What to do about another cranky bolt failure?

[henry510]

Hi there! Looking for some opinions on this one.

Just before Christmas I took my 239K 97 SR to the dealer to confirm and repair a problem with my timing belt that had recently been misdone by another shop (the pin on the tensioner wasn't set right so the thing rattled on startup). While they were in there they noticed oil leaks- so I had them replaced the front crankshaft oil seal (MD372249) and the 2 Cam seals (PO20304). Another -1 for the previous shop!

Funny thing is they put it all back together and re-used the original camshaft pulley bolt...and today, a mere 3K miles later, I had the pleasure of seeing first hand what a failed harmonic balancer bolt looks like:



This is the scene shortly after pulling off the highway when my dashboard christmas tree'd with battery and brake lights, power steering died and I heard a convincing clunk as the harmonic balancer fell.

Unfortunately I hadn't check the forum before about this!

After the engine cooled down I was able to fish out the balancer which surprisingly still looked fine. I could feel the remaining end of the bolt still in there and could see that the key/pin was still present- though considerably bent.

My bad for not knowing this apparently glaring problem but isn't this also the kind of thing a Mitsu dealer should know about and at least advise if not fix? Wasn't there a recall or some TSB about not re-using these bolts and/or replacing them on sight? Would you think they should warranty repair this?

Advice is greatly appreciated as the vehicle is currently sitting back at the dealer and I am awaiting an update on the remedy...and possible cost.

 

[rajin cajun]

Sorry that happened! Yeah, I believe the Stealer is responsible. I would speak with a manager nicely and record conversation if possible. Next call Mitsubishi customer service. And you may want to consider legal action, via attorney. That bolt is in version 3, so mitsu knows there was a problem. But, my opinion means nothing. I would ask fellow mechanics about policy and procedure etc? Good luck!


Cheers,

RC

 

[henry510]

Thanks for the advice! Fingers crossed they will come through on this one as I wasn't prepared to spend another mint rebuilding the engine after just spending $2K rebuilding a transmission that is still throwing error codes!

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

They 100% should be responsible if they're a mitsubishi dealer and service center. If they don't back you up, please let us know.

 

[henry510]

Thanks for the encouragement. I’ll know more tomorrow and will update here. I’m wondering if anyone knows which TSB applies to the bolt issue for the ‘97 SR’s? Or was it something that covered a few model years or engine versions. I found a TSB ‘safety recall’ on mistubishilinks.com but it was listed for a ‘96. I assume that the engine is virtually identical between the 97 vs 96 but am unsure if is applicable. I also checked my VIN against the NTSB recall site but didn’t find anything- I assume due to age of the vehicle. It would be good to have some solid info.

 

[boathead]

That bolt should have been replaced not reused. The factory knew there was a problem and issued a new style bolt. If the dealer didn't replace it then they are at fault.

 

[henry510]

So good news is that the dealer is stepping up to deal with the repair under warranty. They said they are going to tap out the old bolt and install a new harmonic balancer. Anything I should be thinking about in regards to that plan? In other words, is there anything else they should be doing besides just slapping on a new balancer and bolt? Is it advisable to put on new belts since they are already there? The belt are about 50K old.

I assume since they need to drop the fan and radiator to get the tapping gear in there that I'll at least be getting a 'free' coolant change.

I hate to second guess their expertise but at this point I'm a little wary- thanks for any advice!

 

[IncorpoRatedX]

So good news is that the dealer is stepping up to deal with the repair under warranty. They said they are going to tap out the old bolt and install a new harmonic balancer. Anything I should be thinking about in regards to that plan? In other words, is there anything else they should be doing besides just slapping on a new balancer and bolt? Is it advisable to put on new belts since they are already there? The belt are about 50K old.

I assume since they need to drop the fan and radiator to get the tapping gear in there that I'll at least be getting a 'free' coolant change.

I hate to second guess their expertise but at this point I'm a little wary- thanks for any advice!

I'll pretend this is my truck and tell you what I'd do.

me to dealer:
I want you to tear it down the front of the engine to the timing belt, I want to be shown there's no damage to the crankshaft reluctor wheel and the crankshaft position sensor. Both of these could have shifted in this debacle and caused damaged to each other due to interference and a tight tolerance gap between them.

Further, I would like the timing belt to be removed and the crankshaft sprocket to be removed so that I can see there is no damage to the woodruff key in the crankshaft and no damage to the crank sprocket orientation slot. (slot on the inside of the sprocket that is lined up with the woodruff key) Assuming damage is minimal, reversible or non existent, I would like it reassembled with a new timing belt and OEM hydraulic tensioner. I will pay for new belts and a new hydraulic tensioner. Fluids, crankshaft bolt, harmonic dampener and labor is on your side (dealer).


I wish you luck, I'm really happy to hear they're stepping up to treat you right. Sorry to hear it happened in the first place.

 

[henry510]

Thanks for this! Hugely helpful to know that there are important things to check before I accept their fix and potentially inherit a bigger problem down the road. I basically quoted you verbatim in my email to them. I also asked them to change every belt or hose that they need to touch along the way with new.

I'll post photos of their work or updates as soon as I have them.

 

[henry510]

I'll pretend this is my truck and tell you what I'd do.

me to dealer:
I want you to tear it down the front of the engine to the timing belt, I want to be shown there's no damage to the crankshaft reluctor wheel and the crankshaft position sensor. Both of these could have shifted in this debacle and caused damaged to each other due to interference and a tight tolerance gap between them.

Further, I would like the timing belt to be removed and the crankshaft sprocket to be removed so that I can see there is no damage to the woodruff key in the crankshaft and no damage to the crank sprocket orientation slot. (slot on the inside of the sprocket that is lined up with the woodruff key) Assuming damage is minimal, reversible or non existent, I would like it reassembled with a new timing belt and OEM hydraulic tensioner. I will pay for new belts and a new hydraulic tensioner. Fluids, crankshaft bolt, harmonic dampener and labor is on your side (dealer).


I wish you luck, I'm really happy to hear they're stepping up to treat you right. Sorry to hear it happened in the first place.

Thanks again for the advice on what else to check- here's what I heard back from the dealer this morning:

1. sensor was damaged-sensor plate ok.

2.wood drift key ok sprocket did not move the key is a guide for the sprocket onto the shaft-how ever the locater pin for the sprocket is damaged along with the balancer-all three will be replaced.

They are still working on getting the broken part of the bolt out so to be continued...

 

[socalnative]

Good that they are taking care of it. The tech who did the work must not be that familiar with this issue and no one looked up the service bulletins. If the bolt wasn't bottomed in the crank and now since the head is broken off it shouldn't be that hard to get it out. Other than the limited space to work in.

 

[MrGalantguy]

The good thing is that you did the original repair at a Mitsubishi dealership....if this was done at a private repair place you would of been more screwed. Its great that they are taking responsibility on this situation....kudos to them, hopefully they follow through with shining colors.

 

[JAVYPRO]

I had the same issue with the bolt been reused, even when I brought the guy a brand spanking updated bolt.

I wanted to make him eat the bolt.

Javy

 

[henry510]

So the good news here is everything is back together and working. I noticed though that the harmonic balancer seems to have a little wobble in it. I don't have a baseline to say if this is same as before or if maybe there is a perhaps damage to the crank itself.

Here are a couple videos I took from underneath the vehicle showing the motion:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hA_-UKn2z_KS0-cqQTP5nbwb4uhSOZr2/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vnPPvsrU_DvEBqLgbDtx3Grva--cK_zQ/view?usp=sharing

I've shown these to the dealer and they said that motion is normal and that the new OEM balancer they installed is also fine. I'm worried that any noticeable wobble would cause premature belt wear or eventually leaking at the crankshaft if it is indeed truly bent.

Can anyone confirm what kind of motion is expected on the harmonic balancer on a '97 6G74 3.5l at idle? Any comments or video would be greatly appreciated.

 

[brad2274]

Do you feel said wobble in the cabin? That seems like an excessive amount of wobble, i will try to video mine after work. I'd question how they got the old bolt out and new bolt in, but the balancer is basically self centering on install, so i'm not sure thatd matter.