355 outer cam berring

I just decided to start using a new mechanic and I went to him w/ an oil leak. He put the car on the lift and started it and right away said I had a bad outer cam berring just by listening to it. He said that the other mechanic should have checked for this when the major service was done 6,000 miles and 18 months ago. He went on to tell me I had to take the engine out and I'm looking at a $6k repair bill. Does this sound right?

The oil leak he pointed out was coming from 1 (or more) of the cam seals. He said the 1st mechanic probably did a quickie major service and didn't even remove the cam cover so therefore I have old cam seals. He said there's no way cam seals would be leaking after just 6,000 miles.

Furhter, I had just had a new clutch put in a few months ago. Apparently I have a torn axel boot and he said the other mechanic should have pointed that out and fixed it as well. He's not making the other mechanic look good.

So I called the other mechanic and he wants to look at it next week and will give me some "consideration" on the price to fix these problems if he diagnoses the same issues because he did the major not too long ago.

 

Wow, tough break. If the first mechanic really did such a poor job previously, I don't know if I would trust the work the second time around even at a reduced rate.