Just got done re-installing the heat shield on the Subaru. Got it back from the shop 2ish days ago from having a new used transmission installed. Of course, after every trip to the shop, there is the inevitable "what was that noise - was that rattle there before? - Was that a metal thump or a tire thump?" So there were a couple sounds I couldn't identify and they changed some. Today we took the car for a short jaunt to run errands. The noises got louder so when we got back, Kim looked under the car as she was closing the gate and said, "somethings hanging down...it's metal" Gah.
Pulled into the garage and up onto the ramps and found the heat shield between the exhaust and the driveshaft was dangling. 2 of the 4 bolts remained and both were nearly out. Like less than 2 turns w/ fingers and they came out. Luckily, because I'm that guy, I was able to source 2 bolts w/ the right thread pitch from my stash and got it put back on. I was just going to take it off and go back to the shop and have them make it right but I didn't want to risk what not having it there might lead to. Looks like they set it in place and just turned the bolts in a couple turns to hold it in place and never got back to tightening it. Thinking back, I did hear what I thought was a rock being thrown up into the undercarriage of the car which isn't atypical around here at all. Almost certainly one of the bolts.
So all is well and it's nice and quiet again but now I'm wondering what else under there didn't get tightened back up all the way. Grrrr. You got one job. Granted it's a complicated one but just have someone double check your work. This wasn't a favor. I paid over 1700 dollars for this service. Am I out of line expecting all the stuff to be tightened back up at the end and not falling off my car?
