Limitations of Warranty
JE Engineering as an organisation has existed since 1975. The current senior management have been closely involved with the company for nearly 30 years. Over the decades we have treated warranty issues with ‘common sense’ and worked with customers to find the best solutions we can, on the occasions when faults have developed in cars on which we have worked. In recent years there has been a trend towards an increasingly confrontational and uncooperative atmosphere when occasional problems occur with the cars, so it has become necessary to write this document to clarify the limits of warranty applicable to products and installations from JE Engineering Ltd.
Firstly, any modification made to the standard specification of a car is made because a customer wishes to achieve something different from that which they found to be possible with the standard car. Clearly if the performance of the car is changed, there may well be aspects of the performance of the car which alter in negative ways as well as positive ways, in the opinion of the vehicle user.
Secondly, it is also self-evident that JE Engineering is not an organisation which has the resources to thoroughly test conversions in all possible environments and with all the possible ‘driving styles’ of potential users, so any use of the vehicle should be approached with care and due attention to the development of possible problems, so that they can be addressed before serious damage occurs.
Thirdly, although JE Engineering endeavours to ensure the suitability of its products when applied to otherwise standard vehicles, we cannot know whether our products are compatible with other alterations made to the vehicle either before or after the JE Engineering products are fitted. Again, any use of the vehicle should be approached with care and due attention to the development of possible problems, so that they can be addressed before serious damage occurs.
Finally, JE Engineering Ltd. does not have a network of dealers around the world, so if we are to carry out any work under a warranty claim, in principle, this work can only be done in our workshop in Coventry, so whether the customer resides in Baginton, Warwickshire, or Manapouri, New Zealand, the problem and cost of returning the product to our workshop rests entirely with the customer.
Terms
JE Engineering will always attempt to be helpful and reasonable in seeking to resolve problems with vehicles, but if the situation is to be dealt with through legal representation, the following will apply as part of the contractual agreement.
1) Any claim for warranty must include the invoice number of the relevant original work carried out by JE Engineering Ltd., and its date.
2) The warranty claim can only be made by the original customer for the product as invoiced. No second owner or other entity is entitled to make any warranty claim.
3) The warranty is absolutely limited to the repair of defects of our materials or workmanship as solely determined by JE Engineering Ltd. No claims will be accepted for consequential losses of any sort, or associated losses of any sort.
4) For warranty work to be carried out, any vehicle or part must be returned to the Siskin Drive, Coventry, workshop of JE Engineering Ltd. in a condition as close as possible to the condition in which it originally left these premises.
5) Where a claim rests essentially in a matter of opinion on the altered performance of the vehicle, JE Engineering Ltd. will listen to this opinion and attempt to optimise the performance of the vehicle as far as possible, as solely determined by us, allowing for the state of the art within JE Engineering Ltd.
6) The warranty will cease to apply (and can never be re-applied) in any way, as soon as the vehicle is used for any extreme purpose. This includes competition use and testing in a competition environment, towing a trailer where the weight exceeds the rated weight for the standard vehicle, use of the vehicle when the loaded weight of the vehicle exceeds the rated weight for the standard vehicle, any type of arduous off-road use where the techniques of driving differ significantly from normal on-road use, use in any sort of extreme environment, and many other potentially challenging circumstances. If a customer is in doubt, JE Engineering Ltd. can offer advice, but it is up to the customer to decide about vehicle use, and it is solely up to JE Engineering Ltd. to determine whether any particular use is beyond the terms of the warranty.
7) Where a part must be replaced, JE Engineering Ltd. can use a new or a reconditioned part at its sole determination.
8) Where any work is carried out and/or parts are replaced under warranty, the newly implemented work and parts take on the remainder of the initial warranty period and mileage, and do not initiate any new warranty timing or mileage.
Implications of the above include :
-
a) We will not accept any liability for defects in parts supplied by the customer or by third parties, whether we fitted the parts or not.
-
b) Where a defect occurs it is the responsibility of the customer to minimise the effects of the defect and possibly suspend use of the vehicle until the defect can be repaired. If this is not done, and this results in a major failure, the warranty only covers the repair of the first defect. The major failure can be repaired by JE Engineering Ltd., at its discretion, but the cost of the repair will have to be met by the customer. For example, if an engine installation develops a water leak or an oil leak, a claim can be made to repair that leak, but if the vehicle continues in use to the point where a lack of water or oil causes a further failure of the engine, the repair of that failure will not be covered by warranty. Similarly, when using an automatic gearbox from JE Engineering Ltd. it may be that under some unique conditions of vehicle loading or towing, ambient temperature, altitude, gradient, road conditions, traffic, etc., that the operation of the gearbox becomes unreliable, e.g. the gearbox allows clutch slip or rather severe gear engagement. A warranty claim can be made to ask us to attempt to improve our calibration of the gearbox control to improve the performance in such conditions, but it cannot include any consequent failure of the gearbox. Consequently, it is always the responsibility of the driver of the vehicle to carefully assess the operation of the vehicle and if necessary, protect from damage by altering driving style, possibly using manual gear operation, and possibly stopping the journey to allow for cooling or other improvements in conditions, or taking other action, so as to prevent damage to the vehicle.
-
c) It is entirely the responsibility of the customer to determine whether the vehicle is suitable for any use to which it is put, considering the specification of the vehicle and any modifications which have been installed by JE Engineering Ltd., the customer, and any other party which has worked on the vehicle. We will attempt to advise, but we are not liable for the eventual performance of the vehicle in whatever unique combination of circumstances the customer instigates. Consequently, it is always the responsibility of the owner and user of the vehicle to carefully assess the operation of the vehicle to understand the effects and combinations of effects of the specifications of the vehicle and the modifications to it. It is advisable to test the vehicle carefully in less arduous conditions and on shorter journeys, initially, to allow the possibility of problems to be shown in more controllable circumstances, rather than trying out the maximum performance of the vehicle in challenging conditions immediately after the work is complete.
-
d) In any situation where a warranty claim is made, even if it is not eventually agreed, the cost of returning the vehicle or any parts to the Coventry premises is entirely the responsibility of the customer. The travelling, moving, or shipping costs are never part of the warranty claim.
-
e) Where it appears to be inconvenient to return the vehicle or parts to our Coventry premises for warranty work, it might be that we can arrange to either send a technician to the vehicle where it is, or to authorise another more convenient workshop to carry out repairs on the vehicle. This is not an obligation on us but might be offered as a helpful solution to a problem. In these circumstances, the travelling and subsistence costs of the visiting technician, and the shipping costs of any parts in either direction, must be met by the customer, and any replaced parts must be returned to us with shipping costs met by the customer. If another workshop is authorised to carry out work on the vehicle, we will only be liable for costs which we have specifically agreed with the workshop, charged at suitable business-to-business rates.
Limitations of Warranty
JE Engineering as an organisation has existed since 1975. The current senior management have been closely involved with the company for nearly 30 years. Over the decades we have treated warranty issues with ‘common sense’ and worked with customers to find the best solutions we can, on the occasions when faults have developed in cars on which we have worked. In recent years there has been a trend towards an increasingly confrontational and uncooperative atmosphere when occasional problems occur with the cars, so it has become necessary to write this document to clarify the limits of warranty applicable to products and installations from JE Engineering Ltd.
Firstly, any modification made to the standard specification of a car is made because a customer wishes to achieve something different from that which they found to be possible with the standard car. Clearly if the performance of the car is changed, there may well be aspects of the performance of the car which alter in negative ways as well as positive ways, in the opinion of the vehicle user.
Secondly, it is also self-evident that JE Engineering is not an organisation which has the resources to thoroughly test conversions in all possible environments and with all the possible ‘driving styles’ of potential users, so any use of the vehicle should be approached with care and due attention to the development of possible problems, so that they can be addressed before serious damage occurs.
Thirdly, although JE Engineering endeavours to ensure the suitability of its products when applied to otherwise standard vehicles, we cannot know whether our products are compatible with other alterations made to the vehicle either before or after the JE Engineering products are fitted. Again, any use of the vehicle should be approached with care and due attention to the development of possible problems, so that they can be addressed before serious damage occurs.
Finally, JE Engineering Ltd. does not have a network of dealers around the world, so if we are to carry out any work under a warranty claim, in principle, this work can only be done in our workshop in Coventry, so whether the customer resides in Baginton, Warwickshire, or Manapouri, New Zealand, the problem and cost of returning the product to our workshop rests entirely with the customer.
Terms
JE Engineering will always attempt to be helpful and reasonable in seeking to resolve problems with vehicles, but if the situation is to be dealt with through legal representation, the following will apply as part of the contractual agreement.
1) Any claim for warranty must include the invoice number of the relevant original work carried out by JE Engineering Ltd., and its date.
2) The warranty claim can only be made by the original customer for the product as invoiced. No second owner or other entity is entitled to make any warranty claim.
3) The warranty is absolutely limited to the repair of defects of our materials or workmanship as solely determined by JE Engineering Ltd. No claims will be accepted for consequential losses of any sort, or associated losses of any sort.
4) For warranty work to be carried out, any vehicle or part must be returned to the Siskin Drive, Coventry, workshop of JE Engineering Ltd. in a condition as close as possible to the condition in which it originally left these premises.
5) Where a claim rests essentially in a matter of opinion on the altered performance of the vehicle, JE Engineering Ltd. will listen to this opinion and attempt to optimise the performance of the vehicle as far as possible, as solely determined by us, allowing for the state of the art within JE Engineering Ltd.
6) The warranty will cease to apply (and can never be re-applied) in any way, as soon as the vehicle is used for any extreme purpose. This includes competition use and testing in a competition environment, towing a trailer where the weight exceeds the rated weight for the standard vehicle, use of the vehicle when the loaded weight of the vehicle exceeds the rated weight for the standard vehicle, any type of arduous off-road use where the techniques of driving differ significantly from normal on-road use, use in any sort of extreme environment, and many other potentially challenging circumstances. If a customer is in doubt, JE Engineering Ltd. can offer advice, but it is up to the customer to decide about vehicle use, and it is solely up to JE Engineering Ltd. to determine whether any particular use is beyond the terms of the warranty.
7) Where a part must be replaced, JE Engineering Ltd. can use a new or a reconditioned part at its sole determination.
8) Where any work is carried out and/or parts are replaced under warranty, the newly implemented work and parts take on the remainder of the initial warranty period and mileage, and do not initiate any new warranty timing or mileage.
Implications of the above include :
-
a) We will not accept any liability for defects in parts supplied by the customer or by third parties, whether we fitted the parts or not.
-
b) Where a defect occurs it is the responsibility of the customer to minimise the effects of the defect and possibly suspend use of the vehicle until the defect can be repaired. If this is not done, and this results in a major failure, the warranty only covers the repair of the first defect. The major failure can be repaired by JE Engineering Ltd., at its discretion, but the cost of the repair will have to be met by the customer. For example, if an engine installation develops a water leak or an oil leak, a claim can be made to repair that leak, but if the vehicle continues in use to the point where a lack of water or oil causes a further failure of the engine, the repair of that failure will not be covered by warranty. Similarly, when using an automatic gearbox from JE Engineering Ltd. it may be that under some unique conditions of vehicle loading or towing, ambient temperature, altitude, gradient, road conditions, traffic, etc., that the operation of the gearbox becomes unreliable, e.g. the gearbox allows clutch slip or rather severe gear engagement. A warranty claim can be made to ask us to attempt to improve our calibration of the gearbox control to improve the performance in such conditions, but it cannot include any consequent failure of the gearbox. Consequently, it is always the responsibility of the driver of the vehicle to carefully assess the operation of the vehicle and if necessary, protect from damage by altering driving style, possibly using manual gear operation, and possibly stopping the journey to allow for cooling or other improvements in conditions, or taking other action, so as to prevent damage to the vehicle.
-
c) It is entirely the responsibility of the customer to determine whether the vehicle is suitable for any use to which it is put, considering the specification of the vehicle and any modifications which have been installed by JE Engineering Ltd., the customer, and any other party which has worked on the vehicle. We will attempt to advise, but we are not liable for the eventual performance of the vehicle in whatever unique combination of circumstances the customer instigates. Consequently, it is always the responsibility of the owner and user of the vehicle to carefully assess the operation of the vehicle to understand the effects and combinations of effects of the specifications of the vehicle and the modifications to it. It is advisable to test the vehicle carefully in less arduous conditions and on shorter journeys, initially, to allow the possibility of problems to be shown in more controllable circumstances, rather than trying out the maximum performance of the vehicle in challenging conditions immediately after the work is complete.
-
d) In any situation where a warranty claim is made, even if it is not eventually agreed, the cost of returning the vehicle or any parts to the Coventry premises is entirely the responsibility of the customer. The travelling, moving, or shipping costs are never part of the warranty claim.
-
e) Where it appears to be inconvenient to return the vehicle or parts to our Coventry premises for warranty work, it might be that we can arrange to either send a technician to the vehicle where it is, or to authorise another more convenient workshop to carry out repairs on the vehicle. This is not an obligation on us but might be offered as a helpful solution to a problem. In these circumstances, the travelling and subsistence costs of the visiting technician, and the shipping costs of any parts in either direction, must be met by the customer, and any replaced parts must be returned to us with shipping costs met by the customer. If another workshop is authorised to carry out work on the vehicle, we will only be liable for costs which we have specifically agreed with the workshop, charged at suitable business-to-business rates.
02476 305 018
Due to the huge variety of sizes and types of this engine it is difficult to present a catalogue of what JE can offer, but we will describe our approach to this and offer some ideas on this page.
Rover V8 History
The classic Rover V8 engine was an important feature of the UK motoring scene for more than 3 decades. The design originated with Buick in late 1950s America, but with Rover it was developed for applications from sportscars to luxury 4WD SUVs. JE was intimately involved with this from the mid 1970s and continues to develop new ideas for the engine even today.
The engine was produced in three main versions, each of which had many variants. The earliest 3.5 litre units were made from the mid 1960s until 1976 and the launch of the Rover SD1. Pre-SD1 units have smaller valves in the cylinder head and are based on noticeably lighter castings. From 1976 until 1994, the 3.5 litre engine had larger valves and was built with slightly heavier main castings. Material was added in strategic places to make the block stiffer and allow for bigger cylinder head ports. The 3.9 litre version was added in 1989, and a 4.2 litre version in 1992. JE was instrumental in developing both of these capacity increases which were taken up by Rover into their production offering. From 1994 Rover made some big changes to the engine design. The crankshaft dimensions were strengthened significantly, and the cylinder blocks also gained a little more weight, to increase stiffness further. At this point the engine became available in 4.0 litre and 4.6 litre capacities. The earlier version continued for a short time alongside the new version, largely for use in the last of the Range Rover Classic model and of the first series of Discovery. In Land Rover production terms the last use of the 4.0/4.6 engine was in the Discovery 2 model, which was phased out in 2004, but the engine continued to be made in small quantities for a little longer, for use in some specialist applications.
JE Products
Rebuilding and optimising one of the early Pre-SD1 units is worthwhile if you need to keep your vehicle very genuine and original, maybe for racing regulations or ‘concours’ appearance. Most of JE’s work on Rover V8 engines involves tuning and improving for more torque and power, so we more often work on the two later types of engine. Due to the availability of 4.6 litre engines in the ‘scrap’ market, many people prefer to start a project with 4.6 rather than a rebuild of an older 3.5, 3.9, or rarely a 4.2, but unless a larger capacity engine is very important, these engines make completely satisfactory power units. We usually build them as either 3.9, or 4.5 litres, using an 80 mm crank shaft with the 94 mm bore. The engines can be built to use high rpm if necessary, but if the project involves retaining SU or Stromberg carburettors, power will be limited anyway, so the lack of a few hundred cubic centimetres is not so important.
Where the larger engine is required, we frequently build a 4.8 litre version of the engine. This is because with high-mileage engines it is almost always necessary to reline the V8 cylinder block with new iron cylinder liners, and if we are doing this anyway, we might as well put in liners for 96.0 mm bore rather than 94.0 mm. 96 mm bore with 82 mm stroke gives 4,748 cc, which we refer to as 4.8. We can also build 5.0 litre using a longer stroke of 86.3 mm, giving 4,997 cc.
An engine we are building very frequently in 2019, is a modernised 4.8 with the later ‘Thor’ inlet manifold. This is for use in the most recent Defenders with electronic throttle actuation, and it is often installed with an electronically controlled automatic gearbox The Thor manifold was used on Discovery 2 V8s and on Range Rovers from 1999 to 2002, it gives a very wide torque spread to the engine, with peaks at roughly 2,500 and 4,500 rpm, so low speed output is much better than with earlier designs. This is very appropriate for 4x4 use. We build the engine with a motorised throttle, modern injectors, and a new, revised cam profile. The inlet manifold is gas-flowed using the ‘extrude-hone’ process, and the cylinder-head ports are basically CNC machined, then finished by hand. With larger valves and everything very carefully balanced, we get 275 bhp and 430 Nm. As mentioned, the torque output is above 400 Nm over a wide range of the engine rpm.
Options:
Cylinder blocks and short engines produced by JE are very carefully prepared. All units, as a minimum, have all these operations completed before the build is finished :
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Block, all oil flow-ways optimised (certain sharp edges are curved, to improve flow), oil galleries physically cleaned and re-plugged.
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All cylinders are re-lined with new flanged liners, to 88.9, 94, or 96 mm as required.
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Crank, re-ground if necessary, all oil drillings cleaned and sharp edges removed, journals polished. For 86.3 mm stroke, the cranks are off-set ground to increase the stroke from 82.0 mm. All reground cranks are ‘Tuftrided’ (hardened) after grinding. All cranks are carefully balanced.
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Rods, 3.5, 3.9, 4.5, 4.6, and 4.8 rods are selected, crack tested and balanced. 5.0 rods are our own machined from steel forgings, crack tested, stress-relieved, shot-peened, and balanced.
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Pistons, 3.5, 3.9, and 4.6 pistons are full-quality standard Rover items, carefully selected, prepared and balanced. 4.5 pistons are made from full-quality Rover 4.2 items, to similar standards. 4.8 and 5.0 pistons are our own design, forged and hard-anodised, and balanced. Valve cut outs are machined if necessary, prior to balancing.
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Crank, rods, and pistons are also balanced together as the complete rotating assembly.
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The short engine is test assembled to check for any further machining requirements (e.g. deck machining of block). When finally ready, all is fully assembled and checked.
Cylinder heads:
All JE cylinder heads are thoroughly cleaned, and the oil and water passages carefully checked. The faces are machined (skimmed) if necessary and the eight combustion chambers in a pair of heads are measured, modified, and balanced to be sure they have the same volume to give equal compression ratio across the engine. New valve seats are fitted where necessary and all seats cut to the same height, and blended into the combustion chamber surface shape. In addition :
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Standard ‘JE build’heads have standard (40 & 34 mm ) valves, re-cut seats, with the ports cleaned up and blended.
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‘Sport’heads have larger valves (41.5 & 37 mm), ports as above and enlarged within constraints of manifolds. Manifolds should be checked and may need some minor material removal to work well with sport heads.
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‘2A’heads use the same valves as sport heads, but the ports are enlarged further. The inlet manifolds should be fully worked through as well, to take advantage of the larger ports. Special large bore, or tubular fabricated exhaust manifolds should be used with 2A heads.
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‘Big valve’heads use new larger inlet valve seats and valves (43 & 37 mm), with further porting work. This is the largest type that would be recommended with standard inlet manifold casting types (e.g. Twin Throttle plenum manifold). Race type inlet manifolds are also suitable.
On all but ‘standard’ heads there is significant material removal to improve gas-flow. The bulk of this material is now removed by CNC machine. This provides a consistent shape and reduces the hard physical work of the gas-flow process. All the work is finished by hand so that precise matching and blending of surfaces is achieved.
Inlet manifolds:
There have been three different basic inlet manifold arrangements for the Rover V8, with some variations :
1) Twin SU/Stromberg carburettor manifold.
2) Lucas/GEMS fuel injection manifold, with the large single plenum inlet system.
3) Bosch/Thor fuel injection manifold, with two small plenum chambers and long individual manifold ports for each cylinder.
We offer many different ways to improve gas-flow in these manifolds. For the more complicated shapes the ultimate solution is the extrude-hone process. We also use die-grinding tools to carefully remove material where the port shape allows access. We have some larger throttles to install where appropriate, and for the Lucas/GEMS type, we can still offer the famous twin-throttle plenum chamber which gives very good power at higher rpm.
Camshafts:
There are many different camshaft profiles available for the Rover engine. JE continue to offer our very successful ‘101’ profile for fast road use in moderately tuned engines. We have other JE-designed profiles suitable for fuel injected engines in heavier cars and 4x4 cars. For road use of sports cars and for racing, we have other cams with more lift and duration.
Rocker Shafts:
Using Land Rover rocker shafts for speeds in excess of 6,000 rpm, up to 6,800 rpm, we would recommend our reinforced billet steel end supports. Full race roller rocker shafts, using needle roller bearings and improved shaft supports, are also available.
Exhaust manifolds:
JE continues to produce the large-bore cast-iron exhaust manifold, suitable for engines producing up to 320 bhp. Alternative tubular manifolds can be obtained, if required, for special installations.
Ancillaries:
To get the engine running nicely in a car you will need some of the following : fuel injection ECU, wiring harness, carburettors, catalysts, ignition coil(s), distributor, and leads, induction air filter(s), clutch, flywheel, alternator, starter, and other items. JE Engineering can supply many good solutions for engine installations.
