My Truck's engine blew on the way to MCACN... - Page 4

njsteve · #31 12-07-2013, 01:21 AM

Update today. They drained the pan: oil and water in pan was completely separated - no milkshake. They changed the oil & filter and then removed the glow plugs and cranked it and coolant was coming out of several cylinders on both sides. Not a good sign unless it blew both head gaskets simultaneously. The heads come off next week so we should know if it is head gaskets or time for a new engine.

Best price so far for the new AM General 6.5 long block PN 88894125 is $6,362.55 with free shipping and no core charge. 3 year, 100,000 mile warranty from GM. Anyone have a better deal?

P.S. I can't understand why some GM dealers try to charge a core charge when it's a brand new engine and they will not be using the core. I guess it's just a scam because they know you won't waste several hundred dollars to ship an 500 lb long block back, that they will just say is unusable anyway and will then refuse to refund your core $.

twertsy · #32 12-07-2013, 11:29 AM

Didn't do a ton of reading on their site but these appear to be some pretty good prices.....

John · #33 12-07-2013, 01:20 PM

.... You might want to check this out....

1996 K2500 with low miles

..... [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

njsteve · #34 12-07-2013, 02:33 PM

I want to stay away from remanufactured engines as they can only use the existing (and risky) cores out there. To add to that risk is the fact that the vast majority of "new" blocks and heads that these rebuilders use, are counterfeits of the AmGen block, cast in China and are notoriously failure prone.

Plus if you google that company in NY, you get a nightmare of bad rebuild stories and un-honored warranties...

twertsy · #35 12-07-2013, 03:07 PM

Well Steve, certainly sounds like you don't need anymore nightmares! Best of luck with the swap! BTW, love the stories on your cars. Unbelievable historical data on all of them, it's a joy to read.

njsteve · #36 12-07-2013, 05:32 PM

Thanks for the morale support [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

I keep accidentally leaving the TV on Overhauling episodes, as a hint to my kids to call Chip Foose. But so far they haven't taken the bait.

twertsy · #37 12-07-2013, 10:13 PM

My 67 bird which I have had since I was 15 in '82 could use some "Foose Love" as well. I'll get to her someday....

njsteve · #38 12-09-2013, 07:25 PM

Driver's side head is off and the head gasket is blown out right at the back by the coolant passage, in the regular spot where the 6.5's tend to blow them out. The other head is coming off today or tomorrow. The diesel tech was quite complimentary on how clean the inside of the engine was from 18 years of frequent oil changes.

He also noted how clean the #7 cylinder was from the brief amount of time the water was steam-cleaning the chamber - it removed any carbon residue. The bores all looked nice with the cross hatching still very evident in the cylinder walls.

twertsy · #39 12-10-2013, 09:41 AM

Looking good so far. You may get away with this one cheap!

njsteve · #40 12-11-2013, 05:40 PM

The passenger side head was removed and head gasket was OK. The diesel tech said that the coolant was only coming out of the driver's side rear cylinder. So they are replacing both head gaskets, head bolts sets, water pump, (since it's the original one), etc., and reassembling everything. Might be back on the road next week. (Fingers crossed)