Hello Car Talk,
2002 Freelander with 95,000 miles . My friend brought her car in to have a new thermostat put in. The mechanic told her she needed an oil change. She, agreed and had them go ahead and change the oil. after leaving the mechanic her oil light came on. The Freelander started bucking so she pulled over and called the mechanic. After looking at the vehicle the mechanic told her that her CAM Seal was leaking and she had to have it and her belts replaced. Is there a possibility that the oil was overfilled or the plug was not put in properly and the oil leaked out causing the car to over heat and busting the seal on the cam? Any ideas out there?
Where did your friend take her vehicle to have this work performed?
Not sure? I have an amendment to my comment, the oil light came on after she drove it 30 miles after seeing the mechanic. She drove another 30 miles back home. The next day she parked it when she came out there was oil under the car. She drove it four miles to and then consulted the mechanic. He drove it to the shop from her work about three or four miles. He looked and he told her the cam seal Pop out and leaked all over the timing belt.
That post is just way too confusing.
Why did the vehicle need a new thermostat?
When it started bucking I’d imagine that the check engine light came on. Did it? If so find out what error codes were set?
How long did she let the engine run after the oil light came on?
Did the car actually overheat at this point? How does that fit in relation to the bucking? Was it overheating before?
"Is there a possibility that the oil was overfilled or the plug was not put in properly and the oil leaked out "
This question goes in opposite directions. You’re asking about an overfill (too much oil) and all of the oil leaking out (too little oil) at the same time? Are you wondering whether or not an overfill may have blown out the seal and/or plug from too much pressure? The answer to that is no. If there is any excess pressure it would be from a clogged PCV system which would only be a problem from a lack of maintenance.
Do find out what kind of a shop it is in. She might want to ask someone else to have a look - if she still has an engine left.
The first two hits on a search on Google were 2002 Freelander Cam Seal issues. No mention of how quickly the oil will leak out.
Is it safe to assume your friend did not open the hood and check the oil? If your friend drove 30 miles with the Oil light on, the engine is damaged goods. Based on this it will be difficult to prove any negligence on the part of the mechanic.
Ed B.
Ok I found more, She needed to have the car inspected and wanted to have the car looked because of a check engine light issue. (good call) they asked her if the car was over heating, no she said rather the car wasn’t getting any heat. The mechanic concluded that it was the thermostat because he didn’t find anything else wrong with it. They changed the oil, but not thermostat because she didn’t have enough money and wanted to wait until the next month. She asked if that was ok and he said yes but it should be replaced soon than later because it cause problems down the road. He didn’t say anything about any error codes~