ProZac
Member
Before I get started I have to inform you all that this will be a long read but I have to vent I'm so fucking pissed at this person and can't believe people still give him money. Also this is snowmobile related so Jonathan feel free to delete it if you don't want it on your site.
Rewind back to November November 2013. Shopping around for a second sled. Found an awesome one owner low km sled in Pasadena. So the owner told me the sled seemed to be going through alot of oil and had it checked out at the local dealer in Corner Brook where it had been serviced since new and they said the crank was out of phase so they sent it to this so called expert in Pasadena. I wont mention any names but I'm sure anyone on the west coast knows of him he's been working at it for over 35 years. So he rebuilt the crank in February of 2013. The owner of the sled gave me the receipt that he had the work done cost him $1300 and only 100 miles on the sled since the work. Perfect! This sled should last me a few winters before it needs any work.
So I had the sled running, sounds great, looks great, everything like new on it figure I'm getting a good deal. Get the sled home and run it around the yard a few times totally in love with it. Now I'm anxiously waiting for snow. Snow finally comes a few days later, take the sled out again give it a bit of a go in some deeper stuff. Loving the sled still. Then get a huge noise from the engine bang bang clack clack of fuck now what? Couldn't even pull the engine over. Pulled the head off and one of the pistons is totally fucked and the head is all smashed to shit. So I don't mind working on 4 strokes but never did like 2 strokes even though they are much more simple. So I ask around and everyone keeps saying the best around is this guy in Pasadena and he does all the work for all the dealers and he's been doing it forever. Okay so it's a no brainer I'll take it to him.
Get the sled to him around the 20th of November. He tells me he'd get it pulled apart in the next day or so and would let me know what the damage was. Calls me the next morning says a bearing went on a lower connecting rod and came up through the piston and cylinder. Said it would need a new cylinder, pistons, rings, total crank rebuild, head, gaskets etc etc. Total of $1750 and would give me warranty for 3months and could have the work done in a week. So I then bring up the fact that he just did the crank in Feb and the sled only has 100 miles since and could he help me out in any way. First he says he didn't do the crank. So I kindly tell him I have the receipt that says he did. He then says it wouldn't have any warranty on it now anyway even if it's only had 100 miles on it the warranty is still out. Fair enough. So I'm kinda stuck and really looking forward to sledding. So we make a deal that he will do the work in a week and give me warranty til the end of March that would at least give me 4 months.
A week goes by I don't hear from him so I give him a call, nope not done yet it will be done by December 4th. That's not too bad just an extra week I realize people get backed up and stuff. December 4th comes along and I then find out that he busted off the oil connection on the bottom of the oil tank and it had to be ordered from the states. Not alot I could do about it but wait. In the meantime it's snowing like a bastard and looking like we are going to have a great winter for sledding. Oh and of course I'm starting my winter snow clearing job with the town on January 2nd.
So I get a call from Mr. H's son on December 24th morning saying that Parts Center had the part he would have my sled ready to go by noon! Finally I've been waiting over a month for the job that was supposed to be done in a week. So I go to Corner Brook at his son's place and pick up the sled after handing over $1750 in cash. He says give me your address I'll get the receipt mailed to you and your email address too so I can send a copy to your email. I understood he doesn't give receipts and they come from his father so that was fine I was happy to have the sled back.
So I spent the next couple days burning as much gas and oil as I could to get the engine broken in the manner that Mr. H described to me. So after a few tanks of gas the sled wasn't running quite right, seemed it would only run good under WOT. So I called up Mr. H to describe the problem and ask for my receipt. Voice mail. Left a message he didn't call back. Called his son no response. Sent his son a text and lucky for me we both have iPhones so I can see when the message was read. So he replied back and said he would get the receipt sent out to me and that the issues I was having sounded like a carb problem and nothing to do with the engine build. He said that they had the carbs off during the build and figured it could use needles and seats but didn't want my bill to be any higher. Soooooo it just happens that one of my new coworkers just left Polaris where he'd been a mechanic for 15 years. I pull the carbs off take them to him and he checks them out. Said needles and and seats were fine and he pressure tested them and they are holding pressure perfect. So my problem wasn't the carbs.
Carbs back on the sled and with the amount of snow we've been having I've been working 7 days a week. Stephenville really got hammered with snow and I was working around the clock not much time for sledding. But when I did get out sledding the sled still didn't seem to be running right unless I was wide open. So by now it's the end of January 2014 and the sled still isn't running properly and I call up Mr. H again. Got his wife on the phone said it was important that he call me back. No call back. Texted the son again. Told him the carbs were fine and sled still wasn't running the best. He says well your fuel pump needs to be rebuilt it's a common problem with that sled. Nothing to do with the engine rebuild. So I order a fuel pump repair kit. Have that all installed and sorted out and by now it's March and I've only got 300 miles on the sled since the rebuild. Sled seems to be running better but I haven't really ridden it much to tell for sure. And still no receipt from Mr. H
So fast forward snow is gone put sled in storage but needed to move it to another shed middle of summer. Fire the sled up and poof it blows the main rubber seal around the head compression gone antifreeze everywhere. Fuck me. This time I drive to Mr. H's house and bang on the door no answer at the house or the workshop. Called got voice mail. His truck was home. I left a note under his wiper on the truck to call me and I wanted the sled fixed. I also texted his son the pictures or the blown out seal and it showed that he read the messages and seen the pics. No reply no call nothing from either of them. So I said fuck you Mr. H you will never get a cent from me or anyone I know again. Went to another friend of mine who's done work for me in the past (I didn't get him to do the engine because he was away working at the time) and he said he could get it sorted out for me when he got back from Ontario. I ordered a top end gasket kit I didn't think it would be anything too serious.
Monday November 3rd 2014 we pull the head off and none of the bolts want to come out. they turn but wont come out. All of them were stripped in the head! Sled is just about back together now hoping it will be as good as new this time. Still no call from Mr. H I would've been just as well off to light my wood stove with the $1750 I gave to Mr. H I can't believe that these things go on and people can still run a business. Maybe he's just getting sloppy in his old age and maybe he shouldn't be doing engines anymore I dunno.
Very sorry for the long rant and go ahead and delete it I realize it's got nothing to do with Riding on the Rock but I had to vent and share my experience. Hopefully no other members get ripped off form this fucking asshole.
Rewind back to November November 2013. Shopping around for a second sled. Found an awesome one owner low km sled in Pasadena. So the owner told me the sled seemed to be going through alot of oil and had it checked out at the local dealer in Corner Brook where it had been serviced since new and they said the crank was out of phase so they sent it to this so called expert in Pasadena. I wont mention any names but I'm sure anyone on the west coast knows of him he's been working at it for over 35 years. So he rebuilt the crank in February of 2013. The owner of the sled gave me the receipt that he had the work done cost him $1300 and only 100 miles on the sled since the work. Perfect! This sled should last me a few winters before it needs any work.
So I had the sled running, sounds great, looks great, everything like new on it figure I'm getting a good deal. Get the sled home and run it around the yard a few times totally in love with it. Now I'm anxiously waiting for snow. Snow finally comes a few days later, take the sled out again give it a bit of a go in some deeper stuff. Loving the sled still. Then get a huge noise from the engine bang bang clack clack of fuck now what? Couldn't even pull the engine over. Pulled the head off and one of the pistons is totally fucked and the head is all smashed to shit. So I don't mind working on 4 strokes but never did like 2 strokes even though they are much more simple. So I ask around and everyone keeps saying the best around is this guy in Pasadena and he does all the work for all the dealers and he's been doing it forever. Okay so it's a no brainer I'll take it to him.
Get the sled to him around the 20th of November. He tells me he'd get it pulled apart in the next day or so and would let me know what the damage was. Calls me the next morning says a bearing went on a lower connecting rod and came up through the piston and cylinder. Said it would need a new cylinder, pistons, rings, total crank rebuild, head, gaskets etc etc. Total of $1750 and would give me warranty for 3months and could have the work done in a week. So I then bring up the fact that he just did the crank in Feb and the sled only has 100 miles since and could he help me out in any way. First he says he didn't do the crank. So I kindly tell him I have the receipt that says he did. He then says it wouldn't have any warranty on it now anyway even if it's only had 100 miles on it the warranty is still out. Fair enough. So I'm kinda stuck and really looking forward to sledding. So we make a deal that he will do the work in a week and give me warranty til the end of March that would at least give me 4 months.
A week goes by I don't hear from him so I give him a call, nope not done yet it will be done by December 4th. That's not too bad just an extra week I realize people get backed up and stuff. December 4th comes along and I then find out that he busted off the oil connection on the bottom of the oil tank and it had to be ordered from the states. Not alot I could do about it but wait. In the meantime it's snowing like a bastard and looking like we are going to have a great winter for sledding. Oh and of course I'm starting my winter snow clearing job with the town on January 2nd.
So I get a call from Mr. H's son on December 24th morning saying that Parts Center had the part he would have my sled ready to go by noon! Finally I've been waiting over a month for the job that was supposed to be done in a week. So I go to Corner Brook at his son's place and pick up the sled after handing over $1750 in cash. He says give me your address I'll get the receipt mailed to you and your email address too so I can send a copy to your email. I understood he doesn't give receipts and they come from his father so that was fine I was happy to have the sled back.
So I spent the next couple days burning as much gas and oil as I could to get the engine broken in the manner that Mr. H described to me. So after a few tanks of gas the sled wasn't running quite right, seemed it would only run good under WOT. So I called up Mr. H to describe the problem and ask for my receipt. Voice mail. Left a message he didn't call back. Called his son no response. Sent his son a text and lucky for me we both have iPhones so I can see when the message was read. So he replied back and said he would get the receipt sent out to me and that the issues I was having sounded like a carb problem and nothing to do with the engine build. He said that they had the carbs off during the build and figured it could use needles and seats but didn't want my bill to be any higher. Soooooo it just happens that one of my new coworkers just left Polaris where he'd been a mechanic for 15 years. I pull the carbs off take them to him and he checks them out. Said needles and and seats were fine and he pressure tested them and they are holding pressure perfect. So my problem wasn't the carbs.
Carbs back on the sled and with the amount of snow we've been having I've been working 7 days a week. Stephenville really got hammered with snow and I was working around the clock not much time for sledding. But when I did get out sledding the sled still didn't seem to be running right unless I was wide open. So by now it's the end of January 2014 and the sled still isn't running properly and I call up Mr. H again. Got his wife on the phone said it was important that he call me back. No call back. Texted the son again. Told him the carbs were fine and sled still wasn't running the best. He says well your fuel pump needs to be rebuilt it's a common problem with that sled. Nothing to do with the engine rebuild. So I order a fuel pump repair kit. Have that all installed and sorted out and by now it's March and I've only got 300 miles on the sled since the rebuild. Sled seems to be running better but I haven't really ridden it much to tell for sure. And still no receipt from Mr. H
So fast forward snow is gone put sled in storage but needed to move it to another shed middle of summer. Fire the sled up and poof it blows the main rubber seal around the head compression gone antifreeze everywhere. Fuck me. This time I drive to Mr. H's house and bang on the door no answer at the house or the workshop. Called got voice mail. His truck was home. I left a note under his wiper on the truck to call me and I wanted the sled fixed. I also texted his son the pictures or the blown out seal and it showed that he read the messages and seen the pics. No reply no call nothing from either of them. So I said fuck you Mr. H you will never get a cent from me or anyone I know again. Went to another friend of mine who's done work for me in the past (I didn't get him to do the engine because he was away working at the time) and he said he could get it sorted out for me when he got back from Ontario. I ordered a top end gasket kit I didn't think it would be anything too serious.
Monday November 3rd 2014 we pull the head off and none of the bolts want to come out. they turn but wont come out. All of them were stripped in the head! Sled is just about back together now hoping it will be as good as new this time. Still no call from Mr. H I would've been just as well off to light my wood stove with the $1750 I gave to Mr. H I can't believe that these things go on and people can still run a business. Maybe he's just getting sloppy in his old age and maybe he shouldn't be doing engines anymore I dunno.
Very sorry for the long rant and go ahead and delete it I realize it's got nothing to do with Riding on the Rock but I had to vent and share my experience. Hopefully no other members get ripped off form this fucking asshole.
