Broken, Fixed, Broken Again, Fixed Again
04-13-2014, 01:54 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Broken, Fixed, Broken Again, Fixed Again
Hi and thanks for reading.
Firstly I'd like to ask those who have been waiting for an update on this to sit down, just in case the shock of this makes you feel faint... I'm back on the road again!
The gory details of what happened to my engine can be found here boom banga boom. For those who prefer summaries; the engine spat a plug out in August last year. That was fixed with a new coil pack and plugs. About twenty minutes after I started driving again, the problem recurred, only this time it was slightly more serious. The inlet cam had (f
k knows how) had loosened and mangled pretty much everything underneath it.
Having found a head (thanks again Floppy) and had it refurbed the car was back on the road again in January. It lasted about 200 miles and the bottom end let go. And this is where we pick up the story...
Having decided that cutting our losses and selling the car as a non-runner was not the way forward, I started to search for a low mileage face-lift engine. I found one at Dewsbury Auto Salvage that had come from an 05 car with only 35k miles; it was also offered with a 3 month warranty. I handed over the £2200 and booked the car into TGM at Fleet to get the engine swapped.
Getting the car to Fleet was an experience. I hired a self-drive low loader and RattyS2K and me set off on a journey that was a bit of a giggle really. The transporter was a proper dog (it even locked us out after a quick breakfast stop), the weather was pants and we looked like a pair of special needs cases trying to get the car on the back.
This is where things start to fall further apart. The engine failed to turn up on the appointed day; many calls, emails and 3 weeks later an engine was delivered. Unfortunately it was an 08/09 DBW engine that had been very poorly modified to be compatible with a conventional throttle car. I immediately rang DAS and they offered a replacement but accepted that a full refund was in order. I asked for confirmation by email and was assured this would happen. t didn't. Fast forward through more calls and emails and three weeks later the engine was collected but the refund failed to materialise. Another two weeks passed and we decided that the best way to proceed was to make a claim from the credit card company using Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act; it was successful.
In the middle of all that, HEL put their spare race engine up for sale at a very reasonable price. that is now my new engine. Ben at HEL is a true gent and a pleasure to deal with BTW.
Having missed my workshop slot at TGM and now overlapping with the start of the race season (TGM is primarily a race prep organisation) I had to wait for workshop time to become available. I collected the car yesterday, and can only add my voice to those who praise TGM. Great people, fairly priced and top drawer workmanship.
So far I have 100 miles on the car and am beginning to feel the love again. It runs very nicely and pulls like a train so I'm hoping this is now behind me
I'm going to collect the old engine in a couple of weeks so may have an update as to what went wrong when I start to strip it down.
So what have I learned from all this? Well there is a great level of support and knowledge on this forum (but then I already knew that...). TGM are the place to get your S fixed if you can get in and are local enough and lastly; no one should ever use Dewsbury Auto Salvage, they are truly appalling in all areas of their business.
Firstly I'd like to ask those who have been waiting for an update on this to sit down, just in case the shock of this makes you feel faint... I'm back on the road again!
The gory details of what happened to my engine can be found here boom banga boom. For those who prefer summaries; the engine spat a plug out in August last year. That was fixed with a new coil pack and plugs. About twenty minutes after I started driving again, the problem recurred, only this time it was slightly more serious. The inlet cam had (f
k knows how) had loosened and mangled pretty much everything underneath it.Having found a head (thanks again Floppy) and had it refurbed the car was back on the road again in January. It lasted about 200 miles and the bottom end let go. And this is where we pick up the story...
Having decided that cutting our losses and selling the car as a non-runner was not the way forward, I started to search for a low mileage face-lift engine. I found one at Dewsbury Auto Salvage that had come from an 05 car with only 35k miles; it was also offered with a 3 month warranty. I handed over the £2200 and booked the car into TGM at Fleet to get the engine swapped.
Getting the car to Fleet was an experience. I hired a self-drive low loader and RattyS2K and me set off on a journey that was a bit of a giggle really. The transporter was a proper dog (it even locked us out after a quick breakfast stop), the weather was pants and we looked like a pair of special needs cases trying to get the car on the back.
This is where things start to fall further apart. The engine failed to turn up on the appointed day; many calls, emails and 3 weeks later an engine was delivered. Unfortunately it was an 08/09 DBW engine that had been very poorly modified to be compatible with a conventional throttle car. I immediately rang DAS and they offered a replacement but accepted that a full refund was in order. I asked for confirmation by email and was assured this would happen. t didn't. Fast forward through more calls and emails and three weeks later the engine was collected but the refund failed to materialise. Another two weeks passed and we decided that the best way to proceed was to make a claim from the credit card company using Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act; it was successful.
In the middle of all that, HEL put their spare race engine up for sale at a very reasonable price. that is now my new engine. Ben at HEL is a true gent and a pleasure to deal with BTW.
Having missed my workshop slot at TGM and now overlapping with the start of the race season (TGM is primarily a race prep organisation) I had to wait for workshop time to become available. I collected the car yesterday, and can only add my voice to those who praise TGM. Great people, fairly priced and top drawer workmanship.
So far I have 100 miles on the car and am beginning to feel the love again. It runs very nicely and pulls like a train so I'm hoping this is now behind me
I'm going to collect the old engine in a couple of weeks so may have an update as to what went wrong when I start to strip it down.
So what have I learned from all this? Well there is a great level of support and knowledge on this forum (but then I already knew that...). TGM are the place to get your S fixed if you can get in and are local enough and lastly; no one should ever use Dewsbury Auto Salvage, they are truly appalling in all areas of their business.
04-13-2014, 03:02 AM
#4
Registered User
Glad you have finally got some good news Paul! Now for many happy miles without having to worry about anything.
And you're right in time for the sunshine too
And you're right in time for the sunshine too
