Work order line ENG
Engine overhauls and replacements on Oakwood Drive
Pulled, torn down, inspected and rebuilt with new seals, rings, valves and bearings, then tested. If replacing the engine makes more sense, that is on the table too, and you hear about it in plain terms first.
Chapter 01
What wears out inside an engine
An engine that needs an overhaul has usually been dropping hints for a while. Wear and dirt do their damage slowly: rings stop sealing, valves stop seating, bearings lose the film of oil they ride on. Then the engine burns more oil, loses power, or starts to sound different, and the repair that follows is the kind nobody wants to hear about.
“You need an engine overhaul” is a scary sentence for any vehicle owner. Ultimate Automotive Service Center does not sugarcoat it. If the engine is worth saving, we say so. If replacing it is the better answer, engine replacement is available here as well. Either way you get the whole picture before a single bolt comes out.
Engine trouble also hides behind other symptoms. A truck that feels like it has a transmission problem can turn out to be a timing chain problem, which is why the first job on any rough-running vehicle at the Urbandale shop is a proper inspection and not a guess.
A bare engine block on a red engine stand with pistons laid out on a steel bench
The overhaul, from first bolt to last test
An overhaul here starts with the engine removed and disassembled. Every internal part is then inspected for dirt and wear, because that inspection tells the technician what is still good and what has to be replaced. Nothing gets reassembled on a hunch.
Seals and gaskets are replaced, along with the rings and valves and the bearings. Moving parts are lubricated before they go back in, so the first start after a rebuild is not the first time those surfaces have seen oil. The last step is testing the components to make sure the engine is road-worthy before the car comes back to you.
Work like this needs room and parts. The shop is 8,000 square feet with three large bays, a large parts inventory sits on site, and when something is not on the shelf it can be sourced quickly.
Chapter 03
Kept in the loop while the engine is apart
Long jobs have a way of going quiet. Here, you are updated every step of the way. Nick Kindred has been a service writer in the Des Moines area for more than 19 years, and he is the voice at the service desk when you want to know where your car stands.
On the floor, the senior technicians include Erick Lutchman, ASE certified with more than 17 years as a technician, Ryan Roth, who has been at the shop since 2008, and Kris Palmer, with more than 15 years of experience. Mark Jimmerson manages the shop his family opened in 1987.
Overhauls are costly, no two ways about it, and the cheapest engine work is the work you never need. Preventative maintenance is the best defense against the expense and the inconvenience. If an engine is already making noises you do not like, call (515) 270-2096 and describe what it is doing.
“They did a full inspection on my F150.” Dylan Barnes, Google review.
A timing chain nobody expected
Dylan Barnes brought in his F150 because it “randomly started shifting weird.” Most people would hear that and think transmission. The shop did a full inspection instead.
“They found that the transmission was fine but my timing chain and cam phasers needed to be replaced.”
The job took about a week, part of it spent working with his aftermarket warranty company. When it was over he wrote that the truck “idles smoother, runs better, and it also shifts better.” That is what inspecting before replacing buys you: the repair that fixes the truck, not the one that fits the first guess.
Dylan Barnes, Google review.
Neighboring work orders
- Computer diagnostics
That check engine light, read properly: ignition timing, sensors, crank and cam position, transmission and ABS faults. Vehicle programming available.
- Transmissions
Service and overhauls on manual and automatic transmissions, all makes and models, in bays big enough for RVs and buses.
- Maintenance and tune-ups
Oil changes, tune-ups, factory-recommended maintenance, timing belts, alignment and rotation, wipers, and a free vacation car check with any service.
See every service on the services page, or send the shop the details about your engine.