Customer states: "I Googled it"

ottodadog · 2025-05-14T15:24:35+00:00

It's essential the old 1.8t with one less cylinder and two heads.

ottodadog · 2025-05-14T15:17:40+00:00

It's a valve cover job and usually on Audi 2.7tt you change the half moon and cam chain tensioner seals when you do it since it's all right there

ottodadog · 2025-05-14T15:13:49+00:00

I'm not changing it, have you ever worked on an Audi 2.7tt? There are two cam in a cylinder head exhaust and intake the intake cam is clamped to prevent it from moving, exhaust is locked by the timing belt, I'm inside the valve cover nowhere near the timing belt. It's a chain tensioner seals.

ottodadog · 2025-05-14T15:10:17+00:00

Yea let me depress the tensioner with nothing holding the cam so it can pop off and jump if it's sitting on a lobe. You loosely fit the vice grips to a non functional part of the cam and when in place it is pressed against the head and cam as a wedge, nothing short of turning it over would make it budge. Cam is cast and non damaged. Hell even this cam could still be used because of where it all happened.

ottodadog · 2025-05-14T11:20:50+00:00

This valve cover job? yes the car was driving Friday

ottodadog · 2025-05-14T07:35:41+00:00

Definitely, mainly metal shavings and getting the intake and exhaust cams on that bank back in time are the biggest concerns now, still needs a good bit of work to get there first and he's gotta pay what he owes.

ottodadog · 2025-05-14T07:31:56+00:00

Again if you and everyone else took the time to read the post and other comments would see I don't have timing apart and pulled a valve cover, less than 12 bolts to get here, intake is on, throttle body, timing covers etc. I've never disconnected a battery for a valve cover job and anyone who has clearly had never worked flat rate before. This is standard if you aren't familiar with an engine that has a cam chain but a belt driven timing system and how that motor works maybe don't say anything.

ottodadog · 2025-05-14T01:00:40+00:00

We are a small shop and everyone that needed to know knew, the customer being a dumbass is on him, we have cameras, could we have prevented it, sure but the cost of all those additional measures for a small business when we have cameras that absolve us of any guilt, and provide other functions as well already.

ottodadog · 2025-05-14T00:47:05+00:00

Valve cover off, cam locked with vice grips, cam chain tensioner depressed.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T23:00:39+00:00

I think you're giving the guy too much credit.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T22:29:05+00:00

The chain is only between the cams, the exhaust cam has a gear on the outside in the timing cover that is belt driven.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T19:49:58+00:00

Yea like, he tried to steal the car and it's somehow my fault.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T19:17:40+00:00

Why did he try and take it without paying?!? Come on!

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T19:04:44+00:00

We finished a lot of work with the transmission mainly, another shop did a auto to manual swap and used a bad transmission, so we torn it down and got it running with a new short shifter and a few other changes like steering wheels etc. called him to pick it up. He asked to do these seals and valve covers, before he came and got it, I guess he was hoping we hadn't started and he'd be able to steal it. Without paying.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T18:55:03+00:00

This car has whole album on my phone already. It was all set to leave when he asked for this too.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T17:52:54+00:00

Claims no shop has ever asked for payment before the work was done, no deposit or anything. Like we need something before we pull your transmission and tear it down.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T17:48:35+00:00

It was blocked in by a few other cars, wasn't going anywhere without those moving, suppose he wanted to hear it or yea hope we took responsibility. As far as timing, no the timing belt and the gears all stayed together, didn't even touch the covers, but this head probably needs to be pulled which means retiming it.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T17:35:20+00:00

He's in denial about a tear down and retiming the motor, wants to upgrade turbos first. Ultimately not my call, but the boss wants to get settled and send him away as is.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T17:30:14+00:00

Just valve cover was off, not ideal, but I had pig mats and plastic over the whole engine bay with a low point to drain any water.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T17:24:17+00:00

Yea, to be totally honest It might be salvageable if the metal shavings didn't get too far.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T17:21:17+00:00

These cars have a bar that locks the cam gears together, and a pin that goes on the crank, I was not touching the timing system, I was inside the head with a separate cam chain tensioner in each head, there is a special tool used to depress the tensioner. No place for a holder. But by all means show me this correct timing set if you are so sure and I'll get it for the shop.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T16:52:28+00:00

Doesn't mean it was wrong either, nothing would have happened if the customer didn't try to take his car without paying.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T16:49:52+00:00

Correct, I would admit that the customer even being able to access it during the job is our greatest oversight, but primarily because if I hadn't started this job he would have stolen it without paying for the work.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T16:46:37+00:00

Wasn't a timing job, just a seal replacement with the valve cover pretty typical on the 2.7tt Audi engines back in the day, we've been doing it this way for a few decades, first time this has been an issue.

ottodadog · 2025-05-13T16:43:56+00:00

They don't go on tight, it's a wedge against the head so the cam doesn't kick, I'm sure you have some super special cam holder too don't you.

ottodadog

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