So today I finally had a chance to evaluate the rear main seal work that was done to my 06' Odyssey by my local Honda dealer. Although most of the work that was completed was done reasonably well I have a few things that I want to throw out there b/c its driving me crazy thinking about it. To be clear the dealer that did the work for me did in fact stretch their necks out to help me out with my out of warranty goodwill claim with Honda Canada. The dealer also gave me a break on the number of hours it took to do the job. All in all I guess I don't fault the dealer themselves but the mechanics that worked on our van.
This is what I discovered when I brought the van home:
1. Engine oil was at the minimum mark so the tech clearly didn't bother topping off the engine oil when he finished the job.
2. Transmission was overfilled by just a little over a 1/4" above the top "dot" on the tranny dipstick.
3. Alignment guy didn't set my steering wheel to absolute dead centre when he aligned it and after I took the van back to the dealership they said the right toe was out a hair which meant that I hit a curb (which I know I didn't). They fixed it for free and now the steering wheel is 95% of being dead centered.
4. I managed to drain the tranny fluid from the bottom of the tranny drain plug without much issue. I actually drained out a bit too much so I went to fill the tranny with Honda ATF and discovered that my once mint condition air cleaner box is now broken (the mount that goes on the battery tray). The rubber grommet and bolt is missing and its evident that there was something once mounted in that location. Tech must've forgotten there was a bolt hold down there and then snapped the wing off the air cleaner's housing. This housing if memory serves me correctly is $60CAD for a new lower section + $3 for the missing bolt.
5. God knows what other damage the mechanic did to the van while he was in there removing my transmission...
Do I go and bug the dealership to do good on this air cleaner box damage and inform them of everything I saw and fixed on my own or do I simply bite the bullet and purchase either a used or new lower air cleaner housing assembly and call it a day? I do in fact have a very good relationship with the dealer (parts department guys at least) and a reasonably good relationship with the service manager. I do have some reservations on asking the service manager to get me a replacement housing b/c of how much he's done for us already. He's a great guy and I don't want to come across as a guy that keeps bugging him for all sorts of things when in fact I almost never get my cars serviced by Honda. I guess $60 might not be that bad for a housing but I think I'm more annoyed at the principle of how someone doesn't own up or make things right the first time. I'm quite particular about things and to me what I've just witnessed just drives me batty! I'm an extremely competent mechanic that has done plenty of engine swaps and other work for friends and family (Hobby of mine) and I can say that I would NEVER not triple check my own work and to make sure that if I broke anything that I would either replace it or own up to it.
Going to now go through my engine bay with a fine toothed comb to determine if they've properly clipped all the lines and harnesses in the right places before I decide to go on my 600km trip next week....
So annoyed,