98XC Mechanic Changed Timing Belt No Go
 

I took my 98 V70 XC in to get the timing belt and water pump replaced. The belt was chewing through the cover, but the car still ran fine. I dropped it off and know that they moved the car at least twice before working on it. Now they have called and said it must have jumped time and is probably messed up internally. My question is should the car leave the garage running if it went in running and are they likely the ones at fault for improper misalignment?

Thanks to all of those who keep this site going, especially Robert and his videos.

He says it was 3 teeth off when it got there, but it was running fine other than eating into cover. now they can't get it to start at all and what was estimated at 3 hours for belt replacement is at 6 hours labor and the car does not even run.

There's really no way to prove anything. I don't know how it went from 3 hours to 6 without approval. That's illegal and you don't have to pay it if you didn't authorize it.

He is only charging me for 3 hours. However he cannot get the car to even start now. I drove it to them and it ran smooth, then they drove it twice moving it on their lot and into garage. Now I have to get it towed away and pay for the labor and save for an engine. Should he at least be able to get it to start?

Yeah if he did the job correctly.

Any advice on what to do next? The mechanic won't even return my phone calls. It sucks to have to pay for a car that ran fine before getting it worked on, now it won't even start and has bent valves and low compression.:mad: Thanks!
Would have done it myself using Robert's video, but it has been too cold.

They messed up the timing belt job, they should fix it If they have any integrity. I wouldn't stop until they do. You can start by posting what shop this was. Threaten to get a lawyer involved if you want to take it that far.

I had 3 this month coming in for the same reason. Some side Shop messing up a timing belt and needs an engine. Just because the customer wanted to pay less. End up costing them their time, which is money wasted in the end. I had one where it needed an engine, turbo and a cat; after some side shop tried replacing the timing belt,and front seals, no oil was added into the engine. :p

Anything to avoid the "stealership"!

Stopped in this morning and he is saying that nothing is lining up and he will try again on Monday. He is blaming me for the car not starting now saying that I brought it there out of time. Would it have driven there smooth out of time? Thanks for the input. Here in rural WV there is not a dealership.

No, it would not run smooth out of time. I have a feeling it's too late now... Valves are most likely bent.

Wondering if those shops were held liable for their mistakes? He says he has spent too much time on it already and doesn't have time at the moment to even figure out what is wrong with it and points the blame at me. Guess I need a lawyer?

Probably.

I've seen it many times where either another shop has towed it in to get us to fix it or the customer does and they settle with the shop on their own. As long as I get paid, I don't really care how it works out in those situations.

The shop owner told us we had to have our car off of his lot by the end of the day during the biggest snow of the year here when we asked if he had figured out what was wrong yet. Got it towed to another mechanic who said that the 1998 V70 had two different engines with different timing settings and he used the wrong setting. Looks like it is going to be about $2300 for a valve job. Is there any chance it would run if we had it set to the correct time or has the damage been done. He hasn't opened up the engine yet.

There is only one set of timing marks. Maybe the shop didn't know what they were. If it was timed wrong, you most likely have bent valves.