:( my engine just blew

[svx_commuter]

I would tell them I want to see it at different times when the T covers come off, when the T belt comes off, Cam sprockets off. Bring a waiver form.

[sfsvx]

Originally posted by Uncamitzi


you can stand at the rope or by the door .... I just keep checking. If the place has an outside bay door... I'm there.... I might say that I'm sorry to them once or twice and explain that I'm very nervous about other's working on my car...

Your experience may vary....

I tell them that I've never seen the inside of an engine and that I'm just curious about what all that stuff looks like. They let me watch because they then think I'm ignorant.

They're 50% right, but hey - it's MY car.

[want-a-fast-svx]

alright well the word came in today from the dealership...they are saying that it is the timing belt tensioner, but they are trying to say that ill have buy the 130 or 150 dollar part but not pay for labor...Sooo...when the part comes in next week they'll be calling me and letting me know, and then ill be telling them they are gonna be fixing it for free or they'll be talking to my lawyer...I need some help from you knowlegeable people out there...This timing belt tensioner, what exactly does it do???is there any way to tell if it is bad by looking at it???Reason i ask is if they do end up doing it, I'm going to demand to see the old part and would like to know if its legit or not...Also would drifving the engine with the tensioner broke cause major/ any engine damage??? My father is a lawyer so if i have to bring this to court i will...thanks for the replys this far, all the help and support are truly appreciated, and ideas as to what to do or anything of the nature is also greatly appreciated...thakns again

[want-a-fast-svx]

One more thing about the oil....He wsa saying the desing of the engine pushes the oil up and to the sides of the engine thats why the oil isnt in the bottom of the oil pan right after you turn the car off...I smell B/S on this right away but didnt say anything and acted like i was some cluess idiot that new nothing, but i watn to double check that this is just a line he's feeding me...If any subaru mechanics are in here and viewing this if you could drop any info on the subject that would be great, also if you dont mind maybe we could talk about me getting your info like where your dealership is and what not if these guys start to feed me stories like this, it would be awesome to give them a number to a TRUE mechanic, who knows what he/she is talking about and have them set them straight for me...IF anyone thinks they could possibly help me here it would be greatly appreciated...JUst write here or pm me with any info you can help m ewith...again thanks for any help...

[Subafreak]

Iteresting situation. Like I said if the tensioner was bad they would have known it when they did the seals. It would seem to me that either they broke the tensioner when collapsing it or they just forgot to tighen it or remove the holding pin when they put it together and are trying to cover their ass by saying it was bad. They are probly hoping you are really ignorant and don't know that they were in there working on that stuff. When I bought my car I had the them change the crank seal under warranty, after I got the car back I checked out the work, and they forgot to plug in one of the cooling fans, didn't put the charcole canister vent back in the hole in the frame, and didn't replace the timming cover top gasket. I sent my wife back to have them take care of it and the service manager argued with her that the techs never had to remove the cover to fix the seal. I called his pluff and had him buy me a new gasket and steering pump rebuild kit to install my self, and never let them touch my car again. Unfortunatlly you don't have the covience of being your own mechanic. The moral of the story is, if the tensioner was bad they should have called and told you so you could pay for it then and they could put it back together. If they ignored and didn't bother to tell you about it when they had it apart then, Yes you should pay for the part and the labor to replace it should be free. As for the oil thing, as a rule you should wait 5mins for all the oil to drain back in to the pan before checking it for proper level and Subaru's seem very sensitive to inclinations, my car port has a 5deg pitch to the left and when I try to check my oil their, it appears to be a quart over full even thoe it is at proper level.

Good luck.

As far as the Oil thing goes did you ever get an Oil light...did I miss you saying that?

I had a fisrt gen eclipse GST get lunched because the place i took it too double valved the filter. I figured they should pay for it but they said it was my fault there was a lack of lubrication. (well my wife did drive it that way for a few days). I finaly got them to do the labor for free i just had to buy the engine.....the rest is a long painfull story so I'll cut it short here.

[want-a-fast-svx]

sorry bout the delay in posting...there was no oil light at all, that came on...i just left a message saying i need to know today whether or not they are going to fix it cause i've already talked with my lawyer and mechanics and that your story is complete b/s...so we'll see what happens from here...thanks for the help thus far...any idea as to whether driving with the tensioner gone like it is would have done any major or minor damage???thanks again

[Subafreak]

The SVX motor is not an interference engine so no other damage should have been done. All thoe I have seen a Legacy that had a water pump freeze up and it broke the idler pulley right of the pump housing.

[want-a-fast-svx]

ok..so the situation is now this...I went to the dealership today to see what was going on with everything. Got there and they told me they put the new tensioner in (i never told them to do this), but when they started it, the noise it made could be heard inside his office about 50ft away...I;m almost positive its gotta be the noise i heard that night...I dont really know what piston slap sounds like but the sound it was making was horrible...They now have to tear the engine apart cause they dont know what it is...This is cause because it slipped some teeth, so they say...Also they said they had to call some other subaru dealer or something to ask what they should do and if the engine was a non-interference engine or not...The person told them it was an interference engine and he didnt know it could be major...Does all this sound like total b/s???Oh yea and when the guy wanted to show me the old tensioner he couldnt find it how convienent...Also he said there is absolutely no way to tell if the tensioner is bad, or any way to check it...He wanted me to ask the "mechanic" (you guys) if there was any way to check...So is this right???There is no way to check the tensioner??? SOrry for the length, but im just trying not to get screwed here...thanks for any and all replys thus far...

[want-a-fast-svx]

Originally posted by Subafreak
The SVX motor is not an interference engine so no other damage should have been done. All thoe I have seen a Legacy that had a water pump freeze up and it broke the idler pulley right of the pump housing.

this is what i was referring to when i said i thought it was not an interference motor....

[Subafreak]

It sounds bad, It sounds like the dealership dosn't know what the hell their doing. I don't think i'd let them tear my engine apart. Anyway, the tensioner has hydralic resistence to it, When you collapes the piston you have to do it very slowly or you will wreck it. If the hydralic resistence is gone you can eaisily and quikly compress the tensioner kind of like compressing a spring.
If it is installed on the car like this it will balance back and forth and possibly jump time.

[want-a-fast-svx]

they said they had to use a vise just like always to push the thing together to get the pin in....So thats why they didnt think it was bad....and then it jumped teeth when it wwent and thats what did the damage....also is there any way to check tthe tensioner???any and all help is as always greatly appreciated

[want-a-fast-svx]

alright so i've searched for info on interference engine and non interference engine and i've heard that the svx is both...So which one is it???Cause i need to know if this guy is screwing me hear too...He is saying they called someone and they said the svx is an interference engine....So/????which is it??thanks for any and all help

[mattski]

The SVX engine is non-interference.

Matt

[want-a-fast-svx]

any idea where i might be able to find information that says this in writing and is legit like from subaru or something of that nature???just wondering, b/c if there was then i could bring it down there and show them...Also anybody have any opinions as to whether or not you can test a timing belt tensioner???thanks in advance