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EarlyBay Forums
General Earlybay Chat
Fresh engine build damaged after 800miles (engine builder refusing to fix under warranty)
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<blockquote data-quote="Mechanoid" data-source="post: 644357" data-attributes="member: 13076"><p>From your photo's I can't say categorically what caused the failure but my thoughts are these:</p><p></p><p>If the engine overheated, why aren't the bores seized up? That is usually the first indication of overheating. They don't even look discoloured let alone scored.</p><p></p><p>The failure to me looks like the front big end, (the front being the flywheel end). this would either be caused be oil starvation or a tight bearing, (assuming they fitted new bearing shells?). However, if it were a tight bearing then I would have expected it to have failed much earlier than 800 miles.</p><p></p><p>I would think that the bearing seized, broke the con rod and took out the camshaft and case. Mind you, I have never seen a camshaft broken like that before even after a seizure. It looks very brittle so could be made from cast iron rather than forged steel. (Best Chinesium perhaps!)</p><p></p><p>From your description it sounds like you did everything correctly during the running in process. Did you have an oil pressure gauge fitted in your bus? Also, you mentioned changing the spark plugs. Was this to a different heat range than was fitted from new. I know that some engine builders run with a cooler plug for the running-in period along with a richer fuel mixture to keep the combustion temperature down.</p><p></p><p>As for the warranty, are the builders a proper registered business? If so, I would have thought that they would have to prove that the fault was yours rather than you prove it was them and not yourself. Maybe check this with the citizens advice service. If you really believe that it wasn't anything that you did or didn't do then you could always go to a small claims court.</p><p></p><p>The above is only my thoughts and not advice though.</p><p></p><p>Looking at it from the other side though. I know that there have been cases where the purchaser has bought a long block rebuild and fitted their own ancillaries and then the engine has seized due to overheating. Unless everything is in good condition and the engine is set up correctly it is very easy to cook a new build. Personally, when I have ever rebuilt an engine for someone I insist on doing the full build and final tuning when it is fitted to the vehicle. That way, if it goes wrong, then is would probably be 95% my responsibility.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mechanoid, post: 644357, member: 13076"] From your photo's I can't say categorically what caused the failure but my thoughts are these: If the engine overheated, why aren't the bores seized up? That is usually the first indication of overheating. They don't even look discoloured let alone scored. The failure to me looks like the front big end, (the front being the flywheel end). this would either be caused be oil starvation or a tight bearing, (assuming they fitted new bearing shells?). However, if it were a tight bearing then I would have expected it to have failed much earlier than 800 miles. I would think that the bearing seized, broke the con rod and took out the camshaft and case. Mind you, I have never seen a camshaft broken like that before even after a seizure. It looks very brittle so could be made from cast iron rather than forged steel. (Best Chinesium perhaps!) From your description it sounds like you did everything correctly during the running in process. Did you have an oil pressure gauge fitted in your bus? Also, you mentioned changing the spark plugs. Was this to a different heat range than was fitted from new. I know that some engine builders run with a cooler plug for the running-in period along with a richer fuel mixture to keep the combustion temperature down. As for the warranty, are the builders a proper registered business? If so, I would have thought that they would have to prove that the fault was yours rather than you prove it was them and not yourself. Maybe check this with the citizens advice service. If you really believe that it wasn't anything that you did or didn't do then you could always go to a small claims court. The above is only my thoughts and not advice though. Looking at it from the other side though. I know that there have been cases where the purchaser has bought a long block rebuild and fitted their own ancillaries and then the engine has seized due to overheating. Unless everything is in good condition and the engine is set up correctly it is very easy to cook a new build. Personally, when I have ever rebuilt an engine for someone I insist on doing the full build and final tuning when it is fitted to the vehicle. That way, if it goes wrong, then is would probably be 95% my responsibility. [/QUOTE]
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Fresh engine build damaged after 800miles (engine builder refusing to fix under warranty)
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