Flywheel Woes

[los93sol]

Alright, I recently purchased a lightweight flywheel from VAST Performance. I took it to my local Audi dealership where a certified Audi technician was doing the install. I get a phone call earlier saying we have a major problem with the flywheel. He had completed the install, but the flywheel to crank bolts were too long, apparently from the looks of their site they did not include the washers with the rest of the hardware for the install. The technician explained to me that the bolts have pressed against the crank and they're still unsure exactly what has happened, but they are looking into it. Basically the engine would not turn over after the install. I'm very concerned about this as if there is damage to the crank it's very likely the entire bottom end would need to be replaced. Anyone have any experience with this, how to handle the situation? Is it possible that the turning rings on the crank can be replaced and that will be the extent to it? I've already sent an e-mail to VAST requesting their assistance to get a resolution to this issue, but I'm so unsure of what to even do with this situation. In my opinion they supplied the hardware, they should cover any damages as a result of the install since they did not supply all of the hardware and the install was performed by a certified technician at an Audi dealership. Again, any ideas, suggestions on possible damage/repairs that could result from this are greatly appreciated.

[rikrose]

Actually, I'd be on to Audi to fix it. The parts were supplied, and being a certified engineer, they should have thought about the presence of washers, and secondly, should have read the instructions before they put it in, and found that there weren't the required number of washers for the place specified. As I see it, Audi should have spotted the mistake, and further should have spotted it before they caused damage to your engine. They should also have an insurance policy in place to cover the damage.

[dodgydave]

Alright, I recently purchased a lightweight flywheel from VAST Performance. I took it to my local Audi dealership where a certified Audi technician was doing the install. I get a phone call earlier saying we have a major problem with the flywheel. He had completed the install, but the flywheel to crank bolts were too long, apparently from the looks of their site they did not include the washers with the rest of the hardware for the install. The technician explained to me that the bolts have pressed against the crank and they're still unsure exactly what has happened, but they are looking into it. Basically the engine would not turn over after the install. I'm very concerned about this as if there is damage to the crank it's very likely the entire bottom end would need to be replaced. Anyone have any experience with this, how to handle the situation? Is it possible that the turning rings on the crank can be replaced and that will be the extent to it? I've already sent an e-mail to VAST requesting their assistance to get a resolution to this issue, but I'm so unsure of what to even do with this situation. In my opinion they supplied the hardware, they should cover any damages as a result of the install since they did not supply all of the hardware and the install was performed by a certified technician at an Audi dealership. Again, any ideas, suggestions on possible damage/repairs that could result from this are greatly appreciated.

IDIOTS!!!

The crank is one forged item. If the bolts are too long they would have ripped of the bolts and they could never tighten the flywheel.

So they would have notice when they fitted the clutch on top unless they're complete brain amputated retards. In case they are the engine probably didn't turn because the starter diden't get grip on the loose flywheel. I personally doubt there is any or serious damage to the crank. But there is a good chance that the flywheel has been damaged.

Dave

[los93sol]

Well sad news today. I went up to the dealership to see what the status was on my motor. They had just gotten the bottom end apart when I arrived...what we found was that the flywheel to crank bolts has dimpled the thrust bearings and the crank itself. The shop forman said he felt comfortable just putting in a new crank and all new bearings and getting the whole thing back together. So now I'm waiting to hear back from VAST on how they plan on handling the situation since the whole issue was caused because they did not include the washers for the flywheel to crank bolts which were supposed to have been in the hardware kit. If anyone here has any more advice please let me know and I will post back when I know more on this situation. To this point I am still supporting VAST as a good reputable company and I have confidence they will make this situation right for me.

[yorkie]

I hope you get this sorted but I have a nasty feeling each will blame the other and you will be going round in circles.

Having said that if there were instructions and said instructions list the missing washers Vast will probably say that Audi are to blame for not reading them and flagging up the missing washers. I would be inclined to agree.

However.. if there were no instructions I would say Vast are at fault although they "could" say they sent the washers and or instructions depending on what sort of a company they are.

I would say I have never dealt with them so I have no axe to grind and they are probably reputable.

[DavidT]

Why did you take a tuning part to an Audi dealer ? its not their bag really. You need someone with experience of the car and part you want fitted.

Did the kit come with a full inventory of parts ?

Did you check the parts before supplying the flywheel kit to the dealer with the car ?

Did you discuss the installation with an technician / manager at the dealership and gain their confirmation that they were happy to take the work on ?

Anyof the above will help your case.

Best of luck.

[okkim]

Was the flywheel countersunked? Normal Fidanza flywheel with OEM bolts doesn't need washers.

[derdle]

Surely the flywheel should have been supplied with bolts of the correct length? From a technical point of view using washers to pack-out an overlong bolt cannot be right? I don't know too much about these things, but if you need packing washers, the head of the bolts will be proud and wouldn't they foul the centre plate?

[philipwalker]

This does not help, however I am suprised the Audi dealer agreed to fit anything not genuine Audi??

[viperbl]

I had my bolts cut down to size when I put on my sachs single mass flywheel ...

[los93sol]

A few things here, first off I want to commend VAST Performance as they have agreed to help out with this situation. They are donating a crank to me, obviously I still have to buy new main bearing, main bolts, thrust washers, etc., but they have contributed the biggest expense since the crank is $2,000 at cost. The dealership has agreed to give me the bearings and all hardware for the crank at cost and only charge $100 labor for the install of the crank. (Personally I think the install should be free, but we'll see how that turns out when it's all said and done.)

Now a few things to note here are that the flywheel did not come with an inventory list, however it does state on the invoice that the hardware kit is included.

The bolts are countersunk and packed with the washers, VAST said that depth should not be an issue as they do not countersink to the degree that it would be an issue. (This point is somewhat concerning because after seeing my crank and thrust washers the bolts definitely did sink too far. I'll look more into exactly why they sunk too far with the shop later.)

I did speak with the technician (who is also the bay lead), service writer, shop forman, and the manager at the shop prior to the install that it was an aftermarket flywheel and they agreed to take on the job.

All in all this ended up being a very hairy situation, on one end the washers should have been shipped with the hardware kit (as they were supposed to have been). On the other end the technician should have measured the depth and caught the error before this disaster happened. Both sides could have easily blamed the other and left me stuck with a battle on my hands. I am very impressed with how the situation was handled by VAST, no BS, they wanted a clear description of what happened and once they knew exactly what went wrong they agreed to ship me a crank completely free of charge. Outstanding customer service and an example for other businesses in the industry to follow. The dealership is working with me as well, though I still think they should cover the crank hardware and install free of charge since this could have been prevented if they would have measured the depth (as the technician even said he should have done.) Hindsight is a beautiful thing though and I'm still working with the dealership to see what they are going to end up doing to resolve this. I wanted to post the update though for anyone considering the VAST flywheel as I would recommend them to people in the future based on how they handled this situation.

[jeffw]

So your in the US then ?

[los93sol]

A small update, I ended up having the dimples machined out of my crank and they were able to do it without cutting down the crank at all. I wanted to go this route to avoid buying new main bearing and all that fun stuff you have to put in when you put in a new crank. I do have the crank that VAST shipped me, it has oxidation on it and needs to be cleaned up, but if anyone is looking for one I'm willing to let it go cheap, I just want to recoupe some of the money I've had to dish out from this fiasco. I can post up pictures of it for anyone interested.

[ZeroK66]

Wow, seems VAST are being very helpful and your dealership not bad either. Good luck.