I don't know where else to turn but to you guys!
Kind of a long story, I'll just start from the beginning.

Recently, I've been leaking a lot of coolant. Money has been tight and with the amount I was losing, I kept adding water instead of coolant.

Finally, I took her in to the same place we always have, a highly recommended place (even by DiscoMike) that only works on Rovers. When I dropped her off, I SPECIFICALLY asked if they would be able to bring her in at night since there was mostly water in it. (Otherwise, I would've taken her back home where she got heat at night) They said ABSOLUTELY.

I dropped her off on Thursday. Monday, the shop called saying she needed new intake gasket and radiator. Ouch! I asked if she could stay for a day or two while I worked on gathering the estimated $1300. After realizing it would take me a week+ to get $, I picked her up on Wednesday afternoon.

After paying small fee at the counter and getting my key, I went out and didn't see my car. I went back in and he said it was buried in the back of the lot and he'd have to move a few cars to get to it.

HMMMM....

It was 3:30pm and he had known since 10:30am that I was coming.

He brought me my car and went inside. I got a couple blocks down the road and saw that my temp needle was buried in the cold but the red light was on... my whole system was frozen SOLID! Obviously the result of it being left out for days! Within minutes, red light went off, needle popped up to normal and it kept going up. Seconds later, red light back on and needle to the top! I immediately pulled over, shut her off and steam started shooting out from all kinds of places. Mainly from hoses behind the engine. I felt those big hoses in front that lead into the radiator and they were empty but warm. Water was pouring out from underneath but I wasn't losing any from reservoir which lead me to believe water pump was/had frozen. Sizzling and hissing sounds all over. So much steam that my son, who could only see around the open hood from the back seat, asked why, why is the car on fire (he thought it was smoke)? Keep in mind I was maybe only a mile down the road from the shop.

So, I had the car towed back to my house. Hindsight I probably should have called the shop right then and there but I was so furious that they left it out even AFTER they knew 1st hand what the issue was, they were the last people I wanted to talk to.

This morning, my husband, who is very passive, called them and told the story. The guy said he would talk to the owner and get right back with us. We still haven't heard back.

So, to summarize,
Car drivable before she went to the shop.
Car not drivable when she left shop.

I have a feeling that freeze cap and/or head is blown.

MY QUESTION TO YOU GUYS:

Should I have it towed back to them, hand them original estimate (intake gasket and radiator), have them see what all is wrong now and ask them to pay for all damage not on the estimate?

I would love to hear as many thoughts and ideas from ya'll as possible!

Thank You!!

I should add that this shop did my head job 12 months and three weeks ago. I can't understand why intake gasket would need to be replaced anyway.

 

Send me your number and I'll call you.

 

Unless the shop is very honest you're likely screwed unless you have it in writing that they'll keep it indoors when temps drop below freezing. Otherwise all they'll say is, "You never mentioned that."
Now, if they are really honest they'll admit they screwed up and make good one repairs, less the cost of the intake gasket and radiator replacement since you'd be paying that anyway.

I haven't used a repair shop in decades, but I learned the hard way a very long time ago to put everything I tell them in writing right on the repair ticket.

 

Sorry about your luck, but I think your screwed.
The shop is going to say "you never mentioned that"
Let us know how you make out.

 

Spike is right, unless you had this information written on the work order, you don't have a chance in the world of getting help.
That being said, have you had the engine checked out to see what is wrong? I know we have been getting cold but it takes a lot to free up and engine and you would have heard the belt screaming if the water pump was frozen.

 

If it was frozen solid when they first started it to drive it up out of their yard it probably would have thrown the belt almost instantly I would think. In addition to that, I'm sure it would have made some serious noise before throwing it off, even if briefly. I had an a/c comp. go bad and the bearings seized and INSTANTLY started screaching and then broke the belt about 10 seconds later. So if it wasn't doing anything odd when you first got in it and started to drive, it may have been some other spectacular failure. Rovers are GREAT at this!!! I just changed the bearings on my idler and tensioner pulleys and lost a power steering pump 30 min. later, so... there's a possability that it was just some other failure??? You would have known IMMEDIATELY when trying to drive if it had thrown the belt, you would have no power steering, charge light would be on, etc.

 

An engine can freeze, causing problems like a blown freeze plug or gasket, then thaw, and you'd never knew it had frozen until it was diagnosed after it overheated.

 

Also, don't go in screaming, "You screwed up my engine!".
Start out by asking, "Oh, by the way, did you keep it inside overnight like I asked?" Ask this of the person you told. You might get them to say no, before thinking about the implications. If they admit they didn't, then you have a much better argument.

 

i wanted to know if any one could help me I have a 4x4 2003 land rover discovery and it had had some problems so the guy from the shop that was going to fix it came to tow it but didn't put it on L when towing, after the disco came out the shop its been hard doing a sharp turn like when parking or doing a u-turn. And also it started shaking when idle or at a stop light spark plugs were recently replaced.

 

1. CDL or L engaged? Cycle thru all the shift positions. Looks can be misleading. I like towing on a flat roll back wrecker, but with both shifters in "N" position.

2. Any codes on a scanner (like mis-fires)?

3. I always pay with credit card so I can dispute bad work, but most shops are so proud of their work they actually do want to dig back in and find their mistake. So start polite and questioning. Maybe a plug wire is swapped, or the wire conection broken, not firmly seated, etc. And maybe a sensor is unplugged or a vac hose is knocked off.

4. It would be difficult to have a 2WD discovery (you'ld need to remove a drive shaft).

5. We'll listen even if everything is not bold text.