poor results after timing belt change

[j12piprius]

I had the timing belt and water pump replaced at a shop, as the work seemed a bit beyond me. They replaced the spark plugs, wires, gaskets, thermostat, and adjusted the valves.

My initial impression is that the car doesn't accelerate up freeway on ramps as well from stops, that the gauge would go into open loop way too easily, and that the average mpg on trips is about 5 mpg lower than previous to the change. There is a long thin string of oil leaking from the long edge of the valve gasket, and slightly more leaking on the driver's side.

Could any of those things reduce mpg and, if so, what should I look for?

I want to check the spark plug gaps, but need to get an extension to reach them.

[cowmeat]

That sucks, and this is exactly the reason I do all of those items myself!

Sucks when that many things are replaced at the same time, too. Makes it harder to track down what the issue is. I'd take it right back to them and have them check timing, etc. . . . . until you're satisfied with it.

Once, long ago, I had a garage put new plugs on mine. It ran really crappy afterwards, and I wouldn't leave the shop until they fixed it. They found after about an hour of searching that the "mechanic" had bumped one of the plugs and closed the gap on it!

Good luck!

[Xist]

When I needed to do the timing belt on Bacon, someone told me that his mom could do it in six hours with her eyes closed. I do not know about that. I plan on doing it with Chorizo, just two thousand miles until it is supposed to happen.

I do not know what the shop did wrong, but the timing belt jumped a tooth after they replaced the timing belt. She actually ran perfectly for two weeks. I took it back and they claimed that it was not their fault, but fixed it for free out of the goodness of their hearts.

Good luck!

[cowmeat]

Mechanics drive me nuts, I just refuse to deal with them.

I admit, I jumped a tooth on the cam sprocket when I changed out Black Widow's timing belt about six months ago. As soon as I fired it up I said to myself "I bet I jumped a tooth", but I added a string of curse words into the sentence.
I drove it like that for a week until I couldn't stand the funkiness any longer, tore it back down the next weekend and sure enough, the cam sprocket was off one tooth.

However, I didn't try to convince myself it wasn't my fault!

If those scrubs had your timing off a tooth after they changed the timing belt, it was their fault! If they say the tensioner pulley blah, blah, etc. . . .then they should have replaced it in the first place! You paid them to fix your car, and if it runs worse now, it's definitely their fault

[digital rules]

Keep in mind some of the drop in MPG may be be caused by the winter gas formulation. I am noticing about a 1-2 MPG drop since my last fill up.

[redpoint5]

I second all of the opinions expressed here.

If you want something done correctly, you have to do it yourself. Nobody really cares if they do it correctly because it isn't their car, and they get paid by the job. They also don't care to fix something they messed up, because they've already been paid, and that takes up time they could be getting paid by someone else.

That said, take it back to the shop and have them make it right.

[ksa8907]

It could be something as simple as a sensor not plugged in. But in any case, I would have them fix it.

And don't hesitate to get the BBB involved if it comes to that.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

If you want something done correctly, you have to do it yourself.

What about me doing it? Have you seen my handiwork?!

[Mustang Dave]

Originally Posted by digital rules

Keep in mind some of the drop in MPG may be be caused by the winter gas formulation. I am noticing about a 1-2 MPG drop since my last fill up.

I was going to mention that, but you beat me to it. I experience the same thing every year between September and October.

[j12piprius]

I finally got a 3/8" extension. The gaps were all .036 inches.
The manual recommends .04, and NKG recommends .044 for the plugs.

I set them at .044 to .045 inches. Should this make a difference?