Hi,

I have a 2001 xj. Engine was rebuilt 2/2021. Check engine light came on and car stutters once or twice on a 30 minute drive to work. Took it into shop and they are saying computer read misfire on 5th cylinder. After looking more in to it they said it’s a flat camshaft.
question 1: shouldn’t they have seen this during engine rebuild? Or should they have replaced it?
question 2: engine rebuild is under warranty…. Should the camshaft be included? Or at least the labor?
question3: could they have messed up anything for this to have happened 7 months later?
hope you guys can help! Thanks so much.

 

1) It may have been fine during the rebuild. It could just be an oil blockage, which can happen after a rebuild. It shouldn't, but it can.
2) yes
3) See answer to question 1

 

Thanks so much. Would an oil blockage be the fault of improper engine rebuild or just dumb luck?

thanks!

 

flat tappet cams have to broke in properly when first started up. At least on my older chev,s

 

If the cam is damaged, it'll be covered under the engine warranty. Sometimes when an engine gets rebuilt, they'll media blast the block and then hot tank it to remove any particulate. I've gotten engine blocks back from machine shops after being blasted and tanked and they'll have crap still in them. You have to be really meticulous when cleaning them. If any of that abrasive media gets in the oil galleries, it's game over for that engine.

Blazer's right though. If that cam was new, there's a break in procedure for flat tappet cams (such as the one in the jeep 4.0). Usually a high zinc break-in oil is required to be ran for a period of time. That's why many people (such as myself) like using rotella diesel oil. If the cam was used, you shouldn't have needed to break it in. But I'd definitely expect a remanufactured engine to have a new cam.

 

Thanks for the info. As far as I can tell they did not replace the camshaft. I attached the invoice with description. I need to talk to the shop again but based on the message they left me they want to charge me 1200 - 1500 for the fix.

doesn’t seem right to me.

 

Did you take it back for the 1000 mile check? If so, then it looks to me like you've got a warranty and they just have to fix it. Note that I'm in the UK so the laws are different over here but I can't see any loopholes in the wording on that piece of paper no matter what side of the pond you live.

 

I bet they replaced tappets, but not camshaft ?

a possible way to cause this outcome for sure

I dont know the laws in your area, but if you followed their warranty procedure, they should really be liable

they will try and squirm out if they can, you gonna need to check the fine print

 

Yea I took it in for the 1000 mile check.
unfortunately there’s no fine print. That’s all the papers I have.
thanks for the help!

 

I don,t why they would not replace cam. Cams are cheap.

 

You need to find out if they are members of a professional motor trader association, and/or whether your locality has the equivalant of our Fair Trading Department

Both of these give you some protection against poor business practices

If the answer is no to both, you will have to negotiate with the shop

I am not totally familiar with the Jeep I6 motor, but most similar engines require removal and a near complete tear down to replace the camshaft

 

OK, so there are no weasely "Parts only" type clauses? Because they might claim that their warranty covers parts but not the time it takes to fit them. Do they have a website with any Terms and Conditions on it?

I'd go talk to them in person, be polite, ask them to honour their warranty.If they say no, don't threaten them with bad reviews, just point out that you've always heard good things about them, you're upset that their good name isn't what you thought it was. They'll get the idea.

If they still say no, walk away before you lose your temper knowing that it isn't over.

 

Improper engine rebuild. They should have boiled out the block. Old crud should have been long gone from every engine part before they began any other work on it.

 

Should not happen. That's negligence.



Heh. Couple of friends of mine rebuilt an engine. One of them worked in a machine shop, did nothing else all day. He donated his labor for the shop stuff, and the owner of the engine did all the assembly work. Shop guy bead blasted the valve covers (V8) and returned them to owner guy, and stressed that he had not had time to hot tank them, that owner guy needed to wash them out thoroughly. Owner guy slapped them on the engine.

It did not end well. These valve covers had oil baffles in them which did a great job of catching about a tablespoon each of blasting media. Shop guy was not amused. Bearings, etc., were also not amused.



Absolutely.

 

Thanks for the help. Going to try and talk to the shop today. Hopefully they agree to have it covered under warranty.