Two weeks ago my timing belt broke. It was beyond the comfort zone of my usual mechanic, who mainly does body work, so he had a mechanic that he trusts take care of it. He replaced the timing belt, water pump, and the 2 valves that were bent. Total cost, $600.00.

I got my car back last Thursday and noticed it was hard to start when I picked it up. Each subsequent start was also rough. I had to pump a lot of gas to get it to turn over (I could smell the gas). The power was lacking and it almost died while I was going up a slight hill.

I dropped it back off to the mechanic on Friday. He said the fuel pressure was low and replaced the fuel filter. Then he called and told me the pressure was still low and he thinks it needs a new fuel pump. Estimated cost now $355 with labor.

I had no problem starting the car or with the power prior to the timing belt breaking. Could this in any way have contributed to the problem? Also, I should note that the engine looked quite dirty after his previous repairs. Would it be out of line for me to guess that he somehow got the fuel line clogged?

Anyone with any ideas please let me know ASAP. I really can't afford the $355 right now on top of the $600 I just spent. Thanks.

 

The problem is not with the fuel pump, but the mechanic who has set the timing about 2 teeth off (more or less). There is a quick and free method to check your timing visually. If you want to know more, let me know the engine type - SOHC or DOHC. The method to quickly check for yourself varies based on engine type.

Also, let me know if you have any mechanical skills. Surely you rate somewhere between "what's a wrench?" and "full blown professional mechanic with a shop and toolset to rival the gods" type. It makes it easier to know how much detail to give. I don't want to patronize you and/or offend you with too much (or too little) details.

 

Thanks, BG. I picked up car from this "mechanic" after paying him $74 to replace the fuel filter, which did no good. Made it halfway to my regular mechanic, who was on vacation last week. Ended up having it towed to him to fix when he returned. He replaced the fuel pump, which he had just replaced the end of January, still under warranty. Charged me ZERO labor. I think I'll just let this sleeping dog lie. Of course, I'll never recommend that other mechanic to anyone.

 

Wow. Unless you have a 1995 Neon, there was NO WAY he replaced just the fuel filter. That is the only year that had an external fuel filter to replace and after that, you have to replace the whole shebang (pump, filter, sending unit) as it only comes as a single unit.

What a friggin' rip off artist! Wonder what he did to bugger it up to get more dough out of you?

 

Thanks for your previous replies. I'll never take my car to that "mechanic" again. Now, for my newest problem - The car started overheating and leaking antifreeze. I took it to my regular mechanic who found a crack in the radiator. He replaced the radiator and I picked it up yesterday. As I was leaving, I saw that the battery light had come on. I took it back to my mechanic and they checked all connections, etc. They removed the cable from the battery while the car was running and it continues running fine. Puzzled, they took the car to AutoZone, who tested it and said the voltage regulator/alternator were bad. Would the car have kept running with the cable off if that was the case? It starts fine, headlights and everything else works, shows every indication of charging fine. Any ideas?

 

Yep! That friggin little battery overtemp sensor that is located in the front side of the battery box. If your mechanic was replacing the radiator, it is oh so friggin easy to break that damn thing!

The ONLY thing that sensor does is to prevent the charging system from overheating (ie: over charging) a hot battery. All it does is sends a signal to the PCM to lower the charging voltage to the battery, but it does not cause any actual problems to anything, other then annoy the crap out of you with a big red light on your dashpanel.


It has a plastic housing that holds a thermistor and thermal paste with a METAL locknut to hold it on, so if you tighten that sucker just one tiny bit too much - crack city! You may not even know you did it, but if that light was on when you picked up the car, then he needs to replace it.

It only costs about $22 (Oreilly.com part # BTS10 - 1997 Neon) to replace, but if he broke it, he fixes it.

 

Thanks for yet another great answer! I'll get with my mechanic to get this taken care of. You're sure right about it annoying the crap out of me.