I need a new Machine Shop

[vristang]

I went in to pick up my heads from the shop last week, after being checked/cleaned for an oil control problem (I suspect the valve seals are bad).
The machinist had only decked the block surface and cleaned them. I had asked that if the heads were milled, for them to cc atleast one of the chambers, but that was not done.
They did not replace the seals, just checked that the valves/seats sealed.

I still have oil control problems.

To top it all off...
The machinist tried to tell me that the TrickFlow heads I have are known for having a porous casting. According to my (ex) machinist the porousity is so bad that oil is allowed to seap through the Aluminum and into the combustion chamber.
I was already irked that they had tossed the original work order I had left when I dropped off the heads, in favor of a much shorter work order, so I just smiled and left as quick as I could.
This guy thinks I am a blathering idiot, so I won't go back.
Not having any respect for your customer is bad business, and a sign of poor character.

*Stepping off the soap box*
I need to take my heads to a GOOD machine shop for new valve seals.

Does anybody know of any good local machine shops?

thanks,
jason

 

[05drive]

buds machine shop in lakewood,
www.budsmachine.com

 

[WaterPog]

If it's bad enough that you won't go back you should post the name of the shop for everyone so they don't go there either.

$.02

 

[352Ford2]

I will recommend two shops I have dealt with:

DG machine and Action Machine

I really like DG machine in Auburn. They do high quality work for good prices. 99% of the stuff they do is racecar stuff, so they are always on top of their game. I used to deal with them a lot when I worked at Honest Performance (Dale and the owner of Honest were good buddies). I pretty much get all my stuff done there. The only thing that sucks is they don't have their own crank grinder (and they are in auburn).

I have had Action machine in shoreline do some work for me and they are a good shop, but a little more spendy. Rob (the head machinist) is a smart honest guy, but he is insistent on quality and will make you do things that you should do but sometimes try to get away with cause of funds (i.e. balance your stuff after swapping pistons)

 

[vristang]

If it's bad enough that you won't go back you should post the name of the shop for everyone so they don't go there either.

$.02

I wanted to see if anyone would recommend the shop I had problems with.

It was R&D in Marysville.
Dave is the guy that tried to tell me oil could leak through Aluminum.

Thanks for the recommendations guys.
Keep 'em coming.

jason

 

[94gsl5.0]

My friends and i use the Highland East machine shop (Renton highlands). Have not had any problems and the turn around time is excellent.

 

[smittyb]

Wow, those TW heads must be made out of sponge material, huh? I also had a bad run in with R&D. Dave would not belive that any 5.0's ever had forged pistons stock. When I told him what I wanted done, he basically got down right rude and called me cheap. Granted what I did want done was budget rebuild work, I went elsewhere and as my plans changed, ended up having a lot of work done.
A lot of shops and such point me tworads R&D as I run around town here trying to get stuff done, and I just have to tell them it is not an option for me.
I used Jays in South Everett, and I am happy with their work so far. I don't actually have the engine running yet, but it seems they did good work, and they were actually nice.
Just curious, it says your location is Seattle, so why did you use a shop in Marysville?

 

[vristang]

I live and work in Seattle, but I don't have a garage here.
So I am stuck using my parents garage in Arlington.
I grew up in Marysville area... Good Times.

If I new of a good shop in Portland I would drive there.
I don't care about the convenience part, just want to know that I will get a what I have asked for.
Oh, and not be lied to.

What really kills me is I have told Dave on multiple occassions that I work in the Materials Test Lab for Boeing. Why would you tell someone whose job it is to know about material properties some !@#$ like that.

I have a friend at work who owns a Body Shop that his brother runs. He recommended a head shop down south here. Once I locate the shop I will drive there and try and get a feel for who works there.

I'll let you guys know what comes of all this.

Thanks for the support.
jason

 

[stock50LX]

You don't need to drive to Portland. You''d be even more frustrated in all likelyhood. For analyzing problems and fabrication, the best for heads is Progressive Auto in UP but he is slow. Headworks in Puyallup put studs in for half the price of other shops. He was quick and the work looks good. I will be going back to him for future work. Waterhouse has the newest machine tools and they are pretty fast. Dave Bliss is the most successful racer and Ford engine builder in our area, but he is pretty slow. He doesn't like TW heads, though... I called him before I bought heads and got a lot of info. He would definitely solve your problems as would Progressive. I don't know how much performance experience the other shops have but the TW heads are not so exotic that they pose unusual problems.

The Trickflow TW heads can wear valve guides if you do not get the rocker angle spot-on. The installer must spend time checking pushrod length and valve contact area on the top of the valve stem, or the guides will be damaged. Use an adjustable pushrod to get the contact area small and in the center of the valve stem. Just replace the seals youself. That's a 30 minute job. Be sure to use positive seals.

 

[S351Saleen77]

Too bad the other thread got killed I guess I can see why........but I sure would like to know If I can trust my shop or not. I would be pissed if I spent money and they didn't do what I asked and told me things like the oil can get through the aluminum. How can some places even stay in business??

 

[vristang]

The Trickflow TW heads can wear valve guides if you do not get the rocker angle spot-on. The installer must spend time checking pushrod length and valve contact area on the top of the valve stem, or the guides will be damaged. Use an adjustable pushrod to get the contact area small and in the center of the valve stem. Just replace the seals youself. That's a 30 minute job. Be sure to use positive seals.

You provided some very good info, thank you.

From what I can see for wear on the valves the pushrod length should be good.

Will I need to pull the springs to get to the seals? This is why I have not done the job myself. I tried a parts store spring compressor on stock springs once, and it did not work well.
Where can I get a good spring compessor.

jason

Off Topic-
I am actually a little emarrassed that I even brought up that other thread. That was a bad idea from the beginning. No good could have come from it.

 

[stock50LX]

You provided some very good info, thank you.

From what I can see for wear on the valves the pushrod length should be good.

Will I need to pull the springs to get to the seals? This is why I have not done the job myself. I tried a parts store spring compressor on stock springs once, and it did not work well.
Where can I get a good spring compessor.

jason

Off Topic-
I am actually a little emarrassed that I even brought up that other thread. That was a bad idea from the beginning. No good could have come from it.

Your guides are probably fine then. Just get some positive seals.

Yes, you need to pull the springs. I use the most basic kind of j shaped steel compressor ($15.) It is really just a bar that gives leverage. If you lived closer I'd be happy to give you a little guided practice. If you can get a buddy (or your favorite female) to get the locks out while you pry, it would be much easier for you. Have your helper stand-by with a very small screw driver or an awl. You compress the spring and he gets-out the locks. Then, slowly release the spring tension. It just takes a couple minutes to get accustomed to the process. Don't get teflon seals. They can be a pain and you don't need them.

 

[vristang]

Your guides are probably fine then. Just get some positive seals.

Yes, you need to pull the springs. I use the most basic kind of j shaped steel compressor ($15.) It is really just a bar that gives leverage. If you lived closer I'd be happy to give you a little guided practice. If you can get a buddy (or your favorite female) to get the locks out while you pry, it would be much easier for you. Have your helper stand-by with a very small screw driver or an awl. You compress the spring and he gets-out the locks. Then, slowly release the spring tension. It just takes a couple minutes to get accustomed to the process. Don't get teflon seals. They can be a pain and you don't need them.

I may just do this myself as it is starting to sound pretty easy
The car is my daily driver so I can't lose much time waiting for a shop anyway.

Can you elaborate on "positive seals"


Thanks for the nudge in the DIY direction

jason

 

[S351Saleen77]

Off Topic-
I am actually a little emarrassed that I even brought up that other thread. That was a bad idea from the beginning. No good could have come from it.

I wouldn’t be embarrassed that you brought up that thread. I can see how it won’t work here on this forum but something like it somewhere could do some good.

The guy I talked about who had his heads done by the shop you went to didn’t have much money. He left them there for months paying a little at a time with each paycheck. Then when he gets them they are not right. So how do you find a good shop? Word of mouth? Anybody can get a business license and get some equipment…..so how do you know if they do good work??

Here’s a story that happened to me. After my engine was machined and assembled, I went to a dyno shop that I had heard was good. They have been around for years. My car has D.F.I. which has to be tuned with a laptop. I talk to the guy on the phone and ask about his experience tuning this brand of D.F.I. and of course he is an expert!! According to him he has tuned dozens of them. Most dyno shops don’t have experience tuning this D.F.I. and I don’t want to pay $100+ per hour for a shop to learn on my car. So I get a dyno date a few weeks out because they are booked up. Take the day off and head out at 6am so I will be there when they open. Well he leans out the air fuel ratio way too much for a supercharger and blows the motor. Cracked 6 pistons!. So now its pull the motor out again new pistons and rings, block back to the machine shop, rebalance because I went with different pistons etc.etc. Not to mention being stranded 2 hrs from home and having to get somebody to drive down and get me, then getting a tow rig with a flat bed to haul the car back which they can’t do until the next day. Then taking another day off to be home when the tow truck brings the car back, then getting a few friends over when they get home to push the car into the garage. I do my own work, if I paid a shop to pull the motor tear it apart and reassemble it would have been a $3k or more mistake. Of course the dyno guy did nothing wrong according to him. Luckily the machine work I didn’t have to worry about, I couldn’t imagine having to deal with things breaking because of bad machining. The thing is good machining or bad machining; you get them at about the same price. Same goes for repair and tuning, but what’s cheaper in the long run? Having it done correctly the first time is. I would gladly pay extra to go to a business and have everything done correctly. The thing is we shouldn’t have to but as we all know this is not how it is. At least I have it all on video so I can watch it over and over again!

Anyway that’s all I have to say about this and I wish everyone luck in machining, repair, and tuning work and hopefully you won’t run into the mess I have. And when you do I guess it’s only your money!! You all have plenty of it to spend right??
O.K. I’m off my soap box now!

 

[stock50LX]

I may just do this myself as it is starting to sound pretty easy
The car is my daily driver so I can't lose much time waiting for a shop anyway.

Can you elaborate on "positive seals"


Thanks for the nudge in the DIY direction

jason

-Valve guide seals that fit tightly over the guide boss. Such seals must be pushed down on the boss. I usually use a deep well socket for that task. The other type of seal would be an umbrella type. The seals I am descirbing usually sell for less than $1. each -much less. You need to take one spring off and match the seal at a proper auto parts store or get the size from Trickflow. You can bring the heads to me and I will show you what you need to do -no charge. You didn't say this was a daily driver.

 

[vristang]

-Valve guide seals that fit tightly over the guide boss. Such seals must be pushed down on the boss. I usually use a deep well socket for that task. The other type of seal would be an umbrella type. The seals I am descirbing usually sell for less than $1. each -much less. You need to take one spring off and match the seal at a proper auto parts store or get the size from Trickflow. You can bring the heads to me and I will show you what you need to do -no charge. You didn't say this was a daily driver.

Well I sent TrickFlow an email asking for info on the appropriate seals. If I don't get anything back I will have to call them tomorrow at lunch.

If the local Schmucks or NAPA will have the seals, then I will do the job this weekend.

I can't describe how excited I am to finally be rid of this problem.


Should I worry about valve locks while I have things apart?

I appreciate the offer for hands on help but I should be ok.
I'll ask a few guys I work with for any tips they might have too.

Thanks again for all the advice,
jason