Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales 18960 SW Shaw Street Beaverton, OR 97007 Phone: 503.356-8055 Monday, August 28, 2006 RE: BBB Complaint No. 22083910 Dear Fada: Thank you for your reply to our Better Business Bureau complaint. Please allow me to get directly to the point. Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales has consistently failed to address the “failed engine rebuild” on my 1980 Toyota truck in a business like and timely manner. My good friends have had to put out even more money to have this “failed engine rebuild” diagnosed by a reputable engine rebuild shop. And additionally have purchased another 1980 Toyota truck to take the place my original truck. This shop was able to determine that: The camshaft follower lobe for intake on cylinder #4 was improperly ground and has a clearance exceeding manufacturer's specifications i.e., .023 of an inch. Your mechanic/s tightened the valve train excessively to adjust for this faulty part and caused the valve clearances to be out of adjustment and therefore causing the blue smoking from the vehicle exhaust tailpipe. Your mechanic/s also had the vehicle engine timing set somewhere around 15 degrees , when the Toyota factory manual clearly indicates the settings for engine timing is 8 degrees BTDC Before Top Dead Center. I was able to determine on my own with some very simple mechanical tools that: All 4 of the engine spark plugs had been put in with an air wrench, splitting both sides of the #3 spark plug ceramic insulator. I had to purchase an 18” breaker bar just to remove #4 spark plug! The compression for #4 cylinder was way off, over 30 pounds difference from the other cylinders. I could also tell the timing was way off too, but was not certain why my timing light was giving me this indication. I did not want to try adjusting the engine timing since I felt it may be dangerous to correct the engine timing to 8 degrees BTDC if the other settings i.e., valve adjustments were not set correctly. I could physically see that the interlock between the primary throttle bore and the carburetor's air horn auto-choke and butterfly valve were not properly re-connected after engine reassembly. And the horrible metal on metal clattering of the valve train against the valve cover. I am actually suffering from some severe hearing loss myself, but this is hard to miss, as loud as it is. And there is no way that any part or portion of the valve train should be hitting the valve cover. The smell of fresh oil poured on an engine block anytime you accelerate hard in city traffic or accelerate out on the freeway, along with all of the smells and poisons from a leaking exhaust manifold. If I remember correctly, Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales represents itself as a specialist in rebuilding/replacing Japanese Engines. Al stated to me that Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales was a specialist with 20R and 22R engines and that working on my truck would not be a problem. He also stated that Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales had lots of crate engines on hand or readily available and that we could go that route if necessary. When I asked Al whether or not a 22R engine would fit into my truck or if I would be better off to just skip the rebuild and get a crated 20R Engine, Al told me I would be better off with the rebuild. Al also indicated that it should be no problem to get my truck repaired very quickly, perhaps 3 to 6 days. I specifically asked Al to be sure to replace the exhaust manifold as I knew it had a severe crack in it. Al stated that he could probably replace the exhaust manifold for around $100.00. I also asked Al to please let me know if trading out to a 22R would be a better alternative for my truck. Al was also told that the truck had been severely overheated several times in the 3 weeks I had owned it and that the last incident had been very severe, with the truck engine vapor locking on back pressure and compression gases and turning over on its own even without the ignition key on. I had to tow the truck in from approx. 19 miles away because I could not be sure the truck would make it to Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales without seizing up on the way there. Al called me approx. 3 weeks into the rebuild to indicate that the cylinder head would have to be replaced because it was bent. Al stated that he would not have this delay in the rebuild if he had known the truck had been severely overheated. I told him this is why I had the truck towed in from only 19 miles away. He argued that this was not the case, that I had driven the truck in. I am not sure why he would argue this point as the tow truck offloaded my Toyota truck directly in front of his office window and I had to take time out from the business transaction with Al to address the tow truck driver and to direct the tow truck driver where to offload the truck, as per Al's instructions. Al also insisted that the cylinder head would be an additional $417.00 charge to me and since I did not really feel I had a choice at this point, I agreed to the additional charges. At this juncture I would like to address the very short phone conversation I had with Al on August 10th, 2006 at approx. 4:44 p.m. He had called me on my cell phone and reached me at the InFocus Corporation company parking lot where I was having my truck towed from Wilsonville back to my place in SE Portland. The first thing that Al said was that I was out of warranty coverage since I had not brought the truck in within the first 5 days to complain of the rebuild problems. I was very angry to hear this and asked why he was going nickel and dime me on this “failed engine rebuild”. Al said “well if you would have read the small print, you would know this”. He also asked why I had gone to the Better Business Bureau with this, and I stated that I did not feel Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales was a reputable company to deal with, that their work was very shoddy, and that when I had come in for the oil change as required by your engine warranty a week after the rebuild and asked about the blue smoke I was told this is why the oil was being changed. Basically at this point I was around a very loud tow truck and not in a mood to talk with Al. I told him that I did not have anything nice to say, and that our conversation was over and I hung up my phone. The failure of Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales to get this engine rebuild done correctly the first time around, and the subsequent failure of Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales to address my concerns in a business like and more importantly in a timely fashion have cost my friends and I dearly, very dearly. Because of the “failed engine rebuild” from Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales and all the blue smoke coming from the engine tail pipe, Oregon DEQ Clean Air Station testing would not even test my truck so that I could address getting this adjusted for a DEQ pass and Oregon License Plate Tags so that I could drive to and from work. I not only lost the last 6 weeks of wages at a decent paying temporary job assignment, I also lost 3 weeks severance pay that I would have received for completing the assignment and I lost my sales commissions for the 4th quarter. Furthermore, because of the expectation set by Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales that this engine rebuild would take approx. 3 to 6 days, my friends rented another vehicle for them to drive and allowed me to borrow their car during this period. When Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales (purported to be a specialist with 20R and 22R engines) was still unable to complete this rebuild for yet another month, I was forced to borrow my friends' car, leaving them without transportation. Finally when they could no longer loan me their car because of pressing medical appointments, I then had to resign my position with InFocus Corporation in Wilsonville, OR because of having no transportation nearly 5 weeks later. In concluding this response to your Better Business Bureau answer to my original complaint, I would like to state that you did not really address the main issue which is that Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales failed on this engine rebuild! I am requesting that you operate in good faith and in the spirit of good customer service by honoring the following very reasonable requests. Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales should fully refund all the charges made to my friends credit card for your “failed engine rebuild”. Japanese Auto Service & Import Engine Sales should reimburse my friends for all additional costs related to diagnosis of the “failed engine rebuild” and additional costs related to replacement of faulty camshaft and related labor costs to have a reputable engine rebuild shop complete this work for us.