Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:28/09/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Purchased a 2014 ********* in March 2021 from *** **** ******. Financing through ***** *******. They had invoicing showing Black Stack ********** had gone through entire truck and did all required repairs ($31,281.98) and CVIP inspection before selling to us. We only purchased this truck because it had been gone through and should have had no issues. April 22/21 Transmission repairs ($3888.13) paid by *** **** ******. May 20/21 towed to Black Stack. Tow bill ($1864.80) Engine rebuild required. ($30,155.30) *** **** ****** gave us $6000 towards the repair only if we if I would sign a paper not to ask for and more $$ so had to refinance the rest through ***** *******. August 30/21 to Black Stack for oil leak. ($5895.30) Sept. 13/21 to Black Stack Engine light on Idling too high. Replaced sensor ($190.31). Sept. 20/21 to Black Stack engine light on. Cleared code ($103.69). October 21/21 go Black Stack check engine light on and loss of acceleration. Throttle pedal and oil change. ($2215.13). Nov. 18/22 to Black Stack Complete inframe overhaul (25,432.73) *****. December 20/21 towed from Kindersley to Black Stack ($2300). I contacted another mechanic he said they must have been rebuilding each time on a warped block. When confronted with this all of the sudden the block was warped and it was my fault. So owner offered to replace motor with one he had at no charge and labor discount. ($19085.55)*****. Mar. 1/22 to Black Stack new head gasket, small repairs and CVIP ($3838.79). May 16/22 back to Black Stack using coolant pump leak Warranty. When told them I wanted a specific pressure test and it failed they told me I had to go to third party. Took to ****** ********** head need to be replaced. New mechanic said was not done properly so Black Stack brought new head. ***** paid ****** ********** to be reimbursed from Black Stack. Black Stack to warranty bottom end ****** warranty top end. Sept. 6/22 Bottom gone. Sept. 26/22 No Black Stack reponse.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/10/2022

  Tell us why here...

  In response to claim * ******** submitted by ******* ******* **** We have always stood by our repairs and facilitated the warranty submissions for failures over and above what is required of us.
  
  The truck in question was brought to us by *** **** ****** with 1,257,501 kilometers and 25,025 operating hours. The truck was in very poor condition when brought to us and *** **** ****** requested a Commercial Vehicle Inspection (CVIP) and a specifically tailored inspection for their units which we call a Red Deer Motors inspection. The CVIP is a safety inspection outlined by The Government of Alberta and the *** **** ****** inspection is a 56 item check list of system and component checks that are not covered on the CVIP inspection. These checklist items for the *** **** ****** inspections are items such as checking the operation of the Air conditioning system, filter checks, cosmetic defects, engine and bunk heater operation, fluid levels and other basic items. During our inspection we found several major defects that were detected during our regular inspection as well as items that were detected through past experience with ******* ******* for example we noticed a ticking noise coming from the top end of the engine which we advised our customer is likely a failed camshaft which we were then directed to inspect further and found that indeed the camshaft was defective and repaired as requested by *** **** ****** ($7,767.76 parts and labour). We had also noticed a rear structure oil leak which we were directed to repair as well ($5,576.96 parts and labour including worn out clutch replacement found during disassembly). during nearly every repair we ran into more defects that are undetectable until components are disassembled for example while replacing the camshaft we had to remove the charge air plumbing in which we found that the turbocharger to have a shaft seal leak which required the turbocharger and actuator to be replaced ($9280.07 parts and labour). These repairs alone cost $22,624.79 and along with the cost of the inspections and other repairs brought the final bill to $29,792.36 plus GST $1489.62 (total $31,281.98). That being said *** **** ****** does not request us to inspect the internals of major components UNLESS we have it disassembled and have access for further inspection because of an ongoing repair. During our history with *** **** ****** we have run into several situations where we have found more defective components during a repair and have never been met with any hesitation on repairing the newly found defects. For example on this truck when the rear structure leak was being repaired we found the clutch to have excess wear and brought it to the attention of *** **** ****** and they approved the replacement of the clutch and also asked that we inspect the internal gears of the transmission while it was removed. Our technician inspected the transmission by removing the top cover and confirmed it to be in good condition. The unit after sold to ******* ******* **** worked 7 days after going over a railway crossing as described by them. We did not replace the transmission but were informed that it was a major internal failure which in our experience is cause by operator abuse.
  
  After the transmission failure the unit was brought to our shop on May 20th, 2021 with the complaint of white smoke from exhaust, surging and misfiring and multiple engine codes. We first diagnosed the turbo as being defective and upon further inspection found that it had foreign material lodged in it from an upstream engine failure which in turn required engine disassembly to diagnose further at which point we were put on hold by ******* ******* *** so that they could check on a previous engine rebuild that was done at a prior date to *** **** ****** acquiring the unit to see if there was warranty on the rebuild. We were informed that there was no warranty (we do not have all the details but were informed that the unit had roughly 170,000 km since this work was done and was a full rebuild which included a Cylinder Head replacement). We were then asked by ******* ******* *** to continue with disassembly. Once the Cylinder Head was removed we found that #5 cylinder had a valve seat drop out of it due to excessive cracking in the head just as we suspected which caused damage to #5 piston, Liner, injector rendering none of which reusable. While inspecting we also found several other pieces of foreign material that we were unsure of at first but upon further disassembly we found that there was an EGR block off plate that was broken and now small pieces of debris were in the exhaust. EGR block off plates are used during an emissions delete and whoever did the delete used poor materials to do so. At this point we advised the customer that the best course of action is to do a full engine rebuild or full engine replacement, if the engine was to be rebuilt a new turbo would be required (which would not have been able to be warrantied as the unit is deleted and had foreign material go through it, ******* also requires its turbos to be diagnosed by a ******* dealer in order to get the warranty) At this point we were met with extreme opposition from ******* ******* *** being that the engine was said to have been fully rebuilt recently by another shop which in turn we explained that it is not possible to do a thorough inspection and measurement of all components that may cause further catastrophic failures down the road. It was at this Point that ***** ******* got involved as they were financing the repairs that were to be done and I advised them of the same suggested action and was explicit that a proper reassembly could not be done and that we would only honor our workmanship warranty and facilitate parts warranty on components. The customer and ***** then thought about putting a Cat Engine in but after reviewing the cost of swapping to a Cat and all the extra work it would entail pushed to just replace the single cylinder liner, piston, injector and cylinder head. Again, we advised that this was not the correct action to take. We then received a phone call from ******* ******* **** and was yelled at and scorned for not going wanting to do the piece work and accused of telling ***** one thing and him another which was unfounded. We then agreed that we would just do the piece work (only replacing the one cylinder liner, one piston assembly, one injector and the cylinder head and all required seals and gaskets required to do so as well as replacing the turbo) as long as they understood that we can not warranty any failure other than the components that we are able to inspect and replace. We proceeded with the agreed upon work and completed. During repair we also found that the oil pan was leaking after sitting in the shop for a couple days and noticed that it had JB weld (two part sealant) covering it in attempt to seal which failed. We advised the customer and they stated that they had tried to fix it using the JB weld. We advised that the completed engine oil pan be replaced as there is the potential to loose all of the engine oil if the leak worsens. We were usure of the cause of this but suspect it was possibly struck by something on road. Proceeded and completed job and outlined the following warranty information as well as recommended actions as per ******* ****
  
  
  WORKMANSHIP WARRANTY ON LABOR (ONLY ON COMPONENTS INSPECTED AND REPLACED BY BLACK STACK **********) - 1 YEAR PARTS WARRANTY - 1 YEAR SUBJECT TO OEM APPROVAL WARRANTY CLAIMS SUBJECT TO ECM DOWNLOAD TO ENSURE NO CALIBRATIONS MADE HEREAFTER SUGGEST FIRST OIL CHANGE IN 100 HRS ALL OIL CHANGES AFTER - 250 HR INTERVALS (FUEL FILTERS EVERY SECOND SERVICE) OIL SAMPLES EVERY 1000 HRS REPLACE AIR FILTERS EVERY 6 MONTHS (REGARDLESS OF CONDITION) OVERHEAD VALVE SET - 1500 HRS OVERHEAD VALVE SET - 5000 HRS AFTER INITIAL VALVE SET REQUEST THAT CUSTOMER USE THE FOLLOWING PRACTICES TO ENSURE LONGEST POSSIBLE ENGINE LIFE; LIMIT IDLE TIME AT MUCH AS POSSIBLE LIMIT COLD STARTS DO NOT ALLOW EXHAUST GAS TEMPERATURES TO EXCEED 1200° F (SUGGEST INSTALLATION OF PYROMETER)
  
  Aug 19, 2021 (not stated by customer) Customer requested that we find a Fan Clutch Rebuild Kit for him as he was going to replace it OR have another shop do it (not sure which he ended up doing). We purchased thin on Aug 19th, 2021 from **** ***** ********** and resold it to ******* ******* *** on Aug 20th, 2021 as a Counter Sale (CS-31) on Invoice 960. This is important for a later failure.
  
  On August 26, 2021 the customer brought unit in for and engine oil leak. The unit was washed and diagnosed as a front structure leak, which is another very common leak associated with the ******* ISX engine. This leak did not exist on the first visits to our shop. When told where the leak was coming from and that it was not a warranty related item customer again became angry but we told him that we understood his need to get repaired promptly and offered to have 2 technicians work the weekend to have the unit completed as quickly as possible and customer approved. Technicians completed the job Saturday and did not charge customer overtime rate for after hours rate. This is the Oil leak ($5895.30 parts and labour) as stated by customer, Unit was brought to us on Aug 26th and invoiced on Aug 30th, 2021 for clarification.
  
  On September 13, 2021 truck was brought to us for the complaint of check engine light on and idling too high. We promptly diagnosed this as a faulty Exhaust Gas Pressure Sensor of which we had a good used one in stock that we offered to the customer to save him some money on a new on, unsure of pricing on them at the time but would guess around $175-$200. Customer agreed and repair was completed and unit was repaired and returned to service with complaint resolved. Again this was an Engine Fault that did not fall under warranty and was quickly diagnosed and repaired on short notice. This is the repair for $190.31 as stated by customer.
  
  On September 20, 2021 unit was brought in for a check engine light on but when connected there was only one code logged in fault history when diagnostic computer connected and no other symptoms to troubleshoot. Advised customer that if light comes on again to bring truck back right away. Customer also requested to have dash units changed from standard to metric. This is the charge for $103.69 as stated by customer. Electrical Fault not related to any previous repairs and therefore not warranty and without any other engine codes or symptoms we were not able to diagnose further.
  
  On October 14, 2021 unit was brought in for the check engine light on again and this time with the symptom of intermittent accelerator pedal loss of input. Unit now has logged code for ACCELERATOR PEDAL OR LEVER POSITION SENSOR 2 CIRCUIT FREQUENCY - ABNORMAL FREQUENCY, PULSE WIDTH OR PERIOD - CAUSE OF CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND NO THROTTLE RESPONSE. This repair took extensive trouble shooting with 19.75 hours of troubleshooting with two technicians working together to get it figured out. Following ******* troubleshooting fault tree steps and testing that was done fault tree directed to replace throttle pedal but ********* in Red Deer did not have the pedal in stock but advised us that ********* in Calgary did. Customer again became angry and irate, more so at the situation but did not make for a pleasant interaction. Owner of Black Stack drove to Calgary in his personal truck at no charge to the customer and retrieved the new pedal but when plugged in the issue remained. Black stack then sourced all wiring diagrams from ********* and ******* and after reviewing circuits noticed that 5V supply to accelerator pedal is shared with several other components including the DEF pump. Being that the unit has its after treatment equipment deleted, no codes were present relating to the DEF pump due to the Engine Computer calibration. We inspected engine/after treatment harness all the way to the DEF pump and found numerous abrasions, rub throughs and corrosion in multiple wires and when we disconnected the harness from the DEF pump we found that it was leaking DEF fluid into the harness connection which explained the intermittent throttle pedal loss. This defect of DEF fluid leaking into the harness is very common but on the majority of deleted trucks the wiring is disconnected from the pump and therefore doesn’t present with this issue and on stock trucks with aftertreatment still intact codes for the DEF pump will be presented in the fault log history. During the course of this repair we found numerous problems with the engine harness and recommended that it be replaced but customer denied due to cost and part availability. We repaired harness where we could but due to the age and condition of the truck we suspected more problems could be hidden. Due to the high repair cost of this bill from having two technicians working on it simultaneously, we decided to only charge for half of the diagnostic time which was 9.87504 hours and a total of -$1234.38 discounted from the final invoice for this repair and service. This was the cost of $2215.13 as stated by customer and was an electrical fault unrelated to all previous inspections and repairs and therefore not warranty. Unit was brought in October 14, 2021 and invoiced October 21, 2021 for clarification.
  
  On November 3rd, 2021 unit was brought in for cooling system overpressure. We have copied and pasted our repair service order below;
  
  CUSTOMER COMPLAINT IS COOLANT IS BLOWING OUT OF PRESSURE CAP ON COOLANT RESERVOIR. RUN UNIT AND CONFIRMED THAT COOLANT FLUCTUATES DRAMATICALLY WHEN STARTED. PRESSURE TEST COOLANT SYSTEM AND FIND THAT PRESSURE CAP HAS FAILED AND HOLDS NO PRESSURE. INSTALL TEST PRESSURE CAP AND PRESSURE TEST COOLANT SYSTEM AGAIN. SYSTEM WILL HOLD PRESSURE BUT NOT FOR VERY LONG. CAP AIR COMPRESSOR COOLANT LINES TO ELIMINATE IT AS A SOURCE OF AIR GETTING INTO COOLANT SYSTEM. RUN TEST ENGINE. COOLANT SYSTEM PRESSURES UP WITHIN 3 SECONDS AT IDLE. SUSPECT CYLINDER HEAD CRACK, HEAD GASKET FAILURE, OR CYLINDER LINER FAILURE. REMOVE OIL PAN , OIL PICKUP TUBE AND BLOCK STIFFENER PLATE AND INSPECT. NO SIGNS OF LINER DAMAGE. PRESSURE TEST COOLANT SYSTEM. DID NOT SEE ANY SIGNS OF COOLANT COMING FROM CYLINDER LINERS OR PISTON RINGS. MUST REMOVE CYLINDER HEAD TO INSPECT FURTHER. REMOVE RADIATOR TO GAIN ACCESS TO GEAR TRAIN AND CAMSHAFT. REMOVE VALVE COVER, VALVE ROCKERS AND CAMSHAFT. REMOVE INTAKE AND EXHAUST MANIFOLD AND COMPONENTS. REMOVE CYLINDER HEAD. INSPECT CYLINDER HEAD AND FOUND CRACKS BETWEEN VALVES ON MULTIPLE CYLINDERS. SUBMITTING CLAIM FOR PARTS WARRANTY FOR HEAD, UPPER GASKET KIT AND HEAD BOLTS. CUSTOMER REPORTED THAT HE NOTICED STEAM FROM UNDER HOOD. WHEN PULLED OVER HE CHECKED UNDER HOOD AND FOUND THAT COOLANT IS COMING OUT OF OVERFLOW CAP. UNIT WAS LOADED AT THE TIME. DROPPED HIS TRAILERS AND BROUGHT UNIT TO SHOP FOR DIAGNOSIS. CUSTOMER REPORTED NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS OR PERFORMANCE ISSUES AT TIME OF FAILURE. CYLINDER HEAD PART NUMBER - PN - ************ ********* ******** ******* ****** * ******** INSTALLED JUNE 7, 2021 KM @ INSTALL - 1284370 HRS @ INSTALL - 25454 DATE OF FAILURE NOV 3, 2021 KM @ FAILURE - 1359112 HRS AT FAILURE - 26531 DIFFERENCE IN KM BETWEEN INSTALL AND FAILURE - 74742 DIFFERENCE IN HRS BETWEEN INSTALL AND FAILURE - 1077 INSPECT HEAD GASKET. FOUND A PATH FOR COMBUSTION GAS TO COOLANT PORT ON #6 CYLINDER CLEAN CYLINDER BLOCK DECK SURFACE AND MEASURE LINER PROTRUSION. CYLINDER #1 AND #6 LINER PROTRUSION ARE NEARING LOWEST ALLOWABLE SPEC. CYLINDER BLOCK COUNTER BORE NEEDS TO BE CUT AND SHIMMED TO BRING CYLINDER LINER PROTRUSION TO A HIGHER SPEC TO HAVE MAXIMUM CLAMPING FORCE ON ALL LINERS. REMOVE PISTONS AND LINERS AND INSPECT COUNTER BORE FOR PITTING AND CORROSION. NO DAMAGE TO COUNTER BORE. BLOCK IS SUITABLE FOR REPAIRS. REMOVE MAIN BEARING CAPS AND INSPECT CRANK SHAFT JOURNALS. SOME SMALL SCRATCHES AND METAL TRANSFER FOUND ON MAIN AND ROD JOURNALS. POLISH CRANKSHAFT JOURNALS UNTIL THEY ARE A MIRROR FINISH AND SCRATCHES AND METAL FROM BEARINGS REMOVED. INSTALL NEW MAIN BEARINGS. COUNTER BORES CUT AND SHIMMED AND FIT WITH NEW CYLINDER LINERS TO BRING LINER PROTRUSION TO A MAX SPEC OF 0.0155" FOR MAXIMUM CLAMPING FORCE OF LINER BETWEEN CYLINDER HEAD AND BLOCK. HEAD BOLT THREAD HOLES IN CYLINDER BLOCK IN POOR CONDITION ( CORRODED AND PITTING IN THREADS.) CLEAN AND FLUSH THREADED HOLES UNTIL THEY ARE SUITABLE FOR RE USE. INSTALL NEW PISTONS ON TO FACTORY CONNECTING RODS, INSTALL NEW ROD BEARINGS. INSTALL PISTONS INTO CYLINDER BLOCK. OIL PUMP CLEANED AND INSPECTED. FOUND SCRAPING AND GALLING IN OIL PUMP. OIL PUMP REPLACED WITH NEW AND SHIMMED TO FRONT GEAR TRAIN TO HAVE A GEAR LASH OF 0.0013". OIL FILTER BYPASS VALVE INSPECTED AND FOUND BYPASS WAS OLDER STYLE. REPLACE OIL FILTER BYPASS VALVE WITH NEW UPDATED VERSION. NEW CYLINDER HEAD INSTALLED WITH NEW HEAD GASKET AND ALL NEW HEAD BOLTS. ALL FUEL INJECTORS CLEANED AND INSPECTED, INSTALLED WITH NEW BRASS SEALING WASHERS AND O RINGS. CAMSHAFT AND ALL VALVE TRAIN COMPONENTS CLEANED AND INSPECTED. ALL SUITABLE FOR RE USE. INSTALL VALVE TRAIN AND SET VALVE LASH AND JAKE ROCKER LASH. CLEAN AND INSPECT ALL INTAKE AND EXHAUST COMPONENTS, ALL SUITABLE FOR RE USE. INSTALL ALL COMPONENTS. INSTALL RADIATOR ASSEMBLY, FILL WITH COOLANT AND PRESSURE TEST SYSTEM. COOLANT SYSTEM HOLDS PRESSURE AS INTENDED. REPLACE OIL FILTER, BOTH AIR FILTERS, AND BOTH FUEL FILTERS WITH NEW. FILL ENGINE WITH FRESH 15W-40 ENGINE OIL FROM TOP OF ENGINE TO PRE LUBRICATE ALL VALVE TRAIN COMPONENTS. UNIT WOULD NOT START. FOUND A LOT OF AIR IN HIGH PRESSURE SIDE OF FUEL SYSTEM AND UNABLE TO BLEED AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS. SUSPECT FUEL PUMP ISSUE. REMOVED FUEL PUMP HEAD AND TESTED. ONE PLUNGER SINKS IN BORE AND THE OTHER LOSES PRESSURE SLOWLY. INSPECTED CAM AND LIFTERS AND FOUND ONE CAM LOBE AND LIFTER TO BE FAULTY IN FUEL PUMP, ROLL AND LOBE HAVE SEVERE GALLING. NEW FUEL PUMP REQUIRED. SEE ACTION ITEM BELOW FOR REPAIR. RUN TEST ENGINE, INSPECT FOR LEAKS. CHECK ALL FLUID LEVELS. TEST DRIVE TRUCK AND RE INSPECT FOR LEAKS AND FLUID LEVELS. ****************ATTENTION!************* ENGINE BREAK IN PROCEDURE FOR INSTALLER & OPERATOR IN-CHASSIS BREAK-IN: START ENGINE AND BEGIN INITIAL CHECK. OPERATE THE ENGINE AT LOW IDLE AND FOR NO MORE THAN 10 MINUTES, CHECKING OIL PRESSURE AND LOOKING FOR ANY LEAKS. ****DO NOT EXCEED 1000 RPM. AFTER INITIAL CHECK THE VEHICLE MUST PULL THE HEAVIEST ALLOWABLE LOAD FOR THE FIST 50 TO 100 MILES AFTER THE REBUILD. USE THE HIGHEST GEAR POSSIBLE WITHIN THE ENGINES NORMAL OPERATING RPM RANGE. THE ENGINE MUST OPERATE AT OR NEAR FULL THROTTLE AT 75% TO 85%OF RATED SPEED. *** DO NOT IDLE ENGINE FOR MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES DURING THE FIRST 100 MILES. *** DO NOT OPERATE IN A LIGHT LOAD/HIGH RPM CONDITION HIGHLY RECOMMEND REPLACING ENGINE OIL AND ENGINE OIL FILTER AFTER FIRST 100 HRS OF BREAK IN OPERATION. ENGINE EQUIPPED WITH OVERHEAT TABS. IF REMOVED OR TAMPERED WITH, ALL WARRANTY NULL AND VOID. **FAILED CYLINDER HEAD HAS BEEN SUBMITTED FOR WARRANTY TO ******* AND IS PENDING APPROVAL. AN INVOICE HAS BEEN ISSUED TO CUSTOMER FOR THE REPLACEMENT HEAD WHICH WILL BE REFUNDED PENDING OEM APPROVAL**
  
  As outlined above our original prediction from the first engine failure that issues with the Liner Protrusion would be an issue presented itself here. Had we been able to remove all cylinder liners and perform the correct inspection and measurements and had the counterbores machined as we always recommend then the liner protrusion would not have been an issue at this time. We subcontracted Onsite Diesel to come to our shop and confirm our measurements and inspect and perform counterbore machining and shimming as required and to specified protrusion height. All measurements confirmed by both Black Stack and Onsite. Liner Protrusion was not the only issue, the cause of the coolant system pressurisation was combustion gases entering the coolant passages in the cylinder head. Upon inspection we noted 17 between nearly all valves across the head. In the span of all of our technicians work history, none of us have come across a cylinder head with as many cracks as this one. This is when we really began to suspect that there may be a driver abuse problem going on and while discussing the matter with the customer he had stated that “these ******* ******* like to be lugged down” which means that the engine RPMs are very low in high torque situations which creates immense stress on the engine. We advised him that this is very inaccurate and that engine RPM must be kept up and not allowed to torque up at low RPMs by selecting the appropriate gear for the situation ie starting out in too high of a gear selection or climbing hills without shifting accordingly. When confronted with this the customer denied driving that way and began to again accuse us of poor workmanship and poor quality parts. However we wanted to get the truck done and out of our shop so we began sourcing parts which at this point ******* parts began to get scarce due to supply chain problems. During this period of time we were in contact with ****** ***** ****** out of Lloydminster and they had presented an aftermarket Cylinder head and inframe kit and their selling feature was that their Cylinder Heads were cast to be stronger and uphold more extreme conditions than the OEM (*******) ones. We were just building an engine using these parts to test them out to see if their claims were correct but did not have any feedback on them at this time but was assured by ****** ***** ****** (EPC) that they have had great success with them. In conversations with the customer about these Aftermarket parts we agreed that this was a good idea as the ******* one did not last greater than 6 months. We submitted the failed ******* Cylinder Head to ********* ******** pending OEM inspection and approval and in the meantime we sourced the parts from EPC, which the Owner of Black Stack drove to Lloydminster to pick up all parts at no cost to customer to prevent delays in shipping and to get the repairs started more promptly. We billed the new cylinder head to the customer (paid for by *****) and refunded the amount to ******* Alberta Ltd. As per customer request when the warranty was approved which was a complete shock to us as ECM downloads supplied to ******* would have shown that the units after treatment system is deleted and ECM is tuned but nonetheless the warranty did go through. Once the inframe was completed we had issues with the unit starting and quickly diagnosed it as an issue with the fuel pump and when our technician removed the pump head we found the internal camshaft of the pump to be in poor condition and the rollers to be worn. We then advised the customer that a new fuel pump would be required at which point the customer began getting very belligerent and making accusations that we are trying to “screw” him. After a long period of arguing we went ahead and replaced the pump and saved the old one to show the customer to see to prove that we indeed were not being deceitful. After showing him he still continued to make accusations stating that its impossible that the pump would fail just sitting in the shop.
  
  Between release of truck and December 20th, 2021. Customer came in on multiple occasions reporting lack of power and black smoke when pulling loaded. We accommodated the customer and shuffled work around on every occasion and an open work order was started to track troubleshooting. During the course of troubleshooting we found multiple issues at every step we found more and more issues which are as follows. Injector #4 failed at one test point during injector performance test using ******* Software, test is not always 100% reliable especially on deleted and tuned trucks but is still a useful tool when diagnosing fuel and power problems. Replaced new injector at no cost to customer to test and ran performance test again and #4 injector no passed on all test points sent customer for a test drive and monitors fuel pressures and parameters while driving which were all good customer still stated there was a lock of power not loaded and unable to verify actual power output but did not find any performance issues, engine codes or other indications of an issue other than black smoke under high engine load and customer was driving very heavy footed to try to recreate power issue. We tested the charge air cooler for leakage which failed under ******* Troubleshooting Specification. Charge air leaks affect the amount of air being delivered to cylinders for combustion and can cause incorrect air/fuel ratios and poor engine performance. Advised customer and he argued that you can have a hole the size of a quarter and not have to worry about it. We explained that we are following the troubleshooting guidelines set out by ******* and when we find defect that falls outside of their specifications that it must be addressed to move on. Customer declined replacing air to air and demanded we check other things. Ran Injector Performance test several times during one test injector #2 failed on test point 1. Began suspecting that injectors may be a fault as we keep getting intermittent failures during the Performance test. When brought this up to the customer he got angry because of the high cost of injectors and demanded that we keep troubleshooting. We decided to compare ambient air pressure, exhaust gas pressure and intake manifold pressure sensor data the ensure they are all reading correctly as when these sensors are defective they can cause performance problems. Found that intake manifold pressure sensor is reading 2 in/hg different than others and confirmed by checking local barometric pressure. Replaced intake manifold pressure sensor and test drove unit and found it to have better boost but still smoking black. Installed new exhaust gas pressure sensor, barometric pressure sensor and cam position sensors just to verify that all sensors are good and did not change performance issue so reinstalled old sensors except for intake manifold sensor and cam position sensor (old one broke during removal due to age of sensor). Customer took truck home that evening and stated that truck smoked all the way home and when shut off the truck dash stayed lit up with all gauges sweeping back and forth and hazard lights flashing. Customer stated that he disconnected batteries and reconnected and issue stopped. Customer brought shop back in the morning and stated that truck ran great all the way back to the shop, did not smoke and had full power. Began to suspect an electrical issue and being that when batteries were disconnected and reconnected decided to inspect and test batteries. Found batteries to have severe corrosion on all terminals and 1 battery failed load test. Advise customer mut customer declined replacement of battery as they did not think it was an issue. Cleaned all battery cables terminals and reconnected as per customer request. Sent unit to work and customer returned again complaining of black smoke and power loss again (unsure of dates no as we were tracking on open work order). Advised customer that we are suspecting injectors and/or charge air cooler as contributing factors and highly suggested replacing injectors and air to air to rule them out and suggested sending injectors to GCL diesel for testing. Customer argued saying that the ******* InSite test wasn’t failing the injectors so that they could not be the issue and after a lot of back and forth deliberation we finally agreed to send injectors for testing and in the mean time we put injectors from engine we had in the shop in temporarily. Owner of Black Stack brought all 6 injectors to GCL Diesel in Edmonton at no cost to customer for transportation (the 5 original and the one that was removed for replacement). GCL required a couple days to test. While waiting for injectors to be tested we removed the charge air cooler and connected to pressure testing system again and this time marked all the leaks using soapy water and paint pen and counted 30 cracks and holes in cooler. Showed customer and they again argued saying that you can have a hole in the cooler and not have an issue which is false. Customer finally agreed to replace cooler, sourced new cooler and sent truck to work while awaiting results of injector testing. GCL provided results of testing and found all injectors to be under fueling. Sent report to customer and customer again got angry stating that there was no way all injectors could fail and then asked if GCL sold Injectors to which we responded yes they do to which he responded “that’s why they failed them, because they just want to sell me new ones”. Then he said that the test injectors and the new air to air didn’t solve the problem and that he wanted to have his old injectors re-installed as he believed them to still be good. When unit was out working it also threw a code and we again made room in our schedule to bring it in and get to it right away. Connected diagnostic PC and reviewed fault code log, found god for #4 injector coil removed valve cover and checked wiring to injector and tested resistance across injector solenoid which test good and compared to all other injector coils and confirmed they are all within spec at .20 ohms. Being that we confirmed all injectors are good and that we had issues with the engine harness/aftertreatment harness we suspected that the engine harness and/or injector pass through harness may be the cause of the code and with the intermittent power and smoke issue. Began inspecting wiring harness and found oil penetration in harness (common due to oil leaking through oil pressure sensor) and found broken and frayed wires that supply aftertreatment fuel control module. Reviewed wiring diagram and confirmed that sensor shares 5v supply with the barometric pressure sensor, intake manifold pressure sensor, exhaust gas pressure sensor and cam position sensor and oil contamination is causing interference in voltages under high load situations. After explaining this to customer they agreed to replace engine harness, pass through harness and oil pressure sensor. Customer requested that we put his old injectors back in but we encouraged him to leave the new ones in to test to confirm that the engine harness, pass through harness and oil pressure sensor replacement resolved the issue but customer argued that there was nothing wrong with his old injectors and repeated that GCL Diesel is just trying to sell injectors. We advised that they were tested to be faulty and strongly advised against reusing them but customer made the decision to put old ones back in anyway. We followed customers request and installed his old injectors and sent for a test drive to which the customer confirmed that the truck was running much better. Released the unit and advised the customer to advise us of any performance issues or engine codes right away. After working for a few days customer reported a check engine light and brought unit to shop, connected diagnostic pc and reviewed fault log. Found active code for injector #4 ********** system not responding. Performed cylinder cutout test and did not feel an unbalance then ran Injector performance test again and #4 failed again. Reviewed injector testing report from GCL Diesel and confirmed that #4 injector was the weakest of all 6 and we advised that we should not have put all 6 old injectors back in as this was going to be an ongoing problem chasing injector problems. Customer only agreed to replace #4 injector which we did.
  
  Friday December 10, 2021. Check engine light came on and customer brought unit to shop. Connected diagnostic PC and checked engine codes and found active code for Injector #2 ********** system not responding. Customer did not want injector replaced and requested we clear the code and see if it comes back.
  
  Wednesday December 15, 2021. Check engine light came on again and same code as last time for Injector #2 ********** system not responding. Advised customer to replace the injector as it is consistently throwing codes but customer denied and requested to have injector swapped with #4 (newest injector) to see if problem follows. We did as customer requested and swapped the injectors.
  
  December 20th, 2021- customer brought unit to shop with cooling system pressuring up again (towed in). Pressure tested system and confirmed that leakage is coming from cylinder head/head gasket. Customer was very irate with the situation and us and came into the shop several times yelling and causing commotion each time. We accommodated him immediately and advised that we would follow the correct warranty proceedings and make his unit a priority. Had two technicians working on unit to check for engine codes then begin removal of the cylinder head for failure analysis. Reviewed fault log and found these codes in log;
  
  SPN 0197 FMI 18 - COOLANT LEVEL DATA VALID BUT BELOW NORMAL OPERATING RANGE - MODERATELY SEVERE LEVEL- 18 COUNTS
  SPN 2387 FMI 7 - VGT ACTUATOR DRIVER CIRCUIT (MOTOR) ********** SYSTEM NOT RESPONDING OR OUT OF ADJUSTMENT - 1 COUNT
  SPN 6595 FMI 11 - ENGINE SPEED - ROOT CAUSE UNKNOWN - 1 COUNT
  SPN 6257 FMI 17 - BATTERY VOLTAGE - DATA VALID BUT BELOW NORMAL OPERATING RANGE - LEAST SEVERE LEVEL - 1 COUNT
  SPN 2448 FMI 17 - COOLANT LEVEL - DATA VALID BUT BELOW NORMAL OPERATING RANGE - LEASET SEVERE LEVEL
  
  FIRST INSPECTION OF TRUCK FOUND COOLANT RESERVOIR EMPTY, COOLANT ALL OVER ENGINE. RINSE COOLANT OFF OF ENGINE AND INSPECT. BAR ENGINE OVER BY HAND TO CHECK FOR HYDRO-LOCK CYLINDER. FOUND ENGINE LOCKS UP BETWEEN #4 AND #2 CYLINDER COMPRESSION STROKE. FILL COOLANT RESERVOIR, CHARGE BATTERIES AND ATTEMPT TO START ENGINE. ENGINE ROTATES, WILL NOT START AND HITS A HARD SPOT AND STOPS ROTATING. DRAINED ENGINE OIL AND FOUND COOLANT IN OIL PAN.DRAINED ABOUT 8-10L OF COOLANT FROM OIL PAN. TOOK MID STREAM OIL SAMPLE AND SENT FOR ANALYSIS. REMOVED VALVE COVER AND INSPECTED VALVE TRAIN. FOUND NO ********** ISSUES. DRAINED ENGINE OIL AND REMOVED OIL PAN. AND INSPECT FOR DAMAGE. OIL RESIDUE IN PAN AND INSIDE ENGINE BLOCK VERY BLACK AND SLUDGY. DRAINED COOLANT AND REMOVED RADIATOR TO GAIN ACCESS TO FRONT GEAR TRAIN. REMOVE FRONT GEAR TRAIN AND CAMSHAFT. REMOVE INTAKE AND EXHAUST COMPONENTS. REMOVE HEAD BOLTS. ALL HEAD BOLTS TOOK EQUAL EFFORT TO UNBOLT AND REMOVE (HEAD BOLT CONDITION AND TORQUE NOT SUSPECTED AS FAILURE) REMOVE CYLINDER HEAD. INSPECT CYLINDER HEAD. FOUND FRETTING ON CYLINDER HEAD #2, 4 AND 5 CYLINDER POSITION WHERE HEAD GASKET FIRE RING MATES TO CYLINDER HEAD. INSPECT HEAD GASKET. FOUND HEAD GASKET FIRE RING BLOWN ON REAR, DRIVERS SIDE OF CYLINDER #2. HEAD GASKET FIRING RING BLOWN OUT ON CYLINDER #5 FRONT SIDE BETWEEN CYLINDER #4 AND 5. CLEAN CYLINDER BLOCK DECK SURFACE AND INSPECT. CLAMP CYLINDER LINERS DOWN AND CHECK LINER PROTRUSION. FOUND CYLINDERS #1,3, AND 6 AT 0.0145" LINER PROTRUSION ALL THE WAY AROUND CYLINDER MEASURED IN 6 EQUALLY DIVIDED POINTS. REMOVE #2 AND 5 PISTON COOLING NOZZLE AND PISTON ASSEMBLY. LINER PROTRUSION ON #2 CYLINDER MEASURES 0.0145" EXCEPT IN REAR DRIVERS SIDE CORNER WHERE HEAD GASKET FIRE RING WAS BLOWN OUT (LOW SPOT MEASURES O.0125". ROTATE CYLINDER LINER IN BORE AND RE MEASURE. THE LOW SPOT OF THE CYLINDER LINER MOVED WITH THE ROTATION OF LINER SHOWING THAT LINER COUNTER BORE OF CYLINDER BLOCK HAS NOT WARPED OR MOVED. SUSPECT DAMAGE TO CYLINDER LINER DUE TO EXCESSIVE HEAT FROM FAULTY INJECTOR FUELING. CYLINDER LINER #4 AND 5 MEASURE 0.014 - 0.0145 IN MAJORITY OF MEASURING POINTS, EXCEPT ON DRIVERS SIDE WHERE LINER MEASURES 0.012" TO 0.0125. ROTATE CYLINDER LINER IN BORE AND RE MEASURE. LOW SPOT OF CYLINDER LINER PROTRUSION MOVED WITH ROTATION INDICATING CYLINDER BLOCK COUNTERBORES HAS NOT BEEN WARPED OR MOVED. REMOVE #2 AND 5 CYLINDER LINER AND INSPECT LINER AND CYLINDER BLOCK. CYLINDER BLOCK COUNTER BORE SHOWS NO EVIDENCE OF FRETTING BETWEEN MATING SURFACE OF LINER AND BLOCK. MEASURE LINER BORE WITH CYLINDER BORE GAUGE AND FOUND #2 LINER OUT OF ROUND BY 0.003". CLEAN AND INSPECT #2 LINER FURTHER AND FOUND DISCOLORED STEEL OF CYLINDER LINER IN POSITION WHERE IT MEASURED THE LOWEST ON LINER PROTRUSION. INSPECT PISTON TOP SURFACE AND FOUND PISTON COATING BURNT AND FLAKING ON #2 PISTON WHERE FUEL INJECTOR SPRAY PATTERN CONTACTS PISTON. MOST FLAKING FOUND ON REAR DRIVERS SIDE OF PISTON IN SAME POSITION AS HEAD GASKET FIRE RING BLOW OUT. INSPECT ALL PISTON TOP SURFACES, FOUND BURNT AND FLAKING PISTON COATING ON CYLINDER #1, AND 5 ALSO. CYLINDER #5 COATING BURNT OFF IN SAME POSITION AS HEAD GASKET BLOW OUT, FOLLOWING BAD INJECTOR SPRAY PATTERN. CONTACTED ONSITE DIESEL REPAIR INC. (COMPANY WHO MACHINED CYLINDER BLOCK LINER COUNTERBORE FOR THIS ENGINES LAST IN FRAME ENGINE REBUILD.) AND HAD THEM COME AND INSPECT CYLINDER BLOCK AND LINERS. WITH NEW ******* OEM CYLINDER LINERS AND ******* OEM 0.032" LINER SHIMS INSTALLED INTO COUNTERBORE OF #2 AND 5 CYLINDER, ONSITE DIESEL REPAIR TECHNICIANS MEASURE LINER PROTRUSION AND FOUND IT TO BE EQUAL MEASUREMENT ON ALL 6 MEASURING POSITIONS. INSTALLING WARPED #2 CYLINDER LINER AND #5 CYLINDER LINER AND MEASURING LINER PROTRUSION, INSPECTING PISTON TOP COATING CONDITION, ONSITE DIESEL REPAIR INC. TECHNICIANS CAN CONFIRM LINER AND PISTONS HAS BEEN DAMAGED DUE TO EXCESSIVE HEAT CAUSED BY FAILING FUEL INJECTORS.
  
  At this point we were seeing so many issues with the aftermarket parts, ongoing injector issues, Engine speed codes that is was hard to determine the exact cause of failure. On #2 and #4 pistons there were scorch marks on top of the pistons and where the head gasket fire rings blew out and those were the two injectors positions that continued to throw codes (#4 was replaced but then was moved to position #2 and vise versa when customer refused to replace #2). We Suggested to the customer that the cause could be the faulty injectors and when told that he became extremely angry and yelled and screamed at the Owner and the shop foremen continuously. We advised him that we were still going to submit the parts for warranty but all the parts must be sent to Lloydminster to EPC for submission along with required paperwork. Customer continued to be belligerent. In customers report to the ****** ******** ****** they stated that they contacted another mechanic and he told us that the cylinder block was warped and when we were “confronted with this all of a sudden the block was warped and it was my fault”. This statement is again inaccurate. As indicated in the above work order copy we consulted with Onsite Diesel (who we subcontracted to do the counterbore machining during the last rebuild) and they advised that we check the deck surface for warpage before continuing with any repairs as the block may need resurfacing (which requires removal of the engine block and taking it to a machine shop). They suggested this due to the warpage on the 2 cylinder liners and evidence of high cylinder temperatures indicated by the scorching on the pistons and blow out of the fire rings on cylinders #2 and #4. We were not blaming but just going with the evidence we were presented with. Onsite confirmed that their original inspection and measurements did not indicate a need to remove the block for machining but there is now a low spot across the overall surface of the engine block of  0.005”. There is no ******* spec for this however we contacted Almax Engine rebuilder to see what their standards are and they say that when the have a block removed from a truck they will always resurface the deck to ensure flatness (Almax resurface the Block on our other engine that we were building). At this point the customer and ***** accused us of not checking the block deck flatness both times the head was off which was not true as indicated above during the first engine job we were unable to perform all measurements as we were only approved to remove and replace the single failed liner (all liners would need to be removed to perform this measurement) and the second time the block deck was indeed inspected and measured for liner protrusion, counterbore condition, block deck condition and flatness both by Black Stack and Onsite. Their accusation indicated that the warped block was the cause of the original head cracking, the second head cracking and now all the issues with this current failure which is completely fabricated. It was not in out interest to keep going back and forth without any resolution coming out of it and we wanted to get this customer back on the road ASAP. We advised that we would be submitting all parts including the Cylinder head, head gasket and all liners and pistons for warranty to ****** ***** ****** but we understood this would be a lengthy process and the urgency for the customer to get back out working so the Owner of Black Stack Offered to Swap the engine with the one we had rebuilt as this would get him back on the road as quickly as possible and would prevent any delay in getting replacement parts. Customer agreed and we performed engine swap so we removed the engine and installed the new one which again during the process we found many more defects including the EGR cooler being plugged off with frost plugs which prevents proper coolant flow to the engine and is known to cause cooling issues and premature engine failure from an improper delete. We found that the clutch brake had a broken tab (which is an indication of improper clutch use) premature failure as the clutch replacement was done recently. 0.003”-0.004” wear on the flywheel friction surface which is excessive as the flywheel was machined at the time of the clutch replacement but still suitable for reuse. Transmission input shaft wear was excessive for the age as the input shaft was new when the clutch was replaced. Engine mounts boltsw were seized and required heating to removed which in turn required replacement of the bushings. As well as other minor defective parts that required replacement. We corrected the EGR coolant flow issue by removing the EGR cooler completely and plumbing in a coolant line to ensure full coolant flow to all parts of the engine. We discounted the complete cost of the engine ($49,785.53) and all labour going back to the initial power and black smoke troubleshooting ($12,706.25) for a total of $62,491.78 in total discount from the final invoice which was a huge sacrifice that we made in order to get the customer back up and running as we had a lot of money tied up in this engine but we were in hopes that we could get the warranty processed and reimbursed to help us recover from the loss. The Owner of Black Stack again drove all warranty parts to EPC in Lloydminster to have them submitted for warranty and show them all of the issues found with the parts they supplied us. This was the $19,085.55 charge as indicated by the customer which was the remaining amount leftover after the above discount, this included all 6 NEW injectors that we recommended replacing long before ($8,736.90 is the cost of 6 injectors), charge air cooler ($1,469.29), engine harness ($1,432.70) and all other incidentals as well as parts for all previous troubleshooting.
  
  March 1, 2022 customer brought unit in for coolant leaks but could not find any coolant leaks and again after testing found the head gasket to be leaking which we immediately began removal of the head and closely inspected the head gasket for the failure point and found that is was oddly cracked on the fire ring on #2 cylinder. We cleaned the block surface and carefully performed all measurements of liner protrusion and inspected all sealing surfaces. We determined that head gasket failed due to poor quality and upon asking around to other shops and acquaintances who have used after market head gaskets were told to avoid them at all cost as they too were seeing common quality issues. Contacted ****** ***** ****** to advise them of another part failure and they required the same warranty process for reimbursement. We decided that we were going to cover all costs again and replace the head gasket kit with a ******* OEM head gasket kit to avoid any issues with aftermarket parts and we would take on the cost while we wait for warranty approval. We reassembled with a new OEM ******* head gasket. Owner of Black Stack Drove to Lloydminster to submit  head gasket and showed them the cracked fire ring which. They agreed that the failure was odd and a defect caused by the faulty part. We submitted our and awaited which was awarded some time later. At this point we made it a Black Stack Policy that by no means will we use any aftermarket parts due to the consistent poor quality as well as rejecting any request for used parts to be used under any circumstances as we were beginning to get a lot of requests to source used parts on customers truck and the liability is too great. After replacing the cylinder head gasket the customer requested that we perform his annual CVIP inspection which we agreed as well as install a hydraulic system on the truck to allow them to haul and LANDALL trailer to which we also agreed. This is the invoice for $3838.79 as stated by the customer which no charges we made towards the replacement of the head gasket and all for the CVIP and  required CVIP repairs which was $1,618.75 in labor and $1,956.30 in parts and when receiving the invoice for this the customer was angry and again we had another unpleasant phone conversation about the cost of the CVIP repairs along with him being angry about the cost of the hydraulic installation that we did for him (paid for by the company he was working for) in the amount of $9570.99 which was promised to be paid upon invoicing and took several weeks to do so and all calls to both Darren and the owner of the company would not answer their phones when we would call for collection. ******* did however pay for the CVIP and repairs in a decent time frame. At this point we decided that we would no longer be able to work with this company but still had full intention of honoring warranty but due to the constant disagreements, complaining of costs of parts and labour, and ever increasing difficulty to get paid we saw it better to no longer allow them into our shop.
  
  The following work done to ******* ******* *** are warranty Items that we agreed to repair as we upheld our Warranty agreement.  These repairs were not addressed by ******* Alberta Inc in their report to the ****** ******** ******, See below.
  
  March 11, 2022 – check engine light on.
  CONNECT DIAGNOSTIC PC AND CHECK FAULT CODES. FOUND 18 COUNTS FOR FAULT CODE 0559 INJECTOR METERING RAIL PRESSURE- DATA VALID BUT BELOW NORMAL OPERATING RANGE MODERATELY SEVERE LEVEL. PERFORM HIGH PRESSURE FUEL LEAKAGE TEST. WHEN TRUCK SHUT OFF FUEL PRESSURE DROPS RAPIDLY. REPLACE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL RAIL RELIEF VALVE. PERFORM HIGH PRESSURE TEST AGAIN. SYSTEM STILL LEAKS OFF RAPIDLY. FUEL PUMP HEAD IS NEW, TRIED REPLACING FUEL RAIL RELIEF VALVE AND RETEST BUT PRESSURE STILL DROPS RAPIDLY. REMOVE FUEL PUMP HEAD AND INSPECT. WHEN CHECKING FUEL PUMP HEAD PLUNGERS BY PUSHING THEM IN THEY SHOULD SPRING BACK, BUT THEY PUSHED IN AND STAYED. INDICATING FUEL PUMP HEAD FAILURE. REPLACE FUEL PUMP HEAD. PERFORM HIGH PRESSURE FUEL LEAKAGE TEST. WHEN TRUCK SHUT OFF PRESSURE HOLDS STEADY. REPAIR COMPLETE FUEL PUMP HEAD REPLACED AT 1347220 KM, 21147 HOURS) NEW WARRANTY REPLACEMENT HEAD INSTALLED AT 1388178 KM, 21431 HOURS. ORIGINAL INVOICE #PR2088763
  
  The total cost for this repair would have been $3163.90. we covered the cost and did not charge labour to customer even though we are not liable for the part failure and would not be reimbursed for out labour. Submitted the fuel pump head for Warranty to Kenworth and was awarded after review.
  
  During this repair we also performed an injector isolation test as high internal leakage is also a result of faulty injectors. See below.
  
  
  HOOK UP ******* INSITE: FAULT CODE 0559 INJECTOR METERING RAIL 1 PRESSURE DATA VALID BUT BELOW NORMAL OPERATING RANGE - MODERATELY SEVERE LEVEL (9 COUNTS) WITH ******* INSIGHT PROGRAM RUN HIGH PRESSURE FUEL TEST AND CHECK FOR HIGH PRESSURE FUEL LEAKAGE. WHEN ENGINE SHUT OFF, HIGH PRESSURE FUEL LEAKS SIGNIFICANTLY FAST. (30,000 PSI TO 0 IN 15 SEC) CAP 1,2,4 FUEL INJECTOR LINES AND PERFORM TEST AGAIN.HIGH PRESSURE FUEL SYSTEM HELD STEADY AND ONLY DROPPED 100 PSI PER SECOND. RE INSTALL #4 FUEL INJECTOR LINE AND PERFORM HIGH PRESSURE FUEL TEST. HIGH PRESSURE FUEL SYSTEM HELD STEADY AGAIN. RE INSTALL #2 FUEL INJECTOR LINE AND PERFORM TEST. PRESSURE DROPS RAPIDLY. #2 INJECTOR FAILED CAP #2 INJECTOR LINE AND RE INSTALL #1 INJECTOR LINE AND PERFORM TEST. PRESSURE DROPS RAPIDLY. #1 INJECTOR FAILED. REMOVE AND REPLACE #1 AND 2 INJECTORS AND FUEL DELIVERY PENCILS. RUN HIGH PRESSURE FUEL TEST. PRESSURE HOLDS STEADY AND ONLY DROPS 100 PSI PER SECOND. REPAIR COMPLETE. CLEAR FAULT CODES.
  
  We advised the customer and when he began to get angry about having to replace injectors we assured him that we would not charge him for the new injectors or the labor for testing and replacing the, again to avoid the foreseeable argument and make the process as easy as possible. The total cost for this repair would have been $3845.49 which we did not charge the customer for parts or labour. Parts Warranty was awarded after review.
  
  Also on March 11,2022 the customer requested that we check his clutch adjustment due to his clutch brake not working. Upon inspection we found that the clutch brake tabs were sheared off for the second time which is a result of improper clutch use. We replaced as it was an easy repair and we also replaced his fuel filters as a precaution due to the fuel injector and fuel pump head replacement which we charged him for a total cost of $193.98.
  
  On May 6th, 2022 I Received a voicemail message from the customer stating that the fan clutch failed and that he was going to return it for Warranty but needed our original invoice to replace it which we found strange that he was avoiding bringing the unit to us to facilitate the warranty claim. When we returned his call we offered to perform the submission for him but he became agitated and insisted that he was going to return the fan clutch kit. The first thing that came to mind being that the fan clutch failed was to ask if the engine had been overheated and his immediate response was no absolutely not which did not sound truthful. I agreed to call **** ***** ********** and give them the purchase invoice number for processing. The customer was then told by Fort Garry that he must purchase a new kit and wait for reimbursement after the manufacturer inspects and either confirms or denies warranty to which he got angry and called us again demanding that we pay him for the failed fan clutch kit to which we responded that is the process in which everyone must follow and that we are not the manufacturer just a 3rd party to the sale of it. He then reluctantly purchased the new kit and had it installed by another shop (or himself, we are unsure).
  
  On May 10th, 2022 we received another voicemail from the customer stating that he needed to know what kind of warranty he had on the motor because the water pump was leaking. This was another odd phone call as we felt as though we had always been very clear and accommodating with our warranty and a water pump leak would have definitely been covered. We inspected and found a small leak coming from an o-ring seal on the water pump but we also notice that the top of the engine was covered in coolant which looked as though was coming from the overflow on the coolant surge tank and we immediately began to suspect another issue with the cylinder head/head gasket but found it odd that the customer did not make this report just that there was a coolant leak. We then connected the diagnostic pc and found multiple code for Coolant Temperature High Most severe level. We then performed and ECM history download with ******* Insite Software for our records, we repaired the coolant leak on the water pump and then tested the cooling system for pressurization and a combustion gas leak detection test and  confirmed that there was another failed head or head gasket, we suspected cracked head due to the engine overheat. At this point we were feeling very uneasy about proceeding with any further work due to the engine overheat and the customer appearing to try to hide it from us. We suggested the best path forward was to get the customer to take the truck to a third party shop to have the analysis done as there was a complete lack of trust on both side and that it would be easier to have another shop confirm our work and diagnose the failure. ******* ******* **** agreed. We suggested that he take it to Onsite Diesel but he opted to take it to ****** Diesel in Olds Alberta which was no problem to us.
  
  May 27th, 2022 we received a voicemail from ******* ******* **** stating that ****** Diesel had diagnosed several issues with the engine and he was looking to us to pay for it. He stated that #2 cylinder liner was moving around in the block, that the head gasket wasn’t a ******* genuine Head gasket, the cylinder head was crack (which we suspected) and that ****** had checked the fault history and said there was no history of high temperatures. The owner of Black Stack then went to ***** ****** ********** in Red Deer (****** Had sent it there to be inspected) which he then asked for their report to be done up and an invoice to be made out to Black Stack to submit to ****** ***** ****** with the warranty claim. The the shop foreman and owner of Black Stack went to ****** Diesel in Olds to confirm the other claims. When speaking with the owner of ****** we were surprised to hear that all of the other claims were false. We asked him about the cylinder liner moving around in the block and he said it wasn’t and also stated that all the liners and protrusions were in good shape. We then asked him about the claim that the head gasket not being a genuine ******* part we all inspected it and confirmed that it in fact was a genuine ******* head gasket. We asked him about the ECM not having Overheat Codes and he told us that he does not have the program to check the ECM fault history. We had brought our own diagnostic computer to connect and with ****** Diesels permission we checked fault log history again and confirmed the overheat codes were in fact still there. We were now very concerned with these false claims and decided to pay ********* ******** to Perform an ECM download as a third party with the permission from ****** Diesel to do so. After confirming that the engine was indeed overheated and that there was no workmanship problems identified by ****** Diesel we lifted our labour warranty from the engine but still offered to submit for parts warranty to ****** ***** ******. The Owner of Black Stack then Picked up the Cylinder Head from ****** ****** ********** and paid the invoice then drove to Lloydminster to deliver the parts and warranty claim information along with the report from ***** ****** **********. During the trip to Lloydminster, ******* Alberta limited called the owner of Black Stack and belligerently and aggressively accused him of stealing the Cylinder Head and threatened to call the RCMP to have him arrested for theft. the owner responded that he was going way out of his way to get the warranty submitted for the cylinder head on their behalf. The customer then responded that if the cylinder head was replaced that he was going to ruin Black Stack **********. We were completely shocked by the response by this behaviour even though we understood the stress that the customer was under we felt as though we were being treated extremely unfairly for all that we had done up to this point. As one last favor to ******* ******* *** the owner of Black Stack purchased a new ******* genuine Cylinder Head and Delivered it to ****** Diesel and advised that we would not cover anything further than that due to the engine being overheated, the deceit around the engine overheat and the harassment we received while going out of our way to try to help this customer in the best ways we could. In ******* ******* **** statement to the ****** ******** ****** they stated that we installed the head incorrectly. Once the Cylinder head was dropped off ****** reassembled and did not need to do any liner work and with our communication with ****** they did not once indicate that they found any problems cause by the installation done by Black Stack **********. This is a blatant and outright lie form ******* ******* ****
  
  During this process we received a call from ***** ******* asking if ****** put warranty on the Top end of the engine, Would we still carry on with the warranty on the bottom end to which we responded that we would only facilitate parts warranty from this point forward.
  
  August 3, 2022 the owner of Black Stack was informed via text message from the parts manger from **** ***** ********** that the fan hub submitted for warranty was credited directly to ******* ******* ****
  
  August 17th,2022 we received a voicemail from the customer again stating that we need to call him immediately and that he doesn’t know why we told Fort Garry that we did not install the fan clutch and that we need to call him back immediately. The owner of Black Stack returned the call and was met with screaming and yelling and being accused of telling Fort Garry that they should change their mind on the warranty and that we told them numerous lies to get them to overturn the warranty because they called requesting the money back that they awarded for the fan clutch rebuild kit. He threatened again that he was going to ruin our name and make sure we have to shut our doors with lots of severely vulgar and offensive language. The owner was extremely confused by this as we had received the text message from the parts manager from Fort Garry stating that the warranty was awarded and paid to the customer. We then called the parts manager at Fort Garry and asked what was going on we were in formed that they returned the funds to the customer before the manufacturer issued a decision on the warranty. Then after the fact Fort Garry was informed that the warranty was denied by the manufacturer (unsure of reason) then Fort Garry needed to collect the funds back from the customer. Again the customer was severely mistaken and did not understand the situation and accused us of trying to cause him grief. We are an extremely busy shop with a huge work load and we definitely do not have time to play such games nor would we have the capability to get Fort Garry or the manufacturer of the part (Horton) to overturn their decision on anything they do within their companies. At this point we decided that we can not take phone calls or return them to the owner of ******* ******* *** due to the threatening, harassing and aggressive nature he has towards us. Also as for his claim that we replaced the clutch kit, we did not and have no record of doing such but do however have the counter sale from the date we sold it to him as an individual part as indicated above. The pattern of lies, deceit and misdirection was becoming too great to be able to trust this company any further.
  
  September 10, 2022 we received a text message from ******* ******* **** see below
  
  “The truck is AGAIN in the shop in olds at ****** **********. You can call (****** owners Name) or he will call you.”
  
  Then sent his contact information after that.
  
  In our conversation with ****** we were advised that the truck had spun a rod bearing and we received picture from ******* ******* *** showing a failed bearing and oil pan with what appeared to be brass shavings in the bottom. We advised ****** that the engine would need to be removed and all components sent to ****** ***** ****** for failure analysis and that the customer can arrange for transport themselves or once the engine is removed Black Stack can transport it there and to advise on the decision once the engine is removed. We heard nothing from ****** or ******* ******* ***
  
  September 22, 2022 - there was no contact since the 10th of September from ****** or ******* Alberta Ltd. Until the 22nd and this email was received.
  
  As you understand the 2014 ********* you have been working on for the last year and a half is no longer in working order.  As you replaced the engine with the one that is now in it, we are writing to ask that you honor your warranty. We have honored your request to take it to a third-party mechanic. As you are well aware that he agreed to warranty the work he did on it and you told him you would continue to warranty the rest.   We have a signed statement from said mechanic that as he was warrantying his work on the engine that you would warranty yours.  We are not only out several thousands of dollars in repair bills for repairs, rebuilds and replacement engine all performed at your shop.  We are out several thousands of dollars in lost wages for all the down time.  Buck has tried to contact you to resolve this matter without any response.  As we have consulted a lawyer on the matter.  We have decided to reach out to you one last time to see if you and your Company will make this right once and for all before, we proceed with a lawsuit.
  Please feel free to reach out to me personally at the number or email below.
  
  Being that this email had indicated they we taking legal action against us we were advised not to respond.
  
  September 28th 2022, we received an email from the ****** ******** ****** with a claim from ******* ******* **** against us.
  
   The owner of ***** ******* then called the owner of Black Stack after hours on September 28th 2022 asking how we were going to proceed with the matter and looking to Black Stack to make an offer of an amount that we would contribute to the replacement of the engine from The ******* ISX that the truck was manufactured with to a Detroit Engine which is an extremely big job as the ********* Chassis is not compatible with the Detroit line of engines and will require an immense amount of fabrication to get the engine mounted and plumbed as well as needing a cab control module and gauges along with an array of other work. We said that we would facilitate parts warranty on the failed parts but we must follow the correct warranty procedure requested by the manufacturer and the owner of ***** ended the conversation stating that he requires an email from us stating the amount we will be offering towards this project.
  
  We do not feel that we are obligated to contribute to this as we are not liable for the repair due to or labour warranty being removed due to the engine overheat from the fan hub failure. However any warranty awarded on the engine from ****** ***** ****** will be refunded to the customer. We feel that this is a more than fair compromise and are prepared to defend any further actions taken against Black Stack ********** Ltd in court.
  
  In summary as outlined above we have accommodated this customer over and above what we feel was required of us on many occasions and putting up with reluctance to spend money on required repairs, verbal assault, aggressive behaviour in our shop and in front of our mechanics and other customers and in one instance in front of the Owners 2 year old daughter. We have been accused of being liars and trying to cheat them while being lied to. Our livelihood has been threatened by this report to the ****** ******** ****** and To AMVIC. We have been Slandered in numerous ways to potential customers and to parts distributors. But every time this customer was in need of anything we were there to help. At the end of the day this was an 8 year old truck with over 1.2 million kilometers with a ******* engine which have a bad reputation for failures and high operational costs. We can not be Held liable for every last cost for a truck that we do not own. Had this customer knew us before buying this truck and asked us if it was a good idea to buy it we would have advised against it being that it has a ******* engine and it has 1.2 million kilometers on it.
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/10/2022

  
  ********** ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Let’s begin with the fact they would have advised me against purchasing this truck had I known them before.  That statement makes me nervous.  *** **** ****** entrusted them at the price of $31,000 to make sure that this truck was in top notch condition.  Black Stack also performed a passing CVIP yearly inspection required by the Government before I purchased.  Therefore, I purchased the truck as it had maintenance records proving it had been gone through and passed the legal CVIP. 

  
  As far as transmission repair Black Stack had nothing to do with that repair. We had no dealings with Black Stack at that point.  So, any comments to that repair are uncalled for.
  I began my journey with Black Stack in May of 2021.

  
  We had originally commenced a trustworthy relationship with Black Stack as they had done all the presale work for *** **** ******. We hoped to build a great relationship with them as every driver need to have a great mechanic to do routine and preventative maintenance.
  Black stack did accommodate us by getting us in right away when we had issues, we are not arguing that point. The argument lies with why the issues were not resolved each time.

  
   Frustrated at times of course due to the situation but verbal assault and aggressive behavior is an exaggeration. There was a heated discussed in December 2021 as we were then needing a third engine repair. This took place in the shop area and there was a small child that came wondering through the trucks, at that time the heated discussion stopped immediately. I even asked the mechanic on duty why a small child would be in the shop as it is a dangerous place to be for children.

  
   My trust with Black Stack did not start to waiver until after the second large engine repair. I knew the truck was still not running right so I would stop in each time, and they would troubleshoot…. swapping my parts with new parts without solving the problem. At this point, I became reluctant on spending my hard-earned dollar on new parts that did not seem to make any difference with the issue. I felt like a test dummy.  I was there for warranty work.  But it was always something else and still not resolving the issue.   Why not at this point say I don’t know what is wrong I would like you to go to third party for diagnosis?  Maybe it would save us all a lot of money and anguish.  No, we must put this new part in or try this new part.

  
  So, this led to the engine swap with a ******* rebuilt by Black Stack.  Again, this was it all was solved according to Black Stack.  I was so happy to think this was all behind me.  I had Black Stack install a rig up kit and do my yearly CVIP.  Guess what it passed.  The truck with 1.2 million kilometers and a newly rebuilt Engine.

  
  To clarify, my ability as a driver, I have had my class 1 for 43 years and have owned my own trucks and worked for companies where I have driven theirs. Thus far, no engine replacement was needed, nor have I ever encountered any situation close to the one I have endured over the last 1.5 years.
  
  ***** involvement is because they have refinanced our loan multiple times due to the constant repairs on the truck.  The last phone call from ***** is because owner of Black Stack stated to owner of ****** ********** that he would not reply to anyone with ******* ******* **** but that he would speak to owner of *****.

  
  For any questions regarding ********** diagnosis, pictures or conversations had with owner of Black Stack the owner of ****** ********** has asked that you please contact him directly.  At this point the, he said she said is getting us know were.  I believe actual conversations with parties involved would prove any truths or untruths.

  
  Our livelihood has been threatened due to our truck failing to function properly after hours, and thousands of dollars paid to Black Stack.  To possibly losing our business.  I do not believe what we are asking for is unreasonable. 

  
  As far as warranty parts claims being all Black Stack is willing to do to solve this situation is not acceptable.  Black Stack is stating they removed their labour warranty due to overheating.  This can be disputed by speaking to owner of ****** **********.

  
  We have had a few email conversations since this complaint was filed and have agreed to have Black Stack pick up the engine once removed to have it diagnosed for warranty purposes. This still stands.  We will contact Black Stack via email and give written permission for this to take place at that time.
  

  
  
  Sincerely,
  ****** ******** ******* ***** ***** ****** *********
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/10/2022

  We are unclear as to what the customer thinks the CVIP inspection entails. The inspection is in fact a safety inspection which includes inspection of brakes, suspension, steering and overall road safety conditions to ensure that the commercial vehicle is fit for Alberta highways. It is not a bumper to bumper inspection that requires us to put a guarantee on functionality of any components outside of the required CVIP checklist items. CVIP inspections don’t even require fluid level checks, so we believe that the customer is under the impression (as many people are) that a CVIP inspection means that there should be no underlying problems whatsoever which is completely inaccurate. Our previous statement indicated that we would not recommend buying this truck due to the fact that it has a ******* Engine in it because of ******* ******* being known for their high failure rate and high operational costs. Again, we will reiterate that both the CVIP inspection and the *** **** ****** inspection could not have foreseen future failures of internal engine components, wiring harnesses, injectors, fuel pumps, poor aftertreatment delete methods, leaks in charge air coolers. We can only inspect and report on issues detected while following these check lists. We are not requested by the Government of Alberta or *** **** ****** to disassemble major components such as engines, transmissions, differentials, hydraulic systems etc. When the truck was brought to us by *** **** ****** we were informed that it had just had a full engine rebuild around 170,000 km prior to them purchasing it. This rebuild as indicated to us by supporting documentation from the rebuilder showed that a new cylinder head and cam shaft were installed, upon on bringing the truck into the shop we heard the faint ticking noise from the top end of the engine and advised *** **** ****** that it sounded like a failed camshaft to which we were then asked to inspect further by removing the valve cover and confirmed our suspicions. Had we not had extensive experience with these engines and detected the failed camshaft and ******* would have had that repair to add to their list which also would have been the risk of buying a used vehicle. We are under the impression that we are being held to account for the Valve Seat dropping out of the cylinder head and the cracking it had on the first failure and that we should have been able to detect this from out inspections which is completely false. We see that we are being made out to look as though we are not thorough and that we do not stand behind our work but our reputation from all of our long lasting customers and rapid growth over the last 4 years speaks for itself and are actually known for going over and above expectations which usually results in us finding more than what another shop might find but our customers appreciate our findings and are happy to have issues addressed that would otherwise have been overlooked.
  
  The customers statement that issues were not resolved is wildly inaccurate as we followed our troubleshooting as outlined by ******* Diagnostics guides and when finding an issue in the process we were met with the customers denial to repair or replace the required parts based on their thoughts, not ours. So many thinks did not get repaired and replaced and the unit had ongoing issues as we were not authorized to follow our outlined repair guides. Especially after the failure of the head on the first occasion where they refused to proceed with our recommended action and demonstrated on every single interaction with this customer.
  
  In the customers response they make the statement “Guess what it passed.” In reference to the second annual CVIP inspection. We are confused but what this means. The inspection in fact failed the initial  inspection as we found some minor repairs which did not meet Government of Alberta standards (which were all standard wear and tear items common to fail). See below for description from our invoice and work order;
  
  PERFORM CVIP INSPECTION ACCORDING TO GOVERNMENT STANDARDS. UNIT DID NOT MEET REQUIREMENTS TO PASS INITIAL INSPECTION. #1 DRIVE AXLE INPUT U-JOINT EXCESSIVE PLAY, #1 DRIVE AXLE OUTPUT U-JOINT EXCESSIVE PLAY, #2 DRIVE AXLE INPUT U-JOINT EXCESSIVE PLAY, #3 RIGHT DUST COVER MISSING, DRIVER SIDE WINDSHIELD CRACKED, RIGHT SIGNAL LIGHT SHORTED TO TAIL MARKERS, INVERTER WIRES RUBBING ON WEBASTO EXHAUST, HOSE CLAMPS FOR AIR HORN ARE NOT DOT APPROVED FITTINGS. PERFORMED ALL REQUIRED REPAIRS TO PASS INSPECTION AND ISSUED PASSED CERTIFICATE. UNIT QUALIFIED FOR "C" INSPECTION WITH ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED.
  
  What the CVIP inspection has to do with the engine, is again confusing. CVIP inspections are not a bumper to bumper warranty inspection on every last components attached to the truck.
  
  In response to the their ability as a driver, they expressed to us that this was their first ******* engine and that they had not owned or driven one prior and went on later to describe how they drive it by lugging it down. which should not be done.
  
  Again if the owner of ****** is willing to make the false claim that there is no fault log history on the ECM, we have our own ECM diagnostic report clearly showing the over heat codes as well as one from ********* ******** showing the same data in which we paid them $683.18 out of our pocket to travel to Olds from Red Deer to Retrieve. This documentation is filed along with all of our other supporting documentation in the  matter regarding this issue and we are prepared to defend this in court.
  
  Our offer to Transport the failed parts to Lloydminster at our cost should be appreciated by this customer as we are not the manufacturer or the distributer for them and at this point really have no responsibility to do so for them, but still this is not good enough for them and we feel that no action will do so. As they stated to us on the phone conversation their goal is to ruin our name and to have a bad report go through to the Better Business Bureau. This warranty submission is their best chance to have recuperation for the failed parts but is not guaranteed as the manufacturer will likely deny it due to the documented ECM image that they will require for the submission. If this offer for us to transport the engine for them is not acceptable to resolve this complaint with the ****** ******** ******, we will revoke that offer and the customer can then transport it at their cost and we will forward all supporting and requested documentation that ****** ***** ****** requests to process the claim to ****** ***** ****** upon their request. 
  We have attached the ECM image that clearly shows the overheat in the fault log from ********* ******** along with the Invoice we were charged for getting them to do this report.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 13/10/2022

  
  ********** ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  In response to Black Stack **********s last message.   I do not accept the fact that I should be appreciative that they will take parts to be analyzed for warranty. As the repair shop, they purchased said parts and they failed.  That is their job. I have paid thousands of dollars to reinstall/rebuild engine due to “warrantied parts” they installed.  Fan hub purchased in August 2021 that keeps getting a bad rap from Black Stack was initially installed by me I do not deny that.  That same fan hub was removed and reinstalled by them 3 different occasions since.  Once in November 2021 engine rebuild, once in January replacement of engine with one Black Stack had rebuilt themselves and again in February when head gasket went on replacement engine.  The hub fan did fail and not run properly and cause engine to get warm.  I stopped immediately to check out the truck and had hub fan replaced immediately.  Black Stack insists that this is the reason for replacement engine problems.  The engine at no time got hot enough to cause damage.  Proven by Black Stack themselves as the head was supplied by them under warranty to ****** ********** to replace.   Black Stack had stated previous too that if the problem was caused by engine getting too hot that it would not qualify for Warranty, and they would not replace.  THEY REPLACED!  Also, when removing head for replacement ****** found that there was a groove in the head.  When asking Black Stack, they stated that was caused by the fluttering of the head gasket that they had to replace shortly after engine was installed.  ****** stated that they would have never put a head with a groove in it back on.  Black Stack did not see anything wrong with it. 

  My driving skills:  I at no time ever told Black Stack that I had never driven a ******* engine.    I have never owned a truck with ******* engine. However, I drove trucks with ******* ******* for 14 years with *** ******* and ******** ********.  Without any issues I might add. 

   

  As far as CVIP goes.  I understand what it is.  My point was that each time they had performed the CVIP the engine had been gone through by them or replaced with one rebuilt by them.

   

  In short, I am disappointed that Black Stack still refuses to take any type of responsibility for their work.  It has always been part failure or driver failure.  They have still not picked up engine from ****** ********** for analysis.

  Were ******* ******* **** stands at this point is thousands of dollars spent and a truck that does not run.  Were does Black Stack ********** stand? 

   

   

  ****** *****

   

  ******* ******* ****

  ** * **** * *** ** ***** ******* *** ***