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Burnt Valve... Coincidence or not??

1K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  SD_GR 
#1 ·
:unhappy:
Was smelling some burning oil under hood so took my Stock 02 WRX with 170k to a so called Subaru specialist. Diagnosed to have leaky valve covers and cam seals.. had that done as well as the timing belt to save future labor costs. Got the car back and after driving 30 miles, the check engine light came on.. brought it back and they said it was due to the timing belt was off my one tooth.. they made the adjustment and sent me on my way. 5 miles down the road, another check engine light so i brought it back.. They then diagnosed a miss-fire on cylinder 4.. They could not attribute it to anything but perhaps something caused by the timing belt replacement and they would stand behind their work. They pulled the head and said they had found a burnt valve.. they said it was not something caused by what they had done, and it is going to be another $400 bucks... I had no check engine light when I brought it in and it was running great with no power loss etc... Is is a coincidence that I have a burnt valve or could it have been caused by the work they have done? Car is in the shop and need to call them back.. Any thoughts or ideas will be very helpful. THANKS!
 
#2 ·
:unhappy:
Was smelling some burning oil under hood so took my Stock 02 WRX with 170k to a so called Subaru specialist.
What was the oil level in the engine?

Diagnosed to have leaky valve covers and cam seals.. had that done as well as the timing belt to save future labor costs. Got the car back and after driving 30 miles, the check engine light came on.. brought it back and they said it was due to the timing belt was off my one tooth.. they made the adjustment and sent me on my way.
That adjustment involves three to four hours of labour. How long did they have the car to perform this adjustment?

They pulled the head and said they had found a burnt valve..
Why did they pull the head? The misfire CEL would have a laundry list of items to check, and removing a head would be quite a way down on the list.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for your reply.. new to this so hope I'm doing this right :) Oil level was about a half quart low..

That adjustment involves three to four hours of labour. How long did they have the car to perform this adjustment?
Left the car in the morning and didn't pick it up until the next day.


Why did they pull the head? The misfire CEL would have a laundry list of items to check, and removing a head would be quite a way down on the list.[/QUOTE]
They had the car for several days and based on what they said, it sounded like they went through a checklist before concluding to remove the head... they also admited that it could have been something they did.. which leads me to believe that they well aware that the did something wrong.. Thinking they may have ticked a valve when they installed the belt and trying to recover the costs. Do you know if burnt valves are typical at this mileage.. Note: i have been diligent with oil changes/maint since i bought it new in 2002.. thanks again!
 
#4 ·
This is a tough call. In my amateur opinion 1 tooth would not cause damage, but then again why would a pro instal one tooth off ideal. Low oil could damage a valve but 1/2 qt is still above the L mark.

Bump for more views by others, I'm stumped.
 
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