Customer Rebuilt Engine & Now It Won't Start
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Date: 2020-08-05
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Comments and reviews: 10
William
Back in the day I was an automotive machinist. Every so often I would have a proud father show up with an engine to rebuild for his kid's car. This time it was a customer with a 396 for his kid's Chevelle. He wanted the engine bored, balanced and blue printed, and ported heads. I was well into the build when the customer came into the shop and said he wanted to save money so he and his kid would have a memory of putting the engine together themselves. I told the customer that I was not happy with that request, mainly because my name was on that engine. The customer finally agreed to let me short block it, but he would do the rest with his kid.
A week later, I got a call at about 2: 30 in the morning. The customer was yelling at me from the get-go. This GD engine doesn't have any oil pressure. What the hell did you do or not do!
I stopped at the shop and picked up my drill and pump priming rod and went to the gas station the customer was using to test run the engine in the kid's Chevelle.
I saw they had the valve covers off and the top of the heads were dry as a bone in the desert.
So I pulled the distributor and put light in the hole and I could see all the way to the top of the oil pump. I asked the customer where he assembled the engine and he told me his garage. I told him the oil pump shaft between the distributor and the oil pump was missing. He told me I must have forgotten to give it to him at my shop. I told him we were going to his garage. In the middle of the garage floor was the box I had given him at my shop. I walked over, looked in the box and there in all its singular glory was the shaft. I didn't say anything to him, just picked up the shaft and went back the the station.
I primed the engine oiling system, put the shaft in and put the distributor back and told him to start it.
I was younger then and a bit pissed-off, so I stepped back while the crowed gathered around the engine bay. The customer had a remote start and cranked the engine. The engine instantly fired, and all those gathered around the engine.
, well let's just say they received a break in oil baptism. There was oil everywhere. I guess I should have told them to put the valve covers on, but hey, short block it was.
I walked out and went home to bed with the biggest smile of my lifetime.
reply
Back in the day I was an automotive machinist. Every so often I would have a proud father show up with an engine to rebuild for his kid's car. This time it was a customer with a 396 for his kid's Chevelle. He wanted the engine bored, balanced and blue printed, and ported heads. I was well into the build when the customer came into the shop and said he wanted to save money so he and his kid would have a memory of putting the engine together themselves. I told the customer that I was not happy with that request, mainly because my name was on that engine. The customer finally agreed to let me short block it, but he would do the rest with his kid.
A week later, I got a call at about 2: 30 in the morning. The customer was yelling at me from the get-go. This GD engine doesn't have any oil pressure. What the hell did you do or not do!
I stopped at the shop and picked up my drill and pump priming rod and went to the gas station the customer was using to test run the engine in the kid's Chevelle.
I saw they had the valve covers off and the top of the heads were dry as a bone in the desert.
So I pulled the distributor and put light in the hole and I could see all the way to the top of the oil pump. I asked the customer where he assembled the engine and he told me his garage. I told him the oil pump shaft between the distributor and the oil pump was missing. He told me I must have forgotten to give it to him at my shop. I told him we were going to his garage. In the middle of the garage floor was the box I had given him at my shop. I walked over, looked in the box and there in all its singular glory was the shaft. I didn't say anything to him, just picked up the shaft and went back the the station.
I primed the engine oiling system, put the shaft in and put the distributor back and told him to start it.
I was younger then and a bit pissed-off, so I stepped back while the crowed gathered around the engine bay. The customer had a remote start and cranked the engine. The engine instantly fired, and all those gathered around the engine.
, well let's just say they received a break in oil baptism. There was oil everywhere. I guess I should have told them to put the valve covers on, but hey, short block it was.
I walked out and went home to bed with the biggest smile of my lifetime.
reply
Jason
When I was 17 I bought a Saturn SC2 that needed a clutch. Did all myself on jackstands being as thorough as I could. When I got it all back together after about 7 hours worth of work I tried to push the clutch down and the pedal was firm, way too firm, instead of stopping I pushed harder and it went right to the floor and didn't pop back up. I ended up misaligning the slave cylinder and it was pushing on a bracket instead of the clutch fork, blew up the slave cylinder and blew brake fluid all over my new clutch. I had to take it all apart and redo it. At the time it really sucked, but in hindsight it was a great learning opportunity and only cost me about 70 in part and a bunch of my time.
reply
When I was 17 I bought a Saturn SC2 that needed a clutch. Did all myself on jackstands being as thorough as I could. When I got it all back together after about 7 hours worth of work I tried to push the clutch down and the pedal was firm, way too firm, instead of stopping I pushed harder and it went right to the floor and didn't pop back up. I ended up misaligning the slave cylinder and it was pushing on a bracket instead of the clutch fork, blew up the slave cylinder and blew brake fluid all over my new clutch. I had to take it all apart and redo it. At the time it really sucked, but in hindsight it was a great learning opportunity and only cost me about 70 in part and a bunch of my time.
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Madcap
There is a local mechanic here does a weekend radio show. To check out the honesty of potential sponsors he would drive to their shops with a vacuum hose purposely upplugged and tell the mechanic that the car was running bad. It was easy to see who the honest mechanics were in town, all they had to do was plug in the hose. Those that quoted him x amount of to install this or that part he stayed away from. To their credit some mechanics easily heard the vacuum leak, plugged in the hose and did not charge him, sent him on his way. He went after those for sponsors.
reply
There is a local mechanic here does a weekend radio show. To check out the honesty of potential sponsors he would drive to their shops with a vacuum hose purposely upplugged and tell the mechanic that the car was running bad. It was easy to see who the honest mechanics were in town, all they had to do was plug in the hose. Those that quoted him x amount of to install this or that part he stayed away from. To their credit some mechanics easily heard the vacuum leak, plugged in the hose and did not charge him, sent him on his way. He went after those for sponsors.
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Edwin
Hey Eric- O,
Thanks for your honesty man. You are a true excellent mechanic. respect man.
One silly thing i did while i was servicing my car. I drained the oil and forget to replace the oil pan plug and i realised that after i had pured [3] bottles of full synthetic engine oil through the engine. Weare human and we will forget even the simplest things sometime
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Hey Eric- O,
Thanks for your honesty man. You are a true excellent mechanic. respect man.
One silly thing i did while i was servicing my car. I drained the oil and forget to replace the oil pan plug and i realised that after i had pured [3] bottles of full synthetic engine oil through the engine. Weare human and we will forget even the simplest things sometime
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Lonny
I put a new head and gasket set on a Toyota pick up truck check all the timing marks cranked it and cranked it no running engine humm checked all the timing marks again checked spark every thing checked good went to start it just cranking over. Well after all that guess what No gas in the tank lol put gas in fired right over ran great. make sure you have gas I guess
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I put a new head and gasket set on a Toyota pick up truck check all the timing marks cranked it and cranked it no running engine humm checked all the timing marks again checked spark every thing checked good went to start it just cranking over. Well after all that guess what No gas in the tank lol put gas in fired right over ran great. make sure you have gas I guess
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Patrick
Did he set you up the only thing I can remember one time I put new rotors calipers and pads on my Chevy 3 times in one week my part store kept giving me the same brand calipers that turned out to be defectiveonce I opted for a name brand finally worked change equalizer valve master cylinder cluster duck
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Did he set you up the only thing I can remember one time I put new rotors calipers and pads on my Chevy 3 times in one week my part store kept giving me the same brand calipers that turned out to be defectiveonce I opted for a name brand finally worked change equalizer valve master cylinder cluster duck
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Webster
Just installed a new power steering pump on a f150 3. 5 l and didnt pull the plug off the inlet. Put the hose right over it, burned it up before I figured out what I did wrong. Im 70 years old and been working on cars and trucks as a hobby since I was 13 made a lot of mistakes but that was embarrassing
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Just installed a new power steering pump on a f150 3. 5 l and didnt pull the plug off the inlet. Put the hose right over it, burned it up before I figured out what I did wrong. Im 70 years old and been working on cars and trucks as a hobby since I was 13 made a lot of mistakes but that was embarrassing
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Quinn
Silly mistake: serpentine belt wasn't in the grooves on all pulleys. It shredded and also broke the water pump. The pulley from the water pump comically dropped underneath the truck and rolled away. I'd been working on it outside for like 2 weeks in front of my neighbors and that was the first start.
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Silly mistake: serpentine belt wasn't in the grooves on all pulleys. It shredded and also broke the water pump. The pulley from the water pump comically dropped underneath the truck and rolled away. I'd been working on it outside for like 2 weeks in front of my neighbors and that was the first start.
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Gee
This is a lesson on always starting out with checking the basics BEFORE you start getting complicated. Is it getting spark? Fuel? Air? A lot of guys would assume it's GOTTA be something more complicated since no one can be THAT silly and start by playing around with the timing belt.
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This is a lesson on always starting out with checking the basics BEFORE you start getting complicated. Is it getting spark? Fuel? Air? A lot of guys would assume it's GOTTA be something more complicated since no one can be THAT silly and start by playing around with the timing belt.
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Rob
When I was in high school I put a head gasket in my Chevy can of beer. It was after midnight when my buddy and I got it ready to hear it run. And 2 AM when we finally realized that we needed to put the sparkplug wires on for it to run. I felt like a complete moron!
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When I was in high school I put a head gasket in my Chevy can of beer. It was after midnight when my buddy and I got it ready to hear it run. And 2 AM when we finally realized that we needed to put the sparkplug wires on for it to run. I felt like a complete moron!
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