Hole in valve cover!! Please help!

[stkelly]

Today at a local independent shop I had three pulleys replaced under the serpentine belt due to them being noisy. I picked up my truck and didn't even make it a mile when I heard a loud bang from the engine bay. The truck ran fine except at idle. It was stuttering slightly at idle.

So I immediately called the shop I picked up the car from and told them I was coming right back. The tech immediately came out and we opened the hood. The plastic oil filler was sitting on the valve cover and there was a large hole in the valve cover right at the timing chain! The metal around the hole was definitely pushed out as if something was ejected from the engine.

What happened!!! We restarted the engine. The timing chain is going around no problem. No slop, no clanking at all. You can actually see down a little and the chain is moving perfectly fine. No hiccups not even out of alignment.

The shop I'm at wants to take it apart but they're trying to say that something came loose on the timing system. I don't see how that's possible. If something was loose it would still be loose.

I think the tech accidentally dropped something in the oil filler hole. Considering the filler pipe wasn't on when we opened the hood.

So my basic question is if there was something wrong with the timing system and the chain knocked the hole in the valve cover wouldn't the engine not run correctly? Wouldn't the chain still be off the cam and making noise? If a guide got ejected wouldn't the timing chain slap around?

Thank you so much in advance. They're saying it's at least 18 hours just to remove the valve cover!!

 

[IAmTodd]

They're saying it's at least 18 hours just to remove the valve cover!!

And it's time to find a new shop...

 

[Explorer0693]

I wouldn't pay for it if they try to charge you they screwed something up

 

[1Lonewolf]

Tool?

I would go back to the exact same spot you heard and felt the bang, and look for a tool in the road (or on the side of the road by now...). If you can prove that what came out of the valve cover wasn't in there when you drove it in there (ie a tool or part), you would have a much better chance at getting the repair shop to fess up and take care of it. Without any proof of that, you'd be hard pressed to win this one.

Like Todd Said... Time to find a new garage.

 

[stkelly]

OK so I spent the afternoon at the shop. The 18 hours was for the whole job of replacing the timing chain, not just removing the valve cover. At the moment so many numbers were being thrown out.

They took the valve cover off and we looked at the timing chain. There was one major gouge leading up to the blow out on the valve cover. The tech spun the crankshaft and we couldn't find any marks on the chain. A friend brought a camera scope and we pushed that down as far as possible. The two orange guides looked fully intact as far as we could see.

The top of the chain initially had a small amount of give where you could pull it away from the orange guide. Once he spun the crank a few times there was no give at all. The chain was taught against the orange guide. Is it normal for the chain to behave this way? From a little searching it seemed this was normal behavior on the V8's in the Mustang.

We also drained the oil. No metal, no plastic, just clean oil.

So the shop says they'll take apart the front of the engine to see what's going on. But they're saying if they can prove something else failed I would be on the hook for the full repair which is ~$3,400. But what else could have failed? The tech was saying a bolt could be loose on the tensioner. But the tensioner looked fine from the little bit that we could see. It's hard because it's like I'm playing a $3400 Russian Roulette and I don't feel like I could possibly lose. But like everything else in life the house always wins. What shop is really going to say we made a $3400 mistake.

I walked back to where I heard the thud. I couldn't find anything in the road that resembled valve cover materials. Let alone a possible screw/bolt/etc the tech may have dropped in the engine.

I'm really at a loss. And it seems like such a coincidence that this happened right after I left the shop.

 

[Explorer_PL]

For $ 3,400 you could probably drop in a used motor.

 

[stkelly]

Here's a pic of the hole in the valve cover. I'll take more pictures at the shop.

 

[stkelly]

Just got back from the shop. They admitted they made the mistake.

When they replaced one of the pulleys under the serpentine belt the tech put one of the longer bolts in the short hole. That pushed a piece of aluminum into the timing chain which got jammed between the valve cover and the chain causing that hole in the picture above.

So they're going to pay for the repair. What should they be replacing, besides the valve cover and the front timing chain cover? Should they replace the chain anyway? Any other advice?

Thanks in advance.

 

[IAmTodd]

Get the full timing job out of the deal! Who knows what could have been damaged.

EDIT- And a written 2yr/24k mile warranty. Not so sure I'd trust their work, although mistakes do happen.

 

[1Lonewolf]

I agree with Todd again on this one. If the bolt was thrown out by the timing chain, I'd press REALLY HARD for a full timing set repair. That bolt piece could've flexed the chain in a way where the link is weak now, and that is not something that you can tell by looking at it. They should have to inspect it all anyways, so the labor isn't much of an issue.

Glad to hear that the garage admitted to a mistake they made.

 

[stkelly]

Thanks for the advice. I'll tell them I'd like a full timing service.

What could be the reason for the stutter at idle. It was enough you could feel it. Could something been bent in the engine? The tech said it was probably unmetered air. Would unmetered air cause an idle stutter?

 

[Explorer_PL]

I got to give the credit to the shop for admitting the mistake - most shops I know would turn their back on a customer blaming the mileage, weather, color of the car , or anything to get out of the liability.
Just keep all the receipts with detail description what was done. Also, once they put the motor back together, you will feel right away if the motor runs smoothly. Take it for a test drive, drive it uphill somewhere to put the motor under load, maybe even hook up a trailer if you can, anything to create some additional stress.

 

[Flag Gibby]

Thanks for the advice. I'll tell them I'd like a full timing service.

What could be the reason for the stutter at idle. It was enough you could feel it. Could something been bent in the engine? The tech said it was probably unmetered air. Would unmetered air cause an idle stutter?

Yes, the engine needs slight back pressure on the top end for things to work/seat properly.

 

[IAmTodd]

Thanks for the advice. I'll tell them I'd like a full timing service.

What could be the reason for the stutter at idle. It was enough you could feel it. Could something been bent in the engine? The tech said it was probably unmetered air. Would unmetered air cause an idle stutter?

Yes, you have a PCV valve that will pull pressure from the engine back into the intake (vapors that escape past the piston rings). Right now it's pulling air through that hole in the valve cover and into the intake. So yes, that would be unmetered air entering.

I didn't realize until now that you have the 4.6. I wouldn't be as concerned with timing component damage as I would with the 4.0. I'd still make sure it is checked over well and have it all documented in case something happens in a few thousand miles.

 

[stkelly]

Thanks again to everyone for all of your input. I'm very happy the shop admitted to their mistake.

I feel bad for the tech that worked on the truck. The shop's master tech showed me how one of the bolts out of the lot was a little shorter and how it was really easy to mix them up. Esp since he worked on three pulleys.

Thanks for the advice on stressing the vehicle. I happen to own a trailer. I'll load that up and tow it around to make sure the engine is running correctly.

Here are some more pics:
Top shot of the valves and timing chain:

Shot of screw driver head touching the chain from the pulley hole. It's really hard to see the screw driver head:

Screwdriver through the front timing cover:

 

[1Lonewolf]

Did they happen to give you a full timing gear job? Curious how serious they took the mistake...

 

[stkelly]

I went to the shop today and the tech had all new guides, chains and tensioners in. They didn't replace any of the gears. The tech said he inspected the gears and they didn't have any damage. Should I press to have the gears replaced? Could there be hidden damage on them?

It looks like my radiator has a leak at the top. I asked them to give me a quote on replacing the radiator. Hopefully it should be cheaper with everything already out of the front of the truck.

 

[TourGuide]

That's a pretty clean looking engine. What oil do you run and what are you using for your oil change intervals?

 

[stkelly]

I run Motorcraft 5w-20 and I've been replacing it right around every 5K miles. Yeah, I was happy to see that, beside the big hole, the inside of the valve cover looked really clean.

 

[IAmTodd]

I went to the shop today and the tech had all new guides, chains and tensioners in. They didn't replace any of the gears. The tech said he inspected the gears and they didn't have any damage. Should I press to have the gears replaced? Could there be hidden damage on them?

I wouldn't be too concerned if all looks well.