wlhequipment
Senior Member
Folks,
I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else. I bought a short block Hemi 5.7 from a company down in Hiallaia (sp?) Gardens, Florida on Ebay about 2 years ago. When I got it, I took it apart, and found steel shavings in the block, and the rods and mains had been torqued dry. They're supposed to have oil on them to achieve the correct stress on the stud. Anyhow, I fixed those issues, and drove it for 2 years, almost exactly. The engine started running rough recently, and I found that 2 of my cylinders had major scoring on them (I attached a pic). What had happened is, on 2 of the cylinders, the wrist pin had walked out and trashed the cylinder walls. How the hell does that happen on a Hemi? Those rods have press fit pins, right? Most of them do. There are a few that are bushed and need circlips to retain the wrist pin. The rods are otherwise absolutely identical and interchangeable. Except for the bushing and oil hole on the bushed rods. Well these guys put 3 bushed rods in my engine and sent it off. When I disassembled it, I didn't think to check that. I assumed they were all press fit. I'm not a Hemi expert, I'm a diesel guy. I didn't want to run the risk of damaging the brand new pistons just to check if they were the correct rods. Shame on me there. In any case, here's their website:
https://www.flengines4less.com/
I have opened a BBB complaint against them. I know they're not going to do anything about this. This is just a warning to others. I recommend staying well clear of this company.
I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else. I bought a short block Hemi 5.7 from a company down in Hiallaia (sp?) Gardens, Florida on Ebay about 2 years ago. When I got it, I took it apart, and found steel shavings in the block, and the rods and mains had been torqued dry. They're supposed to have oil on them to achieve the correct stress on the stud. Anyhow, I fixed those issues, and drove it for 2 years, almost exactly. The engine started running rough recently, and I found that 2 of my cylinders had major scoring on them (I attached a pic). What had happened is, on 2 of the cylinders, the wrist pin had walked out and trashed the cylinder walls. How the hell does that happen on a Hemi? Those rods have press fit pins, right? Most of them do. There are a few that are bushed and need circlips to retain the wrist pin. The rods are otherwise absolutely identical and interchangeable. Except for the bushing and oil hole on the bushed rods. Well these guys put 3 bushed rods in my engine and sent it off. When I disassembled it, I didn't think to check that. I assumed they were all press fit. I'm not a Hemi expert, I'm a diesel guy. I didn't want to run the risk of damaging the brand new pistons just to check if they were the correct rods. Shame on me there. In any case, here's their website:
https://www.flengines4less.com/
I have opened a BBB complaint against them. I know they're not going to do anything about this. This is just a warning to others. I recommend staying well clear of this company.