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Question about interference engines

A friend had his 91 Pathfinder towed to a local shop on the understanding that it had a broken timing belt and a leaking water pump. They performed the repairs to the tune of $500+, but did not mention to my friend that a broken timing belt on a 91 Pathfinder would cause valve and possibly piston damage.

After the repairs were done, the Pathfinder ran terribly, of course.

My friend, who knows nothing about cars, called me and told me what happened. I called the shop and asked them if this particular make, year and model had an interference engine or a non-interference engine. He replied, "What's that?"

Does my friend have any recourse simiolar to a medical malpractice claim?

It seems to me that this is something that a shop should know.

Jack

Reply to
Jack
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Did the timing belt break while the engine was running? You will need to determine if the poor engine performance is a direct result of the engine head/valve damage that was caused by the timing belt breaking. To prove this you will need a second opinion from a competent mechanic who should be willing to testify on your behalf as an expert witness. Then you will need a lawyer to file a claim, if the shop does not agree to perform the needed repair.

I still wonder if you took the car to a competent mechanic in the first place. Any mechanic worth his salt would have checked the compression, etc. if the belt had broken on an interference engine.

Reply to
Rajsircar

"Jack" wrote

You are right..."a competent shop" should have known this. Obviously this shop is not competent. On the other hand, if your friend went to a witch doctor for medical advice.... he may not have fared much better. You can't charge the witch doctor with medical malpractice....so I don't know how far you will get with this shop.

In any case, your friend hasn't really lost that much money. If he had taken the vehicle to a good shop.....he probably would have been putting a new engine in the vehicle anyway.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_kai

FYI - the phrase "interference engine" is not industry standard. There are plenty of very good mechanics who know the issues but do not know what this phrase means.

Reply to
Jimmy

"Jimmy" wrote

You must be kidding? If they "knew" the "issues".....they wouldn't have handed the vehicle back to the customer running badly. Any good technician will understand the phrase "interference engine". If not, they need some more education.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_kai

it had a broken

of $500+, but did

cause valve and

I called the shop

You should find out for sure what is causing the problem, not just guess. It is possible for a belt to break and not cause damage to the valves. You have to be lucky, but I have first hand experience with this. I would start by doing a compression test.

------------------ Alex

Reply to
Alex Rodriguez

Any mechanic will know the phrase "interference engine". If they don't, they shouldn't be known as a mechanic, much less a very good mechanic.

-Bruce

Reply to
Bruce Chang

Check around. Go down to the track. Let me know how many guys down there have ever heard the phrase "interference engine".

Reply to
Jimmy

"Jimmy" wrote

Ahhh...."down to the track".......well there ya go!

Ian

Reply to
shiden_kai

Dog or horse?

Reply to
Neil Nelson

All the ones that have ever built a belt-timed race engine....

Reply to
Steve

Real race engines don't use belts.

Reply to
Jimmy

True, because real race engines don't use overhead cams.

I have a feeling that isn't what you meant, but it makes at least as much sense as your comment :-p

Reply to
Steve

a mechanic will always check the engine before blindly replacing a damaged belt. Even a idiot could do the finger compression test for starters. Reveals grose valve damage for all quotes there is an equally opposite quote

Reply to
Askari

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