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low compression-timing issues
Topic Started: Jul 26 2012, 11:40 AM (1,935 Views)
Bad Bent
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Facetious Educated Donkey

I doubt the warranty covers adjustments like the timing belt. I would think it's parts and failures. I doubt also that the mechanic would remember his torque settings or go so far as to put a dab of nail polish on bolts to be able to tell if they had been tampered with.

That said, if you can do the timing belt yourself maybe you should consider that again. The original marks can be off if the head and/or block were shaved and the head gasket is a different thickness than the OEM one or if the valve springs are compressed it will rotate the cam a little throwing the belt alignment off.

Not to mention the crank sprocket. :-/ You might start with removing the right wheel and seeing if the pulley is on securely. You can loosen the Alternator belt and remove it then see if the pulley has any free play. Moderate twists and tugs. If you remove it you will need a 17mm socket to hold the crank bolt still, but you won't be able to see the woodruff key. At this point you can remove the water pump pulley/belt cover and check the cam timing. Check it with #1 piston at Top Dead Center on the compression stroke. I remove the left #1 plug and feel for air pressure while turning the crank and then look for the crank sprocket timing marks to align at TDC. Not pull the distributor cap and see if the rotor is at 11-12 o'clock (where the #1 dist. cap post is). If not then you know in which direction you should rotate the cam to get the rotor to "point" at about 11ish.

Even so I have had to reposition the timing belt on both our Geos even when I was sure the marks were correct. I had very bad low rpm performance/torque and sputtering.
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toocolts
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My warranty specifically mentions defective parts. They are covered and would cost me 13 an hour for replacement according to the chilton flat rate. Seems like a decent warranty but getting him to do the work is the question. I did look at the timing marks at the crank and cam gear all looked good. Dimple and mark line up. I am going to double check the timing gear as there is a second dimple on the cam that I may have identified incorrectly. Even so he was the only person to work on any of this. It ran well until the time he claims the gear moved. Since then it has ran like crap. Kind of points to something he did wrong somewhere. I have also always got my car back with something still leaking. There are things he was responsible for and each time it came back there was another oil leak or coolant leak. Here is a timeline.
1. As soon as I got it back. Front cam oil seal leak.
2. Then got it back and oil leak at the dist end of cam and thermostat housing coolant leak.
3. Took it back said he fixed the oil leak. Still had coolant leak.
4. Running like crap took it back again. He replaced the TBS. Failed to fix the coolant leak. Still a big question is why so low compression on a new motor. I have not found 1 person that will say that it should be well below minimum factory specs. He never checked and once again he told me" 140 is ok as long as they are all the same". minimum is 156, max 199. I would expect at least in the middle with new rings and valves or valve job. I am hoping to find the timing gear at the cam off. I will look as soon as I have my second vehicle back home. Anyway I know something about auto repair and if was my business I would never allowed this to go on for so long. Either no ethics or incompetent workers in his shop. Wish me luck! He has a couple of chances left to get it right before I take him to court. I have done some checking and with a written warranty there is not much he can say. I have a total of 4k into the car so can't just throw up my hands, pull the motor myself and have a second rebuild done. That would be ridiculous. He has also never had me sign anything at each repair. He did it all saying his "reputation", is at stake. Lastly he said he can't even check compression for me until August 20th. !5 or 20 minute job. So it will be a while before I can figure out what to do next. Thanks for you input. It all helps me look at the whole situation.
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clarkdw


Still some confusion here.
The timing marks can be lined up perfectly but if what Starscream suggested and I and others agree with is in fact the case then the marks CAN be lined up perfectly and the relationship between the crankshaft and the camshaft will still be out.

The crankshaft is moving inside the sprocket or the camshaft is moving inside it's sprocket. The sprockets still look fine as far as the marks lining up but the relationship between the two shafts has changed.

Once you gave us the clue that the mechanic said the sprocket came loose the die was set. There is almost no doubt about what is wrong with your engine. It explains poor compression numbers, poor running and starting issues if you are having those.

It has nothing to do with defective parts other than the damage that was a result of poor workmanship. The sprockets were not correctly installed or not correctly torqued. One of them started to move a tiny bit as the engine was running. That movement wore away the key meant to align the sprocket till the bolt is tightened down. Once the wear allows the sprocket to move significantly the wear accelerates and destroys parts. The locating key first and the sprocket and the crankshaft next.

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toocolts
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8-1-12 . Have left 3 messages no return call.
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toocolts
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have an appointment now for sept 4. says he will fix. hasn't got it right yet. we shall see.
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