F'in LIVID @ McLeod Industries
06-27-2007, 02:36 PM
#1
TECH Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: boostville
Posts: 408
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
F'in LIVID @ McLeod Industries Last month I sent McLeod my twin disc clutch back to them for a rebuild after my pressure plate failed on me. They did the repair and i got the unit back in about two weeks time.
Before I installed it though I wanted to confirm that it was balanced, because if it wasn't I would take it to my machine shop and have him do it. So I sent the person I was dealing with @ McLeod, her name is Tina, an email asking her this question:
(this is an exact cut & paste of the email conversation)
Tina,
I have one more question for you. was the clutch assembly balanced
at all or do I need to take it somewhere for that?
Thanks.
(her response)
Hello I just spoke with Paul in the Reworks Department and he said
that everything was balanced but if you need it balanced to your engine
than you need to take that somewhere else.
(my response)
as long as the unit was "ZERO BALANCED" it will be fine.
Could you just confirm with Paul thats what he did before I install
this thing?
Thanks.
(her response)
He said it should be a zero balanced flywheel that it was remade to a
zero balance just go ahead and put it on and if there is any problems
with it or you have any further questions don't hesitate to call if you
like you can speak with Paul same number here but ext. 235 thanks
When she said should that should have been my first clue.
So fast forward to this past weekend. I was finally feeling well enough, after a nasty stomach virus, to get this thing back on the road. I get everything installed and fire it up. Everything seems OK at first. I followed the install insturctions provided to the letter. I began the 500 mile breakin period on my way to work Monday monring and thats when I started to notice a slight vibration. As the day went on and I drove the car more it got more and more noticable. I decided I'd better park the car and contact McLeod to see what the deal was before I do any damage to the internals.
So this morning I sent Tina an email telling her I'm getting some vibrations, she responded quickly and said someone would be in contact with me shortly.
About 2 hours later I get a call from this guy named Ernest @ McLeod who doesn't seem to have a clue what he is talking about. His excuses and logic go in circles. I asked him about the balancing and told him about the dialog I had with Tina, the whole time I'm being polite and civil even though inside I'm furious.
So the conversation basically goes in circles. At one point he tells me they ZERO balance all their FW's, then less then a minute later he tells me I should have had it checked by a machine shop before installing because they don't balance anything. I was like WTF! I specifically asked you guys that EXACT question before I installed the unit for this exact reason.
Next he tells me all their FW's are purchased new and they are ZERO balanced from the factory and don't need to be touched. Finally he looks in my file and says "oh I see here we didn't balance your clutch because we assumed it was already balanced".
Finally I said look, the car was perfect before I installed this, it now has a nasty vibration, what are you going to do about it? After a couple more BS excuses he trys to tell me that my only option is to unbolt and turn the PP to a different position, that should "re-balance" everything. I almost jumped thru the phone and strangled the guy. I told him "put someone on the phone who knows what they are talking about". He says you want to talk to Red Roberts he is a lead tech, bla bla bla. I say NO put me on the line with a manager because you obviously can't help me. Of coarse he says the manger is on another call and will have to call me back. So I say fine and hang up on his dumb ***.
So thats where I'm at now. My face is red, my blood pressure is up and to say I'm pissed is an under statement. I can't stand incompentant people, it seems like thats all I deal with lately. I've had so many 'mishaps' recently with my cars for no other reason then people are just dumb as **** and haven't got a shred of common sense. If I asked that way in my line of work I wouldn't have a job.
I'm going to have to spend another weekend or longer pulling the trans AGAIN and taking my setup to my machine shop to balance because of STUPID F'ing people.
If you were in my position, halfway across the country from them, what would you do??
(excuse the spelling & grammer errors)
Before I installed it though I wanted to confirm that it was balanced, because if it wasn't I would take it to my machine shop and have him do it. So I sent the person I was dealing with @ McLeod, her name is Tina, an email asking her this question:
(this is an exact cut & paste of the email conversation)
Tina,
I have one more question for you. was the clutch assembly balanced
at all or do I need to take it somewhere for that?
Thanks.
(her response)
Hello I just spoke with Paul in the Reworks Department and he said
that everything was balanced but if you need it balanced to your engine
than you need to take that somewhere else.
(my response)
as long as the unit was "ZERO BALANCED" it will be fine.
Could you just confirm with Paul thats what he did before I install
this thing?
Thanks.
(her response)
He said it should be a zero balanced flywheel that it was remade to a
zero balance just go ahead and put it on and if there is any problems
with it or you have any further questions don't hesitate to call if you
like you can speak with Paul same number here but ext. 235 thanks
When she said should that should have been my first clue.
So fast forward to this past weekend. I was finally feeling well enough, after a nasty stomach virus, to get this thing back on the road. I get everything installed and fire it up. Everything seems OK at first. I followed the install insturctions provided to the letter. I began the 500 mile breakin period on my way to work Monday monring and thats when I started to notice a slight vibration. As the day went on and I drove the car more it got more and more noticable. I decided I'd better park the car and contact McLeod to see what the deal was before I do any damage to the internals.
So this morning I sent Tina an email telling her I'm getting some vibrations, she responded quickly and said someone would be in contact with me shortly.
About 2 hours later I get a call from this guy named Ernest @ McLeod who doesn't seem to have a clue what he is talking about. His excuses and logic go in circles. I asked him about the balancing and told him about the dialog I had with Tina, the whole time I'm being polite and civil even though inside I'm furious.
So the conversation basically goes in circles. At one point he tells me they ZERO balance all their FW's, then less then a minute later he tells me I should have had it checked by a machine shop before installing because they don't balance anything. I was like WTF! I specifically asked you guys that EXACT question before I installed the unit for this exact reason.
Next he tells me all their FW's are purchased new and they are ZERO balanced from the factory and don't need to be touched. Finally he looks in my file and says "oh I see here we didn't balance your clutch because we assumed it was already balanced".
Finally I said look, the car was perfect before I installed this, it now has a nasty vibration, what are you going to do about it? After a couple more BS excuses he trys to tell me that my only option is to unbolt and turn the PP to a different position, that should "re-balance" everything. I almost jumped thru the phone and strangled the guy. I told him "put someone on the phone who knows what they are talking about". He says you want to talk to Red Roberts he is a lead tech, bla bla bla. I say NO put me on the line with a manager because you obviously can't help me. Of coarse he says the manger is on another call and will have to call me back. So I say fine and hang up on his dumb ***.
So thats where I'm at now. My face is red, my blood pressure is up and to say I'm pissed is an under statement. I can't stand incompentant people, it seems like thats all I deal with lately. I've had so many 'mishaps' recently with my cars for no other reason then people are just dumb as **** and haven't got a shred of common sense. If I asked that way in my line of work I wouldn't have a job.
I'm going to have to spend another weekend or longer pulling the trans AGAIN and taking my setup to my machine shop to balance because of STUPID F'ing people.
If you were in my position, halfway across the country from them, what would you do??
(excuse the spelling & grammer errors)
06-27-2007, 05:21 PM
#4
Call Red. He is the only one there that I deal with and will never talk with anyone else. If you need help I am a mcleod dealer and would be happy to call and let red know what is going on. He has always since he owed Mcleod been the best and only one to talk with.
Amber
Amber
06-27-2007, 07:06 PM
#5
TECH Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: boostville
Posts: 408
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Besides the fact there is really nothing anyone @ McLeod can say to fix the problem, at this point I don't even feel like talking to anyone over there after the conversation I had with them today. 
What they should have done was simply tell me the clutch was not balanced when I asked them, twice!
What they should have done was simply tell me the clutch was not balanced when I asked them, twice!
06-27-2007, 07:50 PM
#6
TECH Resident
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Henderson, NC
Posts: 854
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
hehe. Yea, that's what im real afraid of.. THINKING im buying or dealing with knowledgeable people, only to discover AFTER Ive given my money or sent them the parts or they get the car, that they are utterly retarded.
06-27-2007, 09:14 PM
#7
wrencher
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 4,762
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The twins I've seen had marks to line up the fly , floater & pressure plate?
I usually mark them with a pin punch when unboxing them too, cause it is a paint mark.
I usually mark them with a pin punch when unboxing them too, cause it is a paint mark.
Trending Topics
06-28-2007, 11:51 AM
#8
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (21)
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Greater Chattanooga
Posts: 1,029
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
They should pay for the labor for a shop to take it out and balance it. I mean dang thats **** poor commucation, but seems to be par for the course in life in dealing with big companies and get the run around.
06-28-2007, 12:30 PM
#9
TECH Regular
iTrader: (15)
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Washington
Posts: 432
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
When I installed mine, I believe the instructions said to have it balanced prior to installation. That was a few years ago so my memory could be off. But I have had my clutch rebuilt since then and have talked to Red, and remember him saying that the flywheel is not rebalanced only the rest of the clutch assymbly. The flywheels are only resurfaced.
06-28-2007, 02:42 PM
#11
TECH Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: boostville
Posts: 408
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by wrencher
The twins I've seen had marks to line up the fly , floater & pressure plate?
I usually mark them with a pin punch when unboxing them too, cause it is a paint mark.
I usually mark them with a pin punch when unboxing them too, cause it is a paint mark.
Their guy Ernesto who I talked to tried to tell me all I needed to do in order to fix the vibration was to unbolt the PP and TURN it to a different position.
06-28-2007, 09:15 PM
#12
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: B-town
Posts: 1,797
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Man I am sorry to hear that. I love my twin disk, but hate, I mean hate dealing with Mcleod. I remeber trying to get the steel braided line they sell. The guy was so rude about it and didn't know about. I hung up and got everything through Tbyrne.
Hope it works out for you.
Hope it works out for you.
06-29-2007, 11:02 AM
#13
TECH Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: boostville
Posts: 408
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sorry to hear about that but it doesn't suprise me one bit. Whom ever they have answering phone calls & emails is daft!
Its now Friday, three days after I was told a manager or someone would call me to discuss the situation. It should come as no suprise I haven't heard a peep from McLeod even though I sent them a couple of emails since that time.
In my book that is **** poor customer service and I don't want anything to do with those types of business practices.
Anyone want to buy a McLeod twin disc for a C5? Its BRAND NEW with less then 50 break-in miles on it. All it needs is to be balanced.
Its now Friday, three days after I was told a manager or someone would call me to discuss the situation. It should come as no suprise I haven't heard a peep from McLeod even though I sent them a couple of emails since that time.
In my book that is **** poor customer service and I don't want anything to do with those types of business practices.
Anyone want to buy a McLeod twin disc for a C5? Its BRAND NEW with less then 50 break-in miles on it. All it needs is to be balanced.
07-02-2007, 05:15 PM
#14
I found out just a few moments ago you have been emailing and leaving a message for the receptionist who I think is in another building. I have spoken with the VP of Mcleod, Vic Wood, and you are getting a PM from me now about this situation.
Thanks,
Amber
Six Speeds Inc.
T56Rebuilds.com
Thanks,
Amber
Six Speeds Inc.
T56Rebuilds.com
07-03-2007, 08:29 PM
#16
TECH Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: boostville
Posts: 408
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well I have some positive news to report about this situation.
This afternoon I received a phone call from Vic who is the VP @ McLeod Industries. Vic saw this thread last night and reached out to Amber @ Six Speeds Inc. who then sent me a PM on here this morning. To my suprise, a couple of hours later on my lunch break I get a call from Vic on my cell phone.
The first thing out of his mouth was an apoliogy which I was very glad to hear. I had figured since I didn't hear back from anyone @ McLeod, up to this point, that the whole situation was going to get swept under the rug. I though I was going to have to just bend over and take it because there wasn't much I could do. Needless to say I was pretty happy when the next thing he asked me was what could he do in order to make the situation right.
So we spoke for a few minutes about the things that went down while I ate my lunch. He told me there was obviously a breakdown in communications on their end. That it was unacceptable and absolutly should not have happend and that steps have already been taken to correct it.
Our conversation and this situation ended on a very positive note, I think both side are happy with the outcome. McLeod didn't lose a customer, which as they showed me today is very important to them. I received a refund of my money which is all that I wanted and now I'm happy again.
This afternoon I received a phone call from Vic who is the VP @ McLeod Industries. Vic saw this thread last night and reached out to Amber @ Six Speeds Inc. who then sent me a PM on here this morning. To my suprise, a couple of hours later on my lunch break I get a call from Vic on my cell phone.
The first thing out of his mouth was an apoliogy which I was very glad to hear. I had figured since I didn't hear back from anyone @ McLeod, up to this point, that the whole situation was going to get swept under the rug. I though I was going to have to just bend over and take it because there wasn't much I could do. Needless to say I was pretty happy when the next thing he asked me was what could he do in order to make the situation right.
So we spoke for a few minutes about the things that went down while I ate my lunch. He told me there was obviously a breakdown in communications on their end. That it was unacceptable and absolutly should not have happend and that steps have already been taken to correct it.
Our conversation and this situation ended on a very positive note, I think both side are happy with the outcome. McLeod didn't lose a customer, which as they showed me today is very important to them. I received a refund of my money which is all that I wanted and now I'm happy again.
07-04-2007, 02:05 PM
#19
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (31)
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Mesa, AZ
Posts: 1,284
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If the clutch or flywheel were out of balance I'd expect the vibration to be there at start-up and remain constant over time. If the vibration is getting worse with time, I'd expect to maybe find some loose bolts or something actually broken and coming apart.
Agree they should have been able to give you a straight answer in the first place. Nice that they took care of you without even knowing what the problem was too.
Agree they should have been able to give you a straight answer in the first place. Nice that they took care of you without even knowing what the problem was too.
07-04-2007, 02:18 PM
#20
Teching In
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This is Vic Wood - General Manager Mcleod Industries
The situation described above is totally unacceptable to us as a company and we have addressed it internally as well as we could have given the circumstances. Mcleod is a vital part of the B&M group (B&M,Hurst and Mcleod) we have three of the most respected brands in the aftermarket and we stand 100% behind them all.
Mcleod has changed since we purchased the company 18 months ago as well you would expect it to - it has bullet proof components and we have a total respect for the history and legacy that Red built over 40 years. Red is still with us in a engineering capacity and we look forward to him designing many more components for us in the future - we have changed the company from one that deals directly with consumers to one that sells via distribution and you will see on our web site (www.mcleodind.com) that we support our distributors totally (Amber at T56 is one of those) and there are hundreds like her.
Fred Taylor our Senior Tech and the designer of the Mcleod Hydraulic T/out bearing is a drag racer with thirty years of experience at Mcleod behind the scenes. Fred also has years of experience in NHRA Pro Stock, Super Stock and Super Gas. There are many other racers of all types at our company - Personally I have raced Sprint Cars, Alky and Nitro Funny and Top Fuel Cars and have three Bonneville records - you have people who can assist you and we love to do it. Do we make mistakes? Yes we are human (believe it or not!)and we are quick to acknoweledge it and as is the case above - we are prepared to address the issues one on one when we get the opportunity. Try us and we will do our best!
BTW - we have just launched a forum of our own - check it out at
http://www.mcleodind.com/forum/index.php
Thanks for listening and we look forward to working with you all via our distributors in the future
Vic Wood
General Manager
Mcleod Industries
The situation described above is totally unacceptable to us as a company and we have addressed it internally as well as we could have given the circumstances. Mcleod is a vital part of the B&M group (B&M,Hurst and Mcleod) we have three of the most respected brands in the aftermarket and we stand 100% behind them all.
Mcleod has changed since we purchased the company 18 months ago as well you would expect it to - it has bullet proof components and we have a total respect for the history and legacy that Red built over 40 years. Red is still with us in a engineering capacity and we look forward to him designing many more components for us in the future - we have changed the company from one that deals directly with consumers to one that sells via distribution and you will see on our web site (www.mcleodind.com) that we support our distributors totally (Amber at T56 is one of those) and there are hundreds like her.
Fred Taylor our Senior Tech and the designer of the Mcleod Hydraulic T/out bearing is a drag racer with thirty years of experience at Mcleod behind the scenes. Fred also has years of experience in NHRA Pro Stock, Super Stock and Super Gas. There are many other racers of all types at our company - Personally I have raced Sprint Cars, Alky and Nitro Funny and Top Fuel Cars and have three Bonneville records - you have people who can assist you and we love to do it. Do we make mistakes? Yes we are human (believe it or not!)and we are quick to acknoweledge it and as is the case above - we are prepared to address the issues one on one when we get the opportunity. Try us and we will do our best!
BTW - we have just launched a forum of our own - check it out at
http://www.mcleodind.com/forum/index.php
Thanks for listening and we look forward to working with you all via our distributors in the future
Vic Wood
General Manager
Mcleod Industries
Last edited by onebadoze; 07-04-2007 at 02:24 PM.