QuestionI have a Sonata 2001. About three weeks ago I took it to the garage because of a tapping from the engine. The mechanic said it was the lifters. He recommended replacing all 24 as well as the timing belt. I agreed. during his "repairs" they bent a valve. This caused several extra days for the repair to be completed.
Approx 3 weeks later the tapping returned and became much worse then the original problem. The mechanic said that there were 6 of the lifters not working properly. He worked on the six and while taking the car for a test drive, discovered the the head gasket was leaking and would have to be replaced. He got the part and replaced the head gasket, but during the repair again bent a valve.
Needless to say I am very concerned.
What kind of future problems could I experience from this debacle of repairs?
Thanks for your time..
Carlene
AnswerIf the repairs were completed properly, then you'd experience no future problems as a result. If not, then you could have timing belt or other engine problems.
If a valve was bent, it would require removal of the cylinder head where the valve was located to do the repairs. If the leaking head gasket was on that head, then the repair facility should have done the head gasket repairs for free for you, since they just installed the head gasket that was having the problem.
In many cases, improper operation of hydraulic lifters is caused by problems other than the lifters themselves. In many cases, lifters fail because the oil passages are clogged or the oil is so dirty that the lifter oil hole gets clogged. Usually, this is due to not changing the oil frequently enough. So there's definitely a possibility that the lifter noise will return.
Unfortunately, the shop (or mechanic) working on your car is not qualified to be doing the repairs that are being done. Everyone makes mistakes, but bending a valve twice on the same car suggests that the mechanic doesn't know the proper procedures for replacing a timing belt or cylinder head.
