Overheated '05. Failed leak down. Next steps?

Even though I was told 90 day parts and labor over the phone, the fine print in the contract said no labor warranty on used engines, transmissions, or something else… That said, they are making noises about taking care of it although I’m not sure if they will come all the way through in the end. I’m hoping that they do the right thing.

 

Maybe offer them half labor. That should cover their cost of labor. Even initially offer 1/3 labor.

 

I think HG if you can be sure it's that and nothing else more catastrophic happened -- it's not clear to me how someone would know without a big teardown?

I got my truck back today with the new (used) engine. I drove it 28 miles home and it was fine. I'm going to try to put a bunch more on tomorrow and, if good, drive back to CO on Saturday and Sunday ... nice and slow. My only issue at the moment is the driveshaft needs some work. I'm going to try to get that done tomorrow or continue using front wheel drive and address it in CO.

 

My STRONG recommendation is to get a OBD-II bluetooth doodad or a scanmate and watch your oil temp as you drive from this point forward. I know I will!

 

yes I have one and so far I primarily watch the coolant temp but need to fool with it and see what other key data points I should watch. thanks for the tip. crossing fingers.

 

I made it. I had about 80 miles before leaving town and drove the 1000 miles straight. Nice and slow. It took about 20 hours. The truck did great. I was worried in the cap rock area - Lubbock > Amarillo and into Raton as the outside temps were at 99 and I was basically on a slow incline. Temps just stayed in the 194-199 range - I was recording the entire time using the ODB-II with bluetooth connected to my phone glued onto the temps. It would creep up if I stopped and immediately drop back down once I started driving / moving again. The 2 big mountain passes were no problem at all. The outside temps were way down by then and I just tried keeping the RPMs low creeping up and over the passes. I spent the day yesterday re-wiring up the winch, compressor and lockers, fogs and other loose ends. All in all it was a great trip and this truck should get to enjoy the mountains around here for the foreseeable future. Maybe one Moab trip before the slopes open.

 

finally got to stretch the legs of the truck with the new engine. and found my camp spot for next weekend.

 

My shop did the right thing and bit the bullet. They did a head gasket job including resurfacing and got her all buttoned up. Drove 750 miles and no coolant consumption I could detect and no other issues. Phew! Once I get it home will do a thorough clean and decide what’s next.

 

phew! that is great to hear!

 

Thanks! Glad to see you up and running too!

I am still kind of shocked salvage engines get no testing before they get sold. Seems like a leak down test would be an easy thing to do. If I ever go down this road again I’d be asking more questions.

 

I am currently having the same issues and have pulled my motor. Did you ever tear down the old motor to see what happened?

-B

 

I didn't as my engine was so f'ed it wouldn't crank. The second engine they did a leak-down test and saw coolant in the cylinders.

 

Neither did we. The yard we got the salvage from wanted ours intact as the sore so we couldn't tear into it. Our leak down test was in the red across the 3 PS cylinders and and the coolant was flowing straight through the engine out the exhaust. So far so good on the 131k engine. I'm probably 1800 miles in at this point. Temps hover in that 185-195 range and I'm obsessed with watching the coolant levels.

 

EXACTLY!