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Author: Subject: Dyno Problems!
scootz

posted on 7/10/09 at 09:16 AM Reply With Quote
Dyno Problems!

Got a call from Little Bro - the poor sod's engine has let go at the Tuners!

He's into Jap cars and has an Evo... it's been off the road for the last 6 months having thousands spent on a super-duper engine re-build. He's ran it in gently for the last 700 miles and sent it to a reputable Evo tuner for mapping.

He explained it was a new-build and asked them to change the oil prior to commencing, dial-in-cams, etc.

When he went to collect it, they took his £250 and told him that they stopped as the engine was making 'noises'... net result - all bearings are gone and valves, etc. knackered! He's looking at a £3k bill.

He's dropped the oil and it's full of fuel - he suspects they have been hammering it when it's been over-fueling and considers they haven't done their job right. They disagree (say the engine must have been faulty) and won't engage in dialogue with him.

I've no experience with these things - where does he stand?

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Charlie_Zetec

posted on 7/10/09 at 09:24 AM Reply With Quote
If the engine was in full working order when delivered to them, then something has happened whilst in their presence. If they've been pushing it too hard and caused it to fail, then they obviously have some liability. Ask him to check if he's signed anything waiving any repercussionary actiona against the RR company - sometimes they ask user to sign a waiver indemnifying them for anything adverse that happens to the car whilst they're tuning it.

Also, does the invoice say exactly what they did in terms of changing the oil and timing it in before they put it on the rollers? Ask for a breakdon invoice, and if they haven't followed his instructions then they could be seen to be negligent. Tell him to also send a copy of the rebuild receipts to the RR co. to prove that it was all done professionally, and was working prior to him leaving it in theor care.

You could always suggest small claims court action, think it costs about £30-35, but claim limit is set around £2k. For more than this you'll need to seek advanced legal advice from a solicitor or similar, and that's where it starts getting costly.

[Edited on 7/10/09 by Charlie_Zetec]





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theconrodkid

posted on 7/10/09 at 09:30 AM Reply With Quote
all modern engines have a rev limiter and are therefore in theory impossible to over rev,he would have prob signed a waver about the engine going pop as there is always that risk.





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Cousin Cleotis

posted on 7/10/09 at 09:33 AM Reply With Quote
He shouldnt have driven it without having it mapped, not even gently the damage may have already been done, detonation, etc...

A new engine needing mapping needs to go straight on a dyno, they can map the low load/engine speed first to bed it in.

Who built the engine?

Does the car have an oil pressure/temperature gauge? If not did the tuner fir one so he can see any problems whilst mapping?

Paul

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scootz

posted on 7/10/09 at 09:40 AM Reply With Quote
Cheers guys - I'll pass on the advice.

He tells me he didn't sign any disclaimers and apparently the Oil Temp Gauge stopped working during the session, but they carried on.

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scootz

posted on 7/10/09 at 09:43 AM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Cousin Cleotis
He shouldnt have driven it without having it mapped, not even gently the damage may have already been done, detonation, etc...

A new engine needing mapping needs to go straight on a dyno, they can map the low load/engine speed first to bed it in.

Paul


Is this the general consensus?

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tegwin

posted on 7/10/09 at 09:49 AM Reply With Quote
Is that not going to depend on what the "base map" was for the rebuilt engine?

If the oil temp guage stopped working during the tuning and they noticed it, but did not stop to investigate, then I would suggest you have a good case....



[Edited on 7/10/09 by tegwin]





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kevmcdo

posted on 7/10/09 at 09:50 AM Reply With Quote
I had my Discovery on the rolling road in Dalgety Bay in Fife the middle of last month and never had to sign anything, just handed my keys over and watched the horse power climb....

It is fairly disconcerting watch how hard and long the will rev the engine during the process..

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eznfrank

posted on 7/10/09 at 09:50 AM Reply With Quote
Would the ECU be able to shed some light on what was going wrong?
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scootz

posted on 7/10/09 at 11:25 AM Reply With Quote
The ECU was set to a suitable running-in base-map. There was only as handful of 'knocks' detected during the run-in period.

Also, the ECU diagnostics only flag up ECU faults.

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will121

posted on 7/10/09 at 02:47 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by kevmcdo
It is fairly disconcerting watch how hard and long the will rev the engine during the process..


i thought that first time i watched a motorbike on one reving to 14k but its no more ardious than a good thrash to peak RPM on a road/track really, its just when you are driving you leave the screaming noise behind you.

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ko_racer

posted on 7/10/09 at 03:46 PM Reply With Quote
I'd say it was unikely the RR caused the problem with the engine, they would have been loggin it continously while it was running, they probably have this available to look at.
A faulty oil temp sensor with everything else running ok wouldn't really be a cause for stopping runs unless you thought the oil temp was marginal. They aren't exactly the most reliable sensors.

I'd say from my evo experience it's probably down to a component failure or the way it was built. Could even be down to a previous failure not being cleaned out properly.

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jeffw

posted on 7/10/09 at 04:44 PM Reply With Quote
Who built the engine ? If it was the company who mapped it then they would be responsible. If it was someone else then it is a bit more iffy as you don't know what caused the failure ....build or mapping.






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scootz

posted on 7/10/09 at 05:38 PM Reply With Quote
It was a local specialist, but not the dyno operators.
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scootz

posted on 7/10/09 at 05:39 PM Reply With Quote
What's the general consensus regarding the oil being full of fuel... does that suggest anything?
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Cousin Cleotis

posted on 7/10/09 at 08:49 PM Reply With Quote
I would send the oil off for analysis and give the engine back to the builder to strip and inspect.

Did the builder give any instructions on running in? Where did the base map come from?

Paul

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