Newly bought from yard now snapped cambelt. help !

petemun, Aug 1, 3:53am
Hi my sis bought a 02' honda stream with the 1.7L D17 engine. are these engines interference ! two days after buying, the cambelt has snapped.

The agreement was that she would buy the car if the cambelt, tensioner ect ect were changed. they were but due to a faulty tensioner the belt has failed.

The yard has agreed to replace the belt but they are not taking the cover off for inspection.

** My question is could the car still seem to run ok to the untrained if it has bent damaged anything !

What are er options, could she take it back for a full price refund !

Obviously she wants the car but is asking for a 6 or more month engine warranty when she goes to pick it up later today or money back. fair !
petemun, Aug 1, 3:56am
is she legally entitled to a refund !
thunderbolt, Aug 1, 4:06am
If it has bent valves it will not run, or at least not run on all cylinders whenthey have replaced the belt and re-timed the engine.

They have the right to repair rather than refund I believe.
petemun, Aug 1, 4:21am
she would rather it be fixed than the refund. Just want it done to a satisfactory level. But as you say if it is damaged in anyway it will not run right so I guess we shall wait and see. cheers
kazbanz, Aug 1, 4:23am
petemun-sometimes as they say brown smelly happens.If the car has bent valves etc the dealers mechanic will know all about it fairly fast. All that said I'd be really suprised if the mechanic the dealer uses doesn't take the rocker cover off.
Im in two minds re 6 months warranty. NOT because I don't see it as being a good idea just that its putting a limit on the dealers obligations under the soga and cga.--If ythey want to go there Id suggest it be phrased carefully -something like "without predjudice to the CGA the dealer agrees to warranty the engine."
gunhand, Aug 1, 4:26am
Whatever you do do not back down. Im not a mechanic so have no idea about the motor and if its stuffed. However it is up to the yard to see you right I think. Then the yard can claim off whoever put the tensioner in then that person can claim from where ever they got it.If it was me I would want my money back or swap for the same make and model.
Unless someone can guarantee no future issue if they repair the damage or whatever then I wouldnt want that car.
They may try and bluff you but Ive done a simalier thing with an expensive item that stopped working a week after I got it. I said, I no longer want this one fixed or not replace it. They did.
Thats my thoughts.
phillip.weston, Aug 1, 4:54am
I am fairly sure the D17 will be an interference engine and therefore it will have bent valves. The dealer should be responsible for the repairs because the car was obviously not fit for its intended purpose.
incar., Aug 1, 5:02am
I hardly doubt it was a faulty new tensioner, more than likely it was installed incorrectly/not replaced at all, who knows but it's well known mechanics doing dealer wk cut corners, so the dealer should be approaching his el 'cheapo mechanic to rectify the issue
vivac, Aug 1, 5:09am
That will learn her for buying a honda Pete!.
Dayne here mang, i would say the reponibility would lay with the mechanic who did the work, then its up to him to claim from whoever if it was a new belt and it snapped.
Rocker cover must come off for an inspection anyway, any decent mechanic would do this at the minimum.
Pretty much every honda engine is interference design too, so yeah.
When did the belt pop! standstill! full revs!
petemun, Aug 1, 7:22am
thanks for all the info peeps. appreciated.

she went down and picked up the car and all is fine. They have there own workshop and said these engines have two tensioners which one let go.
It happened at very low revs while moving the car around at home.

I really hope she has a good run with this car.
petemun, Aug 1, 7:25am
Hey mate ! how the odyssey lol :P shes only owned hondas, they're her thing.

Im not entirely sure if the belt snapped or lost teeth but there was a loud bang. It happened at low revs on her driveway and she didnt try starting it at all which may have helped
doug207, Aug 1, 11:34am
The D17 motors are interference.
It's common for ham fisted idiot mechanics to stuff the belt up, some claim the have an unusual tensioner, which I've never noticed.
I would be expecting the garage to pay, they did the work on it, not the dealer.
the-lada-dude, Aug 1, 9:19pm
iv'e only done one of these D17 engines and i know the belt tensioner is one tricky little customer. i spent quite some time figureing out how it worked. i replaced it anyway as it seems they have a reputation for failing. i bet the mech tried to reuse the old one !
kazbanz, Aug 2, 6:16am
doug207-The car was purchased from the dealer with a new belt/tensioner. The workshop was contracted by the dealer so yes ultimately the mechanic is responsible but the ops contract is with the dealer
petemun, Aug 2, 6:38am
It was the yards own mechanic bay situated at the rear of the premises
supernova2, Aug 2, 12:17pm
Car was to be picked up Wednesday.I'm guessing it wasn't fixed as the new belt was the least of its problems.Whats the bet the "mechanic" at the back of the yard was the groomer! and about as competent and qualified as a road kill!

If thats the case tghen I can see this "repair' being a disaster as well, I'd really be trying to reject the car unless the dealer can prove the work was done by a suitably qualified person.