Thanks for clearing that up, at least for me.

So the purpose of the link bars is because the older blocks are not machined to use the enclosed roller lifter, hence the retrofit link bars to keep it aligned.

 

Well, no.
Flat tappet lifter bodies are designed to rotate in their bores; they'll fail if they don't.
Conversely, roller lifter bodies must Not rotate in their bores; they'll fail if they do ...
... imagine the carnage of a rolling wheel suddenly turned sideways against a spinning lobe.

The newer blocks are cast for threaded bosses atop cam tunnel ... that mounts a spring steel lifter guide retainer ... which in turn holds down heavy steel lifter guides (aka dogbones) ... which in turn engage the flats machined on upper sides of roller lifter bodies. That prevents the OE roller lifters from rotating in bores-alignment ... aftermarket lifters' link bars do as well. The encircled design has nothing to do with lifter alignment but it cannot "spread" like the cheaper version open "legs" will.
Many hi-$ aftermarket lifters are open but they're made of superior material & machined w/ radii to help prevent spread/crack.

Earlier blocks (like C1, C2, C3) do Not have provisions for above OE roller lifters; they require link bars or ... Keyed lifter bodies w/ Keyed lifter bores as in some $ pricier race motors

lotsa diagrams w/ part name legends in this service manual for OEM 5.0 L30 & 5.7L L31 Vortecs (both roller blocks)
http://www.kohlerpower.com/onlinecatalog/pdf/tp6104.pdf

 

Yeah, the factory roller setup is pretty strong. When I built my 396 I used the 1-piece rear main & roller block. Nothing wrong with the link bar setup as long as you get quality lifters, cheap one have been know to explode.

Capt. - probably better to find out now than later.

Trust goes a long ways on these builds, while this was going on I was having a new tranny built. Quite a few extras in it. Are they? Well I'm qualified to tear down an engine to check things out and while I could tear down the tranny (auto) I'd never get it back together. Imagine taking it back to the guy and telling him I was just checking and could he please reassemble it.

 

Yes, I am convinced they are cheap flea bay lifters which makes the cam suspect, also. And you are right about trust.........I trusted this shop. Guess I could ask them to pull the cover and sprocket to verify the cheap flea bay cam was indeed installed. Pretty disappointing.

 

I hear you man, and I remember you saying you had successfully used this shop before. Does the guy work alone? Maybe some side help that wanted to trade his bad parts for good? Not unheard of for a dishonest mechanic to swap parts but this is kind of obvious. Yeah, I'd make sure what the cam is. God only knows how some cheap, chinese POS cam would perform.

 

Didnt read thread....those ball ends were someone cheap way out.
Get real pushrods youll be fine.

Someone recently complained about a bad brand XX cam...well his esteemed builder put 135 lbs seat on a mild HFT cam there in lies the problem. Cam was fine it was his "race builder"
Sometimes you have to spend time unfg other peoples issues then the car becomes something you want to drive. Most car guys take the cheapest way out every time knowing and still do it. Thats why so many issues are out there.

 

the problem with filing lawsuits is all you win is a judgement. if he owns the building, you can be there on settlement day when he sells to collect on the judgement. if he rents, you got no way to collect nothing... lawyers charge more than mechanics. go to the guy with pics, letters, emails, your parts, sample correct parts, whatever. bitch-rant-rave-threaten. but when it comes down to it, paying a lawyer is just gonna raise the build price without getting any actual work done or parts replaced.

 

Small claims.

 

Cheap ball end pushrods, wrong / cheap lifters,......I don’t think you can trust anything in this engine. You are right, I would bring the motor down to him and have him pull the cover in front of you. If he refuses you can go to small claims court. If he doesn’t show ou win, but then you have to collect which is the hard part. You can put a lien against his company and possibly his personal property but that doesn’t help until he tries to get a loan or sell. But it’s llegal and he’ll have to pay to get it lifted. You'll be out some cash for a while but you will win eventually. It won’t cost much at all.

i went through all this with a rental property and won but the guy was so dirty he didn’t have anything to put a lien on. I just moved on......as far as you guys know.... actually I learned months later that there is more to the story, it didn’t involve me but it was satisfying

 

Yeah, the OP could end up spending more than a brand new engine would cost. All the shop needs to do if deny the claim and it could drag out for years.
The OP has torn the engine apart, ao the shop can now say that's not the way we delivered it to you. What then? The OP said it ran fine except for a carb issue when he picked it up from the shop. What do the pictures mean? Not verified by another shop. I think the OP has caused at least some of these problems. The broken pushrod was AFTER he started adjusting things. And how can he prove these are the lifters the shop put in there months ago.

Instead of tearing it down himselft, he should have taken it somewhere else for evaulation and documentation.

 

OP
You trusted him because you didn't know otherwise ... as he gained your trust, he became all the wiser ... and you presented him an opportunity for a likely windfall ... he (predator) probably KNEW he was defrauding you but he also probably BELIEVED the bogus valvetrain would survive.

Of course, None of that's defensible ... especially so if you have documented how you contracted for the Lunati pieces.

Sooo ... as Big2Bird suggests ... small claims (immediately after One come to Jesus, immediately followed by registered, return-receipt Demand Letter).

Judgement or not ... stay on top of any judgement and review online Court records annually ... sooner or later, he or his wife will NEED to make a big change (sale or purchase) and Your Judgement must first be satisfied.(usually + statutory interest).

BTW, I prefer a quality one-piece pushrod for most things ... but there are Very Good Hi-$, two or three piece PRs ... and there are crap one-piece as well.

-add-
ALWAYS bring a live witness for a come to Jesus chat ... and, if legal in your jurisdiction, Surreptitiously record.

 

I go with the one piece as well, 8 looked at the good ball end rods and they lay pricey but not necessary for lower lift engines like mine (.520/.540)

 

Well are you ready for the latest development? The heads are not the heads I requested and paid for. I specified and paid for Promaxx aluminum heads. Sent pics of them yesterday to Promaxx and he said sorry, but those aren't our heads. They should have a logo and serial number on one end of each head. They do not and he said the springs do not look like ours, either.

I've been sitting here with this stunned, incredulous look ever since I found out. Just in parts alone we're talking over $2000 that I paid for and didn't get. Not including any labor charges. What galls me more than anything is I trusted this guy and would have considered him a friend. I'm getting all my documentation together and will give him a chance to explain even though I'm not sure he can.

I have pictures of everything so far but neither Lunati nor Promaxx will give me anything in writing that it's not their product. I guess I can hardly blame them. They are worried about being dragged into a lawsuit. I'm not to that point yet, but if I don't get an acceptable answer today that will be the next step. Most of what we discussed was all verbal, I didn't feel there was a need to sign a formal request. I have gone back, though, and found emails where specific brands and part #'s are documented on a to do list and a cam availability inquiry.

Oh yeah, the cheap pushrod that broke and started this was, according to the bill, a $137 set of chromemoly rods. But he did get me a replacement set of one piece rods.

Holeeeee cht.

 

What else did he do to the motor, any piston or crank work?

 

Thank the good Lord, no, just top end and TKO transmission.

 

The emails from the manufacturers are sufficient to win at small claims. Make effort to contact him about it, document his response and any offer to resolve, then file in small claims. That is exactly what that court is for.

 

is it a real 5 speed or did he just sharpie an extra gate and write 5 on the ball?

 

The emails are from me to him about the specific parts. The cam and head mfg. do not want to commit anything to writing. I'm going to reach out to them again, though. Thanks.

 

Email them with a picture and a simple question. Is this your product?

 

No, I actually saw the transmission come out of the box from Silver Sport.

at least this is right