OT: Buyer Beware

[Alan C]

My younger daughter had the misfortune of cam belt failure on her 1995 
Hyundai Accent 1.5 csi. The car has been in the family since new & has 
been a reliable, economic runner. The cam belt had been replaced at 
100000 & 200000km as recommended but this one failed after only another 
75000km. The first 2 replacement cam belts were genuine Hyundai but the 
third an after market substitute. Strangely enough, I still have the cam 
belt I removed at 200000km & it looks perfectly OK!  After stripping it 
was found that, luckily, the only damage was bent exhaust valve heads on 
cylinders 1 & 3. (This is an interference engine design). On account of 
the age of the car I didn't want to spend too much on repairs so I 
shopped around for the cheapest set of exhaust valves & a head set. 
First problem - the valve stem oil seals were a loose fit (totally 
useless) so I had to buy better ones. Second problem: the exhaust valves 
were such poor quality that 3 of the stems bent when I was installing 
them in the head using a valve spring compressor. I only noticed the 
problem after I had re-installed the head & was busy fitting the cam & 
rockers, 3 of which didn't line up with the valve stems. Back to square 
one. I will need to buy another good quality set of exhaust valves. I 
will also buy a top quality head gasket - I don't trust anything cheap 
any more. I have successfully done many engine overhauls over the years 
& must say I enjoy this sort of thing but this time, at the age of 75, I 
find I am suffering all sorts of aches & pains I have never had before, 
so this will definitely be the last!

Thanks for listening. I feel much better now.

Alan C

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