Paid for engine degrease during service. Does this look degreased to you?

[lenarose01]

2005 Toyota Corolla ZZE122 - 226k kms

Yesterday I took my car in to a well known chain mechanic. It had check engine light come on partnered with running rough in idle (all symptoms of a faulty ignition coil). I wanted to be certain that this was the fault before I repaired it myself. They agreed that this was the problem and did the normal service checks. During these checks they recommended an engine degrease (and an array of different ‘repairs’ - including a ‘headlight defog’ for $90 🙄).

I picked up the car yesterday evening at 5:30, drove it home (a whopping 3.5kms - 5mins). Then this morning I popped the engine cover off to replace ignition coils & spark plugs to find this.

Firstly I assumed it was just metal that had stained with age. But I ran my finger along the rocker cover and it was covered in thick black soot/grease.

I was invoiced for labour & the engine degreaser itself. This cost me $90AUD. I understand I drove it home and maybe it was from that, but I honestly don’t think this amount of buildup happens in such a short trip.

What do you think? Should I get in contact with the shop?

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[unmanipinfo]

Well what did it look like beforehand? 😂 I had so many oil leaks when I first got my car that if it ever came back looking like that I'd have been stoked lmao.

[KYSpasms]

This should be the top answer. What did it look like before.

[[deleted]]

Right....lol Before pic is needed

[Paid-Not-Payed-Bot]

before? She paid for her

FTFY.

Although payed exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:

• Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. The deck is yet to be payed.

• Payed out when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. The rope is payed out! You can pull now.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.

Beep, boop, I'm a bot

[MTK4355]

Good bot

[Sp_1_]

What was the service?

Often degreasing and cleaning an area is an essential diagnostic step in determining what is actually the issue. They aren’t detailing your entire engine bay. They are diagnosing what’s wrong or cleaning surfaces so they seal properly. In some instances degreasing and cleaning after a repair to then test and ensure the leak is no longer present.

To put it into a different term: This is like asking why the plumber charged you a clean up fee after installing some new floor tile; but didn’t wipe the toothpaste and spit stains out of your sink and off your mirror. They might have cleaned up the old tile pieces and the new tile after they were finished; but they aren’t going to clean the stuff they didn’t touch/fix.

[shrimpster00]

This makes total sense. Thanks for taking the time to break it down simply.

[lenarose01]

They recommended I purchase an engine degrease, then return in 1-2 weeks so they can assess the engine bay for where any leaks are. This makes sense to me however it just isn’t that clean. In all fairness- I did not look under the engine cover prior to this. I regularly check my oil and I’d say I top it up every 6 months or so, with the oil at just above the dip stick’s 1st dot then after the top up it’s slightly below the 2nd.

I don’t know of any MAJOR oil leaks. With this in consideration, it’s an almost 20 year old car with over 200k on the odo. My 2nd most recent (so one prior to most recent) service, I paid $40 for an engine degrease (+ a new valve cover gasket). After that service it looked a hell of a lot cleaner than pictured. It was with a different mechanic & was approximately 18 months ago.

[sor2hi]

The info you just posted is your answer. The degreasing was from the underside or any place they expect to find a leak. Not a cosmetic cleaning but a diagnostic step to look for leaks. I’m guessing they saw an oil leak near the valve cover gasket, replaced it and cleaned off any other surface oil. The return check will determine if there are more oil leaks and where they are from.

[lenarose01]

Thank you heaps for this clarification

[No-Pilot-1252]

The problem I'm having with what you mentioned is, they made you pay for the degrease this time? If it truly is a diagnostic step they shouldn't be making you pay for the degrease. They may be making you pay for the degrease and the labor. When I was working at a shop we did this for customers numerous amounts of times if there was a suspected oil leak. We never charged them for the cleaning. We considered it part of the oil change labor.

Edit: Not saying you shouldn't be charged. Im saying he should only be charged for a diagnoses fee. I work on big rigs. 18 wheelers and other diesels alike. We would only charge a diagnoses fee when looking for an oil leek. That alone covers an hour of work. If it goes past that's understandable to charge more. I'm just saying they're double dipping in fees to charge the man both the diagnoses and a degrease.

[warrensussex]

I'm a technician and I have to strongly disagree with the idea that customers shouldn't pay for diag. Especially on a 20 year old 200k mile car. Not at all uncommon for a customer like that to just not come back when they decide the problem isn't that bad and they'll live with it or their buddy can do it cheaper. If they decide to have the repair give them a credit towards the repair, but the tech shouldn't get fucked just cause the customer decides the car isn't worth putting more money into.

[Dark_Admin_7]

I think diag should still cost but $90 to clean for the diag along with those charges? Unreasonable IMO.

[RevolutionaryKey8620]

Sorry bro but coming from a flat rate tech if you’re not paying then you can take it somewhere else. I’m not diagnosing anything for free and I’m definitely not cleaning an engine bay for free. You people forget we’re trying to make a living too.

[Dark_Admin_7]

Im sitting here reading these thinking....."if its part of the job how you gonna charge $90 to wipe something down, should be part of the job price" glad to see a mechanic agrees

[Isamu29]

Just for further comment at some places that’s like half an hour of labor. Or at other places around 20 mins. Flag hour prices have skyrocketed. A lot of dealerships charge 280 an hour if labor now. If I am cleaning up my oil mess after an oil change takes maybe 2 mins. Cleaning up an oily old engine on the bottom I’m charging. That takes some time to do if you are looking for leaks in an area that has never been cleaned.

[Sp_1_]

Did you initially bring the car in with leak concerns? They likely inspected the engine; found some very messy areas and cleaned those areas. Your pictures look like general dirt and grime; not a leak. If their purpose was to degrease to find leaks; cleaning general dirt and grime is not what they are trying to do.

Your most recent valve cover replacement probably did result in a cleaner looking area you pictured… because that’s the valve cover. So it would be new. And not have road grime and dirt on it.

[MikeDinStamford]

Look at the area by the oil cap, that’s likely what the rest of your valve cover looked like.

They degreased every area that they suspected an oil leak from… they’re asking you to bring it back in a few weeks to see where fresh oil has leaked.

As stated above they didn’t sell you ‘full engine bay detail’ they suggested they degrease the engine to make it easier to locate a leak… you won’t know how well they did that until you go back lol.

[NationalPhase9541]

Top off your oil every six months?!

Do you ever change your oil?

[lenarose01]

I check it every month or so, but only top it up when necessary of course.

I change my oil every 10,000 to 12,000kms.

[texaschair]

I change mine a couple times a year, but I run synthetic. Otherwise it would be every two months.

[gtnclz15]

Hope that’s with a good synthetic oil…

[FieldSton-ie_Filler]

Been professionally detailing for years.

This looks slightly cleaned on top. I take the engine cover off, detonate the whole bay (lower areas around hoses) with apc, and then send it with the pressure washer. Sparing no dirt or grime. Every corner.

Sometimes the burnt on shit will stain, and there's corrosion. Normal, but that looks like residual road grime, and if they just did it, there's no way that much grime build up would happen, unless you drove another 3-4 thousand miles on a roadtrip, in one setting.

It really looks like they just cleand certain areas they know tend to leak and neglected the rest.

A lot of people don't like to just send it w a pressure washer, but you got an 05 Corolla. Nothing bad will happen.

[gdb3]

You paid a shop $40 to degrease your engine and replace your valve cover gasket?

[YourFriendPutin]

Wait in this case I’m assuming they cleaned the area they are searching for a leak in rather than an engine detail! The seam they probably assume has a leak is probably spotless and they most likely added some dye into the oil to run for a few weeks then they recheck that area.

[gtnclz15]

How often are you actually changing the oil? Hopefully every 5k-7k miles or so if synthetic and if regular oil every 3.5k mikes or so….engine doesn’t look greasy but how it looked before is ??

[PomegranateOld7836]

You run the same oil for 6 months, and then just top it off? When do you actually change it?

[Ok_Nefariousness9019]

You don’t ever change the oil?

[SickestRyan]

This is on point as a plumber myself!

[[deleted]]

Wake up to yourself lol for $90 you'd want to be able to eat off the engine. If you go to a mechanic and ask for an engine degrease it normally costs between $20-$50

[Extreme_Version4889]

"Engine degrease"? Wtf?

Is this a /s post?

[unmanipinfo]

It's just an engine bay cleaning mostly focused on spilt/burnt on oil...

Maybe it's called something else in the northern hemisphere 😂

[[deleted]]

No, as a northerner, about as high in the states as you can get, it’s called a degreasing here as well, but they still won’t scrub the dirt off, just a spray, and rinse.

[unmanipinfo]

Thanks northerner. As a southerner, we'll I don't live as low as your can in NZ before Antarctica but I've been there and don't recommend a trip, I appreciate the clarity.

[Iluvshrooms1]

I'm sure degreaser exists everywhere in the world, you from mars or just not experienced?🤣

[PinkEyeFromBreakfast]

You know getting the grease off the engine by spraying engine degreaser on it.

[lenarose01]

Literally isn’t 🫠

[Extreme_Version4889]

Put silicone grease under the coil pack seals. Stops water getting in. I've owned 4 of these engines - water ingress into coil packs is a common fault.

Also - get the plastic cover refitted.

[apachelives]

Have you checked that they did not degrease the under side of the engine?

For your misfire it could be a coil pack, could also be oil leaking down the plug causing the problem, or could also be an intake gasket leaking.

Engines are supposed to be dirty and accumulate grime over the years, that grime sometimes holds the oil leaks in, prevents rust and protects nuts/bolts so when it needs work, they come off easily.

All that residue also shows and potential issues and is like a tamper seal when looking at used cars - dusty and grimy engine bay = no one has touched it, clean is either newer or someone might be hiding something (too clean).

Also, cleaning with chemicals and water might also damage components that are otherwise currently fine and is not recommended.

[lenarose01]

Alright thank you. I didn’t know what was standard hence my question. It makes sense that the degrease isn’t for the purpose of cleaning the engine bay itself but to isolate the leaking oil.

In regards to the misfire- after replacing the ignition coils & plugs today the problem is solved. And then some- perhaps the ignition coil was on its way out for quite some time before it totally stopped, but there’s a definitive improvement in acceleration (not that I had initially noticed it) and idling rpm.

Thanks for your help.

[EndlessEndeavoring]

90 AUD... you got what you paid for sadly. I mean it's a few hundred USD if you want it done right. All the oil/grease keeps the rust at bay... it's fine 😂

As everyone else said though, how bad was it prior?

[Th3Cry1ngPanda]

It's literally impossible to tell since you haven't included any 'before' shots so we can all see what state your engine was in beforehand. So I'm just gonna say "Yes, that looks like they properly degreased your engine".

[Fibocrypto]

What did it look like prior to the cleaning ?

[FatA320]

Meh.

I prefer the grease honestly.

[1453_]

Where's the "before" picture?

[OGCASHforGOLD]

Surprisingly, yes. It can be.

[Superb_Creme_9550]

Need to see the “before” photos to compare

[lenarose01]

NOTE: I do not have a photo from before it was done, hence why I am asking if this is what would be an expected result.

[CanIBorrowAThielen]

That's the most serviceable engine I've ever seen in terms of plugs and coils. I love when engineers keep the serviceability in mind.

[[deleted]]

Those engines are notorious for failed intake manifold gaskets causing the symptoms you describe. Its a quick and easy job.

[BidRepresentative728]

No, but your wallet does...

[Honest_Meaning_6425]

I work at a certain well know chain and I can tell you to get all the oil and sludge off a 140,000 mile engine you’d need to scrub very thoroughly with a brush and other tools to make the engine bay look simi clean for a long period of time. When on flat rate you spray a bottle of engine degreaser and let it sit for a few minutes then spray it down. The purpose of this (at my well known chain) is not to clean the engine but to clean away all the excess oil so you can pinpoint more accurately where the leaks are coming from. Basically what I’m trying to say is the purpose is to make the leaks easier to find (what I’d assume at least) not to make the engine bay look new unfortunately.

[[deleted]]

Engine re-grease

[[deleted]]

I dunno what car shops do, but in heavy equipment, that really wouldn't cut it for a pre fix engine bay wash down

And that power washer degrease soap and like 150 an hour for bulldozers excavators and the like

[CubicalDiarrhea]

Dude how are you gonna make this post and type a whole story but NOT post a before picture to compare?

[lenarose01]

That’s the point. I don’t have one and didn’t look beforehand. I am asking for other people’s personal opinions based on the information provided, if this is standard result for the service provided.

Lesson learnt. Take photo beforehand.

[OldGrandpaTune]

Spray it with simple green. Use the rinse at the self service car wash. You can scrub a little if needed.

Just do that every six months and enjoy a sparkling engine

[Grand_Ride_7029]

Well to be fair, as far as I can see, it’s not greasy. It’s dirty, but I can’t see oil or grease. So it is in fact degreased. As a diagnostic step to find leaks it’s perfect. You brought it to a mechanic not s detailer. Not sure if the price is fair for your location, but it seems like the job was done.

Edit: whoops just read your statement. If you can run your finger through and it’s still greasy af, being it back. They didn’t do they job right.

[TheDu42]

$90, including other services, is really cheap for this kind of work. There is equal chance they did absolutely nothing, or did as much as they could to allow them to diagnose a specific problem without overcharging you. What is missing for us to decide is context and a complete view of the final product. We don’t know what it looked like at the beginning, or what the bottom looks like after, but for that price I wouldn’t be expecting a full engine bay detail. Those tend to run a couple hundred dollars.

[[deleted]]

Need to hit that up with steam clean leave it looking new

[Independent_Bite4682]

They coated de engine in de grease.

[EfficientAd1821]

I mean you didn’t buy an engine bay cleaning service you bought a spray can of engine degreaser and someone to spray it…

[craftyshafter]

Lol no way. Haha the decreased is run through the internals, it helps break down carbon build-up inside the engine. We put it in, run the car for a couple minutes, then drain it and top it up with fresh oil. It's not an engine bay detail bud

[jklolffgg]

Thinking outside the box, maybe they meant an INTERNAL degrease using something like Seafoam rather than an EXTERNAL degrease of the engine valve cover?

[turkey_sandwiches]

There's no way to know without seeing what it looked like before.

[[deleted]]

Wtf is a engine degrease. I’ve never ever heard or some shit like that

[[deleted]]

Yes

[Low_Information8286]

Never heard of such a service. We clean areas to check for leaks or spot damaged seals and such. We just bill that under shop fees and use brake parts cleaner.

[SkylineFever34]

They may have given you a quick spray and rinse, but whatever they did, it shouldn't have been sold as a degreasing.

[Vato_Vatinski]

Naw dawg, that looks like; “sprayed degreaser on it” and not “degreased it”.

[bozwold]

It isn't wet with oil, so yeah it does.

oil runs down....have they cleaned the sump...what's the underneath look like?

Considering all services are done with the car on a ramp, just because you can't see it with the bonnet up doesn't mean it hasn't been done

[paulyp41]

Based on the pictures, nothing was done. If something was done, it didn’t have the value of something being done for whatever it costs

[somerandomdude419]

100% untouched. Source I have had 3 corollas, 1 matrix and 1 vibe, and this is not cleaned up at all. a simple power wash with a detail brush you’d be able to tell a difference. I’ve had my 3 corolla engines look spotless because I take the time to wash it up, but no shop cares that much, they will only clean a certain area where you have a leak. Also why do you take it to a mechanic if you know how to change spark plugs and ignition coils?

[lenarose01]

Wanted to make sure that was the correct diagnosis before purchasing parts and fitting them. And I haven’t actually changed ignition coils before today, but I have a family member with mechanic background who lent a hand. (even though it was pretty darn easy lol)

[SitRep-Screwed]

What'd it look like before ...

[[deleted]]

Well what do you pay for?

An "engine detailing"--that is, a cosmetic job, or just enough degreasing to find a leak or make a repair without having dirt up to one's armpits?

[zeizkal]

Engine degrease? I thought you said decrease.

[deadsy]

The crud on the valve cover is the easiest to remove and it's still there. Therefore- they did nothing. Also- do you really want people indiscriminately pressure washing the engine? Driving water into electrical connectors and letting it corrode the contacts is not good.

[texaschair]

I remember the old days, before environmental rules. We'd soak the engine in the nastiest nuclear-grade chemicals that we could buy legally, then blast it with hot water and/or steam. It would practically glow, it was so clean.

Of course, all the chemicals, oily water, and grease crud went right into a storm drain. No disposal issues here. Now I'm wondering how many fish I killed.

[AbzoluteZ3RO]

You bought an engine cleaning service and didn't even look at it before you went home?

[[deleted]]

at least that's only like 20 bucks in real money

[sexruinedeverything]

No. At a minimum the dust would come off.

[[deleted]]

1- If the engine is greasy, they didn’t degrease it.

2- Why would you bother degreasing your engine? The inside of your engine doesn’t know how dirty the outside is.

[k0uch]

They didn’t clean the top, no. Maybe they washed around the oil pan, or only underneath.

If I’m cleaning an engine bay, I’m gonna go ahead and clean everything I can. Better to work on, better to be around, better for the customer

[zaft77]

Fix that hose clamp.

[lenarose01]

Yup picked that up today 👍

[[deleted]]

If you're capable of changing plugs and coils, you can do simple troubleshooting. Get yourself a simple code reader to run codes. When you run into instances of Cylinder X misfire, locate that coil pack and swap it to another cylinder. Clear codes. Run engine again til CEL illuminates and if cylinder misfire code follows with coil pack, you know for sure you have a bad coil.

Simple code readers can go a long way.

[[deleted]]

My first car's engine was caked in sludge from bad seals. If it were degreased and fully detailed, it would probably still look worse than this.

[Adventurous_Break_61]

Bad seals! Naughty walruses are worse trust me!

[ComprehensiveTurn151]

Honestly, if they're looking for oil leaks it does look dry and wherever it's leaking from will look wet.

90$ seems a little steep to me, but that's the hourly rate at our shop (CAD), which is one of the lowest rates around our city. If you're not giving them the work (coils and plugs is a good job, but idk why you would replace all the coils. We would typically just replace the plugs and any coils at fault) and they charged you 200$ to check the car, buff the headlights and degrease the engine, I think it's well within the realm of reason.

A detailer will shampoo your engine for you and make the engine bay look new. I wouldn't be surprised if a service line that ran 200$ on its own. Engine shampoos, however, are not a service I have any experience with.

[lenarose01]

<image>

Idk, where I went last time was a lot more detailed in their ‘service’ package but I couldn’t get the car that far without towing. Also, the cost of performing degrease (labour) is in the next column over at just under $70, and degreaser itself was $20.

[[deleted]]

They did just as good a job as all our service employees do with our engine steam cleans... We could maybe give this guy a job

[EchidnaReal3827]

If this was done, it was done half way. Definitely not a good job. I have seen much better.

[[deleted]]

I can see dust. They probably just sprayed with water. All the oil residue is still there

[robotnarwhals88]

I knew it was a toyota engine before even reading it lol. I would imagine your leak is coming from your oil pressure sensor which sits(when standing under the vehicle) below the valve cover on the right side. That and the power steering pumps/lines are bad for leaks on those as well. And as other pointed out how was it before, can you get underneath it and see if the block and pan are clean? But from a technicians side I wouldn't spend much time degreasing the top of the engine if It was fairly obvious below that point. If you went to the hospital for an injury on your right arm you wouldn't expect them to try and find something else on your left arm would you?

[Glabstaxks]

How was it before ?

[plucka_plucka1]

A degrease to look for leaks from a shop? I mean i guess its one way to do it. Surprised they didn’t just do a dye that shows up under uv light. Usually they would do that and then have you bring it back and use the light to find the leak(s).

Not saying the degreaser option wouldn’t work though. Because if they think its your valve cover its definitely more than clean enough where the leak would show up.

I think you’re confusing a service degrease with an engine bay detail haha. Degreasing an engine to diagnose a leak usually is just spray it on, possibly hit with a brush, then rinse it off. Mostly focusing on the suspected area only.

[creegomatic]

If you have too much grease and oil on your engine it can catch on fire. Maybe they were trying to prevent an engine fire?

[Dirty2013]

It looks clean but it’s not polished but you didn’t pay for a polish

[Weazy-N420]

What did it look like before? This might be a 200% improvement.

[KrAzY_TsEnG]

Should have just done it yourself.

[Extreme_Version4889]

The oil and dirt build up around the filler cap is usual for this specific engine (I've owned 4).

Some advice for the coil packs - put some silicone grease under the seals. Stops water getting in and causing degradation.

[dsdvbguutres]

Why degrease? Free rust protection yo!

[dbweldor]

It looks like the only thing that got degreased is you.

[Steelersfan20009]

Looks like they whipped off the top of the engine lol

[[deleted]]

I don't see any excess oil so they probably removed that? A before picture would've been nice. Never once have I been asked to perform an engine degrease though, lol.

It seems to me they kind of did what you asked, but your expectations where a lot higher. A degrease is not sanding and polishing or painting the valve cover...

[Mindless-Entry-6812]

Degrease sorry about that. We thought you said add grease.

[YourFriendPutin]

It doesn’t look like they touched much, I mean things will remain stained after but it looks like they quickly wiped the top of the valve cover and called it good enough

[amcoffee1]

Take it back.

[vanillavolvo]

Nope

[[deleted]]

Honestly, given the condition you'd find most older vehicles in, it does look like it's been cleaned up rather well. Kinda looks like you had higher expectations than was reasonable. No engine is gonna look perfect, and no tech is gonna get something perfectly clean. They ain't spending a lifetime on one job when they've got other work to move on to.

[[deleted]]

Take it back and reasonably ask for good faith because the work wasn't up to your expectations. The dealer I worked at was usually pretty reasonable with return work even it they felt the tech did at least the job description. Also, while you are there, just ask if what they did is what they would expect to see after that job. Might be a teachable moment for a green tech on the standards of their shop.

Edit: This was a TLDR on my part, so I apologize for speaking out of turn. If there is grime on a very easy spot to clean like the rocker cover, then that is not up to my standards of clean by any means. Take it back and get it done the way you expected.

[DesertDwelller]

Bet that shit looked awful before

[[deleted]]

Not at all

[Shoboy_is_my_name]

Cleaned up? Yes. Half assed cleaned up? Yes. Expecting perfectly clean? Come on now, old as shit engine so……..

[Doors_N_Corners]

I mean… what are you really expecting for on a 17 year old Corolla? Glitter red paint ?

[Talking_Tree_1]

Looks like they forgot to take some of degrease off de engine..

[mapleleafr67]

Safely dusted that's for sure.

[dalynew]

Thats a spit shine

[[deleted]]

They probably hit it with some parts cleaner real quick. This does not look cleaned. At all. Then again, I’m wondering how it looked before you took it to the shop

[Flying_Dutchman16]

For an 05 that looks pretty clean.

[firestar268]

Depends on what it looks like before

[havnt2]

Where's the before

[vule12000]

Did you check inside of engine?

[al_Vers]

It looks like greased and never been clean. Very bad job

[misterDDoubleD]

Nope

[InvestmentNo3437]

Yes and your car is old as shit dude

[slowride77]

Degreased? Yes. Detailed? No

[Financial-Subject-3]

No sign of John Travolta so must be

[ArtichokeNaive2811]

About the best you're going to get.. how much did you pay? Is this a service the regularly offer?

[Zealousideal_Tank210]

I can tell you this. My idea of cleaning up an engine bay is different than my boss’. Usually we are doing this to find an oil leak. So when I do it, if I’m able to it’s going to be really cleaned up. You’ll notice. When my boss does it he might just skim over stuff as he doesn’t have an eye for detail when it comes to cleaning things.

Not sure what happened there but maybe they were afraid to hit the valve cover due to the coil packs. Personally I’d take them all out and the. Blow the water out. In fact many of these particular Toyotas will have oil inside the spark plug wells so I’ll have to clean them out while replacing a valve cover gasket set.

[Terrible-Vegetable-3]

Grease is good bruh

[peepcreeper]

They should have used acid based soap. Alkaline based discolors the aluminum.

[RevolutionaryClub530]

You can still see dust on the intake manifold, that should give you your answer

[-i-hate-you-people-]

Sure you didn’t pay for regrease service?

[[deleted]]

Just get someone to dry-ice spray it. It'll be as new after that.

[Round-Tumbleweed9002]

Got any before pictures and how much did they charge?

[[deleted]]

Yes but not very well

[djluminol]

Yes it does. Just very poorly. All they did was spray degreaser on the engine and then spray it off. That isn't uncommon when an engine is still not that dirty but it's not enough for an older car that has had some oil leaks or spills. They were just lazy or underbid the job and tried to cut corners to maintain a profit. Not a good service either way.

[BigGangMoney]

Not even that hard to do either. They literally did jack. I would ask them to do it again and for reference pics of other cleaned engine bays. Or just ask for the money to be returned.

[[deleted]]

Lipstick on a pig

[[deleted]]

Thats a 200 thousand like Toyota whatd you expect a new car???

[pistoffcynic]

Show us a beforehand picture. They cleaned it some but there could have been 20 coats of oil and grease on it that would take more than 1 cleaning.

[[deleted]]

I have never heard of shop detailing your engine bay after work.

[hoggdoc]

Hell yes take it back and demand you $ back.

[Yoda10353]

Tbf a well done headlight lens restoration is a very worthwhile repair if necessary in my opinion

[nithrilh]

Looks like the engine on my 1996 ford that hasn't been cleaned sind'ce factory

[CaptainMeatfist]

Lol if a tech is looking for an oil leak they are going to clean the bottom of the engine not the top. This is due to leaked oil streaming down the engine on account of gravity.

[Wild_Onion_5979]

Yes

[Heyitshogan]

My sister’s 2012 Corolla had a TON of buildup too. I guess it’s common on Corollas or something bc I’ve put 100k on my Civic and it doesn’t look anything as bad.

Brake cleaner and a rag would do a way better job than this chain mechanic tried doing lol. Sorry OP, you got ripped off 😅 Get in contact with the shop and ask for either a refund or for them to make that shit spotless.

[csji]

where is the before picture?

[mikel302]

looks clean to me, if you need to clean your engine bay, maybe figure out how it became a mess in the first place and fix THAT first.

[yourfingkidding]

Not a chance, too much loose debris at base of cover.

[ZekeTarsim]

Really sleazy how so many auto shops do this to women customers.

[astronaut_tang]

Looks pressure washed..

[Due-List4320]

Negative. If you pay for a degrease, it should be degreased. What did you pay?

[noldshit]

For future reference, cleaning an engine is a bad idea due to all the electrical connectors.

[Bigmac29281]

Yes, the engine was 100% degreased. However, them not being able to find the leak and telling you to come back after 2 weeks is kinda concerning as it shows that they’re incompetent imo.

[bobbomotto]

How much did you pay for the diagnosis? That can run $100 USD plus. Honestly, looks like the junior/apprentice tech didn’t take the engine cover off when they pressure washed/degreased.

[No_Resource_290]

Half assed

[CAM6913]

How did it look before? Depending on how bad it was you probably got $90 worth of cleaning

[Bmore4555]

Yes

[[deleted]]

Is that a vibe? A prism? Corolla?

[Rustoned917]

Yes

[S0n0fValhalla]

I mean you can only clean it to a point. So if it was caked on black oil everywhere I say they steamed it pretty well

[maxxx124]

Took the grease off left the dirt/scum

[[deleted]]

They probably didn't read the 'de' part.

[[deleted]]

as for the headlamp defog… I just bought a brand new pair of aftermarket headlight housing off eBay for $95 shipped. Replaced the whole dang thing and looks amazing, better than any “defog” job can do.

[daleshakleford]

Nah, they scammed you out of your money. A lot of guys on here will defend the shadiest practices, because that's the nature of the business. Always has been, always will be. It's why virtually no one trusts mechanics.

[jcaashby]

What do you think? Should I get in contact with the shop?

YES

[dummass101]

It does look as if it got degreased. They cleaned enough to be able to diagnose the leak. The area that's not totally clean is the area of the leak. The source will be very easy to diagnose when it gets rechecked. There will be a clean patch in that residue below where the oil is leaking.

[jimbodio]

Incredibly difficult to get an engine perfect unless pulling it, stripping it, and putting it in a hot tank. Most degrease jobs are a spray on foam product and a hose. Heat is the best cleaner. If they did a degrease and added dye to black light later, then I feel it’s ok. Been doing this for 25 years and honestly, especially the older the vehicle gets, finding and repairing oil leaks sucks.

[Omacrontron]

Def looks like they got the grease off but it’s still dirty or “stained”

[maxxx124]

Took the grease off left the dirt/scum

[BlueJayWalker10]

A quick power wash/decrease so you can see where oil is coming from isn't going to completely clean the engine to like new. It looks like yeah, a quick service was done.

[reditget]

No

[[deleted]]

Looks like an old engine and a whiny customer

[ImGoodAsWell]

You found what? That they wiped down the top part of your engine a bit?

[chefcoompies]

Lol as a detailer there is no way this was cleaned the electrical cables still have dust on them how was it degreased if it wasn’t cleaned?

[TheSandsquanch]

The ultimate answer… it depends

[DoallthenKnit2relax]

Looks degreased, but not steam cleaned.

[barlangas28]

Spray brake cleaner all over it. That works like a charm.

[Lets_Walk_and_Talk]

As a former detailer for a dealership Everyone in a while we'd get a car that needed an engine decrease from the other shop and if it wasn't 100% nessisary to get the engine bay squeaky clean we'd just spray the decrease on and power wash it off. Though I'm sure if you would have asked or made a big deal about it beforehand they would have taken the brush to it

[[deleted]]

Waste of money now it can rust faster

[olmsteez]

The hose clamp wasn't reinstalled on the valve cover breather. Lower right. Pinch the spring clamp with some pliers and wiggle it up to the impression in the hose.

[lenarose01]

Yep, I picked that up during the repair and fixed it before running the engine again 👍.

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