IceShark

Robby, I think the reporting and resolution efforts sort of depend on the local BBB.

I think the BBB is more or less a worthless organization because they can't do much to actually help a consumer out, many consumers know this and as a result don't bother reporting problems. So even their reporting summaries are skewed.

If you have an out of state problem and want to try and do something on the cheap to resolve, contacting the Attorney General's office would be a better shot than the BBB. They can cause all sorts of headaches for a bad business operating in their state.

Dave

Chris, The pistons in the first motor aren't all the same when viewed from underneath, this is why I called them "mismatched pistons." I think I'll pull a couple out for photos, I'll also compare them to the pistons in my orig '86 block as I don't remember them being different on top. All the pistons in that motor have valve marks but nothing big enough to cause alarm.
Robby, I'm sure there are more of us, I was hoping that this thread would draw them out. I have been contacted by a suprising number of people who have decided not to do business with AMW but I've only heard from a couple other "victims."
Flight_951, Now there are 2.
The BBB site has a 5 page form and requires a lot of detail, most people wouldn't bother going through the whole thing without a reason. The level of detail would red flag some of the frivolous complaints and the business is given the opportunity to respond or refute the claims. Details of the complaint are not available to the public, just the number and type of complaint, weather the business has responded and whether the issue was resolved.

Dave

I agree, that's why I didn't bother up 'til now, I may look up the Atty Gen though.
Robby, I popped out a couple pistons.

The front one is from the #1 cyl, #2 and #3 are the same. The rear one came from the #4 cyl and is different than the other 3. The connecting rod is also different and (I don't know if it matters, but) the connecting rods are not all facing the same way. The piston tops are the same as the pistons in the '86 motor. AMW #2 has much less dish in the piston tops, not much bigger than a quarter IIRC. Any idea what they are?
EDIT; Oops! Chris was the one who commented on the pistons, sorry Robby!

Robby

I can't tell much by looking at stuff like that, but, I CAN see some differences in those things just from the pics & I certainly don't think that mixing pistons & rods, etc, is a good thing to be doing- not w/someone else's $$$ anyway... That stuff really sucks- I know that these tuners get sick of people calling & asking all kinds of questions & buying very little, etc, BUT, these guys ALSO have to understand that not everyone is willing to shell out $3K+ w/out ANY info whatsoever- there is a line somewhere in there- people trust a tuner & then get burned, then, they feel that much more compelled to ask MORE questions the next time- it's a bad deal all around- when those businesses do the right thing, though, they can get good repeat business, instead of trying to make all their $ & time back w/just one quick sale- hell, I've dropped ~$16K in my car in the 4yrs I've owned it & I'm not counting gas or insurance, etc, OR the car payments themselves- that $ got divided up b/t a few people, BUT, I DID spend it & it could have gone to anyone... It makes me sick really- I've got ~$25K in my car & I'm stilll not that happy w/it...

Chris Prack

Dave, the first piston in the pic is an early piston ('83). The other problem that I see is that the rod on the early piston is a forged rod, the other rod is cast. It looks like someone just grabbed anything in the shop and threw it in the engine.

I can post a pic of a euro piston for comparision.

iloveporsches

Well, if it was an 83 piston/rod set, then the rod would be forged. Looks like that's what they stuck in there. I can't speak from experience, but I'm assuming the weights would be a little different, which would cause a pretty signifigant imbalance in the engine.

Chris Prack

The weights are not really that differant, about 5-8 grams. I have a ton of engine parts for the water cooled motors and have weighed them all.

iloveporsches

Don't know engine tolerances on these cars, but 5-8 grams different at one end rotating at 5000 RPM's would not be pretty I think.

Geo

I concur. When you build an engine, the maximum weight difference allowed should be 1/2 gram.

Chris Prack

944 euro piston

Chris Prack

I'm not going to argue with that but I don't think it would be noticable driving the car. It would defintely IMO cause a reliability issue.

Dave

Well, that piston doesn't quit look like what's in my car either, anyone have a photo of the top of a '88 piston? The ones in the current engine are somewhere between this euro and the '83 piston in the earlier photo. I'm beginning to like my current engine less than I already did!
I'd weigh the difference between the two pistons in the photo, but I don't have a scale that would be accurate enough! I agree that 5-8 grams is pretty bad, is it posible for my opinion of John's work to get any lower?

So, anyone have a pic of an '88 piston? I'd really like to know what's in my engine!!!

Dave

Oh yeah, Chris, the first engine lasted 3 minutes, I doubt the piston caused any loss of reliability!!!

Chris Prack

Couldn't agree more. I also have some 88 pistons at work that I can post a pic of tommorrow. They look just like the early pistons except the dish is not as deep. I couldn't find the pic you posted of the three minute motor to get another look at those, it's hard to tell from a photo because they look the same for the most part.

If they are not like the early pistons and they are not euro's then they have to be US 88 pistons.

BTW 5 grams is about what a penny weigh's. I have weighed the factory rods and pistons from motors with well over 100k on them and they were differant by more than that amount on occasion. It's not ideal but then what in life is.....?

jp944

It would be interesting to know what the actual weights of the rods are/were. When I'm building an engine and have lots of rods to select from, I don't care if they all came from the same donor car or not. I look for weights that are very close to start with so my grinding time to balance them is minimized. It would be very understandable for John to mix and match some rods if the weights were the same (or very, very close.) Do you know the actual weights?