really, really angry. like so ticked i feel veins pulsing in my forehead.

[thechier86]

ok. so november first, i dropped my waggy with a rattley 360 off for an engine rebuild. he didn't get it running till tonight at 10pm, and only then because i did most of the work to yank the crap motor and install the rebuilt one myself. i payed the guy $1700 bucks to build it, and it ran ok for about ten minutes, then started ticking pretty bad, and he just played it off as an exhaust leak. still not really buying it, i drove the pile home, or at least most of the way. as i pulled onto my road, it backfired real loud and quit. won't start. it's spending the night on the side of the road.

[will e]

This is after breaking it in?

[DerekTJeep]

I am not a mechanic and I would not even buy that exhaust excuse!! Something fishy is brewing here.

[suzq044]

He wasn't worth the money apparently.. that sucks man.. <_<

[gibbsgirl]

that sounds awful. i hope you can get your money back. glad you at least got the Jeep back. sounds like it's "safer" outta his hands---even if it's stuck on the road side for the night---that sounds like it's better than being in his "care". i hope you get it fixed up right soon, so you can enjoy driving it :)

[PlasticBoob]

I think you should break him in.... two! :mad:

He probably rebuilt it as if it were a Chebby 350. :rolleyes:

[Gambler68]

yeah..sounds like the cam wasn't loaded with break in goop and wasn't pre-oiled and broken in right. Sucks :(

[jeepdreamer]

So,
Did you see him actually rebuild the engine? As in tear it appart, have it machined, etc...? When I was younger I was stationed in central texas. I blew the motor in my scrambler and from shopping around found a guy that would "rebuild it" for cheap. I dropped it off at his house and after 5 months and finally threats and altercations...he finished it. It ran maybe a month before throwing a rod through the block. Turned out he did nothing but pull the engine and cleaned it. Shot it with some blue paint and slapped it back in...
I'd suggest you confront him. If he owns the buisness then you may be a little lucky. Tell him you wish to see the reciepts of the machine work and parts you paid for. If he won't produce...and he doesn't "have to"...then tell him you will levy his buisness unless he refunds your money. Don't waist your time having him offet to fix it again...that is a dead end street. If he didn't fix it right when you were paying him..what makes you think he will do a quality job for free!?!?!??!

[thechier86]

he does own a shop, and i do know that he rebuilt it, because i have receipts from the machine shop and parts stores, and i checked in periodically and i saw the block on the floor torn apart, saw it clean on a stand a few days later, then assembled, and i watched him paint it. i think he just didn't know how to build an amc v8, with the oiling issues and whatnot.:banghead: i think i could get my money back, but then i don't know what to do with it. i don't really want to trust anymore shops at this point, and i don't have time to mess with it myself. also this is currently my only car! i've been having to share with my wife, which really sucks. i need to get this or my xj running soon!

[Elliott]

yeah..sounds like the cam wasn't loaded with break in goop and wasn't pre-oiled and broken in right. Sucks :(

Copy that, crashed cam, lifters and distributor drive gears. If lucky your pushrods are still good but I wouldn't count on it.

[freeincolorado]

This really sucks. I hope you get your money back.

[thechier86]

i only drove it 10 minutes, so it's not that catastrophic, i don't think. it didn't make it home, but i pulled the dizzy, and the gears were chewed, so i'm thinking that it jumped time and died before it had a chance to do any real internal damage. i think it's saveable, but i don't know as much about engines as a lot of people do.:mad:

[thechier86]

ok, so i'm feelin a little better now. my wife is awesome, and makes me feel better no matter what. so the guy calls me this morning, to see how well the jeep is running, and when i tell him what's going on, he writes down my adress, and sends a tow truck. he says he'll have it fixed sometime next week, and he'll make sure it's all good before i take it again. no extra charge, not even the tow bill. i don't think he was able to keep a shop going for 40 years because he does a crummy job and leaves customers to deal with it. i'm gonna try to keep good faith in the guy, and hope this engine thing was just a fluke.

[rmorit01]

i'm gonna try to keep good faith in the guy, and hope this engine thing was just a fluke.

That is a good news story...he sounds like he does take pride in his work and hopefully it is a simple issue and perhaps not incompetence.

I had a similar problem on break-in of a newly remanufactured Jasper 360...distributor gear chewed up the cam gear and newly installed engine was instantly bad.

Warranty got it all fixed...

What type of cam (make/model) did you have installed?

Bob

[gibbsgirl]

ok, so i'm feelin a little better now. my wife is awesome, and makes me feel better no matter what. so the guy calls me this morning, to see how well the jeep is running, and when i tell him what's going on, he writes down my adress, and sends a tow truck. he says he'll have it fixed sometime next week, and he'll make sure it's all good before i take it again. no extra charge, not even the tow bill. i don't think he was able to keep a shop going for 40 years because he does a crummy job and leaves customers to deal with it. i'm gonna try to keep good faith in the guy, and hope this engine thing was just a fluke.

that's fantastic news! i hope he can/will make it right for you.

i probably would have reacted last night the way you did too. i'm an absolute "boob" in the car-know-how-department. i know how bad it sucks to see a problem and not have an "instant" idea of what's wrong / how much time & $$$ it's gonna take to fix it. it always gives me a sinking, worst-case scenario, gut-reaction.

i'm really glad the guy checked up on you and felt like he had a responsiblity to stay involved with the job you paid him for.:thumbsup:

and very cool of you to say your wife made you feel better. that's pretty much my "job" in the car department at home. nothing hands on....just as much "moral support" as i can muster for my guys :p

[thechier86]

it got a new cam from melling, not too sure what the numbers are off the top of my head, but it was supposed to be slightly better than stock as far as power production. i don't know if there's any kind of warranty on that bad boy, but i sure hope so, for the mechanic's sake...

[Mephistopoles]

For a stock rebuild, the stock oiling system is fine. Sounds like he was just slapping parts together without really checking them, i.e., assuming that the oil passages are there in the new timing set, the oil hole in the cam for the dist. was clear and so on. Two small details that can make or break an AMC rebuild.
On the bright side, at least the guy is going to make it right.

[thechier86]

yeah, i hope so.... how long should i wait before i ask him about it? apparently things go wrong when you rush this guy, and i'd rather wait a few mroe weeks than end up with a brand new crapped out motor.:banghead:

[Josh D]

Hang in there!

And like Mephistopoles said, make sure the cam sprocket oil passage is clear of casting flash and all the parts assembled on the front of the cam are oriented correctly or the dizzy gear will get no oil. I would check this yourself at his shop before he puts the timing cover back on.

Also make sure you are running a break-in additive to your oil. New oils lack the zinc for proper lube of flat tappet cams, especially during break in.

[thechier86]

thanks! i might buy my own break in additive and add it before i drive the jeep home, if he hasn't already! as for the oiling passages, i can't sit there and watch him put it back together, and i don't think it should be my responsibility to. when i pay someone to build be an engine, i want to drop it off, and drive it home when he's done. i have more going on than just my jeep at this point, so if he gets it right, cool. if not, he'll be redoing it till he does get it right, otherwise, he'll be paying someone else to.

[cu4whln]

Man, I was getting worried as I read this !!

Keep us posted . . .

[[]V[]AXX]

It's stuff like this that keeps me from getting any work done at any shop anymore. Check his record with the Better Business Bureau, if he has one. If it was me, I'd also be checking in 24 hours after the tow truck leaves my house. I wanna know what went wrong! If it was the cam, I'd ask him why. Did he not check the cam bearing fitment? I know bluing and scraping cam bearings is tedious, but WOW! Did it have a worn distributor drive gear, and it chewed it up? I'd be asking what exactly went wrong, and what he had or has to do to fix it.:mad: I hope you get satisfaction, man.

As for break in additive. I had a hard time finding any. Even the speed shops didn't have the stuff. I was about to order some, when I found that Advance Auto had some Lucas oil break in additive. It's a small bottle with a pointed style lid. It has a black label. It says on the bottle "for racing applications" The down side is that it's $14 a bottle. After that, I haven't decided if I'm gonna run the high zinc Amsoil 10w-40, or some other high zinc engine oil, or add a bottle of this every oil change. I've got two engines that are flat tappet, and I'm still looking for alternatives to that $10 a quart Amsoil.

http://www.lucasoil.com/images/products/6F3EC48837D34E8FA8F44AE9D0BE3396.gif

[xsonmyeyes]

2 words: Bronze dizzy gear.... well 3 words... I chewed the hell out of mine cuz they weren't a matched set.

[salbt]

OK, I'm new to the AMC engine thing, what's this about oil? Any special requirements? I'm using a High Mileage oil, but if that's the wrong stuff, somebody please set me right as I don't want to ruin my engine.

[MuleRider]

Hope it works out for you. I've ran into the same problem with tranny. Guy keeps it 3 months over a period, keeps telling me next week, next week it'll be done. Tranny gets stolen out of his shop and dosent even call me to let me know. I called later that day and found out. What costumer service. So he replaces it with a used rebuild. Right. Tranny looks like he pulled it off a junkheap and put it on mine. Tranny shifts good, but I'm adding a quart of fluid about every 4 days. Its starting to get warm here, and I drove the jeep yesterday. I was leaving a trail of tranny fluid behind me. I dont want to go back because after multiple treats to the guy, thats how I finally got him to finish my jeep. I know how you feel, not wanting to deal with the guy on that level, but he also has to stick to his end of the deal.

[[]V[]AXX]

OK, I'm new to the AMC engine thing, what's this about oil? Any special requirements? I'm using a High Mileage oil, but if that's the wrong stuff, somebody please set me right as I don't want to ruin my engine.

It's not just AMC. It's a problem caused by the EPA. Like many problems. Older engines use flat tappet cams. Most newer engines have switched to roller tappets to reduce friction and extend life. The EPA mandated that the levels of zinc and phosphorus in motor oils be lowered to reduce emissions. Flat tappet engines require those higher zinc and phosphorus levels to reduce wear on cam lobes and lifters. Since most regular motor oils don't have what we need, you either have to use a ZDDP supplement additive, like the Lucas shown above, or an oil with a high zinc content. Many diesel oils have a higher zinc content, so, some people use them. Amsoil makes a high zinc content synthetic that has been recommended by many, but it's expensive. You can use your favorite regular oil, but the additives to supplement are expensive too. Most every major cam manufacturer has their own ZDDP additive. I'm still looking around for the combo that saves me money, but also protects the engine. I hate the EPA..

[Josh D]

OK, I'm new to the AMC engine thing, what's this about oil? Any special requirements? I'm using a High Mileage oil, but if that's the wrong stuff, somebody please set me right as I don't want to ruin my engine.

Not unique to AMC engines but to all older engines with non-roller flat tappet cams. They started removing zinc from oils about 5 years ago. Zinc was a chief lubricant that was in oil that prevented cam lobes from going flat. It is believed to damage catalytic converters on engines that burn a lot of oil, and newer roller valve trains don't need it.

A seasoned engine might be fine without it, or it might shorten it's life. I dunno. But new engines will wipe out the cam, especially if running high valve spring pressures, quickly without it.

I plan on running Comp Cams break in additive with every oil change.

Do a search on ZDDP and you'll find tons of info on this.