Did they really change my oil?

Justin

Old Mossy Horns
$20 is cheap enough for me to not have to screw with disposal and my damn skid plate. 265K.


$20 a year ain't too much to pay for that service is it? :rolleyes:

I know how but I sure as hell don't have hands small enough to reach the filter without taking the slid plate off and don't like doing that.
 
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Homebrewale

Old Mossy Horns
For me, disposal is easy. There is an Advance Auto about a mile from the house. The only thing I don't like is the filter on my vehicle. It's a cartridge filter so it can get messy while replacing the filter element.
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Homebrewale said:
For me, disposal is easy. There is an Advance Auto about a mile from the house. The only thing I don't like is the filter on my vehicle. It's a cartridge filter so it can get messy while replacing the filter element.
Click to expand...
My wife's Toyota has one of those funky things. It was a PITA the first time.
 
D1RICH1

D1RICH1

Ten Pointer
UPDATE-- Ok so we took my Tahoe to Tennessee over the weekend and after the Tahoe sat at the hotel all night when I turned it on a huge cloud of white smoke came out of the exhaust. It also happened the next day when I got back in town and I got a message that the oil pressure was low. I took it straight Down he road to the AAA and I checked the oil level before giving it to the and no oil registered.
They changed the oil and said it had No terrible leaks.
I wanted them to do a Compression and leak down test but they did that before and said it wouldn't show anything and would have to charge me $140.
I talked to head mechanic and he said it's "Probably a valve seat or guide". Draining down the valve into the cylinder. He said there's no way leaving the oil cap off would cause it to overheat and if anything would just make the engine less hot.
If it was a piston ring it would smoke the whole time.
$2,500 to $3,000 to fix this.
I said there's no way I would put that into an engine that had 150,000 miles. They could sell me a Remanufactured or crate motor instead and will look into pricing for it for me.
What should I do? Do I have a case for them to pay for any of this? My Tahoe had never overheated once before this mess and I just don't think it needing a new engine is a coincidence. Not only did they leave the cap off but there's no way they checked the coolant levels. If they should pay then how do I get them to?
 

jenkinsnb

Ten Pointer
I'd be interested to know what color the smoke is. Are you sure it's white and not a blue or black? White is normally indicative of coolant entering the cylinder, whereas blue is typically oil. What year is the Tahoe? When was the last time you checked the oil and/or coolant level before TN? The guy you talked to sounds pretty much right on everything he told you. If it only smokes upon start up, I'd be suspect of some GM valve seals. If this is all overheating related, I doubt you can do anything about it. It may suck and a reputable shop would have checked the coolant level before you ever left, but that doesn't mean they're obligated to. They are only obligated to do what is charged out to you on your original invoice. If they never put on your invoice that they tampered with the cooling system in some way, I see no way for anything to hold up in court.
 
pattersonj11

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I had a bad gasket. Coolant was going into the oil. Had the intake and head gaskets replaced with the newer ones. Coolant stays now.

The l31 is at 253k miles now. It could go tomorrow and id still say it has been a good engine. Had to replace the fuel spider with the newer one. It ran with two poppets held open for about a year. Finally with 3 held open....it could not handle it and had to get it towed to the mechanic. He did say it was one of the cleanest intakes he had ever seen with gas spraying all the time....
 
pattersonj11

pattersonj11

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
D1RICH1 said:
UPDATE-- Ok so we took my Tahoe to Tennessee over the weekend and after the Tahoe sat at the hotel all night when I turned it on a huge cloud of white smoke came out of the exhaust. It also happened the next day when I got back in town and I got a message that the oil pressure was low. I took it straight Down he road to the AAA and I checked the oil level before giving it to the and no oil registered.
They changed the oil and said it had No terrible leaks.
I wanted them to do a Compression and leak down test but they did that before and said it wouldn't show anything and would have to charge me $140.
I talked to head mechanic and he said it's "Probably a valve seat or guide". Draining down the valve into the cylinder. He said there's no way leaving the oil cap off would cause it to overheat and if anything would just make the engine less hot.
If it was a piston ring it would smoke the whole time.
$2,500 to $3,000 to fix this.
I said there's no way I would put that into an engine that had 150,000 miles. They could sell me a Remanufactured or crate motor instead and will look into pricing for it for me.
What should I do? Do I have a case for them to pay for any of this? My Tahoe had never overheated once before this mess and I just don't think it needing a new engine is a coincidence. Not only did they leave the cap off but there's no way they checked the coolant levels. If they should pay then how do I get them to?
Click to expand...

I think you can get out a little cheaper than that. A crate vortec is an expensive engine. A remanufactured can be a motor rebuilt as cheap as possible. I would think it would be tough to get a good rebuild cheaper than a crate without building it yourself. The right mechanic or engine shop can rebuild an engine better than a stock...but i doubt it would run cheaper. There are certain things that mechanics know that the dealer techs dont do many times. The same can be said the other way. Im lucky to have a guy that is as good of a GM drivetrain mechanic as can be found.
 
D1RICH1

D1RICH1

Ten Pointer
pattersonj11 said:
I think you can get out a little cheaper than that. A crate vortec is an expensive engine. A remanufactured can be a motor rebuilt as cheap as possible. I would think it would be tough to get a good rebuild cheaper than a crate without building it yourself. The right mechanic or engine shop can rebuild an engine better than a stock...but i doubt it would run cheaper. There are certain things that mechanics know that the dealer techs dont do many times. The same can be said the other way. Im lucky to have a guy that is as good of a GM drivetrain mechanic as can be found.
Click to expand...

Is your mechanic close to Charlotte?
 

crittergitter

Ten Pointer
Hank said:
Some "So Called Mechanics" give us real Mechanics a bad name. If a vehicle is brought to me to be serviced, I drain the oil, remove the old oil filter, install a new Napa (AKA Wix) Filter, install the drain plug once it is down to a drip, not a slight stream, grease any zerk fitting on the vehicle, air up all the tires, spare include if I can get to it, top off the washer fluid, check and top off the antifreeze in the radiator and the overflow, check and add if needed transmission fluid, check and add power steering fluid, check and add brake fluid, install the correct type of oil, reinstall the oil cap, crank up the vehicle for 10 seconds, and check the oil level. We use a lot of Synthetic oil now since it's only $1.00 per quart more, (Napa Oil, which is Valvoline) put an oil sticker with 5K more miles than the odometer shows, well I round up or down usually, so if you have 73,765 miles on your ride, the sticker will read 79K. All this, for a 5 Quart system is done for $40.00. We use oil bottles, nothing out of a big drum that has who knows what in it. I also will check your belts and hoses. I think it is a service worth the money.
Click to expand...

And that Hank is why you have my business!
 

Colekira

Ten Pointer
Contributor
Sometimes they fill the coolant level in the reservoir and don't check the radiator. Sounds like you got shafted.
 

Hank

Old Mossy Horns
jenkinsnb said:
I'd be interested to know what color the smoke is. Are you sure it's white and not a blue or black? White is normally indicative of coolant entering the cylinder, whereas blue is typically oil. What year is the Tahoe? When was the last time you checked the oil and/or coolant level before TN? The guy you talked to sounds pretty much right on everything he told you. If it only smokes upon start up, I'd be suspect of some GM valve seals. If this is all overheating related, I doubt you can do anything about it. It may suck and a reputable shop would have checked the coolant level before you ever left, but that doesn't mean they're obligated to. They are only obligated to do what is charged out to you on your original invoice. If they never put on your invoice that they tampered with the cooling system in some way, I see no way for anything to hold up in court.
Click to expand...

That is a good post, especially the part about the color of the smoke. If you have white smoke, then the engine is trying to burn the coolant. Blue smoke is oil. If it is white, then that explains where your coolant is going and why you have no leaks on the exterior of the engine.
 

Hank

Old Mossy Horns
crittergitter said:
And that Hank is why you have my business!
Click to expand...

Thank you, I really appreciate your business, as well as your Alarm System "Family's" Business. ;)

Colekira said:
Sometimes they fill the coolant level in the reservoir and don't check the radiator. Sounds like you got shafted.
Click to expand...

If it is not an OBS Tahoe, then the reservoir is the only place to fill it. Those new LS Engines (In the Chevy Truck Family) do not have a Radiator with a cap on it.
 
D1RICH1

D1RICH1

Ten Pointer
jenkinsnb said:
I'd be interested to know what color the smoke is. Are you sure it's white and not a blue or black? White is normally indicative of coolant entering the cylinder, whereas blue is typically oil. What year is the Tahoe? When was the last time you checked the oil and/or coolant level before TN? The guy you talked to sounds pretty much right on everything he told you. If it only smokes upon start up, I'd be suspect of some GM valve seals. If this is all overheating related, I doubt you can do anything about it. It may suck and a reputable shop would have checked the coolant level before you ever left, but that doesn't mean they're obligated to. They are only obligated to do what is charged out to you on your original invoice. If they never put on your invoice that they tampered with the cooling system in some way, I see no way for anything to hold up in court.
Click to expand...

White smoke.
2004 Tahoe
5.3 L engine. Vortec 5300.
 

Hank

Old Mossy Horns
D1RICH1 said:
White smoke.
2004 Tahoe
5.3 L engine. Vortec 5300.
Click to expand...

White Smoke=Head Gasket or Cracked Block
It's Head Gaskets, seen it a few times before with those LS Engines. It's rare to see, but it does happen. As many of those LS Engines that is on the road, it doesn't happen often. Now, the question is, did you see any White Smoke before the Overheating occurred? If you did, then the Head Gaskets being blown is what caused the overheating. If you did not see any White Smoke until the Engine overheated, then the overheating is what caused the Head Gaskets to blow.

If this Tahoe was in my shop, I would pressure test it to see if it held pressure. If it did, then I would just remove the heads and send them to the machine shop to have them surfaced, checked for cracks, and to install new valve stem seals. If it did not hold pressure, then I would look for the exterior leak. Those engines had a tendency to leak from the Water Pump. You would not want to do a Head Job and still have a leak from the Water Pump, that could easily result into a freshly rebuilt top end that could overheat and if you are not lucky, ruin a major Head Job again and be right back to where you started from. There is a chance that the pressure test could not hold because of the blown head gaskets, but it would be nice to go ahead and eliminate an external leak before you tackle that large of a job.

If the Tahoe was mine, then I would do the Head Job and go ahead and put a new Water Pump in it while I am at it. I would also go ahead and order a new Thermostat, Upper, and Lower Radiator Hoses for it also. The Thermostat on those engines are built into the Water Pump, so for less than $250 additional, you would have just about everything in the Cooling System changed. The only thing left would be the Radiator, Reservoir, Heater Hoses, and the Heater Core.....that is it. These are not hard Vehicles to work on at all. Make sure to change the small O-Rings on the cross-over pipe that crosses-over from one head to the other. If you are real thorough, then I would changed the Knock Sensors and the Knock Sensor Harness while I had the Intake off of it, they are known to go bad on these Vehicles, but use the Delphi parts. I have changed Knock Sensors using the Napa Echlin brand and have the same Knock Sensor code come back on.

These Engines never have bottom end problems, the only problems I have seen is Water Pumps, Knock Sensors, the occasional Head Gaskets, and if it is equipped with the Cylinder Canceling Fuel Mileage Program, then I have seen those expensive lifters go bad on occasion. If this Tahoe is in decent shape and you are wanting to keep it for awhile, then I would do the Head Job, Water Pump, Knock Sensors, and Thermostat. Also, do not let your Mechanic short change you and just swap out Head Gaskets, make sure they send the heads to a Machine Shop, the heads need to be rebuilt (Surfaced, checked for cracks, Valve Job, and have new Valve Stem Seals installed). It is the proper way to do this job, and if your Mechanic is not willing to send the heads off to a Machine Shop, then you need to find you a new Mechanic.

I tried to be very thorough and explain the process in the case you are/were not very knowledgeable in Mechanics, please do not take that wrong.

Good Luck, and if you want to discuss this in more depth, let me know and I will pass on my phone number to you.

Hank
 
tarheelshooter

tarheelshooter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
^^^^^

Good write up there.
They did have some head cracking issues for a couple years...(2003-2005 I think). Google casttech heads and you will see what I mean. Actually did a set for another member on here on his Silverado.Unexplained coolant loss and low oil pressure at hot idle were the issues he was having. Never sw any white smoke from it but that could be a chicken/egg thing.
As Hank said,the bottom ends are usually bulletproof but have seen a few oil pump issues and some pickup tube o-ring issues for the oil pressure problems,but they are kind of rare.
 
D1RICH1

D1RICH1

Ten Pointer
Hank said:
White Smoke=Head Gasket or Cracked Block
It's Head Gaskets, seen it a few times before with those LS Engines. It's rare to see, but it does happen. As many of those LS Engines that is on the road, it doesn't happen often. Now, the question is, did you see any White Smoke before the Overheating occurred? If you did, then the Head Gaskets being blown is what caused the overheating. If you did not see any White Smoke until the Engine overheated, then the overheating is what caused the Head Gaskets to blow.

If this Tahoe was in my shop, I would pressure test it to see if it held pressure. If it did, then I would just remove the heads and send them to the machine shop to have them surfaced, checked for cracks, and to install new valve stem seals. If it did not hold pressure, then I would look for the exterior leak. Those engines had a tendency to leak from the Water Pump. You would not want to do a Head Job and still have a leak from the Water Pump, that could easily result into a freshly rebuilt top end that could overheat and if you are not lucky, ruin a major Head Job again and be right back to where you started from. There is a chance that the pressure test could not hold because of the blown head gaskets, but it would be nice to go ahead and eliminate an external leak before you tackle that large of a job.

If the Tahoe was mine, then I would do the Head Job and go ahead and put a new Water Pump in it while I am at it. I would also go ahead and order a new Thermostat, Upper, and Lower Radiator Hoses for it also. The Thermostat on those engines are built into the Water Pump, so for less than $250 additional, you would have just about everything in the Cooling System changed. The only thing left would be the Radiator, Reservoir, Heater Hoses, and the Heater Core.....that is it. These are not hard Vehicles to work on at all. Make sure to change the small O-Rings on the cross-over pipe that crosses-over from one head to the other. If you are real thorough, then I would changed the Knock Sensors and the Knock Sensor Harness while I had the Intake off of it, they are known to go bad on these Vehicles, but use the Delphi parts. I have changed Knock Sensors using the Napa Echlin brand and have the same Knock Sensor code come back on.

These Engines never have bottom end problems, the only problems I have seen is Water Pumps, Knock Sensors, the occasional Head Gaskets, and if it is equipped with the Cylinder Canceling Fuel Mileage Program, then I have seen those expensive lifters go bad on occasion. If this Tahoe is in decent shape and you are wanting to keep it for awhile, then I would do the Head Job, Water Pump, Knock Sensors, and Thermostat. Also, do not let your Mechanic short change you and just swap out Head Gaskets, make sure they send the heads to a Machine Shop, the heads need to be rebuilt (Surfaced, checked for cracks, Valve Job, and have new Valve Stem Seals installed). It is the proper way to do this job, and if your Mechanic is not willing to send the heads off to a Machine Shop, then you need to find you a new Mechanic.

I tried to be very thorough and explain the process in the case you are/were not very knowledgeable in Mechanics, please do not take that wrong.

Good Luck, and if you want to discuss this in more depth, let me know and I will pass on my phone number to you.

Hank
Click to expand...

Thanks Hank. Great info for me
 
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