rip-off rebuild, scumbag mechanic, and crap compression

[haze]

basically i am feeling a bit like a patsy, i just found out yesterday my machine shop rebuild of my l16 engine was not done as pro as i once thought. my truck had a bad shake at idle and absolutely no power even going up the smallest hills i checked for a leak at the carb using carb cleaner around all the hoses, cracks, and crevices listening intently for a rpm change with no dice so i checks the tail pipe while the truck was running and felt a hamming effect on my hand from the exhaust(dead hole) so i moved on to a compression test #1-140 lbs, #2 20lbs, #3-30lbs, #4 140-lbs. so i take my baby to what i thought was the best game in town for a valve adjustment. $200 later they tell me they have restored 2 and 3 cylinders and thats all they tell me ( i am planning a move across the county in just a few days and i was too scattered to ask any questions). i drive the car for a couple days and definitely notice a substantial power gain however the shake is still present and that hammering effect is still present at the exhaust so i give the place a call and am told to stop be and they can take a look at it right away. so i drive across town and suddenly they are too busy to fix their screw up or tell me anything about my compression and send me on my way. the following day i make a call being the captain of prick island and am told to come back out and they will make room for me.a new compression check on 2 and 3 reveals 75 and 100 lbs compression respectively and the mechanic that worked on my truck told me my springs are weak and that he can push my valves in with his thumb. this gets a blank stare from me being i am not very knowledgeable in the tuning spec of valves. anyway long story short they tell me i need a complete valve job which could take weeks and atleast 800 bucks and now i am in between a rock and a hard place not knowing who if not everybody is giving me the bone.

 

did the machine shop do a shit rebuild? my water pump housing was pitted badly and my cooling system did develop a leak a little under a couple months after my rebuild was complete and they obviously adjusted my valves wrong in the first place. did my auto mechanic just do a shit job on my valve adjustments and didnt want to take the time to get it right? i have a feeling these guys stripped out my #2 cylinder because i checked my plugs before and after i dropped my truck off and it wasn't broke before

(had to run a chaser to get the plug back in), also shouldn't they have done a compression check after they adjusted the valves?why did i have to take my truck back two times before they even knew the pressure in 2 and 3?

 

okay this is getting long (kind of hot at the moment)so here is the situation i am moving from austin tx to mendocino ca on monday i am out of time as far as getting this thing fixed locally and i just dont have the know how or time to do this myself at the moment

 

A)VERY IMPORTANT: what are some jury rigs i can do to smooth out my idle for the time being? presently i am running vr1 20w-50 oil in my engine. until i make some cash at my new job in ca i am going to have to limp her along (shes all i got) i am going to be living in the country so trips to town will be 50 or so miles each way.

 

B)anybody between austin tx and mendocino ca that might be willing to give an honest hand with this? i am tired of being bent over the barrel.

 

C)are there any IDIOTS guides to adjusting my own valves or removing my head for rebuild.

 

D) what are cali prices to get a thing like this done what if i remove my own head first?

 

i feel very stressed out yall, its like austin found out i was moving got pissed and straight bent me over the barrel and now i am worried my little baby is going to die in the middle of nowhere ca after i tow her across the county

[68Datsun510]

How to section.

 

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/16539-l-series-valve-adjustment/page__st__20

[datzenmike]

#1-140 lbs, #2 20lbs, #3-30lbs, #4 140-lbs See the two low readings in the middle? This could be a blown head gasket and or warped head between two cylinders. Granted the valves on these two cylinders could be too tight also, so do check them.

 

I think these guys saw you coming from a long way off. $200 valve adjustment for 1/2 hour of work is a rip off. I don't know what you paid for the rebuild or how well it ran afterwords (or did it run like new? Maybe they just fixed it up) but if you paid for it, they now know they can tell you anything and get away with it. Go somewhere else. These guys are thieves.

 

Take your lumps and start learning about your ride or mechanics will simply take your money..

[ggzilla]

Unfortunately your engine was bad before you took it in and asked for a valve adjustment. That low compression is bad, and if you drove on it, only makes it worse. It can't be restored by a valve adjustment if you drove on it like that.

 

I advise to get a good running used engine, and swap it in. Do a compression check before you buy or before you install it. Do the smoke tests before you buy. Wrecking yards will usually let you see the smoke test.

[motavated]

shi.. you can get the head rebuilt for 200$.... If I was there I would make it run tits... If its savable.

[ggzilla]

$200 can get you a good used complete L16, which needs no rebuild. Be patient and keep looking.

[haze]

sounds like tracking down a spare engine would be the fastest simplest option and being i am about to live 50 miles from the nearest parts store i sure would like to have something dependable to get around in. this engine had definitely become a money pit.

[I'm BLUE]

ggzilla hit it on the nose

 

 

[haze]

shi.. you can get the head rebuilt for 200$.... If I was there I would make it run tits... If its savable.

my move to northern California will actually be taking me right through the

L.A. area by next Thursday or Friday with my busted old pickup in tow if you wanna meet i can buy the booze

[banzai510(hainz)]

we could have walked you thru a valve adjustment. theres a vid also.

 

if idle still rough pull a spark plug wire. if gets worse then you know that wire or spark plug is working. then go to the next. If you pull a plug wire and nothing happens then it coule be most likely a spark plug if a lash pad fell out or the rocker arm is too tight.

 

Now if the motor is not overheating or using water I hightly dought the head gasket is bad(They should have cked for straightness). then look at above again re time the motor and do a idle mixture adjustment. ck it tight carb. I cracked carb adapter if the thin one can crack. But you cked using starting fluid so I will assume its good also. If point ignition ck for loose shaft in dizzy.

 

as for the springs being weak? I never really seen this . There should be 2 springs a inner and outter and even if weak, no fucking way he can push it in with his thumb. I like to see this. Unless he didnt instll one of the springs

[ggzilla]

He already knows the cause of the rough idle -- low compression.

[banzai510(hainz)]

pintons ring lined up in a row cracked valve,valve seat come loose

 

 

just covering everything as he is a novice

 

my water pump housing was pitted badly and my cooling system did develop a leak a little under a couple months after

a new front cover would be needed. If you knew this you should have gotton one as I wouldnt trust just any shop. Most would put it back together and not tell you. a good shop will not work on it thay cant garentee the block is good

[the nice machine]

 

 

I think these guys saw you coming from a long way off. $200 valve adjustment for 1/2 hour of work is a rip off. I don't know what you paid for the rebuild or how well it ran afterwords (or did it run like new? Maybe they just fixed it up) but if you paid for it, they now know they can tell you anything and get away with it. Go somewhere else. These guys are thieves.

 

Take your lumps and start learning about your ride or mechanics will simply take your money..

 

i totally agree with mike... this reminds me of problems i used to have with mechanics, here is an example: when i was a teenager i had absolutely NO interest in working on cars. the first one was a subaru gl-10, the second was a mazda b truck, the clutch pedal on both of them kept getting looser and looser until the clutch just wouldn't work anymore. so both times i took them to mechanics, both times they said i needed a new clutch and i paid them each 500 bucks for a "new clutch".

well, skip forward 15 years or so, i don't want to pay anyone to do shit for me anymore. so when my clutch pedal starts feeling mushy on my 620, i ask one or two questions on ratsun... and boom! it is just a leaky slave cylinder. 20 dollars and an hour of work and it is fixed. and i am positive that this was the problem with those first two cars.

the ironic thing is, if you know what is wrong with your car you most likely won't take it to a shop. if you go to a shop and they can see that you don't know about your car... you should brace yourself for some hardcore butt sodomy. good luck sorry i know this post doesn't help you with your current situation. and i'm not saying most mechanics are creeps, but a lot of them are. my advice is always consult ratsun before you go to a shop.

[Sealik]

Well....if this guy can manually collapse a valve spring ....either he's some kind of missing link with some manly man thumbs....or....they are compromised????

Which.....could lead to the low compression?????? Valves not seating correctly...etc.

Also.....I would check that the valve lash was set correctly

Might be in vain...But I would investigate a little further to confirm the engine is actually NFG.

[king bee66]

you didnt take it to travis center did you? those fuckers will talk a big game but do shit work.

 

i had my a motor head rebuilt by precision engine by capital plaza, they did a good job for what i paid, it took them two weeks though.

 

just curious if ive seen you around town, is your truck light blue?

[haze]

no sir booger green with a white strip and white top i live around MLK and chicon so you may have seen me around there. i took my engine to South Austin Machine Shop off of south lamar and manchaca needless to say they wont be getting anymore business or referrals from me. Rising Sun automotive was the spot i took her to for the valve adjust and needless to say i wouldn't recommend them either

[king bee66]

rising sun was the first place i called when i started having motor problems, they said they couldnt help after i told them it was carbureted. i guess they did me a favor. i saw a 521 a few weeks ago parked at the HEB on oltorf and s congress thought it might have been yours

[haze]

well if it was a green and white 72 it certainly was though i typically stay north of the river.you know after reading through this thread i realized i just need to find a compressor and give this bitch a leakdown test that would answer a whole lot of WTF's past maybe WHY i didnt think of it in the first place.

[Sealik]

well if it was a green and white 72 it certainly was though i typically stay north of the river.you know after reading through this thread i realized i just need to find a compressor and give this bitch a leakdown test that would answer a whole lot of WTF's past maybe WHY i didnt think of it in the first place.

 

Confirm that the valve springs are in good shape..dual spring/not broken etc.....set lash at .010in and .012ex ....warm engine

Valve lash should always be set prior to a compression test.....warm engine, all plugs removed, throttle plate open....crank till the needle in gauge stops moving.

Typically.....on a good motor.....the reading will jump to 75+ lbs on the first crank/rotation of engine

 

I was going to suggest a leak down....but didn't think you had the appropriate tools

 

Here's a test on my LZ motor...

Compressor set at 95 lbs.....gauge on left (from compressor) set at 90

Right gauge reads 87-88 lbs/2-3% loss......a very good reading

 

[haze]

okay i think i got it

 

watch the mcklotz valve videos agian

 

adjust my valves to specs

 

check and adjust timing

 

check compression

 

if under 150 lbs anywhere do a leakdown test

 

am i forgetting anything?

[ggzilla]

Don't make it so complicated. You can do a compression check with a cold engine. You don't have to set the valve lash first (although if you get low readings, you should check the lash setting as a possibile reason)

 

With low compression, I would NOT be running the engine until it's warm. I'd find the reason for low compression before running it.