Fuel cleaning procedure gone wrong at oil change location

Thank you so much for the advice, this was a great suggestion! I went and checked the oil pan and didn't see any fluid, thankfully!

 

Thank you so much for the advice! I went and checked it and it didn't look contaminated and it was full. I did get under there and really wipe away all the gunk yesterday and then drove it. I placed cardboard underneath and haven't found any new drippings....yet....thankfully! Thanks again!

 

You are not wrong on this....never again!

 

I'd use full strength on the underside,,, now on ac coils, ie cond. evap. I dilute it to 50/50 or so.

 

That'll learn ya good..
Dealerships are 100% the worst, round here we call em Stealerships.


My dad made me learn to change the oil and change a tire before I was allowed to get my license.

Since then, I do most of the work on my vehicles.
When I don't, I take it to someone I trust; I supply all the parts and request they retain all the old parts so I can inspect them for damage (this also helps keep everyone honest).


There are always people who will try n take advantage of others, male or female. If it doesn't sound right, it is probably isn't.


Google stuff if you aren't familiar.
TW has tutorials with pictures and tool lists for most maintenance stuff and other members are a wealth of information. BoobTube also has lots of videos as well.
Tons of resources for the Tacoma!


Look under the hood and make sure everything looks okay, regularly - fluid levels, wires, connections shouldn't be loose, etc ...
Same for underneath the truck.
The more you do this, the more familiar and comfortable it will become.

Also get an OBD scan tool and learn how to use it.

Good luck!

 

Thanks so much for your response! I checked these items and nothing seems to be leaking. They did not try and replace the fuel filter. So basically, this stupid (I have much stronger language, but know i can't use it here) cleaning I paid (and have now watched the youtube video from the company that shows how it's done) for involves them inserting a sprayer into the throttle body (I believe)- then your truck is supposed to be turned on and the fluid (I assume) gets sucked through the system. They must tightly clamp the hose on with this device so it doesn't leak. I imagine one of two things happened, or both.... they didn't tightly close the hose enough, and they didn't instruct me to turn on the truck when it was set to begin (I only turned it on once the assistant manager told me to... and he walked up to this situation before they screwed it up i believe). I remember one guy saying to the new guy who set it up "did you fill the tank (of fluid) up all the way?" So essentially, I think this whole canister of fluid dumped down onto the parts on the truck directly underneath it... which is why it seemed like the oil change might have been the problem. They also dump in some fluid into the gas tank with this procedure. I've been checking my oil level (which remains steady), and the tank to see if there were leaks, and the filter which didn't seem to be leaking. The radiator fluid level was good and it looked like nothing had mixed in that fluid to contaminate it. The check engine light isn't on, thankfully. I think this is basically a case of this fluid dumping down and pooling in the crossmember. Yesterday I tried to wipe down everything as well as I possibly could and then I drove the truck. When I got home I put cardboard under it and there are no drippings today, thankfully. I'm feeling like heading down there and asking for a refund for screwing this up and dumping this fluid all over. At $134, it wasn't cheap and caused me a ton of worry.

Thanks again for you help

 

This is essentially the same process using seafoam- 1/3 a can sucked into the TB (at the PCV), 1/3 a can in the gas tank, and 1/3 a can into the engine oil. Drive 100 miles, change the oil.

 

Thanks for responding, much appreciated! Totally harsh for sure. I have now decided to do exactly what you suggest, only an oil change with this situation....I can change my own air filter and wiper blades. I don't know if I feel confident enough, with something like my truck that wouldn't be easy to replace, to do transmission and radiator fluid changes without a tutor (and I don't have one)- so I'll probably just go to a mechanic for those items. As a female, I've gotten massively screwed (that's putting it lightly) by a mechanic and a dealership- but I did find one good mechanic. Unfortunately, his shop disappeared during the pandemic- but your post made me consider trying to see if perhaps he opened up somewhere else. Thankfully, I believe I've found him! So thank you for you post and inspiring me to look for this one guy who was honest and trustworthy- I appreciate that, it's a relief knowing he's available.

I did post more about what i think happened in one of my other responses. I do think it was the stupid fuel cleaning service i bought that caused this fluid to leak all over.

Again, thank you for taking the time to post!

 

Stealerships.... you're absolutely right on that! Good god!

This is great advice and I'm absolutely going to work on learning more. Thanks for your post and the encouragement- much appreciated!

 

This is very good to know.....much appreciated!

 

Good mechanics are hard to find.
If you loose the one guy - ask around, I had to ask my neighbor [who keeps his truck tip/top] when my last one left the biz.


Please don't assume that getting screwed [by mechanics/dealerships] is limited to women.
That is really just subscribing to the same stereotype you are askewing.
I have seen both men and women being taken advantage of because they don't understand the problem or the process to fix something or how to do it.
My brother knows jack/shit about cars - but he knows when something doesn't make sense and he knows to call me so I can explain it to him before they touch his car.


It is also a little much to say "because I'm a woman" this guy was a jerk.
No, that guy was a jerk because he is a jerk.
He was a jerk to you and he'll be a jerk to the man that comes in after you and doesn't know jack about his vehicle too.

 

I agree that men and women both get screwed by mechanics. And I completely agree with you that jerks are going to be jerks no matter what. I think it'd be easier if I knew more about cars and how they work. My dad has completely restored 2 corvettes but only taught me to change a tire. When I got older I specifically asked him to teach me how to wire a shed, or how to do some plumbing- but it was a result of me asking him to teach me. He had bought an old car that he planned to restore with my younger brother when we were kids, but my brother showed no interest. In my situation, there was a gender bias that meant my dad was more interested and/or thought it was my brother he'd pass this knowledge to. So far, it's been me he's ended up imparting his wisdom to. I do wish I'd been around him more to learn about cars- it would have saved me a lot of hassle and money. Now I learn from the internet and YouTube.

My dad knows a lot about vehicles but he couldn't fix my problem and the guy he brought it to fixed it in less than an hour for less than 50 bucks- but my dad surely had more confidence and knowledge when he discussed it with the guy. When I went back to the same guy that was so helpful to my dad, I didn't have the knowledge and I think that was in part why I got screwed and it wouldn't have mattered if i was a man or a woman. I think a jerk is a jerk- but I don't think it's much of a stretch to assume that there are fewer women who have a solid base of knowledge about car mechanics than men. This is changing, obviously, but I would still guess it's skewed, which can change the outcome when attempting to have repairs done.