HELP!95 jetta won't start after small fire/mechanic ripped me off

[janea]

My 95 jetta broke down one eve while I was cruisin down the highway.the timing belt broke and there was some damage to the valves.took it to a mechanic who rebuilt top of engine/replaced belt.I took car home and it was running very roughly and 12 hours later there was a fire under the hood.I doused it with a small bottle of water.fire was around distributor cap.mechanic took car back but said he did not think that their work had anything to do with the fire(!!!!!)!charged me lots of $$$$$$$ and NOW he says he cannot get it started and I should find another mechanic.What could the problem be and how do I go about finding a mechanic in my area who can fix my car this time of year?I am this close to getting fired from my job of 18 years because I cannot get to work!Any ideas about problem appreciated.

[Doug Tatham]

A couple of comments, I've never had a fire, but I still keep an extinguisher in my garage. It's a good idea since water often spreads fires rather than extinguishing them. Make sure it's an ABC extinguisher.
Next, the distributer shouldn't catch fire. There are fuel lines nearby and you may have had a loose fitting following the rebuild. Check this. Have you checked the inside of the distributer to see if it's wet from when you put out the fire?
Check for damaged electrical components and wiring harnesses in the area where the fire was.

[stuzman]

Originally Posted by janea

My 95 jetta broke down one eve while I was cruisin down the highway.the timing belt broke and there was some damage to the valves.took it to a mechanic who rebuilt top of engine/replaced belt.I took car home and it was running very roughly and 12 hours later there was a fire under the hood.I doused it with a small bottle of water.fire was around distributor cap.mechanic took car back but said he did not think that their work had anything to do with the fire(!!!!!)!charged me lots of $$$$$$$ and NOW he says he cannot get it started and I should find another mechanic.What could the problem be and how do I go about finding a mechanic in my area who can fix my car this time of year?I am this close to getting fired from my job of 18 years because I cannot get to work!Any ideas about problem appreciated.

What a bummer? Did the fire start while it was sitting in the driveway or was it running? As Doug had said, take a look under the hood and look for obvious damage. I would suspect that with a fire, you should be able to see some. Since it was around the distributor, take a close look at that and even pull the cap off and see if anything shows up. I would suspect that your spark plug wires suffered some damage also since they are right there with the distributor. Of course, the fire could have spread elsewhere, so take a look at the wiring harnesses and give it a good eye. Let us know what you come up with and good luck with it.

[janea]

Originally Posted by Doug Tatham

A couple of comments, I've never had a fire, but I still keep an extinguisher in my garage. It's a good idea since water often spreads fires rather than extinguishing them. Make sure it's an ABC extinguisher.
Next, the distributer shouldn't catch fire. There are fuel lines nearby and you may have had a loose fitting following the rebuild. Check this. Have you checked the inside of the distributer to see if it's wet from when you put out the fire?
Check for damaged electrical components and wiring harnesses in the area where the fire was.

Thanks,I hope the mechanic who did the original work and who has the car now after the fire would think to do that but I am beginning to question his abilities (or lack thereof)!I did see a melted bracket around the distributor cap but no melted wires.The fire started while car was running but was out in about 30 seconds.A new mechanic is taking it in on Tues(20DEC)because the other guy gave up!He says he has NO CLUE what caused the fire even though it was his work 12 hours before.Should I file a complaint with the DMV(in NY state they license the mechanics)?I noticed on the invoice he gave me after I picked-up the car the first time there was no business name,no NY state DMV license #.I have a neighbor who is a mechanic and he said it looked dodgy.This was all a friend of a friend of a cousin type s%^& t that was supposed to help me because he gave me a good estimate but it all back-fired.Will get back to AF after the 20th.Any more ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated.Thank you~~~~ janea

[janea]

Originally Posted by stuzman

What a bummer? Did the fire start while it was sitting in the driveway or was it running? As Doug had said, take a look under the hood and look for obvious damage. I would suspect that with a fire, you should be able to see some. Since it was around the distributor, take a close look at that and even pull the cap off and see if anything shows up. I would suspect that your spark plug wires suffered some damage also since they are right there with the distributor. Of course, the fire could have spread elsewhere, so take a look at the wiring harnesses and give it a good eye. Let us know what you come up with and good luck with it.

Thanks for your reply/advice!Sent a reply to Doug but was meant for the both of you so take a look.Anymore suggestions/ideas greatly appreciated.I have spent more than $2500 so far on this and I'm sick to my stomach.It's one rip-off after another and the car just isn't worth it but I need the damn thing.Keep fingers crossed~~~Janea

[janea]

anyone else out there with advice please help

[stuzman]

Originally Posted by janea

anyone else out there with advice please help

At the moment janea, I can't think of anything else to mention. Hopefully, the mechanic that you got will be able to analyze it for you. Maybe someone else can chime in and give you some other suggestions. I sure hope it works out for you and good luck with it!

[irbf]

What displacement engine is this? It is my understanding that only the 1.8L engine is an "interference" engine where a broken timing belt could damage a valve. I thought the 2.0L engine was "non-interference". If my understanding is correct there was no need to do anything other than replace the belt and get the timing correct.