Oh great, I think my car just S the bed again!

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:30 pm

Update: Called PM Cares yesterday to try to fight the system, explained my whole situation and everything that happened to one person but was told they had to send me to another b/c I had called before and it was considered a follow-up. Left a voice-mail and was waiting for a response. Went to the bank to get the money to go buy the engine and the guy called back. About 45min later it looks like it might be possible that I could get this fixed under warranty. They won't know until probably next week as he said he has to call a Regional Service Manager and explain the situation and see what they say as I guess they are the final authority. Said screw it and bought the engine anyways so if they don't fix it I will have a plan B. So, basically now I have to wait until I hear back from them before I can do anything b/c he said once I drop the engine that's it as far as any repairs under warranty go.

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 8:49 am

Pics up!http://photobucket.com/albums/...?sc=5

mac99d · Post by **mac99d** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 6:45 am

I know you are not going down with out a fight, and I don't know if this helps or not but I ran across it todayUS Code - Title 15, Chapter 50, Sections 2301-2312Legally, a vehicle manufacturer cannot void the warranty on a vehicle due to an aftermarket part unless they can prove that the aftermarket part caused or contributed to the failure in the vehicle (per the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. 2302(C)) . For best results, consider working with performance-oriented dealerships with a proven history of working with customers. If your vehicle manufacturer fails to honor emission/warranty claims, contact EPA at (202) 260-2080 or http://www.epa.gov. If federal warranty protection is denied, contact the FTC at (202) 326-3128 or http://www.ftc.gov. For additional information, check out the following links:1. Consumers Bill of Rights2. What You Can Do If Your Warranty Is Denied3. Federal Warranty Laws4. Vehicle Manufacturer Warranty Contact Phone Numbers I really feel for you man good luck.Oh and this is where I found ithttp://www.granatellimotorspor...s.htm

scherry2 · Post by **scherry2** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 7:21 am

Quote, originally posted by damronjr Â»Pics up!Jason, those first few pics were really sad. I hope GM does the right thing. then you could build the (removed) out of the motor ya just bought. good luck with regional rep. I'm pray'n for ya.

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 6:18 am

Quote, originally posted by scherry2 Â»I'm pray'n for ya. Didn't work. Gotthe call yesterday, said I had to meet 2 conditions. 1 was it had to be a GM Performance Parts S/C. 2 was it had to be installed by a certified GM Performance Parts dealer. Otherwise the warranty was parts only for the kit and installing it myself voided the rest of the drive-train warranty on the car. Old engine is now mostly disassembled and the new engie is ready to go in. Hopefully we can knock it out the next time we get to work on it.

scherry2 · Post by **scherry2** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 9:14 am

Quote, originally posted by scherry2 Â» I'm pray'n for ya. Quote, originally posted by damronjr Â»Didn't work. . I kinda figured it wouldn't, but you never know. well good luck.

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 9:23 pm

Stripped most of the engine down yesterday. All we have to do now is figure out how to detach the tranny from the drive-train when pulling it out and remove the exhaust manifold. Not sure when we'll get to work on it again, but hopefully before next weekend.

Mase · Post by **Mase** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:52 am

Geez dude. I just now saw this update with the pics. Sorry about the engine, but think of it as a $900 course in engine swapping. About 2 months ago you were asking for help on installing your horns...now look at you, you're doing work that 98% of us would be pissing our pants over and giving up on!I'm actually jealous that you get to have that kind of learning experience. It's just unfortunate that you were forced into it with your own car.

scherry2 · Post by **scherry2** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:21 am

Quote, originally posted by Mase Â»now look at you, you're doing work that 98% of us would be pissing our pants over and giving up on!LOL, I gotta agree with that. Quote, originally posted by Mase Â»I'm actually jealous that you get to have that kind of learning experience. I am too. if only I lived out there I'd help in a minute, just ask Ragingfish.

Mrizzle05 · Post by **Mrizzle05** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 1:24 am

Im probably one of the closest ones around you... and would help if i could get time to go down there... but i would probably do more harm then good!!! I mean i help my friend swap his civic motor... but i just connected hoses and stuff.Good luck with all that.

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:59 am

Yeah, can't wait to start tearing this thing apart and really screw my car up! Any hands that can get down to help would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure we'd probably be able to get it done ourselves, but the more the merrier!

Psychobroker · Post by **Psychobroker** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 3:05 am

Man Jason, I wish I could help, but I'm totally tied up this weekend w/ school Good luck!!!

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 3:15 am

Quote, originally posted by Psychobroker Â»Man Jason, I wish I could help, but I'm totally tied up this weekend w/ school Good luck!!! Hey no prob, at this point I'm actually more hoping to get it done this weekend. Forecast says rain all weekend! Would be nice to finally meet you and see your Vibe though!

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 1:17 pm

Well, got the Vibe up and running, but for some reason it's idling high (possibly my fault in reconnecting the throttle cable), there seems to be an exhaust leak with the new header, and apparently the alternator gave out. It was spinning fine during the install, but I guess after I fired it up it quit. The pulley was still spinning, but the alternator core wasn't. Looks like another trip to the yard!

BlueCrush · Post by **BlueCrush** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 1:56 pm

Woot! It's Alive! The FrankenVibe is alive!

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 1:59 pm

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush Â»Woot! It's Alive! The FrankenVibe is alive!Yeah, just needed a heart transplant! Gonna work on it some more tomorrow and hopefuly be good. Need to talk to Andre about the header as he said he had an exhaust leak when he installed his as well and knew how to fix it. Idle will get fixed (hopefully) and then I'll be back better than new!

scherry2 · Post by **scherry2** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 6:08 pm

good to hear.

ColonelPanic · Post by **ColonelPanic** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 6:16 pm

That is good news man! Well, sucks about the alternator and various other odds and ends, but hey - for such a massive project you just did, you didn't have too much defective stuff when it was all said and done. You'll be back on the road in no time!

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:20 pm

Thanks guys. This alternator crash may actually be the motivation I needed to get a new higher-output alternator that I've been needing for a while! I do hope to be on the road again by next week at least, and if the new alternator can get here today maybe even as soon as this evening! I just hope it all holds!

Dezz1 · Post by **Dezz1** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:29 am

Try looking for an engine on ebay.

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:43 am

Uh, if you're talking to me I already bought and replaced the engine.

Psychobroker · Post by **Psychobroker** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 4:29 am

Quote, originally posted by damronjr Â»Hey no prob, at this point I'm actually more hoping to get it done this weekend. Forecast says rain all weekend! Would be nice to finally meet you and see your Vibe though! Well, we'll have to set up that meet Jason. I really would like to get back into the community swing Grats on getting that puppy fired up, and even MORE kudos for doing - and learning - all the work. I couldn't imaging having to take apart my engine, but I'd love to learn how.

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 4:47 am

Quote, originally posted by Psychobroker Â»Well, we'll have to set up that meet Jason. I really would like to get back into the community swing Grats on getting that puppy fired up, and even MORE kudos for doing - and learning - all the work. I couldn't imaging having to take apart my engine, but I'd love to learn how.Thanks Christian! We defintely need to get together some time. As far as the swap goes, it really wasn't as bad as you might think. Besides the PITA hoses, clamps, and wiring harness, it's really not that bad!

Psychobroker · Post by **Psychobroker** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:12 am

Quote, originally posted by damronjr Â»Thanks Christian! We defintely need to get together some time. As far as the swap goes, it really wasn't as bad as you might think. Besides the PITA hoses, clamps, and wiring harness, it's really not that bad! Well, I'd say 'let me know when you're doing that again so I can join in', but that would mean you'd have to blow another motor , so please don't do that!

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 9:46 pm

Quote, originally posted by Psychobroker Â»Well, I'd say 'let me know when you're doing that again so I can join in', but that would mean you'd have to blow another motor , so please don't do that! Geez, I sure hope that never happens again, but on that note, after careful inspection of the motor I have come to the conclusion there is NO WAY I was at fault on this and the dealer should have paid. The ONLY thing that broke was the rod. The piston still moves freely in the cylinder and there are no marks other than where the rod twisted and snapped and banged up the inside of the engine around it to include knocking a hole out the back of the engine when it hit the outside of the of the cylinder wall and the hole where the rod end lodged into the other side of the block. I took pics, when I get a chance I'll post them up.

jimincalif · Post by **jimincalif** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 1:20 am

Quote, originally posted by damronjr Â» the alternator gave out. It was spinning fine during the install, but I guess after I fired it up it quit. The pulley was still spinning, but the alternator core wasn't. Looks like another trip to the yard! Kind of a strange way for an alternator to fail, especially suspicious right after the engine swap. When you say the "core" isn't spinning, are you really looking at the core, or the windings around the core? It should be just a single shaft, not something that really breaks.To work, an alternator must have a charge to energize the field magnetically. This is the job of the voltage regulator. It senses the system voltage and increases or decreases the alternator field voltage to regulate its output. The current put out by the alternator is then rectified into DC by diodes. If the field is energized and the alternator is creating current, but the output circuit is open, the diodes will blow = dead alternator.Double check the wiring when you get the new one installed before you fire up. Especially make sure the wire from the alternator output terminal is not disconnected somewhere down the line. Note, I've never looked at my Vibe's alternator, so I'm not familiar with the specific connections on it. But have installed high output alternators, smart regulators and battery combiners on boat engines. Good luck.

damronjr · Post by **damronjr** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 1:54 am

Quote, originally posted by jimincalif Â»....Oops, maybe I'm retarded! For some reason I was thinking the windings would spin and they were not! Haha, it's probably just fine! Oh well, I needed a higher output one anyways. Got the wordthis morning that my flat tire is unfixable, so I guess I'll have to take a look at it and take it to Discount Tire and see if they can fix/replace it since I got Road Hazard warranty on it. problem is I think the tread is already too low to be in warranty standards. Guess there's only 1 way to find out! What are my chances of being screwed out of another warranty?!?!?

theangrydwarf1 · Post by **theangrydwarf1** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 2:01 am

Glad to see your close to being up and running again. Hope all goes well for you.

jimincalif · Post by **jimincalif** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 2:26 am

Quote, originally posted by damronjr Â»Oops, maybe I'm retarded! For some reason I was thinking the windings would spin and they were not! Haha, it's probably just fine! Oh well, I needed a higher output one anyways. Guess there's only 1 way to find out! What are my chances of being screwed out of another warranty?!?!?Hey, maybe your due for a break!Might want to check over and verify all the alternator connections, etc. while you still have the old one in there, minimize chances of damaging the new one when you get it.

Oh great, I think my car just S the bed again!

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