well. ive had my dobbie for 6 months now no probs at all.
i took it in today for a full service oil,plugs,filter,fluids etc.

when i called to see if it was ready (why dont they ever call back first ????) i was told that they had done the service but when they tried to start it up it wouldnt turn over.

their conclusion is that the timing belt has slipped a notch and that the piston has bent a valve or valves locking the engine !!?

how would a service do this ?

its a 2002 1.2 sx with 42000 on the clock .

the car ran fine when i took it in what have they done to my doblo?

Well, you didn't drive it into the service bay, so it must have been Ok until they got their hands on it. I'd say they were responsible.
Far too low a mileage for such a thing to happen normally.
Very bad luck, but, I think they should fix it.
Was it a Fiat dealer?

no it wasnt a fiat dealer.

have they just sat in it and revved it till it broke?

when i dropped it off i said it was just in for a full service.

the mechanic said he would check the mileage and see if the cambelt was due to be changed.

6 hours later its broken. just a coincidence or something more sinister ?

just another thought .

having read other fiat car related forums i have discovered that a punto with a 1.2 8v engine is of a non-interferance design and no damage should result in the timing belt breaking.

can any one confirm that this is the case with a 1.2 doblo

thanks in advance

It's the same engine.

I still think they should pay. If they took a look they did something. What was the something?

Plus.

It would be very bad luck if it snapped just coincidentally when they had it. Not impossible - but......

Perhaps someone else knows about 1.2s ?????

thanks for the replies ulpian.

they say they will ring me tommorrow when they have got the head off and had a look to see what the problem is.

i will post back .

If a broken timing belt can't damage the engine I wouldn't let them take the head off, they'll only do more damage. Phone a Fiat dealer first to confirm this.

Its their problem - if they don't fix it threaten them with the goods and services act. If they refuse you may need to take the vehicle away, get an independent report / get it fixed and then sue them via small claims court for cost of repair, court costs and any out REASONABLE out of pocket expenses.

Another way is to sit outside their garage with a big sign saying how crap they are - that usually focusses minds!

Jools

As far as I know the cambelt should be changed at 72,000 miles or 5 years which ever is first.
The garage could say the cambelt was at the end of its life.

BUt on that engine, even if the belt breaks, it doesnt cause piston and valve damage, so there must be another reason

bobian81 said:

BUt on that engine, even if the belt breaks, it doesnt cause piston and valve damage, so there must be another reason

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Exactly, don't let them p**s about with it.

well its 11:30 3 and a half hours after they opened and still no call as to what is wrong.

is it so difficult to inspect a cam belt ?

i will call again soon and if they start going on about bent valves i can inform them that it cannot happen with this engine.

i will keep you posted .

right then..

they have inspected the timing belt and there is nothing wrong there.
they think that the young lad who did the sevice has dropped a washer into the engine when changing the plugs .

oh dear !!

so at no cost to me the head is coming off to see what damage is caused.

at least they have admitted liability. i just hope the doblo is as good as it was before .

any ideas what damage may have been caused ?

Spenk said:

right then..

they have inspected the timing belt and there is nothing wrong there.
they think that the young lad who did the sevice has dropped a washer into the engine when changing the plugs .

?

Click to expand...

Nice to know that mistakes still happen when youth is trusted with our 'pride and joys' - we pay the earth for technicians and the kids end up doing the work!

What a shame also that the garage come up with crap excuses to try and get them out of the smelly. Insist on a proper job and an independent inspection at the end by the RAC or AA to ensure that they have done everything they should have done - it might ensure they don't cut anymore corners.

this lot sound terrible, hope they can sort it quick for you.

who are this garage? we dont want any other members going there

Could be that they dropped the oil and never filled the engine back up,started it up with no oil in and it seized up. It has been known

bobian81 said:

BUt on that engine, even if the belt breaks, it doesnt cause piston and valve damage, so there must be another reason

Click to expand...

Are you sure it is the same engine that doesn't cause engine damage?

doblo said:

Are you sure it is the same engine that doesn't cause engine damage?

Click to expand...

all 8v fire engines are safe