I recently had some work done on the cooling system on my '05 Denali. I opened the hood today and noticed that the engine cover that says "Vortec 6000" is completely gone and the other two covers are loose. The mechanic says they never touched it... I'm losing my mind over this cause I can't believe I wouldn't have noticed when I originally picked it up. So what's more likely, the mechanic is full of shit and I wasn't paying attention? Or someone came by, popped the hood, were trying to steal something under the cover, took the cover, and then closed the hood?
What's more likely?
- Thread starter mateo710
- Start date
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Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
Should be held on by 1 bolt. Very strange.....
mattbta
Full Access Member
Well, we know what is likely. You spamming multiple forums with cross posts.
SnowDrifter
Full Access Member
Look at the threads. If it's been gone for any amount of time they'll have dirt and filth in them vs. Being shiny
Yea, I posted there originally but figured it was less of an engine thing and more of a general thing.
SnowDrifter
Full Access Member
Still waiting on an answer to my question. It'll tell you a lot
the cover wouldn't just fall off, I would go back and ask the mechanic to "JUST" have a look around his shop and see if it happens to be sitting around somewhere, it would be pretty easy to set it aside and forget or another employee put it somewhere.
The bolts are clean. I know it disappeared in the last two weeks since it was on previous to dropping my car off at the mechanic. I do live in a fairly questionable area and it was almost stolen before which is why I'm even entertaining the second idea..
Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
How were they able to get to it last time?
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I'm not sure, there was no visible damage to the car so I think they used one of those thin bar things to fish the lock open? I didn't even realize it was broken into until I opened the door and saw they had torn off the trim around the steering column and wrecked the ignition with a screw driver.
Is there anything easily accessible that someone could pull off the heads and be worth some money?
Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
Maybe the coil packs--and those covers.
SnowDrifter
Full Access Member
Ahh. I'm seeing how odd your situation is.
Honestly man, without knowing for sure, it's tough to really point the finger at the man who takes care of your vehicle. It would strike me as odd if he were to do something like that anyway given that it's 1. such a minor thing and 2. doing so would basically be suicide for business over a $40 piece. I know the media likes to make a big deal about scams and what all have you, but seriously, any reputable shop won't be pulling shit like that. It's exceedingly rare. Brain farts while working? Getting a hold of ****** parts you don't know until after the customer leaves? Common. If he said he didn't have it - i.e. forgot to put it back on, I'd believe him. Otherwise it's just taking up shelf space until he deals with it. If you truly believe this is an issue, you can call your bank and have it formally investigated, you can also check reviews on google/yelp/FB. Should your mechanic have sticky fingers, it's unlikely that you'd be the only one affected
Given the peculiarities of your situation, I think it would be worth your time to up the security on your vehicle a little bit. Viper has some smart alarms that sync with your phone. And since a hood latch is just a pull-cable, they're quite easy to relocate to somewhere else. At the end of the day, anyone can take anything they want, but you don't have to make it easy for 'em.
Spitballing other ideas:
Structural laminate over the windows. Even if they break, you still need to do some work to get the stuff off. Not a good idea if you drive over water for obvious reasons.
Plate or block of wood, something along those lines to protect the hood latch so it can't be "fished"
Some sort of lip around the doors so it's more difficult to poke a coat hangar through and press the latch
Kydex or some other sort of plastic cover over the door internals. if memory serves, these vehicles use the old school systems that can be unlocked from going between the window and the door.
Consider a battery backup for any sort of car alarm. Wouldn't be difficult to rig up with some diodes
Shave the exterior door locks. Understand the risks if you do so, however.
Honestly man, without knowing for sure, it's tough to really point the finger at the man who takes care of your vehicle. It would strike me as odd if he were to do something like that anyway given that it's 1. such a minor thing and 2. doing so would basically be suicide for business over a $40 piece. I know the media likes to make a big deal about scams and what all have you, but seriously, any reputable shop won't be pulling shit like that. It's exceedingly rare. Brain farts while working? Getting a hold of ****** parts you don't know until after the customer leaves? Common. If he said he didn't have it - i.e. forgot to put it back on, I'd believe him. Otherwise it's just taking up shelf space until he deals with it. If you truly believe this is an issue, you can call your bank and have it formally investigated, you can also check reviews on google/yelp/FB. Should your mechanic have sticky fingers, it's unlikely that you'd be the only one affected
Given the peculiarities of your situation, I think it would be worth your time to up the security on your vehicle a little bit. Viper has some smart alarms that sync with your phone. And since a hood latch is just a pull-cable, they're quite easy to relocate to somewhere else. At the end of the day, anyone can take anything they want, but you don't have to make it easy for 'em.
Spitballing other ideas:
Structural laminate over the windows. Even if they break, you still need to do some work to get the stuff off. Not a good idea if you drive over water for obvious reasons.
Plate or block of wood, something along those lines to protect the hood latch so it can't be "fished"
Some sort of lip around the doors so it's more difficult to poke a coat hangar through and press the latch
Kydex or some other sort of plastic cover over the door internals. if memory serves, these vehicles use the old school systems that can be unlocked from going between the window and the door.
Consider a battery backup for any sort of car alarm. Wouldn't be difficult to rig up with some diodes
Shave the exterior door locks. Understand the risks if you do so, however.
Was the cooling system the only thing done? What was the purpose for getting it done? Were they looking for an unknown problem? Have you used this mechanic before/What's your history with this shop/mechanic? What kind of shop is it? (independent or chain, if it were a chain, id be more inclined to think it could be a straight out of school, Inexperienced in repairs and life).
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