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See post 16, it is hard to fix something when the problem isn't even made aware to us.
And I still don't believe the rings were gapped that wide.

 

And further more, why don't you let us resolve this issue, if their is anything to resolve, rather than running your mouth without facts.

Thanks,

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by Schwanke Engines
Ok, so here is this end of the story. I talked with Chuck for a few minutes yesterday. He didn't sound to thirilled first off that one of his friends posted his name and cell phone number online and he told me he didn't ask for it to be done.

Now, as for the shortblock. I never looked to see what was charged or anything of that sorts. What happened is that we were going to supply Chuck with a pan that has a dipstick tube in the pan, so you don't need to drill the block for one. He decided otherwise, and for one reason or another he took it to Rippie. Once the engine got there, they seemed to think it was dirty, so they, not us, not Chuck, began to take it apart.
The very first red flag that popped up for me in the conversation is they said the top rings were gapped at, get this 0.035"!!!!! Now, I don't know about you other engine builders, but we would not have a ring gapped that large, period. Well, maybe if it was a 10" bore, then we might have to. Anyways, then they told him that the bearings were to loose and that he apparently needed main studs. So, now Chuck got to spend $1800 more with them.

I guess something in this story still doesn't add up because why wouldn't he bring the block back to us to have the hoole drilled? I mean, we are only 20 minutes away?

And as far as what I told him about being sorry, what am I to do as a shop at this point? I don't have control over anything that has now happened. If Chuck needs to get something further resolved he will have to be in contact with Tim.
I am still clueless on this whole matter and without him going into the reason why he took it there in the first place, to get a hole drilled in the block, there is not a thing I can do.

Wow.............maybe you should get your facts straight! The only reason why Chuck took his engine somewhere else to be checked over was because of all the major issues from his last 3 engines and all the people asking him why he keeps going back after getting bent over for so long!! Examples:10 lbs of oil pressure at ide, gobs of oil consumtion, massive blowby and smoking out the exhaust, cam bearing walking to only destroy the motor,and the list goes on and on! He did not take it to Rippie to just drill the hole for the dipstick, for your information I asked him what he was going to do for a hole and he had no idea what I was talking about. I had to sit and explain to him that the LS7 block was setup for drysump and there was no block provision for the dipstick. Nobody at Schwankee ever even dicussed this with him. This is another thing on the list a mile long that was wrong with this build! How come your not mentioning any of the other things?? By far this is NOT the end of the story!!

 

Hey, heres a happy customer! From NoMoreFWD: My friend bought a Schwanke long block for his stock car mid-season last year. When they tore down the motor to put some better heads on, you could see that every piston hit the head. Last week I went to watch him race and the cam or lifters went out - could not be adjusted. From what he told me there was a delay in getting the engine due to some kind of cam problem. Apparently this problem wasn't fixed.

So, no I would not reccomend him.

 

How do I not have facts..I talk to Chuck a couple times a week, obviously more then you guys have. And from what Chuck said it sounds like you guys are doing alot to resolve the issue

 

Well, I would say why don't you tell Chuck, since you talk to him, to maybe give Tim a call so they can get it resolved. I still don't think you get that there is nothing more to resolve outside of what those two could, if anything at all. This will be the last communication I have with you or the other guy. We all need to let them get this ironed out if there is something to be ironed out.
Thanks,

 

I would not buy another engine from them again. Purchaced 358 short block sprint car motor from them. It was supposed to 6" rods and pistons in it and crower rods. Went in to freshen the motor up we found it had 5.7" rods and pistons. The rods were not crower, they were eagle. ( nothing against eagle products) but you should get what you pay for. Talk about deception??!!!!. Not a good business practice if you want return customers. If you want more horror stories I have them!!! Not enough time in the day to tell you.

 

yes it was me. the shop was EPP. williams performance tore the engine down found that 1 cylinder had way too much clearence and contacted EPP. the motor had bent a piston skirt. they sent the piston to them. they said it was a detonation problem.their was nothing wrong with the top part of the piston. williams did not want me to post this because they did not a shop war. they supposly do business (NW throttle bodies). that is all i will say about that.

 

ok- he said it & I can't believe no one has jumped his $hit- I guess everyone is so shell shocked they don't know how to respond.

 

this is crazy stuff to read- I've run into some engine problems and everywhere I read there are problems with engines which makes me cringe to find a builder-

Hope it all gets straightened out-

 

Any updates? Im interested to see how this plays out. Im hoping for the best!

 

had to sell the procharger set up to build a 408 stroker na. had to write another 9,000$ check for that.

 

In all honesty, if your motors were out of spec before you put the short block in the car (from any sponsor) then i blame the buyer just as much as i blame the shop building the short block. I have built several motors on my own. Typically if im going to spend 3k to 6k on anything as important as a short block, im going to make sure that before it even gets thought about being put in the vehicle, its getting a thorough inspection. I hear these stories about how "blah blah i bought a short block and ran it for 500 miles and was having blow by, oiling issues, leak down etc etc blah blah, come to find out when it was torn down and inspected, everything was way out of spec". Ok seriously... whose fault is that? You spent a **** load of money on a shortblock and didnt even check the specs before putting it in the car. That is some trust right there. I will be picking up a 415 shortblock from schwanke. They are a reputable company with fantastic deals on shortblocks. Do they know how to build a short block?? Absolutely. Am i going to buy a shortblock and just throw it in the car assuming that there werent any mistakes made?? Absolutely not. Mistakes are made all the time by the best of the best. They way i see it is if you buy a motor and dont check the specs on it before installing it, then you are just as much to blame as the builder. So until i hear a story about how a customer inspected there block and found problems before running it AND THEN the shop did nothing.... i side with buyer fault. Anyway. My opinion on things.... coming from a do it yourselfer in your backyard type guy.

Evan

 

and to the OP. The 427ci short block from them is a great deal and would be a monster done RIGHT. And if you do get the short block from them just inspect it before installing it as any buyer should do from and sponsor that sells them anything. If you are incapable of doing so then have a friend or local shop just give it a quick check up. That way if there is an issue, you can address it and im sure the sponsor will get it corrected for u. Good luck with your purchase and build. Hope all goes well. Ill be picking up my 415 in the late winter/early spring and look forward to it.

 

you check everything before the car is ready to fire but, that is what you pay some one $$$$ for. The only way to check the problems that he had was during the build. I mean you cant check that with the motor assembled.....
My opinion is they should work with him to get it fixed. Not easily done at this point ..

 

its very easy to check a short block to make sure everything is in spec. Without even disassembling anything i can tell u bore, piston to wall clearance and make sure everything is torqued to spec. An entire inspection wont take more then a couple hours. And the way i see it is its better to use those couple hours making sure everything is in spec rather then just put the motor in and together and later on find out u had a problem.

 

This is the stupidest thing I have heard yet. So your gonna drop $3k+ on a built short block & then tear it down, potientially voiding any type of warranty from the motor builder just to double check their work? Why not just spend the $3k on parts & build your own damn motor then??

When people buy a assembled short block from a company they expect it done right. Period. Yes, mistakes can happen & if they do it's the shops responsibility to help the customer correct it. NO ONE should have to tear down a brand new short block & double check all the tolerances. The shop selling the motor should have built it properly from square one. It should not be a customers responsibility to make sure everything is within spec.

WTF is the point of people offering complete short blocks if they are building them like ****? Whats the point if every customer is expected to tear it down & double check the work he just paid to be done. I'd expect to double, hell triple check my own work & tolerances if I'm building myself, but not if I'm ordering a ASSEMBLED engine advertised as ready to drop in.

Having to double check tolerances on a brand new freshly built engine supposedly done by professionals is unacceptable.

 

my point exactly... but written much better +1 Big mike

 

sigh people being lazy is just ridiculous. So you mean to tell me you would rather buy a motor, drop it in, then potentially have an issue later on that cant be proven as shop error instead of spend 2 hours of your god damn life inspecting the short block? Please. How lazy can one person get? I take it you have never built a short block before because you would know how easy it is to just double check things. By the way. Schwankes deal on there 415 for 3200 is insane. It would cost you more then that for all parts and machining doing it yourself. Trust me i know. So to be that ignorant and not double check specs with a micrometer is just plain lazy. After you have completely assembled a motor and ran it, there is absolutely no way you can prove a shop made a mistake with the short block. There are so many other factors that have a play in engine failure. So before i assembly my motor, i will re check all the specs to rule out any shop failure. If there is engine failure later on, it will be nothing other then my fault. If i were a shop owner and built you a short block, and you assembled the rest and ran the motor for 1000 miles. Then came back at me and said i built you a bad short block because measurements were out of spec, i would laugh at you for putting blame on me. Now if i built u an entire long block and engine dynoed and broke it in for you and then there was a problem, that would be a different story.

 

Good Lord are you serious!? I'm absolutely speachless at your post??........