fixing head gaskets - replacing engine (huh?!)

[rodeomom]

non-dealer/national autoshop diagnosed to have gaskets replaced. we're not diy-ers so we were bracing to spend upwards $1K. when the shop was fixing the rodeo they said 2 bolts broke when the engine was being taken out and now the only recourse is to replace the engine. cost $5-$6k P&L. is this for real?

need to hear your opinions... please help. Thank you's!!!

98 rodeo ls 2wd
<120k miles

are we alone?

[amigo-2k]

You were having the head gasket replaced and they needed to take the engine out?

Get a lawyer.

[fordtrucksonly]

Originally Posted by amigo-2k

You were having the head gasket replaced and they needed to take the engine out?

Get a lawyer.

Very true, this sounds like a lawyer situation. They should have never had to take the engine out. Sounds like someone is trying to get your money.

[rodeo02]

Which engine do you have in your 1998, the 2.2L 4cyl or the 3.2L V6?? Just tyring to assess the situation !

G/luck
Joel

[superfret78]

I agree, there should be no need to take the engine out to replace the head gaskets....and if they dropped your engine and it broke, that's their fault and they need to pay. Even with parts and labor $5k-$6k is too high. Get a lawyer.....these people need to be put out of business.

[rodeomom]

thanks for you comments.
we have a 3.2L v6. first owners. the original problem was the coolant kept running out every week or so and for about a month now. looked liked there's a leakage, too because the oil seemed diluted. problem seemed worse when it got warm (we're in the NW). we brought it in on wednesday and were told about the cylinder head gasket problem and that they had to take the engine out. the next day they said the head bolts snapped and got stuck in.

our rodeo is still too good to be junked. great body,
just minor door dings. just got new tires. it's still running well even with the 120k miles. thinking of having it towed to an isuzu dealership. but we just moved here from FL, haven't used them before and also don't know if they'll do a better job or what. is there really no way to get these bolts out and save the engine?

sorry if we're not explaining this well. anyways, we'll check with a lawyer today, too. we'll see if we can hold off doing the repairs til after memorial weekend. btw, the place we brought it in is an auto service center of a major tire chain. but we're not really having a good year.

what do you guys think? is it really shady or are we having bad luck?

[superfret78]

Originally Posted by rodeomom

thanks for you comments.
we have a 3.2L v6. first owners. the original problem was the coolant kept running out every week or so and for about a month now. looked liked there's a leakage, too because the oil seemed diluted. problem seemed worse when it got warm (we're in the NW). we brought it in on wednesday and were told about the cylinder head gasket problem and that they had to take the engine out. the next day they said the head bolts snapped and got stuck in.

our rodeo is still too good to be junked. great body,
just minor door dings. just got new tires. it's still running well even with the 120k miles. thinking of having it towed to an isuzu dealership. but we just moved here from FL, haven't used them before and also don't know if they'll do a better job or what. is there really no way to get these bolts out and save the engine?

sorry if we're not explaining this well. anyways, we'll check with a lawyer today, too. we'll see if we can hold off doing the repairs til after memorial weekend. btw, the place we brought it in is an auto service center of a major tire chain. but we're not really having a good year.

what do you guys think? is it really shady or are we having bad luck?

Ok..so they didn't drop the engine....they just broke the headbolts. Headbolts can snap sometimes, especially if someone replaced a blown head gasket at some point earlier and used the old bolts instead of replacing them with new ones.That happened once to me at a shop before I started doing my own work on my vehicle. I have a 3.2L V6 like you...and the guys at the shop were able to drill out the broken bolts. You still don't need a new engine. These guys are just taking you for a ride. Pretty much anywhere will do better engine repairs than a tire place. If you need engine work, you should avoid taking it to places like that because they will overcharge you and a lot of times the work they do is not as good as other shops.

[Ramblin Fever]

I feel bad for the situation you're in; I was in that same "should I trust them" mode in Las Vegas. I too made the mistake of taking mine to a Goodyear - but not for a headgasket, only for a maintenance timing chain, water pump, etc. change out.

I won't even go into thorough detail of arguments, lets just say that they, in the end, ended up replacing all belts, hoses, radiator fan, and radiator shroud.

I, within, a few extra weeks ended up moving back to Denver, in which I had available an old family friend "Import Mechanic".

Thank goodness, as I had to have the valve cover gaskets replaced, one actual valve cover, power steering pump (had been completely mangled, similar to if the truck had been in a head on collision), power steering bracket - all to the tune of close to $2K.

NEVER AGAIN!

I too am the original owner, and felt I could trust them, as they had done routine oil changes, radiator flushes, for the 1st 2yrs I owned the truck.

Word of advise, as you've already horribly endured, get that truck out of their shop as quick as you can. You're gonna take a hit somewhere, money wise, and others may be more inclined to wait it out with a lawyer and so forth - I probably would have to, if I'd have had the time and another vehicle.

I was caught, like you, in a situation stuck between two states, and I had to have that truck - it was the only thing I owned at the time reliable enough and big enough to haul the boat home to Denver, and I also had a job waiting.

Find yourself a good "Import" mechanic and/or the dealership, they are much better then any tire service center.

Keep us posted and good luck!

[amigo-2k]

Yes headbolts sometimes do sieze up and snap off. These can be drilled out and retapped (I have seen some speacial tools from Sears to get out busted of bolts before).

I think you need to speak to the manager of tire place and come up with a resonable payment for them tearing down the heads, but do not have any experianced mechanics to do the repairs and let them know that you are planning on taking your truck to a more qualified mechanic that has expeciance in these matters. Why? Because a couple of snapped bolts is not by any means a death sentence for an engine. Then crack open your phone book and start calling around and explain what you need done.

[rodeo02]

rodeomom, there were some early 3.2L (1998-1999) that had bad cylinder head castings that were prone to coolant leakage. IIRC- they had a "K" stamped on the side. Those were the 'bad' ones. At a minimum, you'd need new heads along with all the gaskets. If the engine ran with coolant in the oil for extended periods you could also have bearing issues. Like Ryan says, snapped bolts can be extracted by anyone with the know-how and tools. You might be better off scouring the net, salvage yards, etc for a low mileage replacement engine. Unfortunately this will cost thousands of dollars to have this kind of work done. Keep in mind a 1998 rodeo isn't worth too much . It's an aweful situation, but you might be better off cutting your losses.
G/luck
Joel

[rodeomom]

well, we're holding our breaths for the weekend. the GY mechanic is off today and his manager wants him to prep the rodeo for towing. we'll square away the GY labor hours. altho GY is open Sat & Mon, the isuzu service center won't be open til Tuesday - so we're towing Tuesday.

We're okay waiting. Just hoping it can be fixed. But we're being realistic that the 2nd opinion might end up the same - but praying a lot that it's otherwise . At least, we're giving it a shot. For sure we'll be out at least $2k now... thanks a lot for helping us think this through. holding off on the lawyers, too. we'll keep you posted how it turns out. you guys are great!

[surferfletch]

Sucks all the way around. As I learned the hard way, tire stores are good for only tires. I took a vehicle to one twice (shame on me the second time) and neither time was the problem fixed. Thankfully, the problem wasn't worsened either. Good luck!

[rodeomom]

It's taken a long while and it's a sad ending. Tried to get it fixed in the nearest Isuzu dealership - but they took out just 1 of the 2 stuck bolts. So, our Rodeo is off to a salvage shop now. Sold it today.

Thanks for all your help!

Rodeo-mom no-more.