Identify the Noise - Results / The Next Horrible Horrible Part of the Story

The smell of bovine excrement assails my nostrils :-)

Sadly for you, the guy you picked to do the job has had bad luck. If he agreed to do the work for a price and things have gone wrong, surely that is largely his problem?

My understanding of the legal situation is that if the price for the work was an estimate then it can be varied. If it was a quotation then the price should be firm regardless of any difficulties encountered. Regardless, I would try to work with him to get it sorted at minimum cost. Perhaps try negotiating for a lower price for removing the engine?

At least the guy has had the honesty to tell you what has happened. If it was a main dealer they would have "found" lots of other work that needed doing in order to cover the cost.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Chris

I had a similar problem with a Corrado I bought back in the mists of time from the main dealer.

It had been "serviced" by the owners mechanic husband supposedly.

Ran ok for a bit then the timing went out, took it to a local garage who sorted the timing, then it went again.

Turned out the bottom bolt wasn't tightened up properly and had worked loose and rounded off the locating notching in the end of the pulley.

Wrote to the VW garages MD after getting fobbed off by the service manager.

He rang me after getting a bollocking saying he'd not said what he had ie. we can't be arsed to put it simply.

Got it fixed for free under warranty.

Mark S.

I wonder if the bolt was a reverse thread? They are usually pretty hefty items.

Autodata specifically says that you MUST loctite the crank bolt on these, so presumably there have been problems in the first place, so him saying "never use loctite" is wrong.

Most likely scenario is that the bolt has been the wrong one, or the thread in the crank is not fully threaded (unlikely) or that the bolt has been damaged in some way or a thick washer left off.

If the bolt snapped while undoing it then I would expect it to be fairly straightforward to get out, either by welding something to it or drilling. If the mechanic has used an air wrench to try and do it up more, then it may be much more difficult to get out. The first step is to drill it, which will relieve some of the side forces.

The crank pulley bolt should be done up using a torque wrench, not an air gun, if the bolt could not be seated properly within the torque setting then you/he should have investigated why, not just tried to do it up tighter.

mrcheerful

mrcheerful

And it may just have been a fraudent part that someone in all innocence put in there in the first place. How are you supposed to know when a bolt that should be tool steel is mild steel?

There was obviously a problem with it from the word go. And these days fake parts is a big business. Even military vehicles are getting problems with it.

I'd suggest a copy of the Autodata page(s) specifying Loctite might be a useful tool next time the OP talks to his mechanic.

As for using an airgun - must be more room down there than in my engine bay just to get the thing in. I'd always go for a spanner, I like to feel what's happening not just keep hitting it!

Mostly you put the air gun on from below the wheel arch when undoing, but use a torque wrench for replacement.

mrcheerful

Somehow I don't really see there being a big market for counterfeit Peugeot crank pulley bolts.