What would you do in my situation.
 

I am not gonna tell or name any names or point any fingers at this time but I want some opinions.

before I get started I do know and understand I bought “ used / new rebuilt engines “

ok here we go.

July 10, 2022

I bought two complete top to bottom big blocks said to be running no issues.

$14,000 +$900 shipping sent and wired quickly and easily no waiting on checks to clear etc etc.

after some time to get them out and boxed and sent to me I was able to pick them up

August 1st 2022 at 130pm

I get them home and unloaded off the trailer still in the crates they were shipped in.

august 22nd I open them up to take to my shop to start the process of putting them in.


starboard engine has a freeze plug completely missing. Another tried to push out but front engine mount stopped it. ( have pictures all texts from day one. )

texted the seller

Hey what’s up with the freeze plug being out?

Seller; didn’t see it etc pop another in let me know if anything wrong.

cool.

move forward

March 6 2023 ( I waited for better weather to work on the boat and instill engines )

I text seller.

Hey they are full of water and pumping water through the valves ( video sent ) and acknowledged. ( both engines full of water less than 20 minutes run time)

send them back I will look into them ( another $900 in shipping )

cool so I do

March 22, 2023 they are boxed up and sent back.


Kinda quite…I texted from time checking in on them

AUGUST 22 2023 I get them back after seller discovered blown intake gaskets on both of them? Swapped changed and ran at shop said to be fixed.

cool.

I install them. And rig them on the week ofaugust 25th with my Father.

Ran them very briefly on the house through the drive the same days.

august 26th ( Saturday) my father and I decide let’s just back her in the water and run them at my local marina. Keep in mind with nearly a 1.5 mile long no wake zone ( that I never made it out of ) . Never once over 1,000 rpms all at 145° and 45lbs of oil pressure at both or better…At 4:20pm that same day starboard side “ blew “ sounds like somebody with a sledge hammer in the top end or lower end I can’t tell ( have video ) port side also sounded like a rattlesnake almost at the EXACT same time. Both IMMEDIATELY I shut down. My father and I (65yrs old ) had to swim her in and put on the trailer.

I’ve been offered a rebuild with the costs of parts etc I declined for obvious reasons at this point.

installed and removed twice. Paid for shipping 3 times now $900 a trip.

where would you be in this situation.

I have every single text from day one till now.

Do core plugs ever pop out (usually from freezing) without other damage ar same time ?

Idk
 

unsure never been in this situation. Port side was the same but engine mounts stopped them…

i would say they were junk from the git go !never buy this stuff without sending someone that is good to ck them out this is now common way to rip folks off....... it is buyer beware

Freeze plug can pop out, and still can have cracked head or block, sometimes just inside so you cant see it cracked outside... were the engines bought in some cold weather place or down south?

Way north
 

way north east coast is where they came from I'm in Tennessee.

If you think the seller has the funds, ask for them back, and eat the shipping costs as an expensive lesson learned.

If they won't give up the funds, and you think they have them, small claims court. I had to sue a dealer, they didn't show up, and via a writ of execution, they paid up! took a few months, but good learning experience.

If they don't have the funds, I'd get an opinion from a local engine shop on if they can be 'saved' or they are junked.

I bought engines from these guys, and 300 hours later, I am very happy.
https://www.michiganmotorz.com/
twin base new 350s.
I'm not sure what you're looking for, but mine came with a warranty.

What do you mean by "used / new rebuilt engines??" Used, new and rebuilt all have different meanings.

I know if I bought engines and the freeze plugs were popped, I would not have waited 8 months to install and run them. Freeze plugs, which are really casting plugs don't just fall out for no reason and 99% of the time when they do, its because the engines froze and there is a 90% chance there is more freeze damage. I would have run them on the ground or engine stand ASAP with video. I would have pulled the intakes ASAP to check for cracks. I also would have been asking for a full refund.

At this point, I would tear down the engines and/or have them torn down with video as its being done. See what the damage is and then try and work something out with the seller.

Right
 

I should have worded differently.

but “ recent rebuilds break in time only “ said to be on engines.

that’s the plan tear down wise even though I doubt anything will be done unfortunately.

yes I screwed up with the gaps in timing in between I won’t argue that…

Junk from the start…when you found water I would have shipped them back on his dime and got a 100% refund.

they were priced to run…not priced to be paperweights.

Right
 

lol didn’t even get the offer of that.

Close
 

nearly $3,000 in shipping later plus selling my old engines to help fund buying these engines…. Hell I even asked for a PARTIAL refund and was denied. $16,700 pissed in the wind at this point. For now…

Ready
 

Ready to run fresh rebuilds with break in time? Y’all decide
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...67ac9f1c6.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...fcdb7d43f.jpeg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...3b5fa6e97.jpeg

This is why I like the ITrader program on here that no one seems to use anymore. Gives you an idea if they are a go or no go as far as being trusted. Sorry this happened to you my friend and sure hope the op has a little honor left.

Money
 

money over integrity it seems. Wasn’t aware of itrader…. Seems as if I’m not the first one though from what I’ve gathered I’ll leave it at that.

I wouldn't buy a used or rebuilt engine from anyone but a personal friend or some on this site with personal recommendations, Even engine shops.

Sad to see that there still is the boater's fricking boater's still going on. I sold a pair of 502 Mags to a friend and he is going to have them refreshed and pumped up a bit. They are still in my shop and I am with him all the way on this. When they get tore down for refresh, I just pray like hell they are as good as we think. I would not even consider not disclosing any concerns to anyone what I am selling, especially to a friend. If you are selling junk, you need to disclose it and price it that way.
I've been down that road and it is very disappointing, and just plain pissssses me off.

Right
 

there are a few like you still left but getting harder and harder to find it seems

For what it’s Worth
 

For what it’s worth I wouldn’t buy a damn Ham Sandwich from James Dow ( Jd- Unlimited) on here. Had more than enough time to make it right even just a little bit I never once wanted to come to this but here we are. $16,000+ pissed away in the wind and he just to enjoy that. I will never know how some people sleep at night. I pray for you.

I suspect you will just have to cut your losses and move on. Tear the engines down and see what is salvageable and what is not. They might be loaded with good parts that you can reuse most of or they may be totally junk.

Probably
 

probably right but I won’t let this one go regardless.

Yep that’s what I would do and than mic the hell out of everything and find a reputable machine shop to machine the blocks .

I messed around with top ends on my hot rod cars back when I was a teen but never bottom ends. My buddy lost a piston in one of his 454 crusaders in his cruiser right before Covid hit.

So I pulled the motor and tore it down in the salon and went to work with what I could find during Covid.

I would feel much more at ease assembling my own motor over dropping it off at a engine shop along with a substantial amount of cash only to have your motor held ransom with empty promises as summer wastes away.

That famous marine big block rebuild book needs to go back in print or be copied and loaded onto a file for access to those who could learn from it.

You saved me the time of typing the same reply

Doesnt anyone else think who the seller is adds some context to this?

Those pic's in post #13 look like those were sitting in a barn with chickens ****tttting all over them. Any "fresh" motors should have been disassembled, checked, replaced and test run before the deal was done. This thread still pissses me off!

Post 13
 

[QUOTE=Helmwurst;4881708]Those pic's in post #13 look like those were sitting in a barn with chickens ****tttting all over them. Any "fresh" motors should have been disassembled, checked, replaced and test run before the deal was done. This thread still pissses me off![/QUOTE


post 13 don’t even show a barn or chicken sh*t ? Shows an engine full of water and paper towels amongst them lol

Reference ^^^^ Prior to selling to 87 CigCafe. Lots, of rusty parts, paint chipped everywhere, those freeze plugs look questionable, rust between the block and head.

Right
 

gotcha I misunderstood you at first sorry bud. Yeah they were trash from the get-go it seems and me being the trusting type I screwed up.

if you look at the one photo with the freeze plug is missing you can see the others that had tried to push themselves out also…

Claims
 

Seems to me anymore best case scenario on a screwing like this is an attorney / small claims dealings which I didn’t and don’t want to do… I would have been way more than happy with a partial settlement to make things right. I can’t take a nearly 18k hit on the chin. So there’s that.

seems that the new policy going forward for all engines sales is that the seller provide some KY jelly to help with screwing they are giving

Truth
 

I agree 100% haha

I feel your pain. Had the same issue that cost me $$ to fix. I believe the seller was unaware in my situation, but in the end, I got too excited and went forward with the deal. local guy here made it right for me though. Engines are strong and dependable so far.

Yes sir!
 

there’s a nice man on here I won’t mention his name that has offered his services on helping me figure out things and has been a great help to me along the way from the get go on all of this. I gotta find some freaking time to get them out of the boat again but once they are out I’m headed his way at a high rate of speed.

Junk
 

Got these hunks of **** out today. We will see what happens from here.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...a8f2c9c31.jpeg

Boy… way up north … hope they didn’t come out of hammonton NJ by chance ?

North
 

Waymouth Massachusetts

Come on man there’s a Lotta good things to come out of Hammonton, as long as you don’t put them in a boat.

Yep
 

“ Yep they are fine ready to go”

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...633cd2f185.png

Well, you're frucked. Might have pits in cylinder walls too. And a few other uh oh's. Just sayin from my own experience.