Help needed, has a garage ruined my engine?

[Gazsf]

Hi folks, I really need some help with a serious problem(ongoing) and need advice.
I took my 1993 Hilux Surf 3ltr TD to a local garage for a service and MOT plus a few other things needing done. The last MOT had a clean bill of health with no advisories although the mechanic pointed out the anti-roll bar droplinks needed replaced. I decided to take my surf back to the same garage for the service. The day before taking it to the garage I checked oil levels, brake fluid levels etc and charged the batteries. I drove to the garage first thing in the morning and it drove perfectly. I phoned the garage the next day and they had just started work and were doing the brakes and to call the following day. I called the following day and was told they were preparing the surf for the mot and it should be done by 3pm and they would call if there was a problem. I arrived at the garage at 3.20pm, the surf outside unlocked. The owner came up and said there had been a problem..the mechanic had taken it for a test drive and it had gone 'into limp mode'. The owner went to get the key so i looked in the car and the timing belt cover was on the passenger seat. I opened the bonnet to have a look. The garage owner came with the key and asked me to start the car. I jumped in and put my foot on the brake peddle to notice it went to the floor with no resistance. I tried to start the car at the request of the garage owner but it would not start, sounding really rough like it was firing on 1 or 2 cylinders and black/ dark grey smoke coming from the exhaust. The owner asked me not to use throttle and try syarting it again, it started but was still sounding the same. The garage owner feathered the throttle from the engine but it would not rev. I suggested it might be the timing and he agreed and said they would get it back in the garage as soon as they'd finished a taxi that was in. I left and telephoned the next day where the owner said it wasn't gettin fuel and they suspected an air leak or air getting into the fuel line somewhere and they would call me when they had it going..he also remarked 'it was a pain in the arse'! That was thursday the 4th and have not heard back from the garage. Is there a chance they didn't check or align the timing marks correctly and knackered my engine? Sorry for the long post and I hope someone can shed light on this. Many thanks Gaz

[Koi]

why would they have needed to have touched the belt in the first place?
Seem to me the drove it a fault appeared for what ever reason and are now trying to say its this or that.
So it goes into limp mode or do they mean it just lost all power when the mechanic was driving it so they just started stripping covers off but don't really have a clue what they are doing.
Why was he driving it in the first place? please don't say a test drive to test the drop links!!!!!!!

[budweiser]

interesting!

[Triv]

What were the 'few other things' you asked them to do?

Presumably as part of the service they replaced the fuel filter. I'd start looking there if an air leak is suspected.

[bryanisaoldgit]

hi from the other end of the country
i,v had surfs for twenty three years
and in all that time on all models
i have never found a [limp mode]
as far as can see theres not one
i fancy the garage you went to
cocked it up and now trying to blame
what they dont understand
if you drove down there with no probs
where the air in system come from
its something they have done

[arh]

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles, I cannot help you any more than any one else, it's the garages problem!!. But just to say, I drove my Surf to a Toyota main dealer for an MOT, later that day they rang me to tell me they couldn't start it and could I go down there. When I got there it was in the car-wash. Question "how did it get from the car park to here?", answer, "we drove it", to cut a long story short, I was charged £110 for an electricians time to disconnect the immobiliser that THEY destroyed somehow. arh. ps. it passed the mot needless to say, lol. So, yes, garages can balls things up. pps, the dealer ain't a million miles from here.

[Jameswallace]

Siunds like pump timing.

Also sounds like they should not be trusted

[NiftyNev]

I know for sure the 2.4 does go into a sort of limp mode if the timing is wrong. Probably the same for the 3ltr. A mate of mine had a mechanic do the timing belt on his Surf quite a while ago now and he had problems. I and others kept telling him it was the timing, but the mechanic insisted they always get it right. After constant complaints they decided to check the timing and guess what? They had got it wrong. It was a tooth or two out on the pump. Shortly after they fixed that, I had to do the whole lot again because the crank seal leaked. Your garage sounds like a bunch of hopeless idiots. Doing a timing belt ain't rocket science, but I have seen so many that are done wrong it's rediculous. Did you ask they to do the timing belt at all?

Nev.

[bryanisaoldgit]

i think you will find there is no limp mode
on a surf

[Gazsf]

Answers and update

Thanks guys, so a rply to your questions and an update(yes my surf is still in the garage, 2 weeks and counting). Ok, the work i wanted done was; Timing belt/pully and tensioner change, oil/air/fuel filters changed, oil change, anti-roll bar drop links changed, brakes changed all round, 2 rear back tyres changed and an MOT. I had supplied the garage with all the parts(all brand new from Roughtrax). After doing the work and before the MOT they took the surf for a test drive, don't ask me why, the timing belt cover was off while they did this and, from what I noticed the brake fluid resovior was nearly empty(they took it for a test drive with no brakes!) and why were the brakes not working after they changed them. No, it doesn't have a limp mode as I pointed that out and I said it sounded like the timing was off. Now for the update, during the middle of last week I was informed that it was the alternator?? He had been told that this sometimes happens..I quized him on this, how can an alternator affect starting and fuel problems? No answer but was told he was going to take the alternator off for testing, I refused to let him do this...i hope I was right to do so? I went to the garage on thursday afternoon, they had bypassed the filter with a small in-line filter, said it would start but after switching the surf off for a while the fuel drained back, they were going to try filling a 5 gallon tub and trying to pull fuel directly from that instead of the tank. not heard anything from this latest attempt yet. Could they have knackered the pump by not timing it right and running it dry? Thanks again guys.

[bryanisaoldgit]

well i think if it
was me i would cut my losses
pull it out from them and get
a proper fitter to take a look
after all they are not a complecated
motor to work on
and name and shame um

[Koi]

As above really, they sound like a bunch of halfwits.
I am guessing the timing is out or they used the fuel pump pulley to turn the engine doing the belt and have facked the pump.
Its really simple, worked fine, they did some work and now it doesn't work correctly,
Can only be something they have done!!!!!!!!!!

[Jameswallace]

Ah so it now all becomes clear.

It sounds like the timing. Go down and check it yourself. Very easy. No it wont have damaged the pump

Do not let them do any more until you check it yourself or witness them checking it properly. Otherwise the bill will reflect there imcompetancy.

You must not fall foul of their ploy to make you think what they've done is hard. Have you ever succesfully put a belt around your waist? If so, you're almost at the same level as changing the cam belt. Its really not hard to get right!

There is a notch on the too cam belt pully, which must line up with an arrow above it. The pump also has one at about 3 o clock and one on the crank pulley which has a spike to line up with

[Diezel Weazel]

Seek some help from AA/ RAC or trading standards, regarding an Inspection as is, stating ya drove it there n now it doesn't drive at all. You would like it Repaired n working BUT not by them...
Good Luck

14+ Years of Surfs .... n Faultless to a "T" is my Yota !! So I got another ....

[Triv]

You don't even have to do that.
If they took the work on and can't get it right, then they are in breach of contract. You must allow them fair chance to correct it but if it keeps coming back wrong, they obviously don't know what they're doing.
I learnt this from taking mine to the local Toyota dealer.

You wouldn't pay a builder to build you a house in the Cotswolds and end up with a cave in Torquay.
Same principle.