Blasphemy...Chevy problems

[LEB Ben]

Alright guys...my girlfriends Brother has a 97 Blazer with the 4.3. He was driving to the mountains, all of a sudden the Blazer started to huck and buck and get jerky and started over heating. It spewed antifreeze all over the highway, he was close to the rest of the family, they called triple A and had the Blazer towed to the closest dealership. The dealership calls up today, apparently have no clue why the thing overheated in the first place, but claim it has burned up valves that's gonna run them $3,000. First off, $3,000 for a valve job is ridiculous. Secondly, as far as I'm told, it was a rather sudden overheating and the vehicle has never had problems before, I thought burning up valves was due to long term exposure to extreme heat, is it possible he did in fact burn up some valves in such a short amount of time? I was told after it had been sitting for a few minutes, the temp gauge read 260*...which is really high, but after sitting and pressure builds, is it really that high? I thought running temp on those things was 210-220*?



For the record, they're not leaving it there, a buddy of mine is gonna go pick it up and another buddy will probably do any and all work necessary.

 

[smokey]

Max operating temp is 250 degrees. The temp will increase after turning engine off due to no water flow.
I would guess a blown head gasket.

 

[flareside_thunder]

That should also have that crappy plastic/phenolic intake on it with the o-ring seals...they'reknown for going out too...cracking warping spewing.

 

[m78]

If the serpentine belt & tensioner freezes, it will over heat and shut down.
If you try to start it again you can bend the valves.
This happened to the GF's 4runner.

 

[Austin]

Uh, Ben, it's pronounced: Chevrolet.

 

[LEB Ben]

Thanks for the tips fellas. Gonna get it tomorrow and see what's actually going on. I called the guy and it went from $3,000 valve job to the engine blew and it'll be a $3500 replacement. I asked him how he came to that conclusion, he said 'well it overheated so you blew a head gasket and I'm pretty sure there were metal specs on the oil dip stick.' Same guy thought it was a tranny issue when it first rolled off the truck, judging by the fluid that was leaking. My girlfriends dad, who knows zilch about cars said, uhhh that's antifreeze. So we'll get it home and tear in to it.

 

[Fellro]

I would do a compression test before anything else. Head gasket is a possibility I am thinking, not exactly uncommon. I have never heard of a serpentine belt causing bent valves... Timing belt driven water pumps, yes, but never a serpentine driven water pump.

 

[LEB Ben]

I would do a compression test before anything else. Head gasket is a possibility I am thinking, not exactly uncommon. I have never heard of a serpentine belt causing bent valves... Timing belt driven water pumps, yes, but never a serpentine driven water pump.

Yeah...I'm not saying it's not a blown head gasket, but the only thing the guys has done is pulled the dip stick...so I'm wondering hor he keeps coming to these conclusions and why the conclusions keep changing. So I should be back around 5 tonight, and my buddy is gonna take a look at it.

 

[Fellro]

I'm also not saying it is a blown gasket,the only way to have an idea before doing a bunch of work is the test...

 

[73F100Shortbed]

My dad has a 99 Blazer and it did the overheating thing because of an anti-freeze leak at 80k miles I replaced the intake gaskets and fixed that, but then the engine went bad a few months later. Rebuilt from Jasper was around $2400 I think, but I installed it myself. $3000 for a valve job is just insane. It's good that you guys are going to look into it yourself.

 

[5.0]

Uh, Ben, it's pronounced: Chevrolet.

Lol, am I the only one that "got" this?

 

[LEB Ben]

My dad has a 99 Blazer and it did the overheating thing because of an anti-freeze leak at 80k miles I replaced the intake gaskets and fixed that, but then the engine went bad a few months later. Rebuilt from Jasper was around $2400 I think, but I installed it myself. $3000 for a valve job is just insane. It's good that you guys are going to look into it yourself.

Yeah...we probably won't even look at it until Monday. Seems like Bailee's dad is fine with going with a new engine if need be, because he wants it to last through college for Bailee's brother and figures he can't get anything better looking or will be more reliable for under 3k.

Lol, am I the only one that "got" this?

Because they went on that 'It's Chevrolet' kick?

 

[73F100Shortbed]

and figures he can't get anything better looking or will be more reliable for under 3k.

That makes sense. That's pretty much how my dad looked at it when deciding to fix his. They are pretty decent trucks. My Dad has had some stupid issues with his and he doesn't like it because it is small, but out of everything he looked at when he purchased it it was the most affordable thing at the time. Replacing the engine was a lot cheaper than finding something else.

 

[LEB Ben]

That makes sense. That's pretty much how my dad looked at it when deciding to fix his. They are pretty decent trucks. My Dad has had some stupid issues with his and he doesn't like it because it is small, but out of everything he looked at when he purchased it it was the most affordable thing at the time. Replacing the engine was a lot cheaper than finding something else.

Yeah...her dad's face about turned green when he heard 3-3500 for a fix. Then after talking to the 'mechanic' I got more stories from him than Dr. Seuss. So I told her dad we'd go get it and start in on it soon. My buddy says he'll do it top to bottom new everything for $3000, including labor. Now I'm not sure if he actually meant new or reman, but 3k for a new engine and labor is better than a 3k valve job...so Bailee's dad felt much better about that. And still nothing saying it'll need a new engine, at this point, for all I know it may have been a stuck thermostat. Either way, it sounds like the heads are the bulk expense, my bud said those aluminum heads are $1000-1500 alone.

 

[73F100Shortbed]

3k sounds like a good deal. Like I said above I think my father's engine was around $2400 from Jasper with a 3 year/100k warranty. We did check from the dealer for a price and it was the same price and was rebuilt, not new which was what I would have expected from buying from the dealer. Jasper came with oil pan and timing cover. GM engine did not. Also Jasper sold me an engine kit that had new filters, hoses, gaskets, tune-up stuff for around $200 which was a pretty good deal because it all came under the warranty. The only catch to the warranty was I had to put a new radiator in because of the GM coolant issues. Maybe you will luck out and it be something simple though.