ComplaintsforClearwater Cylinder Head, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  10/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hello I paid Clearwater cylinder head shop to rebuild a set of **** 390 heads for my classic ******************************************************************************************************************** our engines nowadays. I gave them the okay to rebuild them I received them last Wednesday I installed them on the motor which is a brand new motor on Thursday and put the motor in my truck on Friday I drove it home 10 miles it sounded fine I changed my oil because I'm meticulous in case any small metal shavings from Machining might have got in my motor I'll have the receipts showing that I paid for that oil from AutoZone the new heads are higher compression because they surface the deck not a lot but enough that my carburetor needed adjusting so I have a mechanic friend who's very good at it about 45 Mi away I drove my truck at 55 to **************************************************************************** my motor which concerned me so I slowed down pulled over check the engine everything was still good oil levels water coolant nothing overheating I continued on when I got to my friend's house it sounded pretty bad he's a Certified mechanic we checked the compression we had no cylinder compression in seven and eight on the cylinders we pulled the head and found that the hardened seat they installed had fallen out and bent the valves smack the piston in my motor which in turn wore out my cam by locking the push rod against the lifter now my motor is completely filled full of metal shavings my cam is destroyed this is a brand new motor in less than 70 miles the heads took out my motor the owner was very rude to me and told me he would not pay for any damage to my motor even though the head is the reason I have the damage I feel that people nowadays are pushing people like me over and I need someone to help me with a resolution to ************ can you please look into this and help me thank youi

  Business response

  10/30/2023

  Customer had brought a set of heads in from an FE 390 **** to be rebuilt. We had advised the customer that he should have all hardened exhaust seats installed because the seats were pounding in and older engines ran soft seats due to the lead that was in the fuel back when they were made. We fully rebuilt the customers heads, installed all new all new valves, seats, valve seals, new exhaust seats, new guides etc. Customer brought heads back in about 2 weeks later stating there was only 70 miles on the engine and the heads had failed. Upon disassembly and inspection of heads we found numerous issues with the heads that were caused after installation. We have uploaded files and documents to support this claim. Most notably we found extreme valve guide wear. Having this amount of wear with brand new valve guides after only been driven 70 miles is a huge indicator of an issue. We also found evidence on the deck surface of the heads showing the compression from the engine was leaking past the fire ring on the head gasket. You can see from a picture we uploaded with two arrows one showing a cylinder where all gases were sealed effectively in the firing ring and the next you can see black exhaust gasses escaping and being shared between two cylinders. We also noticed an exhaust leak that you can clearly see in one of the photos showing the exhaust port with exhaust gasses escaping the exhaust manifold gasket. Furthermore we found excessive valve stem galling on all valve stems and keep in mind all parts were brand new and only used for 70 miles. ***** is also considerable bluing of the steel on the backs of the exhaust valves which indicate cylinder temps much higher than normal. In conclusion, based on the evidence it is our position that engine ran under an extreme lean condition. Running engines under a lean condition causes excessive premature valve guide wear, valve galling due to valves stocking in guides from excessive thermal expansion and would also cause the bluing seen on the backs of the exhaust valves. The higher cylinder temperatures exhibited from running an engine lean is the ultimate cause of the valve seat inserts falling out. ***** were a myriad of other pieces of evidence we had noted but unfortunately the BBB only allows space for 5 files. As a result of the failure and it's cause this effectively voids any and all warranty to the customer, but as a show of good faith we are going above and beyond and replacing the heads for the customer at no cost. 

• Initial Complaint

  05/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have a 2006 dodge ram **** i purchased a truck with a bad motor. The head gasket was bad, so were the heads I went to Clearwater cylinder head to purchase two new heads with cams. For the price of $800 after tax after I received the heads I installed them properly every single head bolt was taught to spec. And the motor was fully assembled close to 4 or 5 pm and was able to start let it run for almost an hour when i shut off the truck and went to crank it back on the starter didnt kick,so i pull the starter went to work for a while and while the truck cool down, i got the starter while i was out working and installed the starter not long after and i started the truck and sure enough it was running very poorly and had a bad metal to metal rattling in the valve train. And than as it was running poorly i went to inspect the motor with a second pair of eyes witch was my cell phone camera i have proof of assembly and proof of the motor running perfectly fine of the hour i had it running it destroyed the piston so the motor it self was no longer good had to go out and stend **** hundred dollars for a new motor plus labor I tried to resolve and they immediately Told me to get out of the stop trespassed me

  Business response

  05/17/2023

  Is is very unfortunate that any amount of time must be used to respond to this complaint. We made every effort to help Mr. ****** and I feel strongly that anyone who reads and understands the circumstances will believe we did the right thing. To make a long story short Mr. ****** purchased a set of heads for his truck from **. All our heads are fully reconditioned and tested and will come ready to install with a 5 year unlimited mile warranty. The warranty covers repair or replacement of the head and does not cover labor charges, additional parts, fluids etc. Our warranty is void if the cylinder head is installed improperly or is overheated. I have attached a copy of our warranty policy for reference. The customer installed the heads on his truck and contacted us back shortly after installation and stated he has problems with the heads and the engine is now ruined because the heads failed. We politely listened to his complaint with an open mind and instructed him to bring the cylinder heads back to us for inspection so we can verify the cause of the failure. The customer then arrived a few days later with the cylinder heads in hand. We reviewed the heads and immediately determined that the damage was caused do to the engine being severely overheated. When the customer inquired as to how we came to that conclusion we showed him the heat tab that was affixed to the cylinder heads. The heat tab is a small dime shaped piece that is filled with lead. The lead in the center will melt out of the tab once it reaches 250 degrees. The lead on both heat tabs was completely melted out and that left no doubt that the engine had overheated. We clearly explained this to the customer and even showed him a good heat tab as comparison but he refused to accept what he had been told. We explained to him that when an engine is overheated it can cause the valve seats to drop out of the head and fall down into the cylinder while the engine is running which is the cause of all the damage he sees. The customer was acting erratic and refusing to take any responsibility for the issue and had demanded that we replace the engine in his truck. We then explained that we were not liable in any way and that his warranty was void but we had offered to replace the heads for him anyway as a show of good faith. Customer refused our gracious offer and began acting erratic at which point he was told to leave. He then took the cylinder heads outside in our parking lot and began throwing the cylinder heads up and down repeatedly in our parking lot. We have attached a video file showing the customer outside of our business throwing the cylinder heads which weigh about 50 lbs a piece. We then told him to leave the business or we would be calling the police which unfortunately we had to do. When the police came he was still acting erratic and the police had to threaten to arrest him before he would leave the premises at which point we were forced to trespass Mr. ****** because of his behavior. 

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