Thanks guys... So I'm glad to read that at least a few people see this the way I do. More opinions are welcome. I spent some time on the phone with ebay customer service and they said that ultimately because the manifold has been physically altered by planing that I am not required to accept the return. They thanked me for my professional conduct with the buyer and said I could offer partial refund, complete refund, or wait for the buyer to escalate but that they encouraged me to continue to work it out with him. So I am doing that. I do sell regularly on ebay and believe me, my 100% feedback rating since 2001 is precious to me. That said money is tight right now and every bit counts. They said that he could still leave negative feedback but that it can be appealed. I'm hoping that if I continue to play nice that if he does leave negative feedback that I can successfully appeal it. My preference would be that he gets it installed successfully and the whole thing go away. So here's how I responded to him. This is my first response since his last note to me above:
Me: I see that you have requested a return on the manifolds. I just spent some time on the phone with ebay customer service. They reviewed our correspondence and they determined that since you had the manifold planed, which constitutes a physical alteration by removal of metal, that I am not required to accept your return request. I can't be held repsonsible for the work of the machinist. His good past performance is not a gaurantee of good future results.
I'm more than happy to continue to work with you on getting the manifold installed successfully. At this point I'm not inclined to offer a refund. I have dealt with dozens of these manifolds over the years. My father owned a very successful exhaust business for over 50 years and we specialiized in inline engines. I have never had an issue like you are describing. If a manifold can be planed, it can be installed without leaking. If it is warped, it is because the machinist did not do his job, or it's gotten too hot after an improper installation. I spoke with my father about the issue and he concurs. He's is 80 now and has dealt with hundreds of them since starting mechanic work as a teenager in the early 1950's.
It is very easy to tell if the manifold is warped, and we both know how to do that with a straight edge, a good flat welding table,or a heavy piece of flat glass. Your assertion of 'port alignment' doesn't hold water in this situation. If it were warped badly enough that the ports wouldn't align, then any machinist worth his salt would never have cut it to begin with.
There is one way you can possibly get it to align. I would much rather you get a good working manifold than take this any further down a negative road with me. Either the manifold was cut correctly and you just need a little help installing it ( they can be tricky ) or the machinist needs to fix his work.
I have one more trick that has worked for me in the past getting them to mount up. Let me know your thoughts.
