Pretty happy with Permatex customer service

[mocamino]

Some of you might remember my tales of woe with our 2000 Suzuki Grand Vitara from Kinja-land. A quick synopsis:

• We bought the truck (cheap) knowing that it needed to have the timing chains/gears/tensioners replaced.

• After wrenching for a few days we found that the job would be way more work than we expected. (Far more complex than the SBC stuff I've worked on before.)

• Life got in the way and the project got delayed several months.

• I learned what drive screws are and how to use them. (They're pretty cool! Basically a hammer-in rivet that you'd have to drill out to remove.)

• After lots of work we got the thing reassembled, insured, tagged, and on the road. We've driven it around (maybe 150 miles) and have been pretty happy with it.

Until the oil pan started leaking. Profusely. Understand that the 2.5L V6 Suzuki used in these has a two-part oil pan. An upper galley pan and a lower sump. The upper galley uses sealant rather than a gasket. The lower sump pan uses a gasket. The areas that use sealant are notorious for leaking because of the complex assembly process. I put the galley pan on before dropping the engine in, knowing it would be easier on the stand. I thought I did a good job of it. It was in the 60s F when I did that part of the job, and the Permatex Ultra Grey RTV I used (the recommended product in Suzuki circles) had a good four weeks to cure before I ever put oil in it.

This past weekend we pulled the pans again. That requires taking out the front axle and the power steering rack to be able to get the pans out. A pain, yes, but not nearly as bad as the first time since 1) I'd done it before and 2) stuff was clean this time. Once I had the galley pan off I found that the RTV had never fully cured. A good portion of it was as wet as the day it was installed. Okay, something's not right.

More investigation told me RTV has a shelf life. (News to me!) Some people say as short as a year. I checked the production code of the product I'd used, and it was about 11 months old when I applied it. Well crap.

I had a suggestion from a Suzuki forum member to try Permatex's anaerobic gasket maker product. Dries faster and sounds better suited to my situation. But it still bugged me that the RTV hadn't worked. From what I saw when I pulled it apart, I hadn't done anything wrong and it should have sealed.

I got on Permatex's website and submitted a product question/complaint yesterday. Not so much to complain, but to find out if I'd done something wrong or just used the wrong stuff. To my surprise, they responded to my submission after less than 12 hours. The response actually addressed my question specifically (not a canned response that missed the mark like I expected because I'm jaded). And get this - with no more proof than my word on the subject, they offered to send me not only a replacement tube of the original product but also a tube of the anaerobic - free of charge!

It's better customer service than I expect these days from big companies, and it really brightened my day. Now to wait for the arrival of the new stuff.

Moral of the story: Have a problem with a product? Contact the company about it. Don't be a jerk, just explain the issue and request suggestions. They might just surprise you. (Also - Permatex confirmed their RTV does have a shelf life, but it's two years. Mine was not too old, but they're still making it right.)

[VincentMalamute]

@mocamino I did not know RTV has a shelf life. Thanks for learning me. I assume all the different varieties have a shelf life?

That is indeed good customer service. Mainly the fast and personal response answering your question.

The freebies - meh. Now if they had offered to reimburse you for the time and labor to pull the galley pan again, that would be exemplary customer service.

[jminer]

@mocamino Very cool company - they’ve always been my go-to company for gaskets and sealants.

I had no idea that RTV had a shield life, I’ve definitely used far older tubes than 2 years with success, but I also loose a lot of their tubes and just buy another when I need it so maybe that’s kept me from using old stuff enough to notice...

[mocamino]

@vincentmalamute That would have definitely been out of this world service. Given the crappy service I've come to expect, what I got pleased me to no end.

[mocamino]

@jminer The only thing of theirs I've ever been disappointed in (until the RTV incident anyway) was their threadlocker. I used the Red (you know, the stuff that's supposed to take heat to remove) on this same project. After letting it cure for a week I was able to remove the fasteners with a quarter-inch ratchet and minimal effort. This is why I learned about drive screws.

[aremmes]

I've long considered Permatex one of those companies that make boring, high quality products. I'm glad to know that their customer service lives up to that impression.

[ibRAD]

@mocamino Oh yes, Permatex has amazing customer service.

I needed an obsolete sealant for the lower end of a 1961 outboard this past summer. Lots of conflicting opinions on the internet, but I managed to figure out a possible 3M substitution (expensive and hard to find), or a few people mentioned a specific Permatex product (Aviation form a gasket)

I sent the obsolete OMC number, the 3M reference and the Permatex number to their customer service with my question and within 2 hours I was assured I had the right product. He even responded to my follow up question about curing times.

Will buy again!

[atfsgeoff]

Next time try Right Stuff elastomeric sealant

[ClassicDatsunDebate]

@mocamino I have an unreasonable fondness for Permatex The Right Stuff and mention it as my favorite product whenever Permatex is mentioned.

[Albino Kangaroo]

@mocamino said in Pretty happy with Permatex customer service:

That blue anaerobic seems to be great for all kinds of applications from flanges to gasket dressing. Some people add RTV to gaskets and that is not correct, but you can use the anaerobic as a dressing with a gasket that will allow good sealing and make it easier to disassemble if needed in the future.

[Shop-Teacher]

@mocamino That is excellent service!

[mocamino]

Update: I got the Permatex shipment today. I actually received not one, but two tubes of the anaerobic gasket maker AND a can of the surface prep spray they suggest using in cold weather.  I checked on the O'Reilly website, and it would have been $50 worth of product. Really happy with the customer service - now I just hope the gasket maker makes me as happy.