Tim Carroll, Carroll Custom Cadillac, Pure Cadillac Service LLC, Carroll Diesel Pros & 4x4's, Carroll Customs. Tim Carroll: A Human Pothole on Your Highway of Life Pilot Point Texas

I shipped Tim Carroll my Northstar engine under warranty in October 2016, suspecting a blown head gasket. He gladly explained that whatever the problem was, he would fix it - for free.  2 weeks later he notified me the probelm was indeed a blown head gasket.  2 weeks later, instead of shipping the repaired engine, he congratulates me for my good fortune.  Seems my motor with only 10K miles, was a very sick engine, terminal, in fact and he was going to build me a new one!

A month goes by, then two.  I keep massaging his ego and politefully asking when my engine is going out.  All I get from him are excuses via text or email (I have them all).  In January it is becoming painfully obvious that no engine is coming.  I finally ask for my old engine back.

He blows his top and starts ranting and raving about how terribly unfairly I have treated him after all he has done for me.  And he always addressed me as Bro'.   A day or two later he informs me mine was one of four he was working on.  What?  This after telling me for a month it was ready to be shipped?  I finally just asked him outright, "you're stealing my engine, aren't you?"  That's when he blew another gasket and said he was through with me.  This is the end of our friendship!  And my motor was going out in two days . . . a brand new one, completely redone.

Finally, on February 20, 2017, my new-old engine arrived.  This wasn't a new engine, but my old one which he had repaired. There was no way in hell I would install this motor in my car, but my mechanic looked at it anyway, promising a thorough inspection.  It didn't take long.  As soon as it was monted on an engine stand, they detected a jingling sound inside the crankcase.  Pulling the oil pan they found a washer.  Just laying there.  Waiting to wreak havoc inside my motor.  If this isn't textbook sabatoge I don't know what is.

Further investigation revealed a fair amount of metal shavings accumulated around the bottom of one of the cylinder bores, another nice touch.    He also noticed light surface rust on the polished surfaces of the valve train, an obvious indicator this motor has been exposed to the elements. probably from setting inside a shed or something.  Only Tim Carroll knows.  My mechanic now declares this motor to be unfit for installation. 

And thats when I remember a picture I took of the block before we shipped it to Texas.  There was a small hole, probably a casting defect that was clearly visible on the motor's back-side.  It was about the size of a pea.  A visual inspection by the mechanic revealed it to be nothing, just a casting flaw.  However, this flaw does not exist on the engine Carroll sent me.

He did indeed steal my engine and I can prove it.  A google-search of his name revealed a whole web-blog put up by some other people similarly victimized.  Talk about feeling stupid . . . I found a replacement motor, going from an engine with 10K miles to one with 90K miles.  Total cost, inluding labor and other associated costs?  $4,044.78.

Ever find yourself driving down the road, just minding your own business, musing on the important things in life?  Like how great a McRib sandwich would taste right now . . . ? when BAM! you hit a huge pothole and totally wreck the front-end of your car - not to mention a huge chunk of your savings?  That is what its like to deal with Tim Carroll.   He just waits . . .and lurks, for his next victim.  The Human Pothole on the Highway of Your Life...