QuestionI recently replaced the timing belt on my son's 96 Eclipse GS. After the belt was replaced (done at Pep Boys). The manager told me that the valves were bent from the belt breaking and now the engine needs another $1300- in repairs. The belt cost me about $400-. Is there a way I can be sure that the engine truly did suffer damage, and that they adhusted the timing correctly before I make another expensive repair on this car? Also is it true that if the car did in fact need engine repair to the vales that the car would be smoking because of oil leaking. The car does not smoke and once it reaches a travel speed over 30 MPH, seems to run fine. Please help me NOT be ripped off by a pep boys mechanic.
AnswerMaria,
A $400 timing belt change is the average price, so you didn't get ripped off there. If your car seems to run smoothly, then your timing was set properly.
Also, the manager at Pep Boys may be correct that you have valve damage. If your timing belt snapped at high RPMs, you will have some damage to the valves. But the amount of damage would be very difficult to determine, unless the cylinder head is removed and visually inspected.
The smoking can occur due to oil leaking past damaged valve seals, that may have been caused after your timing belt broke. You can get a general sense of the damage by having a mechanic do a compression check. If compression checks out to be below the manufacturer's specification, have the mechanic then perform a leak-down test. If the mechanic does not know the difference between a leak-down test and a compression check, then find a new mechanic.
If it is determined there is valve damage, your cylinder head would most likely need to be rebuilt, or replaced with a rebuilt head. And yes, the approximate cost is around $1300.
But that is a lot of money, so it may be worth your while to get a few opinions and different price options from other mechanics. Also check with your dealership for prices as well.
Good luck!
