Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

(quote): "Also got a starter and other unrelated stuff"
1. i, for one, have no idea, from these posts, what was actually done
2. maybe i missed it but i could not find here what the fatality is/was
3. there is always another side to the story

i wouldn't be so fast to condemn some unknown shop with so little information coming from one side only

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

Get the proof, or facts. Make your decision from there.

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

Im with ya. This doesn't really pass the smell test. We are missing something.

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

what? for 2600 bucks they did not run up the engine or test drive the truck? take them to court

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

I also purchased a dual plane manifold through them.
I think all I originally asked was weather or not they could have screwed up during the course of their efforts that would create these symptoms. I'm not trying to skew the story in my favor, this thread just got taken in that direction

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

The big problem is that without knowing exactly what was done anything could happen. Without knowing actual prior engine condition its basically a wash. There is too much unknown here to say for sure one way or another. Like I said earlier though they should have stopped right at the moment when they found the two flat cam lobes and at a minimum called you and gave you options. The work should have stopped right that second and plans for rebuilding or replacing that engine should have been put in place.

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

"Like I said earlier though they should have stopped right at the moment when they found the two flat cam lobes and at a minimum called you and gave you options. The work should have stopped right that second and plans for rebuilding or replacing that engine should have been put in place. "

^^ that.
Been watching this thread from the start. Speaking as the guy on the "other side" of the counter, that is exactly how I would have done it. After informing the customer, if they did not want to do it right they would have to sign & acknowledge a no guarantee agreement.

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

Agreed!
Above two posts!!

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

Yes, you overpaid. I see that this is not your first post, and you have looked for advice, but it appears that you did not heed to some of it. Chalk it up as a lesson learned. To say the shop burned you, that is a tough call. To do the job, they had to peel the front of the motor apart, change the oil and the coolant. Maybe they looked at the oil after it came out, most likely this went right into a catch basin and was never looked at. If this was your daily driver and the work needed to be done, i could see paying more than usual, but not that high. Please don't tell me someone you know from this board recommended the shop. Odds are the shop thought they were doing a good job, and it might be true on the imports that they work on, but always do your research. Working on these trucks is easier than making a cake, and if you don't know something someone has already done it and can give you the rights and wrongs.

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

Look, the problem I have with this, besides the price, is the treatment after the failure. Problems can and do happen. Even the best shops can experience issues from time to time. Treatment of the customer and not standing behind the work is a huge issue. They were the last ones to touch it, the failure happened ON THE WAY HOME, and the owner LIED! They agreed to take on the job, and now should be standing by their work, or at least trying to work with you.

There are plenty of us in the Bay Area, and we each have our favorite shops that we could recommend (I would probably second the previously mentioned Burlingame shop if it's the same one I'm thinking of)! I hope you are taking action with the BAR and BBB.

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

I can't imagine a shop charging that much money & not even road testing the vehicle. If it overheated in that short of time they probably left a lot of air still in the cooling system, or left a bad leak. Back in the 60's & 70's we had a lot of cam failures. We used to replace the cam & lifters without going through the rest of the engine. I never had a failure. You would have been run out of town if you tried to sell something like that. Now when a timing chain wipped out the plastic sprocket you sure better pull the pan & clean out the pieces. You need to see Judge Judy.

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

Hey I just thought I'd check in and let you guys know I ended up buying a long block from ATK in Texas(https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hpe-hp89), had a real respectable shop drop it in, and I'm back on the road. Just picked it up yesterday, she runs good.
After asking my local dealer's svc dept. and as many other professional mechanics as possible, maybe 12 conversations(85-90% of whom already heard negatively of or repaired work from the shop I had an issue with), I called the Bureau of Auto Repair. I doubt they'll have any power in the matter but it beats an arrest for arson. :devil:
So yeah, I made sure to present it to you guys as balanced as possible-if I just wanted to make everyone hate them I would have made my complaints way more exciting. Dunno, I might invite the shop to this site to reply, see what they say

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

URL wouldn't work. I tried it without the https: www.summitracing.com/parts/hpe-hp89

Steep price but awesome engine.

Anyway, glad you got it going right. You are out big bucks but hopefully someone else may learn from the problems you had.

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

Glad you go it going again. Sucks that you lost the money. My problem is that I have been on both sides of the counter so to speak. I have seen many things that were definitely the fault of the customer yet they throw the shop under the bus for doing what the customer asked them to. On the other hand I have seen enough hack work done by shops to turn my stomach. Im assuming your case is due to the shop at this point. It gives everyone in the business a bad name and drives my crazy when I see stuff like this. I cant imagine doing something like that to another person.

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

Good to see you got her running again Sam! Nice looking rig as well!
Chris

Re: I think my mechanic burned me please advise
 

I didn't want to be the first one to say it. But you're right. I had a bunch of cam failures back in the day. Usually some guy trying to adjust the rockers wrong. Cams were cheap and engines were expensive. It was worth a hundred bucks to see if we could save the engine. Never had one grenade. I did clean everything I could get to. Maybe not the right thing to do but when it's your work truck and you need it and don't have engine funds the truck will work long enough to get the funds needed. Amazing how tough a 350 is.
Anyway- I hope your new engine powers you to new heights! Keep on trucking!