Full engine rebuild timeline?

[EthanolTurbo]

Paying up front was a big mistake, they took their time because they had already gotten paid for the work so why make it a priority?

[Chanman1029]

I think it's normal for delays like these, majority of these shops outsource work to 3rd party specialists and therein lies some of the problem, logistics.

In my experience, I never have hard dates set for this sort of thing. I would have a daily driver and whatever car is under the knife isn't complete until it's done right. I give shops all the time they need, I don't want something back that is problematic because said shop felt pressure from my end.

Of course I pay 1/2 up front and 1/2 when the work is complete, you'd think paying up front you're a priority but it's not usually the case with machinists.

Stay positive man, you're in the final stretch.

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Agreed, the most important thing to me is workmanship. If it comes at a cost of shitty customer service then so be it. I too dont wanna put pressure on them, for fear of an inferior product. I have a daily, so I’m still mobile.

[cobra]

I wanna hear though what are some shops that y’all have been to in the LA area?

I had a shop called LA Sleeve do some basic motorcycle work for me (bore & hone). Came out tits and was fast. No idea how they do with more advanced work.

[WestBankM4]

I wouldn't even pay half up front. They have the car, it's not like a contractor in your house.

When they send the head out, or the block for hot tanking, they aren't going to pay upfront, they gotta cover the labor to the 3rd parties.

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[F1Dryvr]

I rebuilt my engine myself in faster time i think, having never built an engine before. I did have lange do my head and bought all parts from them, i know they did outsource the head work. That definitely took double the expected/stated time, but like you i wasnt in a rush and it didnt end up holding anything up for me. This kind of thing though is why i chose to do the assembly myself, not that im better than them, probably worse!! but at least i can blame myself if it goes bad instead of getting angry at a shop that could care less and have little recourse when it does...

My experience with lange was great though, he personally responded to my questions same day and often same hour via email, and called right away whenever i requested, well after all the money was collected and i had questions about the assembly.

[Halftim3]

I had Seadoos and brought my 951cc cylinders to LA sleeve for some work (bore & hone) turn around time was about 3 weeks.
For the M3 I brought the car in and had the headgasket replaced, cleaning and machining the head, and vanos bulletproof. The turnaround time for that job was about a month which included the removal of the head, sending it out, reassembly of it, and reinstall. The shop I used sent the head out for work, but would always update me either by text or call. I would tell him no rush as I have a spare car to use and in my opinion the job was still done in a timely manner. I asked if he needs payment when I left the car, nope, I paid at the end. Maybe worth noting that this shop only had my car to focus on at the time and he's familiar with S54's or BMW in general. He also did Subframe reinforcement and rod bearings. PM me if you need to know the shop.
I have a friend who used a different shop for a 05 330ci zhp for a complete engine rebuild, paid upfront, and it took more than 4 months and the shop still couldn't get it running right after, friend got tired and sold the car.
These are my experiences with shops, good luck, for a full engine rebuild 2-3 months seems long since you brought your engine to the shop.

[bigjae46]

Agreed, the most important thing to me is workmanship. If it comes at a cost of shitty customer service then so be it. I too dont wanna put pressure on them, for fear of an inferior product. I have a daily, so I’m still mobile.

If you don’t want to pressure them…then it will never get done.


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[Chanman1029]

I rebuilt my engine myself in faster time i think, having never built an engine before. I did have lange do my head and bought all parts from them, i know they did outsource the head work. That definitely took double the expected/stated time, but like you i wasnt in a rush and it didnt end up holding anything up for me. This kind of thing though is why i chose to do the assembly myself, not that im better than them, probably worse!! but at least i can blame myself if it goes bad instead of getting angry at a shop that could care less and have little recourse when it does...

My experience with lange was great though, he personally responded to my questions same day and often same hour via email, and called right away whenever i requested, well after all the money was collected and i had questions about the assembly.

Quite the opposite of what I am experiencing with him….

[Chanman1029]

I don't have an answer for you, other than I agree it's unacceptable. You should share their name so no one else gets screwed over. It's not slander, it's the right thing to do. They don't deserve the business if they can't treat the customer right. Seems like there are far too many businesses out there that act like the customers are a burden because they're "so busy". That's not how it works!

The particular shop in question here is Lang Racing…
I have always heard great great things about Lang, i dont recall ever hearing anything negative about them. Which is why I am so disappointed at the service I am receiving. At first, I though I was the anomaly, and that bad service was uncommon from them. However after repeated instances and never updating me, and even misinforming me, I cant help but think this is their normal way of business.

[oceansize]

Go to the shop and politely, very politely explain you are not happy with the way work is progressing. Do this person to person and do not get angry. State you expected better and you are not sure why it is you seem to be last on priority list. Ask for a complete explanation and then be quiet. Let the silence linger and wait. After each answer pry for more details, again nicely. As you exit state you expect to be much higher in the priority list from here out. Polite but firm almost always works best.

[Chanman1029]

Go to the shop and politely, very politely explain you are not happy with the way work is progressing. Do this person to person and do not get angry. State you expected better and you are not sure why it is you seem to be last on priority list. Ask for a complete explanation and then be quiet. Let the silence linger and wait. After each answer pry for more details, again nicely. As you exit state you expect to be much higher in the priority list from here out. Polite but firm almost always works best.

As much as I would like to do this, it’s not really feasible, it’s about an hour long drive away for me, and they only work Monday through Friday, I also work a very strict schedule Monday through Friday. I am going to discuss this with the owner once it’s all said and done, and I have no interest in raising my voice or causing a fracas. I’m pretty laid-back, but like you said I want an answer as to why everything occurred the way it did.

[Cronenberged]

If it's Lang and you're waiting on the head work it's cause they send there stuff off to Dinan. Idk how busy Dinan is or gets but the conflict could be scheduling with them. That said you deserve transparency, best of luck.

[Chanman1029]

If it's Lang and you're waiting on the head work it's cause they send there stuff off to Dinan. Idk how busy Dinan is or gets but the conflict could be scheduling with them. That said you deserve transparency, best of luck.

Yeah, I totally get that while its at the machine shop its sorta out of their control, its just the sequence of event leading up to right now that has kinda got me feeling some type of way.

[bigjae46]

A co-worker sent an S63 crank for repairs to Lang. It took awhile.

For THAT…I would go to Lang.

Everything else I would go to my shop in Wichita. That area has a bunch of pretty good machine shops because of the airline industry.


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[Chanman1029]

A co-worker sent an S63 crank for repairs to Lang. It took awhile.

For THAT…I would go to Lang.

Everything else I would go to my shop in Wichita. That area has a bunch of pretty good machine shops because of the airline industry.


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Have a few you can name? I’d like to look into them for future references.

also, are you saying particularly for the S63 platform you’d go to Lang?