MAJOR problems with Great Lakes Diesel

MAJOR problems with Great Lakes Diesel
Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:42:26 PM

I'm trying to get the word out for my father about Great Lakes Diesel. Rick Plauman (the owner) is about to put my father out of business after he sucked him in for over $50,000.

He is having some MAJOR problems with Great Lakes Performance Diesel in Lackawanna, NY. He has spent over $50,000 with this company (the owner is Rick Plauman) to have a custom 800+hp engine built for his Kenworth. He was promised a minimum 1 mpg increase which he never saw (and has actually gone down), he has spent almost $10,000 either fixing things that he was told were fixed or replaced parts that he was told that was replaced with new parts and he have yet to be reimbursed for them (this has been going on for almost 5 months). He has a written warranty and they will not honor it.....in fact they want HIM to pay for some of this! He is on his 5th turbo since he got the truck back, and they can't tell us what is going wrong. For the money I've spent I was expecting a top quality motor to be built for me with compatible parts.

When we first got the truck back is was smoking so bad and tuned so poorly that it would hardly pull a load up a hill without sending the pyro through the roof and melt the turbo off the manifold. Needless to say the first turbo didn't even make it from TN to AZ before it gernaded. When he found a shop that could take a look at what was going on with the tuning he wouldn't let them in the ECU to see what was going on. On top of that they told him that he truck had been slapped together with so many different parts from different trucks that even if they could tune it it would take hours just to figure out what he did. Boost hoses won't stay on, I've fixed oil leaks for him, coolant leaks, rerouted wires so they would melt, the list goes on.

PLEASE! Do NOT do business with Rick Plauman or Great Lakes Diesel! If anyone else has had problems PLEASE contact me so we can talk.

RE:MAJOR problems with Great Lakes Diesel
Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:01:57 PM

As of a couple days ago I have been contacted by Rick and he is attempting to work out our problems.  He has promised to fix all of our problems including building us another motor and fixing any problems he had.  I will keep this updated as progress happens.

RE:MAJOR problems with Great Lakes Diesel
Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 7:21:19 AM

Obviously, the comments posted here are troubling because they simply don't paint the proper picture of what Great Lakes Diesel is about. It should also be pointed out that of my endless line of customers, only one seems to complain. It started as a misunderstanding and has blown into a series of threads questioning my integrity, professionalism and workmanship, so much that I feel the need to defend my name. Did this customer have a turbo failure in Arizona? Yes, but I exhausted every possibility of making things right and nothing seemed to be good enough. The customer complained of how the truck ran and the black smoke, etc. After setting him up for 800 hp, I test drove the vehicle at the right RPM and it performed remarkably. I also switched turbos for him on three occasions to keep him happy, all at my cost, along the way renting him a car so he could go home. I then switched turbos again, once again at my own expense. It became clear to me--and is also clear from the comments from other drivers--that this customer doesn't yet have the skills to handle a vehicle like this properly. His second truck is still in my yard, and I haven't charged him a penny for storage. He's welcome to pick it up at any time, and I will give him a 5EK running engine for free, or build him a new 3406C engine. I'm an honest, professional business owner who runs a well-respected business, one that's been built on the principles, professionalism and know-how I've gained through decades in this industry. I invite any critics or prospective customers to visit my website, www.GreatLakesDieselEngine.net. In response to the comments posted about Great Lakes Diesel, I feel I have done all I can to satisfy this customer, and if there are feelings of ill will, I truly regret it. My record stands for itself, and every customer I've had--many of them professional drivers who have navigated this country's highways for decade after decade, will attest to the kind of honesty, integrity and work that define my business.