Who's Responsible?

[Tommyg]

Had a cam replaced--2 rounded lobes. Next the turbo crapped out. Now I have a rod bearing going out. Shouldn't the mechanic have figured out that all that metal from the cam was somewhere in the motor and done something to prevent this further damage?

 

[boostingbuick]

What they call it is a gamble. Most places know the metal went somewhere. Most of it is caught in the oil filter after it goes through the oil pump and scores the walls. If they change the oil and it runs good, then its on you. If it knocks, then they will fix it. But I feel that they should take car of this if it has not been to long.

 

[fitz3820]

I had a cam go out 10 years ago and my mechanic (Jack Cotton) said "You can roll the dice and stab a new cam in and cross your fingers or do it right and rebuild the whole thing"

I rebuilt the motor and have been happy ever since

Jack made sure that all coolers etc. were either replaced or flushed of any metal debris.

 

[SGRIM]

Is this the same mechanic that did that other work for you? If so you should see the pattern. Not every mechanic knows how to work on a TR.... Should have been a red flag, and he should have at least notified you before continuing...

 

[turbofrank]

your fault sorry good luck

 

["Turbo-T"]

Sounds like a shade tree mechanic.

I've rolled the dice once when I had a #6 bearing walk out on me. A new crank, bearing, oil pump later and I got another 35k miles and was running ok when I sold it. Shop insisted I swap the engine, for a junkyard engine when mine had 48k on it.

Don't think I'll try that again.

 

[gossamer]

You're taking a chance when something like that happens and you don't tear the engine down. You hope that all of the loose material gets collected in the filter. Every mechanic and car owner will have a different opinion on this. I would tear it down if it happened to me just because I'm a pickey b@st@rd. I do sincerley hope it works out for you though. :smile:

 

[Donniejr81]

I have an 84 Corvette with 3K on the rebuild. I was sold a defective cam (verified by grind # by manufacturer) which was done for at about the 3K mark. I installed new cam, lifters, and pulled the engine back apart, thoroughly inspected, and cleaned everywhere I could reach. I DID find some of the pieces in the oil pan, but the filter caught almost all of it. I did go ahead with a new oil pump just to be safe. So far, no probs yet and I've cruised it quite a bit. Good luck.

 

[Turbo1dr]

This is a case of you not being informed about the possibilities of engine failure due to a worn out cam. The technician diagnosing the vehicle should have gave you the option to pull the engine and rebuild it or take a chance(with your approval) that the engine would live after the new cam was installed. 99% of the time, the customer will take the chance....I've seen it happen too many times. But I've also seen 97% of the engines live without a problem after taking that chance.


Usually, if the cam wears out over a long period of time....such as a couple of years, all the metal will just get caught in the oil filter and will also be bypassed through to the bearings on cold engine start-ups (oil filter bypass valve). Installing the new cam should not make the engine any less reliable. After all, the old cam has already done the damage which you haven't noticed before the work was done. However, if a new cam wears out in less than 300 miles or so it usually causes catastrophic engine damage...like you have. I would call that a cam that wasn't broken in properly.