I wish I didn't have to write this, but I have to file a negative report on some engine work done by Mile High Acura in Denver for my car's previous owner, Honcho. Many of you are already aware that MHA replaced the head gaskets as a result of an overheat (on NSXPO's track day, no less) caused by a mistake they made when installing his KoyoRad radiator the day before. That whole thing is documented here on Prime, I'll add the link if anyone wants it.
As documented in my "My Rebuild" thread here: while my car was at Ben's for another issue he did an inspection and found a slew of major problems related to the work MHA did for Honcho. Here's the list of issues he found, pretty much in the order he reported to me.
1. Several wiring brackets and clips missing w/ wires left hanging dangerously close to exhaust parts.
2. The oil filter pedestal was leaking, improperly installed.
3. Oil was seeping out from behind front bank timing cover. On disassembly found the cam caps were improperly installed/tightened, some of the screws offered little/no resistance to the wrench, resulting in the oil leak.
4. Bigger oil leak coming from behind the middle timing cover - the gasket was missing.
5. EGR valve was leaking at the gasket, not fully tightened.
6. Not liking how things smelled, Ben decided to pull the heads and found them to be improperly torqued and the gaskets were already leaking. Fortunately the seepage was going back down a return channel and not into a cylinder.
7. The machine shop that checked the head/deck surfaces and did the valve work said the deck had been cleaned "with a scotch pad on a whizzer wheel" and rendered the deck out of spec for the MLS head gaskets we wanted to use, and barely within spec for OEM gaskets.
8. When reassembling the left rear upper control arm (which is notoriously difficult to align), the bolt was cross-threaded so badly that the threads were almost completely stripped out and the bolt was in danger of pulling out under hard driving.
All of this was after they left a bleeder screw loose when they installed Honcho's radiator, resulting in his overheat the next day, and breaking one of his OEM NA2 headers when putting the engine back in. And if the issues with the engine and rear upper control arm weren't caught when they were, they would have resulted in major engine damage and the possible loss of a wheel at some point in the future.
I personally saw items 1 - 4 during the initial inspection and Ben sent pictures of the damaged control arms, so I know these findings to be facts. Other owners in the Denver area may want to consider them when deciding where to have their cars serviced. To be fair, all of this lies squarely on the technician who did the work (and who is no longer there) and not MHA in general, who seemed to be pretty good about fixing the initial mistake. But it's their name on the letterhead.
As documented in my "My Rebuild" thread here: while my car was at Ben's for another issue he did an inspection and found a slew of major problems related to the work MHA did for Honcho. Here's the list of issues he found, pretty much in the order he reported to me.
1. Several wiring brackets and clips missing w/ wires left hanging dangerously close to exhaust parts.
2. The oil filter pedestal was leaking, improperly installed.
3. Oil was seeping out from behind front bank timing cover. On disassembly found the cam caps were improperly installed/tightened, some of the screws offered little/no resistance to the wrench, resulting in the oil leak.
4. Bigger oil leak coming from behind the middle timing cover - the gasket was missing.
5. EGR valve was leaking at the gasket, not fully tightened.
6. Not liking how things smelled, Ben decided to pull the heads and found them to be improperly torqued and the gaskets were already leaking. Fortunately the seepage was going back down a return channel and not into a cylinder.
7. The machine shop that checked the head/deck surfaces and did the valve work said the deck had been cleaned "with a scotch pad on a whizzer wheel" and rendered the deck out of spec for the MLS head gaskets we wanted to use, and barely within spec for OEM gaskets.
8. When reassembling the left rear upper control arm (which is notoriously difficult to align), the bolt was cross-threaded so badly that the threads were almost completely stripped out and the bolt was in danger of pulling out under hard driving.
All of this was after they left a bleeder screw loose when they installed Honcho's radiator, resulting in his overheat the next day, and breaking one of his OEM NA2 headers when putting the engine back in. And if the issues with the engine and rear upper control arm weren't caught when they were, they would have resulted in major engine damage and the possible loss of a wheel at some point in the future.
I personally saw items 1 - 4 during the initial inspection and Ben sent pictures of the damaged control arms, so I know these findings to be facts. Other owners in the Denver area may want to consider them when deciding where to have their cars serviced. To be fair, all of this lies squarely on the technician who did the work (and who is no longer there) and not MHA in general, who seemed to be pretty good about fixing the initial mistake. But it's their name on the letterhead.
