Clearwater Cylinder Head Inc Bad Customer Service

[1993Saturn]

I got 2 new heads for my 94 for $460, from Clearwater Cylinder Head Inc, because there are several mentions on this site of being good heads. They were "Item #FOR237ZNC for Explorer, Ranger 97-01 OHV V/6 HSC Chamber "New Only" 8X Cast #97TM." (Why is the year range off?) These are the early version which is supposed to be a better head to use. These are new, not rebuilds and they cost less. They were a correct press fit over the dowel pins, with the bolts walking it home.
Unfortunately, they didn't send them out the same day as promised. It was 2 days before they sent them. Then, they sent me the wrong gasket set DNJ HGS421, which is for the Bronco/Ranger 86-92 2.9L V6 which has a smaller cylinder diameter and some of the coolant channels not fully covered. As such, it forced me to get a Fel-Pro set here for double the price, because I needed to finish the job now, not later.
I spoke to Bob at Clearwater and told him the gasket set was wrong. He argued with me that this is the set they always send out with those heads and it wasn't wrong. I offered to send pictures to prove the head gaskets were wrong and he said no, he didn't need to see the pictures because he was right. He wanted me to send the set back with a return UPS label included with the heads. I told him he needed to email me one because there wasn't a UPS RS label to return my cores. He insisted twice that they were with the invoice on the sent heads package when I said they were not. He then looked at his record and said they were new heads and no core required thus no labels were sent. He didn't apologize. He would not do an advanced RMA to send back the gasket set. An advanced RMA is where after the shipment is scanned in by UPS here, he would send see it on his end and then he would refund. He wouldn't do that. Instead, he will send refund after he receives the gasket set package. So now I have to wait 3-4 days for the refund.
So, if there is any problem with your order, Have fun.

 

[RangerX]

I get your frustration, but if the only problem is you have to wait a few days to be refunded the amount of a gasket set instead of getting an immediate refund, that sounds pretty minor.

 

[1993Saturn]

I was offended by his arrogance, rudeness and refusal to accept the fact that he sent the wrong gasket set and didn't send return labels. He didn't believe my pictures proved him wrong.

 

[974X4BLACKSPORT]

Whenever I have encountered bad customer service such as this (which has been rare) the shops have ended up closed, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next month, but within the next few years.

 

[1993Saturn]

Yup. May happen. Sometimes I remember a quote from Col Potter on MASH: "north end of a southbound donkey".

 

[Josh P]

97tm heads will bump the compression on your engine. Odessa/clearwater cylinder head has a long list of unsatisfied customers.

 

[1993Saturn]

What will the increased compression do for the bottom of the engine that has been trucking along for over 300,000 miles?

 

[974X4BLACKSPORT]

What will the increased compression do for the bottom of the engine that has been trucking along for over 300,000 miles?

In short..CALIBRATION! When changes are made that changes the V.E. and/or thermal efficiency of an engine, a.k.a. compression, changes in the spark timing and fuel trims are necessary to keep the engine safe from damage due to spark knock/detonation, unwanted emissions, fuel efficiency, and power.

 

[Josh P]

Some people never have issues and others have reported detonation, even on the higher octane fuel. Not an issue above 5k feet elevation.

 

[1993Saturn]

Too bad I'm not at 5k elevation. Had a 77 Pontiac Ventura with an odd-fire Buick 231 V6 that liked high elevation once I got out and moved the distributor. Oh well, those were the days when you could see the ground looking into the engine compartment and hoods had springs instead of a prop rod...
Unfortunately I'm at 3,000 ft here so I should be concerned about the bottom end of the engine.

So, I've got pinging that I didn't have before,

In short..CALIBRATION! When changes are made that changes the V.E. and/or thermal efficiency of an engine, a.k.a. compression, changes in the spark timing and fuel trims are necessary to keep the engine safe from damage due to spark knock/detonation, unwanted emissions, fuel efficiency, and power.

so what do I do to alter these variables to take the stress off of the rest of the engine.

 

[974X4BLACKSPORT]

Too bad I'm not at 5k elevation. Had a 77 Pontiac Ventura with an odd-fire Buick 231 V6 that liked high elevation once I got out and moved the distributor. Oh well, those were the days when you could see the ground looking into the engine compartment and hoods had springs instead of a prop rod...
Unfortunately I'm at 3,000 ft here so I should be concerned about the bottom end of the engine.

So, I've got pinging that I didn't have before,
so what do I do to alter these variables to take the stress off of the rest of the engine.

The simplest answer to your question is: Use piston style and matching cylinder heads with the corresponding correct date code (build date/year)
to the car the engine is going to be installed in. This is because Ford changes the ECM/PCM calibration when production changes are made to the engine,
if you look in the door drivers side door jamb, you will see a little sticker that says "CALIBRATION", this could also include more than just fuel trims and spark
timings.
Here is some good reading:
Ford 4.0L V6 Engine

 

[Josh P]

The difference between 94 and 95 up is the combustion chamber is a fast burn style. The 94 ecm calibration is not designed for that. The 95 up pistons are dished a little more so the compression stayed the same. You could pull the heads and grind the chamber or custom ecm tuning to eliminate the pinging.

 

[fast_dave]

@1993Saturn

FWIW: I recently purchased a set of rebuilt 4.0 OHV heads from these guys Allied in East Point, GA, and in the near future I'm going to do a full write-up in the STOCK 95 - 01 forum.

Back to Allied; ASE Certified Employees rebuild their heads onsite, and the quality of each rebuilt head I received was great.

Shipped in (2) boxes, and each box contains a pre-paid postage return label (with tracking number) for the core refund of $50 per head.

Drop off is done at any Fed Ex store.

Allied Motor Parts - Cylinder Head Remanufacturers

Bought the TTY (Torque Till Yield) Head bolts from Rock Auto, and a COMPLETE head/Upper & Lower Intake gasket set from Amazon - both are MAHLE BRAND - since they made the originals for FORD.

Also bought (16) NEW Melling Rocker Arms and (16) NEW Melling Push Rods from Rock Auto - top quality parts and was happy to see that BOTH were made in USA!

Here's a Rock Auto 5% off Discount Code good till 11/24/2019: 11978037353839345

Enter the discount code in the 'How Did You Hear About Us?" at checkout.

HTH -

 

[1993Saturn]

97tm heads will bump the compression on your engine. Odessa/clearwater cylinder head has a long list of unsatisfied customers.

You say the 97tm heads are a higher compression but when I compared the new and old heads, there was no difference in the chamber size depth or shape, or valve size, so I would think there shouldn't be an increase in compression. My vehicle was an end of year model run. Some of the parts are 95 and it is OBD 1-1/2, not 1 and not 2. Scanners can't scan it because of it. So could be the heads were 95 from the beginning.

 

[Josh P]

Do you still have the old heads? If so you can check the casting code. If the motor is a 95 then the 97tm heads would have the same compression. I went off the info in your first post that states you have a 94.

 

[1993Saturn]

Fortunately I can check because I haven't taken them to the metal recycler because the price dropped so much again. The recycler and an exporting sawmill are really struggling now because of the new tariff laws our fine feathered friends on the hill have imposed.