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Damage from timing cover or too much oil put into my car from mechanic?


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russharv63
User

May 25, 2018, 1:00 PM

Post #1 of 10 (2187 views)
Damage from timing cover or too much oil put into my car from mechanic? Sign In

I had a oil leak from under my 1993 ford taurus 3.8L V6 four door sedan. I had it towed to a repair shop. They found a hole in timing cover back behind water pump. I had them replace the timing cover that I got at a junk yard. They also had to replace the oil filter, oil, and antifreeze after replacing the timing cover. The total cost was $1,600 dollars. I took it home and it broke down on me two days later. It over heated and I left it on side of the road. I noticed later that it had way to much oil in it. I looked on the receipt and they had put 8 quarts of 5w30 in my car which only needs 4.5 quarts. I told them it broke down on me and they came and towed it back in their shop. I told them it had a strange sound coming from the engine. After about a week I called them and they said they have been driving it and it is ok but are concerned about the noise from the engine which they think is the bearings. They believe the engine is getting ready to go and suggested I can get another one with a total cost plus labor around $3000.00 to $6000.00. They told me they did nothing to the car to cause this problem with the engine and said it probably happened when the timing cover had a chunk knocked out of it which they said was when a water pump bolt broke off. They put 8 quarts of oil in my car instead of the 4.5 quarts that it required. How do I know the engine didn't get damaged from the excess oil they put in. They have said nothing about that. They still have my car because they said they want to do some more tests on it. How can I prove that they may have damaged my engine by putting in too much oil in it instead of their theory that the bearings got damaged when the timing cover was damaged?


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

May 25, 2018, 1:09 PM

Post #2 of 10 (2180 views)
Re: Damage from timing cover or too much oil put into my car from mechanic? Sign In

You can't prove it because they didn't cause the problem with excess oil.
The problem most likely turned up with the timing cover problem. What usually happens here is the timing chain gets a severe amount of play in the chain due to wear and weakening of the timing chain tensioner. The chain begins to contact the inside of the housing and wear a hole in it. This usually breaks into the coolant portion of the housing, causing coolant to mix with the oil and cause bearing damage. Getting oil mixed into the radiator would also clog up the radiator and lead to overheating which would all contribute to engine failure.

If they made any serious mistake at all, it would be to have changed the cover atg all in the first place. If they found coolant in the oil, the engine should have been changed then.



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russharv63
User

May 26, 2018, 7:57 AM

Post #3 of 10 (2149 views)
Re: Damage from timing cover or too much oil put into my car from mechanic? Sign In

That is not what happened with the timing chain. The mechanic found a hole in timing cover back behind water pump. They said "something has knocked a chunk out of engine timing cover." They believe over the years so many water pumps had been put on that the bolt holes/threads were worn out and therefore probably a bolt galled and cracked the timing cover and then piece finally fell out. I have to back off now about them putting 8 quarts of oil in my car because when you look at the invoice more closely they say that some of the 8 quarts was used for flushing purposes. But that does not take away from the fact that the next day after I picked up my car with the engine cool the dipstick oil level was over the max mark. How muck oil thay actually put in it only they know. I did not want to say to much about it to them because I don't know for sure what has caused the damage to my engine.


Hammer Time
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May 26, 2018, 8:03 AM

Post #4 of 10 (2145 views)
Re: Damage from timing cover or too much oil put into my car from mechanic? Sign In

Regardless of what broke the timing cover, the fact that they saw a need to flush the crankcase indicates it did get coolant contamination which will cause bearing damage and quickly lead to engine failure.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



russharv63
User

May 26, 2018, 9:46 AM

Post #5 of 10 (2137 views)
Re: Damage from timing cover or too much oil put into my car from mechanic? Sign In

Well they did not tell me about any bearing damage when they called me and told me my car was ready and I paid they $1,600.00 dollars. They should have told me. They are suppose to test it, right? Something is missing here. They collected the money and out the door I went. They should have heard the noise from my engine after they finished with my car. I had to break down on the highway for them to find that out.


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

May 26, 2018, 9:51 AM

Post #6 of 10 (2133 views)
Re: Damage from timing cover or too much oil put into my car from mechanic? Sign In

They saw potential income and weren't interested in advising you not to repair it as they probably should have.

There is no way no see the extent of internal damage but it should have been assumed.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



russharv63
User

May 26, 2018, 10:54 AM

Post #7 of 10 (2124 views)
Re: Damage from timing cover or too much oil put into my car from mechanic? Sign In

Well the mechanic did tell me that they thought they had seen some coolant in the oil when they were working on it but said they had ruled it out. I guess they used the extra oil to be on the safe side and flushed it out anyway.


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

May 26, 2018, 11:06 AM

Post #8 of 10 (2120 views)
Re: Damage from timing cover or too much oil put into my car from mechanic? Sign In

OK, you came here for advice and you seem to want to discount everything said for your own opinion so maybe you have it all figured out yourself and don't need us.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



(This post was edited by Hammer Time on May 26, 2018, 11:08 AM)


russharv63
User

May 26, 2018, 12:19 PM

Post #9 of 10 (2111 views)
Re: Damage from timing cover or too much oil put into my car from mechanic? Sign In

No I am not discounting none of your advice. I value your opinion and am really glad I can get your advice. Thank you very much. I just want to figure out if I am being taken or not by this mechanic because this is the first time I have taken my car to his shop. It seems he would have checked my car out better before giving it back to me especially when he thought he had seen coolant in the oil and even chose to take some of the oil and flush the system. He admitted to me when I had got it towed back after it broke down that he did not spend a lot of time checking it out after repairing it. He didn't tell me the theory that the coolant caused the bearing damage but thought the broke piece from the timing cover if the reason the bearings are damaged. Is this possible?


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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May 26, 2018, 12:48 PM

Post #10 of 10 (2107 views)
Re: Damage from timing cover or too much oil put into my car from mechanic? Sign In

I thought I already explained that. The broken cover allowed coolant into the oil and running the engine after that did irreversible damage. Oil may have gotten into the cooling system also, clogging up the radiator which would lead to overheating to make matters worse.

Yes, the guy saw a paying job with the timing cover and just ignored the possible damage so he wouldn't lose the job.



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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.







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