I absolutely agree. I mentioned in my reply that if the machine shop cut too much off that the alignment rings would be too deep for the pockets, and that would cause leaks. In reality I'm still stumped as to why he had it planed when he didn't know if leaked. I checked it before I listed it and it showed no signs of warping...
I spent a little time on the phone with ebay customer service and they reviewed our correspondence. They said that since he had already had the manifold physically altered that I would not be required to accept his return request. The only thing I have to be wary of is that he would still be able to leave me negative feedback. So I have to play extra nice so that I have strong appeal case to have that reversed if he does decide to leave negative feedback.
Here was my response to his return request:
Me: I see that you have requested a return on the manifolds. I just spent some time on the phone with ebay customer service. They reviewed our correspondence and they determined that since you had the manifold planed, which constitutes a physical alteration by removal of metal, that I am not required to accept your return request. I can't be held repsonsible for the work of the machinist. His good past performance is not a gaurantee of good future results.
I'm more than happy to continue to work with you on getting the manifold installed successfully. At this point I'm not inclined to offer a refund. I have dealt with dozens of these manifolds over the years. My father owned a very successful exhaust business for over 50 years and we specialiized in inline engines. I have never had an issue like you are describing. If a manifold can be planed, it can be installed without leaking. If it is warped, it is because the machinist did not do his job, or it's gotten too hot after an improper installation. I spoke with my father about the issue and he concurs. He's is 80 now and has dealt with hundreds of them since starting mechanic work as a teenager in the early 1950's.
It is very easy to tell if the manifold is warped, and we both know how to do that with a straight edge, a good flat welding table,or a heavy piece of flat glass. Your assertion of 'port alignment' doesn't hold water in this situation. If it were warped badly enough that the ports wouldn't align, then any machinist worth his salt would never have cut it to begin with.
There is one way you can possibly get it to align. I would much rather you get a good working manifold than take this any further down a negative road with me. Either the manifold was cut correctly and you just need a little help installing it ( they can be tricky ) or the machinist needs to fix his work.
I have one more trick that has worked for me in the past getting them to mount up. Let me know your thoughts.
Some may disagree, but my thought on withholding the installation advice at this point is that I'm hoping to bait him into reopening the dialogue, which will bolster my case that I'm doing everything I can to help with the problem, short of just caving and giving him his money back for his mistake. If he is hell bent on escalating this to a full blown dispute then I don't feel like being helpful up front. I also think there is a possibility that this whole thing is concocted because of buyers remorse. Maybe he decided he didn't want a stock setup after the fact and created this issue just to recoup his investment at my expense. Maybe far fetched but it's within the realm of possibility.
FYI, here's what I plan on sending him as advice on installation if he chooses to respond in a civil manner:
ASSUMING MANIFOLD IS SERVICEABLE:
1) Disassemble, inspect, clean, and reassemble with new, high quality mating gasket.
2) Plane mating surfaces true. Install new studs as necessary.
3) Upon installation, loosen bolts that mate intake and exhaust so the two are not rigidly mated.
4) Clean all mounting bolts, studs, nuts thoroughly before starting. Chase threads with a proper die and use a bit of anti seize on newly cleaned and chased threads to aide in ease of installation.
5)Mount assembly to head starting all bolts in the head by hand (not with a wrench or ratchet as this can encourage cross threading ) generally working from the center port toward the ends. Tighten clamping bolts and end bolts finger tight. Then, and only then, snug the mating bolts back up.
6)Put initial cold torque on head bolts according to the manual, and then initial cold torque on the mating bolts.
7) Run vehicle, do secondary torque after it's warmed up.
If this sequence does not work, then the machine work is most likely the culprit.
We will see if he's interested in solving the problem or just wants a confrontation. I'll just try to play nice so that I have shot at appealing the negative feedback should he leave it.
