McKeown Motorsport Engineering

McKeown Motorsport Engineering Poor workmanship, poor quality - their work was not what I would consider quality. Waldorf, Maryland

25th of Jun, 2011 by User649561

My experience with MME is not all that different from the other bad review. I contracted MME to do an extensive amount of drivetrain work on my car. Work included a motor rebuild, install an updated trans, brakes, and exhaust. Pretty much everything that makes a car move and stop. I wanted turnkey and did everything they recommended. The last problem I encountered pushed me over the edge(see comments for June 2011) and I decided I needed to make my issues known to others who might be interested in hiring MME for similar work. The text below was taken from emails as well as notes I kept during my interaction with MME. ----------------------------------------------- 2006 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Car delivered for work 4 Nov 2006 ----------------------------------2007------------------------------------------------------- Car picked up from MME late Nov 2007 Upon arrival home discovered that the cover to the master cylinder was not secured. Had it come off during transportation and brake fluid spilled onto the paint my paint job could have been ruined. Worse, had I driven the car and it came off what would have happened? Dec 2007 - discovered loose leaf springs & motor mount nut/bolts. Mark said that someone other than him at MME did that work although MME was paid to perform this work. Dec 2007 - email to MME regarding oil and heavy exhaust. Up to this point the car was only driven onto and off the trailer and once at my home into the garage. Informed MME about leak in the rear end (not the seal but rather the yoke). A slow drip. Don't know how this was missed when someone was installing the drive shaft, rear, or exhaust. The leak was slow and constant in my garage. -----------------------------------2008------------------------------------------------------ Jan 2008 - starter failed - MME receipt states the starter is for a Ford Ranger. A check of engine sizes for the Ranger finds that the largest engine produced for the ranger is a V6. Discovered a wire for backup lights was not connected. It is possible that I did this when removing and installing the starter or inspecting the undercarriage for loose bolts - doubtful but possible. Equally possible is that it was caused by MME when they installed the drive shaft or exhaust. Upon inspecting this connection I discovered that the connector on the trans is round while the connector to the backup lights is rectangular. Two very different style connectors. Whether I caused the wire to become disconnected or not is not the point - road vibration and bumps would have eventually caused that connection to become dislodged. Two different style connectors were jammed together. Discovered that the paint on the lower edge of the rocker panels was terribly scratched - required repaint. Given the car was only in possession by MME it had to be from them. It looks like their mechanic did this while working on the undercarriage (exhaust, trans, etc) and then crawling inside the car. Both sides directly under the door section were scratched. I would have never scratched a new paint job to that level. April 2008 - informed MME about the vibration in the rear end and that it was leaking. During a test drive the shifter (that MME installed) came disconnected. I had to drive home in 3rd gear. Thankfully this was an easy fix. It would have been impossible to not notice the vibration had someone test drove my car. 10 May Oil is leaking from the oil pressure sending switch. I was able to fix this as it was merely connections at the switch. I had been talking with Heather about this she laughed it off and joked that by my fixing (their work) I was getting to know more about my car. Car taken to painter to have the rocker panels repainted. 17 May - car driven to MME for repair. Requested change to the exhaust as smell comes into the car & left tail pipe hits the shock. Their installer did not verify clearance of these two items during installation. I asked that they use the car cover I provided as when I got the car back from the last time my freshly painted car had cat paw prints on it. 24 June - car returned from MME - completed exhaust work, manifold work, new carb. I was told that most of the performance problem was caused by low voltage to the ignition system. Car was returned with the Alt light dimly lite - I was told by Mark that this needed to be corrected. 28 June - I replaced alternator and voltage regulator - car now produces a constant 14.5 volts - the level Mark said was required to operate the ignition. Alt Light is now completely off. 11 Aug - notified MME that the rear was leaking again. 17 Aug - notified MME that the new carb they purchased and installed was leaking & that the car still smokes. While driving gas was leaking onto the intake manifold. I now had puddles of gasoline on my hot intake manifold. When I pulled in the driveway I noticed a trail of gasoline in the driveway. I also noticed that the tac was not working. How the car did not burst info flames is beyond me. 27 Aug - car back to MME - tac was fixed, as was the carb and rear end oil seal - the rear end was balanced by a vendor hired by MME. Was told that the smoke was being caused by the PVC system sucking in oil. Mark disconnected the PVC hose and said that should fix the problem. Later I inspected the hose and found no signs of oil. Mark left the hose in the car. Late Oct - car returned to me. Later I noticed that switch for the electronic ignition was partially broken. Informed MME - Mark came out to remove and rewire ignition system. Car put away for the winter. ----------------------------- 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------ Changed the oil, checking the oil level I noticed foam. Called Heather and was told that it was probably moisture. Drove the car to let it warm up. Changed the oil again - this time inspected looking for water - no obvious signs noted. Also flushed out the coolant system looking for signs of oil - nothing obvious was noted. While driving the car there is a squeak - upon investigating discovered that the left exhaust is still rubbing against the left spring. I readjusted the exhaust hanger MME should have noticed that these two pieces of metal would hit each other during operation I previously pointed this out to them. 11 Apr 2009 - still burning oil, smoke, & white foam in the oil. I believe the plugs are in the early stages of being fouled. Exhaust is spitting out oil onto the garage floor. Summer of 2009 Mark came to get the car. Intake manifold gasket replaced, I showed Mark evidence of an oil leak somewhere near the rear of the motor. Small puddles of oil are left on the garage floor. Car was returned w/o the oil/smoke issue (it was fixed) but continued to leak oil near the rear of the motor. Oil continues to leak out the back of the motor. At this point I assumed it was coming from a gasket leak. ----------------------------2010 ------------------------------------------------------------- June 2010 Started the motor and tried to identify the source of the oil leak. Turns out that MME installed a plastic tube oil pressure line connecting the switch at the engine to the gauge in the car. The run of tube was about 5' in length. Between the engine and firewall I noticed that there was a brass connector connecting two pieces of oil pressure line together the leak was coming from it. Why would you splice such a small piece of line? I replaced the entire run with a copper line eliminating the connector and no more leaks. -------------------------2011---------------------------------------------------------------- June. In an attempt to shift, I depressed the clutch pedal and rather than engaging the pedal went straight to the floor (w/o engaging). Leaving me stranded on the side of Route 50 I was able to pull off far enough so I could open the door and look under the dash for causes. I noticed at the clutch pedal there is an small eye bolt that connects to the clutch pedal. At the firewall is a threaded rod (push rod) that is attached to the hydraulic portion of the clutch. Normally, the eye bolt would have been connected to the threaded rod so that when you depress the clutch pedal your motion gets transferred to the clutch. In my case the eye bold was not connected to the threaded rod. Looking further I noticed on the threaded rod a small nut my only assumption is that this small nut was used to connect the two rods. I was able to reconnect the two rods and thankfully I was able to shift again. Realize that this nut is so small that each rod is only able to screw into it maybe 2 turns. A sleeve nut that is about an inch in width would have been a more appropriate solution. Another fix I will have to make To summarize: I was referred to MME by several unrelated folks and based upon their recommendations I decided I would use MME for my project. My project included a motor build and installation of a brakes and complete drive train and exhaust. Work included installing a new after market trans, springs, drive shaft, rear, exhaust. Basically everything to make the car move and stop. I wanted a turnkey solution and said yes to everything they suggested and paid them promptly and completely. What I got in return was far from that my notes above point out the problems I encountered as a result of their work. MME might build fantastic crate motors but from my experience I would not recommend using them for the type of work I needed. I experienced numerous problems several which could have resulted in a serious accident or even death. Over the years I kept quiet and did not want to take action against them but having my clutch fail on Route 50 (I had just crossed over the
Bay Bridge and was shifting to keep up with shifting traffic speeds) made me realize I need to speak out and maybe save someone from the agony I have been experiencing. Had this happened 10 minutes earlier I would have been on the top of the East Bound span of the Bay Bridge in heavy traffic with a car you could not shift. Although I was able to fix this I still had to cross back over the Bay Bridge (still in heavy traffic) put yourself in my seat
how would you feel? If you deal with MME get everything in writing - don't assume anything. Protect yourself, your investment and get a contract. This will at least put you in a favorable position in the event you want to sue. If MME refuses to enter into a binding contract then let that be your first warning.

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