jerk, the way I see it they were trying to steal your money. I loose all my sense of humor when someone is trying to steal from me. I guess I just react differently to those kind of things than other people.

Anyway it sounds like you have it under control and are taking care of it. Also just make sure the sticker isnt somthing you could be sued over for slander. Good luck
Blake

 

Jerk? Your looking out for yourself! This is a dog-eat-dog world nowadays, seems like everyone is out to screw people over! But im glad you got them on there toes josiah, hopefully everything works out. Oh and yeah becareful with that sticker

 

Thanks for the sticker warning, I wasn't aware of that. Definitely thinking twice. I finally got my truck back and good news, I argued and got a lot of my money back. I was very stern with the owner, he wanted $505 for the job they did, 90 was the cost of them breaking the bolt off. I refused to pay, I had so much dirt on them the owner was sweating. I walked away paying $408.

I now have a leak in my radiator but I walked away happy I got a lot of my money back. Thanks for helping out FX4Reaction, birddog, khendrix and bigtruck. I went in there with confidence and walked out with a heavier wallet than I would have otherwise. You guys saved me money so my hats off to you.

 

I'm so fed up with this kind of crap!!

It seems like it always happens, if someone could open up a reputable shop with some good quality service, they'd make a fortune!!