camshaft

I have a '98 Legacy Outback wagon. Does anyone know of any issues or problems with the camshafts in these? I have 82,000 miles on mine, had repairs done to the timing (a belt tensioner) and then the engine siezed about 2 miles down the road after I picked it up from my mechanic. He said that the oil was not getting to one side of the engine. Wouldn't there be some type of warning over a period of time if the camshaft were bad? He said that what I experienced has been a common problem with the 2.5...???

Reply to
clamshell
Loading thread data ...

OK - it works for 82,000 miles, a mechanic works on the TB system, engine seizes (EXACTLY what does this mean?) 2 miles later and he says one side of the engine got NO oil?

*COUGHbullshitCOUGH*

Carl

1 Lucky Texan

clamshell wrote:

with the camshafts in these? I have 82,000 miles on mine, had repairs done to the timing (a belt tensioner) and then the engine siezed about 2 miles down the road after I picked it up from my mechanic. He said that the oil was not getting to one side of the engine. Wouldn't there be some type of warning over a period of time if the camshaft were bad? He said that what I experienced has been a common problem with the 2.5...???

>
Reply to
Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Well, to back up a bit, back in September I brought my car to him to have the crankcase seal replaced. He told me that I should have the water pump and the timing belt done at the same time. Made sense to me. I brought it back to him once to have a belt tightened because it was squealing. The car seemed to run fine. Then I go out one morning, start my car and it dies and doesn't start back up. I get it towed in....he changes the plugs, wires, and the timing belt tensioner. I pick the car up and drive about a mile before the engine begins to lose power and a belt starts squealing again. I realized that something was just not right so I turned around to head back. (I live in VT and was on a 2 lane road, it was dark, and raining). All of a sudden the engine starts to sputter, misfire, and it just died. The last thing I noticed was that the engine light came on. My mechanic towed the car in - the next day he told me that he had the car apart and told me that I had a timing problem and that it had been going on for a while. After I reminded him that he was the only one that had worked on the timing, his story changed. One of the things that they never checked was the oil pump. He said that the oil wasn't getting to one side of the engine and it was caused by the camshaft. Am I being shafted? Or has this been a common problem. This is a major repair!

Reply to
clamshell

Well, to back up a bit, back in September I brought my car to him to have the crankcase seal replaced. He told me that I should have the water pump and the timing belt done at the same time. Made sense to me. I brought it back to him once to have a belt tightened because it was squealing. The car seemed to run fine. Then I go out one morning, start my car and it dies and doesn't start back up. I get it towed in....he changes the plugs, wires, and the timing belt tensioner. I pick the car up and drive about a mile before the engine begins to lose power and a belt starts squealing again. I realized that something was just not right so I turned around to head back. (I live in VT and was on a 2 lane road, it was dark, and raining). All of a sudden the engine starts to sputter, misfire, and it just died. The last thing I noticed was that the engine light came on. My mechanic towed the car in - the next day he told me that he had the car apart and told me that I had a timing problem and that it had been going on for a while. After I reminded him that he was the only one that had worked on the timing, his story changed. One of the things that they never checked was the oil pump. He said that the oil wasn't getting to one side of the engine and it was caused by the camshaft. Am I being shafted? Or has this been a common problem. This is a major repair!

Reply to
clamshell

Well, to back up a bit, back in September I brought my car to him to have the crankcase seal replaced. He told me that I should have the water pump and the timing belt done at the same time. Made sense to me. I brought it back to him once to have a belt tightened because it was squealing. The car seemed to run fine. Then I go out one morning, start my car and it dies and doesn't start back up. I get it towed in....he changes the plugs, wires, and the timing belt tensioner. I pick the car up and drive about a mile before the engine begins to lose power and a belt starts squealing again. I realized that something was just not right so I turned around to head back. (I live in VT and was on a 2 lane road, it was dark, and raining). All of a sudden the engine starts to sputter, misfire, and it just died. The last thing I noticed was that the engine light came on. My mechanic towed the car in - the next day he told me that he had the car apart and told me that I had a timing problem and that it had been going on for a while. After I reminded him that he was the only one that had worked on the timing, his story changed. One of the things that they never checked was the oil pump. He said that the oil wasn't getting to one side of the engine and it was caused by the camshaft. Am I being shafted? Or has this been a common problem. This is a major repair!

Reply to
clamshell

I think he MAY be trying to be honest about the TECHNICAL reasons the engine failed without taking any responsibility for it. I don't know if you'll EVER know what really happened but I suspect the mech knows that something went wrong with his work on the TB 'system' that caused cam timing to slip on one side. And that may well have led to oil starvation of some type or valve clash. I'd be tempted to educate myself a little, get in his face and demand that he explain/show you, in clear terms precisely what happened to your engine. OR just forget him and go elsewhere.

Carl

1 Lucky Texan

clamshell wrote:

crankcase seal replaced. He told me that I should have the water pump and the timing belt done at the same time. Made sense to me. I brought it back to him once to have a belt tightened because it was squealing. The car seemed to run fine. Then I go out one morning, start my car and it dies and doesn't start back up. I get it towed in....he changes the plugs, wires, and the timing belt tensioner. I pick the car up and drive about a mile before the engine begins to lose power and a belt starts squealing again. I realized that something was just not right so I turned around to head back. (I live in VT and was on a 2 lane road, it was dark, and raining). All of a sudden the engine starts to sputter, misfire, and it just died. The last thing I noticed was that the engine light came on. My mechanic towed the car in - the next day he told me that he had the car apart and told me that I had a timing problem and that it had been going on for a while. After I reminded him that he was the only one that had worked on the timing, his story changed. One of the things that they never checked was the oil pump. He said that the oil wasn't getting to one side of the engine and it was caused by the camshaft. Am I being shafted? Or has this been a common problem. This is a major repair!

>
Reply to
Carl 1 Lucky Texan

I concur.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

Not sure why my post keeps re-posting. They supposedly test drove my car. If the cam shaft caused this to happen, should they have noticed that something was not right? Is there some type of early warning sign? Or does this just fail?

Reply to
clamshell

Keep in mind that I am guessing. In general, the system will try to compensate at all times, and the engine will run with

1-2-3(probably)-4(maybe not) teeth off timing - incresingly worse of course, until there is valve clash or the system is in 'limp home' mode or something. BTW- I don't think there is much else we can do here, but you could try posting this issue on the forums over at
formatting link
. Those guys are great (if they're convinced you used the search function first to educate yourself a little) and have a lot of experience with engines and dealerships all over the country(world even). If you ask - they can probably post links to some photos /drawings of how these parts work too. Search for recent posts by legacy777 ,he has a lot of photos available. Also, do post type car,mileage,service history etc.

Carl

1 Lucky Texan

clamshell wrote:

the cam shaft caused this to happen, should they have noticed that something was not right? Is there some type of early warning sign? Or does this just fail?

>
Reply to
Carl 1 Lucky Texan

car. If the cam shaft caused this to happen, should they have noticed that something was not right? Is there some type of early warning sign? Or does this just fail?

Reply to
Edward Hayes

Could a jolt such as getting hit from behind somehow screw up the timing? I was hit pretty hard 2 days before all of my problems started. The roads were icy and there was no visible damage. I felt that the bumper really did it's job.

Reply to
clamshell

was hit pretty hard 2 days before all of my problems started. The roads were icy and there was no visible damage. I felt that the bumper really did it's job.

Hi,

Manual trans? I've heard of such things--somebody warned me a thousand years ago in high school about getting engines from junkyard cars that looked like they'd come to a screeching halt (not too likely on ice, though, is it?)--but never seen them myself. With an auto, I kinda doubt it.

Rick

Reply to
Rick Courtright

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.