Scorcher Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I own a 1994 Firebird. It has been a good car the only major repair in 14 years was an alternator. There were several window motors but other than that no major repairs. It's a 6 cylinder 5 speed clutch and a lot of fun to drive. Driving 4 wks ago the check gauges light comes on and I look and my car is overheating. I manage to pull over and get it turned off before it redlines. I call AAA and get it towed home. The next day I check the coolant and water and it is low, but there are no leaks under the car. I fill the coolant and water and drive it to a highly recommended gas station -garage,tell them the problem and leave it. I call at the end of the day. They say they don't see a problem---coolant is full, thermostat works Car is not overheating. I pick up car drive home and it overheats. Take it back. They call me say it is fixed. Charge $139.00 to replace thermostat!!!! Drive car home it's fine. 2nd day it overheats. Take it to trusted mechanic, tell him it already has a new thermostat. He calls me tells me leak is internal and there is a big puddle of water in timing gear box. Need to replace timing gears. Replaces timing gears, new water pump, new radiator cap, total bill $883.00. Take it home, drive to work next day, car overheats. Take it back to trusted mechanic, he puts new thermostat in no charge. Drive to work no problem. On the way home car starts to get hot and then there is no power when I shift gears. Take back to trusted mechanic, he saya I need a new car, either cracked block or blown head gasket. Shouldn't somebody have noticed this before I paid all that money. This all transpired during a 4 wk period. Please huddler mechanics, tell me what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aqualung Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 My guess off the bat would have been the blown head gasket. Put these new cars (once the computers were installed) have me completely befuddled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Puddy should be along soon to answer your question... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Calling tbimm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zooty Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I had a Subaru with a bad head gasket. Was slowly losing coolant and similar problems but no leak. No puddle, no evidence of losing coolant because it was leaking into/onto the motor and evaporating. Luckily my mechanic realized and didn't replace the thermostat as I thought he would. He had checked the heads first. You could try to get your money back from your mechanics by pushing the fact that they failed to fix the actual problem and repaired stuff that wasn't broken but you know how that will go.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I own a 1994 Firebird. It has been a good car the only major repair in 14 years was an alternator. There were several window motors but other than that no major repairs. It's a 6 cylinder 5 speed clutch and a lot of fun to drive. Driving 4 wks ago the check gauges light comes on and I look and my car is overheating. I manage to pull over and get it turned off before it redlines. I call AAA and get it towed home. The next day I check the coolant and water and it is low, but there are no leaks under the car. I fill the coolant and water and drive it to a highly recommended gas station -garage,tell them the problem and leave it. I call at the end of the day. They say they don't see a problem---coolant is full, thermostat works Car is not overheating. I pick up car drive home and it overheats. Take it back. They call me say it is fixed. Charge $139.00 to replace thermostat!!!! Drive car home it's fine. 2nd day it overheats. Take it to trusted mechanic, tell him it already has a new thermostat. He calls me tells me leak is internal and there is a big puddle of water in timing gear box. Need to replace timing gears. Replaces timing gears, new water pump, new radiator cap, total bill $883.00. Take it home, drive to work next day, car overheats. Take it back to trusted mechanic, he puts new thermostat in no charge. Drive to work no problem. On the way home car starts to get hot and then there is no power when I shift gears. Take back to trusted mechanic, he saya I need a new car, either cracked block or blown head gasket. Shouldn't somebody have noticed this before I paid all that money. This all transpired during a 4 wk period. Please huddler mechanics, tell me what you think. A couple of things you can look for to find a blown head gasket. 1. With the engine cold, fill it all the way up with water. In the radiator not the overflow tank. Leave the radiator cap off and start the car. If water starts to push out of the radiator in less than a min it is probably blown. Warning, depending on the severity of the gasket leak it may be like old faithful when you start the car so you may not want to do this in your driveway or garage. 2. After running the car for a few minutes shut it off and take a look at the oil dipstick. If it looks like you dipped it in chocolate milk then it is blown. Beyond that you would need to be able to test for exhaust gasses in the cooling system or do a cylinder leakdown test to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I had a Subaru with a bad head gasket. Was slowly losing coolant and similar problems but no leak. No puddle, no evidence of losing coolant because it was leaking into/onto the motor and evaporating. Luckily my mechanic realized and didn't replace the thermostat as I thought he would. He had checked the heads first. You could try to get your money back from your mechanics by pushing the fact that they failed to fix the actual problem and repaired stuff that wasn't broken but you know how that will go.... A cylinder head gasket will almost never go bad without first having another problem with the cooling system resulting in overheating. It is possible that they solved his original problem and overlooked the resulting damage. That is exactlky what they will tell him regardless of the circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorcher Posted July 6, 2007 Author Share Posted July 6, 2007 (edited) I had a Subaru with a bad head gasket. Was slowly losing coolant and similar problems but no leak. No puddle, no evidence of losing coolant because it was leaking into/onto the motor and evaporating. Luckily my mechanic realized and didn't replace the thermostat as I thought he would. He had checked the heads first. You could try to get your money back from your mechanics by pushing the fact that they failed to fix the actual problem and repaired stuff that wasn't broken but you know how that will go.... Exactly! I think the mechanics didn't know the problem and they should have just said that instead of guessing and ultimately ruining my car! As far as getting my money back I have no hope ---it's like getting a Doctor to criticize another one. Groups that police themselves leave no hope for the layman. Edited July 6, 2007 by Scorcher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle LawDawg Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 (edited) My guess off the bat would have been the blown head gasket. +1 Of course I just had that happen with my jeep a few years back. I got a new head machined and the jeep is still running. It's got quite a bit of "character" but it still runs. Edited July 6, 2007 by Seattle LawDawg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 A cylinder head gasket will almost never go bad without first having another problem with the cooling system resulting in overheating. It is possible that they solved his original problem and overlooked the resulting damage. That is exactlky what they will tell him regardless of the circumstances. What tbimm said. We had an Olds stationwagon a while back and went thru a similiar experience. The good news is we got the heads planed and after I put it back together the monster ran great for a few more years. F'n cars. Always sucking the money out of ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 (edited) Take back to trusted mechanic, he saya I need a new car, either cracked block or blown head gasket You can get it fixed or fix it yourself. The head gasket is nothing but a simple piece for a few bucks. It's getting to it and dealing with the water in the engine that costs you money, but it is repairable if you love the car. I would've done it for my ole '87 Firebird my neice totaled and did replace the head gasket for the '94 Vette. It's not a cheap repair if you pay someone to do the top-end, but it's cheaper than a new car and the engine should run great afterwards. Go ahead and get the cylinder work done while he's there as well. You should get another 100k out of the engine afterwards. Edited July 6, 2007 by TimC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 A cylinder head gasket will almost never go bad without first having another problem with the cooling system resulting in overheating. It is possible that they solved his original problem and overlooked the resulting damage. That is exactlky what they will tell him regardless of the circumstances. This has been my experience. I went through thousands in repair before they did a compression test and found the head problem. When I asked why they didn't do that to start with, they claimed that the problem must have happened on the most recent overheat . How convenient. I replaced 2 radiators, thermostat, water pump... Nasty. On my piece of crap car, the heads were machined, but still didn't work right. I had to get rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I think that your car actually committed suicide because it felt so guilty for causing all of that global warming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I think that your car actually committed suicide because it felt so guilty for causing all of that global warming. Well first it pulled a little extortion then it committed suicide. Is there a purgatory for cars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage Beatings Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Well first it pulled a little extortion then it committed suicide. Is there a purgatory for cars? Yep... it's actually the same place as human purgatory... Detroit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Yep... it's actually the same place as human purgatory... Detroit. Dont let Puddy see this. trust me it wont end well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 It was sad and depressed the way the car market has turned out with a bunch of ugly people driving ugly foreign cars that all look alike and have no flair or style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 F'n cars. Always sucking the money out of ya. You should buy a boat! ... or get married. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Yep... it's actually the same place as human purgatory... Detroit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 You should buy a boat! ... or get married. My beat friend owns TWO boats, one a bass boat and the other a party barge. Sometimes he just goes out in his yard and throws money at them. At least i get sex once a year from the bride. Horses can cost a pretty penny too. But at least you can feed them to your dogs when they're done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 My beat friend owns TWO boats, one a bass boat and the other a party barge. Sometimes he just goes out in his yard and throws money at them. At least i get sex once a year from the bride. Horses can cost a pretty penny too. But at least you can feed them to your dogs when they're done. This post reminds me of a horse. His name was Barbaro. I hardly knew him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Yep... it's actually the same place as human purgatory... Detroit. Did the Cardinal of Detroit say that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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