BIG BIG problem with my Rodeo

I have a 2002 Isuzu Rodeo that has 68,000 miles on it. I got it on a Wednesday, drove it from Virginia to Tennessee and back over the weekend, a total of about 500 miles and then on Monday - five days after I got it, it overheated.
I was about 10 miles from my house and literally within 2 miles my car had overheated and was billowing smoke. Turns out, the resevoir (?) melted, causing the plastic to overflow into the radiatior, ruining both of those items. The dealership took the motor out and found both head gaskets had blown.
Here's the question: Do I trust it? I don't know much about cars, but I keep being told that I need to 'demand' something else. They aren't charging me a dime to fix it, even though it isn't covered by the extended warranty. I checked the Virginia Lemon Law, but it is not covered by that. After it is repaired, will it be 'good as new' or will I more than likely continue to have problems? The dealership mechanics aren't bad mechanics, but trust me when I say there are far better.

What engine? The 2.2L 4cyl or the 3.2L V6 :confused: .

Joel

3.2 V6. Thanks!

I have never heard of such a thing happening to this engine! Back in 1998-1999 the 3.2L had a bad series of cylinder heads that would lead to coolant loss and overheating, but that was supposed to be resolved years ago. This truck may have had some problem, which is why it was sold used, or possibly it was just low on coolant, or had a cooling system leak that was not apparent. This is not a typical problem! I'd let the dealer fix it, make sure the 'fix' has a warranty, and keep active on this fine board. It's the best of the few isuzu boards out there. Oh and make sure they address the transmission. The transmission overheats when the engine does! You will need atleast a full transmission fluid change & new filter. Get warranties in writting for all of this.
G/luck
Joel

Let the dealer do this. I have never heard of this problem before.

I'm sure the dealer gave you at least a 1 month 3k warranty on it, be happy about that.

I actually got a 36,000/36 month warranty - my cousin is the used car manager. I love my Rodeo and I want it back ASAP. I'm just trying to feel out what my options are, you know? I personally want to keep what I have, but everyone from my fiancee to my Grandma want me to get rid of it! Thanks!!!

THey are great trucks and you only have to keep your eye on a couple of things (oil useage, cleaning the egr, and the intake manifold gasket).

Why did it overheat? Were you low on oil?

We have no idea why it overheated. We went on a trip and had checked over all the fluids before we came back and everything was perfect. I was literally about 10 miles away from my house when it overheated on my way into work.

Were you in stop/go traffic on your way to work, or was it steady hyway travel? The only thing I could think of that would make the truck overheat so quickly was maybe something plugged the radiator internally, something blocked airflow thru the radiator or the waterpump failed somehow without effecting the timing belt?!?! I've also seen failed thermostats cause overheating due to not throttling coolant flow thru the radiator long enough. Dunno :uhoh: ? This is a new one for sure. Hope you get fixed up ASAP.
G/luck
Joel

Sorry to hear about your troubles. If they're fixing it for free, I don't really see why you wouldn't do it. If, on the other hand, you have the option of having them take the car back completely and put the money you spent towards something else then you may want to at least look into it. What kind of deal did you get on the truck, if you don't mind me asking?
You DEFINITELY need to have the tranny looked at. If you did any permanent damage the tech should be able to tell via a simple sniff test. At the least you need to change the fluid/filter.
Make sure that the techs look at your hoses and see how they react when you hit the gas. I had an older truck that this same thing happened to once simply because of a failed radiator hose. It was sucking closed during acceleration and my Mom COOKED the engine unknowingly (which I built, and was not very happy about).
Good luck.
Tom C.