Timming belt question, dont be cheap or this will happen to you Options

[Turbo_Toy_Madnes...]

there goes my money ... i guess i should blame myself for being cheap

Sorry about the situation my friend, but not knowing the level of competence of the guy you've deal't with is'nt really your fault and we alltend to save money every now and then but from a distance far away by network cannot help you more then this,Sorry . stick with my last reply and if you have the possibility to prove that you had the same job done twice maybe then he'll admit with proof (like photos of miss timing) from the other shop or whatsoever he'll admit the lack of competence and knowledge and refund labor if honest.

off to bed for a little bit of rest before classes tomorrow (sorry off topic) please keep me informed of the story endings by PM or so.

[stephen_lee]

did it myself w/ 10, 12, 14, 17(?)mm sockets and 10mm wrench w/ about 2 hours

not so hard.

[NaderG]

did it myself w/ 10, 12, 14, 17(?)mm sockets and 10mm wrench w/ about 2 hours

not so hard.

my biggest problem is that i dont have the energy , beside taking 18 units in college and working 27 hours a week , i have a bad case of chronic insomnia that the doctors haven't figured out yet , and i cant take sleep aids due to other health complications , so basically i barely sleep ...and thus i can barely drag myself around all day lol

[stephen_lee]

ah damn. id do it for you

[k-weaver]

Wow, sorry to hear all of this...

If I were in your shoes, this is what I would do:

1.) Go to another shop that deals with imports or the dealer
2.) Have them diagnosis the problem (usually a flat rate and waived if you have them fix it)
3.) If the prob has to do with what was done at the other shop, Have the new shop right up an invoice for you as to what needs to be done.
4.) Take the invoice to the shop the messed up to prove they didn't do the job right. Argue as much as you can with them to get them to refund your money. Don't take no for an answer and if he tries to only give you like half back either haggle with him or demand a 100% refund.
5.) After this I would take the car back to the shop from step 1, have them fix the car if you already havent.

I would not recommend meinike to anyone. i went there once for the free inspection and this was the worst mistake I could have ever made. When they put my rims back on the caps were put on to tight. One cracked and fell off somewhere. This only cost 26 bucks but I took them the receipt and made them pay. They also told me that things needed to be replaced that really didnt (got a second opinion and inspected myself).

[NaderG]

Wow, sorry to hear all of this...

If I were in your shoes, this is what I would do:

1.) Go to another shop that deals with imports or the dealer
2.) Have them diagnosis the problem (usually a flat rate and waived if you have them fix it)
3.) If the prob has to do with what was done at the other shop, Have the new shop right up an invoice for you as to what needs to be done.
4.) Take the invoice to the shop the messed up to prove they didn't do the job right. Argue as much as you can with them to get them to refund your money. Don't take no for an answer and if he tries to only give you like half back either haggle with him or demand a 100% refund.
5.) After this I would take the car back to the shop from step 1, have them fix the car if you already havent.

I would not recommend meinike to anyone. i went there once for the free inspection and this was the worst mistake I could have ever made. When they put my rims back on the caps were put on to tight. One cracked and fell off somewhere. This only cost 26 bucks but I took them the receipt and made them pay. They also told me that things needed to be replaced that really didnt (got a second opinion and inspected myself).

that is what i was going to do , but first i just have to go there and tell them they did it wrong , i am sure he will offer to fix it. now he might just find that it was a couple of teeth off , if they "fix it" and the car still runs bad , i will go to the second shop ... and thank god its a non interference , or else i wouldnt even want to dirve the car

[NaderG]

k , sorry to keep posting here , but i am really worried about the engine ...

-its missing like every other second , and idle is just soo rough
- today i noticed a sounds coming from engine as i drove next to a wall , a loud metal lump ....

what can happened if the timing is off ? could it be that the motor is almost blown now ?

[97GTinKC]

Time and time again I read posts on here where someone takes their car to a shop because they are "cheaper", or promise the moon for half price. Then the nightmares start,,, Wake up people, ask around for references, check the Better business bureau, or better yet, read up on it and then do it yourself. While some of the dealers are not much better, they still stand a chance of being able to get it done properly, again, ask around. If a particular shop is lower than others and can get you right in, maybe its because they have screwed up too many times before and lost all their business. They will probably say it was your parts that were bad and you have to pay the labor again - most shops will NOT put on parts they didn't sell just for that reason and I dont really blame them.

You would probably be better off finding another member in your area that has done this before to help check the timing belt alignment, should be able to see by just pulling off the top plastic cover and aligning the timing marks on the crank pulley, then checking the cam marks. (I think, Its been a couple years since I did mine)

Good luck

[NaderG]

ya , correction is on its way , i will definitely do it myself if all fails , but what i am really worried about now is what could have gotten damaged inside the engine when i was driving it around with un-aligned timing

[Turbo_Toy_Madnes...]

ya , correction is on its way , i will definitely do it myself if all fails , but what i am really worried about now is what could have gotten damaged inside the engine when i was driving it around with un-aligned timing

Try to get it fix ASAP cause even if the 5S is nearly indestructible and free wheeling(non-interference engine)
a retard or advance timing (exagereted) could possibly cause auto-combustion and/or ping (bad sound from internals due to a bad combustion timing) that would permanently damage Crank,ConRods & Main Bearings and in the worst case scenario it can poke a hole through a piston!(by overheating with bad ignition timing)
-If not nesssary don't use the car if you say thoses sounds are reccurent.(use on emergencies only on very short distances and don't floor the throttle,be decent avoid overheating by constantly keeping an eye on Temp.
-Get it repaired right away; if you say the sounds are that scary,might as well tow it away to the shop than blow up internals.($$$)
hope the update's helps on your decisions keep it up, with courage.

[alltracman78]

It's unlikely incorrect mechanical timing is going to do much damage to the 5S, it's just going to sound and run scary.
We see it a decent amount [stretched or incorrectly installed belts], I've never seen one damaged from it [Toyota non interference engines].

[NaderG]

well , i just got from the mechanic again , he fixed it a tad bit better , still misfiring and idling roughly , but pinging only occurs when trying to accelerate hard , which i dont do much... i cant not drive the car , i have to ... i am also selling it THIS month ..

--> the mechanic said that he def. have the cams alligned and he swore that the car is running right ... ofcourse its not , now i dont know if going to another shop to fix is worth it or not , since i am selling it

the plan was to get it running perfectly so i can sell it for top $$ , but i just dont want to spend too much money for that , i can sell it priced pretty low and it will just equalize ...



or i can just do it myself , but i have this feeling that its not just the timing thats off ....

This post has been edited by NaderG: Mar 16, 2008 - 8:30 PM

[alltracman78]

Is your CEL on?

[NaderG]

Is your CEL on?

Negative

[NaderG]

[quote name='NaderG' date='Mar 17, 2008 - 2:05 AM' post='654541']
[quote name='alltracman78' post='654540' date='Mar 17, 2008 - 2:01 AM']
Is your CEL on?
[/quote]

Negative , He said that if the crank/cams weren't aligned the CEL would turn on ... but i didnt belive him .

[NaderG]

I asked around and found this guy who apparently is a toyota expert , he worked for TRD , he worked for Toyota in japan and other stuff , so i am taking my car there by thursday .. sadly i have to drive it to and from school ,which is about 5 miles ... as i said the car has pinging if i try to drive it hard ( which i dont ) or going on an uphill , the engine is still misfiring like crazy ! but not overheating , i can tell it gets hot much uicker and the fans come on more frequent when standing still

now , i know pinging/knocking/misfiring can cause engine damage , specially if i pushed the engine to around 5K rpm ( when i test drove it right after i had the belt changed) ... so to expect the worst , lest just say i toasted something in the engine , maybe damaged cylinder walls , pistons , rods ... etc .....

now i asked this before but i am still freaking out , now worst case scenario : engine is critically damage , rebuild or replacement required , how much should i expect to pay for a used 5s in decent enough shape ?? i have a couple for friends that offered to help me swap the motor if its damaged (but not the timing belt lol ) ... so what do u guys think

thanks for all those who replied , i know i keep asking the same stuff again and again so thanks for patience