So i usually just lurk, and don't post often, but i had to share an experience with z1 motorsports today. Hopefully this saves someone else from having to pay 150/hr to diagnose a product they just bought. I can't imagine any other industry doing this. Bought a cell phone and have a question? Sorry... 150/hr.

I'm just copying most of the email i sent after talking on the phone with them as it's the easiest way to convey what happened...
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I bought this pulley from you. It felt too tight, even when the nut was only hand tightened, not even torqued to spec yet. Unlike the left side that i also bought, it didn't spin freely. I called to get a simple question answered: is this a/c tensioner for the g35 supposed to spin freely by hand or not?

I was told, "i don't have this engine i have a different one so I'm not sure. "

He put me on hold and then asked someone who suggested i was missing a part. I'm not. Everything that came off the car was sent by you and went back on.

He then proceeded to rudely tell me he had already answered my question and went above and beyond!?? He didn't answer the simple question: is it supposed to spin freely or not? I'm concerned that on my hour long commute the pulley would fail and cause damage leaving me stranded. I need to know if this item is defective or not.

He then said to help me further and actually give me an accurate answer to a part i bought FROM YOU, that i would have to pay $150/ hour!!

To diagnose whether a pulley i bought from you was defective???

I've never been told to go f@#$ myself so directly by any "vendor" in my life.

I've dealt with vendors in multiple motorcycle communities, other g vendors and Ford raptor vendors to name a few. This is utterly ridiculous.

All i wanted was a technical answer about your product. Not free stuff, not free money.....
I still don't have an answer to the question by the way.

 

Owch that's unfortunate, usually they're very easy to work with.

Can you clarify some details, the info you gave is super spotty.

Are you referring to the AC idler/tensioner pulley? It should be fairly stiff when it's new, if you try to "spin it by hand" you should get about 1/4 of a revolution and that's it. An easy way to diagnose if those things are shot is you can spin it by hand and it just keeps spinning and spinning and spinning... they should NOT do that when they're new. You can go down to any local auto parts house and have them pull an idler pulley so you can compare.

If you CANNOT spin it by hand then yes something is definitely missing or perhaps that shield/ring that goes on under the bolt got installed backwards and is rubbing on the pulley.

Here's a random video I found on youtube that shows what I'm talking about, at 0:45 the guy spins the old worn out pulley and you can see it has a lot of noise and spins EXTREMELY freely. At the 3 min mark he tries to spin the new pulley and there's basically zero spin whatsoever and no noise whatsoever.

 

If this pulley spinning freely was the question you were trying to ask you shouldn't be so upset with Z1, questions like this are very very basic questions, sort of like calling up your tire vendor to ask "are my tires supposed to be round and have tread on them?". The tech you got on the phone might have just been blown away by the question, of course he also was probably a mechanic from the back and might not be so well versed in customer service like the sales reps that answer the phone and talk to customers all day.

No offense intended though, just trying to explain how sometimes basic questions can be met with frustration.

 

There is a very simple solution to your problem.
Call your credit card company and explain that you received a defective product and you are requesting that the charge be removed.
Sometimes a credit card company will request the details in writing that in most cases can be done easily on their website.
You can request a replacement if desired along with a prepaid shipping label to return the defective part if they want it back.
If you did not pay by credit card, shame on you.
It is a well known fact by searching forums such as this one that these vehicles do not play well with aftermarket parts.

Good luck to you