2004 5.3 Suburban Z71 4x4

[usamarshal]

Thanks for the info man.

[mishalah]

Originally Posted by j cAT

If you read this article you will see that your vehicle may be affected ! not all engines had heads made by this contractor how many made ? GM top secret !

also GM will as usual will put the screws to you...should you have their defective product ! This is the type of proceedure [designed to fail] GM did to get themselves into bankruptcy...

did you check the water pump leak area ? weep hole/gaskets of the water pump ? Is your coolant clear pink or darker cloudy ? coolant should be tested for acid build up..if so ..


do you have an oil consumption problem ? or engine noises ? if so I would remove the valve covers and inspect for the defective heads..

As far as I know I don't have any symptoms yet, but this is the '05 that I bought about 6 weeks ago and have hardly driven it because we've been doing all the fluids/filters/brakes/tires/etc and my temporary tag ran out a week ago. I want to get it on the hiway and check everything out but it's grounded until I get another temp.

I just hate going away from the tried and true things that GM actually did right (like the 350) and being a guinea pig for their experiments to make the government or soccer moms feel good. Too much new or tricky stuff is NEVER good with GM (and this is from a guy who owned a ZR-1 for almost 10 years, a new Mazda RX-4 back in the day, and has a first year Jag XK8 sitting in the garage). I'm not afraid of risks when it comes to cars, but GM has proven to be one of the worst at getting it right...at the expense of their customers.

[usamarshal]

Spoke with service dept at dealership...the guy said he had never heard of anything like this happening and did not know of any recalls about the heads. He said for me to bring in the truck and they would pressure test it to see whats going on. I think he's being honest, but its hard to say these days. Just hoping that my heads aren't shit...I could understand if it would be a gasket issue, but the truck had only like 50k miles when the losing of coolant started. Keeping my fingers crossed, but ready for the worse I guess. Sad part is my mom and brother just bought two brand new malibus within the past year...there already asking questions and freaking out wondering if they'll have any problems too...haha...I need a beer.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by usamarshal

Spoke with service dept at dealership...the guy said he had never heard of anything like this happening and did not know of any recalls about the heads. He said for me to bring in the truck and they would pressure test it to see whats going on. I think he's being honest, but its hard to say these days. Just hoping that my heads aren't shit...I could understand if it would be a gasket issue, but the truck had only like 50k miles when the losing of coolant started. Keeping my fingers crossed, but ready for the worse I guess. Sad part is my mom and brother just bought two brand new malibus within the past year...there already asking questions and freaking out wondering if they'll have any problems too...haha...I need a beer.

well I believe your story ! this person you talked to at the dealership is lying. this is a well known problem. they usually lie when things like this pop up.. expensive fix trying to blame the owner for vehicle abuse., etc...

I had a rear wheel bearing seal leaking . my park brakes where being effected by oil getting on the shoes. they stated it was not leaking bad enough...I waited a few months, leak getting larger, I then put an ounce of gear oil on the bearing seal area..they said it was leaking too much now , and they repaired the vehicle. they also stated that these vehicles have no park brake problems ! more lies !

park brake lawsuit now going through the courts. GM has a very controlling influence in the NHTSA goverment agency. they had a recall only on manual transmissions not automatic trannys..same park brake !

the head replacement on your vehicle if required will cost big bucks ..I recommend you go elsewhere for testing/repairs. this will cost thousands [AT DEALERSHIP] to fix !

THERE IS NO RECALL ON THIS ! YOU WILL PAY !

MAKE SURE IN WRITTING THEY HAVE THE LEAK FIX GUARANTEED..iF YOU ALLOW THEM TO MAKE REPAIRS .

[mishalah]

I think I'll have my son pull the valve cover(s) to see if the dumbass's cast mark is there.....just to be sure.

Interesting about the park brake. I had both cables replaced and the pedal still goes to the floor to set it fully.

[usamarshal]

Headed to dealership here in a few...if I have bad heads anyone know a good place to get replacements that aren't gm and aren't defective?

[usamarshal]

Well, just got a call from dealership saying that they did a pressure test for over an hour and can't locate any leak. The tech said he wanted 2 hrs additional labor to pull the valve covers...I said theres no point as the heads are the definite cause of the leakage...no where else for the fluid to go, but be burned off through the crack(s) in the heads...tech pretty much agreed...I then asked for a quote for new heads...that was over an hour ago and I haven't gotten a call back with the quote...so pissed...can't believe gm and there defective parts...

Originally Posted by j cAT

well I believe your story ! this person you talked to at the dealership is lying. this is a well known problem. they usually lie when things like this pop up.. expensive fix trying to blame the owner for vehicle abuse., etc...

I had a rear wheel bearing seal leaking . my park brakes where being effected by oil getting on the shoes. they stated it was not leaking bad enough...I waited a few months, leak getting larger, I then put an ounce of gear oil on the bearing seal area..they said it was leaking too much now , and they repaired the vehicle. they also stated that these vehicles have no park brake problems ! more lies !

park brake lawsuit now going through the courts. GM has a very controlling influence in the NHTSA goverment agency. they had a recall only on manual transmissions not automatic trannys..same park brake !

the head replacement on your vehicle if required will cost big bucks ..I recommend you go elsewhere for testing/repairs. this will cost thousands [AT DEALERSHIP] to fix !

THERE IS NO RECALL ON THIS ! YOU WILL PAY !

MAKE SURE IN WRITTING THEY HAVE THE LEAK FIX GUARANTEED..iF YOU ALLOW THEM TO MAKE REPAIRS .

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by usamarshal

Well, just got a call from dealership saying that they did a pressure test for over an hour and can't locate any leak. The tech said he wanted 2 hrs additional labor to pull the valve covers...I said theres no point as the heads are the definite cause of the leakage...no where else for the fluid to go, but be burned off through the crack(s) in the heads...tech pretty much agreed...I then asked for a quote for new heads...that was over an hour ago and I haven't gotten a call back with the quote...so pissed...can't believe gm and there defective parts...

have a repair shop or you do this test...the pressure test kit is cheaper than the repair shop costs. do the test with cold engine . then with the engine hot..when hot be carefull on fill cap removal use a heavy towel to absorb any coolant blow out that may occur..


sealing the crankcase venting system , then installing a ballon on the oil fill..see if you get crankcase pressure build up with the test in progress...

[usamarshal]

Yeah, got the quote back...they want like 4k....1500 in labor alone...I looked at autozones website and the assembled heads are only 279 each...I'm assuming I'll need a new head gasket for each cylinder head. The dealership wanted 450 for each head, along with 250 for valves/springs...it would probably be cheaper just to get a new engine for that price...haha...I guess my question is would it be easier for me to do the job or have some other shop do the job?

Originally Posted by j cAT

have a repair shop or you do this test...the pressure test kit is cheaper than the repair shop costs. do the test with cold engine . then with the engine hot..when hot be carefull on fill cap removal use a heavy towel to absorb any coolant blow out that may occur..


sealing the crankcase venting system , then installing a ballon on the oil fill..see if you get cankcase pressure build up with the test in progress...

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by usamarshal

Yeah, got the quote back...they want like 4k....1500 in labor alone...I looked at autozones website and the assembled heads are only 279 each...I'm assuming I'll need a new head gasket for each cylinder head. The dealership wanted 450 for each head, along with 250 for valves/springs...it would probably be cheaper just to get a new engine for that price...haha...I guess my question is would it be easier for me to do the job or have some other shop do the job?

do you have the defective heads ? did they remove the valve covers to check this out. if not this may not be the heads as the coolant loss issue.


whenever the heads are replaced the bolts require replacing and a new gasket..


I never heard or read about replacing springs or other valve train hardware.

[usamarshal]

Ya, not looking forward to cleaning the valve covers and replacing the heads, but its got to be done....there was no leak detected nor found...I'll make sure to replace the gasket and bolts...sucks balls.

[usamarshal]

Anybody know a better deal than this?

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...94_159536_3558_

[migs_auto]

Another note on my experience. Dealer did an overnight pressure test - no leak found. But somehow the tech "knew" it was the heads and popping the valve covers confirmed this. Even though under warranty they did try and blame this on me. After two weeks of nothing I called GM customer service and complained armed with the following statement "this is a well known (by GM) and documented problem and you will honor my warranty or I will be forced to take other actions" job was approved and heads were delivered two days later, job was done a day after that. btw - my engine now burns a quart of oil between changes, never burned a drop before. So, yep, I got premature wear as a bonus.

[usamarshal]

Thats crazy man...I've been a gm customer for over 12 yrs...if there is a known defect in the heads why won't they replace them regardless of the warranty? I had to deal with a lot of crap with my tahoe and my wife was pissed that I got another chevy...haha...I guess my wife was right and I was wrong...I can't believe I said that!!! Oh well...a buddy of mind said he'd help me put on the new heads...hes a certified mechanic and can guide me through the replacement.

Originally Posted by migs_auto

Another note on my experience. Dealer did an overnight pressure test - no leak found. But somehow the tech "knew" it was the heads and popping the valve covers confirmed this. Even though under warranty they did try and blame this on me. After two weeks of nothing I called GM customer service and complained armed with the following statement "this is a well known (by GM) and documented problem and you will honor my warranty or I will be forced to take other actions" job was approved and heads were delivered two days later, job was done a day after that. btw - my engine now burns a quart of oil between changes, never burned a drop before. So, yep, I got premature wear as a bonus.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by usamarshal

Thats crazy man...I've been a gm customer for over 12 yrs...if there is a known defect in the heads why won't they replace them regardless of the warranty? I had to deal with a lot of crap with my tahoe and my wife was pissed that I got another chevy...haha...I guess my wife was right and I was wrong...I can't believe I said that!!! Oh well...a buddy of mind said he'd help me put on the new heads...hes a certified mechanic and can guide me through the replacement.

thats why I was pissed off they got our tax money to bail them out.

GM is screwing us both ways !