My problem with this company is that they do not stand behind their product, and hide behind their warranty when THEY screw up. This was not a mechanical failure 25,000 miles down the road, but FOUR gross human errors from the BEGINNING!!!
1. Missing oil pan gasket
2. Wrong supplier engine sent based on VIN
3. Timing chain installed wrong, causing misfire on all 8 cylinders
4. #8 valve damaged before or during installation of head onto engine, causing zero compression
These were all things I was willing to overlook as humans can and do make mistakes. All I wanted was for them to take care of their mistakes.
This is my story:
I had my suspicions with this company from the beginning. But since I was operating within a limited budget, these guys, priced at over $1000 less than the competition, was too tempting to resist. Well, caveat emptor... Buyer beware.
I originally came across this company via eBay. They were offering remanufactured engines at well below everyone else's prices. Upon placing my order, I receive an email instructing me to call the company to finalize my order. Fair enough. This is where the red flags started. I spoke with Eli, and he instructed me to first leave positive feedback BEFORE the engine would ship. I did as instructed and left the feedback. My engine shipped, but then through no fault of 123engine, there was a delay as the shipping company sent my engine to the wrong state. Nice.
Upon receipt of my engine, my tech said it looked good and proceeded with the install. He had noted that the oil pan gasket was missing. Later that evening, I received a call from my tech informing me that 123 had sent the wrong type engine. FORD uses two suppier plants for this specific engine, and the crankshaft had a different mount for the flywheel. This was a simple enough fix, as all we needed was a different flywheel. I called to inform Eli, and he quickly sent me out a check for the parts we had to purchase to finish the install. So far, still happy.
The engine is installed, but there is a wicked vibration. I take it to the FORD dealership for a computer diag as it is misfiring on ALL cylinders. FORD confirms this for a mere $80, plus they tell me that the engine is BAD. There is ZERO compression in the #8 cylinder. I call Eli for some direction. He asks that my tech call SAM, the shop supervisor at their facility in Canoga Park. My tech calls Sam and then informs me that Sam was very rude and made it sound like it was my tech's fault on the install. He also told me that Sam wanted to "fix the engine over the phone". My tech was incredulous at the suggestion, having personally worked on this exact type of motor for the last 15 years for local government agencies.
I had to wait a couple of weeks before I could bring my truck back in for a new diagnostic with my tech to get to the root cause. On that day, it was determined that the head would have to be pulled because a leak down test showed that air was getting into the intake from the #8 cylinder. All other cylinders were tight. This, he told me, meant that the timing was off, and suspected that the timing chains were installed improperly.
My tech pulled the head and confirmed that the intake valve was bent on #8. He said the only way this could happen was for 123's rebuild mechanic to have dropped the head or something along that nature. Further, he noted, that the head wasn't even for my engine. The head was for a 5.4L engine, and my engine was a 4.6L engine. He had also confirmed that the timing was, indeed, off on both sides of the engine. He had the valve replaced, and the head checked at a machine shop. He reset the timing on both sides, and then put everything back together. The engine ran fine after that.
All totaled, it was an additional $920, (including FORD's diagnostic fee), to get all this taken care of, after already paying my tech plenty of $ for the removal and install of this engine.
I had spoke with Sam before giving my tech the OK to do the work. Sam wanted me to pull the engine, ship it back to him (1000 miles one-way), let him work on it, then ship it back to me. Under the warranty contract, the buyer pays shipping both ways and no labor reimbursement when the install is done by someone other than 123. Since I had originally paid almost $1000 for the engine swap, I was looking at another $1000, plus round trip shipping for a 400# pallet, along with probably a month of downtime for my truck. Further, NO guarantee that it would even be fixed properly. I asked Sam if I would be reimbursed 100% for all labor and shipping costs if the engine didn't work properly upon the second install if I let him do the repairs. He wouldn't agree to that, so I told my tech to do the work.
After having the engine repaired, I sent Eli a bill for the parts and labor to fix the engine properly. It was $840. I didn't include the FORD dealer diagnostic. Sam called me and said that the labor costs were unreasonable, and that a mechanic could charge anything. I had listed the labor costs, and that the FORD dealership was three times that amount. How was it unfair as I was trying to SAVE them money on the costs? Sam ended the conversation there. Eli called me back the next day and told me that I would be covered per the warranty, and that I would be reimbursed only for the parts and no labor.
Again, my problem with this company is that they do not stand behind their product, and hide behind their warranty when THEY screw up. This was not a mechanical failure 25,000 miles down the road, but FOUR gross human errors from the BEGINNING!!!
1. Missing oil pan gasket
2. Wrong supplier engine sent based on VIN
3. Timing chain installed wrong, causing misfire on all 8 cylinders
4. #8 valve damaged before or during installation of head onto engine, causing zero compression
These were all things I was willing to overlook as humans can and do make mistakes. All I wanted was for them to take care of their mistakes.
This, I believe, is why they do not offer labor coverage for their engines when they do not do the install. I think it is because of shoddy workmanship at their facility where the engines are rebuilt. They know this, which is why they insist on positive feedback on eBay BEFORE shipping the engine.
Therefore, my recommendation is if you have the time, and live within a commerce area of Canoga Park, go ahead and do business with them at their physical location. They will honor their warranty for two years when they do the install, all labor and unlimited miles. However... If you do NOT live near them, and need to have the engine shipped in order to do the install yourself, OR pay to have a third party do the install, save yourself some grief and buy a JASPER engine. JASPER covers parts AND labor if their is anything wrong with their engines.
By the time I was done with the cost of the engine, the install, shipping, core fees, diagnostics, and subsequent repairs, I could have bought a Jasper. Literally.
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