1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse Rough idling

Tiny
WPMCDERMOTT
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE
  • 79,700 MILES
I have been having problems with my car overheating and leaking antifreeze, so I took it into the mechanic. They ran a diagnostic test and it was the water pump so we had that replaced. They suggested that we do the timing belt at the same time as the water pump since a lot of that labor is the same however it was going to double our bill, and we could not afford it so we said no.
When I picked up my car, it was idling extremely rough. When I told the manager about this he said that the problem should straighten itself out within a day. A day went by and I'm still having palms with a really rough idle. When I called the mechanic back another manager answered and explained to me that the timing belt tension with off because I did not replace it when I replaced the water pump. He told me that the tension pulleys are now bad because they had to be taken off and put back on but were not replaced. I was told by the manager that this would cause the part to not function correctly.
I am wondering if this is a legitimate issue or a mechanic screwup that they are not wanting to fix. Can replacing my water pump but not my timing belt cause The tension pulleys to function incorrectly.
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 4:36 PM

7 Replies

Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,870 POSTS
I have removed and installed plenty of idler pulleys an didn't cause them to fail. Unless the timing wasn't set correctly when the belt was put back on?If the belt tensor failed that could cause the timing to jump. What's your zip code?Also what did they charge you for water pump job?What did they want to replace it with the timing belt! Which engine do you have?
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 5:02 PM
Tiny
WPMCDERMOTT
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  • 4 POSTS
I have the turbo engine. I'm not really sure of much else. The car was a hand me down. Not what I would have chosen to drive.
They charged $700 to change the water pump and it would have been just over 1500 to do the pump and the belt.
Also on my drive home today I was sitting in traffic when my car just turned off. I turned the key to the off position and then back on. It took a couple of tries but the car finally did turn back on. The idling had calmed a little but was still much more rough than what I would consider normal.
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 5:10 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,870 POSTS
What's your zip your code so I can check to see how reasonable the repair prices are?So it ran perfect before the water pump was replaced? 800 more for timing set kit sounds ridiculous.
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 5:17 PM
Tiny
WPMCDERMOTT
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  • 4 POSTS
As far as idling goes, it ran just fine before I took it in. Of course the reason I took it in was the overheating caused by the water pump.
Zip is 77077.
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 AT 5:28 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,870 POSTS
In your area I see the water pump job should have been around 500 to replace the belt and pulleys idlers etc about 200 in parts on the high side auto zone was under 200 for all those parts. Plus 100 more for labor or less.I really don't know where those prices came from. Even the dealer shows 612.98 to replace just the water pump.
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Thursday, October 10th, 2013 AT 9:37 AM
Tiny
WPMCDERMOTT
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I am not sure about pricing either. They said the labor was going to be 5 hours worth and that is where most of the cost was. The water pump kit was under $100. The price doesn't matter at this point, because it has been paid.

I am just trying to figure out what is now wrong with my car and who is responsible for it.
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Thursday, October 10th, 2013 AT 10:17 AM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
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They are responsible they have to check everything when doing the water pump timing belt tensors idlers etc. If they were bad you should been told after they took it apart before it was put together. Not after you drove away with and brought it back to them with a problem. So there reason for what happened is ridiculous.
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Thursday, October 10th, 2013 AT 11:29 AM

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