Extremely bad experience with Kath...

[IndiEP]

I hope everything pans out alright.
I had mine resurfaced @ napa in anoka. If your just doing a general resurface there good but if you need specifics I wouldn't go there, plus they charge $40.

[Dinkpit]

Well, You pay for what you get. Yes, Kath is a cheaper machineing place, I think it depends on who there does the work. I am had heads, blocks and pressure plates( V8's and 4bangers ) done there, with no probs what-so-ever. Yes the equipment is older, but if it ant broke.. don't fix it. You should call around to other machine shops, if you are unhappy with Kath, also... saying stuff to friends is 1 thing about Kath, but posting it on here is a shit storm waiting to happen. Someone said sue them.. to late they tried to resolve the issue and you turned them down. I am not sticking up for anyone here, but you guys build engines for street and race.. why didn't u guys double check the parts, how do you figure out if a machined head needs a thicker head gasket to compensate for machining difference from side to side?? I wish I could hook you up with some names of shops, but most in our area have closed anyways.. bring on the flames.

[Halon]

He said he normally always checks the specs before hand. But in this case he didn't because he had them do em before without any issues. But now they are screwin them all up. Lesson learned. And I bet Mike will always check tolerances now after this. Still doesn't make what they did right. Yes they tried to resolve it, but with a bogus offer. They just got done telling him they can't resurface to anywhere near exact tolerances. So offering that same crap service as a resolution is retarded.

[AJ]

Originally Posted by Dinkpit

Well, You pay for what you get. Yes, Kath is a cheaper machineing place, I think it depends on who there does the work. I am had heads, blocks and pressure plates( V8's and 4bangers ) done there, with no probs what-so-ever. Yes the equipment is older, but if it ant broke.. don't fix it. You should call around to other machine shops, if you are unhappy with Kath, also... saying stuff to friends is 1 thing about Kath, but posting it on here is a shit storm waiting to happen. Someone said sue them.. to late they tried to resolve the issue and you turned them down. I am not sticking up for anyone here, but you guys build engines for street and race.. why didn't u guys double check the parts, how do you figure out if a machined head needs a thicker head gasket to compensate for machining difference from side to side?? I wish I could hook you up with some names of shops, but most in our area have closed anyways.. bring on the flames.

Why wouldn't Kath check their work as well? Or does Mike have to carry around something to check measurement's every time he goes there? And it's everyone else talking about going after them for money, not Mike.

[Dinkpit]

in a perfect world no.. he shouldn't.. but this world isn't perfect. I wasnot posting about this, to say its hisfault.. i was stating that he probally paid $35-40, for the work.... which is a cheaper price then Most. So, then yes I would chech it myself before installing it... but thats me. Also i stated that it depends on whos working! I had my head done for my old hondah and most recently my pressure plate for my mirage, and a 77 camro... without issue... depends on who does it. thats it.. thats all i was saying. but you have to check others work.

[TalonFiero]

I've been paying $20-$25 everytime I go to Rooster for a resurfacing. I may have been getting a discount so don't quote me on that price.

Jim

[A//// Guy]

Most other places charge around 30-40... so its any different. You pay for quality work anywhere you go. Checking their work should be the minimum they should do.

And Mike only rejected the offer of 10 resurfaces because to him that doesnt cut it. Also why take work there anymore after the way they treated him? Obviously they dont really care about the customer, or atleast the person helping him did not. The manager didnt seem to care much either.

The main thing that I see as totally lawsuit material is that the guy told him to pick up the flywheel when it was very hot. The guy new it was hot and didnt warn Mike. They are liable for that damage. Mike even said that a different guy said he wouldnt touch it.

Im sure Kath has done good work but when they slip up, like this time, they dont seem to care or even fix things. They just take it out on you and say they are right.

[Raptor]

No body is more anal than me on checking and rechecking anything, ask around or look at some of the stuff in my shop and you will understand that. Which is why a surface plate and height gauge are on the way, it is way overkill for what I will be checking, but that is how I am. I check every flywheel I put in, I usually check the flywheels that come back to the shop, even when I am not the one putting them in, this case was very rare, I wasn't here when the tranny was installed, I had one of my mechanics do it while I was dropping parts off an hour away. He knows all the other flywheels had been correct up to that point so he had no reason to expect otherwise, I guarantee another one won't go on a car without being double checked. But.... That isn't the reason for this thread, I stated right away that this was about the way they dealt with it and the rediculous excuses I heard for the problem. If they couldn't set it at 610, they should have said that before when I told them it had to be exactly 610, no less. I made it perfectly clear that there was no room for error for them, they could have told me then it would be a problem and I would have gone somewhere else. The hot flywheel stuff just added fuel to that fire and then them suggesting I take their self-admitted sub standard service in the future for free is just stupid. They should have handled this completely different. My point about this thread is to save other people from this experience with them now that I know what they are capable of and how they handle their business. And for turning a flywheel which is a very simple task with the right equipment, 35 is a good and fair price, Rooster does it for that as well and it comes out perfect. The difference is, they have equipment that is actually kept in good condition, and they spend the extra time to make sure it is right.

This is soo much less about price than it is about who can do it on a Saturday or in an hour when I need it etc, but they still are able to make it right. I have solved this anyway, I am going to get all the flywheels I have (a fair number) turned and check them all, coat them for protection and put them on the shelf so when they are needed they can be exchanged. I will do this for others as well as a service, if you don't want to drive to red rooster in bloomington twice and wait an hour, you will be able to bring your old flywheel to the shop and trade it for one that is checked and already turned and it will cost you $45, the markup is for the storage space, checking and coating as well as the responsibility I get by being the vendor. I will have some done and in house by the weekend if you need one. They will all be checked with a granite surface plate/height gauge so there is no question.

Dinkpit, read my posts above more clearly and you will see where I said I had the issues, everyone at one point or another makes mistakes and it is how they handle it that determines what kind of shop or business they are. If our shop makes a mistake, we go out of the way to figure out how never to do it again and always try to find the best, most accurate way to do anything. The way they handled it was really not acceptable. It is the principle of the thing and the lack of respect on their part.

[1ViciousGSX]

Originally Posted by DSMStyle

And it's everyone else talking about going after them for money, not Mike.

I hope everybody knows I was joking about the lawyer thang?

[niterydr]

Bummer, guess you should have showed kyle how to use your caliper...
That sucks, I hope you didn't do permanent damage to your fingers from the burns, the 10 resurfacing offer wasn't bad, maybe you could hit them up on a $350 credit in race gas . hand out 'race gas cards' as promotion to special customers...
Its better to get something for it instead of nothing.

[Raptor]

Wasn't Kyle and he has his own if he needs one. They didn't offer it as cash or general credit, they offered it likely because they knew I wouldn't take them up on it.

[niterydr]

Originally Posted by Raptor

Wasn't Kyle and he has his own if he needs one. They didn't offer it as cash or general credit, they offered it likely because they knew I wouldn't take them up on it.

LOL, that makes sence then!

[tpunx99GSX]

Originally Posted by Dinkpit

Yes the equipment is older, but if it ant broke.. don't fix it.

But if the equipment is old then you need to make sure its still accurate. its called Preventative Maintinance.

[A//// Guy]

Yea they should keep them up to spec and have them calibrated if they were looking to give a quality service...

[1slowdsm]

AND guess what...I took my Flywheel to Napa to have the step checked and they had mine at .603.....kinda off if you ask, huh? So I took it back to them and had them check the step and the dude (younger one, different person who did my flywheel) got a .607. That kinda confused me alittle. So the guy asked if I wanted it fixed to .610 and he did it right. He even showed me the step height on his depth tool. I'm guessing the older guy with the long beard was lazy and does the crappy job. Oh well..I hope everything goes well from here on....

[A//// Guy]

Did you get any money back for having to come back twice? I would have asked for a refund...

[1slowdsm]

No...I didnt ask. They fixed it and that was good enough for me.

[Raptor]

How did he check it? Problem with checking it with a caliper is that it is easy to manipulate it to look correct and easier to be wrong. Dimensionally, a caliper is just the wrong tool to be using and honestly, they vary enough from caliper to caliper to not trust them. My caliper measures exact from the end if I am very careful with it, but one of my mechanics has a new one that reads about .008 different in the same situation, his is wrong and won't be used here, but it is a good example of how far they can be off even if you are holding them correctly. Never trust a caliper for any depth test that you want to be precision. My surface plate and height gauge should be here today, if you need one double checked ever, bring it by.

[Jakey]

Mike what brand/model of caliper do you use?

[JET]

For a dial caliper Brown & Sharpe is one of the best, digital I would go with Mitutoyo. There are others that are decent, but those are the best in their category.