Picked up the S
Discussion
Hi guys,
Picked up the Cosworth S on Friday. Arrived at the yard having allowed myself 2 hours extra in case of 'technical issues' as I was heading out to a concert Friday night.
Arrived at the workshop to find the car not quiet finished and the bonnet at the rear of the garage.
Spent said 2 hours waiting for the engine to be finished and bonnet to be re-fitted. Car started and sounded great. I drove it around the block and sounded great, everything as it should be.
Only 2 problems were the temp guage showed in red all the time and rev counter did not work.
Went to lock the car and the alarm set but remote central locking no longer worked. Mechanic assures me that it must just be a loose wire as nothing was touched.
I paid the man and started off home, after 2 hours of great fun cruising along between 60-70 about 25 miles from home there was a massive clunk and steam whistling from the drivers side under the hood.
I pull over and pop the hood, from what I can see it looks like where the engine has been installed the plastic water reservoir has been touching the exhaust headers and melted the plastic spilling water everywhere.
I call the AA and 2 hours later they arrive, meanwhile my fiance and friends head off to concert without me (bearing in mind I paid for all the tickets for xmas presents).
After getting home I manage to talk the AA man into dropping me off at the train station and make the last 30 mins of a 3 hr concert!!! Bar shut by the time i get there! nearly £400 wasted!
So Sat(yesterday) I ring work and tell them I have a car to fix, I chat with the mechanic who states the reservoir tank does not really do much so just bypass it. I do this (a nice job too) I will be replacing it after repair. I had a look at the reservoir and appears that although plastic had melted, it had not melted right through, about 1/4 inch above the melt there is a hole blanked off with a rubber bung, this had dried out and cracked, under the pressure of the cossie engine sprayed all the water out. fill her with water and start her up, she started first time, small radiator leak too I notice.
I pull away, notice immediately that its not right, i reverse back up, have a look. Head Gasket blown.
I text the mechanic and tell him whats happened, I also tell him I'm not happy having parted with the wrong side of 3k for this conversion which did not even make 150 miles. I ask him when he is coming to fix it, as I'm not paying £350 to have the car taken back up to Nottingham.
He states that he does not hold himself responsible for what happened, but he is not unreasonable.
Am I being unreasonable? There are various other things which also i'm not too hapy about but as for the conversion itself its a good job with the exception of the above mentioned issue and the now non-working door locks.
What would you do?
Picked up the Cosworth S on Friday. Arrived at the yard having allowed myself 2 hours extra in case of 'technical issues' as I was heading out to a concert Friday night.
Arrived at the workshop to find the car not quiet finished and the bonnet at the rear of the garage.
Spent said 2 hours waiting for the engine to be finished and bonnet to be re-fitted. Car started and sounded great. I drove it around the block and sounded great, everything as it should be.
Only 2 problems were the temp guage showed in red all the time and rev counter did not work.
Went to lock the car and the alarm set but remote central locking no longer worked. Mechanic assures me that it must just be a loose wire as nothing was touched.
I paid the man and started off home, after 2 hours of great fun cruising along between 60-70 about 25 miles from home there was a massive clunk and steam whistling from the drivers side under the hood.
I pull over and pop the hood, from what I can see it looks like where the engine has been installed the plastic water reservoir has been touching the exhaust headers and melted the plastic spilling water everywhere.
I call the AA and 2 hours later they arrive, meanwhile my fiance and friends head off to concert without me (bearing in mind I paid for all the tickets for xmas presents).
After getting home I manage to talk the AA man into dropping me off at the train station and make the last 30 mins of a 3 hr concert!!! Bar shut by the time i get there! nearly £400 wasted!
So Sat(yesterday) I ring work and tell them I have a car to fix, I chat with the mechanic who states the reservoir tank does not really do much so just bypass it. I do this (a nice job too) I will be replacing it after repair. I had a look at the reservoir and appears that although plastic had melted, it had not melted right through, about 1/4 inch above the melt there is a hole blanked off with a rubber bung, this had dried out and cracked, under the pressure of the cossie engine sprayed all the water out. fill her with water and start her up, she started first time, small radiator leak too I notice.
I pull away, notice immediately that its not right, i reverse back up, have a look. Head Gasket blown.
I text the mechanic and tell him whats happened, I also tell him I'm not happy having parted with the wrong side of 3k for this conversion which did not even make 150 miles. I ask him when he is coming to fix it, as I'm not paying £350 to have the car taken back up to Nottingham.
He states that he does not hold himself responsible for what happened, but he is not unreasonable.
Am I being unreasonable? There are various other things which also i'm not too hapy about but as for the conversion itself its a good job with the exception of the above mentioned issue and the now non-working door locks.
What would you do?
Speak to the mechanic, be calm and totally reasonable, and say (I think you already have) that you are not happy and you would like to sort the problem out amicably between you. You have to give him the opportunity to put things right.
Chris
Chris
Edited by Barkychoc on Monday 30th June 10:04
God what a nightmare, as "He states that he does not hold himself responsible for what happened, but he is not unreasonable" I would be sorely tempted to ask just who is , as he has done all the work and surely as a conversion there is some responsibility from a "fit for purpose" point of view. I agree with Chris that it is in your interest to pursue a amicable agreement to resolve it but from his initial response regarding a £3k conversion I fear you are dealing with a person who sounds a bit unproffesional.In the above I am asuming he has done the work on the engine??
Just curious, why was the rubber bung not under water in the first place? did he put water in the system?,(In the red temp gauge and blown head gasket seem a bit coincidental.)
Just curious, why was the rubber bung not under water in the first place? did he put water in the system?,(In the red temp gauge and blown head gasket seem a bit coincidental.)
I am in slight difficulties on this one as I bought my engine off James and via the company who did the installation for him, but I would advise NOT to post the name of the company on a public forum like PH, or to threaten to name the company, certainly not until attempts to resolve the matter amicably have failed.
I have no issues personally with the guy who done it, he will no doubt read this post and i want to make clear aside from the mentioned above I am very happy with the conversion.
I have no intention of going through the courts system though through work I do this on a daily basis so would not really be an issue for me.
I will not at this point be detremental to anyone, I just want the thing fixed or if I have to repair it this end (which seems most likely) I'd like the money back for doing so.
Its cost me nearly 1k over budget (and quoted price) and I understand there is always issues with this sort of work but this is something that could have easily been avoided , all it would have taken is 2 metal brackets to raise the overflow tank by an inch which is what im having to do now myself after paying someone else to do the conversion for me so I did not have to worry about things like this.
Like I said, all I want is the car running, trouble is now I'll have to have the cossie heads re-skimmed and a new head gasket. not cheap, probably around £300 i reckon from previous head gasket problems.
I have no intention of going through the courts system though through work I do this on a daily basis so would not really be an issue for me.
I will not at this point be detremental to anyone, I just want the thing fixed or if I have to repair it this end (which seems most likely) I'd like the money back for doing so.
Its cost me nearly 1k over budget (and quoted price) and I understand there is always issues with this sort of work but this is something that could have easily been avoided , all it would have taken is 2 metal brackets to raise the overflow tank by an inch which is what im having to do now myself after paying someone else to do the conversion for me so I did not have to worry about things like this.
Like I said, all I want is the car running, trouble is now I'll have to have the cossie heads re-skimmed and a new head gasket. not cheap, probably around £300 i reckon from previous head gasket problems.
As you say James, this sort job usually has some added difficulty. I would expect a reputable mechanic to sort out the head gasket as it is entirely unreasonable for it to go that quickly.
Hopefully, the two of you can sort it out and we'll see a post soon praising how it's been resolved.
As has been stated, it's always a good idea to give people a chance to put things right, nobody should want their reputation denting. To be fair (and I'm no mechanic) not all faults can be known when a car is sold, but I would still expect this type to be made good.
Hope it works out.
Hopefully, the two of you can sort it out and we'll see a post soon praising how it's been resolved.
As has been stated, it's always a good idea to give people a chance to put things right, nobody should want their reputation denting. To be fair (and I'm no mechanic) not all faults can be known when a car is sold, but I would still expect this type to be made good.
Hope it works out.
well it should have been good, I shelled out extra for a low mileage engine having covered only 42k from new. I then paid for mechanic to strip heads off and confirm all good before replacing heads and a new gasket set so its only done 150 miles on that gasket, possibly faulty but after the incident I suspect it was the lack of coolant that was to blame.
all I want is to drive the bloody thing!
absolutely gutted
all I want is to drive the bloody thing!
absolutely gutted
Did you know the quality of the engine before it was fitted? any history, the headgasket may have been on the out before, was it compression tested before fitment or as stated above a lack of water and its boiled.
My cosworth packed up a couple of weekends ago, all guides where smashed and no1 cam position had slipped back by 3 teeth, so the choice do I buy another engine or repair this one?, the big question why did let go in the first place, so engine out heads off, bores look good, no valves bounced, the cam tensioner blade casing had broken, would this cause this - Im not sure, sump off to check big end slop also good - the only thing I can think off is the BOB cams I put in was a bit too much power for the worn cam chain mechcanism. Repair is my option £458 in parts. However my heads do no need skimming, measured 0.18mm on a measuring machine. At least I will have a known engine now.
If you need bits or advice try Barry xr4i centre - He gets a good discount from Ford - ford quoted me £116.75 for the hydraulic tensioner - Barry £80 same Ford part. what he doesnt know about cosworths isnt worth knowing and is nice bloke - I will PM you his Mob No. Ive done business in the past with him - very happy with the service.
Regards Sean.
My cosworth packed up a couple of weekends ago, all guides where smashed and no1 cam position had slipped back by 3 teeth, so the choice do I buy another engine or repair this one?, the big question why did let go in the first place, so engine out heads off, bores look good, no valves bounced, the cam tensioner blade casing had broken, would this cause this - Im not sure, sump off to check big end slop also good - the only thing I can think off is the BOB cams I put in was a bit too much power for the worn cam chain mechcanism. Repair is my option £458 in parts. However my heads do no need skimming, measured 0.18mm on a measuring machine. At least I will have a known engine now.
If you need bits or advice try Barry xr4i centre - He gets a good discount from Ford - ford quoted me £116.75 for the hydraulic tensioner - Barry £80 same Ford part. what he doesnt know about cosworths isnt worth knowing and is nice bloke - I will PM you his Mob No. Ive done business in the past with him - very happy with the service.
Regards Sean.
If the same chap did the all the work - I would say its in his best interest to rectify it as I would have thought that there would be some guarantee on workmanship. Try penalycharges.co.uk - they have a consumer complain area and are very knowledgable - its a free service and they will guide you through the best route, including nicely, nicely first.
I would personally expect some sort of customer relations service after spending £3k
Sean
I would personally expect some sort of customer relations service after spending £3k
Sean
Agree with the posts above, if the mechanic stripped and checked the engine - replacing the head gasket - then I think he has a duty of care to resolve the issues brought about by the header tank dumping water everywhere. The mechanic clearly hadnt done his job properly as the temp guage was in the red on presumably a cold engine. You would not have any warning of problems with the coolant with the guage malfunctioning. If push come to shove I dont feel you would have any problem in taking action against him and there must be lawyers on this forum who would help.
BUT it is essential that you give him the opportunity to correct the problems first and again agree with Richard that the name should not be published, at least until all other avenues are investigated.
Please keep us posted
BUT it is essential that you give him the opportunity to correct the problems first and again agree with Richard that the name should not be published, at least until all other avenues are investigated.
Please keep us posted
I was aware there was a problem with the rev counter and would not work properly with the cosworth ECU. The Temp gauge the mechanic told me was faulty, all it needed was a new sensor. It ran fine until the incident.I should have left it but was told it was ready and did not fancy going home on train on another 3 1/2 hour journey.
I have spoken with mechanic and he wants pics of the damaged plastic reservoir, I have since taken it out and repaired the holes with silicon, also manufactured some new brackets.
I am trying to sort things out with him and will not be saying anything bad as I hope all will soon be sorted.
Only issue is it will cost £350 to get it to nottingham which is where I have to get it collected from and risk another drive home or repaired locally for about £300.
I have spoken with mechanic and he wants pics of the damaged plastic reservoir, I have since taken it out and repaired the holes with silicon, also manufactured some new brackets.
I am trying to sort things out with him and will not be saying anything bad as I hope all will soon be sorted.
Only issue is it will cost £350 to get it to nottingham which is where I have to get it collected from and risk another drive home or repaired locally for about £300.
ok, turns out my mechanic is on holiday for a few weeks so I need to get the car back to Nottingham, aa have refused stating that I took it to a destination of my choice last Friday, they consider it irrelevant that by the time they picked me up there were no garages open at 7pm on a Friday night. I think that's a bit naughty personally but will be back on phone again today.
in the meantime anyone got any bright ideas or know anyone that can do it as cheap as possible due to me spending all my money on this conversion.? It needs to go from Essex cm8 to long eaton notts.
Ta
in the meantime anyone got any bright ideas or know anyone that can do it as cheap as possible due to me spending all my money on this conversion.? It needs to go from Essex cm8 to long eaton notts.
Ta
Right, found someone who can transport for £125 and has all appropriate insurance documents to do so.
Secondly I need to post an apology, I have spoke to mechanic who stated that he has not changed original gaskets, I got confussed by all the engine talk. He merely checked pistons etc and told me all was good. No gaskets changed - yet!!
All is sorted to be taken back amicably and monies will be discussed when full extent of problems are known.
I'll post when I know and hopefully be singing like a canary and moving like road runner.
Secondly I need to post an apology, I have spoke to mechanic who stated that he has not changed original gaskets, I got confussed by all the engine talk. He merely checked pistons etc and told me all was good. No gaskets changed - yet!!
All is sorted to be taken back amicably and monies will be discussed when full extent of problems are known.
I'll post when I know and hopefully be singing like a canary and moving like road runner.
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