Mechanic destroyed My Engine...need Opinions & Expertise to get compensated
I really need your help guys, Ive never been in this situation. I appreciate any feed back guys. HISTORY to KNOW: I have a 99 prelude type sh with 174k and had an engine rebuild done in march of this year at 165k (08) by NRG Tech in Long Island.
Details- Cylinders were honed
- New Piston rings
- Main rod replaced
- I think some bearings were replaced
-Timing Belt and water pump replaced
- Valves were resurfaced and/or reseated
- Seals and Gaskets replaced
- Radiator flushed and Atts unit and transmission fluid changed
- Deck was milled pretty tight
-Competition clutch kit installed
- Iridium plugs installed along with MSD 8.5mm wires
-OEM distrib. cap installed and MSD copper tipped rotor installed
After this rebuild I had driven back and forth from NYC to albany multiple times (160 miles one way). Everything had been fine except for a blown valve cover gasket and another oil leak that was coming from the timing side.
I also had a valve adjusment done in Albany while replacing the Valve cover gasket and replaced the NGK iridiums with NGK coppers. Had the same mechanic do a compression test and the results were 1-4 230/230/225/230 and a leak down test which only had about 8-10% leakage in cylinder 3. It seems NRG TECH left the valve adjustment alittle loose for more power and it was killing my gas Mileage so he set it back to Honda Specs.
!!Thru out this whole time I never burned any OIL and never had any type of SMOKE come out of my exhaust.!! THE STORY
The story starts off, 2 1/2 weeks ago I was on the highway headed home ran into 2 civic si's and we did 2 runs.(I won the 1st run and then they won the 2nd run) The highest I shifted at was 7400 rpm and I shifted clean. After those runs I was almost at my exit and the car started to boggle everytime I accelerated in 5th so I downshifted into 4th and then 3rd and then it turned out I was misfiring. I could clearly hear it in my exhaust (magnaflow tuned series). I got home and the whole way I wasnt throwing out any smoke or anyhting like that. Just a misfire and my thought was that I fouled the plugs and they couldnt handle the firing frequency pass 3k rpm.
So I decided to take it to my fathers mechanic in queens TM&T on northern Blvd thinking I could trust him. I asked him to change my plugs back to iridium and fix that oil leak on the timing side. THATS IT!!!
He takes forever doing the job and then 2weeks later it turns out he replaced my valve cover gasket. Replaced my oil pan gasket with silicone saying that HONDA told him to do that, because there is no oil pan gasket for us. And he also finally found the leak on timing side (after guessing wrong on the other 2) which was the balance shaft seal and replaced that.
And he also replaced the manual tensioner because he said it was loose and tried tightening it and then it was crooked.
I go to pick up the car after it was "done" and he tells me that in the morning he turned it on and a big poof of smoke come out the exhaust. I asked him what it could be since my car never did that, he said he didnt know. It got worse because when I went to turn it on, it still did it and then it continued to smoke and it blew white smoke everytime you revved the engine. and I MEAN ALOT OF SMOKE. APPARENTLY everything was fine until that day and he said that he had no responsibility for it because he didnt do anything to cause that. NOW HES BILLING ME $900 and wants to give me a destroyed engine.
I decided to leave the car there and at this point Im stuck in a situation where I want to sue him in small claims court but I am worried about not having a sufficient amount of evidence to win against him. He told me it was probably an existing situation that got worse as the car was in his hands and that when he pulled the NGK coppers out that there was carbon deposit on it so it was burning oil. I told him that most likely when a car misfires there is a good amount of unburned fuel and thats what the black residue is.
My educated guess would be that my car would have been throwing some smoke here and there when i drove it to him for it to be an existing condition.
I had checked my coolant for any oil before I drove it to his shop and there wasnt any and then I checked it that day I went to pick it up and there was some in there. So it seems whatever happened was when it was in his hands because of him.
Then he tried blaming NRG TECH for their engine work being the reason but when i told him it was done in march he felt stupid. I think he could have ruined it while test driving it as well, because when he first test drove it,when i told me to let me drive it and he insisted to drive it, he stalled out, chirped in second gear and was accelerating aggressively and being extremely rough with the clutch letting off real fast like an idiot. I told him not to do that next time.
Well my plan is to tow it back to NRG tech or maybe any place you guys may recommend in queens or NYC that is trust worthy. And have that place run a diagnostic check on it and estimate the cost of repair so i can present it at court. sue him, WIN and have him pay for the repairs.
Sorry for the lengthy story but i wanted you guys to have the full details. I want to know what you guys think about the situation. If anybody knows someone that can help me just PM me with contact info.
PLEASE DONT POST ANY IRRELEVANT COMMENTS THIS IS SERIOUS THANK YOU
do you think it could have been done while it was in his hands or do you think it was possibly an existing condition that got worse? thats the thing that gets me. I mean if it was sitting there being worked on why would it blow then?
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98Type SH Stock-Nordic Mist
WTB: Tanabe SMH Catback
Didn't you say you were racing 2 Civics and after that the car started chuggin' and misfiring? Could've happened because of that. Here's what I've learned, never ever try to race Civics with your Prelude because the Civic can nevar los3!!!
__________________ JHNNY
PSN ID: xQuietStormx LIVE GT: xDanomitex Wii Code: 7366 2357 4332 1866 Note to self: Never piss off DEFCONSkylude!!
but if that was the case wouldnt I have been spitting smoke out right after the racing? Thats what I dont get. My car ran fine except for the misfire and it still had power the next day when I drove it to the mechanic and still no smoke.
I think my "crappy" mechanic blew my head gasket while he was test driving it.
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98Type SH Stock-Nordic Mist
WTB: Tanabe SMH Catback
Maybe he tried racing another Civic while he was test driving your car and the Civic was so fast it blew the head gasket off of your Prelude? Either way, it'll be hard to prove that he did it. Not only that but I would take the head off and start checking the head and deck surface to make sure everything is true. Since you said you had the block decked? I don't know what to tell ya except good luck getting everything solved!
__________________ JHNNY
PSN ID: xQuietStormx LIVE GT: xDanomitex Wii Code: 7366 2357 4332 1866 Note to self: Never piss off DEFCONSkylude!!
I got the deck milled by NRG tech when I rebuilt the engine. Well the obvious thing is that I gave him the car in one condition. He performed mechanical repair on the engine and now it is blowing white smoke which it never did before so I would say that hopefully the judge can see that obvious difference.
And enough with your civic talk man. Back to the problem.
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98Type SH Stock-Nordic Mist
WTB: Tanabe SMH Catback
You can never talk enough about how awesome Civics are. Good luck with taking him to court but I doubt you'll get anything out of it.
Quiet you!
Quote:
The story starts off, 2 1/2 weeks ago I was on the highway headed home ran into 2 civic si's and we did 2 runs.(I won the 1st run and then they won the 2nd run) The highest I shifted at was 7400 rpm and I shifted clean. After those runs I was almost at my exit and the car started to boggle everytime I accelerated in 5th so I downshifted into 4th and then 3rd and then it turned out I was misfiring.
How many miles on the rebuild when this happened?
Quote:
APPARENTLY everything was fine until that day and he said that he had no responsibility for it because he didnt do anything to cause that.
That's totally idiotic. The car obviously didn't do that coming in, therefore he caused it.
Look you need to recognize something: stop trying to rebuild the damn motor. Your motor is done for, get over it. Don't rebuild it, just buy a low mileage JDM one and be done with it. Rebuilding is for suckers. Buy the engine and send the bill to the mechanic that screwed it up. You can win that in small claims, but you have to find out what the small claims policy is in your state.
I think your path is obvious, you just have to walk it now.
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I got the rebuild done at 165k and currently have 174k. So about 9k on the rebuild.
And this was my first rebuild experience. I would have loved to do it myself but I live in NYC with no garage, tools, or help so thats a big NO CAN DO. I was definitely considering purchasing a JDM Type S and dropping that in, but I would have atleast replaced some parts on that as well to ensure that it would last awhile without giving me any issues. But now I know that I'd rather just buy another low mileage engine.
I am actually considering buying another prelude this week and selling mine after fixing it for the fact that I have had enough with mine. BUT I AM DEFINITELY GOING AHEAD with the SMALL CLAIMS COURT PATH.
Thanks for your feedback
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98Type SH Stock-Nordic Mist
WTB: Tanabe SMH Catback
Hi: is it your car black SH, if yes, I saw your car was there!! You know what they have been there to do the business so many years, the guy Tommy, they have a lot of experience, they know what they need to do. As you said you race with 2 Civic before, when you got misfire, it could be damaged the engine, and you said you will send the car back to NRG tech, you should have some kinds of warranty, you should talked to them befor eyou send the car to any mechanic, but if NRG tech is good, you should not have any engine problem. And now even through you bring it back to tham I'm sure they are not going to responsible for your engine. Good Luck man!!!
I don't think he is talking about "building" an engine. I agree though that doing an OEM rebuild is a complete waste.
Not really. I'm doing a completely stock rebuild. Shortblock complete rebuild including hone. New guides, valve seats and valves recut. Not everyone is after more power. More power certainly isn't going to make me a better driver on the track. I just want to get my oe engine to stop leaking and burning oil 1qt/500 miles, and restore all the lost compression.
Think about how much more a 'build' costs over oem. $300 extra for Mahle pistons over oem, $550 for cams, $350 for valvetrain, $400 for intake mani, $300 for tuning provision, $500 for exhaust. Adds up quickly doesn't it.
Hi: is it your car black SH, if yes, I saw your car was there!! You know what they have been there to do the business so many years, the guy Tommy, they have a lot of experience, they know what they need to do. As you said you race with 2 Civic before, when you got misfire, it could be damaged the engine, and you said you will send the car back to NRG tech, you should have some kinds of warranty, you should talked to them befor eyou send the car to any mechanic, but if NRG tech is good, you should not have any engine problem. And now even through you bring it back to tham I'm sure they are not going to responsible for your engine. Good Luck man!!!
I already said that there wasnt any smoke after racing those civics nor was my car overheating. It was fine and didnt even misfire that much the day I brought it over to him. To blow a headgasket while a car is sitting in the shop being idled and test driven means it was abused in my opinion.
Listen man that guy TOMMY has lost his touch with modern (IVTEC) and even post modern technology(VTEC). One of his suggestions was to get a new engine() I had to explain to him that you couldnt use a base model H22a4 engine on my tranny without fabrication and he begged to differ. He told me that the WHITE SMOKE was oil burning when in fact that is a sign of coolant burning and possibly a head gasket being the cause. You see my point
Hes not up to date with his homework. Working on cars is his job not his passion.
When a mechanic is guessing whether changing the grade of oil (from a 10w-30 to my previously used 10w-40 ) will fix this kind of problem, you know he either doesnt care or doesnt have a clue. He hasnt even brought up the idea of a compression or leak down test. If you LOVE your CAR dont bring it to TM&T on NORTHERN BLVD.
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98Type SH Stock-Nordic Mist
WTB: Tanabe SMH Catback
firstly im sorry but even though you might save some money always check to see if they know honda engines. it always seems a lot of shops are only ever good and can work wonders with domestic but for some reason get confused with anything else. idk if thats the way that shop is but its really common. so anyway your most likely gonna need to take it back to the place that did it and ask about a warrenty. dont mention the other place until they get in there and see what went wrong. no need to give them an easy way out if they dont deserve it. if they take the blame great if not find out what happened and see if it was the new shop that you think broke it. it seems like youll need to get the guy who built the motor to go to court with you and maybe his boss to testify.
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Hi: is it your car black SH, if yes, I saw your car was there!! You know what they have been there to do the business so many years, the guy Tommy, they have a lot of experience, they know what they need to do. As you said you race with 2 Civic before, when you got misfire, it could be damaged the engine, and you said you will send the car back to NRG tech, you should have some kinds of warranty, you should talked to them befor eyou send the car to any mechanic, but if NRG tech is good, you should not have any engine problem. And now even through you bring it back to tham I'm sure they are not going to responsible for your engine. Good Luck man!!!
you drunk.
if you could of found the reason for your misfire before hand, that could of prevented all of this.
figure out whats wrong with the car and then figure it out
Not really. I'm doing a completely stock rebuild. Shortblock complete rebuild including hone. New guides, valve seats and valves recut. Not everyone is after more power. More power certainly isn't going to make me a better driver on the track. I just want to get my oe engine to stop leaking and burning oil 1qt/500 miles, and restore all the lost compression.
Think about how much more a 'build' costs over oem. $300 extra for Mahle pistons over oem, $550 for cams, $350 for valvetrain, $400 for intake mani, $300 for tuning provision, $500 for exhaust. Adds up quickly doesn't it.
So you think paying someone to rebuild an engine completely OEM is much smarter than buying a used JDM engine?
So you think paying someone to rebuild an engine completely OEM is much smarter than buying a used JDM engine?
Pay someone to rebuild a motor? Hell friggin no. Not only is it a waste of money, there aren't many competent mechanics out there. The majority of ones who own and work in 'Honda shops' are especially moronic and will try to rip customers off every instance possible. Do it myself..absolutely.
$1150 in parts and machining to rebuild a motor v. $1899+shipping for a JDM motor from HMO. That's a 0 miles motor v. 40k miles.
I know of more than a few Prelude's that were purchased new and well maintained. Inevitably all of them started consuming some oil around 70k miles and progressively got worse despite being maintained well. It's a fact that FRM wears rings, especially the oil control ones, rather quickly by Honda standards. Even published so by the company that developed FRM. With a purchased JDM engine, the clock is already substantially run out.
Pay someone to rebuild a motor? Hell friggin no. Not only is it a waste of money, there aren't many competent mechanics out there. The majority of ones who own and work in 'Honda shops' are especially moronic and will try to rip customers off every instance possible. Do it myself..absolutely.
$1150 in parts and machining to rebuild a motor v. $1899+shipping for a JDM motor from HMO. That's a 0 miles motor v. 40k miles.
I know of more than a few Prelude's that were purchased new and well maintained. Inevitably all of them started consuming some oil around 70k miles and progressively got worse despite being maintained well. It's a fact that FRM wears rings, especially the oil control ones, rather quickly by Honda standards. Even published so by the company that developed FRM. With a purchased JDM engine, the clock is already substantially run out.
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HNNY
) I had to explain to him that you couldnt use a base model H22a4 engine on my tranny without fabrication and he begged to differ. He told me that the WHITE SMOKE was oil burning when in fact that is a sign of coolant burning and possibly a head gasket being the cause. You see my point
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