timing belt jumped

[Ldub]

well, first thing thismorning, 8 am, i call warranty company and tell them to get on the ball, my truck is done, and a bill i ready, all this on an answering machine, and ask for a call back on when i can pick it up. so i wait till about 1 and call back, and leave another message asking same, and how things are progressing, at 4 i call, and the warranty guy answers,....says he hasnt heard a word from my mechanic, but would call him right away and get me back in my truck. i STILL dont hear from anyone so at 515pm (my mechanic closes at 530) i call my mechanic and ask if he talked to the warranty guy, and he says he called, but got called away on an emergency, and couldnt finish the billing thing, the warranty guys son was riding a bike, and apparently got struck by a car........**note, i hope and sincerly pray the boy is alright**

so, i simply say," so i guess i wont be able to get the truck tonight"
my mechanic comes back with "well, ill tell you what dave,....YOU can come in here and pay the bill, and then YOU can deal with him on getting your money back....."
i asked how much the bill was, and i dont have that much cash on hand this week, but i about went off on this guy, i have known him for years and given him alot of business, as well as many referalls...........WELL THATS OVER.
I WILL NOT TAKE MY TRUCK TO TOWNE VIEW AUTO CLINIC AGAIN.......

sorry this thread has become somewhat of a blog, but after reading it thru, it may come in handy in a court case that may be comming in my near future.
thanks to you all for your support, i really appreciate it,
and i ask you all to keep this warranty guy, his wife and son in your thoughts and pray its not serious.

thanks again people........maybe tommorow
david

Very disappointing...(cue Tom Petty)
the way-ay-ting is the har-dist part...

Everything happens for a reason Bud, hang in there.

[IndianaVX]

dubster...........

i prefer.........."breakdown, GO AHEAD AND GIVE IT TO ME....... my vx, that is......


thanks bud

quad, i think timing belt replacement is 100,000, and although my belt broke, it was due to a piece on the cam breaking, and not the belts fault.....(poor lil fella) and im pretty sure that warranty you mention is for original owner, which i am not.....and i am dealing with an extended warranty, not the factory.......
thanks

[Maverick]

ive been away for quite awhile, hope everyone is well..

sorry to see all the trouble indiana.., seems no matter what we do, if we dont or cant do it ourselves, theres a high chance of getting hosed... local Isuzu dealer charged me almost 5k awhile back for a new head (after labor, one head was 1375 give or take a few bucks, its been awhile, and some routine maintenance that somehow ended up at over 3500 more $$ )
the warrentee on that part is up, and after (low) pressure washing my engine a few weeks ago, the paint on the valve cover came off. looks to me like they put in a re manufactured head, or possibly even a used one and just prettied it up to make it look new, i paid for new factory parts... too late to do anything about it now though, been too long, and took me too long to figure it out. they were also supposed to change the t-belt, but i later found out they didnt even change the spark plugs, so im still concerned about what i paid them for and they didnt do...
anyhow, i feel your pain...

so , is it definite this is a none interference engine? the posts confused me a bit.. im behind on my maintenance and have been very concerned about snapping my t-belt, i would worry a bit less if its non interference, not allot less, but a little... itll be another month at least before i can attempt to change mine, unless i have no other choice... :/

[IndianaVX]

WOOOHOOOOO!!!!!

Well, ill give you all one guess, as to what is in my driveway.........times up.....

I GOT HER BACK!!!!
yes, its true, i got my vx back on thrursday, late afternoon, so i drive it around so carefully for a couple of hours. but i figure im gonna have to take it down the highway, and give it some gas, so off i go. as im giving it a steady acceleration, im thinking, this doesnt sound right, and even more, THIS DOESNT FEEL RIGHT. i mean, i do remember the airbox making some noise when accelerating, and it has been 3 months, but i can tell, and something is WRONG. i HAVE NO acceleration, and i sound like some kinda poser ricer. so i pull in over at my parents house so i can check things out. when i raised my hood to investigate, this is what it sounded like.........


http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u...Picture004.flv

AWWWWWW CRAP!!!

it was already sprinkiling, the sky turned dark, my fists pointing at the ground, face towards the sky, screaming.....NOOOOOOOOoooooooo.......... (fade to black) lol

so im thinking im doomed, i am so depressed, i putter home, the shop is closed so i just limp on into the driveway. it had quit raining, so i go ahead and wax, and coat everything so atleast the vx is clean again, and wait till morning to call the shop.
when i call i tell them that im comming in for them to listen to, and FIX, what is wrong. i tell them something was left off, exhaust i thought, maybe something in the intake manifold.....they say bring it in.

when i get there, they look all upset and so i raise my hood, and i say listen to this.....so they check it out, and discover that the nut on the bottom of the egr had come off, (i think, never was put back on....) and so i leave it there for a couple of hours to cool and be fixed.

when i got it back....MAN WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! its back, my vx is BACK!!!!
the acceleration, the smoothness, all of it. it stunned me how awful the truck sounded, and how terrible my acceleration was. i mean, the engine made alot of noise as it reved higher, but it just wasnt moving the truck to match, all because of the egr basicly being disconnected.
so i am back in the truck, and loving it.

??????????????????????????????????????????????????/?//?????????????????????i do have one question, or issue. i cant remember hearing this before. but when i accelerate evenly, but givin it alot of gas to get moving, i hear the airbox noise, or suck, all thru the rpms till about 3800-4000 rpm then it gets quiet, and starts the airbox noise again at around 4500, or when it shifts. like i said, i dont remember hearing that lack of sucking noise anytime in the "power band" before. ANY IDEAS????

summing up the warranty company, i give em about a 5.5 on a 10 scale.
they did pay 1100, of a 1700 dollar bill. so i wound up paying 618.23 for my end which included my 100.00 deductable. where most of MY bill was is
mechanic would charge 7 hrs on something, the warranty would only cover 5.5 hrs, leaving me the balance. this happened on about 5 line items.

i did get new intake gaskets, new plugs (double platnum...have to look that up later...) valves adjusted. so thats good stuff too, just not sure how the double platnum plugs work with the vx.

so today, im gonna drive, cruise, just get back in touch with my truck.

[IndianaVX]

maverick,
sorry to hear about a ISUZU DEALER doing that to you, and choosing your fights wisely, yeah, probably too much time passed to really do anything about it, but i would put at least a phone call in.
as far as the engine being interferance or not, i am about 98.634 % that it is a NON INTERFERANCE engine. if i were you, i would go ahead and replace it, and the belt tensioner, and probably the water pump too. merlin got the tensioner, and pump for me and it cost like 220 bucks. which reminds me,
i asked my mechanic for my old pump back, but he didnt have it.......makes me wonder, alot, but ill let it pass....

there are folks on here that have changed the belt themselves, but i think it depends alot on how mechanicly inclined you are. i think the biggest tools you would need on this project it time, and paitence.
good luck with it, i have step by step instructions if you want or need them....actually have about 10-12 pages of timming, etc...and 2 how to's from start to finish.
so keep us posted....

david

[Y33TREKker]

Glad to hear you're back on the road Indiana. I sometimes wonder what my decision would be if my VX developed a similar serious problem, fix or sell, but overall I believe that a brief period of frustration wouldn't be enough to make me let go of such a unique vehicle.

[Ldub]

FINALLY !!!...I'm happy for you David, & pretty sure you'll find it was worth the wait.

I'm spending the day under "her highness"...I got up the ambition to drop the tranny pan & put in a new filter & fluid etc. Sure is a hot one out there.

[IndianaVX]

ARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!
THE SAGA CONTINUES........
on the way to the shop to take care of these codes ive been throwing, i accelerated just to see what the vx would do today, and it sounded like it went completely out of time again.......i barely hit 20 mph, and when i came up on a hill, the engine was making a dreaded knocking sound....... but once i got to the shops parking lot, at idle, i couldnt hear any knock, and it reved alright..........who knows????

the most irritating thing about all this is my peace of mind is shattered. i will never be able to hop in the vx again and feel secure. with the comprimised head, the chepo plugs they put in there, and who knows what else, im just afraid that now everytime i drive it, any little ping or tick, im gonna be freaking out about it.

i apologize for the open forum venting, and ranting, but my kids dont really get it, and my wife just knows im disgusted,

i know you all understand what we are dealing with in keeping these trucks on the road and in good shape.
i appreciate this great forum, and the help and understanding it provides.
you know ill keep you posted.....as for noww, the vx is in the shop again, and it may be a while before i get it back..

take care of yourselves, and your vx's!!!!

david

[IndianaVX]

here is the latest,

my o2 sensor #1 left bank is bad, and my catalitic converter is toast. the shop told me that with the truck running the way it was, it was dumping too much fuel, and burned the thing up
but if it was dumping too much fuel, then why was the code reading "lean fuel on acceleration"????
something doesnt sound right, and me owning a vehicross is starting to not sound right either.......
i dont think warranty company is gonna cover any of these two items, merlin quoted me 798.15 for the converter, and 103.58 for the 02 sensor.
i am in way over my head to make the case that the cylinder head repair was faulty, and caused this latest trouble.
i just dont know......

oh, and the shop also told me that there may be other things pop up after i get THIS repair done....is there a chance that the other cat. converter could go bad, or is it seperate enough that it wouldnt be affected by the left side.......

rattum frattum frickum frackum...........

[IndianaVX]

well, the vx is dead.......for now..........im talking to a lawyer tommorow, or thursday.
and although this thread has become a bore, a long depressing bore, i think it will come into play nicely in a court situation to give a time frame of events, and how things transpired.
when i talked to the shop today, they were basicly blaming ME for the catilitc converter failure.....go figure
they said that when i drove it when the belt broke (???) and over the course of the weekend,(150 miles) that when i was driving, there was too much fuel being dumped into the cat. covert. and thats what burned it, and the 02 sensor up......

the points i intend to raise are as follows, which are all documented in this thread, and hopefully the warrany companys paper work as well.........

back a couple of months ago, maybe page two, i was told that the new belt was put on the vx, and it ran great, but due to the water pump not being in yet, they couldnt finish the job......
well, if the cam was in the condition that it was in, then this couldnt have happened, when the water pump DID come in, they put the belt on, and couldnt get it running, which later they discovered that the cam was spun 180 degrees, so either they lied about it running previously, or they damaged the cam over the course of the 2 or 3 weeks of trying to set the time.

point two,
they obviously didnt take the truck on a test drive of any worth or run diagnostics computer when they completed the head install, because ANY mechanic that is worth anything would have noticed the lack of power, and the AWFUL growel that was made by not haveing the egr tube hooked up to the bottom of the egr valve..........

point three,
again, there was no test drive after the egr was connected because if there was, they would have thrown the codes i was experianceing over the weekend, in which case, i would think they would have kept the vx in the shop, and figured out why it was throwing the codes. in MY opinion, they set me up for failure by letting me take the vx as completed. me with the understanding that my vx was in shape to drive, i was actually destroying my catalitic converter, or CONVERTERSSSS, plural . (1500.00)

I dont like to play the blame game, but who is at fault here?? me, for doing what you are supposed to do when you get a vehicle back after 3 months, which is to drive it? OR, the shop that gave me a faulty completed repaired vehicle to drive only to damage it further???

if you have an opinion on this, if anyone is even reading this thread anymore...lol...please post your opinion, good or bad, i would like to hear it. ive never taken anyone to court,or small claims court before. anyone had any experiance in a situation like this???

well, wish me luck, cause i need it right now.
thanks for all the support you guys have given me over this whole ordeal.
thanks, gobs and gobs.......lol

david

[IndianaVX]

ok,
todays scoop. i talked to local isuzu dealer about the catalitic converter situation yesterday, and he told me that the warranty on the cat convert was 6 years, or 60,000 miles......im at 64,000 so obviously, i was soooooo bummed yesterday, couldnt sleep AT ALL last night, i just couldnt figure out what i was going to do, sue these guys, get another job, or what. so as usual, i ended my day in prayer, and again, talked to God about my truck, and my situation. well thismorning, i was talking to my warranty company, and they dont cover the cat. converter either. but he said i might call customer service at isuzu of america corp. offices. so i asked them what the warranty was on the cat's and he told me 8 years, 80,000 miles!!!! i asked him to double check, he did, and repeated the same!! he said i just needed to take it to a isuzu dealer, and have em fixed!!! i called the dealer again, and he agreed!!!!!! so, im having my shop roll the vx out to the parking lot, warranty company is going to cover tow bill to get the vx to the dealer, and they said they would fix it!!!!!!!
there MIGHT be a diagnostic fee, but that too will be waived if they find the converters are toast. and the 02 sensor was destroyed by the converter, so i SHOULD be covered as well!!! the converter got so hot, that it melted the threads on the sensor, it looked pretty bad.
so what more can i say, things are looking brighter once again........
Thank God.........he is good, so very good.

[IndianaVX]

called the isuzu dealer today, and they cant fix it. it is out of warranty even though i was told 8/80,000. what they failed to tell me was that was for original owner. so the great service guy roger (really) at bob rhorman isuzu asked for a "good will" repair of my truck, and got the call back and it was denied too. so i asked about what kind of bill i have, and again, roger being the good guy he is, said awww, dont worry about it....no charge!!

my question for today is,
roger said that there might be the ability of putting a "test tube" on there instead of a cat converter. from my understanding is this is just a steel tube, with the flanges welded on. he also said that the guys in the shop "might" be willing to do it. but im assuming that i would lose my o2 sensor, and have to live with a check engine light for the rest of the trucks life.

so anyway, im loosing it, gonna go troll the streets for some valium jk

but my only option for now, is to have it towed back to my house, and sit it by the desoto, until i talk to the BBB, and my attorny.

i still feel like if the repair shop wouldnt have given me the truck while it was throwning the codes it was, i could have saved the cats.
im trying to make the connection. kind of a chicken or the egg thing, maybe.

[Solitude]

Hello.. I am sorry to hear about your troubles.. but Dude.. its like the lookie-lews at the scene of a car wreck.. your listing of the troubles should be good documentation for court action.. not sure if it will help though.. have been thinking about selling mine as the windows suck, the paint sucks. the hood is cracked.. and it doesnt have 33,ooo miles on it yet.. the transimission is a year old and Thank God I am the original owner or it would have really been bad...

and I only owe one more year on it .. laffs.. anyways.. probably a rambling post but hey.. typeing your thoughts outloud..kinda clears your head..

Here's to a clear head

Peace,

[IndianaVX]

quad....

EXACTLY!!!! im just itching to burn the bridge down with that shop....but i gotta time it right, or the whole thing could really, really suck......worse than it does now!!!

thanks, and sorry to hear about your trouble too, and a dragon at that....that really sucks.....good luck with it

[IndianaVX]

[QUOTE. probably a rambling post but hey.. typeing your thoughts outloud..kinda clears your head..

Here's to a clear head

Peace,[/QUOTE]


LOL...rambling on one post is nothing compared to a 3 month long ramble!!! LOL

take it easy,
a clear head is worth alot.......