ADVICE/OPINIONS

[Mr. Chevy]

My father has an issue with his 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 series 4x4 truck with standard cab, 6 foot bed and 4.6 V6 motor. He purchased the truck brand new and it currently has 50,000 miles on it. The first problems he recently experienced with it was that the oil pressure light activated and the heater was blowing cold air. Long story short, he took it to a local Chevrolet dealership where he originally purchased the truck to have it repaired.

They advised him that the oil pressure sending unit went bad giving a false engine oil pressure reading as well as the thermostat which was causing the cold air when the heater was on. They repaired both and did an oil change/tire rotation. $600.00 later my father got the truck back and not even a full week went by and the truck was blowing cold air again through the heater.

My father took the truck back to the dealership and now the verdict was that he had a bad head gasket. So they went to replace this and upon doing so advised they needed to replace the valve cover gaskets and clean the engine out because the antifreeze got into the oil and "gummed" up the motor. Well after replacing the head gaskets, valve cover gaskets and "flushing the motor" of the antifreeze, they then advised my father that the motor was now bad and was not holding oil pressure because the antifreeze got into the motor and damaged it. So now they quoted him around 5 grand to replace the motor.

Well initially I smelled something fishy. Why is it coincidence that the head gasket went bad right after they changed the thermostat?? My father questioned the service department about the matter and their response was that when they initially checked the truck their computers said the oil sending unit and thermostat were bad and repaired same. Upon changing the oil during the first service/repairs the technician allegedly stated that there was no antifreeze in the oil.

This whole thing seems like BS to me but what do I know... Stranger things have happened..

Any ideas, thoughts or opinions on this mess????? Any advice for my Dad??? He most likely is going to trade in the truck and buy or lease a new one.. On a side note he is NOT hard on his vehicles and does regular service/oil changes on them...

Thanks Rich

[earntaz]

Quote -- "when they initially checked the truck their computers said the oil sending unit and thermostat were bad and repaired same".

That is the problem in many cases -- the dealerships have no "real" mechanics ... just a few "scope-dopes" that rely on info from their computers. Haven't heard any real issues with the V-6 engine -- seems there is a coincidence that the head gaskets went bad right after they changed the thermostat -- strange!! Old school types would investigate where the coolant went -- not tear into the engine without checking the oil level first. Just MHO ... TAZ

[Bill Pritchard]

Some antifreeze gets into the oil and in a few days of easy use the motor is ruined??? I'm not sure that seems reasonable. I had that happen one time on my wife's 84 Monte Carlo SS....it sucked an intake gasket and we got antifreeze into the oil. Oil looked like a chocolate milk shake and was way over-full. I tore the heads off to have magnafluxed (they were notorious for thin casting walls), flushed the engine out, put everything back together and drove it for many more years with no issues.

If your dad is thinking of trading anyway, then he's probably best to trade it in as-is and let the dealership deal with any more problems that might crop up, since they will undoubtedly just put a new short block in it and reuse heads, thermostat, oil pressure sender, etc.

[Bill Pritchard]

Rich,

I failed to ask earlier....by what means has the service dept. determined that the motor is "not holding oil pressure"? Is the refurbished original motor now making noises, or is this just something else their computer is telling them?

If it's driveable and not making noises, I might take it somewhere else and get a second opinion.

[Mr. Chevy]

Bill, I'm not sure how the technician determined that the motor is not holding oil pressure. I guess from their "equipment". My father decided he is just going to lease a new truck. They are giving him 5 grand for the trade on the old truck. He would be obligated to pay a second bill for pulling the head and installing the new gasket and motor flush which I'm sure would be about a grand if he towed the truck away somewhere else. The technician spent a day and a half supposedly trying to repair it...

Really sucks...

Rich

[Bill Pritchard]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Mr. Chevy</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> My father ....would be obligated to pay a second bill for pulling the head and installing the new gasket and motor flush which I'm sure would be about a grand if he towed the truck away somewhere else. </div></div>

Oh, OK, I figured your dad was already on the hook for that expense. It sucks, indeed, but sometimes bailing out of a bad situation is the easiest and best way.

About 20 years ago we had a 92 Lumina Z34 that we had purchased new. It went through brakes every 18,000 miles....only the inboard pad on the left front wheel was worn down to nothing....the other 3 front pads looked like new. The first time, I replaced everything myself &quot;the right way&quot;....all new hardware, everything properly lubricated, yada yada. After doing that same thing again, I took it back to the dealership where I bought it and had been trading for years. They ended up having the Zone service rep come in and check it out after I got no satisfaction from them. His opinion? &quot;Normal wear&quot;. Wrong answer, chump. Soon afterward I traded the POS in on a new 95 Eldorado and our brake problems were over....got over 60K miles on the original front brake pads on that.