Hey guys, just a quick update: VERY LONG story short, for those of you that don't know, I've got a '71 Mav, 302, C4...Motor was rebuilt about 9 months ago and about a month ago it threw a rod and did a destruction job on itself (no fault of my own). Took the car to a local shop and got the motor out and to the guy who did the first rebuild to see if it would be covered under his warranty (3 years, unlimited miles). The rebuild guy said it would be covered so he got a new block and parts and got it back together and back to this local shop. This local shop got the motor back in late last week, got the motor running well (supposedly), no leaks, etc. Problem right now is this. The shop called this morning and said that only 4 of the lifters were apparently replaced in the rebuild and that they were making a LOT of noise and weren't pumping up. Call me crazy, but shouldn't the lifters have been replaced with the rebuild? It's not like they are expensive. Wouldn't the lifters eventually have pumped up after having run the motor during break-in? The shop said they ran the car in high idle to try to get them to pump up but they never did. What do you guys think?
Hey Fever...yeah, the shop guy seemed kinda pissed that the rebuilder would reuse parts like that, especially after having seen what the motor did to itself. I just don't get it. Why half-ass something that could help earn you repeat business and referrals? It just doesn't make any sense.
This motor rebuilder guy actually used to have a good reputation. He used to own Anderson's Machine Shop in Lewisville before he sold it and the place then eventually went down the crapper. He had retired and got bored and opened this new shop, which specializes in hot rod motors, but he does standard rebuilds too. I guess I expected more from him.
No, he didn't give me a written estimate on what he was going to replace. I could try getting him to fax an invoice of his work that I can keep for my records. Actually, now I think of it, I'm going to do that right now. This is past the point of me trusting him to do the right thing. I'll let you know what I find.
I just talked to the rebuild guy...he said he doesn't make work tickets/inventories for warranty work. He said all but 4 of the lifters looked good (he replaced those 4) and that he thinks they just need to be bled/run enough to get the air out and he's not worried about it. He seemed like he still is willing to work to fix it if there IS a real problem. We'll see.
Wow, I would never go there again if he admits to putting used lifters in a rebuilt engine. Is this a roller motor?
What else did he re-use from the wrecked engine??? (makes me wonder) Since this build was on his dime. He only replaced 4 lifters cause it cost him less that way. Shoddy work if you ask me...But I can understand cutting a corner or three to save a buck. But not in regards to building an engine.
lifters trap alot of debris i would never use a old lifter specialy from some thing that had metal filings from a blown motor i would ask him for the lifters and intake gasket and bring it to your shop if you cant do it your self
exactly! Not to mention that if it's anything other than a roller setup.. using fresh lifters on cam lobes that have already been run in is not the best way to do things. I've seen it done a few times when things are still fairly fresh.. but I wouldn't be tempting fate like that or you'll eventually get bitten. Especially with debris circulating through the motor like this one likely had. I'd take that motor back and either get him to do it right from the start.. or get your money back and drive away from that shop as fast as possible. Also be damned sure to take plenty of pictures and be sure to befriend anyone else involved to help back you up if things go even further south with that shops business practices. Hopefully you can keep your cool and coerce him to stand behind it and get you straightened out though.
what were your...build specs...when you asked him to build it? did you ask him to...rebuild the motor or freshen it up, big money difference in the two.
Yeah, it was just a generic rebuild on a stock 302. I never gave any build specs. Apparently, this guy never got paid for the motor from the first guy that tried to rip me off, along with 3 other motors. The rebuilder is also currently suing that con-artist. This new shop doesn't want to do anything with the motor since this is being handled by the rebuilder and his warranty. Why he would go thru the effort of giving me a new motor and reusing cheap parts is beyond me though. I hope to get it back sometime this week. I'll keep you posted.
The car is now back to the repair shop from the rebuilder. Apparently, one of the lifters was bad and there were 2 head studs that backed out of the head. The repair shop is going to make sure everything is still good and their work wasn't affected. I should have it back on Monday if all goes well.
