Pettersen Motorsports

I installed headers on this couples [redacted] truck. Not that is matters, but it proved to be a very difficult install. Some of the header bolts were very difficult to reach because of the bends in the tubing of the headers. We worked on this (2 people) truck for over 7 hours. and I ended up actually...

spending the night in my car because I had other customers cars outside, and did not feel safe leaving them unattended as the truck was still unassembled and I did not have room to put them all back inside. When the customer picked up the truck, he brought it back, claiming that it had an exhaust leak,,,,,which I could not see or hear. I had several other mechanics in my indutrial park listen as well, and they could not hear it either. I told the customer to leave it with me and that I would check it. Upon a second inspection, I again could locate no leak. I again returned the vehicle to the customer. Headers sound different due to their construction. An exhaust pulse coming out of the port hits steel tubing which is thinner than the original cast iron exhaust manifolds. I explained this to the customer several times. Without further contacting me or telling me we still had a problem, he took the vehicle to [redacted] for a diagnosis. When he next contacted me, he said that he had "lost faith in me and my work" and declined the offer for me to repair what was "broken" which apparently, according to the technician was a stripped thread in the bolt hole of one of the cylinder heads. These heads are aluminum. I looked at the documentation from the dealership and it had a repair cost of 200-300 dollars. I told the owner that I wanted to look at the vehicle with the technician when they delivered it to the dealership before any work was done. I did so. I still could not hear or see any leak, but the technician pointed out the very front header bolt on the driver side (absolutely the easiest to see and reach) and this bolt is actually a stud which retains the engine oil dipstick bracket, and then e second nut secures the bracket. I finally, our of frustration, said to the technician to go ahead and repair it. The industry standard repair is to install what is called a heli-coil. You drill the remaining threads out, tap the hole, and thread in a stainless steel insert which locks in. The resulting repair is better and stronger, because now you have a steel bolt threading into a steel thread, versus the softer aluminum. The next I heard from my customer was when he walked into my store and presented me with a bill for nearly 3000 dollars. He had authorized the dealership to completely disassemble the whole top end of the motor and REPLACE the entire cylinder head. I was never advised of this and never authorized that repair, as it was completely unneccessary. The customer said he wanted it replaced not repaired. If you consult any mechanic shop or any machine shop they will tell you so. The aforementioned heli-coil repair is the way to fix it. In fact most aftermarket aluminum cylinder heads come with this (superior) upgrade already installed. I did offer to repair this truck. I did offer to pay for the initial invoice (the only one I was every presented with or consulted on). I have been in business for nearly 26 years. I work on state of the art show cars and race cars, I have NEVER been to court over ANY work I have done. But if we made a mistake (as every human on this planet does) we certainly intend to take care of it. The repair and costs involved here were unneccesary. The initial estimate should have well covered time and materials to fix the stripped thread. Thank you for your time. [redacted]/owner