I just happened to go through this site today and have spent the last 3 hours reading the comments of various individuals regarding listeroids from India.
I am from India , no , I am not trying to sell any engines or spares , but know the full manufacturing process of these engines as my father ( who expired last year ) used to sell them to various countries in Africa.
I started my career in Nigeria selling these engines and got out of this business as I did not like what I was selling.
Let me tell you how these engines are made:
They are all made in a city called rajkot.
There is no other centre in India which makes these engines , if anyone tells you otherwise they are lying.
No engine manufacturer is a manufacturer of more than two or three parts out of the total parts required to make an engine.
It is a cottage industry , where each part ( leaving out a few critical parts ) is made by small manufacturers who supply them to the so called engine manufacturer.
The manufacturer will then hire people on daily wages basis to assemble the engines.
After the engine is assembled it is put on the test line to see that it is working properly.
Immediately after the test is over it is packed in wooden cases , this is the reason why you will always get oil in the crankcase which makes you feel that you are buying a used engine.
As far as casting pieces are concerned this problem will never go ( believe me I have tried ) as the manufacturer never bothers to machine them out and the exporter of these engines sitting in Bombay ( now Mumbai ) never sees what is being packed and exported.
You can get these engines made in any name as all you have to do is put the name on the crankcase cover ( which does not cost much ) and get plates printed in your name ( minimum qty. of plates can be as low as 100pcs and again the cost is not much ).
Parts catalogues and instruction manuals can also be printed in your name , as there is only one printer who supplies everybody , all you have to do is to change the cover page and put your brand name.
The reason why I am letting everybody know all this is as follows :
Quality : you only get what you pay for ( pay peanuts and get monkeys )
Problems : have been , will be and will never go away as the people of this town do not understand what quality means , the few who do are not interested in exporting as their engines sell at better prices in India.
I hope I have put some light on this matter and it is of help to everybody and may help reduce their frustration regarding these engines from India.
I would also like to add that quality products are being exported from India and please do not judge the country by one product.
Once again believe me this not a sales pitch , but is being done without any malice towards anyone.