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View Full Version : Piston-to-valve contact



rocket_man
08-09-2007, 09:03 PM
F'd up situation folks.

So I took my IX to a local shop to have them take out the cams and springs and retainers. That was last Monday. Was promised the car the next day.

Well, next day rolled around and I receive a call that ten of my valves were broken and needed to be replaced because my timing belt tensioner is bad which caused the belt to jump a tooth which in turn resulted in piston-to-valve contact. I find this hard to believe though as my timing belt has only ever been touched once before this incident and that was when my cossie cams went in. There is also only 13k miles on the car.

My thoughts about it are that they messed up the timing somehow or had not properly gone through the procedures when installing cams (TDC and whatever else etc.). Also, if it were my tensioner, I would think that it should have been caught before attempting to start the car. I've heard of this happening before but can't remember the specifics as to what went wrong. Can someone help me?

Thanks.

rocket_man
08-09-2007, 09:15 PM
Oh, and piston-to-valve clearance is another thing I think was overlooked, or done improperly.

fiaevo.com
08-09-2007, 09:17 PM
obviously it is a timming issue, i wonder if it is the same shop from which i fixed another vehicle ? Â*

rocket_man
08-09-2007, 09:23 PM
Most likely not, unless it came from well north of Sac.

Timing is a main factor, but isn't piston-to-valve clearance also an issue?

I just can't believe that my tensioner is bad already and that it is what caused this.

fiaevo.com
08-09-2007, 09:33 PM
doubtful that clearance will be an issue unless you had some extensive work done on your engine , and tensioners dont go bad this quick. doing a timming belt on an evo takes much longer than most shops want to put in.

nor*cal93ssp
08-09-2007, 09:41 PM
Shops mistake. w/only 13k miles i would hardly think the t.belt tensioner would be to blame. They obvously incorrectly set the timing upon reassembly..and if they had half a brain would have caught this if they manually turned the crank twice and rechecked the timing...i see this all the time...sorry man and GL!

MarkSAE
08-09-2007, 10:12 PM
There's a very specific procedure to setting the timing belt tension on 4G63 motors. Most shops assume the 4G63 is like most other 4-cyl motors, but it's not. The 4G63 timing belt tensioning system is a PITA compared to Hondas and Miatas. They screwed up and better own up to it. Tensioners don't go bad over night.

Limeyboy
08-09-2007, 10:40 PM
At the end of the day, you took your car in for work and it was working perfectly. They call you later and say after they worked on it its broken. Dont sign anything, dont pay and dont accept the car back until they restore it to normal operation at no cost to yourself.

rocket_man
08-10-2007, 06:20 PM
Shops mistake. w/only 13k miles i would hardly think the t.belt tensioner would be to blame. They obvously incorrectly set the timing upon reassembly..and if they had half a brain would have caught this if they manually turned the crank twice and rechecked the timing...i see this all the time...sorry man and GL!


That's EXACTLY what I was told by one of my buddies. This kind of info coming from different sources will really help me in making them pay for it all. Thanks.

whtrice
08-10-2007, 07:51 PM
Where was this work done at?

fiaevo.com
08-10-2007, 09:15 PM
Shops mistake. w/only 13k miles i would hardly think the t.belt tensioner would be to blame. They obvously incorrectly set the timing upon reassembly..and if they had half a brain would have caught this if they manually turned the crank twice and rechecked the timing...i see this all the time...sorry man and GL!


I have a whole destroyed head to proove this, some shops should just stick to selling parts.
That's EXACTLY what I was told by one of my buddies. This kind of info coming from different sources will really help me in making them pay for it all. Thanks.

rocket_man
08-17-2007, 11:46 AM
Where was this work done at?


Sorry, been gone a while.

What else sucks is that I just recently heard from a co-worker of mine that he had them machine the head on his chevy which was a 454 and what he got back in his car was a head from a 350. Not a big enough chevy fan to know if that would really matter performance wise, but ethically that's just wrong.
They also say that they're using OEM parts but I have my doubts about that.

RonV
08-17-2007, 12:44 PM
Where was this work done at?


Sorry, been gone a while.



The shop is APR (Automotive Performance and Repair) in Redding, CA.

What else sucks is that I just recently heard from a co-worker of mine that he had them machine the head on his chevy which was a 454 and what he got back in his car was a head from a 350. Not a big enough chevy fan to know if that would really matter performance wise, but ethically that's just wrong.
They also say that they're using OEM parts but I have my doubts about that.


That's not really posible to do (350 small block head on a 454 big block) but it does indeed sound like they F'd up your engine. Good luck.

rocket_man
08-19-2007, 08:51 PM
I was wrong about my buddy's engine. It was a Pontiac 400 that they threw a 350 head on. Would that work?

As for my engine- I think they want me to pay for parts and they won't charge labor, but if I know them like I do, they'll probably try to sneak the labor price into the parts price. Sucks for them, because I am not paying a penny over $500 which is the max that I was quoted for swapping the cams. If they decide to prolong it then I could always get a rental at their expense. Maybe then my car will get done in a reasonable amount of time. BAR is also an option and if need be, court.

I'd hate to have to do that to them because I have known them for a long time, but if they want to screw me over even after all that time, then whatever. At one time, I was their best customer having spent more than $32k with them. The next closest guy was at $29K.

ronpanama
08-19-2007, 08:57 PM
They misstimed the cams gauranted. I wouldnt pay 1 penney over what you were quoted
If they give you any shiot, contact the bar imediately, if that doesent work, your gonna have to sue.