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Halfords Autocentre Ceased my Engine

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  • Car_54
    Car_54 Posts: 8,867 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Both of them are contradicting on the root cause of the issue, but both have confirmed that that engine has been completely damaged and can not be repaired.




    After Nissan's report and after I complained with Halfords, their senior technician again looked at my vehicle and below is his findings.


    Causation is due to a failure of the camshaft timing drive system which has allowed the camshaft timing to desynchronise when the engine was running such that the exhaust valves and the some of the inlet valves have impacted the pistons. The repeated impact on the exhaust valves while still rotating has detached the heads of 6 valves and once free these have subsequently damaged the cylinder head, pistons and spark plugs.



    The retaining bolt for the inlet camshaft adjuster has broken this could have contributed to the timing chain tension being lost along with the timing synchronisation.

    That seems to make more sense. Nothing to do with plugs, coil or thermostat though.
  • pappa_golf
    pappa_golf Posts: 8,895 Forumite
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    The retaining bolt for the inlet camshaft adjuster has broken this could have contributed to the timing chain tension being lost along with the timing synchronisation.

    THAT I think is the reason for the damage , dont know if that csar has a chain or a belt , has any work been done in this area

    edit: water pump fitted? / thermost area
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  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Both of them are contradicting on the root cause of the issue, but both have confirmed that that engine has been completely damaged and can not be repaired.

    After Nissan's report and after I complained with Halfords, their senior technician again looked at my vehicle and below is his findings.

    Causation is due to a failure of the camshaft timing drive system which has allowed the camshaft timing to desynchronise when the engine was running such that the exhaust valves and the some of the inlet valves have impacted the pistons. The repeated impact on the exhaust valves while still rotating has detached the heads of 6 valves and once free these have subsequently damaged the cylinder head, pistons and spark plugs.

    The retaining bolt for the inlet camshaft adjuster has broken this could have contributed to the timing chain tension being lost along with the timing synchronisation.
    Ah, I missed this post.

    Halfords are completely off the hook, then. A bolt broke, which allowed the cam chain to lose tension, so valves hit pistons.
    pappa_golf wrote: »
    edit: water pump fitted? / thermost area
    He said the 'stat had been changed, but that won't require anybody to be anywhere near the cam sprockets.
  • AdrianC wrote: »
    4 x plugs - £16.50 each from Halfords site.
    4 x coils - £40 each from another site.
    Thermostat - £15

    That's either a heck of a lot more labour than I'd expect to do that work, they had you bent double over a barrel, or they did more work than just those.



    I find it hard to believe Nissan would blame "incorrect" plugs without specifying what was fitted - and, given the linguistic confusion in your earlier post, there may well be some misunderstanding. Are you willing to scan the report and post it?




    They charged £207 for ignition coil and £244.96 for Spark Plugs. No other work carried out.


    Happy to share the report. Trying to find out how to do. But can confirm that Nissan report clearly says it is because of incorrect spark plug but did not mention details of the spark plugs
  • angrycrow
    angrycrow Posts: 1,106 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts
    I have a niggling suspicion here, op dropped the car running to Halfords, whilst diagnosing the engine could Halfords have removed the spark plugs, muddled them with a set from another car and put the wrong ones back. Turn over engine piston hits longer spark plugs and the subsequent debris jams the cylinder snapping the inlet cam bolt. If this is the case Halfords need to pay for the engine to be repaired or replaced. Of course I could be completely wrong but it fits all the facts and is the simplest explanation.
  • pappa_golf
    pappa_golf Posts: 8,895 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    AdrianC wrote: »
    Ah, I missed this post.

    Halfords are completely off the hook, then. A bolt broke, which allowed the cam chain to lose tension, so valves hit pistons.


    He said the 'stat had been changed, but that won't require anybody to be anywhere near the cam sprockets.
    alas I do not know anything about this engine , but the words The retaining bolt for the inlet camshaft adjuster has broken sound like the fault lies not with plugs , but a failure of nissan parts

    why did the report not use that line at the beginning "your timing has jumped , your engine is now trash"
    Save a Rachael

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  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    They charged £207 for ignition coil and £244.96 for Spark Plugs. No other work carried out.
    Four of these... http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_1051169_langId_-1_categoryId_165736_epId_408700020

    Unless Nissan have done something very, VERY weird, fitting plugs and coils takes minutes.
    Happy to share the report. Trying to find out how to do.

    Scan it and upload it to something like Flickr, then link to that here.
    But can confirm that Nissan report clearly says it is because of incorrect spark plug but did not mention details of the spark plugs

    Woah, hold on. You just posted something that says the exact opposite - that it was due to the cam chain losing tension, because of a broken bolt on the adjuster of the inlet cam sprocket.
  • AdrianC wrote: »
    Four of these...
    Unless Nissan have done something very, VERY weird, fitting plugs and coils takes minutes.



    Scan it and upload it to something like Flickr, then link to that here.



    Woah, hold on. You just posted something that says the exact opposite - that it was due to the cam chain losing tension, because of a broken bolt on the adjuster of the inlet cam sprocket.




    Sorry I can see that I have confused. Sequence of events below.


    1) Halfords fitted Spark Plugs
    2) Engine Seized
    3) Nissan report says 'Incorrect Spark Plug is the cause of Engine Seize'
    4) Halfords looked at the vehicle again and now saying that the issue is due to cam chain losing tension. This they did after I raised a formal complaint.
  • pappa_golf
    pappa_golf Posts: 8,895 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    no , nissan report say timing adjuster bolt broken , this has caused valves to hit plugs/pistons etc
    Save a Rachael

    buy a share in crapita
  • arcon5
    arcon5 Posts: 14,099 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    At the end of the day if the plugs was so long they could hit the piston then it would have done this straight away not 3 months later. If this was genuinely to case then it never would have left their workshop.
    More than likely timing has slipped snapping exhaust valves which have damaged the plug tips and head causing it to lock up.

    Which begs the question of whether the main dealer are trying to find a way of getting out of a warranty claim or whether they are clueless
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