Changed water pump and now Car wont run???

[stanlis]

I just have recently bough a 97 eclipse gst the friday before last. Okay i noticed the car had a small coolant leak coming from the water pump gasket, so i buy a water pump for it and take it to this shop in Dublin. The guy told me it would take him 2 hours to do it then i could come pick it up. So i come back about 3 hours later and they pretty much have the car back together but the guy tells me just to come pick it up the next mornin. Well i come back the next mornin and my car still isn't ready, the guy said somethign about they had got the timing off and that they had to start over, but it would be ready by the end of the day. Well i get off of work and go up there at the end of the day and nobody is even working on my car so me and the owner got into a fuss and i told him that it shouldn't take that long and that the car should've been done the day before. So the owner of the store tells me that i should just fix the car my damn sell since i knew so much about it. So i was like whatever and i towed the car back to my house. Well when i got it to my house the timing was off 1 or 2 notchs. Okay so i corrected the timing and tried starting the car and all it would do was turn over and over, w/ out attempting to start. Well i check for the basic stuff like, is the car gettin spark, is it gettin fuel, and if everything is grounded and on correctly. Everything looked perfect so i called the Mitsubishi shop and asked what could be wrong w/ the car, the guy responded that the car could be off timing or a bent vavle. Well i've double checked the timing and it seems to be perfect. So i run a compression test on it today and it came back w/ 0 in all 4 cylinders. Basically i'm just wanting to get some Experienced DSMers advice on what my choices are for the car and if there is nething else i can check before i rip the head off. Thanks Stanley

 

[PaulN]

I guess I don't have anything to offer other than you might just have to pull then head to assess the damage.

On the other hand, why did you tow the car from the dudes shop.? You dropped it off running you should have refuused to take it back in any other condition. What are you going to do now if you do find major engine damage? It could be very very difficult to recover damages since you removed the vehicle from their care. Basically their word against yours now.

Good luck. I hope it works out for you in th end.

 

[halligoo]

Almost guaranteed that the shop bent your valves. 2 hours for a water pump replacement would be a challange for anybody. More like 2 days if you take your time and do it right, checking all tensions, clearances, pulleys, etc. along the way. Instead of getting a free head rebuild, you are probably just going to get a shaft. Sorry....

 

[Spoolin98]

You definitely should not have had the car towed from their shop. Did you have to pay them for service? Do you have receipts? It sounds to me like they put the timing belt on wrong, started the car and bent some valves. That would explain the zero compression. It WAS their responsibility to fix the car, now that you had it towed from there garage, it may end up being your responsibility.

 

[stanlis]

No.i didn't pay them a thing.. I just took my car outta there for they tore up something else..I think i still have a good thing going for me tho, cause i have a good mechanic that's gonna back me up and say that if they did the timing wrong that they probably bent some vavles..Another question, when i start to fix my car, what all do i need to replace? Will i just have to replace the valves or what?

 

[JCMDSM]

The damage really depends on how quickly they realized the mistake. Generally you will need new valves. If there is anything more than minor denting of the piston then those need to be replaced as well. If a dented piston is reused the hot spot created by the dent could lead to a host of problems like detonation, melting the piston, etc. You really won't know until you get the head off. I would try talking to the shop and seeing what they can do for you. You really did make a mistake by removing the car from their shop but you may be able to make a deal. Try to get them to think of it this way, if the car is fixed (maybe you could pay 50% or something) they can maintain their reputation and keep a customer happy. Good luck--Jon

 

[stanlis]

Also another thing is i fould an excess(meaning more than orginally)amount of oil on no.1 piston..idk if they poured it in there or not. But does that mean nething or not?

 

[gthompson97]

sounds like the shop did the damage. they changed the pump, lined up the timing wrong (because they don't know how perfect it has to be on our cars), tried to start it, and bent some valves. that's why it doesn't start and you have zero compression. that's also probably why they weren't fixing it when you went there the second time, because they knew they screwed up majorly.

 

[PaulN]

They probably put some oil in the spark plug hole to see if they could get a good compression reading.

I hope everything works out for you in the end! Good Luck!

 

[WMD]

Take pics if you still have the opportunity and keep the broken parts. With this evidence you can take the shop to small claims court and sue for the damage and the price of labor. If your car was working when it came in and now its not, well to bad for them right.
Because remember, in small claims court its not "beyond a reasonable doubt", its "with sufficient evidence".
Good Luck

 

[WillyC]

Shouldn't have a problem getting them to pay for it. Good luck

 

[stanlis]

Alrighty.. Thanks for all the help guys..I'm taking the head off friday and as soon as i find out something i'll repost w/ what all damage was done.

 

[dilbertgonebad]

peachy my fist post..
sorry but... I gotta ask...
If you where not comfortable replacing the water pump, do you really feel brave enough to pull the head? WTF WTF

I am in the middle of rebuilding a bad head of my own. This stuff isn't trivial or cheap. I just hope you know what you are getting your self into.

DGB

 

[kronus]

Yup, the shaft. Oil for a compression test after they bent the valves. If you think you have some good evidence, you will want to use that to your advantage. If they did that damage (which we all know they did) then they are responsible for the repair. But as stated before, good luck since it will be their word agains yours...

-Kevin-

 

[stanlis]

I pulled the head off today and found out that all 8 of my intake valves are bent. Also i got a little rub on my number 4 piston. How bad does it have to be before i have to replace the pistons. I will post some pics asap.

 

[stanlis]

Also another question.. With the valves bent over and they tried crankin the car, it rubbed on the cylinder head a little, Will that be able to be machined or will i wind up paying for a new head??

 

[JCMDSM]

I can't really tell how bad the damage to the piston is (pic is a little fuzzy). If the damage is only minor I would say you are safe to reuse it. Minor being the denting is limited to the actual contact spot of the valve. If the piston is deformed other than the exact spot were the valve made contact I wouldn't reuse it. Buy a new piston and take the new piston and old rod to a machine shop and have them assemble it for you. Shouldn't cost more than $20. Your head should be fine from what I can see. Good luck and keep us informed--Jon