First time poster but frequent visitor. Thanks for all who have shared information useful in the past. This is along post with a couple questions and could be lesson for others. Please read and comment. Any advice is appreciated.
I have a 2002 Volvo XC70 that has fallen victim to catastrophic engine failure and need help from this forum. Have owned and maintained this car for a few years. It was brought to an independent service garage for a coolant leak. Will call this “garage A” for future reference. Head gasket was diagnosed bad and replaced along with new timingbelt kit including tensioner and water pump. After a long wait and numerous visits to question the timeliness of service the repair was finally completed.It took 3-4 weeks and they admitted to running into problems with getting timing set correctly along with other struggles. This garage does not specialize in imports.
The car was brought back to them within a week because of a massive oil leak. After their incompetence was recognized thecar was brought somewhere else to determine where the oil leak was coming from and if it was caused from the recent repair. It was determined to be from the turbo return line. The leak was only noticed when up on a hoist and at high RPM’s it just spewed. Garage A said itwas not caused by their repair because the turbo was not removed taking off the head. I was told by the mechanic he has done enough work on turbos he does not have to remove it and to save time he just flips it up and out of the way. I questioned and suggested that this could have caused the gasket to fail. They repaired it for no charge but maintained it was not caused by them.
Four months and 6000 miles later the car dies on the side of the road. It was towed to another garage and told by a quick inspection there is no compression and it appears the car has jumped timing as the belt looks loose but still in place.Garage A gets the car back and looks deeper and tells me the crankshaft timing gear is stripped and caused the problem. It was determined because the gear could be turned by hand and upon removal confirmed. A scope camera confirms the valves are damaged. I have attached a picture of the inside and outside of the gear. They said they did not remove this initially and it was difficult to remove because of corrosion. They are not accepting responsibility for the toasted engine. Getting closer to my questions.
I have spoken with three separate garages about the cause of this and to see if I have any recourse or case to determine fault with Garage A.
Two said they have never heard of this part failing and would not have noticed this doing the timing belt repair and the gear would not need to be removed in the process. A third garage which specializes in European imports and works on Volvos everyday said they are fixing another exact issue and said the cause of the gear getting stripped splines is because a bolt was not installed on a lock collar attaching this to the crankshaft and it would need to come off for the timing job.
Can anyone confirm if this part would need to be removed?
It seems to me if this was not removed it should have been inspected or its wear noticed during repair and replacement suggested. Is this a realistic expectation with this type of service?
There is a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty on the repair, should this be included?
Do I need to have garage A perform repairs or can I give them a bill to have someone reliable fix correctly?
Can I seek book value from garage A and wash my hands of this car?
I am prepared to seek legal counsel if it can be proven this could have been avoided. Studying Michigan consumer law to determine if this is how to proceedas Garage A is ducking calls and blame.
Is this just dumb luck?
Lesson learned by me is to not always go the closest garage or with lowest quoted estimate. Lesson for others is check this timing gear to avoid my dilemma. This car has 140k miles and the repair set me back $2100.

 

3-4 weeks? Problems with getting the timing set correctly? Any chance they elaborated on these "problems"? I would have euro shop with the cam look at your pistons and valves for damage. If damage is there you may have a case for engine replacement.

 

They did not go into a lot of detail but said they could have did timing jobs on four Hondas in the time they spent doing this job. I know they don't have cam locking tool I have read about here because I asked after it was done. I need to be able to prove this was caused by their work or lack of attention or they will keep telling me it was not their fault. We are past being friendly and my remaining calm didn't get anywhere. I explained what I was told and that I would be talking to lawyer after the shop owner said he was too busy to talk to me. He said he worked on it for free the last time I brought it back for rework and I had to remind him it wasn't free because I paid him over $2000.

 

I have a 96 850 and the timing is electronically controlled and not adjustable. I'm guessing its the same for your car and the "timing adjustments" made to your car was repeatedly attempting to line up the cams and smashing valves and pistons together causing more problems in the process. Proof of this will be a visual inspection of the valves and piston (not cheap to get) but may be worth the investment...


It makes me sad to hear stories of mechanics not being able to say when they are over their head... worse is when they are but refuse to correct the situation. Sounds like they are out a new engine and don't want to foot the bill...

 

That gear does not need to be removed for any of the work performed. It also presses on and is then held on with the large nut that holds the balancer in place. I've never seen one strip.