A serious problem at my local parts store...any advice?

[GunsmithOldsguyMFer]

Ok, let me start at the beginning. I'm a Harley Davidson guy, not ignorant of cars...but better with two wheels mechanically speaking. In my teens I had a 72 cutlass supreme that I foolishly sold and have regretted ever since. Needless to say I have been looking out the corner of my eye for another but money, time and life always seemereally o have other ideas.
That is until last week when I happened to luck across a 1978 Calais With a MINT interior, floor shifter and console and factory buckets...body .is a little rough but totally workable. It's got a 260 v8 that I was eventually going to swap for a 350 rocket like my last one had as it already has a th350 transmission. Then as we get to doing some work on the car as it had sat for a while we realized how little milage the car really had. We replaced the water pump, radiator and belts as they all needed it, then I got an Accel coil cap and rotor, and had my local parts store order me accel plugs and wires. Being a bike guy I always had great luck with their products and thought why not give my car the same standards.
Well, wires come in in a couple days, but plugs are a week out. Now I already paid for the plugs and wires so I figured just have to wait. The manager who ordered my plugs goes and grabs me a set of a c delco plugs and just hands them to me "for my trouble" so I take them, but decide why not just wait? The cars running so good im really thinking im going to leave the 260 in for a while and have a proper motor built.
My plugs arrive and we get to switching them...mind you in a bit of a hurry as I usually don't get out of my own shop untill 8pm or so. We get them swapped and the car won't fire, it's clanking and poping and crapping....so we check the firing order. ...all right. So we pull the plugs. To my horror, this is when we find that the new plugs are a full 1/2 inch longer than the old ones. Most were just smashed closed. ..no gap but two were covered in oil. We lokk and sure enough, even the new ac delco plugs are wrong, shorter. ...but the wrong heat range.
It's getting towed to the mechanics tomorrow, and the parts store manager says that they will cover it no matter what has to be done. My question is has anyone else had this problem or something similar and if so what should my next course of action be? I was hoping to be in the body shop in a few weeks. ....not the motor shop. Any advice would be awesome I'm really behind it now. Yesterday I had a right running car, today. ....just thankful for my Harley.

 

[rustyroger]

Well of course the parts store should cover you. But you really should have compared the plugs before you fitted them. You would if you ordered plugs for a bike you weren't familiar with wouldn't you?.
This applies to any old vehicle, don't forget most parts store guys know nothing about classic or vintage stuff.

Roger.

 

[RegalBegal]

First off, welcome. From what you described, it's possible you have one or more cracked pistons. I feel your pain man. But, this might work out for you. If that turns out to be the case and the parts store will cover the bill, You might be able to get an Olds 350 on their dime. Hell, might even be cheaper for them then having the 260 repaired.

 

[pontiacgp]

even if you cracked a piston I don't see how the oil got onto the plugs without the car starting. If you cranked it over long enough to build up oil pressure I'd be looking at the valves and their seals. As for the retail store they only sold you the plugs, unfortunately it's the installers fault for putting them in. Plus unless you have some documentation on the condition of the engine before the plugs were installed it would be hard to say what the damage was that were caused by these plugs

 

[MrLightning]

even if you cracked a piston I don't see how the oil got onto the plugs without the car starting. If you cranked it over long enough to build up oil pressure I'd be looking at the valves and their seals. As for the retail store they only sold you the plugs, unfortunately it's the installers fault for putting them in. Plus unless you have some documentation on the condition of the engine before the plugs were installed it would be hard to say what the damage was that were caused by these plugs

Yeah, I wouldn't be getting my hopes up to high that the auto parts are gonna do much when it comes down to the ACTION part of the situation. Is this a small town auto parts, where theyre gonna do this to save face on reputation so they dont look like bad guys to the rest of the community? Anymore, theres little liability on the part of anybody, its EVERYBODY for themselves, and if you don't look out for yourself, NOBODY else is gonna do it for you. Good Luck! on however it turns out.

 

[King_V]

and the parts store manager says that they will cover it no matter what has to be done.

I sincerely hope he does follow through with that. It'd be a nice change from what's typical of most places.

That said, since I've ordered a bunch of parts (including plugs) to tune up my own 260, now that I have this warning, I'm going to pay CAREFUL attention to the plugs - I didn't look at the sticker under the hood to see if it listed a specific plug number, I just ordered what Advance Auto listed for a 1979 Cutlass Calais with a 260.... it would never have occurred to me to doubt that the part was right.

Hope it all works out - bonus if the parts store follows through, and replacing with a larger motor is cost-equivalent to repairing/replacing the 260!

 

[G_Body_Enthusiast]

I inspect all parts before installing them. Both for manufacturer defects and that it's the right part. I even inspect parts before i leave the store or pay for them for that matter. I don't want to make another trip to the store when I could have looked before I left the first time. It's my only gripe about mail order like Summit, I got a bad plug in a set I ordered from them and they took them back and sent me another set all free of charge. I prefer to inspect parts before paying and not a single person working at any parts store has had a problem with it. It's my responsibility to make sure it's the right part as I am the purchaser and installer of all parts. Incorrect installation or installation of the wrong parts is on me and not the parts store.

If you really want a free engine let some oil change place do your oil. They're notorious for leaving drain plugs loose.

 

[billyjack]

I inspect all parts before installing them. Both for manufacturer defects and that it's the right part.

I really hate to say this, but I do agree with the others who maintain that the responsibility lies with the installer. The first thing that should have raised a flag is that the new parts didn't match up to the old ones you took out. Two issues we face today: 1) The serious decline in competence of the average parts store counterman, and 2) The fact that our chosen vehicles of interest are older than most of the folks at the parts store, so there's no knowledge gained from sheer repetition.
20-30 years ago, you could go to your local parts store and rely on the information from the older guys behind the counter. Nowadays, competence at the computer terminal and the willingness to work cheap just to get employee discounts on fart pipes and gauge pods is a more valued commodity than long-term experience.

I sincerely hope you escape with minimum or no damage, so the lesson learned wasn't costly.

Bill

 

[King_V]

I don't know about "buyer beware" . . after all, isn't it the responsibility of the parts store to have the correct information in their systems? Isn't it the responsibility of the parts store to give the customer what they ask for?

ie: I want spark plugs for a 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass with a 260 cid V8.

They gave him something other than what he requested. Sometimes the difference may be obvious. Sometimes the difference may be subtle.

Even worse if, say, they give something that physically looks nearly identical, but is completely the wrong heat range - that can cause serious failure while the car is running.

That's just spark plugs..... could be more serious with other parts.

The average consumer isn't meant to be a walking catalog of parts.


Eh, that's just my gripe... maybe my thinking is outdated. Maybe today "buyer beware" is acceptable practice. Maybe I'm crotchety.

 

[pontiacgp]

The average consumer isn't meant to be a walking catalog of parts.

You are not an average consumer if you are doing your own repairs. If you feel you are qualified to do the repair then you assume the responsibility of installing the correct part.