Motor swap ripoff at shop?

[cawkazn]

yeah i saw the older motor on the ground at the shop

 

[eXcali]

I don't know what the dealerships out there would charge. I know out here they charge between $60-75 an hour for labor. Then add on price of the motor and shop supplies.

There is a reputable shop that rebuilds engines in Indiana that I've had experience with. They did most rebuilt engines installed for under $1,500 if you gave them your shot engine.

 

[jupiterak]

First off, you need to document and log everything this guy is telling you, how much you're spending, and how many times it's in the shop.

Second, take the truck to a "reputable" shop and spend a few hundred bucks for a good diagnosis to see what the REAL problem is.

Lastly, take it back to the shop and have them fix it correctly. Seems like they sold you a pos engine with problems to begin with. Good luck.

 

[gavin]

yeah i saw the older motor on the ground at the shop

you saw THE old motor, or AN old motor?

if the vehicle is running just as badly as it was before the shop started doing ANY work, it sounds like the engine was never replaced. My opinion.

What's the chances of another used engine giving the same issues as the old one that had blown head gasket, bad rings, etc etc? very very slim to none, unless he just got a bad one also, which is still a slim chance.

 

[TheJackal]

Even if you are not going to do any of the repair work yourself, you should have the Check Engine codes read. They can help gain some insight into the situation.

AutoZone will read the codes for free if you like. Make sure you ask them for the actual numbers, because if they're not using a reader that displays what the code means, they'll guess and tell you O2 sensors anyway.

 

[Joe Dirt]

I'll bet one of two things happened:

1.) He took your $2g's, pulled the heads and put some gaskets on your old motor.

2.) He bought an untested and unwarrantied junkyard OHV that is obviously no good, and has no way to remedy that and doesn't want to spend the money to replace it for you.

The break-in thing is BS. We drop and stuff/rebuild Explorer V8's and drop them in Mustangs all the time, and the first thing we do is run the piss out of them at the track. No used motor should need to be broken in if it wasn't opened up. He's taking you for a ride- just cut your losses and go to another shop before he digs you a deeper hole. He got your ride, gambled on a cheap fix to pocket some money, and lost the gamble and is now trying to figure out a way to get out of it- at your cost.

 

[cawkazn]

yup you guys are right. so check this out. heres the update

i paid 160 for new 02 sensors because the car needed new 02 sensors to make it run correctly he thought.

he now called me today and said that the engine has low compression, and he called the place he got the motor and told them to give him a new one. but they want to look at it first, and that it may need new catalytic converters and thats what is causing the problem. so i already now tomorrow im going to get a call with a price for new catalytic converters the car needs(?) would new converters fix compression?

 

[cawkazn]

also thanks for all the help guys.

 

[gavin]

would new converters fix compression?

ummmm.... I'm thinking no. Not to a huge extent anyway.
If it was clogged, it would cause excessive backpressure, but I don't see how that would affect compression.

 

[jupiterak]

Cats have nothing to do with compression. The engine is a piece of **** and you need to get them to admit it and fix it correctly. Not to be an ass, but be direct and stop having them BS you around.

 

[SPORTEXP]

No used motor should need to be broken in if it wasn't opened up. He's taking you for a ride- just cut your losses and go to another shop before he digs you a deeper hole. He got your ride, gambled on a cheap fix to pocket some money, and lost the gamble and is now trying to figure out a way to get out of it- at your cost.

I agree with Joe, your going in deeper already. Abort Abort

 

[loaderopp]

Ask if shop supplies includes Vasiline ( because your getting it dry)

 

[TheJackal]

Ask if shop supplies includes Vasiline ( because your getting it dry)

LMAO!

yeah as mentioned compression happens with the valves closed, so sounds like bad heads or headgasket...

if that was your problem already I'd wonder if he even changed the engine at all... just cleaned out your engine compartment and move this and that around to make it look like something's done...

 

[aklmfreak]

yup you guys are right. so check this out. heres the update

i paid 160 for new 02 sensors because the car needed new 02 sensors to make it run correctly he thought.

he now called me today and said that the engine has low compression, and he called the place he got the motor and told them to give him a new one. but they want to look at it first, and that it may need new catalytic converters and thats what is causing the problem. so i already now tomorrow im going to get a call with a price for new catalytic converters the car needs(?) would new converters fix compression?

oh man, dude, dont give that guy any more money
first off, catalytic converters have absolutely NOTHING to do with engine compression, plus if he gets you to buy new ones, he can sell/recycle the old ones for a pretty penny. engine compression is lost by.... you guessed it, heads, head gaskets, piston rings and valves.... so if he says your used motor has low compression then it's probably one or more of those things....

get Autozone or someone to read the Engine Codes and report back here with the code numbers, i've got a whole book that tells me what each OBDII code means, and i'm sure the other guys on this forum could tell you just as easily too.

i agree with documenting every transaction that has taken place (rather it be verbal, written, financial, ANY kind of transaction of information or money) and possibly taking legal action. dont let this guy rob you, especially with the economy like it is.....

also, the fact that the "engine swap" took a month sounds kinda suspicious as well. unless he was just absolutely covered up with other work, an engine swap shouldnt take that long unless you're waiting on ordered parts to come in, or if you're a backyard mechanic just taking your time and learning as you go. to me, that says he didnt make your vehicle a priority and just let it sit there while he did other work and then just did the bare minimum to get the vehicle out of the shop so he could get paid

 

[cawkazn]

yeah you guys are right. im going to take it to a ford dealership and have them take a look at it and run the diagnostic. than i will know exactly whats wrong with it, tell him to fix it, or give me my money back.

 

[storlied]

See if there's a way to know if it's the original engine or a different one... because if you can prove it's the original.... you definitely have a case on this one. If this is the case, this isn't the first time... read up on the jiffylube scam, along with other local shops in the areas.

 

[cawkazn]

so heres the update, i took it to the ford dealership and had them due a diagnostic, here is what they found. also i took the car back to the shop that did all this and was refunded $1000 of my $2000 back. so now I have the car back still with this messed up motor.

diag:

158506 engine loom 1.00 test eec codes P0122 P0300 P1125 P1131 P1152. FOLLOW PPT. TEST FUEL AND IGN SYSTEMS. FOUND ENGINE LOOM MISS ROUTED BEHIND INTAKE, POSSIBLE PINCH WIRES, NEED TO TIME R-R INTAKE AND RE ROUTE LOOM, IGNITION SYSTEM PASS. FUEL PRESSURE AT 45 PSI, PASS. FOUND FUEL TRIMS BANK 1 TOO RICH. FUEL TRIMS BANK 2 TOO LEAN.

what does all this mean? is there anyone in the inland empire calif. that would be willing to work on my car, for some cash and not rip me off?

 

[gavin]

take it to the shop that did all this work, and tell them to they need to make it run like you paid them to do.

if they refuse, take them to small-claims, and atleast get all your money back.

why let a business #### you out of $1000, and leave you stuck with the same problem you had before you gave them any money?

why did they feel like they deserved half of what you paid, when they didn't even do the job correctly?

it sounds like they royaly ####ed up on routing the engine wiring harness.

FOUND ENGINE LOOM MISS ROUTED BEHIND INTAKE, POSSIBLE PINCH WIRES

they mis-routed the wiring. possible pinch wires could cause all sorts of issues. If the wire happens to go to a sensor, well the computer won't be getting that reading if there's a broken wire.

NEED TO TIME R-R INTAKE AND RE ROUTE LOOM,

I'm not sure what they mean by "need to time r-r intake," but "re route loom" is self-explanatory.

IGNITION SYSTEM PASS. FUEL PRESSURE AT 45 PSI, PASS.

these are 2 good signs. It means they did SOMETHING right.

FOUND FUEL TRIMS BANK 1 TOO RICH. FUEL TRIMS BANK 2 TOO LEAN.

this could possibly be due to bad O2 sensor/broken wire to an O2 sensor. Not sure what else would cause one back to run lean and the other to run rich.

 

[brickwall]

did the dealership do a compression check on the motor, sounds like the original shop just changed the head gasket and didn't touch the heads. most junkyards do compression checks on motors before selling them. and as for the wiring being routed wrong, i've changed numerous engines at work and very few have ever needed the intakes removed. if its still your original motor sounds like a bad head, which would be giving you a misfire code and lean/rich codes. do a little looking at the engine, do the transmission bellhousing bolts have marks from a socket/wrench, starter bolts look like they've been removed etc.

 

[zerodevil]

i actualy got to see my motor test run before i bought it... that sounds like a total rip to me.