I may have been a victim of fraud

Many here remember back to 2015 when I put a brand new, professionally rebuilt, tophatted engine into my Disco for what seems like a small fortune. 8 grand for the engine and 4 to install it. The shop also took 4 months to do the work that came out to 40 hours instead of the 15 LR recommends.

I recently had it in the shop to find an air leak into the intake that I did not have time to repair before inspection was due up this month. While they were there, they noticed that the valve covers were leaking. After giving the go ahead to put in new gaskets, the mechanic noted over 1/4" of gunk on the valve train. This engine, while 4 years old this coming august, has less than 20,000 miles on it and gets an oil change every 6 months.. more based on time than millage driven.

I asked the shop to get me the engine's serial number and I contacted Atlantic British to see if they still have records on the engine. This engine has never been as "quiet" as the original with a very slight "tap" at idle that is more akin to a noisy injector. With the shoddy workmanship and all the issues I had after getting this engine into the truck, there has always been a small nag at the back of my mind that something was terribly wrong with the whole situation.

I know I am into a grand theft and fraud situation here. If it is indeed the case that the serial numbers do not match, I will be seeing this guy in court and I will advice Atlantic British to sue as well, as they certainly had me thinking their engines were not worth the money.

I can only imagine that the shop thought I would never have the Rover this long.. they don't know me well

Make the rubble bounce.

Wait, so is the shop it is at now not the same shop it was at before? I would say you're never going to get correct information if it is. 

That sucks. 

Some of those shops that rebuild engines, stamp them with their name or place a mark. 

If they dont have serial number records they might be able to tell you where the mark is. 

And if the numbers do match? What’s the plan then? Blast the new shop?

Different shop, this guy has worked on my dad's Volvo, and while pricey, does a good job. As I bought the engine through Atlantic British, I am hoping they still have all the info in their computers. I never saw the shipping invoice as I had it dropped right to the original shop that installed it.

The most I can get from other mechanics about the shop that did the original work. "I can't say anything good about him". I wish I had known his rep before I let him do the work. If the serial numbers do not match, I will be talking to my lawyer about my options.

In reply to Steve_Jones :

I’d say change the oil every 3 months!

It's been 4 years, doubt you'd get anywhere with legal action. Shop would just say you've had 4 years to swap engines since they worked on it.

I'm not a lawyer but take it back to the original shop make them do a bunch of work and not pay.  They can always put a mechanics lien on it.

Then it's their headache.

Now I'll admit that is a dumb idea but I'm tired and can't think of anything better. 

That's what the L29 in the wife's Suburban looked like when I pulled it out after suffering a spun bearing.

Kinda confused with what you are asking:

• Is this a legit fresh rebuild or a spraypainted and cleaned used motor?
• Is it typical to have sludge under the valve covers?
• Something else?

If it bothers you that much button it up and send it down the road.  Plenty of fish in the sea, so to speak.

that was a legit fresh rebuild 16,000 miles ago. Or at least it was supposed to be. Atlantic British offers an engine with liners that are "tophatted" to keep them from falling down into the block, To do so would require a complete tear down, machine work, and rebuild.

The guy who installed the engine, I think stole it and put a "good used" one in it's place. The original engine died at 92,000 miles due to a slipped liner and it currently has 108,000 on the odo.. so that engine should only have 16,000ish miles on it

Every officially factory rebuilt motor I've ever seen had a heat tab thingie JB welded to the head.  I can't see AB selling a rebuilt motor without one, especially for that much money.  But, yeah, I'd be calling them up or going over my receipts for the # on the motor, it it was listed.  I mean, you won't get anything out of the shop that put it in, one way or another, as if they are crooks they are crooks, and if they're not crooks, then you still get nothing.

If you wanted to pursue it you would have to pull a head off to prove your point. So you either need to move on or pull a head off. 

I think Atlantic British is your next stop. They should be able to provide enough info for you to see if this is the engine you bought, without pulling a head.

dculberson said:

I think Atlantic British is your next stop. They should be able to provide enough info for you to see if this is the engine you bought, without pulling a head.

I emailed them about the serial number for this engine. I got a return email this morning saying they were looking into it. At the very least Atlantic British also has a stake in this. If this engine had given out during their warranty period,