Since he had the hydraulic tappets were replaced earlier in the week, it has had a worsening problem with a misfire between 1 and 2k revs. As there was some mention by the mechanic who replaced the tappets that the belt timing had been out [1], I suggested that it might be a good idea to double check this himself and I would give him a hand.
It was correct, so I started thinking of possible reasons for the misfire and decided that it must be one of the coil packs. Once a replacement had been fitted the misfire cleared up completely.
[1] As the mechanic had to strip the tappets, he asked him to fit a new replacement cam belt, as the cars history was unknown. I was rather surprised to learn that the mechanic had tried to charge him an extra £47 for installing the new timing belt and had indicated that he had to charge even more than usual for having to correct the timing.
Am I missing something here? I thought that part of the process of stripping the head down to fit new hydraulic tappets/valve lifters would involve removal of the cams along with the timing belt. Surely there should be no extra charge for simply fitting a new belt, if the belt is provided by the customer? The belt being one tooth out takes a matter of seconds to resolve if the engine is already partially stripped down.
As said, am I missing something here?