Convincing the Professionals

[4FOR4]

A few weeks ago the '98 Outback was hit by a deer. Body damge repair was $3400. One of the things replaced was a cracked timing belt cover, passenger side.

 

They gave me the car back and it ran terrible. Idle had a side to side gallop and after about a week the infamous overheating problem started.

 

I took it back to the repair shop and the frustration began.

 

With all the valuable information gleaned from this forum I was pretty sure I knew what the problems were but I couldn't get the shop to agree and they pretty much were going to wash their hands of it. The increasing volume of my complaining wasn't getting far.

 

I finally had to agree that if they did the testing I wanted and found nothing I would pay, an insurance coverage fear I assume.

 

Here's what they found once forced to look:

 

- Took timing covers off, found the side that had been hit, cover replaced, timing was off by a tooth. They couldn't believe it, never seen anything like it.

 

Thought they had it all fixed gave it back to me. I took it for a test drive and although it ran much smoother I got it to overheat in 20 miles. I brought it back to the shop and showed them the bubbling in the coolant res but they didn't think that meant anything.

 

- They looked at it again and found that the cooling fans had some wiring issues that were missed during collision repair, fixed that and told me to come pick it up. They said they drove it all over and it was fine. I took it for a ride and got it to over heat again within 20 miles.

COLOR=red]It really does matter how you drive it, you have to put it under load, Drive it like you Stole It! [/color]

 

- I didn't hear from them for a couple days and when I went today they were in the process of putting the engine back together after replacing the head gaskets.

 

From what I could gather from this shop the symptoms of this head gasket failure are not like others. The moral here is be informed and push for what you want.

 

Looking back should I have taken it to a Subaru dealer for collision repair? Would the insurance company allow that?

 

And the real question: will my Outback ever be the same again?! What other damage occurred due to timing being off and over temperature operation? It makes me sick thinking about it.[

[cookie]

You were probably going to need those head gaskets and the timing belt changed anyway.

It is good that these folks have stood behind the repair.

If you monitor it closely to make sure the work has been done right your car may be better than it has been for some time.

[SevenSisters]

I know the feeling. I had a garage hit me one time.

If the shop does reputable work you should be OK. It is fortunate that you took the time to become knowledgeable about your car. The engine damage was probably unexpected for the shop.

I would just keep an eye out for alignment related tracking, tire wear, and vibration issues.

[4FOR4]

I forgot to mention that the gasket replacement was happening with the engine still in the car. Standard procedure?

[cookie]

a clutch most folks seem to leave the engine in the car.

[4FOR4]

The Outback is Back! Seems to be running fantastic! Only time will tell if timing or headgasket caused any other damage.

 

The mechanic said he was amazed at how little wear there was in the cylinders etc. Everything looked to be in alot better shape than the 133,000 would usually look. That's some good news.

 

While they had it apart for the TB I had them put in a new water pump, a couple of idler puleys that seemed to have worn bearings, and a thermostat. Along with the new head gaskets the engine should be good to go for a few miles.

 

Thanks to all for volumes of information and insight into the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Subaru ownership. Your input is a huge asset.

 

Happy New Year.

[Setright]

Sounds right, those idler pulleys last about 120 k miles.

 

 

Happy New Year!

[cookie]

Let us know how it goes!

[rallynutdon]

Originally posted by 4FOR4

The Outback is Back! Seems to be running fantastic! Only time will tell if timing or headgasket caused any other damage.

 

The mechanic said he was amazed at how little wear there was in the cylinders etc. Everything looked to be in alot better shape than the 133,000 would usually look. That's some good news.

 

Happy New Year.

 

That's a Subaru for you. When I rebuilt a 2.2 Legacy motor with 160,000, it miked to within .00005 (if I remember correctly) of specs. Subaru does have the engine lubrication down pat.

[pacific_import_auto]

Originally posted by 4FOR4

I forgot to mention that the gasket replacement was happening with the engine still in the car. Standard procedure?

 

No, It is not standard procedure to do headgaskets on ANY subaru in the Vehicle. on Some subaru's you cannot get the drivers side head off inside of the car because the headbolts are too long. For the amount of time it takes to get the engine out of the vehicle so that you can work on it on a bench or some place similiar you'd actually be saving time rather than hasseling with trying to do it in the vehicle. There's only 4 extra bolts and 2 nuts that have to come off to get it out of the vehicle anyways (Upper and lower bell housing bolts and the motor mount nuts on the cross member) and then the engine lifts right out.

 

 

Mike