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motor shot in 2002 Z-66 5.3 liter

B

Bowtie fan

Full Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Messages
10
Location
Northern KY
:E:
I have approx. 57,000 miles on my 2002 Z-66 Avalanche and have had a major blow to my Avalanche. I was coming home from my son's basketball game and heard some slight pinging, I assumed it was cheap gas so I kept driving. The highest speed I could reach on the interstate was 45 MPH when the speed limit is 65 MPH. I told my son that something was wrong and hopefully we make it home (outside temperature 18 degrees, not great weather to be walking in). We made it to our exit and the truck died at the top of the ramp. So I tell my son to get behind the wheel and I'll push him to the gas station lot. I call the dealership and they come and tow the truck in to find out what is going on. More to follow in the next post
 
So they call me and tell me that the 1,3,5,7 have little or no compression that the engine is shot. They tell me that they can tear it apart and if they detect it is neglect on my part that I'm responsible for 100% of the cost to repair but if they don't find any neglect or sludge in the motor that Chevrolet would pay 50% of the cost and then I'm responsible for the balance.
Has anybody else had similar problems or does this offer sound fair???
In my opinion Chevrolet should be liable for the entire bill if it is due to a faulty part.
 
Bowtie,

Are you sure you aren't a F#$d dealer. ;)

I hate that your first post had to be about a bad experience. Let us know what the problem ends up being.

Rex
 
SO are you saying the motor is toast for sure or you lost power and it stopped running and are not sure what happened?

this could be any of a whole bunch of things.....

Tranny, ignition, fuel, fuel filter, computer controls and/or sensor etc etc

PLease keep us updated......and Good Luck
 
Rex,
I'll post the results after I get them. I am a diehard Chevy Man so there is no chance of being a Turd driver, I mean FORD driver.
 
Well because the warrany is 36000 miles, assuming that you have not bought an extended warranty, I don't see how they can or would make this offer! It they offer to pay half of the cost you better believe that i would take them up on it!

Butch
 
Bowtie fan said:
So they call me and tell me that the 1,3,5,7 have little or no compression that the engine is shot. They tell me that they can tear it apart and if they detect it is neglect on my part that I'm responsible for 100% of the cost to repair but if they don't find any neglect or sludge in the motor that Chevrolet would pay 50% of the cost and then I'm responsible for the balance.
Has anybody else had similar problems or does this offer sound fair???
In my opinion Chevrolet should be liable for the entire bill if it is due to a faulty part.
Click to expand...
LOL at Turd. I agree wholeheartedly.

Since you aren't under warranty I'd check to see what anotehr good reputable mechanic tells you. It could be you could get it fixed for less than what the GM shop will charge you at their high per hour rate. Maybe a blown gaskwt since it is the lost compression on only the one side.
I can fix, but I suck at diagnosing :p
 
I'm assuming the dealer has elimated the possible relay in the engine compartment fuse box has being the culprit? There are three gray shape relay in the fuse box (white printed numbers 3614). Two of them control the injectors and related components. One for ODD and other for Even firing. These relays are located side by side (next to each other).

Edward
 
Any chance you mixed Diesel in the gas? Or was it hot when it pinged?
Damn! that's weird; 57K is just brokin in! ???
 
If they know what cylinders lost compression, then you could ask them why they did not do a leak down test on those cylinders. The leak down test would tell you what component is causing the compression loss, i.e. piston, rings, valves, etc.
 
Since it's 1-3-5-7 with minimal compression, right away that screams head gasket or loss of head seal for another reason. Did the truck start to run hot?

Secondly, at 57K you are 21K out of warranty, regardless of defective part or not. Expecting them to pay 1% is out of line, expecting them to pay 100% is just plain arrogant IMO. Their offer of 50% falls under "goodwill", but they gave themselves the great out for "neglect". Do you have documented maintenance per the manufacturer specs? If not, you're out of gas there on any battle with them when they deny any claim.

Since you're out of warranty, I'd suggest it be looked at by an independent shop/mechanic, and focus on the driver's side head.
 
sperry said:
Any chance you mixed Diesel in the gas? Or was it hot when it pinged?
Damn! that's weird; 57K is just brokin in! ???
Click to expand...
The truck temperature was about 210.
No chance that I put Diesel in it, the pinging started to happen a couple days prior to the shutdown. It would only happen while I was on the interstate and would go to pass a vehicle, the speed would be between 65- 75. As soon as it would start the pinging, I slowed back down. The dealership said when they start the truck and remove the oil fill cap it looks like an old steam engine. I asked them if he thought it was a blown head gasket and he said no that they did the wet test and several other test and even ran the scope into the cylinder and didn't see damage to the cylinder.

There is some history of bad service from the dealership I bought the truck from so I think that Chevrolet is attempting to make an attempt to satisfy us and keep us driving Chevy's. I took it to a dealership that is about 10 miles from my house since I was very disappointed in the service I received from the dealership I purchased the vehicle from. The delership I bought the truck from said that I had to have it towed to their location about 50 miles away from my house or Chevrolet would not pay anything because they are the only one that can service the truck. I also would have to pay the current dealership the cost for the diagnostic testing and towbill then they would need to run the same diagnostic testing there.
 
Wel I hope that you motor is not shot...........but if it is maybe it is time for a REAL MOD! You know GM has these great crate engines.............. And I have never seen a 502 in a Avalanche.........you could be the first!

Butch
 
That absolutely sucks, sorry to hear it! The only thing that sucks worse is the 36K warranty. I wonder why they would offer to pay for repair, unless there is something floating around within the GM organization regarding this exact problem being a manufacturing fault on certain engine ID's or something of that nature? You know, something like the IBM Deskstar (deathstar) drives that had a horrid return rate, which IBM knew was a fault in their design, yet still sold them to OEM's anyway.
 
Sounds to me like a clogged fuel filter or ECU prob could of caused the pinging, since it wasn't running hot. Unless your 210 was really 260? You should have never continued to drive the truck(for 2 day's ??? ) with it pinging badly. I'd take it to an independent as I'm betting BIGTIME that they will find neglect and stick you with a HUGE bill. I'm guessing at least $5000.

I had a 2000 GMC ext cab that the oil pump bypass valve failed on at 59,000 miles. This was a well documented defect that GM wouldn't pay for. Dealer's comment, "one of the cleanest engines internally we've seen". GM "no proof of oil changes". Me"I have a full documented log and receipts for Valvoline and AC filters". GM "we don't care". Me "even though everybody agree's the engine is spotless and well maintained?" GM "yep". This truck was showroom in and out! :E:

Dealer offered to fix it for $400 total(stupid me didn't get it in writing). Truck was to be fixed in 1-2 day's, a week later, with an approaching snowstorm, the truck was ready. Oh, the bill, OVER $800. GM would do nothing for me. They strung me along for several day's but in the end said since I didn't take it to the dealer for service, F off. Nice, huh. :E:

My only complaint was that this was a known defect in the pre 2000 5.3's. GM wouldn't do ANYTHING. I was just looking for some help on parts or labor. That dealer screwed me on every part charging 30% more than full GM retail. I could have bought the parts from a buddy who's a Parts Mngr for a GMC dealer, for 1/3 the price. Hell GM Parts Direct was 1/3 cheaper. The labor was nearly double what quoted as well. They knew exactly what they were doing. Silly me.

I even swore off GM and nearly bought the new F150. Those dam rebates are why I bought the Av. Of course I like the AV a whole lot better than the F*%D now. :B: But, if I have another experience like that, I won't buy another GM product after having owned them for 20 years.

Good luck
 
I felt the same way at GM, especially after total stupididy and inability to fix an obvious problem right the first through the 5th time with my S-10; at least they honored the warranty way past it's expiration.
BUT, I've heard horror stories with DOGED and DORF too. (Did I spell those right? >:D)
Toyota: Never fixed three simple problems - since new through 92000Mi.
Honda: right on the ball; even replaced the entire car!! :eek:
 
Just curious, did you ever have any indications of the dreaded Cold Start Knock/Pistion Slap?
 
PUNISHER said:
that sucks. my '02 i traded in had some pinging going on as well. another reason i got rid of it.
Click to expand...
I too dumped my AV-2002 Z-66 for ill will sounds coming from the engine. My piston slap was BAD! I got to 04 adn am happy, but intodays day and age I think I am only going to keep vehicles as long as they are under warranty adn no longer. Sucks to be me (my choice I know) by always having some sort of car payment!

BUT, I do not ever wish to have to experience this disaster.
As for the 50% offer. That is good faith on my read so I would take it.

My opinions only
 
Update as of 1/23/2004 5:45 PM eastern timezone

I was suppossed to hear back from Chevrolet by 10:00 AM eastern time on 1/22/2004, the specialist that took the initial report promised that she would call us back after she talked to the service department at the dealership. I spoke with the service dept. at 9:45 AM and he told me what they had found thusfar but they really could not narrow down what happened that they have never had a problem with the 5.3 motor except the piston slap at startup. He then said that we had to wait until the Chevrolet specialist called me to discuss what the options were. Waited and waited and waited no call so my wife calls her and she says that she hasn't talked with the service department yet but she would call us after talking to them. My wife then calls me and tells me this and I told her that the girl from Chevrolet lied because I talked to the service department @ the dealership and he told me he talked to her. So my wife calls the specialist back and they say that she is away from her phone but they would give her the message and she would call back before 1:30 PM on 1/23/2004 eastern time zone. So no more contact from this specialist, once again another lie. I spoke with the service department and told them to go ahead and tear the engine down and find out what went wrong, whether it was a faulty part or neglect on my end. Remember they originally told me if it is determined to be neglect on my end then I'm totally responsible but as long as there is no sludge in the engine or other signs of neglect that they would pay 50% of the cost. I got this funny feeling that the way things have been going that I should be getting a big jar of Vaseline ready because I'm going to get SCREWED on this. Everything has been documented on our end so I'm preparing to write the CEO & Chairman G. Richard Wagoner, Jr.
I'll update next week after hearing back from the service department.
 
You don't have to do this alone, don't forget. If you need to blow off steam then do it here and get our input before you go off on the dealer. There is no situation that can't be made worse by being a jerk, so just be a great guy and your chances of a decent resolution will increase. We will help you, too! (y)
 
Fun Guy said:
You don't have to do this alone, don't forget. If you need to blow off steam then do it here and get our input before you go off on the dealer. There is no situation that can't be made worse by being a jerk, so just be a great guy and your chances of a decent resolution will increase. We will help you, too! (y)
Click to expand...
That myt friend is SO, SO true-
Be nice untill it is not time to be nice- Then, get a lawyer! >:D
 
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