2002 Eclipse GT - 3.0L

I tried doing some searching before posting this, so sorry if there is already some info on this topic.

Basically, I live pretty far from a dealer and was getting fairly overdue for my timing belt change. I work too much but managed to get a day off and decided to get my timing belt changed with a local Firestone. I was hesitant to do so, but they seemed confident that all would be well and came accross as fairly competant. They also recommended changing the water pump at the same time and explained why so I gave the thumbs up.

Later that day, I find out that the carwasn't going to be ready and they came accross a problem. They said that there was a special tool designed for my model that only Mitsubishi had. They were trying to create a tool but it was taking time to get the force they needed to tighten everything properly. The got me a rental and I finally received my vehicle 2 days later (they had it 3 days).

When I got my car, all seemed well except my cruise control wasn't working. Next day my car started hesitating about five times in a row (one time incident). I called Firestone back and they wanted me to bring it back.

I brought it back and they fixed the cruise control problem and told me the hesitation was from an EGR and Cat Converter issue. I knew that the converter and EGR had problems, but was advised that the cause was ethanol gas and changing them would likely just lead to another failure. With that said, I have never had a hesitation in my engine before. In fact the car has always run great.


SO HERE IS THE QUESTION(s)??????????????????????????????????????? ???

How big of a deal is it for the dealer to change the timing belt on this model? Should a decent Firestone be able to get the job done? Is this tool that fits into 2 little holes a big deal?

I am thinking about replacing the converter and EGR and waiting to see if the hesitation returns. Any thoughts?

 

well the tool they were trying to make was probably for the tensioner pulley... so ya its kind of a big deal. and 2nd, are there any check engine lights coming on? because if your cat and egr were on the way out there would definitely be a light.

 

the tool is in order to apply tension to the belt, so yea they need it in order to install a timing belt. You may want to check to make sure the car is correctly timed. It may be off causing the rough running. Or they missed putting something back on like a vacuum line or something. But here is a diagram of the timing belt that will show you how the marks should be matching up.

 

Thanks for the reply!

They said they made a tool that got enough tourqe (sp?) to tighten the belt. Of course, that is just what they said.

You are correct about the engine light; it had been on for a few months. I had it checked out by a Midas that they referred me to. The Midas shop actually seemed very good and he explained why he wasn't very concerned. He felt that the ethanol being used throughout the area has been causing converter failures. He wanted to clear the computer codes completely and have me come back. The engine light came back on a week or two ago. My intention is to go ahead and replace both the EGR and Cat after I get through this ltiming belt stuff.

See more below.

 

Thanks for the reply, nice diagram by the way!

I have an update...

First, it is interesting that you mention the vacuum (sp?)hose because apparently that was the problem with the cruise control. A vacuum hose was loose.

My car worked great for the day after I picked it up (the second time). Next day (yesterday), I was driving to work with the cruise set at around 65 and noticed a fairly big hesitation. Very shortly after, I noticed the car had lost all power (no RPM). I pulled off to the side and attempted to restart. It would turn over, but no ignition. I called Firestone, who then towed it in and got me a rental.

Later, they called and told me that the timing belt seemed to be fine that they felt pretty certain it was a wiring harness issue and that it would take a considerable amount of time to track down exactly where signal was being lost. At one point in the conversation he mentioned that there was a something like and ECR or EGR or something that had to be removed during the timing belt change and that could be the problem.

Here is the point... My car is well cared for. I am not a mechanic, but understand maitainance and can usually get a feel for competancy. The car has never had a performance issue. I have let the Cat and EGR go a little, but not without guidance and plan on changing soon even if not required. Firestone actually seemed/seems competant, but may have lacked some experience with this model vehicle. I think they probably nocked a few things loose in the process of fighting with this "tool they didn't have" issue.

The question is, how would you handle this? If they can get the car running again (assuming it isn't a timing belt), would you spend the cash and have it all pulled apart by a dealer just to be sure it was done right? Also, any thoughts on the current problem with the predicted wire harness and my loss of combustion?

 

the wire thing doesnt sound right to me at all. I mean you didnt have the problem till they did the timing belt. Unless they forgot to plug something back in like some sensor which can give issues, i dont see how it would be electrical.

Honestly it really seems to me like an air leak somewhere which is easy to get when your taking stuff off, alot of times you forget to put a vacuum line back or something like that

 

Thanks again! I talked to a friend today that knows a fair amount aboutcars and he said the same thing. He did say that if it was electrical it might be something like damaging or not plugging in properly the O2 sensor (he tried to put it in layman's terms).

If you have any other thoughts, let me know. I will also post an update when they get done with the work they are doing.

 

Over the years i've seen quite a few cars come in to have the timing belt redone. This one sounds like the old crank sensor wire pinched behind the timing cover trick.

If you cut your crank sensor signal the car will not run. At this stage i think i would find some else to look at your car either a dealer or another shop with a good

reputation (its usually the shop thats always busy working on late model cars) just to have peace of mind knowing its done right.

 

Just got word that they changed a fuse and the car is now started. They are supposedly test driving it to get the computer to go through a warm up cycle and see if they can figure out what caused the fuse to fail. They didn't say it was the EGR, but elluded to the possibility of the EGR causing the problem. I can't tell if this is a way to pin the cost on me, or if it is legit.

I also read the last post and appreciate the input. I will likely get the car to the dealer, nobody else around my area seems all that impressive. I am still in a bit of a crunch on how quickly I can get it there considering it is two hours away.