3.6 Bad Cam and Lifters - Possibly something more

[_olllllllo_]

Think it’s odd they haven’t completed the job yet… they had everything pulled when I stopped in at 8am Thursday morning… seems to me they lack the level of skill needed to complete the job and they shouldn’t be charging anyone $150 an hour.

They quoted me $600 in labor to replace my radiator… I would think that since they pulled all the lines and drained the cooling system… this would maybe be an hour job… just goes to show that the dealerships I have been working work with are mediocre at best.

Shop was also dirty which makes you wonder… mechanics work area looked like a tornado ran through it. My valve cover and other parts just sitting in a box on the floor…

This is their best guy… scary

Each individual job is billed by the book at the dealer. So even though they drained the cooling system, they will bill the hours Stellantis states for a radiator replacement. I exchanged my OEM radiator for a Cold Case radiator, replaced all the hoses, water pump, thermostat and I did that in under 4 hours ... and I had never done it before in my life!

Independent shops will bill based on the hours the factory states, but if they have something torn apart they just add the actual hours to do additional work.

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[Seven30]

then don’t look. There’s nothing abnormal here.

Interesting thread. I have saved every filter from each change. The first one showed some bits of machining debris but so far subsequent changes filter looks ok. 44K on the clock.

 

[mwilk012]

Interesting thread. I have saved every filter from each change. The first one showed some bits of machining debris but so far subsequent changes filter looks ok. 44K on the clock.

On a scale of strange behaviors, that's just a few steps away from keeping body parts in jars.

 

[Seven30]

On a scale of strange behaviors, that's just a few steps away from keeping body parts in jars.

Until the dealer tries to blame a failure on lack of oil changes! Really these filters are so small and drain well so I slip them back in the box and mark date/milage. Fits in a couple of shoe boxes.

 

[Old Dogger]

You have a serious issue of metal contamination, that has circulated through out your engine. You really can’t flush that out. The engine needs to be replaced…..

 

[mwilk012]

You have a serious issue of metal contamination, that has circulated through out your engine. You really can’t flush that out. The engine needs to be replaced…..

It hasn’t circulated anywhere, they were drilling the head, the metal flushes straight down to the oil pan and out. It’s not a huge deal.

 

[ALRUI]

Engine only has 44k miles on it and I could see glitter/shiny in my oil 1K+ miles ago when I did the oil change. I didn’t see what the old cam looked like but judging by how bad this rocker looked… probably didn’t look good.

The threads are stripped out of the top of the hole pretty badly, a new head may be in order or at least a heli-coil which seems sketchy being it's holding the cap for the cam.

 

[AlgUSF]

I would certainly take the advice from @chevymitchell . You unfortunately have seen how the sausage is made, I'd run it really good before the end of the warranty. You may want to see if you can get an extension to the Powertrain Warranty for the inconvenience of being without your vehicle while it's in the shop. I had Chevy extend the warranty on a Cobalt I bought back in 2005 and they did it.

 

[mwilk012]

The threads are stripped out of the top of the hole pretty badly, a new head may be in order or at least a heli-coil which seems sketchy being it's holding the cap for the cam.

helicoils in aluminum when done correctly are stronger than the original threads.

 

[1988JDFJeep]

Here is the final outcome. Looks like all 8 cam bolts had to be extracted.

Jeep obviously drives a lot smoother and runs much quieter. Gas mileage has improved dramatically.

I do question why they added 600 miles onto the mileage that it was returned to me… seems strange

I wasn’t offered any sort of 500 mile oil flush.

Will have to see if the repair stands the test of time but might not have it for much longer.

 

[chevymitchell]

Here is the final outcome. Looks like all 8 cam bolts had to be extracted.

Jeep obviously drives a lot smoother and runs much quieter. Gas mileage has improved dramatically.

I do question why they added 600 miles onto the mileage that it was returned to me… seems strange

I wasn’t offered any sort of 500 mile oil flush.

Will have to see if the repair stands the test of time but might not have it for much longer.

Good deal, man. Glad it worked out for ya.

 

[ALRUI]

I do question why they added 600 miles onto the mileage that it was returned to me… seems strange

Did they make a typo on the in or out mileage? Otherwise they racked up 600 miles

 

[chevymitchell]

Did they make a typo on the in or out mileage? Otherwise they racked up 600 miles

They do this because if their work is going to fail, it’ll be in the first 500 miles. If their work fails, then on paper, it looks like the warranty work decision didn’t work. It’s a game to play with the OEM to make sure they continue to get paid if something goes wrong. Otherwise, if the vehicle makes it 500 miles and then fails, the OEM will say it was workmanship or the dealerships responsibility to pay for the repairs now.

Or could be a typo. I doubt it though, but what a great excuse if ever questioned.

 

[58Willys]

Here is the final outcome. Looks like all 8 cam bolts had to be extracted.

All 8 bolts had to drilled out? Were they assembled with red locktite, and the tech did not use heat to remove? Or had galvanic corrosion set in already?

Glad you got your Jeep back.

 

[chevymitchell]

All 8 bolts had to drilled out? Were they assembled with red locktite, and the tech did not use heat to remove? Or had galvanic corrosion set in already?

Glad you got your Jeep back.

What’s on paper is not what happened I’m sure. Again, this is a way for the dealership to protect itself from the OEM. Chances all 8 needed to be drilled out are near zero. I’ve done this jobs dozens of times. I’ve only had 4 bolts give me trouble.

Dealerships definition of “drilled out” includes cleaning threads with a rethreader to make sure the old loctite is cut out. 20 seconds per bolt hole. Charge .2 for each.

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