Hey Lee, here is a tip. When doing a carry out engine like this it helps to have a auto repair shop you can count on. We used to do diagnosis for a local machine shop when they had "problems" with a rebuild, it's funny, low oil pressure was a biggie, in fact in one case the vehicle had oil pressure at idle but lost it above 2000 rpm, so we suggested taking the pan down and having a look, the machine shop said ok and we took it down, there is no way you would guess what the problem was. The customer spray painted the INSIDE of the pan, the paint came off as a sheet of paper and got sucked onto the oil pickup screen, only when the rpms moved higher. So you never know what happens once the customer gets his grubby paws on it. Ask to see the vehicle with the engine installed before doing anything, then have a shop of YOUR choosing do a basic diagnosis of the problem. Sometimes people lie, not everyone, BUUUUUUUUT Blue Mule NC USA
Did you see the poor guy who bought a new oil pan for his Diesel engine. Same thing, paint from the factory in this case inside the pan just came off and clogged the pickup and he blew up the motor. Such a dumb thing to take out an engine.
@Jeff Leach people skimp on that stuff buy the easiest or cheapest one they can. Saving $ when you are not a professional mechanic is dangerous. Ppl just do not have knowledge to inspect things. The sad thing is ppl expect things for free or that its GOTTA be your fault you just worked on it...... heard that alot, had to calmly explain a completely unrelated issue.
I doubt the guy is lying. I'm pretty sure he's put two and two together and made five. He's put in another engine and fixed the issue, therefore the only possible issue is that the old engine is faulty. He has not taken into account a dozen other parts, sensors, connectors and incorrect workmanship or maintenance. If you contrast Lee's attitude, of not assuming anything, taking responsibility for a job out of warranty as a favour, checking carefully, having it double checked then triple checked and carefully and laboriously detailing all the measurements and keeping the customer informed.... .....to that of the customer, who without any proof, without any testing and without any reasonable suspicion is 100% certain there is an issue with the engine. Furthermore is willing to accuse and imply Lee as dishonest because of this misplaced certainty
Having been in the game as a professional motor engineer for 40 years I would happily be taken to court and just speak the truth as honest practices that you do will Win the Day with this Chancer.
about time, as this was really annoying me, if you buy a TV from Currys, and it goes wrong 1 day after the warranty ends, guess what, they dont give a f...
@@stevem7868-y4l You're right. I did buy a TV from Curry's, was told if it goes wrong just bring it in and we'll give you a replacement, what a load of BOLLOX. Motherboard went TIT'S up, had to wait for repair, Two weeks. Good job we had a TV in the house.
@@kwakgreen Great, they honored the warranty, they HAVE to. What about "steve" and his "out of warranty situation"? You're talking about an entirely different situation FFS.
I don’t think you can be any more open and transparent about the situation with this golf engine. The fact you’ve offered for him to get an independent engineer to come and check the engine to confirm everything is ok is the right thing to do, I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t be happy about it unless they’re worried that they are not going to find anything wrong. Any independent inspections I would want carried out at your shop so that you can be sure everything is checked and you can see that’s been done properly. You’re doing the right thing by sticking to your decision with this.
Lee re low oil pressure golf. One strange thing I have encountered is a cracked oil pickup which allows the pump to suck some air. Just thought I would mention it as it can be hard to spot. The other one is to vacuum test the oil pressure relief valve to check that when its closed it seals. Just a couple of weird ones in case they help.
Golf guy has every right to be out of sorts, he complained about the low oil pressure well within the warranty. You advised him to do certain things which you acknowledged he had done, look you are the experts here sometimes you just have to suck it up. Why is it surprising that he has put another engine in the Golf? Why is it surprising that he wants the original engine fixed, I assume he paid X thousands to have this done. After running/owning a garage 25 plus years I would get some second hand ancilleries and run the engine up your self, I know it would cost time and money but it's probably the only way now, unless you want to leave it up the court. By the way I am a fan of your chancel and have been subscribed for probably 6 months now
On the Golf Situ...put complete engine on stand, remove sump & valve cover. Put large drain pan under. Plumb oil into the oil pressure switch galley. Gradually ramp pressure up to maybe 15PSI. Look for the "leak". Give better idea where the pressure is going.
I think, I would start just draining the sump and then pump the oil (or new oil) back into the oil pressure switch galley to see if there is any problem with the oil pressure at all - evtl. turn the engine at the same time.
In my experience you generally always get issues when you try to "help someone out" who is not entitled. i..e. Out of warrantee. You know what they say - No good deed goes unpunished!! Love your videos :-)
Hopefully the £70/hour costs for inspection were set out clearly in a letter/email that went out BEFORE he brought it in. If you only told him about the inspection costs after you had it apart, thats not really on. You should also have set out in advance the storage policy ... 2 weeks storage after invoice FOC, after that, £50 a month or whatever. 3 months, stick it on eBay to get your money back. The key to all this is setting it out BEFORE the customer brings it in. Assuming you've done it right and told him about the £70/hour inspection costs then rock on. You should really have set a limit on how long you are prepared to stor it though, or it will still be there in a years time. I think you have been reasonable, workshop time has to be paid for. You can't just have customers sending stuff in that is perfectly fine and expecting you to spend a morning proving its all fine and not pay anything.
you wouldn't get that for free anywhere, and 70 pounds is an excellent rate these days. 300 dollars for an engine teardown and inspection. that is a screaming deal.
@@donk0405 True, but, contractually it needs to be set out in advance. Its also good to manage customer expectation. Most of his problems come from the mismatch between his and his customers expectations. Just put it all in writing before you set out and a lot of this will go away.
Nah he already said b4 that he laid out via email the terms of I being brought in for a good faith warranty since it's outside of normal warranty window, I the chap knew exactly what he was getting into
My thoughts are that he needs to understand that as engine oil heats up, it gets thinner and the oil pressure decreases by a few psi. My own car does this. On startup when cold, the oil pressure is about 42psi. When it’s hot, the oil pressure drops to around 28psi, meaning the pressure drop is normal. Personally, I would not worry too much about a pressure drop of 4psi. This drop is normal.
Hi Lee from now on you should state on your invoice that any issues arise from any work will only be covered during the warranty period and returned to you within a reasonable time frame from date of 1st contact. Car manufactures do it on new cars or 2nd hand,once outside that period the customer is on his own. The other thing is clear water mark a unique mark on the engine so you can confirm its the correct engine aswell.
The new oil pump you fitted on vw engine is probably the only thing you can’t check on the bench or measure accurately that is the 1st thing I would look at put the old one back in it and then try it to eliminate it I’ve had so called new parts that aren’t working properly and just ignored it because it’s new it couldn’t possibly not be that it was that
So, we run a small vapor blast / hone job shop in Los Angeles. The glass bead media is so fine, you can barely see it without a flash light, gets on your hands and you can feel it crunch in your teeth. We wear latex gloves when using the machine and working with the parts. All parts, especially engine parts are placed in a ultrasonic cleaner (ours is a 14 gallon, holds just about everything). Second best option is very soapy water and a lot of elbow grease. Both ways, we spend a lot of time blowing out everything, threads, oil galleys, bores. Steel and iron surfaces get lightly oiled, keeps from flash rusting. Corrosion inhibitor added to the slurry helps a lot, too. The last thing you want is hidden media inside an assembled engine.... Love your skill set, enjoying the content.
Stand by your work; if the engine is all good then write the report, submit as you have, and now give a time to pay and collect the engine. If the engine is not collected in a set time, sell it to recover your build costs; cant just keep on messing around.
To be honest he should have brought the car into you with the engine in it to have a look at first , bringing just the engine in proves nothing other than only his word that the oil pressure is down
Exactly, I would have fitted an oil gauge to check the pressure of the engine in the car even road testing with the owner driving the car. Anyone can claim low oil pressure with a stripped-down engine. Think he's trying it myself.
Yeah id spin the oil pump at a realistic rpm and monitor press on mech guage str8t to block. But F this guy bought another engine? Thought thatd prove to machinist that engine was bad? Prick move. I mean could be paint lifting in oil pan, wrong o ring on pick up, bad filter, wrong oil, bad guage, bad cooler, million lil things he likely replaced on this "new" engine. Guy should know if theres no warranty and no issue found HE pays for the inspection
Definitely need the whole car to start from square one -- verify low oil pressure indication. IF so, begin troubleshooting from there. No doubt easier and less time-consuming than disassembling and gauging a complete engine that's likely fine.
Well done Lee for sticking to your guns , now give him an email to explain that the bill needs paying and theres also a charge for storage after a reasonable time period , if this doesnt work tell him you will employ an independent engineer to examine the tolerances and if correct will also be a charge for individual examination and engineers report which would be your evidence if there a court case
Lee, if anything to prove a point, reassemble the Golf engine to a long block then if possible rig the engine so it can be run by another engine ,ie prime the oil pump and run it (driven by the other engine) at about 1000 rpm to verify that oil is circulating and what pressure it has. If within spec then he's got no leg to stand on. Also no return of said engine till payment in full.
Key point of my previous comment about golf engine. At idle, engine pulls manifold vacuum and if crankcase breather connects downstream of throttle body, then crankcase will also be vacuumed , which will reduce oil pressure, particular if all ring tolerances are very good!!. remove oil filler cap and see what happens to oil pressure.
Biggest question Lee? Do you stamp engine blocks with your unique ID stamp or record the OEM block identification numbers upon receipt? Sounds to me that said person has given you another and the running engine in the car was your work on the original engine
When you do the vapor blasting I found it really helps to take fome ear plugs, the kind you roll in your hands and they get really small then you put them in the bolt holes and they will expand and fill up the threaded holes and keep them clean. Makes clean up a lot easier. Just a little trick I found that works really well and saves a ton of time during final clean up... Good luck.... Bob....
There will always be customers who want something for nothing . As I said in my previous comments , I built a test bed to run the finished engines to make sure everything is ok . The big bonus is the ability to do an initial bedding in of the rings . Many people, including garages , seem unaware of the need for an initial bedding in at various speeds . It solved all customer issues, as they can witness their own engine running. Regarding your new vapour blaster , fantastic finish , but I stopped doing it because of grit residue still in the oil galleries being very difficult to remove . Ended up with a couple of engine / bearing failures. Really enjoy the channel. Really enjoy the channel , keep up the great work .
Send customer an invoice stating final payment due, also stating if not paid in full you will sell. That causes action on both parties. Of course check with lawyer on proposed actions
Hi Lee. You are too nicer guy to be dealing with people like Mr Golf. You have been very fair with him, after all the engine was way out if warranty. You tried to help him out. Customers like him see an opportunity to take you for a ride and then frustrate the hell out of you because you are trying to do what you think is right. Did anyone actually see any evidence that the oil pressure was low before he brought the engine to you. Eventually you will realise that when you are wrong you are wrong and end up paying, and when you are right you are still wrong and still end up paying.
Your bang on mate there’s to many self untitled idiots out there like this I get it in my trade all the time, stick to your guns as your time is valuable 👍
Lee I think you should send him an official letter with a timeline saying unless payment is made by such a date then you will start charging him storage for however long and once that time limit has passed and the bill has still not been paid then you will sell the engine to recoup lost income. Run it by your solicitor that way he knows what will happen if he doesn't act., hopefully it should spur him into action. I can't believe that he won't even pay the discounted rate, I'd put a time limit on that as well, if its not paid within a week then the rate will no longer be discounted. Some people think that they will wear people down but its just not on!
I would have set some sort of time limit on him 'getting it sorted'. 1, 2, or 3 months if he hasn't figured out what he wants to do, it begins storage charges for x period then sold for fee recovery. Not sure how that works over there, but very common over here.
Speaking as one who is regularly called upon to make judgement on matters of fact: When it comes to discerning the truth in a situation of disagreement, lack of credibility in a witness is everything. Not only do you come across as credible but the fact that you are willing to expose your findings to independent scrutiny tells me everything I need to know about you - you are hiding nothing. If there was genuinely an oil pressure issue he should have been fully expecting you to find something and as you had agreed to put right anything you found wrong there would be no need to spend money on a second engine. In the absence of a credible explanation for that I am left with doubts about his motives. You have done absolutely the right thing - don't budge an inch.
Had a 90s dodge v8 auto 1/2 ton truck motor was bad. I got given the job 1/2 disassembled. I dont remeber if another "mechanic" or owner did that but i finished it put a new/used short block in it. Owner of shop took it for a test drive.... transmission blew. Slipped like crazy. Now we never had vehicle before it was disabled. The owner wasnt happy but he DID pay for a replacement trans and for me to install it. Pretty sure boss cut him a at cost deal on trans cause he felt bad. But CUSTOMER pays for that extra labor etc. We did not touch his trans.
Never ever, EVER tell a customer you will keep something forever - because they may well hold you to that. I am not in the trade, but I remember garages I used giving between 30 and 90 days; although one had a 7 day storage, and after that you had to pay for the storage at a penalty rate. One mechanic neighbour doing classic car rebuilds had a Frogeye Sprite abandoned with him for over 10 YEARS; ownership of the car went to court, and I believe he eventually got to keep the car, but obviously, he had rebuilt and stored that car for a long time with no payment from the guy who brought it in, back in the early 1980s.
Lee, I think I can see bot sides of the coin here. From the customers point of view, he has fairly conclusively proven the issue is in the engine. BUT, I also agree that you have proven the work you carried out is correct, and to be fair, it's pretty difficult to assemble an 8v golf engine incorrectly. I think you have an issue that so far both parties have not seen. One of the odd ball ones. The key to these are customer communication. 20 years ago, I saw one of these crack a block. It would be perfect until it had run for 20 mins or so, then it would very suddenly have 60 psi oil pressure in the cooling system . 😅😅 it got rebuilt several times before it was concluded the block had cracked somewhere it couldn't be seen. I also once built a yb that had snapped the crank behind no 3 big end. We decked, line bored, and re bored the block, and built up the bottom end with a new crank. Turned like butter. Built the head, bolted it on to the block, and then you couldn't turn the crank any more. It was as if the block had gone soft. Sometimes you get issues that aren't anyone's fault. Maybe it's got a crack in the block or head that opens up when it's hot? Something silly like a bent / distorted pickup? Dowel in the pump too long ?
My advice Don’t go down the storage cost , better to say the engine is ready for uplift (for a certain time of your choosing) , after which the disposal of the engine falls to the business -in lieu of work done on the engine. After which you will sell the engine to recover FULL ( un-discounted ) costs spent on the engine for the business , and IF there are any surplus monies after that , will be given back to him .
For heavy carbon in ports, we used to take a torch to the carbon which turns it powdery, buff it with a wire wheel, repeat if necessary, and then blast out the remainder with the bead blaster. It's much quicker than just blasting. On the Golf, is there a pressure relief valve in the block that could be weak or sticking? This is a possible issue in some VWs and seems like the only answer with all clearances proper.
Hey Lee, just a quick request that when you do close ups of the heads we can't see anything when you move across the surface. It would be better to do one cylinder and stay there & sometimes you get too close and we can't see everything you're talking about. Not mad at you, just trying to help you get better! Keep up the great work!
Customers who are less than honest will test your capacity to be fair and reasonable. That is the phrase most used in legal actions. Inform the customer he has a certain timescale to resolve the issue of pay😢ment, and inform him you will start to charge storage after a month, with an option to sell the engine to recover your legitimate costs. Make sure everything is itemised and recorded.
At the point of him saying you're a liar, that was your que to remove him from your property and tell him from today, storage will be added to the bill.
Have you checked the block for cracks in the oil galleries? It's possible there's a casting flaw or a core plug letting the pressure escape Put a piece of rubber like an old tire tube on the main bearing oil holes and fit the crank loosely put pressure in one of the holes see does it escape anywhere Did you test the sensors? Or did the customer check actual oil pressure with an accurate gauge?
Lee your missing something if the customer was utilizing mechanical pressure gauge..I utilize a remote high pressure apparatus and adapt to oil filter or pick up in sump to find excessive leakage. From my experience oil pressure loss when hot 99% of the time particularly on a refresh is the oil pump. You guys run a honest buisness and know your shit
GTI - does it have the correct sump as there are 3-4 types if it’s too deep the pump may not be able to pull up the oil when thin at idle - check the dip stick is correct and hasn’t been cut or is too long
Hello Lee Is there an pressure relief valve in the filter housing or a "blocked filter" bypass valve. Either one could lose pressure. Great channel, keep it up.
Million lil things guy prolly replaced on new engine but doesnt realize the big difference itd make. Guy is just rediculous thinking a new engine is gona prove anything to a machinist. I mean go to barrum and WATCH them micrometer the sizes etc. Seems in u.k. ppl expect to get free work even if stuff isnt related. In states it oay for it or its not leaving, or its getting a lien put on it
I put stuff in the oven after de-greasing. I got a cheap mini oven from the car boot after her in doors complained using the house cooker. I do starter motors etc.
Lee, you are 100% spot on with this one. This dude is just pissed you didn't find something and he's annoyed he can't prove that the engine has an issue. His comments about the channel is hilarious, wtf does that have to do with his engine.... Probably just a dodgy oil pump, new parts can be defective.
Next time oil pressure issues are claimed, have them bring the car in and put a proper pressure tester in the hole for the cars own sensor. He can claim anything he wants but get it verified by yourself or a trusted 3rd party before even taking in warranty work.
I think had that been me, I wouldn't have entertained anything out of the warranty period! It doesn't matter what milage he has done it's the warranty period for that engine. If he wanted you to take on additional work to the engine, that's a separate issue,but by entertaining this guy and stripping the engine, you have given yourself a headache. If you had said right from the world, go "SORRY IT'S OUT OF THE WARRANTY PERIOD," you would have saved yourself possible court date being sued!
Did you check the oil pump pressure relief valve? If it has one? As a comment below states cracked oil pickup pipe and how good is his oil pressure gauge!
Hi Lee. Another way of getting traction with the algorithm is to get new people to comment and discuss things in the comments section. Encourage more dialogue in the comments and it might help grow the channel.
You need to establish a time frame, so that then you can dispose of it eg sell it on to someone else, but you have to also give him a reminder when the time elapsed, then have to give them a time after that, before you can do anything with it, 😮 best of luck, thanks for sharing, all the best to you and your loved ones
Did anyone check the oil pressure sensor?? I'd put a mechanical oil pressure gauge on motor before pulling out of car to verify low oil pressure! You mentioned replacement motor had a new sender on it!!
The fact that the exhaust ports were caked with oil engine burning oil is either a turbocharger problem you got ring failure need to take the whole damn thing apart and examine each piece and Mike everything
A few questions to ask before stripping the engine would be, what grade of oil is he using? Is his gauge right? What was the actual pressure? Is it actually out of spec? Sometimes the simplest things could be the problem. Just sayin' . Good luck with this one.
I hope the golf engine isn't using a stock oil pump . After engine get very warm driven several miles , let engine idle for about 20- 30 minutes. I've seen some of those pumps lose oil pressure at idle ,lifters start making noise . I normally just replace the pump . low oil pressure goes away.
Be honest, do the right thing, honor your word and stand up to injustice. Unfortunately There is always someone out the trying to get over. Be a gentleman and shut them down. God bless you.
After 30 days I would send a letter telling him that now there is storage fees mounting up and after 60 days the engine would be for sale to recover your money from time spent.
One thing I caught when you were talking is the old engine still has the oil pressure sensor in it. The customer should swap it in his car. Wouldn't surprise me if it was all just a bad sensor. I live in the USA and had a new engine built up for my 69 Mustang, a 445 ci FE V8. Other than the block the rest of it is all new and I paid the shop to run it in on a dyno. Before installing it in my car I'm buying new sensors for it. Thankfully they are easy to get to in case one is bad. There is a saying of use the "KISS" principal. KISS means Keep It Simple Stupid and the car owner should have taken a few simple low cost measures before diving into the big things.
Under the law as I understand it, it's for him to prove there's a fault in your work. That means he has to show a machining error, not just low oil pressure. You are giving him access for an engineer to look for that, you can't do more. My money says you would actually have been glad to find a machining error because that would have resolved the situation, even if to your cost. In the end it's about the sizes of pieces of metal, no-one has to call anyone a liar, they just need to measure the sizes.
Stick to your guns Lee. This guy is up to something. Why buy and put in a new engine if you are getting the old one rebuilt? and conversely why get the old one rebuilt if you have the money for a new one? Follow the guidance you've received from people experienced with this type of engine, check out the components that may be suspect in these engines and get a engineers report. Don't give the engine back unless he pays. Charge him for storage.
my friend works on multi million dollar jet engines, Mentioned, never trust any oil pressure gauge unless a wet line one you check annually etc. was that done to confirm. , was their sensor checked? Pressure they said as all know is due to restriction. and if pressure was there until warm and you;ve shown no clearances out of wack. then oil filter clogging? or oil pump spring is all they know that might be off but filter is all the time was just when hot. Plugged sensor port can be an issue. as the hole is tiny so if it blows only a tiny oil leak happens.. trying straight 30W oil so no worries of changing viscosity during cold to hot tests
The biggest problem with Customer Service is ... the customers. Plenty of folks lie through their teeth about a situation, in order to get what they want (rather than what they had previously agreed to, or what normal terms of business are), Seems to me like either the customer changed their mind, or they tried to get an undeserved refund on the first engine - both of them an issue with the customer's attitude.
6 cyl head. Don't know if they make it anymore we used to use a product called Carbonoff, soak the head over night and the carbon washes off with a hose
Dude I would go crazy on that guy & say either you pay the bill in 15 days or I’m selling your engine…period…I will scare him with the cops and repossess the engine
Just a thought does it have piston cooling nozzles by any chance? If so are they the ones with the check valve in the banjo bolts? At idle/low engine speeds they are supposed to basically close off to maintain correct oil pressure at low engine speeds.
Hi Lee great videos. In all honesty you should have got the car back and seen the fault for yourself and then ran further tests ie oil pressure. Unfortunately now you’ll never know if there was an actual fault or if the customer was trying to pull a fast one. Any engine that you build that supposedly has an issue, would advise to inspect whilst still in the car then a decision can be made. I’m sure you know that you can’t recreate the same loads on your bench as to an engine under full load with various temperature changes. All you’ve done is given the customer something to argue about which makes it very difficult for yourself as you haven’t even seen the problem and still can’t find one. He could have said anything for example the engine is knocking, misfiring?? You would have asked for it back, stripped it down and still be scratching your head. Always see the customer complaint for yourself!
Hi Lee, you may have to start a flat fee, up front engine warranty strip down charge, if anything is your fault that is found they get it back, no faults you are not out of pocket on labour costs.
I would be selling the VW Golf engine to recoup my expenses. I also don't believe the oil pressure issue. Two more things he could have looked, they are the sensor and the gauge. If either is faulty then false readings are inevitable.
I think he has managed to convince himself (probably with the assistance of others) that there was going to be found a major issue with the engine and when that didn't happen he is left with no way out!
Email the guy and say that the invoice needs to be paid in full by 28 days of invoice date, failure to settle you reserve the right to charge storage and or sell the engine to cover your costs. Don't mess with a chancer.
ive only seen pieces of the other videos about it.. but theres more than just clearances that can tank hot oil pressure.. oil temperature is one of them.. is it possible the timing was off and there was extra high cylinder temperatures which would heat the oil? or if the rings didnt properly seat in youd have extra blow-by which also heats the oil significantly.. and can cause low oil pressure.. obviously the sensors can vary as well.. hopefully there was more than one sensor / gauge used.. and of the sensor was electroic that the engone ground was checked (if the sensor doesnt use 2 wires).. ive seen all kinds of wacky readings for oil and water temperature because of engine grounds.. or high oil temp because of misset timing or excessive blow-by
Have been thinking about the golf engine with low oil pressure at idle... what is odd about it? first is the 1800 head on the 2000 block, and if its an 8 valve then it is probably an early mark, perhaps mark 2. This reminds me of a problem I had with my 1987 gti. probably unrelated but at about 70k miles. in 1998 I did an oil flush,,, next thing I know it had bottom end rattle. This was very temporary but caused by loose carbon material restricting the oil pickup strainer, dropped sump cleaned it all and all was ok. This made me think of another potential problem that could occur if all tolerances tight.. what is special about idle condition, first, the intake manifold is under lots of vacuum, and by connection to the crankcase breather, then the crankcase pressure could be also pulled down as well, this will reduce oil pressure, by a similar amount. particularly if almost zero piston ring blowby!. To test this, I would run engine, hook up oil pressure guage,, read pressure at idle, then remove the oil filler cap! if oil pressre goes up at same revs then you have an answer. Possible problems with breather system, Has low oil viscosity been discounted, eg bad injectors, fuel in the oil?
For all warranty claims In future I would charge a fixed rate (3 hours or whatever) in advance for the strip down and inspection, with an agreement to refund only if an actual fault is found with the engine. The other issue is that this engine was NOT even in warranty.
It all comes down to the Terms and Conditions you set out and the customer agreed to when you accepted the engine back for inspection. Customer’s really don’t understand you have a lien on their property while you work on it.
Let him take you to court. Based on the fact he has already replaced the engine in his car. Also he has indicated he will not get a independent engineer in to check your work, shows he his disingenuous. He clearly thought he was going be able to get a free rebuild out if this. In Australia, this would first go to mediation, and he would not have a leg to stand on. If he then took it further, based in all the opportunities you have given him to get your work checked, and the information you can provide. Any court would make him pay for the work and your court cost. No reasonable lawyer would let him take it that far. Just tell him. "Bring it on."
Why is there always someone trying to get over? Its people like that that made me close my business. Got tired of getting stiffed for quality work and paying taxes on invoices that weren't paid.
My local Jag Land Rover dealer charges £275 per hour plus vat that's a whopping £330 per hour! And these days they're not technicians just bloody fitters!
For stripping carbon from combustion chambers, pistons and valves? Paint stripper. Some are a lot more caustic than others, and more effective than others, but read-up before using it, and try it on alloy especially before using it on a block. There's lots online written on it. And needless to say, use gloves and goggles when using a brush with it.
No little bit of air trapped up a gallery dead end? Sounds stupid I know. Only way to get rid of it is to lean the car one way then the other when it's running.
Hey Lee, here is a tip. When doing a carry out engine like this it helps to have a auto repair shop you can count on. We used to do diagnosis for a local machine shop when they had "problems" with a rebuild, it's funny, low oil pressure was a biggie, in fact in one case the vehicle had oil pressure at idle but lost it above 2000 rpm, so we suggested taking the pan down and having a look, the machine shop said ok and we took it down, there is no way you would guess what the problem was. The customer spray painted the INSIDE of the pan, the paint came off as a sheet of paper and got sucked onto the oil pickup screen, only when the rpms moved higher. So you never know what happens once the customer gets his grubby paws on it. Ask to see the vehicle with the engine installed before doing anything, then have a shop of YOUR choosing do a basic diagnosis of the problem. Sometimes people lie, not everyone, BUUUUUUUUT
Blue Mule
NC USA
Did you see the poor guy who bought a new oil pan for his Diesel engine. Same thing, paint from the factory in this case inside the pan just came off and clogged the pickup and he blew up the motor. Such a dumb thing to take out an engine.
@Jeff Leach people skimp on that stuff buy the easiest or cheapest one they can. Saving $ when you are not a professional mechanic is dangerous. Ppl just do not have knowledge to inspect things. The sad thing is ppl expect things for free or that its GOTTA be your fault you just worked on it...... heard that alot, had to calmly explain a completely unrelated issue.
I have seen someone leave a shop rag in the pan. Never trust anyone's installation.
I doubt the guy is lying. I'm pretty sure he's put two and two together and made five. He's put in another engine and fixed the issue, therefore the only possible issue is that the old engine is faulty. He has not taken into account a dozen other parts, sensors, connectors and incorrect workmanship or maintenance.
If you contrast Lee's attitude, of not assuming anything, taking responsibility for a job out of warranty as a favour, checking carefully, having it double checked then triple checked and carefully and laboriously detailing all the measurements and keeping the customer informed....
.....to that of the customer, who without any proof, without any testing and without any reasonable suspicion is 100% certain there is an issue with the engine. Furthermore is willing to accuse and imply Lee as dishonest because of this misplaced certainty
Recon you need to pressure up the oilways see if you can hear an air leak which must be the fault we had a similar problem a while ago
Having been in the game as a professional motor engineer for 40 years I would happily be taken to court and just speak the truth as honest practices that you do will Win the Day with this Chancer.
Glad to hear that you are sticking to your policy regarding out of warranty work.
about time, as this was really annoying me, if you buy a TV from Currys, and it goes wrong 1 day after the warranty ends, guess what, they dont give a f...
@@stevem7868-y4l You're right. I did buy a TV from Curry's, was told if it goes wrong just bring it in and we'll give you a replacement, what a load of BOLLOX. Motherboard went TIT'S up, had to wait for repair, Two weeks. Good job we had a TV in the house.
@@kwakgreen Great, they honored the warranty, they HAVE to. What about "steve" and his "out of warranty situation"? You're talking about an entirely different situation FFS.
You’ve gone way above and beyond to help this customer, stand your ground.
I don’t think you can be any more open and transparent about the situation with this golf engine. The fact you’ve offered for him to get an independent engineer to come and check the engine to confirm everything is ok is the right thing to do, I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t be happy about it unless they’re worried that they are not going to find anything wrong. Any independent inspections I would want carried out at your shop so that you can be sure everything is checked and you can see that’s been done properly.
You’re doing the right thing by sticking to your decision with this.
Sounds like he's trying to pull a fast one .
Glad you stuck to your guns Lee.
Lee re low oil pressure golf. One strange thing I have encountered is a cracked oil pickup which allows the pump to suck some air. Just thought I would mention it as it can be hard to spot. The other one is to vacuum test the oil pressure relief valve to check that when its closed it seals. Just a couple of weird ones in case they help.
Golf guy has every right to be out of sorts, he complained about the low oil pressure well within the warranty. You advised him to do certain things which you acknowledged he had done, look you are the experts here sometimes you just have to suck it up. Why is it surprising that he has put another engine in the Golf? Why is it surprising that he wants the original engine fixed, I assume he paid X thousands to have this done. After running/owning a garage 25 plus years I would get some second hand ancilleries and run the engine up your self, I know it would cost time and money but it's probably the only way now, unless you want to leave it up the court. By the way I am a fan of your chancel and have been subscribed for probably 6 months now
On the Golf Situ...put complete engine on stand, remove sump & valve cover. Put large drain pan under. Plumb oil into the oil pressure switch galley. Gradually ramp pressure up to maybe 15PSI. Look for the "leak". Give better idea where the pressure is going.
I think, I would start just draining the sump and then pump the oil (or new oil) back into the oil pressure switch galley to see if there is any problem with the oil pressure at all - evtl. turn the engine at the same time.
In my experience you generally always get issues when you try to "help someone out" who is not entitled. i..e. Out of warrantee.
You know what they say - No good deed goes unpunished!!
Love your videos :-)
Hopefully the £70/hour costs for inspection were set out clearly in a letter/email that went out BEFORE he brought it in. If you only told him about the inspection costs after you had it apart, thats not really on. You should also have set out in advance the storage policy ... 2 weeks storage after invoice FOC, after that, £50 a month or whatever. 3 months, stick it on eBay to get your money back. The key to all this is setting it out BEFORE the customer brings it in. Assuming you've done it right and told him about the £70/hour inspection costs then rock on. You should really have set a limit on how long you are prepared to stor it though, or it will still be there in a years time. I think you have been reasonable, workshop time has to be paid for. You can't just have customers sending stuff in that is perfectly fine and expecting you to spend a morning proving its all fine and not pay anything.
you wouldn't get that for free anywhere, and 70 pounds is an excellent rate these days. 300 dollars for an engine teardown and inspection. that is a screaming deal.
Why would you not expect some charges whether informed before hand or not if there was no fault found ?
If someone spends time on it; you pay, nothing is free
@@donk0405 True, but, contractually it needs to be set out in advance. Its also good to manage customer expectation. Most of his problems come from the mismatch between his and his customers expectations. Just put it all in writing before you set out and a lot of this will go away.
Nah he already said b4 that he laid out via email the terms of I being brought in for a good faith warranty since it's outside of normal warranty window, I the chap knew exactly what he was getting into
My thoughts are that he needs to understand that as engine oil heats up, it gets thinner and the oil pressure decreases by a few psi. My own car does this. On startup when cold, the oil pressure is about 42psi. When it’s hot, the oil pressure drops to around 28psi, meaning the pressure drop is normal. Personally, I would not worry too much about a pressure drop of 4psi. This drop is normal.
Hi Lee from now on you should state on your invoice that any issues arise from any work will only be covered during the warranty period and returned to you within a reasonable time frame from date of 1st contact. Car manufactures do it on new cars or 2nd hand,once outside that period the customer is on his own. The other thing is clear water mark a unique mark on the engine so you can confirm its the correct engine aswell.
My thought would be that a 4 Psi pressure drop when warm isn’t a problem.
I think you've been spot on and fair with the guy. Defo a bit of an odd situation. Shame you couldn't find anything wrong with the engine.
The new oil pump you fitted on vw engine is probably the only thing you can’t check on the bench or measure accurately that is the 1st thing I would look at put the old one back in it and then try it to eliminate it I’ve had so called new parts that aren’t working properly and just ignored it because it’s new it couldn’t possibly not be that it was that
So, we run a small vapor blast / hone job shop in Los Angeles. The glass bead media is so fine, you can barely see it without a flash light, gets on your hands and you can feel it crunch in your teeth. We wear latex gloves when using the machine and working with the parts. All parts, especially engine parts are placed in a ultrasonic cleaner (ours is a 14 gallon, holds just about everything). Second best option is very soapy water and a lot of elbow grease. Both ways, we spend a lot of time blowing out everything, threads, oil galleys, bores. Steel and iron surfaces get lightly oiled, keeps from flash rusting. Corrosion inhibitor added to the slurry helps a lot, too.
The last thing you want is hidden media inside an assembled engine....
Love your skill set, enjoying the content.
Stand by your work; if the engine is all good then write the report, submit as you have, and now give a time to pay and collect the engine. If the engine is not collected in a set time, sell it to recover your build costs; cant just keep on messing around.
To be honest he should have brought the car into you with the engine in it to have a look at first , bringing just the engine in proves nothing other than only his word that the oil pressure is down
Exactly, I would have fitted an oil gauge to check the pressure of the engine in the car even road testing with the owner driving the car.
Anyone can claim low oil pressure with a stripped-down engine. Think he's trying it myself.
Yeah id spin the oil pump at a realistic rpm and monitor press on mech guage str8t to block. But F this guy bought another engine? Thought thatd prove to machinist that engine was bad? Prick move. I mean could be paint lifting in oil pan, wrong o ring on pick up, bad filter, wrong oil, bad guage, bad cooler, million lil things he likely replaced on this "new" engine. Guy should know if theres no warranty and no issue found HE pays for the inspection
Definitely need the whole car to start from square one -- verify low oil pressure indication. IF so, begin troubleshooting from there. No doubt easier and less time-consuming than disassembling and gauging a complete engine that's likely fine.
Well done Lee for sticking to your guns , now give him an email to explain that the bill needs paying and theres also a charge for storage after a reasonable time period , if this doesnt work tell him you will employ an independent engineer to examine the tolerances and if correct will also be a charge for individual examination and engineers report which would be your evidence if there a court case
Is the vw engine the actual engine you did worked on
I'd me stamping all blocks from now on with you own unique number
Well spotted you can’t trust anyone when it effects their wallet 😂
Lee, if anything to prove a point, reassemble the Golf engine to a long block then if possible rig the engine so it can be run by another engine ,ie prime the oil pump and run it (driven by the other engine) at about 1000 rpm to verify that oil is circulating and what pressure it has.
If within spec then he's got no leg to stand on.
Also no return of said engine till payment in full.
@ Paul Hoogeveen good idea sir
Key point of my previous comment about golf engine. At idle, engine pulls manifold vacuum and if crankcase breather connects downstream of throttle body, then crankcase will also be vacuumed , which will reduce oil pressure, particular if all ring tolerances are very good!!. remove oil filler cap and see what happens to oil pressure.
Biggest question Lee? Do you stamp engine blocks with your unique ID stamp or record the OEM block identification numbers upon receipt? Sounds to me that said person has given you another and the running engine in the car was your work on the original engine
My thoughts too.
Seen that done a few times,worked at a place where boss use to put a few discrete hidden markings on engines upon receipt.
My Thoughts, Stick the engine No's on the receipts !
such a ,,good garage" :D :D :D you can see overspray everywhere from silver spray paint. On the table, valve seals etc..
Love the detail on the everyday struggles necessary to run an engine rebuilding business.
give him 3 weeks to pay youre expenses put a notice in the paper if he doesnt show up sell the engine to cover expenses
When you do the vapor blasting I found it really helps to take fome ear plugs, the kind you roll in your hands and they get really small then you put them in the bolt holes and they will expand and fill up the threaded holes and keep them clean. Makes clean up a lot easier. Just a little trick I found that works really well and saves a ton of time during final clean up... Good luck.... Bob....
There will always be customers who want something for nothing .
As I said in my previous comments , I built a test bed to run the finished engines to make sure everything is ok .
The big bonus is the ability to do an initial bedding in of the rings .
Many people, including garages , seem unaware of the need for an initial bedding in at various speeds .
It solved all customer issues, as they can witness their own engine running.
Regarding your new vapour blaster , fantastic finish , but I stopped doing it because of grit residue still in the oil galleries being very difficult to remove . Ended up with a couple of engine / bearing failures.
Really enjoy the channel.
Really enjoy the channel , keep up the great work .
Send customer an invoice stating final payment due, also stating if not paid in full you will sell. That causes action on both parties. Of course check with lawyer on proposed actions
Hi Lee. You are too nicer guy to be dealing with people like Mr Golf. You have been very fair with him, after all the engine was way out if warranty. You tried to help him out. Customers like him see an opportunity to take you for a ride and then frustrate the hell out of you because you are trying to do what you think is right. Did anyone actually see any evidence that the oil pressure was low before he brought the engine to you. Eventually you will realise that when you are wrong you are wrong and end up paying, and when you are right you are still wrong and still end up paying.
Your bang on mate there’s to many self untitled idiots out there like this I get it in my trade all the time, stick to your guns as your time is valuable 👍
Lee I think you should send him an official letter with a timeline saying unless payment is made by such a date then you will start charging him storage for however long and once that time limit has passed and the bill has still not been paid then you will sell the engine to recoup lost income. Run it by your solicitor that way he knows what will happen if he doesn't act., hopefully it should spur him into action. I can't believe that he won't even pay the discounted rate, I'd put a time limit on that as well, if its not paid within a week then the rate will no longer be discounted. Some people think that they will wear people down but its just not on!
I would have set some sort of time limit on him 'getting it sorted'. 1, 2, or 3 months if he hasn't figured out what he wants to do, it begins storage charges for x period then sold for fee recovery. Not sure how that works over there, but very common over here.
I wonder if there could be a crack in the oil gallery leaking internally.?
Speaking as one who is regularly called upon to make judgement on matters of fact: When it comes to discerning the truth in a situation of disagreement, lack of credibility in a witness is everything. Not only do you come across as credible but the fact that you are willing to expose your findings to independent scrutiny tells me everything I need to know about you - you are hiding nothing. If there was genuinely an oil pressure issue he should have been fully expecting you to find something and as you had agreed to put right anything you found wrong there would be no need to spend money on a second engine. In the absence of a credible explanation for that I am left with doubts about his motives. You have done absolutely the right thing - don't budge an inch.
Absolutely precipitating down in North Manchester!
yes but that's not news lol
Had a 90s dodge v8 auto 1/2 ton truck motor was bad. I got given the job 1/2 disassembled. I dont remeber if another "mechanic" or owner did that but i finished it put a new/used short block in it. Owner of shop took it for a test drive.... transmission blew. Slipped like crazy. Now we never had vehicle before it was disabled. The owner wasnt happy but he DID pay for a replacement trans and for me to install it. Pretty sure boss cut him a at cost deal on trans cause he felt bad. But CUSTOMER pays for that extra labor etc. We did not touch his trans.
Never ever, EVER tell a customer you will keep something forever - because they may well hold you to that.
I am not in the trade, but I remember garages I used giving between 30 and 90 days; although one had a 7 day storage, and after that you had to pay for the storage at a penalty rate.
One mechanic neighbour doing classic car rebuilds had a Frogeye Sprite abandoned with him for over 10 YEARS; ownership of the car went to court, and I believe he eventually got to keep the car, but obviously, he had rebuilt and stored that car for a long time with no payment from the guy who brought it in, back in the early 1980s.
Did you make the guy aware of the storage fees, while he waits to do something ?
Was thinking the same but i guess he overlooked that part cause he was so surprised about the guys angle and reaction.....
Good point! Absolutely DO start charging this fool for the storage now.
Lee, I think I can see bot sides of the coin here. From the customers point of view, he has fairly conclusively proven the issue is in the engine. BUT, I also agree that you have proven the work you carried out is correct, and to be fair, it's pretty difficult to assemble an 8v golf engine incorrectly. I think you have an issue that so far both parties have not seen. One of the odd ball ones. The key to these are customer communication. 20 years ago, I saw one of these crack a block. It would be perfect until it had run for 20 mins or so, then it would very suddenly have 60 psi oil pressure in the cooling system . 😅😅 it got rebuilt several times before it was concluded the block had cracked somewhere it couldn't be seen.
I also once built a yb that had snapped the crank behind no 3 big end. We decked, line bored, and re bored the block, and built up the bottom end with a new crank. Turned like butter. Built the head, bolted it on to the block, and then you couldn't turn the crank any more. It was as if the block had gone soft. Sometimes you get issues that aren't anyone's fault.
Maybe it's got a crack in the block or head that opens up when it's hot? Something silly like a bent / distorted pickup? Dowel in the pump too long ?
@@iainball2023 Well the owner has the option of paying someone to check long block, and if they find issues, he wins, if they dont, boom he pays @!
My advice
Don’t go down the storage cost , better to say the engine is ready for uplift (for a certain time of your choosing) , after which the disposal of the engine falls to the business -in lieu of work done on the engine.
After which you will sell the engine to recover FULL ( un-discounted ) costs spent on the engine for the business , and IF there are any surplus monies after that , will be given back to him .
For heavy carbon in ports, we used to take a torch to the carbon which turns it powdery, buff it with a wire wheel, repeat if necessary, and then blast out the remainder with the bead blaster. It's much quicker than just blasting.
On the Golf, is there a pressure relief valve in the block that could be weak or sticking? This is a possible issue in some VWs and seems like the only answer with all clearances proper.
Handled perfectly
Hey Lee, just a quick request that when you do close ups of the heads we can't see anything when you move across the surface. It would be better to do one cylinder and stay there & sometimes you get too close and we can't see everything you're talking about.
Not mad at you, just trying to help you get better! Keep up the great work!
yeah me too
Customers who are less than honest will test your capacity to be fair and reasonable. That is the phrase most used in legal actions.
Inform the customer he has a certain timescale to resolve the issue of pay😢ment, and inform him you will start to charge storage after a month, with an option to sell the engine to recover your legitimate costs.
Make sure everything is itemised and recorded.
At the point of him saying you're a liar, that was your que to remove him from your property and tell him from today, storage will be added to the bill.
this
Totally agree with you the guy needs to pay for your time seeing as you have found no issues with the work you carried out on the engine.
Bloke with golf..you done all you can and more, but you can’t fix stupid👍👍
Have you checked the block for cracks in the oil galleries? It's possible there's a casting flaw or a core plug letting the pressure escape
Put a piece of rubber like an old tire tube on the main bearing oil holes and fit the crank loosely put pressure in one of the holes see does it escape anywhere
Did you test the sensors? Or did the customer check actual oil pressure with an accurate gauge?
Lee your missing something if the customer was utilizing mechanical pressure gauge..I utilize a remote high pressure apparatus and adapt to oil filter or pick up in sump to find excessive leakage. From my experience oil pressure loss when hot 99% of the time particularly on a refresh is the oil pump. You guys run a honest buisness and know your shit
GTI - does it have the correct sump as there are 3-4 types if it’s too deep the pump may not be able to pull up the oil when thin at idle - check the dip stick is correct and hasn’t been cut or is too long
Hello Lee
Is there an pressure relief valve in the filter housing or a "blocked filter" bypass valve. Either one could lose pressure.
Great channel, keep it up.
You beat me to your comment.
Million lil things guy prolly replaced on new engine but doesnt realize the big difference itd make. Guy is just rediculous thinking a new engine is gona prove anything to a machinist. I mean go to barrum and WATCH them micrometer the sizes etc. Seems in u.k. ppl expect to get free work even if stuff isnt related. In states it oay for it or its not leaving, or its getting a lien put on it
I put stuff in the oven after de-greasing. I got a cheap mini oven from the car boot after her in doors complained using the house cooker. I do starter motors etc.
Some people, if you give them a big chunk of Gold, will complain how heavy it is.
Lee, you are 100% spot on with this one.
This dude is just pissed you didn't find something and he's annoyed he can't prove that the engine has an issue. His comments about the channel is hilarious, wtf does that have to do with his engine....
Probably just a dodgy oil pump, new parts can be defective.
Next time oil pressure issues are claimed, have them bring the car in and put a proper pressure tester in the hole for the cars own sensor. He can claim anything he wants but get it verified by yourself or a trusted 3rd party before even taking in warranty work.
I think they did put their own tester on it?
I think had that been me, I wouldn't have entertained anything out of the warranty period! It doesn't matter what milage he has done it's the warranty period for that engine. If he wanted you to take on additional work to the engine, that's a separate issue,but by entertaining this guy and stripping the engine, you have given yourself a headache. If you had said right from the world, go "SORRY IT'S OUT OF THE WARRANTY PERIOD," you would have saved yourself possible court date being sued!
At my work we use a ice blaster which uses dry ice under pressure,it does get things clean also the ice evaporates so no mess.
Did you check the oil pump pressure relief valve? If it has one? As a comment below states cracked oil pickup pipe and how good is his oil pressure gauge!
Hi Lee. Another way of getting traction with the algorithm is to get new people to comment and discuss things in the comments section. Encourage more dialogue in the comments and it might help grow the channel.
I agree with ashGTE, more comments the better.
Hello, random comment for Mr Al Gorithm...
Cordialement,
You need to establish a time frame, so that then you can dispose of it eg sell it on to someone else, but you have to also give him a reminder when the time elapsed, then have to give them a time after that, before you can do anything with it, 😮 best of luck, thanks for sharing, all the best to you and your loved ones
Did anyone check the oil pressure sensor?? I'd put a mechanical oil pressure gauge on motor before pulling out of car to verify low oil pressure! You mentioned replacement motor had a new sender on it!!
Out of warranty is out of warranty, you don't want to listen to I only did 40 miles in it stories.
The fact that the exhaust ports were caked with oil engine burning oil is either a turbocharger problem you got ring failure need to take the whole damn thing apart and examine each piece and Mike everything
A few questions to ask before stripping the engine would be, what grade of oil is he using? Is his gauge right? What was the actual pressure? Is it actually out of spec? Sometimes the simplest things could be the problem. Just sayin' . Good luck with this one.
I hope the golf engine isn't using a stock oil pump . After engine get very warm driven several miles , let engine idle for about 20- 30 minutes. I've seen some of those pumps lose oil pressure at idle ,lifters start making noise . I normally just replace the pump . low oil pressure goes away.
Be honest, do the right thing, honor your word and stand up to injustice.
Unfortunately There is always someone out the trying to get over.
Be a gentleman and shut them down.
God bless you.
After 30 days I would send a letter telling him that now there is storage fees mounting up and after 60 days the engine would be for sale to recover your money from time spent.
Spot on with the VW owner, but I would have stated as a gesture of good will one calender month free storage, then a charge will be applied.
Its gonna end up on Judge Judy...!
One thing I caught when you were talking is the old engine still has the oil pressure sensor in it. The customer should swap it in his car. Wouldn't surprise me if it was all just a bad sensor. I live in the USA and had a new engine built up for my 69 Mustang, a 445 ci FE V8. Other than the block the rest of it is all new and I paid the shop to run it in on a dyno. Before installing it in my car I'm buying new sensors for it. Thankfully they are easy to get to in case one is bad. There is a saying of use the "KISS" principal. KISS means Keep It Simple Stupid and the car owner should have taken a few simple low cost measures before diving into the big things.
Good point. if it was really low oil pressure then the engine would have seized and there would be signs of no oil such as scoring or heat marks.
Under the law as I understand it, it's for him to prove there's a fault in your work. That means he has to show a machining error, not just low oil pressure. You are giving him access for an engineer to look for that, you can't do more. My money says you would actually have been glad to find a machining error because that would have resolved the situation, even if to your cost. In the end it's about the sizes of pieces of metal, no-one has to call anyone a liar, they just need to measure the sizes.
Stick to your guns Lee.
This guy is up to something. Why buy and put in a new engine if you are getting the old one rebuilt? and conversely why get the old one rebuilt if you have the money for a new one?
Follow the guidance you've received from people experienced with this type of engine, check out the components that may be suspect in these engines and get a engineers report.
Don't give the engine back unless he pays. Charge him for storage.
Cheap as chips, you guys go way beyond what other places do.
my friend works on multi million dollar jet engines, Mentioned, never trust any oil pressure gauge unless a wet line one you check annually etc. was that done to confirm. , was their sensor checked? Pressure they said as all know is due to restriction. and if pressure was there until warm and you;ve shown no clearances out of wack. then oil filter clogging? or oil pump spring is all they know that might be off but filter is all the time was just when hot. Plugged sensor port can be an issue. as the hole is tiny so if it blows only a tiny oil leak happens.. trying straight 30W oil so no worries of changing viscosity during cold to hot tests
Wonderful,beautiful,😢how exciting 😢,can’t wait for Monday
When the starship blasts off 😢
The biggest problem with Customer Service is ... the customers.
Plenty of folks lie through their teeth about a situation, in order to get what they want (rather than what they had previously agreed to, or what normal terms of business are),
Seems to me like either the customer changed their mind, or they tried to get an undeserved refund on the first engine - both of them an issue with the customer's attitude.
6 cyl head. Don't know if they make it anymore we used to use a product called Carbonoff, soak the head over night and the carbon washes off with a hose
Dude I would go crazy on that guy & say either you pay the bill in 15 days or I’m selling your engine…period…I will scare him with the cops and repossess the engine
Dude put that on your next contract that if you don’t pay the bill the engine will be repossessed…I would bitch slap that guy lol 😂
Just a thought does it have piston cooling nozzles by any chance? If so are they the ones with the check valve in the banjo bolts? At idle/low engine speeds they are supposed to basically close off to maintain correct oil pressure at low engine speeds.
Lol. You're never going to see that guy again
When I beadblast heads, I mask off the water jackets with duct tape.
No payment, no engine, 😂😂
Hi Lee great videos. In all honesty you should have got the car back and seen the fault for yourself and then ran further tests ie oil pressure. Unfortunately now you’ll never know if there was an actual fault or if the customer was trying to pull a fast one. Any engine that you build that supposedly has an issue, would advise to inspect whilst still in the car then a decision can be made. I’m sure you know that you can’t recreate the same loads on your bench as to an engine under full load with various temperature changes. All you’ve done is given the customer something to argue about which makes it very difficult for yourself as you haven’t even seen the problem and still can’t find one.
He could have said anything for example the engine is knocking, misfiring?? You would have asked for it back, stripped it down and still be scratching your head. Always see the customer complaint for yourself!
You do the work , he takes the money .
Hi Lee, you may have to start a flat fee, up front engine warranty strip down charge, if anything is your fault that is found they get it back, no faults you are not out of pocket on labour costs.
I would be selling the VW Golf engine to recoup my expenses. I also don't believe the oil pressure issue. Two more things he could have looked, they are the sensor and the gauge. If either is faulty then false readings are inevitable.
I think he has managed to convince himself (probably with the assistance of others) that there was going to be found a major issue with the engine and when that didn't happen he is left with no way out!
Email the guy and say that the invoice needs to be paid in full by 28 days of invoice date, failure to settle you reserve the right to charge storage and or sell the engine to cover your costs. Don't mess with a chancer.
Absolutely this would be the right thing to do. I can't believe he drives to you with a different engine. Sounds to me he's a real plonker!
ive seen oil pressure issues like this before, cracked, loose, or clogged oil pump pickup tube.
ive only seen pieces of the other videos about it.. but theres more than just clearances that can tank hot oil pressure.. oil temperature is one of them.. is it possible the timing was off and there was extra high cylinder temperatures which would heat the oil? or if the rings didnt properly seat in youd have extra blow-by which also heats the oil significantly.. and can cause low oil pressure.. obviously the sensors can vary as well.. hopefully there was more than one sensor / gauge used.. and of the sensor was electroic that the engone ground was checked (if the sensor doesnt use 2 wires).. ive seen all kinds of wacky readings for oil and water temperature because of engine grounds.. or high oil temp because of misset timing or excessive blow-by
I'd like to see the receipt from when he bought the replacement engine and from whom he bought it. He may have been scamming you from the beginning.
Have been thinking about the golf engine with low oil pressure at idle... what is odd about it?
first is the 1800 head on the 2000 block, and if its an 8 valve then it is probably an early mark, perhaps mark 2.
This reminds me of a problem I had with my 1987 gti. probably unrelated but at about 70k miles. in 1998 I did an oil flush,,, next thing I know it had bottom end rattle. This was very temporary but caused by loose carbon material restricting the oil pickup strainer, dropped sump cleaned it all and all was ok.
This made me think of another potential problem that could occur if all tolerances tight.. what is special about idle condition, first, the intake manifold is under lots of vacuum, and by connection to the crankcase breather, then the crankcase pressure could be also pulled down as well, this will reduce oil pressure, by a similar amount. particularly if almost zero piston ring blowby!.
To test this, I would run engine, hook up oil pressure guage,, read pressure at idle, then remove the oil filler cap! if oil pressre goes up at same revs then you have an answer. Possible problems with breather system,
Has low oil viscosity been discounted, eg bad injectors, fuel in the oil?
For all warranty claims In future I would charge a fixed rate (3 hours or whatever) in advance for the strip down and inspection, with an agreement to refund only if an actual fault is found with the engine. The other issue is that this engine was NOT even in warranty.
It all comes down to the Terms and Conditions you set out and the customer agreed to when you accepted the engine back for inspection. Customer’s really don’t understand you have a lien on their property while you work on it.
Send him a 90 day letter that after that length of time the engine will be considered abandoned, you will take ownership and will be resold.
Let him take you to court. Based on the fact he has already replaced the engine in his car. Also he has indicated he will not get a independent engineer in to check your work, shows he his disingenuous. He clearly thought he was going be able to get a free rebuild out if this. In Australia, this would first go to mediation, and he would not have a leg to stand on. If he then took it further, based in all the opportunities you have given him to get your work checked, and the information you can provide. Any court would make him pay for the work and your court cost. No reasonable lawyer would let him take it that far. Just tell him. "Bring it on."
Why is there always someone trying to get over? Its people like that that made me close my business. Got tired of getting stiffed for quality work and paying taxes on invoices that weren't paid.
My local Jag Land Rover dealer charges £275 per hour plus vat that's a whopping £330 per hour! And these days they're not technicians just bloody fitters!
For stripping carbon from combustion chambers, pistons and valves? Paint stripper. Some are a lot more caustic than others, and more effective than others, but read-up before using it, and try it on alloy especially before using it on a block.
There's lots online written on it. And needless to say, use gloves and goggles when using a brush with it.
Take him to County Court and sue for your money then tell him to sling his hook.
No little bit of air trapped up a gallery dead end? Sounds stupid I know. Only way to get rid of it is to lean the car one way then the other when it's running.