Was my gasket really changed?

[Tammy]

When I took my car to Holdens for its service at the end of July '15 they:
cleaned the engine oil system
changed the oil and oil filter as well as some 'checks'. (odo 68,895)

Then they rang me and told me that my Rocker cover was leaking and needed the gasket replaced. I told them to go ahead. So on my invoice it says that they:
Removed rocker covers and associated parts as required.
Removed old gasket and cleaned sealing surfaces.
Supplied and fitted new gaskets and refitted rocker covers.
Reassembled as required and cleaned off. Roadtested and rechecked for leaks. All ok.
I assumed that they carried out the above that I was charged for.

Now I had a friends husband look at my car last week and he changed my spark plugs and engine oil. (odo 75,700) He was of the opinion that the rocker cover gasket wasn't replaced, the spark plugs were terribly oily and the engine oil looked horrible and it looked to him like it was still leaking, so he tightened the rocker cover for me.
I trust my friends husbands opinion and I never mentioned that I had the rocker cover gasket replaced when I dropped it off to him. It wasn't until he said about it that I told him it had been replaced 6 months ago.

So now I worry. Has Holdens charged me for changing the rocker cover gasket and not actually done it?
I'd like to ring them or email them but I'm not sure what to say.
Can someone please give me some advice?
Thanks. Tammy.

 

[Tonner Matt]

While I am not at all familiar with the Barinas engine I suggest:
Don't tell them that your friends hubby tightened the rocker cover, they may use that as an excuse to not warrant their work EG: He's not a mechanic or whatever
You go back to the dealer where you had the service and gasket changed and tell them about it leaking, obviously tell them that it was changed 6 months ago during a service.
The rocker cover gasket will be covered under warranty (12 months/20,000km's)
If it was only 6 months ago it was replaced and you have only travelled about 7,000km's there shouldn't be any issue.
Take the invoice with you if you still have it, although it shouldn't be necessary as the work will be recorded on their computer system under your personal details.

Just be calm about the whole situation at the start when dealing with the service advisor, then if they f@#k you around ask to speak to the Service Manager and let him know you aren't impressed


# If you ever have Holden do any work on your car in the future, tell them that you want keep the old parts that were replaced. At least then you know that they actually did something (you could even get someone to look at the old parts to verify they replaced what they said they did)

 

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Rocker cover gaskets are one of those things that do require retensioning 90% of the time. A new gasket can leak after a period of time. Especially if the dealer tightened the bolts to the specified torque. I always go a bit tighter than the specs. They are especially prone to leaking if they are rubber. Rocker cover bolts need to be torqued about 3 or 4 times when doing a new gasket, not just once. When it pulls down, the first few bolts that are done are always loose when the last bolt is torqued.

Another thing that can cause a new gasket to leak is a partially blocked PCV system. If the valve is blocked and can't vent pressure, it can cause oil to seep out past the rocker cover gasket.

 

[Tammy]

Thanks for yor replies. I took some photo's but dont know how to add them from my tablet? I will ask for the old part in the future.