I'm soooo Maaaaad!!!

[shawnstcyr]

Hello everyone! Beware of your local mechanic! It pains me to say this , as I was a mechanic for many years before I went to the wind industry.

Several months ago, I had my former employer put a timing belt on my 99 'Runner. I only put 7000 miles on it afterwards. Well, about 2 months ago it broke down. It looked to me like a busted harmonic balancer (crank pulley). I put 3000 miles on it at a time ( Minnesota to Texas and back). Well I parked it until I could get home and fix it. Today I finally got home and went to pull it apart.
It wasn't broken, the bolt had loosened up. I removed the crank bolt with my fingers.

The bad news is , it totally trashed my crankshaft. It is grooved up and chewed to hell. The new one won't even fit snuggly. The keeper pin is ground in so severely that I cannot even tell where the groove for it is.
I called my former boss to tell him about it. He said he could not help me because I had put too many miles on it since then. Quote " Maybe my tech should have put thread locker on it. Sorry."

So now I'm stuck making payments on a truck that I can't drive. Bummer!

 

[CJ3Flyr]

That absolutely sucks...

Small shops wonder why people pay so much to go to the dealer (or insist on DIY). This is exactly why, recourse. I wish I had something to offer other than "I feel your pain". Good luck!

I would almost think a small claims court would come down on side. If a shop rotated your tires and a wheel fell off they would (I would hope).


:cheers:

 

[XJeepguy]

Describe ' several months ' ? I would talk to a lawyer for sure . What does your invoice say about warranty ? I would be so mad I would pursue this to court . Your basically looking at pulling the engine now and rebuilding it . Your out a lot of money due to incompetence of a mechanic you paid to do a job properly.

 

[shawnstcyr]

A couple of months being: mid-August. Then it has sat under my carport for 2 months while I was in the Dakotas working. I did price a new crankshaft. $259.00 Autozone ( YEAH, I know), $1100, stealership. I talked to a Toyo tech I know. He says they see this happen alot. Luckily I am a mechanic. May be able to save this.

I think it jumped time. It won't fire with the crank pulley off. It should. As far as the 7000 miles go, I put that on the truck in 1 trip to Minnesota. Went there, over to Sturgis and back, then down to the Denver area on the way home.

Small claims sounds very appealing, but I travel so much that it isn't practical. This is why I never let someone else touch my truck. But who wants to work on their own truck when you're only home 1 week every 6 ? Thanks guys!

PS: if I do put a new crank in it, I'm gonna re-ring her too. No need to take shortcuts at 206,000 miles

 

[drmorbius]

A couple of months being: mid-August. Then it has sat under my carport for 2 months while I was in the Dakotas working. I did price a new crankshaft. $259.00 Autozone ( YEAH, I know), $1100, stealership. I talked to a Toyo tech I know. He says they see this happen alot. Luckily I am a mechanic. May be able to save this.

I think it jumped time. It won't fire with the crank pulley off. It should. As far as the 7000 miles go, I put that on the truck in 1 trip to Minnesota. Went there, over to Sturgis and back, then down to the Denver area on the way home.

Small claims sounds very appealing, but I travel so much that it isn't practical. This is why I never let someone else touch my truck. But who wants to work on their own truck when you're only home 1 week every 6 ? Thanks guys!

PS: if I do put a new crank in it, I'm gonna re-ring her too. No need to take shortcuts at 206,000 miles

Doesn't the crank pulley interact with the crank angle sensor in the block to give the igniter its signal? If so it wont start without the pulley.

 

[shawnstcyr]

Doesn't the crank pulley interact with the crank angle sensor in the block to give the igniter its signal? If so it wont start without the pulley.

Not on this year model w/ 3.4 . It gets its signal from the lower timing gear, which is located behind the harmonic balancer. I believe that when the keeper key sheared it allowed the timing gear to slide forward, interrupting the signal. I still have to remove the timing covers today, I'll post more of what I find. I guess I'll go back to performing my own maintenance from this point on.

 

[shawnstcyr]

Update:

Ok guys. I pulled the timing covers off and performed a detailed inspection. As I suspected, the lower timing gear did slide forward. This interrupted the signal to the crank sensor, killing my Runner in it's tracks. This did, however, prevent the harmonic balancer from slinging off and into my fan and radiator. As it stands now, I'm spending about $350 to fix my mechanic's mistake. $275 for the harmonic balancer, the remainder on belts.
From this point on I will be replacing my own timing belt. I paid him 2.5 hours labor, I can do it myself in about 1 to 1.5 hours.
I am thankful, (but still mad) about the outcome. Things could have been alot more expensive.

 

[drmorbius]

Re: Update:

Ok guys. I pulled the timing covers off and performed a detailed inspection. As I suspected, the lower timing gear did slide forward. This interrupted the signal to the crank sensor, killing my Runner in it's tracks. This did, however, prevent the harmonic balancer from slinging off and into my fan and radiator. As it stands now, I'm spending about $350 to fix my mechanic's mistake. $275 for the harmonic balancer, the remainder on belts.
From this point on I will be replacing my own timing belt. I paid him 2.5 hours labor, I can do it myself in about 1 to 1.5 hours.
I am thankful, (but still mad) about the outcome. Things could have been alot more expensive.

So you were able to get the old key out and the groove is OK? I guess it doesn't feel like it but it could have been much worse! That guy ought to pay you back, at least for the parts.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Re: Update:

Ok guys. I pulled the timing covers off and performed a detailed inspection. As I suspected, the lower timing gear did slide forward. This interrupted the signal to the crank sensor, killing my Runner in it's tracks. This did, however, prevent the harmonic balancer from slinging off and into my fan and radiator. As it stands now, I'm spending about $350 to fix my mechanic's mistake. $275 for the harmonic balancer, the remainder on belts.
From this point on I will be replacing my own timing belt. I paid him 2.5 hours labor, I can do it myself in about 1 to 1.5 hours.
I am thankful, (but still mad) about the outcome. Things could have been alot more expensive.

Great report! :bigok: Glad it's turning into the lesser of the potential evils.


:cheers:

 

[shawnstcyr]

Thanks, guys. The old key was under the lower timing gear. Unlike other manufacturers, Toyota only gives you a small key, where as others usually groove to the end of the crankshaft. Once the timing gear is seated, the harmonic balancer and timing belt guide only share about 3/8 " of the key. Not a whole lot to play with. Should be a whole lot more. Unfortunately, there is a plastic dust cover located behind the harmonic balancer. This burned off and is unavailable from Toyo. Would really like to have thisto keep the mud out.

Moral of this story: when you replace your timing belt, MAKE SURE TO APPLY LOCTITE ( THREADLOCKER) AND TORQUE THE CRANKSHAFT BOLT TO THE CORRECT SPECIFICATIONS. As an added prcaution, I would check the tightness again after a wek or two.

 

[shawnstcyr]

Got her running today. Started right up. The tires have flat spots on them now, but I needed a new set and an OME lift kit anyway.

One other thing I noticed: it wouldn't shift into 4wd. Checked the fluid level. It was a quart low. Topped it off, shifts fine now. I was so excited I took it on a strenous climbing trip. Thought she needed a stretch after all those months sitting up. Great to have her back!!

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Got her running today. Started right up. The tires have flat spots on them now, but I needed a new set and an OME lift kit anyway.

One other thing I noticed: it wouldn't shift into 4wd. Checked the fluid level. It was a quart low. Topped it off, shifts fine now. I was so excited I took it on a strenous climbing trip. Thought she needed a stretch after all those months sitting up. Great to have her back!!

Glad you're up and running! You are so fortunate to have your skillset... :bigok:


:cheers:

 

[shawnstcyr]

Thanks!