Over a year and a half ago, Cindy at FWD Performance in Spring, Texas, sold me a rebuilt 1989 Turbo 2.5L Engine with Hi Performance parts. After shipping my final cost was $5316. The engine was delivered to a competent garage in Sandy, Utah, to be installed in my '88 Dodge Caravan for a cost of $3500. The motor was already fully assembled by FWD Performance and the shop was only responsible for swapping the engine. They did not need to be intimately familiar with the engine in order to complete the job. Once the new motor was running the garage told me that it was experiencing an overheating issue. Since the engine was supposedly built by a company that specializes in these vehicles all suspicion was directed at the radiator and other non-motor components. The shop did what they could and contacted me to come and get my van.
I picked my '88 Caravan and the very next day the engine overheated. The turbo failed immediately after that. Black smoke came out the exhaust and oil came out of the engine and into the exhaust system, catalytic converter, and muffler.
After waiting for the engine to be built shipped and then installed it was very frustrating to be without a vehicle again. I decided to bring it to a Chrysler dealership since they are more familiar with these vehicles. I took the van to Larry Miller Chrysler for repairs. I had to buy a second Rebuilt Mitsubishi turbo from Cindy even though the first was under warranty (???) and it was shipped next day air $$$$. Larry Miller Dodge charged me $4000 to repair the vehicle. The Caravan drove for a couple of weeks and progressively got worse until the FWD Performance engine finally seized up. At this point the whole project had cost more than $12,816 and I still had a dead engine with only a couple hundred miles on it.
Eventually, we found out the reason why the engine was overheating and eventually seized. It was because the water pump housing was the wrong year for the water pump pulley. Essentially, the water pump/pulley that the "Experts" at FWD Performance installed and sent to me was mismatched and was trying to pump the water BACKWARDS! This is not something that either the first shop or the dealership would have caught and I don't blame them for the problem. All the parts looked correct from the outside and there was no reason for them to think that FWDP would make such a simple mistake.
Cindy at FWD Performance also sold me a Quaife Limited Slip Differential for $1500. She failed to include a very important spacer which is needed to install it in my A-413 Automatic transmission. The Quaife unit is worthless without that spacer. She provided me with excuse after excuse and we could not wait any longer for the spacer to arrive so we had to rebuild my transmission without the Quaife unit. When I asked her to take back the Quaife due to not receiving the spacer, she refused and said it was a special order.
She also charged me for a Fidanza Adjustable cam gear which was not on the engine or ever shipped to me.
Over the last 1.5 years Cindy has made and broken promises and never did get my engine issue resolved. To this date I have received $0 financial compensation and very little technical support after the sale. This issue prevented me from having the ability to get around. I am a disabled Vietnam War Vet and I depend solely on my '88 Dodge Caravan to get me to the VA hospital for treatments and to complete my daily chores. The van is equipped with a scooter loader in the back which is the only way I can get around. When my vehicle is not running I am forced to rent a vehicle or contact an ambulance service to transport me to the hospital.
In the end I have suffered a significant financial loss for dealing with FWD Performance in Spring, Texas. I have added up my repair costs below:
$5316 - FWD "Performance" Engine rebuild
$3500 - First Engine Installation
$350 - Second Turbo
$4000 - Second Engine/Turbo Repair/Installation (dealership)
$3500 - Fresh Turbos Unleashed Performance Engine Rebuild and Installation
$1500 - Quaife LSD (The List Price $1362.18. Why was I charged more?)
$1500 - Transporting my Van to Turbos Unleashed Repair Facility in AZ
$19,666 TOTAL COSTS TO ME
This excludes additional costs which I haven't even calculated in yet. Ambulance transport, rental car fees, etc. etc. etc.
I originally came to FWD Performance because Cindy told us how knowledgeable they were with these cars, but it was their incompetence and the failure to make things right with me that cost me money, transportation and time. My numerous calls and voice messages to her have gone unanswered. Essentially, she has turned her back on me and has made no attempt to resolve this longstanding issue. Did Cindy take advantage of the fact that I am an older man and was not internet savvy? Now that I figured this internet thing out I want to let everyone know what happened to me. Let this be a warning to others.
Dennis L.
Salt Lake City, UT