Engine Replacement - Total Unbelievable DISASTER

mogwai · Post by **mogwai** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:59 pm

Wishing you the best of luck Pat for a swift and correct ending to this saga

Steve

bigdaddycain · Post by **bigdaddycain** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 1:05 am

Hi Pat, it sounds like they are upholding their resonsibilities now, at least...

Take a few pics of the engine before they pick it up, if they have actually checked it over properly,it'll be covered in fresh oily stains...

I'm sure they will do all they can to sort the problem, after making the effort to arrange a pick up for the bongo.

Colin Lambert · Post by **Colin Lambert** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:50 am

And if it's a 4WD MAKE SURE THEY DON'T TOW IT! NOT EVEN ONE END SUSPENDED IN SPECTACLE FRAME. IT MUST BE TRANSPORTED, ALL4 WHEELS OFF THE GROUND!

patmckenna · Post by **patmckenna** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 2:45 pm

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. Colin - I'll make double sure in advance that they realise it needs a full piggy-back. Bigdaddycain - the camera has already been at work!

Will keep you informed.

Pat

SimonH · Post by **SimonH** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:29 pm

One more thing you can do. Call Trading Standards local to the company in question. Tell them what is going on and they will make an official record, and give you a case number. You can quote this on correspondence, if you feel it necessary. I have done this before, and it can be very useful.

In the meantime, best of luck.

patmckenna · Post by **patmckenna** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:46 pm

Hi Simon

Thanks for the post. I've already involved Trading Standards and have a case number etc. They are 'watching with interest' to see how things develop from Tuesday when the engine company takes the Bongo to their premises. The Credit Card company are aware that there have been 'positive-sounding' developments, so they too are holding back for a little while.
Cheers

Pat

andyfb78 · Post by **andyfb78** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:01 am

Good luck,
Just make sure you 'stay clean' ie don't rubbish them in public (until if necessary it has all gone through court), you don't want anything to detract from your perfect image in court.... not a libel claim...

you are doing all the right things, and they are trying to call your bluff,
Keep going, enjoy the fight, you'll win in the end, then we can all post on forums all over to put them out of business....and ensure the honest, good ones get the work they deserve...

Andy

dandywarhol · Post by **dandywarhol** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 8:20 pm

Hi Pat - just read this thread and catching up on all the other stuff from the past month. sorry to hear of your troubles............could you explain what these " temperature sensor pods " are please.

patmckenna · Post by **patmckenna** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 8:59 pm

Hi dandywarhol,

Thanks for the post. On the side of the cylinder head, where you have a number of circular indentations - are they called core-plugs? - (about the size and twice the depth of a two-pence coin), the engine reconditioners put in little metal pods. There are held in by wax. If the temperature rises above 110 degrees (that's the figure quoted by the engine company) the wax melts and the little metal pods fall out. Should this happen, as far as the company is concerned, you have cooked the engine and have therefore invalidated your guarantee. Needless to say, the pods are sat there on my Bongo engine innocently minding their own business...

I know that Toyota Hillux Surf cylinder head reconditioners use a similiar technique and make the same disclaimer on their guarantee - if you cook the head, the guarantee is invalid.

Pat

dandywarhol · Post by **dandywarhol** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 12:41 am

Thanks Pat, great forum here - always learning. The core plugs are to plug up the head when the head is cast - they're just steel "bungs" tapped into the head casting.

Article Here

patmckenna · Post by **patmckenna** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 2:34 am

Hi dandywarhol,

Thanks for the fuller info on core-plugs. I seem to remember replacing one on my dad's Ford Anglia in the early 1970s!

Funny that - it's 2.30am and I've just this minute finished the very last Harry Potter Book. My Dad's Ford Anglia - Registration No TZJ 919 - was light blue like the Weasley's - but was the Estate version. I can still hear that engine sound and gear-change now. Go to bed McKenna, you nostalgic old muggle.

Night.

Pat

bigdaddycain · Post by **bigdaddycain** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 5:05 am

Please excuse the thread meander,ive not seen a ford anglia in god knows how long, and today ive seen three! (weird eh?)

Keep us all posted on the developments with the engine company wont you pat?

motorwizard · Post by **motorwizard** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 8:38 am

I have had a lot of involvement in this area in the past. There is a British Standard for engine reconditioning This stipulates that parts are reconditioned to as original. There are rebuilders who are members of the Federation of Engine remanufacturers who should stick to those standards. Others import lots of engines from Japan changed for the same reasons vehicles are changed. Some bench test and sell on as replacement engines which is what they are. You may even get your own engine back I have in the past seen a statement which said if the engine is removed dismantled for examination it is then a replacement engine.
Some companies do not diagnose a fault but will just change your engine your engine could well go in another vehicle after the fault is rectified.
As a job for a TV company I snapped a cam belt on a car where no damage is done on a cam belt break, (the data book says replace cam belt and compression test is recommended before dismantling) The car was towed to a car park and a engine replacement company called. The engine was changed together with a water pump ( invoice said second hand one used). I could not prove if it was original or not. The engine fitted was OK but no better than the one taken out.
Some companies who have felt the heat of Trading Standards I am told use an ultra violet light to check for TS marks.
If you buy you engine and then get somebody else to fit it you will have the problem of who to complain to as in this case. The engine builder will say it is a fitting fault and your garage will say builder fault. This is more of a problem if the engine is supplied bare and your garage fit cam belt or injection equipment. Get your garage to buy the engine and you pay them for the complete job. I hope I have not bored you but if you are spending a lot of money make sure you spend it wisely

patmckenna · Post by **patmckenna** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:31 pm

Hi Folks

It would appear that my troubles have only just begun…

The Bongo went down to the Engine people today. I received a telephone call from them as soon as it arrived. Their technical guy lifted the driver’s seat, looked at the temperature pods, agreed that they were physically present – but pointed out that the centre section of each – a small metal disc – was missing. It is this centre disc that is held in by the wax. When the wax melts, the disc drops off. The wax melts at 110 degrees. In the opinion of the engine people, the engine was cooked by the mechanic and they do not intend to honour the warranty.

I spoke to the mechanic who stated that the temperature never rose beyond ‘the 11 o’clock’ position at any time during or after the bleed process. He rang the engine company to discuss the issues with their technical guy. The result of that phone call is stalemate. The engine company say that the engine left their premises in top condition, the mechanic believes that there was a hairline fracture on the cylinder head or a head gasket problem from the very start.

The stalemate will continue at least until tomorrow.

The mechanic feels that the engine came with a fatal flaw, that this flaw will have caused subsequent failure of the coolant system. The engine company deny that such a flaw could exist because of the rigorous testing system they employ prior to releasing the engine.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Pat McKenna

rob and karen · Post by **rob and karen** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 11:47 pm

either way its not your fault but someone elses , so i would ask the garage to contact the engine company and sort it as soon as poss ,under the sales of good act , one or the other has to sort it if not i see by your thread earlier that you paid by card i would contact the card company and tell them you want to reverse the payment see what they say , then go from there , but dont give up as someone has to get your bongo moving again
best of luck , and stick at it
rob