I have never had a car back from a garage that didn’t have a finger print or something somewhere that lets you know work has been done. That is why I started to look back at photos as something was just not right. I am livid about it I really am. You put your faith in these mechanics and pay the going rate what was asked and they rip you off. Not all owners would spot it but I did on this occasion.
Just to let you know about the car. It is a 1997 with 21000 miles and I know has had one cam belt change in its life so a bit worn out is probably rubbish. I also asked what the gearbox oil and rear dif oil was like when removed (which I also presume has not been done) as was told sludgy. I know both oils have been changed once before.
Thank you for your comments and opinions. I am convinced those bolts when put back would not line up 100 percent. Every single one I check is in perfect alignment as it was before it went in,
I am not going to say where the garage was until this is resolved. I am happy to say no more if I get an explanation and a refund but as yet nothing, they will not answer my call or messages.
I do not have a skin in this dog…so I will keep it simple and factual. I witnessed my Mk1 open diff 93 being drained for the first time about 10 years back with over 120k pretty brutal miles on it.
It was a tad darker than Hiroshoma’s finest…that was all. My trusted engineer was not surprised…we were putting in top quality Castrol stuff just to be sure.
I was there when my wife’s 2002 Mk2 Sport gearbox and LSD oils were drained at around 90k miles. Both were healthy and still pretty translucent. Sludge I do not get…these components are not subject to combustion contaminations after all. Does, for one example, the "new"cam cover gasket look out the box…or “seasoned” as we say? So saying, it’s not always really required to renew but general Good Practice says you should. At least…conventional opinions lean towards that. Potential issue here is not only the belt & tensioner so much… as the water-pump.
ON another point, changing just the belt is not cost effective any way and there is a lot more items that need changing at this time, the rest needs checking and changing, it does not get past the fact that the rocker bolts are the same stopping rotation , something is amiss, but you will soon be able to tell straight away when the rocker cover comes off to view the belt, 10 minutes to see.
But as said just a belt change regardless is not correct any way.
M-m
Just a quick update, over the weekend I checked the spark plug leads from a photo I took when I changed those, they are in the exact same position even to the point of the lettering on them being exact where they fit into the clips. Also all the air intake cross head screws are in the same position.
I am getting an independent engineer to do a written report this Thursday then I will proceed from there.
It may be on these forums, but I remember someone saying they use bright orange marker on their oil filters so if it’s still there after a service, they know they didn’t replace the oil filter whatever the garage says.
I guess a similar method would work on the camcover etc. bolt heads/cover to show if it’s moved at all.
Thats a grest idea… Looks like you cannot trust anyone. I am so glad I took loads of photos when I bought this car last year so have had a reference to compare.
Me, amongst others.
Not only oil filters, anything solid that needs changing at the service, including edge of cam-belts.
I use the Colorado Beige “Orange” touch-up tin left over from my 1977 Cavalier.
That exact colour became no longer available while I still owned the car!
Does your car use a toothed rubber cam timing belt or does it have a timing chain rather than a belt (as used in the ND)? If it’s a timing chain, it really shouldn’t need a new timing chain at 21,000 miles. However if it uses a toothed rubber cam timing belt it would probably need changing due to its age as it is 27 years old and rubber timing belts perish with age. If it’s a timing chain then they might have thought “Nah, it’s not needing a timing chain replacement” as it would be highly unlikely to actually fail, in which case they should not have charged you for it. Whatever, looking at the evidence, like you, I would be highly suspicious that anything had been done.
I have had dealings with a so called highly respected tuning outfit who lied through their teeth about work they had supposedly done on my car and I have photographs to prove it. It shouldn’t take to much to inspect a rubber timing belt to determine whether it is new or not.
Looking at the picture of the timing belt in the link provided by Theo86, the belt is marked on its outer (non toothed) face with the manufacturers ID etc. This face will run on the timing belt tensioner pullies and I would have thought on an old belt these markings would start to become marked or disappear. Just a thought, so if anybody with experience of changing belts knows otherwise please say so as it may provide extra evidence for the OP.
I’m in the process (several weeks, and just when I thought I was finished - discovered my torque wrench didn’t go high enough for the crankshaft bolt) of doing a cambelt change on my Mk1 as I had no record to say when the cambelt was last changed.
What I can say is that, the new belt and old belts text etc. looked as new as each other. In fact the only visible difference between the new and old belt was some form of grey/white dust on all the teeth of the old belt, probably a bucket of soapy water would have cured it, but I went ahead and did the belt anyway.
