Punked! (What would you do?)

What do I do?

  • Fork out for the new cylinder head

    Votes: 3 18.8%
  • Fork out for a new engine

    Votes: 10 62.5%
  • Band-aid and sell it to some other poor sucker

    Votes: 1 6.3%
  • Just take it out and burn it

    Votes: 2 12.5%

  • Total voters
    16

Gabe Athouse

New member
Wow. I’m shocked. I guess I should take care of the 5 I own!

Btw if anyone wants to hire me to measure pistons and match grind their weight I’ll do it for a mere 1000$ per set of 5. It’s time I give back to the community.
 
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lindenengineering

Well-known member
Remember Mr Gabe Athouse we fix things properly, for a fair price but again we don't give stuff away nor skilled labor to garner favors .to anyone.

Skill comes at a price and offering $1000 piston grade adjustments in your "whirled" by Home Depot cheap flat file set is about the "measure" of some repair solutions I see bragged about on these forums.

Any doubts about us then read this post?
https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?p=758637#post758637

As for giving back to the community I recently obtained a new & significantly reduced priced ECM for a stranded owner in Texas and gave FOC (including shipping) a take out wiring harness only this week to another forum member.
All I asked for in return was a discretionary donation to Mercyships (https://www.mercyships.org/)

In other words "hand in pocket lad and there are no free rides in life!"

So by the way, what have you done for the community as you put it, other than drink dollar whine on this forum?
Well not on this planet anyway!

Dennis
 

220629

Well-known member
This thread contains some very good information. I would not want to see it moved to the DZ.

FWIW. vic
 

larrr

The Monochromatic Panda
Just circling back to maintain the integrity of information shared on this thread.

I did purchase the long block from Sprinter Depot on the date I posted that I'd made the decision (4/10/19). While they were the cheapest option, their operations have been riddled with delays, and they have been the very definition of uncommunicative. If anyone else is in the position of making a purchase from them, I'd ask a lot of questions about their inventory (e.g. do you have the engine in stock, what condition is it in, is it ready to ship) and shipping procedures (e.g. is your shipping department backlogged, can you guarantee a ship date) before committing to it.

Just to reiterate my circumstances, I broke down in New Mexico; the engine is coming from Texas (i.e., one state away). It took them two full weeks to ship the engine because the block had not yet been rebuilt on the date I purchased it. It hadn't even been pulled from the old van it originated with yet. The machine shop was backed up, so that added another delay. They use an obscure shipping company that only picks up on certain days, which added another 3 days to my wait time. As of this date, I am still waiting to receive the engine, and I still haven't been given a valid tracking number.

It's possible that any remanufactured engine would take this long to arrive, but I have to imagine that other outfits are better at communication and expectation setting. Net net, had I known I'd be paying for a hotel and rental car for an additional two weeks (and counting), it would have changed my calculus.
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
If you had given me call I would have almost be called a soothsayer.

I don't like bad mouthing a business on line but your experience mirrors some of mine with very similar delays and promises not kept!
Word of advise.
When you do send the core back make sure you get a waybill for it.
Their cartage contractor loses stuff!
Dennis
 

larrr

The Monochromatic Panda
If you had given me call I would have almost be called a soothsayer.

I don't like bad mouthing a business on line but your experience mirrors some of mine with very similar delays and promises not kept!
Word of advise.
When you do send the core back make sure you get a waybill for it.
Their cartage contractor loses stuff!
Dennis
Well... Actually, I did call your shop... The guy I talked to quoted me $10k. It sounds like your shop does great work, but that was one of the highest quotes I'd gotten. And I was already a few grand in, in labor at the local shop in ABQ. Hindsight: 20/20. :cry:

(Thanks for the tip on the waybill for the core return. I'll make sure the shop gets that.!)
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Well... Actually, I did call your shop... The guy I talked to quoted me $10k. It sounds like your shop does great work, but that was one of the highest quotes I'd gotten. And I was already a few grand in, in labor at the local shop in ABQ. Hindsight: 20/20. :cry:

(Thanks for the tip on the waybill for the core return. I'll make sure the shop gets that.!)
Well,that would have included a new turbo, wiring harness, new FIE equipment and the engine tested in a Sprinter mule for 500 miles.
With most stuff you have to compare eggs to eggs.
Dennis
 

larrr

The Monochromatic Panda
Just circling back to maintain the integrity of information shared on this thread... It took them two full weeks to ship the engine... As of this date, I am still waiting to receive the engine, and I still haven't been given a valid tracking number...
One more update. Since my last post, I learned that the engine didn't ship when they said it did. That was a lie. I can't get through to Sprinter Depot (they've set their phones to automatically go to an answering service in Florida). I got in contact with Central Freight and learned that it just shipped this morning. Not last Tuesday, when they gave me a bogus tracking number.

I'm tempted to delete my original post so as not to inadvertently lead anyone else to do business with them, but I do think it adds value to the forum to see the full trajectory of this disaster, and just hope that anyone else in my position reads all the way through this thread.

If you value your time—if you consider your time equivalent to money—then Sprinter Depot is not a company you want to do business with.

I hope I don't have to update this thread again with something like "and they sent the wrong engine" or "and a whole bunch of parts were missing." Next time I break down, I just hope I'm closer to Littleton, CO. Please learn from my mistake, folks.
 

220629

Well-known member
I added this to your Post #13 edit.

******
Additional Comment from Post #29:
Edit by AP.
...

I'm tempted to delete my original post so as not to inadvertently lead anyone else to do business with them, but I do think it adds value to the forum to see the full trajectory of this disaster, and just hope that anyone else in my position reads all the way through this thread.

If you value your time—if you consider your time equivalent to money—then Sprinter Depot is not a company you want to do business with.

I hope I don't have to update this thread again with something like "and they sent the wrong engine" or "and a whole bunch of parts were missing." Next time I break down, I just hope I'm closer to Littleton, CO. Please learn from my mistake, folks.
*****

I can remove it if you'd like.

Thanks for the feedback and updates. I hope things go better for you once you actually have the engine in hand.

:cheers: vic
 

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