Rebuilt engine returned Rant

[4lowNgo]

So after two months and much anticipation, sending the mechanic parts from the revered Cruiser Dan, I got to pick up the rig on Friday evening.

New clutch installed too.

As he was telling me about the rebuild, he mentioned they had to replace the Cam Shaft. This was news to me and he couldn't even tell me what brand or source he used. I probably would have contacted C-Dan just for a comparison price, had I known. I just let it go as "that's how it's going to be with this rig" and figured he had my best interests in mind (yes, I guess I'm that stupid).

Total bill $2600. Not including parts for new head (thank you Dan for the PHENOMENAL deal on that), clutch, and gasket kit.

I wasn't one block away before I felt the all-too-familiar hesitation and UN-smooth accellerating. WTF??? Naively, I thought "OK, I'll drive it through town, maybe it just needs to warm up". I noticed that the clutch pedal has to come out a good 8" to engage, too. I returned, in extreme disappointment, to the mechanic..who had gone home for the weekend. I left the truck on his lot, called and left a message and a detailed email about my disappoinment and shock at how it ran. Of course, he doesn't work weekends so I'll see what he says on Monday.

This guy OWNS FJ60's...and has rebuilt several. I'm lost as to why he would let me drive off with the rig running this way. I'm shocked that it STILL runs that way, AFTER the rebuild! I've had the truck for 10 years, bought it with 95k on it and now it's at 225. Last year installed the OME, ARB Bull Bar and winch. I plan on having it for a long time and had the budget for the rebuild on the engine, as I want to keep that stock. I AM SO BUMMED.

My next plan is to contact Northwest Cruisers in Portland to see if they can take a look at it, depending on what evolves with this mechanic.

You can flame on all you like about my being too trusting, that I should learn this myself, that I shouldn't have let the cam shaft comment go unnoticed, that I should have turned around right away and gone back, or whatever else. I still believe in trusting professionals and paying to have the job done right.

Are competency and respect a commodity in the world of auto mechanics? I've been trying to find someone who "knows" these trucks for years in this area. My mech skills are just really limited, plus I don't have the time. I'd rather pay a pro to do it right, but then this sh!# happens.

One more inch off my hairline, head in hands. Rant off.

 

[Pin_Head]

I wasn't one block away before I felt the all-too-familiar hesitation and UN-smooth accellerating. WTF???


.

Maybe you should have had the carb rebuilt too, since you seem to imply that it was running like this before the engine rebuild. Other than that and a minor clutch adjustment, what is there to be bummed out about?

 

[brownbear]

Don't be bummed.. It's a problem yes, but one that will be fixed. Small bump in the life of your cruiser.

Be firm with the mechanic, but polite. Once you corner him he will get his back up. And the final will be you taking it somewhere else and he won't warranty his work.

So relax a bit over the weekend, then bug them on Monday.

 

[4lowNgo]

I should have mentioned, the carb is brand new OEM, purchased last year. Maybe it does just need some adjusting, and I hope that's all it is.

I plan on being polite to this guy, as I have been throughout the whole process (no reason to be otherwise), and hope that he stands behind his work. He did say he'll give it a 12-month warranty.

 

[Kief]

Give the guy a chance. The average of the industry is to source parts from their favorite autoparts store. Crankshafts and camshafts are turned in as a core and then they get a reconditioned product. There are high and low end products in the automotive industry.Give him the opportunity to make it run right. If he doesn't, your best bet is to withdraw payment-if he doesn't make things right- like if you paid with a credit card, you can call your credit card company and see how that would work, if you paid with a check or cash and he doesn't get it dialed in then you might have to pursue legal action.
There are a lot of factors to consider as a problem, carb, ignition, electrical that contribute to performance. Keep us posted and give the guy a fair shake. The world is watching. PS, would love to check it out once you get it dialed in. Later, Kief.

 

[Buckwheat]

Shoulda

coulda, woulda, it sounds minor to me, too. I hope you didn't do the rebuild because of hesitation. And, $2600 is about what you would pay for labor only, most places, so what exactly was done? An in- frame? Whatever, I agree with you he shoulda done a test drive & given it to you in good order.

 

[FJ40Jim]

As he was telling me about the rebuild, he mentioned they had to replace the Cam Shaft. This was news to me and he couldn't even tell me what brand or source he used. I probably would have contacted C-Dan just for a comparison price, had I known. I just let it go as "that's how it's going to be with this rig" and figured he had my best interests in mind (yes, I guess I'm that stupid).

If you're bummed that he didn't consult you about the cam, don't be. They are always wiped after 150K miles.

Hopefully, the cam was replaced w/ a USA billet. They are better than the short-lived OE cams.

Total bill $2600. Not including parts for new head (thank you Dan for the PHENOMENAL deal on that), clutch, and gasket kit.

That's a great deal, if the truck runs right and holds together.

 

[ellington12]

long post...but bear with me

as an auto mechanic myself, i feel i must chime in...

first off, he should have called you when he realized the camshaft was bad unless you two had some sort of agreement where he had "carte blanche" to replace things that he saw fit during the teardown process.

secondly, who determined the engine needed rebuilding? you or the mechanic. this can be a tricky area for if you dropped of your rig with a bunch of parts that you purchased and merely said "rebuild the engine," things can get dicey.

this is a grey area amongst mechanics, especially if the customer specifically tells the mechanic what to do and brings his/her own parts. some mechanics in this scenario, (provided they let customers supply their own parts,) will develop tunnel vision and only do what the customer asked. this can get even worse if a customer misdiagnoses their own car, and then brings parts to the mechanic thinking these parts will fix the problem. example; customer provides mechanic with thermostat because customer diagnosed it as being bad. mechanic replaces thermostat. car still overheats because the problem isn't the thermostat at all. at this point, a good mechanic will call the customer and give him a status update. a not so good mechanic will ship the car for he did what the customer specifically asked him to do, no more no less. a lot of shops will not let customers bring their own parts or if they do, they will offer no warranty because of situations like the above.

true, he should never have let the truck go without making sure the clutch was adjusted and he should have driven the thing for a while to work out any bugs. however, if the truck ran poorly before the rebuild and the mechanic wasn't given the chance to figure out why, the engine rebuild could be dead on up to spec. but there are so many other ancillary things that could make your rig "not run right."

please give this guy a chance to make things right. mechanics overall have a bad reputation but the majority of the ones i know would want you to come back and would want to make things right. mechanics are only human and as such make mistakes; what differentiates the good ones from the bad ones is what they do when they make a mistake.

example: i once replaced VC gaskets, cam seals, and a bunch of other stuff to fix some serious oil leaks on a newish Audi. car had about 60,000 miles and was about 6-7 years old. shipped the car, no leaks, all was well; until. turns out that year of Audi has a 10 year 100K mile engine warranty that includes every gasket,seal, hose, vacuum line etc. on the engine. only certain Audis with a specific engine and of a specific year has this warranty. to make a long story short, once the customer pointed this out to us, we refunded her the total amount, in excess of $1000. we were at fault...we should have checked the warranty before commencing any work and we did the right thing once it became known that we screwed up. refunding $1000 hurts but she is still a regular customer and we now know to check the powertrain warranty on any car that comes in.

at the shop where i work, the unofficial motto goes something like this:

"if you're happy with your experience with us, tell a friend. if you're unhappy, please tell us."

shops want to keep customers for the long haul and develop good relationships with them. give this guy a chance to prove himself and make things right.

if he's a good man, he'll feel worse than you when you tell him your issues. there is nothing more demoralizing for a mechanic than to have a big ticket job come back. i've been there, (i'm human,) but as bad as this situation is for the mechanic, having the customer come back is a chance to make things right.