Engine Gone?!; Clueless as to what I should do, please read!

Asking this question a little differently than most, so as to not scare any knowledgeable people off with my long, sad song. The 2nd post sums up what went wrong... what I'm really after tho is finding out what I should do.

They're saying the engine is about gone. They dont even want to change the oil on it. 150,000mi,...what should I DO??? I have a college student's budget,..should I check junkyards and risk buying a used engine (i'm sure there's a good # of them in Orlando and Miami)? I dont trust buying major things from just about anyone. Should I cut my losses and move on to another car? Please help, any advice is appreciated.

Well for starters yes I have done a pretty good search on engine problems here as well as on the internet, but I'm going to need a bit of advice fromsome of you more car-savvy people.

I'm a pretty smart guy (booksmart that is), but I wont even come hereto act as though I know more than I do about cars, which is next tonothing, as implied in the title.



To cut to the chase, we had a $900 repair on our car (a 1999 Isuzu Rodeo V6), mainly because itkept overheating and we wanted to get 'everything' fixed before I droveoff 500 miles to college. Actually, let me not leave out that this was after we paid an Isuzu service guy a good amount and had bought a radiator & had it nstalled. Well, shortly after I got up there, the carwas still overheating and running low on coolant (because of the longdrive? I dunno). We had just had the major $900 service done at 140,000mi, just 2weeks before I left, and when i got up there i didnt really go anywhereand stayed on campus.

We complained to them, but I unwisely did not take it to another dealer to see what was up. Had to top it off with coolant at least 4 times since October. When I would press on the gas, I noticed the studdering in the car, and didnt know what it was, especially since no oil light was on. Well turns out there wasnt much, if any oil, and I topped that off. Had to do so twice more,...since, including last week when I heard the studdering sound (again, no engine light!).

Took it to the Orlando dealership, since I cant get back to the original Miami dealership, and they're saying the engine is messed up. The dealership in Miami, even tho we contacted them shortly after they did their service, said they aren't going to honor the coolant problem or anything else because it should've been seen about (not that easy when u're takin 17 credits). :banghead: I know,...lesson learned, now it's a little urgent that I invest in looking for a new car or making some decisions on this one, so any advice is appreciated!

Ummm.. I'm gonna throw one out there & assume you are referring to an isuzu rodeo engine? What year rodeo? What engine? Regardless, a used engine & labor will be in the thousands of dollars, like $2-$4K range. A new isuzu engine out of the crate is like $5K alone. Is your rodeo worth it? Why are they telling you your engine is *gone*?

Joel

Ummm.. I'm gonna throw one out there & assume you are referring to an isuzu rodeo engine? What year rodeo? What engine? Regardless, a used engine & labor will be in the thousands of dollars, like $2-$4K range. A new isuzu engine out of the crate is like $5K alone. Is your rodeo worth it? Why are they telling you your engine is *gone*?

Joel

Exactly,..is it worth it? That's something I need to figure out. There's a little ding on the front left side, it's not scratched up or anything but it could use a new paint job. The interior has 150,000 miles on it too. After investing a good 27,000 or more tho, the answer should be a resounding "yes",...but I'm not so sure. On the other hand, I dont want someone else's piece of junk with a low budget (I'll shell out 7,000 if it was a guaranteed great deal, i guess, but I want an SUV).

Perhaps we're going to suggest they install the engine for us, but I'm fairly sure isuzu dealers will only install their own parts (can anyone verify so i dont ask them a stupid question?) I think I was kinda cheated out of a good portion of that $900 when there were bigger problems, but no use crying over spilled milk I guess.

I also realize that just as with doctors, 2nd opinions are always important. That's why I've came here,... I mean, OTOH, how often is it that a certified average size Isuzu dealership tells you your engine is dead if it isin't?

I would have it leak check to determine where the water is going. It could be something as simple as a bad head gasket (I've read a couple of time about head gaskets letting loose on 99's) and thermostat.

first of all--you need to not take it to a dealership for service...it ussually costs double the actual amount. this is an exaggeration either.

a brand new engine will cost $5500 from the dealer (they only buy it for $2500--and yes, i have a confirmed document the shows me this)

go to a mechanic and have it leak tested for another opinion.

Asking this question a little differently than most, so as to not scare any knowledgeable people off with my long, sad song. The 2nd post sums up what went wrong... what I'm really after tho is finding out what I should do.

They're saying the engine is about gone. They dont even want to change the oil on it. 150,000mi,...what should I DO??? I have a college student's budget,..should I check junkyards and risk buying a used engine (i'm sure there's a good # of them in Orlando and Miami)? I dont trust buying major things from just about anyone. Should I cut my losses and move on to another car? Please help, any advice is appreciated.

leak checked,...thanks alot guys. Unless there are any other suggestions on what I should do or where to take this, I'll just come back and check on this one after that's been done.

Other than burning out the oil and the coolant w/in the last yr. or so, I've never really had any major probs with it.

Unless I missed it, what year rodeo and what engine are in it?

Nobody can tell you what to do, it has to be up to you. It is going to be expensive to fix, get a price on it and see if it is reasonable.

Me personally, I'd probably cut my losses and go with something else. A new engine is a big deal and there seems like too many problems can arise if they do not do the install correctly.


marc

Me personally, I'd probably cut my losses and go with something else.

he means buy another isuzu...:grinyes:

then you can use your old one for parts!:icon16:

he means buy another isuzu...:grinyes:

then you can use your old one for parts!:icon16:


I do love My Rodeo, I've loved all of my cars that I've had.


But, there are a couple of things that I just hate about the Rodeo as well.
1. oil consumption
2. gas mileage

neither of these things are horrible, nor would they cause me to sell it, but if something happened like what happened to the original poster, I may look in a different direction. Truth is, there's a ton of cool vehicles out there. Around here, Rodeo's are becomming a rarity in the classifieds. Even if I wanted one, it may be tought to get one.

Another thing that scares me about the Isuzu's is you never know if the previous owner kept up on the maintenance. They don't deal with abuse well and if the owner didn't keep an eye on the oil, you may be in trouble.

with all that said, I love this truck and I hope nothing bad happens to it, I want to keep it around for a long time.


marc

It's a V6 99' engine, SL.

Actually tho marcre, the main thing I WANT people to do on this issue is tell me what to do (ie, advice). It goes without saying that in the end the decision is mine.


I dont quite know what is a good deal or price to go with and what kind of things Rodeo owners really do or have done to circumvent this $5000 dilemma, which is why I'm here. So if you have any questions or experiences on this issue, please keep the replies comin. Otherwise, I'll be getting a leak check and guess I'll go from there.



Does anyone know or have a good idea why the oil light wasn't coming on when it was low on oil?

I've never had to purchase an engine, but to put a new engine in a vehicle that is ~seven years old doesn't seem worth it. Also, a used engine comes with too much uncertainty. If you can get everything done for a couple thousand, that wouldn't be bad, but still. I would look at prices and also keep an eye out for a used vehicle as well.

marc

I can tell you from experience (but not on the Rodeo) that sometimes it's just not worth shelling the money out for a new engine on an old vehicle.

We have an '85 Toyota p-up that we had to put a new engine in 6yrs ago from a chronic overheating issue (temp gauge never registered hot though) - at the time, it was cheaper to put a new engine into it, then it was to find another small p-up with the same capabilities.

Looking back, I still believe we did do the right thing as we still came out ahead - by replacing the engine rather then the vehicle; only thing is, is if you put $4-5k dollars into the new engine, insurance doesn't care. And if you get into an accident, you still only get blue-book, not blue-book plus new engine.

You have to weigh pro's/con's, AND you also have to look at whether or not that vehicle is overall suited to your needs.

Problem is, is you can also save that money and spend $7k on another "older" SUV - you won't find anything less then 70k miles at that price - and 2yrs down the line, who's to say you won't have the same problem with another engine.

ANY engine can overheat; but Isuzu's are known for being oil users.

I have 153k on my '97 engine, and if I blew the headgasket - as long as I caught it before overheating took place - I'd fix it for sure.

If I were to worp the block - I don't know what I'd do; for one I LOVE the truck and it's completely suitable for my needs, not too big, not too small. It's paid for and it's fully loaded.

But the downside is - it's a 4x2 and I would like a little more ummph!

But, you can't have everything.

Wow... tough situation!
Im with Marcre on this one. Cut your losses and try to get as much as you can for your broken Zu. Do your research and put your money into something reliable with lower miles. I've heard way too many stories of people being driven crazy by "gremlins" after installing a rebuilt engine.

I guess there might be a chance your engine could be repaired.... What did they say exactly is wrong with your engine?

My 91 trooper w/110,000 miles was diagnosed as "engine croaked" with a blown head gasket when I bought it (for parts). Just for grins I cleaned and flushed the coolant system, used a $20 head gasket in a bottle repair kit, changed the plugs then flushed the oil twice with an engine flush type product and re-filled with 3/12 quarts of synthetic blend and 1 quart of Lucas oil treatment. The trooper has run like a champ for 6000 miles now without a hint of problem.

Get......a......second......opinion!



Maybe even a third! There are dealers out there who will screw you over and independant shops too.

I might have missed it somewhere, what did the $900 service consist of?

If all hoses, waterpump, thermostat, radiator and fan clutch have been replaced/looked at, and it's still overheating, then there is an underlying problem, depending on how hot it got and/or how many times it's gotten hot.

Thing is is you want us to tell you what to do and we can't, if you can rebuild your existing engine (block is not cracked/warped) cheaper then say $3k or so, then it probably be worth it.

If you have to replace the whole engine, that's gonna add a bit.

Then again you stated that you wanted to stay with an SUV and don't want to spend more then $7K on another one - thing is, unless you're looking for say a Kia Sportage, you're not gonna find a low mileage V6 SUV in decent shape for $7K.

There are the unusual situations though, if you look in the paper long enough, you will find older SUV's - early-mid 90's for around $4-7k, some with low/moderate mileage for their age, but that doesn't mean that they're gonna be problem free either.

Personally, I almost think that an SUV/Truck is just too much maintenance for someone on a tight budget and/or someone going through college; have you thought about trading it in on a newer car, you could get a much newer/lower mileaged car for $7k.

If it were me, I'd invest a couple hundred more bucks into the vehicle to get a better understanding of what is wrong with the engine. Is it a head gasket? Lower block? Top end only?

Then I'd have to consider how well I've maintained the rest of the vehicle. Did I take care of the transmission? Changed coolant? Differential fluid etc? My vehicle is worth more to me than what kbb says it's worth because I know I've put my heart and soul into maintaining it!

In my area, your vehicle (without the blown engine) is worth around 5k. You'll get next to nothing trying to sell a vehicle with a blown engine. If you have faith in the rest of the vehicle, I would not have any problems investing a few thousand bucks to resurrect your truck.

If you do decide to get another vehicle, you might take a look at the 1st gen rodeos. I love mine, and it still turns heads. If you look hard enough, you can find a 95.5 - 97 with under 90k miles for less than 4.5k

Personally, I almost think that an SUV/Truck is just too much maintenance for someone on a tight budget and/or someone going through college; have you thought about trading it in on a newer car, you could get a much newer/lower mileaged car for $7k.


Agreed, I never knew that there would be a lot more maintenance for an SUV. My Rodeo seems to nickle and dime me at times, yet I'm still in love.

Not to get too of topic, but all of my other cars seemed to look better on the underside than my Rodeo does at this stage. When I bought it, my mechanic said it looked real nice. The rust/filth on the underside was normal and indicitive of the type of vehicle. I can understand that, but my engine bay looks like I go mudding routinely. I can't keep it clean. A thread from a few weeks ago talked about a rust type substance from the A/C compressor that is normal. I've got that all over. My shocks were rusted on, as is my exhaust and everything else. I could go on and on. There is a lot of work I know I could do on this vehicle, but everything is so hard to remove.

I know I live in a place that sees harsh winters, but I never remember any of my other vehicles being like this. My 99 Eclipse was still showroom clean under the hood when I sold it with 65000 on it. 65000 is what the Rodeo had on it and it was like it is now, filthy/rusty.

I must say that I never got under my other vehicles like as often as I do now, so that may explain why I didn't notice, but I did look through them from time to time. I just looked at my rear brake pads and my rear calipers are rusty as heck. My Eclipse, when I sold it, the calipers looked brand new. The body is rust free, it's just the stuff under the vehicle that is rusty. Nothing to worry about (so I was told), but five years from now it will be, maybe.

I wonder what it is that causes some vehicles to rust like this? I know that my old Eclipse is still in awesome shape, as is my old 99 Civic. The shocks I had put on in november already have rust on them.

that's my rant. It may not sound like it, but I still love my Rodeo.

marc

OK, I just check Kelley Blue book on your '99 LS. I had to guess at a few things like options you have. But the value of this car is hovering around $2,000 as a trade in. That's as long as you aren't leaving a wet green trail behind you or have an engine knock in the car lot.
Definitely wouldn't put a new engine in this. Like well said above, the insurance value doesn't change with expensive mechanical repairs.
So that leaves the condition of your car other than what you have described. How are the tires? Brakes OK? Paint, interior, transmission? if they have seen better days and show it, you may want to think hard about keeping this. Your options are limited unless you know of a good mechanic who charges a reasonable shop rate that will only fix the truck enough to keep it on the road safely. The folks on this forum who would put a lot of money into their Rodeo repairs have faith in them, and probably keep them clean and are proud of them - so it's worth it. Ask yourself if you will have this '99 for another 5-7 years before you put serious money in it. If not, then consider another vehicle in which you can verify the care and maintenance before you buy. Let us all know what you decide. Good luck. Highland

before i give my advice i just have 2 simple questions that need to be asked

1. How far do you live from the nearest lake or river?

2. How fast can you jump out of a moving vehicle ?

The body is rust free, it's just the stuff under the vehicle that is rusty. Nothing to worry about (so I was told), but five years from now it will be, maybe.

marc

Keep the paint washed and waxed at least 3 times a year and she'll stay pretty darn rust free.

My current Rodeo is a burgundy color, which I have to wax at least 4 times a year, but I will tell you nearly 10yrs later and I don't know how many very slight tree scratch marks, mild rock pits (too many dirt roads too mention), and thousands of miles of open highway, summers where it hails, winters where magnesium chloride are part of the surface and my paint still looks as good as new. Nobody believes this truck has 154k miles now, as some of the scratches she has are so faint you can't even see them unless you literally put your face on the truck.

I have NOT a single spot of rust - no where on the surface, not even in the wheel wells.

Now I do have "some" rust on the exhaust, but I've honestly got to say this is the least rusted under carriage vehicle I've ever owned. The dodge diesel we have only has 80k or so now, and it has small spots of rust climbing up the doors. We won't even mention the cancer in/on the Toyota frame/body - after it's 20yrs and 270k? miles you can imagine what it looks like :shakehead .

But, believe it or not, that truck is still solid, and it was 15yrs old when we put it's 2nd engine in - probably wasn't even worth the 2k that this guy's '99 Rodeo is worth.

Why'd we do it? We lived in Las Vegas, NV at the time, and we looked and looked and could not find another truck comparible and in the same price range as what it was to fix this one - it had to be a 4x4, Nissan or Toyota only, everything else was negociable. All we could find in that category/price range were 4x2's and one's that had well over 200k miles.

So we threw a newly rebuilt engine in for a total of just over $4k with all the parts/labor, half new exhaust, etc.

Marcre - my 1st Rodeo was black, BUT it came out of the dealership with a new paint job at only 13k miles. It's original paint was defective and at 9k miles it started chipping.

Had I known that we could've opted to change it's color I would have, but we weren't told soon enough, so it ended up with a new black paint job. But she was prettier then the other black Rodeo's - I won't even tell you how often we had to wax that one, and I still cry when I think of how hard I had to work to get just the water spots off after a carwash.

No rust on that body either, after 11yrs - can't remember what the undercarriage looked like. That truck had been/gone everywhere except the far New England states.

I can say that I will NEVER own another black vehicle for as long as I live.

Well a new spin on things!! :thinkerg: (p.s., a quick lil condition-of-the-car summary is at the bottom)

First off thanks for all the feedback,...but still, I'll need your help on this.

We took it to a church-friend of my brother's, of whom my brother had helped in some other fashion (who else can you trust?) and he said relatively the same thing, that the engine is about gone, and something would need to be done with it.

My g/f needs a car,... and my mom's 93 Honda accord has been takin care of her lately. My mom got cheated out of that too somehow (paid a guy to fix it yet he couldnt get the engine light off, when he clearly knew according to another person that there was a bunch of oil in the oil pan? from the engine and it has its engine problems too). At any rate, she wants it.

She's willing to fix "my car" (she hasn't specified how much she's willing to spend on it, but quite naturally this aint gonna balloon to well over $4000 or anything) if she gets to "keep" the honda (by the way, a big reason why we picked the Rodeo is because Honda was willing to put their name on it).

We've heard that we can get the engine 'reconditioned' for about $2025? Here's where the catch comes in tho.

I'm not necessarily lookin for the "cheapest" way out of this, because I could go ahead and do something that's not very smart, and this engine/car blow out in 6 months, while she's ridin around care-free in the honda for another couple years or so (hell, in that case, i'd keep the honda. I'm just tryin to get thru this last 2-3 yrs. of college). I'm lookin to get the most for my value.

So what to do? try this reconditioning thing? Keep searchin for an engine w/ low miles?

OR,... seek a used car and use this as a trade in (by the way guys, the engine isin't blown YET,...as the guy said it may very well ride another yr. w/ no problem),...yet for only $2000? (Orlando area),...I'd hope it'd be more than that. Thoughts? And even so, with a good 3500 or so of her money, maybe I'd put another thousand or so in, but I wouldnt expect to get much value from $7000-$8000 on a trusted used car (am I wrong about this notion? let me know,..really I wanted to check out an auction, but I'd imagine they dont take trade-ins).

Now if my car could still pull $4000-$5000, and she's sayin' she'll add $3000 into the pot, I'd think that would change things. Quite naturally we're not going to go lookin for a used car, agree to a price, then go screamin about how our rodeo has problems. Nope,...as far as we're concerned, it's in great condition right!?

p.s., I know I can google it, but from those "in-the-know", what's the difference between certified pre-owned and used??

Condition Summary: The tires have a half a year or more left on them (5), I didn't particularly take care of my interior while I've had it, the seats are very clean tho. The paint is "ok",..nothin special,..there's a lil ding on the front that is not deep and about 3 quarters of a foot in diameter that shows a lil rust from not fixing it. I'm not some car enthusiast that has taken great care of his car is what i'm sayin. This is Florida and I kinda hate the way the sun seems to eat up the dashes, consoles, etc. (no cracks or nothin like that tho). Then again, maybe it was because I was lazy and didn't clean them once a week like some of you. Either way, when clean they wont be mistaken for new. The back is very clean tho! Just put a $250 mp3/cd player in there with a Audiobahn 6004T amp, tho I'd imagine I'll be snatchin that out anyway so I wont go too much into that.

You wont get much selling the rodeo whole with a blown engine. IMO- your best bet would be to try to sell it whole on eBay, or part it out & sell the wheels/tires, head unit & speakers, etc on eBay. The 4L30E automatic trans is worth some bucks as well. Unless u can do the work yourself, I would not recommend having an independant shop throw a used engine into a 1999, or try to 'rebuild' the existing engine. It's just not cost effective. The cost will be more than the truck is worth.

Joel

You wont get much selling the rodeo whole with a blown engine. IMO- your best bet would be to try to sell it whole on eBay, or part it out & sell the wheels/tires, head unit & speakers, etc on eBay. The 4L30E automatic trans is worth some bucks as well. Unless u can do the work yourself, I would not recommend having an independant shop throw a used engine into a 1999, or try to 'rebuild' the existing engine. It's just not cost effective. The cost will be more than the truck is worth.

Joel

Well it's not blown yet,... but I hear yah. That's why I'm thinkin about getting rid of it soon. What about a trade-in, etc? I'm thinkin about keepin my stereo and everything.

You could try the trade-in route. That will get you the least amount of return for the truck though. The only good thing about trading in is it reduces the amount of sales tax you pay on the vehicle you are buying: New/used car price - trade in allowance x sales tax = amount u pay. Cash down pymt comes off the total after sales tax is paid.

Joel

You could try the trade-in route.
Joel

Boy, I feel for the sole of the next unsuspecting owner, though. But, it's a chance we all will take at some point, unless you buy brand-new everytime; and it's a fact of life that at least 50% of used cars are traded due to mechanical problems rather then just unsuitable for the situation.

I would do the same; personally, if I owned a '99. Get out while you can, and it's an almost guarantee at this point, if it's still overheating, it's gonna blow it's top - hopefully it doesn't overheat while your at the dealership.

It's too bad that an engine of the 95.5-97yrs won't fit in that truck, those were the good ones. But, I've never had to rebuild an Isuzu engine, so I don't know the longetivity of a rebuilt.

Don't feel bad, my '97 Rodeo with exceptional mechanical capabilities has a really low KBB value - haven't looked in the last 2yrs, cause at this point it's obviously a keeper, it'll have to be pulled to it's grave.

For what labor rates for repairs are going for, you're gonna pay a bit for anything that you do, unless, like Joel stated, you can do it yourself. If your looking for a car just long enough to finish school, just trade it and get yourself an '02-'03 Saturn car, going price is $6k here in Denver, CO.