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Oh man, am I screwed?

ghost recon88

ghost recon88

Diamond Member
So I bought a 98 Tahoe a week ago Friday, over the last 4 or 5 days I noticed I was losing coolant pretty regularly, enough to the point I would have to add up to half a gallon daily. Did an oil change yesterday after failing to find a leak with a pressure testing system, well there was an extra 2 quarts of coolant in the oil when I drained it....

That was pretty much my worst fear, now here's where it gets interesting. I just bought this used from a dealer a week ago, however there was no warranty on it from their end. I'm gonna call the guy who sold it to me tomorrow and see what he says, as I'm sure the head gasket or manifold intake gasket was leaking/bad when he sold it to me. Anyone have any idea on the course of action I should take? I'm gonna call the BBB and see what they say, if I actually have any legal ground to stand on. I've never been in this situation before, and honestly I'm a little worried about what to do.

Also, since there wasn't any white smoke coming out of the exhaust I think I caught the leak "fairly early". What are the chances it's only the intake manifold gasket, vs. the head gasket? On Wednesday I did a full radiator flush as I had to replace the thermostat, and it appears dexcool was in there before the flush and the motor has 155k on it.

After looking around, I found this. Think I should contact the salesman, or jump straight to the manager?
 
AFAIK if they represented that the car was in working order and didn't mention a flaw that they should have known about, then you may have a course of action. Michigan actually has very, very good consumer protection laws (except in the case of medicines).
 
As part of the sales process most places will have you sign a document that says the car is As Is Where Is, making legal action difficult and likely to be unsuccessful. I'd go to the dealer and see what they say. If they made enough profit off you they may be likely to spend some of that profit on a repair, or you may be able to undo the deal and get your money back. I'd try and at least start out non-confrontational and friendly, if you go in pissed off it can make them push back harder. If they're not interested in helping then you can try making more of a stink, and get the BBB involved (although they're frequently not helpful).
 
Dealer is 1.5 hours away, so I'm not driving this vehicle over there and risking further damage unless I know for sure they are going to do something about it. Hence why I'm just going to call. Do you think I should directly call the guy who sold it to me, or his manager?
 
It's a 14 year old vehicle with 155k on it and you bought it as-is with no warranty.

Tough luck. Drain the oil out and tow it to your favorite mechanic and fix it or sell it as-is.
 
A 1998 vehicle with 155K on the clock? I think you are wasting your time calling the dealer. Either try to sell it or fix it if you want to keep it. Those seem to be your only choices at this point.
 
Yea that's what I'm starting to think. Just wish there was some case I'd have since he sold it with the gasket leak, and there was no way I could tell without changing the oil myself at the dealership 🙁 There was no white smoke or anything, and I'm sure they topped off the coolant before selling it to me.
 
If the truck is equipped with the 4.3L V-6 engine, the rear seal for the intake manifold leaking coolant after time is a well known issue. Had that happen with our Blazer with the 4.3....started out as a very slow disappearance of coolant, which never leaked into the oil but instead externally, and ended with the gasket/seal letting loose with a burst of steam. Luckily, I was only a mile from the house and had a gal. of water, so after letting it cool for a few minutes, put the gal. of water into the rad and limped home, trailing water behind.
 
ghost recon88 said:
So I bought a 98 Tahoe a week ago Friday, over the last 4 or 5 days I noticed I was losing coolant pretty regularly, enough to the point I would have to add up to half a gallon daily. Did an oil change yesterday after failing to find a leak with a pressure testing system, well there was an extra 2 quarts of coolant in the oil when I drained it....

That was pretty much my worst fear, now here's where it gets interesting. I just bought this used from a dealer a week ago, however there was no warranty on it from their end. I'm gonna call the guy who sold it to me tomorrow and see what he says, as I'm sure the head gasket or manifold intake gasket was leaking/bad when he sold it to me. Anyone have any idea on the course of action I should take? I'm gonna call the BBB and see what they say, if I actually have any legal ground to stand on. I've never been in this situation before, and honestly I'm a little worried about what to do.

Also, since there wasn't any white smoke coming out of the exhaust I think I caught the leak "fairly early". What are the chances it's only the intake manifold gasket, vs. the head gasket? On Wednesday I did a full radiator flush as I had to replace the thermostat, and it appears dexcool was in there before the flush and the motor has 155k on it.

After looking around, I found this. Think I should contact the salesman, or jump straight to the manager?
Click to expand...

I am not a lawyer but have dealt with something similar before so take this AS IS (pun intended):

If your car is sold as-is and did not disclose the fact that the engine was bad, you will have to prove in court that the dealer purposely misrepresented the car.

That would be almost impossible to do unless you find the original owner and get him or her to provide a statement or show up in court with you.

If you want to get it fixed, you better make sure to ask the mechanic to check if anything else is damaged, like bearings, pistons, and rods otherwise you'll end up with replacing the engine AFTER repairing it.
 
Is there any external leak at all? If I remember correctly the 98s had plastic intake manifolds that had problems sealing. A friend's dad had this problem. It is possible for the leak to be into the internals of the engine also so that would explain the milkshake. It might be worth the time and a set of intake gaskets to find out. You could be lucky and the intake is the only problem. The gaskets are cheap.
 
Did you check the fluids or take it to a mechanic before you bought it? If they did a fresh oil change and topped it off with coolant, it may have been tough to detect. But if you say it is leaking that much coolant into the oil, it should have shown up on the dipstick.

And it should be a 350ci V-8. I think that's all they put in the Tahoes back then.....
 
If its the intake gasket thats not hard to replace, head gaskets are a little harder but still not the end of the world to do yourself. I would take this as a learning experiance and always have a certified mechanic check any used vehicles you buy in the future.
 
Well it was bought from a Chevy dealer, who claimed they did an inspection beforehand as well as changed all the fluids. However upon changing the oil myself, it's obvious they didn't do any fluid changing and probably never even inspected it (there was a pack of cigs slide down between the front seats). Yes it is the 5.7L Vortec 350. I still have the e-mails where he told me the mechanics said there was nothing wrong with it, other than small seeps and the front rotors/breaks needing replacing in the next year. Obviously a leaking head gasket is a bit bigger problem then "small seeps".

I called the salesman today, he said he would talk to his boss then call me back today or tomorrow. Didn't seem like he was angry or pissed, so maybe this will turn out alright. Best case scenarios (in my opinion) is they just cover part of the repair bill so I can take it to a guy I trust and have him do the install. I don't think any coolant was getting in the cylinders, as the motor still ran smooth and there was no white smoke in the exhaust, nor any burning coolant smell coming from it. Only way I would have been able to tell there was a leaky head gasket before buying would have been to have them change the oil right in front of me. I'm sure they say the coolant was low and topped it off right before I got there for the test drive.
 
i have $10 on intake manifold gaskets. ive done 2-3 of them its a Known weak spot on those 5.7L engines. its a solid weekend project but the avg person with moderate wrenching experence can do!
 
ghost recon88 said:
Only way I would have been able to tell there was a leaky head gasket before buying would have been to have them change the oil right in front of me. I'm sure they say the coolant was low and topped it off right before I got there for the test drive.
Click to expand...

Did the oil on the dipstick look OK when you bought the car?
 
I would tend to agree with the intake manifold gaskets. GM had issues when they first came out with plastic intake manifolds and the original gaskets were a plastic based design. Plus on some cars they routed the EGR through the manifold, causing a lot of heat build up. Later revisions of the gasket are a metallic based, instead of plastic and revised intake manifolds are beefed up to handle the EGR heat. You can do this yourself and it would be wise to flush the coolant system and also flush the engine oil, then refill with coolant and good quality oil and new filter. May as well do Tstat, pressure cap and hoses while it is all apart.
More info here:

http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forum/.../177290-intake-manifold-leak-common-5-7l.html
 
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If you bought this private party I would say tough luck... do better research and pay for a PPI next time.

However, being that you bought it from a dealer, I'd be pissed. Part of the reason you pay more by going to a dealer is that you have a reasonable expectation that the vehicle is in good order - particularly since it's a GM dealer, not a random 'side of the road' sort of place.

I would go into this asking them to cover the entire repair. Make a point that you bought the vehicle "in good faith" (use those exact words...). Be positive, and truly 'expect' them to pay for it rather than try to 'argue' with them to pay for it.
 
jagec said:
Did the oil on the dipstick look OK when you bought the car?
Click to expand...

Black2na said:
the o-rings in the gaskets love to go and my years of experence with them. its a really common issue. its possible but way more rare for it to actully be a HG
Click to expand...

Happened to my 87 Blazer years ago.

Antifreeze in the crankcase is really bad, if it was run for more than a couple minutes or sat without draining it could mess up the bearings in the engine. Happened to my blazer about 6 months after fixing it (Intake gasket), pop, engine dies, won't crank, engine seized.

Edit: Antifreeze is very corrosive.
 
Doublejr said:
Happened to my 87 Blazer years ago.

Antifreeze in the crankcase is really bad, if it was run for more than a couple minutes or sat without draining it could mess up the bearings in the engine. Happened to my blazer about 6 months after fixing it (Intake gasket), pop, engine dies, won't crank, engine seized.

Edit: Antifreeze is very corrosive.
Click to expand...

Dang :\ If I pay someone to replace the gaskets, is that something they can check? The bearings that is. Coolant has been leaking for at least 300 miles (the amount of miles I put on the car), obviously I'm not sure how long it was leaking before that.
 
ghost recon88 said:
Dang :\ If I pay someone to replace the gaskets, is that something they can check? The bearings that is. Coolant has been leaking for at least 300 miles (the amount of miles I put on the car), obviously I'm not sure how long it was leaking before that.
Click to expand...

The only way to check the bearings is to drop the crank.
 
the ones i have done had similar issues one was full of that nice oil-coolant sludge! did the manifold gaskets. changed the oil ran it for a little bit at idle let it come up to temp and then did another oil change to make sure most of it was gone we used cheap oil. truck was fine i wouldnt be to concerned about it.
 
HarryLui said:
It's a 14 year old vehicle with 155k on it and you bought it as-is with no warranty.

Tough luck. Drain the oil out and tow it to your favorite mechanic and fix it or sell it as-is.
Click to expand...

This. Unfortunately. Being a dealer they might help you out to protect their reputation though.

I would definitely try the intake gasket fix with an extra oil change or two, like black2na suggests.
 
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