ok so i've been building all my buddies big motors for 3 years now. the latest motor i built the kid bought a case from appletree (which wasn't clearanced for stroker crank like it said it was) but then bought the stroker kit from Kustom 1 warehouse.

this is how the story goes. had a good build, it broke in like a raped ape. took it out in the trails and it just never sounded right. vibrated everything loose including his oil drain plug. started to vibrate the head studs making his heads leak. tore it apart and it looked like this motor was in a race buggy for 10 years. took the rotating assembly to the machine shop, crank was 20 grams off (which was allready suppose to be balanced according to their website) each rod was around 7 grams (long side) off balance. on the reassembly i noticed the bearings were real loose on the crank. so i broke out the micrometers and come to find out the crank has been turned down .020. on their website it doesn't offer bearings for a turned crank, only line bore bearings. they didn't send bearing with the original build.

ok so... is it my fault for automatically assuming that the crank was standard?? am i suppose to check all supposed to be brand new cranks? what should i do? call em up and voice my opinion? how far should i take it? i mean this $900 kit is now costing him $1500 after all the machine work. thats just the rotating assembly. not the cam not the case work. not the time i'm putting into this build. i'm a strong believer in supporting local businesses, but this is a kid that has to go out of state every week just to get a paycheck and he doesn't have the time, hence the online orders, which is a lot easier, but when u order something that is supposed to be quality materials and all u get is junk, what do u do? sorry for my ranting but i need someone to point me in the right direction on what i should do, or at least tell me that it was my fault for not checking all the specs before.

Hell yah you should call and complain!!!!!!!!!! Be nice at first maybe they will make it right, mistakes happen. But if they don't make it right take them to small claims court. I am all for supporting small buisness. I go out of my way to avoid shopping at stores like wal-666-mart, but that doesn't mean bad service is ok.
Nothing pisses me off more that rip off stores or buisnesses. Well that and people who try and run me over when I'm on my motorcycle.

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Why do I hate everyone?...................because they deserve it

Buy everything from CB Performance, they make good quality products for fair amount of $$$$ and if he wants to spend more $$$$ there is a website called evwparts.com and they sell Scat motor parts and they are very good as well. I would not buy the cases from Appletree, I would buy the Super case from CB, they already have it clearanced for stroker cranks and can get them in different bores and they are tough ones, or get a good AS-41 factory case and have it clearanced at a machine shop. I am currently running a cast aluminum case, but soon will have a super case from CB Performance and go ahead and bump it up to 2387 or a 2500

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"Loud pipes saves lives"

I would call and ask for the manager or the person with most authority. Explain the situation to him and ask to return the crank for a real new one. or ask if they will float the machine bill for their improperly advertised crank. If you get a double negative on both the tell them you are going to report them to the Better Business Bureau for false advertising.

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When in doubt, hit it in second gear!

you probly should have checked out everything before hand,that way you could have just sent it back for an exchange at thier expense.when you order something though you expect to get what you pay for and if they sold you a stroker kit that was a rotating assembly and was suppose to be balanced then yes i would call and go the polite way about trying to get it worked out,if you start out raising hell or get to out of hand then they will probly say you didnt do something right or it was your fault and it has been abused or some bs that will get you no results,id still be mad but be level headed about it and i hope you get this corrected,keep us posted cause if they screw you then theyed screw all us to and i will not order from them agian,i have actually had the wrong stuff sent to me by appletree and they was very nice to me about it and corrected the problem and did make things right.good luck.chad

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NOW GAS IT!!!!!

I am not one for sugar coating so here it is in a nutshell. The motor problem is from the loose crank bearings. 20 grams out of balance on the crank would have only made the motor vibrate some, not cause the damage you have. When I buy a new crank I take it and have it checked for balance before I Install it. As a motor builder it is your responsibility to make sure that bearing tolerences are correct during assembly. Same goes for case clearencing, piston fit, lifter bore fit etc. Taking the word of a supplier is only asking for trouble as you have found out. They make mistakes and most of the people you order from don't have a clue. What they have is a part number no more no less. As far as a recource of action you may recover a replacement crank. However it is highly unlikly that you will get any money for your labor and or Machine work. Most Warranties cover replacement only.

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Water cooled Dry Sumped Subaru Powered Turbo Charged Fuel Injected 2500CC Tank. Oh Rah! He who dies with the most Toys not only wins, He also wears them out!

Agreed you should have checked it new or not sorry lol. The first crank I got last year sometime, my motor guy checks EVERYTHING, when you tighten the rods down on the crank they would almost lockup completely. The crank journals were totally off. I bought the crank from a very good vendor and he had no idea, it was just a F'd up crank, sent me a brand new one and everything was fine. But it all comes down to yes it was checked before the mistake was even made. Live and learn

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2332cc Air Cooled Screaming Meanie. Predator Singleseat.

"Lets go get stupid"

You get what you pay for but you pay for what you get.

Buy from a reputable dealer with a good track record.
Most of those online shops have order takers not knowledgeable sales reps.
You might pay a bit more but the odds are you'll get the right parts the first time.

Since you assembled it I doubt you get any satisfaction.
Suing in small claims court would be a waste of time and money.
You didn't say where you were from but unless you are from Michigan you'd be wasing your time.
Most of those shops have enough disclaimers on their products to shield them from any liability other than replacing new defective parts.

I sell this stuff every day and build engines too.
Check, double check and triple check everything everytime.

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Gary

Turbo VW Sand Racer
Polaris Ranger



"If you don't run into the Devil every once in awhile, you must be going in the same direction!"

Davis Motorsports FaceBook Page

Plasti-guage is cheap i allways use it. Allways check everything. If you are right or wrong i wont say.

DAREK

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I want to die in my sleep like my grandpa. not screaming like the passengers in his car...

[quote="RodKnocker"]ok so i've been building all my buddies big motors for 3 years now.
on the reassembly i noticed the bearings were real loose on the crank. so i broke out the micrometers and come to find out the crank has been turned down .020. on their website it doesn't offer bearings for a turned crank, only line bore bearings. they didn't send bearing with the original build.

ok so... is it my fault for automatically assuming that the crank was standard??



Ok heres my 2cents,,,when you "assume" it usually makes an ass out of u and me! NEVER Assume!Check it several times! yes I know you think it will take longer right,,,but look at the time you have in it now not to mention the $$$$.And the upset customer

OK Next ?? I have is a 20under crank and std brgs should of been VERY NOISY and have VERY LITTLE oil pressure if ANY! and no I'm not yelling at you I just use caps to high light my points and yes I've been building these for years and I've made many mistakes but We all learn along the way! And the crank Kyle was referring to was the first I have ever seen ground the way it was!

If I would of assembled that(your buddys) engine that way,,Yes I Would be at fault,but thats the way I feel.
Have you stepped back and put the shoe on the other foot and thought how you would feel if you paid someone to build you an engine and that happened?
Oh yea did I mention double check everything

im a gm tech for a living and i always check clearences on new parts. i was bitten by the wrong bearings being supplied with a crank kit years ago early in my carreer. i have had another one since but because i checked beforehand the i was able to correct before assembly. I don,t build bug motors but have friends that drag raced 10 to 12 second bugs for years and they have always complained about inconsistencys in the parts they have purchased. of course they are being very picky considering the abuse they are giving there motors.

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Turbocharged Ecotec,vanogon midshift,Berrien WoodsBuggy wagon.

Maybe that's why VW parts are more or less cheaper than V8 parts over all. Because they all need to be checked and reworked, (balanced). Dave W.

I've accepted the fact that it was my fault for not measuring. and i learned alot from this motor build. i never knew anything about superflow heads, nothing about fuel injection. and my buddy cant be too upset on the cost of me building his motor, since it was free. i just wish he would of done little more research some of the stuff he bought, and not just seen the price tag and think "oh that must be good".

i got it put back together, runs like a champ. now i gotta convince him to stop snapping CV's. he went expensive on everything else but bought china cv's i don't think he knows but he is slowly killing me. he was talking about getting a license plate that said 2QK4UTC, i stepped back and looked at him and said "dude ur buggy is getting towed right now, I'm pretty sure u should get STOPLAUGHING on ur license plate". i should probably put a briggs n stratton in his buggy so he can tow me out someday.

thanks for everyone's opinions, helped me calm down and take a step back and get a running head start this time.

Glad to here you got it resolved. Our toughest lessons allways come at a cost. Been there done that!

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Water cooled Dry Sumped Subaru Powered Turbo Charged Fuel Injected 2500CC Tank. Oh Rah! He who dies with the most Toys not only wins, He also wears them out!

Sounds like you learned a lesson about the difference between a motor assembler and a motor builder. Assume nothing and check everything.

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Buy the best and cry once.