wildcamaro

iTrader: (15)

Even if aftermarket parts are direct bolt in I don't believe them, I know everyone who works on cars has a situation where a part needed a little tweaking. It's just how it is and has always been in hot rodding.

JS01

iTrader: (10)

As said, this is a common spot that has to be clearanced on 4.125" stroke combos.

TDFDiesel

I can see both sides of this, it would have been good customer service for the sales guy to let him know the oil pan might need to be modified. That said, it should have been determined before the engine was started.

KCS

iTrader: (20)

It sucks to hear this happened, but I'd agree with installation error. It's pretty common to see a perfectly good shortblock get trashed because the rest of the assembly was done poorly. The mechanic should have known to check clearances for the crank to oil pan, as well as pickup.

Gunslinger09

It's pretty common knowledge that the max stroke length in these motors is 4 inches before you start having clearance issues. I don't think the problem was TSPs at all.

Disclaimer:
I do have a set of TSP headers on my car.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

X2

I can see expecting perfectly clean unmolested installation of basic emissions legal bolton sort of stuff, but you get into a full engine build and more custom things and tweaks happen.

ZetaVeinteOcho

Some things that are common to some people are not to others. Its easy for someone to say how a 4.125 won't clear the oil pan, if that's something that's common sense to you. But I am NOT a mechanic nor do I pretend to be one.

That is why I asked BEFORE hand, is there ANYTHING else that I will need to get, because I don't know. I deal with P&L's , depreciation, amortization, dividend reporting, receipts, taxes etc.. because Im an auditor. for me all of that is easy and common sense. I don't expect everybody to know about all that stuff and if they don't Im not gonna jump all over their case for not knowing. Thats MY job, that's what I do.

So since engines is not my area of expertise , I made it clear if there was anything else, they said no. If oil pan clearance is so common of an issue, why wasn't I told? anyway....at that point I was at the mercy of both TSP and My mechanic.

So I had them cut a hole and weld a box to the opening so its deeper in that area and it doesn't rub.

Still, I think there is a level a responsibility that both TSP --when I asked "is there anything else??" and I guess my installer for not checking clearance before turning over, should have taken. since I am a customer of both and I relied on THEIR expertise.

This is a costly live and learn lesson and sadly I am the one stuck with 100% of the responsibilty and cost of all of this. Each one made money off of me relying on them and that's all that matters.

I just want my car back and don't want to really deal with either of them anymore. I think Im just gonna rely on 2 more things... Karma and DIF score.

LilJayV10

iTrader: (39)

Has TSP said anything else about it?

Che70velle

iTrader: (6)

Make sure that your mechanic does his best to "flush" the oil passages in this engine. It will be tough with the engine assembled, but something here in this scenario, will be better than nothing. Hopefully the filter caught most of the aluminum shavings.

screaminz847

I can only imagine your frustration- but I must ask, did TSP tell you what to torque the head bolts to? If not, why are you not upset about that - it's definitely something that needs to be done, and very common. I could understand if they were selling a 58x reluctor wheel crank and told you you'd need a 24x for a different vehicle install, but do you expect them to give you every detail of engine assembly?

When you purchase a motor such as this, you must either know, or have someone that does have all of the familiarity that you need.

I can completely understand that you did not know about checking the clearane in a 4.125 stroke LS. Heck, before this thread, it wasn't common knowledge to me. BUT, checking and verification should be part of any process.

It appears that your install shop doesn't/didn't have quite the expertise they advertised.

TVWilkes

TSP isn't a fault for your shitty mechanic. It's 100 % up to who installed the oil pan.

ABQ99TA

iTrader: (17)

I have to agree. Your mechanic should cover the repair.

thedudeZ

iTrader: (14)

This is a great book.

It contains the answers you and your mechanic once sought.

For everything else pm lemons12.

Fast6.3

I feell for you I had something similar to you just happen to me due to bad workmanship. Theres shops and wanabe mechanics calling themselves enginebuilders and dont have the slightest clue what that is. If I were you Id pickup my things and run away. Find some one else to finish your project. Because even if he fixes it four you it will probably not run for verylong .

leong6gtp

iTrader: (8)

My guessing is that the mechanic ***umed it would just drop right in with no problems. If he was any bit capable and knew it was a stroker with such a large stroke then he should have known that there is a possibility of having clearance issues. In the end it should have been hand cranked first to make sure before fired up. In the end I would say it was the mechanics failure to check it. Unless there was a conversation between you and him where he was told it indeed would just bolt right in but him knowing you aren't keen on engines he still should have checked. Since you obviously required his services to install it. Im an unbiased party in here. Actually I've personally had an issue with Texasspeed which ended up costing me about 100 bucks because of their screw up so I will not be buying anymore parts from them for any other builds; but I would say this particular issue wasn't their fault. The end burden is on your mechanic.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

There are plenty of companies who warranty their "mail order" engines. I definitely understand your point of view, but not offering any kind of warranty is not necessarily standard procedure as you and the other TSP guy make it out to be.

RezinTexas

This is a common issue and totally to be expected with that stroke. Its also a relatively easy fix as others have said. Bottom line, whoever assembles these engines needs to painstakingly check all clearances and interfaces or else something like this is likely to happen. Good luck with the fix.

Reckless

iTrader: (9)

But their warranties do not cover negligence. They warranty things that would be their fault.

JakeFusion

iTrader: (7)

I feel for you Zeta. That's why this forum is so great. It provides you with a lot of information. Unfortunately, it's sometimes hard to spend the countless hours needed to properly research things and become informed on the aspects of the build.

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

I'm aware of this. TSP just stated the engines have NO warranty. Perhaps they should clarify this before spouting it off and making it sound like they have NO warranty of any kind. And besides, an oil pan is a very repeatable item, and it needing to be clearanced and TIG welded up should warrant a mention when you purchase that engine. I'd be pretty pissed if no one mentioned it to me also. Depending on where you live it might prove very difficult to find a competent TIG welder for hire.