NCWayne's machinist...

I look at the stuff I've been getting back from my machinist, and it doesn't look the same. They used to remove everything that pressed or screwed into the block or head before hot tanking, and put the parts in a bag, wired to your casting when you got it back. This time they didn't even remove an old, rotten rubber core plug from the back of one of a pair of heads, but installed new cup plug in same position on other head. Bonehead moves are getting closer together with this new guy on the payroll.Last one was when I needed 6 rods pin fitted. The bushings were right, but they found it necessary to shot-peen the rods. Well, the rod caps on a 460 Diesel are of the tongue-and-groove configuration, and the shot-peening mashed the grooves and the cap wouldn't go on. Furious, I took the rods back off the pistons and was about to take them back, but...I didn't want to blow 3 more days just to make a point,I've been waiting YEARS to start on this tractor, and I had the condition corrected in about an hour anyway. But I keep thinking, they got away with it again, you know? I am curious if you might have noticed any subtle changes with your machinist that lead to your recent disaster. Fritz

That is not new around here. To get good machine work we have to take it to a shop about 100 miles away. The trouble with our local shop is they rush through your job to make money quickly and or have incompetent workers. Don't get me started.
Ron

My guys have never been known for being the fastest game in town but they have always been the best. In all the years Dad and I have done business with them the only problem I've ever had was when I got complacient and put a 6V71 Detroit back together and didn't realize they had removed a plug from one of the oil passages. No damage done except I had to pull the oil pan back off to install the plug. Given that they always tag the parts telling you to check all of that kind of thing to insure everything is right (especially when it comes to the Detroits that have dozens of different configurations on the same block)even the 'problem' wasn't something that could be blamed on them....I had just gotten complacent and didn't expect them to 'make a mistake'....

That said, while I have never seen any reason to doubt the quality of the work they do like repairing the counter bores, line boring or surfacing a block, etc, I have seen things start to slip somewhat in other areas that are more cosmetic in nature than anything. For instance the block I picked up the other day still had rusty crud in it that hadn't been chipped out, the lifter bores hadn't been cleaned/dingleberry honed (asked them to do that and they did while I was there and they did), etc. Like I said just minor stuff that has never been an issue in th e past. The things that really bother me the most are the things I posted about before with the addition of the discovery that the rusty rocker shaft I had taken to them to clean up, rebush if needed, etc was still leaning against a post and hadn't been touched in the months it was there. Basically it's gotten to the point of wondering, and being scared when the inattention of detail in the small things is gonna bleed over into the major things and cause real problems.....

Got a small engine apart right now that I'm giving somebody else a chance on and I guess I'll just have to see what happens and take things from there. Unfortunately there are only so many 'games' in town and when your in this business you often have to take the good with the bad or you find yourself setting on the bench.

I'm hesitant to recommend businesses anymore. I sent my friend to this shop to do some valve guide work on a BMW motorcycle head. They tried to gouge him so bad that I procured the tooling for my modest little small engine valve service set and did it myself. That really got me, I'd been dealing with these guys 20+ years. To pull a stunt like that! But I'm A). a loyal customer B). a hard learner So I'll stick with them, but they're wearing me down. Friend paid for tooling, by the way (metric pilot) Fritz.

As someone mentioned, the name of the game seems to be turning into how fast you can make a buck. It takes a little longer to do a job right, but never have to do it over! (Or listen to customer complaints)