The seller maintains his engine was not at fault and only offered to rebuild based on my pleas and threats of bad feedback. How common are metal shavings in the intake manifold from a previous failed engine and how hard are they to remove? My mechanic says he definitely cleaned the intake manifold out well enough and I simply paid him to install a faulty part. I am still unsure of who to trust, as they both wholeheartedly blame the other. Seller is at least working with me, should the mechanic do this for more of a discount considering he is possibly liable for the damage?

 

You've got a point there. I would try to talk to the mechanic and show them the seller and their profile. See what you can negotiate with the mechanic. Maybe they'll budge and clean out the metal shavings and maybe replace the manifold for cheap, or clean it again.

 

Broken ring lands are a sign of oil starvation, or improper ring gap. How did your mech that installed the motor clean out the intake?

I am still of the opinion that this was a rebuilder error, not metal shavings....... What was the original failure that prompted you to replace the motor? (I can't remember..... )

 

That engine looked like it's been through hell and back...

 

I am a bit confused, as I have not seen a 4.7L with a metal intake. All I have seen is plastic. Anyhow, I find it really hard to believe that any shavings from such work would cause the material above the top compression ring to come out like that. I agree with HeyYou.