warranty work info, please help

hyundaitech...

Hey I have a 2003 XG 350L, and the timing belt Idler pulley bolt broke and damaged the right side head (looking at the motor form the passenger side front tire). The motor has only 55K miles and I had the timing belt replaced at 52K miles. Here the deal:

The dealer is going to replace ONLY the right side head.

All three pistons have marks on them when the piston hit the valves.

The Mechanic did a bore scope on the left side head and found no damage, its just odd to me, when the motor is running and I have all three pistons damaged on the right side, and the left side is good condition.

My questions is: If you replace one head should the other head have a valve job done to match the right side head, because the right side head will be brand new, and the left side will have 55K miles on it. I am not happy with this.

Also if the pistons have valve marks, why wont the dealership replace the pistons or even replace the block?

How can I negotiate to have the dealership replace both heads, isn't it common practice when you replace head you do both sides, where can I get this writing, as a defense to make this happen.

What about the pistons, I didn't purchase the car with damage pistons and its under warranty, how can I be sure that the rod and bearings aren't damage, Even a slight damage in the bearings could cause some problems in the future.

Finally, the rental car, should the dealership pay for the rental car??

What I need is written documentation to help me. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

If there's no damage to the rear head, there's no particular reason to work on it. Actually, I'm surprised to hear they're replacing the head. In most cases, just the valves are replaced. Furthermore, it's not common practice to replace both heads because one has a failure, so you'll be chasing your tail on this one.

In regard to the pistons, i'd say it's a matter of degree. Pistons are normally covered in carbon. So, if a valve comes into contact with a piston, it's almost always visible. But that doesn't necessarily imply there's damage to the piston. As long as there's no significant indentation into the piston and the contact hasn't damaged the cylinder wall, there's little reason to replace the pistons and no reason to replace the block. I'd rather not have someone digging that deep into my engine unless there was something substantial to be gained. (I'm a cynic and a skeptic.) I see it as just more things to go wrong with the repair job. The way I see it, the whole idler pulley bolt breaking is way too much of a coincidence this soon after replacing the timing belt. If it weren't for the free work and the necessity of repair, I'd probably prefer not having these people inside my engine at all. In any event, you may be able to negotiate the pistons if you can show that they're needed. Ask to be able to come by and see the vehicle once the head is removed. This will allow you a clear view of the tops of the pistons. Bottom line, Hyundai only owes you repairs to the things that have failed or been damaged.

Realistically, there's little efficient way to determine for certain whether there has been bearing damage. If the bearing is only damaged in one spot, plastigage will only pick that up if it put in the correct spot. If you're the original owner, I say relax, you've got plenty of warranty left. If not, the only thing I have to offer is that I've never seen a timing belt failure closely followed by a rod or main bearing failure. So I'd consider the chances of damage to the bearings quite minimal.

Your Hyundai factory warranty doesn't cover rental. It's considered incidental expense for which you're responsible. If you have an extended warranty, there may be a rental allowance in that contract.