Hey, all,

Newbie here both to the site and to ATV's. We bought a 2005 Mule 610 on 2/23/2006 and have had two huge service bills since.

The first was during the summer last year -- engine wouldn't start despite getting spark and sufficient fuel. The shop diagnosed and cleared dust from a breather tube in the engine compartment.

The second service was just this past month; I plan to pick up the machine this afternoon. We had had a mechanic friend change the oil in late July or early August. He had a hell of a time even getting the oil filter off, it was on so tightly. After the oil change, the oil filter gasket would pop out on one edge while running, causing huge spillage. We had bought a second oil filter at the time of changing the oil and tried that one, just in case the first was defective. Same behavior, though our other mechanic friend noticed that the vehicle could be driven for a few dozen feet before the gasket seal would pop like that.

The shop found that the mounting screw for the oil filter had damaged from the threads having been crossed. The previous (and only other) oil change we've had done was by this shop. We don't believe it's possible to cross threads when unscrewing a part. So, first question: are we right about that?

After replacing the mounting screw, the shop discovered that the oil system pressure was getting way too high when they were running the vehicle, so they asked for authorization to look for that problem. We authorized a conservative approach, doing no more work than was necessary at any point. They contacted the extended warranty company, who authorized teardown. The shop said there was a blockage in one of the oil passages but failed to note what it was. The person I spoke to on the phone about it first said "pebble", but when I pressed for details, they weren't in the service notes. They reassembled everything without ever contacting me to tell me

 

Crap, hit the Submit button by mistake!

Continuing the story:

The vehicle was reassembled without first contacting us to say what they'd found or to get authorization for more work. The extended warranty company declined to cover the costs, claiming faulty workmanship of our oil change. We think the mounting screw was damaged by the shop during the first oil change, which was done by them. That aside, it seems really strange to have to have this much work done on a machine that's used less than an hour a week on average, mostly just shuttling light loads around (traffic cones to be placed around the horse arena). Yes, we missed one oil change between the one the shop did and the one we did this summer. But should the trouble we've experienced be expected, given the way we've used/treated this machine?

Thanks in advance for any opinions!