Really long story short I have/had a fully built motor that only lasted 2000mi. Has anyone gotten a lawyer and taken an engine builder to court? The shop is saying that the timing chain failed and it’s not their fault. As you can see in the photos the timing chain did not break it completely went to pieces. Seems to me the chain or tensioner was installed incorrectly and rubbed the side of the chain off letting it go into a hundred pieces. Any advice would be much appreciated. Car was close to 1k wheel wit a F1X Procharger.

 

Sorry for your misfortune. Not much a lawyer can do unless the builder is failing to honor a stated warranty. But there's no implied warranty, that I'm aware of. If it makes it to the shop door, that might be as far as they guarantee it. What was agreed to (ideally on paper) beforehand in terms of warranty?

I know at the shop I frequent they'll tear it down and decide the cause and whether it was a build issue, parts issue, etc.... you can't always tell, but quite often you can.

 

there is a warantee as long as you can prove it was their fault. That is where my problem is going to be. I have done a good bit of research on the c5r timing chain and it very rarely fails but when it does it just breaks. It does not explode into hundreds of pieces. I am planning to send an email to Katek with the pictures and see what their opinion is.

 

You can always hire a lawyer, that doesn't mean you will win or lose. However sometimes the initial correspondence from an attorney is enough to get people motivated on things. But if you where to sue and you do win that doesn't mean you will get you're lawyer fees back either. So whoever wins may still lose in the end. That has happened to me. Going to trial isn't cheap, even a quick trial with a reasonably priced attorney will cost around $15-20k, more in your high income areas, then you have to get the judge or jury to rule on attorney fees. But you can also settle before a trial too. If you truly feel you've been wronged at the very least I would hire an attorney just to send out a letter that the matter is being looked into and see how that effects the shop, may be enough for them to change their mind, will cost you a few hundred bucks but may be worth it. However you bought a modified engine, and I guess a lot of that depends on what their warranty states.

 

So what were you doing when this thing broke? You left that part out. I'm just guessing you weren't taking Grandma to the doctor.

 

Long shot BUT if you're right then the chain links should be warn down on one side. That would be best assessed by a Metallurgical Lab. Cheaper than a lawyer and if they will wright a report saying the ware must have occurred over time then you could confront the builder. Another engine builder might be a good idea IF they are willing to go out on a limb.

I'll give you some encouragement with what I did to get Datsun to reimburse me for my failed 260Z differential, 2 months AFTER the warranty was up!

History
Was driving my Z coming onto a highway on-ramp and downshifted. Heard this very loud noise like a freight train. Got out and the differential cover had a hole and the lubricant was coming out. Was only a few miles from home so drove it home. Had it towed to the dealer. They said the differential needs to be replaced. I accepted their diagnosis and they ordered a new differential and installed it. It was ~$1000 in mid 1970's dollars. About 20% of what I paid for the car new. I asked for the old diff and brought it home.

Took the cover off, which they had not done, and found out what happened. One of the clips that was supposed to stop a ring gear bolt from turning worked loose and when it unthreaded enough the head sheared on the case and the bolt head went though the cast cover! The gears actually looked fine!

Looked in my Datsun 260Z Service Manual and it said, "If the differential cover is off- check to be sure the bolts clips are bent up!" Hmm to take the cover off the dif had to be dropped from the car! There was no preventive maintenance that said to every open the case. Showed it to the dealer who also showed it to the US Datsun folks. No satisfaction!

I took the dif to work as I was managing a welding R&D lab were we developed welding rods, wire and fluxes. Had a metallurgical Lab. Had a Japanese engineer write a cover page on a report I made showing the ductile bolt failure, the pristine gears and quoted the note in their Service Manual. (They obviously had a QA problem to put that statement I the manual!)

The cover letter in Japanese said they were "Lucky" this did not happen on the highway where there could have been serous accident. Mentioned I didn't want to get a lawyer but would if necessary. Got reimbursed for the dif!

Just found this pic, not from that mid 1970's report but similar! Good Luck.

PS: A good metallurgical Lab can take some good macro pictures that will have very good depth of field and with the proper lighting show wear groves in the links. They may be able to pinpoint what the links wore on in the timing cover etc.

Problem with getting a lawyer is that forces the builder to get one! They drag things out and they both make money! I'd try a formal report from a Lab and use my approach, visit, show it to them and say I'll get a lawyer if necessary! In my later business life our Trademark attorney gave me that advise! He said you write the first letter with your VP Title (was often doing that with our Trademark Heliarc name.) Never had to get a lawyer!

 

not that it really matters but i downshifted to 2nd at 45mph when the motor exploded.

 

Do U have a small claims court in your area,

filing fees Lee’s are a couple of hundred bucks,

limits are 75g. 50g. And smaller

go to court yourself and see what happens

 

thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it.

 

I am not very smart but at least you were not at the drag strip

and not not trying to be smart but it was not wot

 

45 mph in 2nd in a Grand Sport or Z51 is only ~4000 rpm, less in a Z06.

Another thought re proving it was the links wearing from the chain not being properly aligned. Have the links analyzed (a Metalogical Lab can do that) and have the oil and filter checked for those alloy materials! Again a sudden failure would not leave wear particles in the oil or filter. Longer term wear would.