Subie2Honda

Here comes the rant........


.....anyways, I recently decided to purchase a USED engine from a pretty reputable shop here in Fredericksburg, VA. Being that everything and everyone I had heard(or heard from) was positive concerning said shop, I decided to give it a go.

Anyways, I purchased a B16A2 motor and JDM SiR B16 transmission, along with mounts and other necessary equipment to complete my swap quickly and efficiently. Now, until I decide otherwise(or the owner decides not to contact me on this matter), the shop I dealt with will remain nameless. I would like to give the individual who owns this shop ample oppurtunity to contact me(considering I have left countless messages and emails for him, even via this site).

The motor, when originally inspected, appeared in very good condition. It was disassembled at the time of it's initial viewing, so that the internals advertised could be verified. After verification, its needless to say that I was very excited, and asked the shop owner to go ahead and assemble everything for me. I told him I would be back in a week or so, and asked if that was ample time to have everything ready to go in-car. He said it should not be an issue, so I paid the man($1150 for everything), and went on my way.

Weeks later, I'm still empty-handed. It was one thing after another, whether a part would disappear, or fail to come in, or be defective altogether; it was always something it seemed. Either way, the owner was always very good about keeping in touch with me and keeping me updated, so I paid it no mind. Still more time passed, and I still has nothing. Finally, the day arrived when I got a phone call saying it was done. Overall, the process took about three weeks.....and I'm still paying for it. The motor was supposed to be fully-assembled, ready to go, ready to drop in car and drive away. The problems list as follows:

-the headgasket that was installed was junk. Whether it was installed improperly or the item itself was trash, who knows. All I know is that the first time the car was started, it sprouted a leak from cylinders 1 and 4.(RESULT: NEW GASKET)
-the exhaust manifold I was given had both mid-pipe mounting studs SHEARED off. Still, the bases of both studs was still rusted in there, but they are useless.(RESULT: NEW MANIFOLD)
-the spacer-disc that goes behind the crank pulley was missing. Anyone who knows the purpose of this item understands what happens when it's not installed: the timing belt walks off the cam gears, shredding the timing cover in the process.(RESULT: NEW TIMING BELT, NEW SPACER)
-I still don't have the mounts promised. I purchased, from him, a complete set of Place Racing mounts. I own at this time 0 Place Racing mounts, but rather two Hasport ones I purchased off a fellow VADriven.com member, and one AVID mount a friend lent me. WTF. (RESULT: NEW MOUNTS)
-Upon me removing the head to ensure it is true(and to replace the leaking gasket), I discover that the head has 3 BAD(not worn, or slightly worn, but BAD) valve guides. I mean shit, I was expecting valve seals, but guides? Throw me a fricken' bone here. (RESULT: NEW VALVES, VALVE SEALS, VALVE GUIDES)

These problems listed above are only the major problems. There are countless other missing parts or issues(missing the throttle cable bracket, clutch cable bracket, mounting hole for IAT on the intake manny[I know, its an OBD2 manny.....but why would you give that to someone you KNOW will be running, at most, OBD1], etc). At this point, I'm beyond irritated.


Shop owner, you should know who you are. I was very excited to be able to work with you, but now I'm just glum. Considering this is my first Honda swap I'm doing on MY car, I refuse to let this ruin shit for me. I've never had this many issues in other pursuits.

Anyways, considering what you've read, what would YOU do now?

Thanks for reading.

Arm

Fuck your life, that sucks. I'm interested to see where this goes. Hope you get it all straightened out.

Breezy

I'm not very mechanically inclined, but it appears you might be... Afterall you noticed all those things. I would've just said, well not leaking oil so must be good (assuming it wasn't leaking). You should've done it yourself. IMHO.

Keep trying to contact him, you paid good money for that service. If not, let him know that everyone you know will not go to them and he chances to lose a lot of business.

STi_FTMFW

Subscribed.

Sorry for the bad luck dude. Hope you get things straightened out.

bluesrt2004

Subscribed as well, hope everything works out.

Subie2Honda

I appreciate all the support, and I am pretty mechanically inclined....after all, I am correcting all the fuck-ups this motor produced. Even still, I never expected this quality of work and product after all the good feedback I've heard about this particular seller.

Considering that I'm located in Fredericksburg, and Honda shops are few and far between around these parts, I'll leave what shop this is up to the imagination. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

6CYLINDRSYMPHNY

Shank him when hes leaving work a year from now



EDIT: Use a Playschool screwdriver wrapped in duct tape. The moment the faux-stabbing is over, whisper in his ear "next time... no rubbers, no lube".

Subie2Honda

If only life were that simple. I respect alot of the work that he has done........just not the work he did for me. Shitty. Lullz

IPUNCHBABIES

HEY HEY NOW!!!!!!

BLU CIVIC

that sucks