ATK Vege

WARNING, DO NOT DEAL WITH ATK!
Received a motor with low compression on one of the cylinders, did a leak down test to verify that the motor was no good. Received a replacement motor that worked okay but when the bad engine went back to ATK for inspection they claimed there were no problems with the engine and denied any warranty. DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF!

WARNING WARNING WARNING CAUTION CAUTION !!! If i could give Negative Rating i would. We have Ordered parts from ATK and had Almost No luck with them. Where shall we start. Issue #1 Ordered a set of heads for a CHEVY 3.1 v6 one of the valves was not ground down. The valve was to long and when you tighten the rocker arm it would stick open. ATK Mailed us a replacement at No cost and we replaced it. They also paid us to replace it. Mind u they pay approx half of out shop rate. Customer got there vech a few days later then promised Due to ATK… Issue #2 had a dodge 4.7 that blew a head gasket so we once again put our faith in ATK. Order a Head for the Left side. Due to the chain guide bolt hole cracking. (SEEMS TO BE NORMAL) The head we got From ATK lasted about 3 weeks vech came back with MULTI MISFIRE. we did some work and found it to be in the head. BAD VALVE SEAT. ATK once again sends us another head and we install. at a reduced rate and no charge to the customer. Customer is once again with out there Vech for a week and they live approx 25 miles from our shop. Issue #3 Ford 2.3 comes in with a hole in the block. We again order From ATK. Customer happy to get there Vech back. Come back 500 miles later no issues found (First Oil Change). 2000 Miles Later no Problem. (Early Oil Change) approx 5000 miles Vech Smoking Very Bad. ATK advises to remove the head. we remove the head find no issues. They then advice to replace Engine. They Send New engine. We replace. Customer happy and on there way, Never had a problem sense.(approx 12 months later). ATK DENIED PAYMENT ON THIS REPAIR took 2 months of arguing everyday to get half of the payment. And that was paid by the Parts Supplier we bought the parts from not from ATK. Issues #4 Dodge ram 4.7 customer over heats engine. Causes damage to both heads. We ONCE AGAIN order Heads from ATK Both heads. Right head no problem. Left head had issues. Showed up with a crack in the bolt hole mentioned earlier. As i said it is a known problem with the Chain Guide Bolts. We did not notice the issues untell the head was installed. ATK sends out another head. We install it. Customer happy. ATK paid to replace the head at reduced rate. So that was head #1 and #2. 5000 miles later. MISFIRE call ATK they send another head #3 we send the bad one back. They tell us it has a burnt valve. Due to ABNORMAL COMBUSTION. NO PAYMENT FOR REPLACEMENT. Once again fight kick and scream they eventually paid the claim. 2000 Miles later. customer returns again. MISFIRES. contact ATK they say NO WARRANTY. Call the claims manager i talked to with the last issues. Express my concern at that point he is suppose to contact his SUPERVISOR and call me back. We exchange emails. Never get a call back. Get informed that they will inspect the head and if no issue they will charge me $ 75 to ship it back to me. I told them send me the paper work and i would like a 3^rd party to inspect the head. They DENY the option of 3^rd party inspection. This contact was made in the 1^st week of OCT. 2 weeks later after never receiving the paper work for the warranty claim process. We decided to start the job as the customer wants there car fixed. We remove the head. Send it to a local Machine shop. They checked and all the valve Grinds where not to SPEC. The machine shop repaired the Head at our expense. We did the complete job for the customer at no expense to the customer. ATK still has never sent the paper work or contacted again. I reached out to them Multi Times via Email. This Vech. was completed on NOV 4^th. today is 12−28−15. We have had one item that we have purchased that we have had no issues with and that was a 05 Chevy Rear end.

Worst company in American to buy an engine from. Bought one for my jeep installed it properly by a mechanic and immediately had a rod knock. Took it back out sent it back and they claim there was «debris» that cause the rod know and would not honor their warranty or stand behind their product.

I recently had to replace the valve cover gaskets, the valve covers were not installed on the new engine, which was purchased at a premium price. A «Complementary gasket set» was furnished. It lasted 20,000 miles when any normal gasket set should last between 60,000 — 100,000 miles. I should have used the factory set. Their warranty dept. asked if I still had the box (kidding right?) and implied that the mechanic at a well respected dealer must have screwed it up. I said it looks like they furnished a cheap gasket set, how cheap did they have to get here? So, it was not part of the «completed engine» and so is not covered. I got off easy compared to the other guys so far, only $ 500. They seemed to have a good rep a few years back, no negative reviews, one positive one. I would be very leery of dealing with them today, especially for their price point. Have a reputable rebuilder do it in your own state. I notice they have not even taken the time to respond to the reviews. That says it all!

I want to take a moment to say something here. Last July I purchased a re-​manufactured ford 4.6L engine from ATK. At 1200 miles the right head developed a small crack and was leaking oil. They replaced it but that head was a wrong head and it seized my new engine. Ford makes two different heads for that size engine that are almost exact but using the wrong one, «Romeo» or «Winsor» will case problems. What happened I believe was an honest mistake by ATK with placing the correct head. I called a couple times and didn’t feel that I wasn’t getting anywhere quick enough so I contacted the president of ATK in writing with a polite email explaining my situation and within fifteen minutes I was contacted and ended up dealing directly with the senior warranty rep. He was professional, sympathetic and he personally stayed with me all the way to the end to ensure that my situation was resolved. ATK promptly replaced my entire engine and refunded my deposits in full. I just want to remind you all that no company, especially ATK doesn’t make engines to have them returned with problems. If you do have problems and are having problems with warranty or sales, try to contact upper management and be polite. Always begin with a detailed and POLITE email. I promise you that you will get results! In today’s economy, large companies can’t hide and they will respond to solving situations like this. I know that ATK did have problems and a bad reputation with poor customer service in the past BUT that has all changed. This company, took the bull by the horns, relocated to Texas and relaunched it’s policies with taking care of business in an honest and direct professional manner. My my problem did take time to resolve but it was a GOOD business decision on my part to buy from ATK. They are today, in my opinion, a good solid company with a professional and caring staff that I believe, provides an excellent product. You have to keep in mind that re manufactured engine is exactly that… most will run perfect but some might develop
reputations and relationships can be ruined these days by bad internet reviews. This company doesn’t deserve all the bad rap it is getting. I am sure there are many more than just myself with a positive purchase from ATK but most people these days don’t take the time to post «good» experiences. I DO!
Thanks ATK and Thanks «RICHIE P.» in warranty and «DAN L. in sales» for the excellent customer service. I am one happy old surfer guy and I stand behind ATK, it’s product and it’s staff!
KW

OK, first, full disclosure:
It’s been several years since I did business ATK, maybe they’ve improved, but ME? STILL suffering the aftermath.
ATK has new ownership (9−21−07), admittedly WELL AFTER the nightmare I’ll relate to you. But have things changed?
They’ve acquired a new cylinder head company (1−15−08), again after my experience. Might’ve mattered in my particular situation.
ATK’s N. American Corporate Headquarters moved from Santa Ana, CA to Grand Prairie, TX, but it’s the SAME company. I called ‘em before writing this to confirm that fact So though my review is admittedly based on dealings with former owners, the new ownership no doubt employs many of the SAME people.
I wanted to make sure I wasn’t slamming the wrong people before posting; I’m not.
AND SLAM I WILL.
Some years back, the motor in my ’88 Dodge Daytona Shelby died. Got over 200,000 miles out of the original; what more could you ask?
My repair shop of choice back then? Ben White Automotive (BWA). Read my review about ‘em; they’re in Austin, where I’m writing. I kept the car in very good shape cosmetically, just needed a new motor. After declaring old motor «verstorben» (ie: DEAD), BWA gave me two options:
1. Have existing motor rebuilt.
2. Swap MY motor out for a re manufactured one, rebuilt to same specs as my original.
Shoulda picked «Door #1», Larry! Instead, I chose «Door #2».
Enter ATK VEGE, supplying to a the USA. THAT’S who BWA recommended for the motor swap; at the time, I trusted ‘em. BUT I MADE A BAD DECISION BY AGREEING.
First of all, ATK took a LIFETIME to ship motor, but it finally got there (coming from Mexico, maybe?). BWA got it installed, after ANOTHER lifetime. No «VEGE» mentioned in ATK’s DBA yet; wait for it…
This was an ensemble of f**kups between a shoddy motor re-​builder (ATK) and a bunch of inept mechanics (Ben White Automotive). It wasn’t all BWA’s fault, because they were provided an inferior product by ATK. But it WAS their fault for NOT NOTICING IT and sending it back for another one.
Replacement motor DETONATED from DAY 1 (also called: «pre-​ignition»). Detonation is when the spark plug fires too early during the firing sequence, which drives piston & crankshaft back the wrong direction. Very BAD for a motor. BWA couldn’t fix the prob; this led to cylinder head and valve damage. Then the motor just died altogether.
After much back-&-forth with ATK, they finally REQUIRED the head be shipped back to them before they’d make a decision as to warranty. Now I’m without car for ANOTHER lifetime. ATK’s verdict? The motor was good when they shipped, & fault lied with the installer (BWA) & NOT with ATK. They (ATK) REFUSED TO HONOR THEIR WARRANTY, or even give partial credit; motor had LESS THAN 5,000 ON IT.
BWA wouldn’t take any blame either; when ATK told me I’d have to pay ANOTHER $ 1400 to replace THEIR cylinder head, BWA wouldn’t kick in a SINGLE CENT. I’d not touched the engine in any way so I knew it wasn’t MY fault. But unless I wanted to render my original $ 5000 cost useless, I had no choice; I HAD to buy a new head.
Even after all that, motor never ran right; I gave up on BWA (good riddance); took it to two other shops before finding a shop that could get it to run right, or as much as a crappily-​rebuilt motor is able to. Along the way, it was discovered the rebuild block ATK provided was a MEXICAN-​MADE AFTERMARKET block. My original? AMERICAN-​MADE CHRYSLER block. NOT a direct replacement. My car’s a SHELBY, for God’s sake. It might not be a Porsche or a Ferrari but for its price, was a fast, nimble, fun-​to-​drive car. Operative word: WAS.
I’m sure they sold my rebuilt Chrysler motor for a lot more than I paid for the Mex block they snookered me with!
Back then, ATK’s DBA was just ATK; NOW it’s ATK VEGE; latter is a Mexican company. I’m CERTAIN that’s where my motor came from, even if they hadn’t merged officially yet; from VEGE, through ATK. So when ATK received it, it probably never even came out of the crate; I’ll never know for sure, but I can do the math. It’s a sound theory.
Quoting from ATK VEGE’s «Why buy» page on their ‘site:
«ATK VEGE tests ALMOST every engine that leaves our factory.»
ALMOST? ALMOST!!! They DAMN SURE didn’t test MINE!
ATK VEGE brags they’ve won lots of racing awards, now have deal w/​Mopar (Chrysler/​Jeep), & that Sylvester Stallone has their engine in his truck. Good for you, Sly. Pity they don’t seem to care so much about providing quality products to us «regular guys».
Aha! Maybe I should go write/​star in a move; think I’ll go do that right now…
NOW, as of Nov ’09, they’re rippin’ off Canada, eh? Probably think the «hosers» will be easy pickins after foolin’ all the Mopar guys.
Hey, if you’re getting a motor replaced by your local shop, take time to ASK WHERE THEY’RE GETTING THE MOTOR, IF you’re not getting old one rebuilt (which I recommend).
Guess I don’t have to say this, but:
AVOID ATK VEGE AT ALL COSTS!
larrythediner