Minnesota Waterfowl Hunting

I know, wrong forum I just need to vent a little. I have an 04 Silverado that I just found out has the cracked coolant leaking Castech heads. Bought the truck just over 3 years ago. I wish I would have known this existed when I bought the stupid thing. My mechanic told informed me how common this is in 2001-2006 vortecs but GM keeps telling me this is rare when ask them if there is a program or any type of help out there to deal with this. I can replace both heads for $3k or get a whole new warrantied engine for $7.5k. And I have had no luck with getting any assistance at from GM. I can't believe that GM won't stand behind their products when they know damn well these heads are faulty. Yes, I know the truck has 165k miles on it. I just can't fathom putting $7.5k into this truck. Any one else dealt with this before, have any suggestions?

I've got a 2000 Old Alero with 250K miles. Looks and runs average. I'd like to get $1,500 out of it, but it's yours for a grand cause you're a member. I'm home tonight and tomorrow after 4. Let me know when you want to pick it up.

Probably what I should do. How many more months does that buy me before hunting season? What the hell am I going to do with my truck, sell it for parts?

What manufacturer would warranty an engine repair on a truck with 165k miles and is 13 years old? Just curious....cuz i'm buying that one next.

Bullet21XD wrote:What manufacturer would warranty an engine repair on a truck with 165k miles and is 13 years old? .

One that wouldn't be in business very long.......

I get the complaint. 200k miles should be a fair expectation without major rework, particularly on a truck.

But a decade after the issue is a challenge.

How long do you plan on keeping it?

Wth the new engine and a new transmission in the next 75,000 miles I'd think you'd be good through 2024.

Just the way it goes these days, most manufacturers end up having well known problems down the road. Theres a reason they dropped down to a 60,000 mile powertrain warranty on most new vehicles sold. A lot of it you can thank the EPA for, making car manufacturers implement untested/unproven technology to eek every mpg possible out of vehicles and let the customer deal with whatever comes up issue wise.

If I were you, I'd put the money into the heads if you think its a solid vehicle otherwise. You will be back to even after a year if you were to have a payment on a new vehicle. That's the way I always look at it at least.

No idea about those heads, but it seams odd both are cracked and leaking. If only 1 is cracked that should cut the bill in half, I'd assume. And unless the heads were removed and pressure tested there's no way to know for sure its not just a bad head gasket, unless it can be seen leaking out the side of the head, then that's different. So its possible you might only need 1 head, or even just a gasket.

Have you looked into a used motor from a junk yard? You could probably replace the motor with a used one cheaper than doing just the heads on yours. $7.5 K is a lot of money to put into an older truck.

If you're upside down on your loan your SOL. Fix it and run it... sell it when you can and start fresh. I've repaired more vehicles than I care to admit... all (ford chev and dodge) have had major issues.... I had to pay out of pocket for a new tranny at 75k on a ford, head gaskets and a rearend on a chev, tranny/torque converter on dodge.... that's not all, just a brief overview... they all suck. Toyota and nissan 1/2 tons don't seem to have the same "merican vehicle" issues....