I have a '90 or '91 Honda Accord and recently my engine light started coming on and when it would whenever I cam to a stop my engine would stop and I'd have to restart the car. Well, one night while I was driving my engine just stopped and wouldn't turn back on. I had the car towed and taken to a garage and the guy said it was my timing belt, but that he doesn't do them, so I had to get it towed somewhere else. Well, I got it towed to another garage and the guy asked me if there is internal engine damage it could end up costing 1000-1500 to fix if the timing belt went and knocked the valves around. I told him if its gonna cost that much I might just look for a new car. He said he would look at the car in a week cause he was so swamped. He then called me the next day and said it wasn't the timing belt it was the cam shaft and it was ognna cost around 1000-1500 to fix so I said I can't do that and he said that he pushed the car out front and if I want i can just bring him the title, so I don't have to get it towed to a junkyard. I told him i'd have to think about it. I called him today and told him I want him to fix my car and then he went on to tell me well its gonna take a while cause he is gonna have to hunt down all the parts and there could be a hole in the piston and that its gonna cost me 200 dollars just to open it up to see if its even fixable. Does this sound right or is he trying to somehow screw me over?

 

he wants to screw you out more than what brett hart got in montreal...!!!

 

sounds like he is layin it on you fierce, and probably has no intentions of cuddling afterwards.

it sounds to me that it is something FAR more simple than what he is telling you, possibly even something like tune up hardware.

 

yea, he seems like a shady dude. could one mechanic mistakenly tell me i have a broken timing belt and it's really just the camshaft? i don't get it cause if he looked at it shouldn't he know?

 

easy to know if the t-belt is ****ed up take the inspection cover off and if the belt comes out with a pull, you know what's up.

 

could a broken camshaft put a hole in the piston? is it really an arduous task to hunt down parts for a broken camshaft?

 

Brilliant idea - pay the $20 to have it towed to a Honda dealership for a $70 diagnostic and get a second opinion.

No one online is going to be able to accurately diagnose and price out your issue.

 

I know that. I was just trying to see what other people thought. I know without being able to see my car they wouldn't be able to tell me what's wrong with it. I just wanted to know if anyone else thought it sounded like i'm getting screwed. My car was my lifeline. I since lost my job from not being able to find a way to work. I'm dangerously close to being completely broke. I'm not trying to spend upwards of 2 grand if i don't have to. I already don't have money for rent or food. Anyone else have anything else to add?

 

Well you have 3-4 people saying he's pulling a fast one and you think he sounds sketch. I would imagine that's MORE than enough to get a second opinion from a reputable source.

You can have the CEL scanned at most any place (can do it yourself with a paperclip) and then look it up online as to what it says is the problem.

So I'm unsure what other information you're looking for? I get the impression you have no clue what's wrong with it, and you don't even mention if you've done any maintenance on it recently (or ever) so you really just need to take it to someone else you trust to take a look. Simple as that.

 

nicely said considering this is HT

 

It is probably a cheap fix but he just wants you to give him the car so he can turn around and sell it.

Then when you told him to fix it he upped the repair price to try to continue to get the car for free.

Take it elsewhere.

 

Sounds like that mech is a douche bag...

with 1000-1500 i can get a running car, registered and insured at the same week, and do some tuning...

usually parts for timing is around 150$-200$ oem belt, aftermarket-tensioner, seals and waterpump and labor should be 300-400$ local mech... dealership is like 500-600$ labor but they do a great job so far.

 

sound suspect to me

 

Called the guy back today to tell him not to touch my car and he said he already ripped the head off and said there is no piston damage. I asked to estimate about how much it might cost and he said maybe around a thousand with parts an labor. I'm so confused. I thought he said it was the camshaft? What is the head? He said a used head for the part is gonna cost like 300 to 400. I'm gonna call the original mechanic to confirm that he looked at the timing belt, but I was referred to this newer mechanic by the first guy , so i'm gonna play it like i'm curious and gonna find the part myself and that I never took it to the guy he recommended. Last time I had to get work done on my car I had to get a new distributor cap and a new fuel pump in and it ended up costing me a little over 700.

 

Without any paper work and permission on your part that mechanic has overstepped his bounds and in no way are you obligated to pay for what he has done without your permission.

The head sits on top of the block and has the valves, springs, retainers, cam shafts, distributor, etc on it.

 

In all my time fixing honda's I've NEVER had someone come at me nor have I discovered BROKEN Camshafts, as in actual, BROKEN, IN HALF or a part of the camshaft is physically missing. Scored, Worn, never BROKEN...And NO for an F22 no OEM part is NOT HARD to find at all.

In situations where they aren't suggesting to offer you a DIAGNOSTIC (At a price) and are grossly speculating without physically offering you a diagnostic FIRST..he wants your car, and is going to intimidate you with the possibility of some part you know nothing about, but has incredible importance being broken, immediately causing you to say SCREW the car..

How he look telling you to bring him the title? How does he know you're not going to get ANOTHER accord and want the parts off your current as back up?

200 bucks can get you an ENTIRE MOTOR around here guy...get your car back, hit up craigs list or a junk yard, find your motor and get it thrown back in if you cannot afford to have someone diagnose and FIX your car.

 

Someone off of hondatech that lives closely should help you out this cant be hard to fix.. You dont need no special tool to diagnose hondas all you need it to bridge two wires together and read the engine light.. I have no idea why he took your head off he must of done that just to charge more..

 

Where are you located? I'll buy the car from you depending on condition for cash money and come get it!!!
Now really, I'll agree that this cat is probably trying to get your car for little or nothing. As for price for repair goes, if the camshaft has 'busted' its ussually because of lack of oil at the front bearing cap and will probably ruin the head as for accepting a new camshaft. If thats the case youv'e got oil pressure issues. I've found rebuilt heads on ebay for around 2-300. Valkin is probably close on labor/parts for tbelt. More labor to pull head obviously.
You said the engine light came on and it stopped and you started it back up and drove it more so I wouldn't be so sure about the cam/timing belt issue as once the belt rips a tooth or 3 off of it thats ussually the last time it will run. You could get lucky with no bent valves but I wouldn't count on it. The valves ussually bend before putting a hole in the piston. I'd maybe check for ignition problem or distributor/ignitor issue if the t belt is ok but you said he has already pulled the head so guess your kind of stuck now. I'd go with the non authorized repair and get your car before he touches it again and find someone else.
gl

 

well a simple test that only takes 2 min to do is open the oil fill look at the cam and have some one crank the car over. if it does not spin the timing belt most likely broke. same thing would happen with a broken cam but i would think it would move a little.

 

yes get your car back from him and let him know that you will not pay for his time working on the car after you had it pushed outside.. and that you want him to pay for any re-assembly needed to get your car back to the way it was when you had them push it out!

 

It sounds like both of these mechanics have no idea how to diagnose a problem. I could image their thought process "well sumptins not right so id betta take apart dat engine" WTF!!!

It also sounds like he is in the business of getting cars cheap by lying to customers.

 

Get a ride to the shop and look at your car. Do you have a friend that can take you and jump start the car? I'm betting he hasn't touched it. If he has the head off ask for the estimate with your signature on it. If he has started work without your authorization you can go to small claims court. If he hasn't touched it and you can jump start it or it only turns over pull the oil fill cap and see if cam is turning. You could have a bad alternator or a dead battery for starters.