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What caused the engine failure?


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kcc0521

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From what I've been learning about tuning, which is 5% of what you can know, I'm sure, the tune could have either had the knock sensors turned off (that'd be negligence, IMHO) and/or the tune was not safe. But what I've also learned about tuning is that so much gets blamed on a tune, when it's really a pre-existing mechanical issue or an issue caused by physical part. For example, the flex joint on the passenger side of the stock headers on these cars has been identified as a cause for false knock, yet people blame the tuner. Some unlucky people (rare) who install aftermarket headers find they aren't producing the power they expect and see knock in data logs only to find out later that after forcing the collector pipes apart a little eliminates what was, once again, false knock. But, obviously, if their tuner turned off the knock sensors or created an unsafe tune on top of that, well...


You run the risk of something breaking when you modify the car. Bad gas? So incredibly rare that I don't buy that (and the car should have retarded timing significantly and you would have noticed it with either misfires or loss of power if the gas was really "bad"). I honestly think your engine just had it coming... I mean unless they dropped something in a piston bore and it finally caused havoc, but that's also not likely.


I am not and likely nobody else here is an expert on diagnosing the root cause. The advice to bring it to a trusted performance mechanic for a second opinion is the best advice so far.

Have you seen people have issues with collector tubes on ARH headers touching each other? My buddy has them on his car and it looks like at certain RPMs the vibrate together.
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wildcatgoal

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I haven't with ARH. This is not something you'd see... but if spreading the pipes carefully just a ball hair resolves a replicable issue, then it was the headers.


Extremely rare.
 

MikeyPee

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Have you seen people have issues with collector tubes on ARH headers touching each other? My buddy has them on his car and it looks like at certain RPMs the vibrate together.
I HAD THIS PROBLEM :frusty: Got a new set replaced under warranty, and so far so good. The primaries on the pass side were out of spec and resonated under 3K rpm
 
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GreenS550

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Well, LMS never called as they "promised". So I emailed them late today. My salesman emailed me back saying they were busy doing my quote.

I have been in business for most of my life and I cannot understand the lack of focus on a concerned customers problem. I just don't get it.

So, he is supposed to contact me Monday. Another weekend gone. I do not embelish but I have over 20 emails, 2 2 week visits and a lack of concern about my immediate concerns on the car.

So, lets say they did not cause the problem, which I doubt, the customer service attitude is terrible. I would want my customer to know exactly what is wrong, which LMS has not done. Heck, I could put a compression tester on each cylinder, found the bad cylinders. Then squirt oil in to see if it is piston/ring related or something.

I cannot believe they are so unresponsive. I have been more than patient.

If they treat customers like this, what are the mechanics like?
 

SolarFlare

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They are unlikely to cover any of that, you're better off buying a ford shortblock and moving on with your life. Unless you can pinpoint shitty tune via logs.
 

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Sighlense

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Sorry this happened to you. :(

When i was debating between them and Lund it would take them like 3 days to reply to any questions i had. Really turned me off to throwing $900 their way. Poor customer service which steered me in the right direction (Lund). Good luck to you.
 

essque

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How many miles since the install total? So within two weeks after they checked it for you and revised the tune, the engine blew? What is there to quote? They need to replace whatever is broken no questions asked. They have way too much money at their disposal not to rectify the issue. I have 10k miles on mine since April of last year, runs beautifully on the mild 93 tune. If they give you the run around, let me know I will personally pick you up and we will visit them in person. Also, if you haven't already, speak with Steve. Outstanding service and knowledge.



Steve Gorecki
Vehicle Installations
(313)561-5500 ext123
[email protected]
 

JakeS550

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Sorry this happened to you. :(

When i was debating between them and Lund it would take them like 3 days to reply to any questions i had. Really turned me off to throwing $900 their way. Poor customer service which steered me in the right direction (Lund). Good luck to you.
Same here. I live right down the street LM and I decided not to go with them for the tune. I went with Lund. Glad I did. Then I was going to buy the same supercharger kit and decided not to because they wanted my car for four weeks for install and terrible about answering my questions. So I went with the Roush Phase 2 and had my dealer install it. It took two day. I know people don’t like the Roush tune but it’s enough power for me right now. And if something goes wrong my dealer will fix it. Eventually I will go back to a Lund tune but I’m putting all my concentration on traction right now. Tires, rear end stuff, clutch...
BTW the four weeks for install was even by appointment. I didn’t want my car taken half apart and sitting around because somebody else was spending more money than me.
 

greengoblin31

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damn another livernois motor sports lie

i read on another forum that livernois motorsports lied to a customer about labor to clean up and assemble some heads. they went as far as saying that a bunch of cam caps in a box would need 2 hours of assembly time because they would have to piece them back together and make sure they came from those heads and were put in the right order lol

i would take your car to another shop immediately and have proper diagnosis
 
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GreenS550

GreenS550

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How many miles since the install total? So within two weeks after they checked it for you and revised the tune, the engine blew? What is there to quote? They need to replace whatever is broken no questions asked. They have way too much money at their disposal not to rectify the issue. I have 10k miles on mine since April of last year, runs beautifully on the mild 93 tune. If they give you the run around, let me know I will personally pick you up and we will visit them in person. Also, if you haven't already, speak with Steve. Outstanding service and knowledge.



Steve Gorecki
Vehicle Installations
(313)561-5500 ext123
[email protected]
Thanks for the offer. No, I took it there 4 months ago for the install. Took almost 3 weeks which was OK. The issues came up right away and I contacted them. I used my cell, which has no email record, but I can print the call log if needed. Finally started emailing because my salesman would not return calls in a timely fashion. Also, for a record. When I complained enough, my salesman, Steve, said to bring it in. When I did, it was supposed to be there "one day, 2-3 at most". The car was there almost 2 weeks. The calibrator, Andy, said he drove it 120 miles and other than a "random rev limiter issue" which they fixed. (still have no idea what this is because the car was fine before). When I got the car back, I noticed it still did not drive right. The flat spot there in the tune and more than normal it would back off near the shift, and again, once in a while it would backfire.

Drove me crazy and finally brought it back again. Asked Steve to drive it. He said, "oh, yeah, the car has issues". By then it was worse. They kept the car and Steve called me the next day and told me the car has blow by in the crank case. Likely a piston ring or a hole in the piston.

He said "I will get back with you". After 10 days I emailed them saying whats going on. He said We will call "probably" call you later today. I waited and the next day said "my manager will call you today". No call. Then they called me Wednesday. Steve, manager, calibrater. Nice conversation basically blaming the gas. I asked about the tune? No, tune good I'm told. What about the OPG /sprocket?, not all good there too, I'm told(they put the OPG/sprocket in).

I specifically asked when they would get back with me on fixing this. Andy told me "Friday" as they "might have a built up forged short block in stock to swith". He though the heads were good. I got the distinct impression they never looked further at the engine in that time. Never told me the bad cylinder or if they did a compression check, etc.

Friday comes, no call. Finally at 4pm I emailed Steve. Here is his response:

"Sorry, I was just going to shoot you a message. It is looking like i will not be able to finish your estimate today. I'm still working on it now and if I cannot finish I will have it completed on Monday, very sorry for the delay!"
 

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GreenS550

GreenS550

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Same here. I live right down the street LM and I decided not to go with them for the tune. I went with Lund. Glad I did. Then I was going to buy the same supercharger kit and decided not to because they wanted my car for four weeks for install and terrible about answering my questions. So I went with the Roush Phase 2 and had my dealer install it. It took two day. I know people don’t like the Roush tune but it’s enough power for me right now. And if something goes wrong my dealer will fix it. Eventually I will go back to a Lund tune but I’m putting all my concentration on traction right now. Tires, rear end stuff, clutch...
BTW the four weeks for install was even by appointment. I didn’t want my car taken half apart and sitting around because somebody else was spending more money than me.
I had the Roush Phase 3 kit on my '11 and it ran flawlessly. Good gas mileage. Almost 600 rwhp. Drove it 23K miles, dozens of drag radial runs in the 1/4 mile and never an issue.
 

Burkey

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Thanks for the offer. No, I took it there 4 months ago for the install. Took almost 3 weeks which was OK. The issues came up right away and I contacted them. I used my cell, which has no email record, but I can print the call log if needed. Finally started emailing because my salesman would not return calls in a timely fashion. Also, for a record. When I complained enough, my salesman, Steve, said to bring it in. When I did, it was supposed to be there "one day, 2-3 at most". The car was there almost 2 weeks. The calibrator, Andy, said he drove it 120 miles and other than a "random rev limiter issue" which they fixed. (still have no idea what this is because the car was fine before). When I got the car back, I noticed it still did not drive right. The flat spot there in the tune and more than normal it would back off near the shift, and again, once in a while it would backfire.

Drove me crazy and finally brought it back again. Asked Steve to drive it. He said, "oh, yeah, the car has issues". By then it was worse. They kept the car and Steve called me the next day and told me the car has blow by in the crank case. Likely a piston ring or a hole in the piston.

He said "I will get back with you". After 10 days I emailed them saying whats going on. He said We will call "probably" call you later today. I waited and the next day said "my manager will call you today". No call. Then they called me Wednesday. Steve, manager, calibrater. Nice conversation basically blaming the gas. I asked about the tune? No, tune good I'm told. What about the OPG /sprocket?, not all good there too, I'm told(they put the OPG/sprocket in).

I specifically asked when they would get back with me on fixing this. Andy told me "Friday" as they "might have a built up forged short block in stock to swith". He though the heads were good. I got the distinct impression they never looked further at the engine in that time. Never told me the bad cylinder or if they did a compression check, etc.

Friday comes, no call. Finally at 4pm I emailed Steve. Here is his response:

"Sorry, I was just going to shoot you a message. It is looking like i will not be able to finish your estimate today. I'm still working on it now and if I cannot finish I will have it completed on Monday, very sorry for the delay!"
:tsk:
 
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GreenS550

GreenS550

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damn another livernois motor sports lie

i read on another forum that livernois motorsports lied to a customer about labor to clean up and assemble some heads. they went as far as saying that a bunch of cam caps in a box would need 2 hours of assembly time because they would have to piece them back together and make sure they came from those heads and were put in the right order lol

i would take your car to another shop immediately and have proper diagnosis
Thanks. I want to hear what they have to say. Being in business and coaching many businesses in my life, I cannot understand how they do not understand how damaging poor communication is for any business. In the event they were totally blameless, poor communication erodes confidence in the customer thinking : if they are so blah about this issue, what kind of mechanics are there? Are they copping the same attitude? Are they irritated by the sales people?

When I was in business I treated every client and customer like a family member. Ultimately I knew reputation was and is everything.
 

JakeS550

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Thanks. I want to hear what they have to say. Being in business and coaching many businesses in my life, I cannot understand how they do not understand how damaging poor communication is for any business. In the event they were totally blameless, poor communication erodes confidence in the customer thinking : if they are so blah about this issue, what kind of mechanics are there? Are they copping the same attitude? Are they irritated by the sales people?

When I was in business I treated every client and customer like a family member. Ultimately I knew reputation was and is everything.
Agreed! All that time to do a 10 to 20 hour job at the most. Then another 2 weeks. They just want as many cars in that shop as possible, get your money, and do a crap job. That’s BS on the costumer service you received from them. Hopefully it will fall back on them and they will fix it. Probably not. It’s to bad because I like to support local businesses. Hopefully people start to see this in them and they change. I order all my parts through [MENTION=10926]beefcake[/MENTION]. Best customer service you can get. Hands down. If they don’t answer the phone, they will still call you back ASAP. I would go with Lund for your tune next time or if you want local I hear Liddio at alternative auto is the man. I know a bunch of people here in the D that have his tune.
 

Dennisn

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At some point you have to cut your losses as opposed to throwing more good money out the window.

What’s your gut telling you????

They screw you once shame on them, screw you twice shame on you.
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