I have a 2000 Odyssey

Is it a normal procedure to replace the cam and crankshaft seals when doing a timing belt package (105K mile service) ?

When removing and replacing the seals, is it procedure to inspect the surface of the camshafts to make sure they are in good shape?

I recently had the seals repalced by a shop who did a fauly job. I got on the road for vacation and went nearly dry on oil. I limp (1 quart every 50 miles) until I got near a dealer. They inspected and said the seals were leaking and went ahead and replaced them again. Things appeared fine until a couple months later I saw oil dripping once again. This time I brought it to a local dealer and after inspection said once again the seals were leaking. THis time though they said the seals were fine but either the original repair shop or the other dealer had gouged both cams with a tool and oill was leaking out from the valleys created by the tool beneath the seal.

Both the original shop and the other dealer said it's not thei fault and now I'm out $1800. If the dealer on the road had inspected the cams, it was obvious they would have seen the gouges, UNLESS they were turned in just the right rotation to hind the giuges.

Does this sound reasonable, or was this a rushed job and I should pursue reimbursement somehow?

Thanks.
Mike

 

LoL, Lawsuit.

 

Thanks for your courteous response

 

Well your first mistake was having the second shop do the repair. I know you was far from the first place you had the job done but they should honor a periord of failor (12 months or 12,000 miles) I would contact a lawyer on this matter. We are all builders not legal attorneys... If it was me 1800 is enough to take to court.

Both shops did wrong here not just one, thats why you are in a bad spot. The first did the repair wrong (the cam seals should NOT have started leaking again causing you to have to replace them again) the second shop SHOULD have diagnosed WHY they went bad if you just replaced them. My guess is the first shop did the damage the second shop was lazy.

 

It's very easy to scratch the cams on a Honda and it's nearly impossible to fix without replacing the cams.
It is pretty common to replace oil seals with a timing belt since the reduced labor is pretty attractive.
If it were me I would peruse the original dealer. It's going to be tough because you should have had the van towed back at their expense to the original dealer. But those seals should not have leaked again within about 6 more years.
If they refuse take them to court because this is not a cheap repair. (although you could do it yourself)

 

I've never seen any of the J series (3.0-3.5L) cam/crank seals leak. I've done hundreds of T belt services on those. Its much more common for certain models to have a T belt tensioner seep hydraulic fluid.

I have seen cams damaged by seal installs gone wrong. A good machine shop can fix it for much less than the cost of a new cam. hth

 

Unfortunately, most shops won't honor their service warranty if you have repairs made by another shop. I'm sure you can understand why. For this reason, it's almost never advisable to have major service done immediately before a long planned drive. Sure, early failure shouldn't be expected to occur, but sometimes **** happens. At this point, you won't know whether it was the original shop or the second shop that damaged the cams, although it would seem likely that it was the original repair.

I don't have any advice for you other than to contact an attorney and ask about your options for reimbursement. Unfortunately, you're going to have to spend more money to even know if you have a chance at getting the rest back.

x2. Our shop never change cam seals on V6es because they never leak. We always change them on F-series, B-series, and occasionally on D-series.