I had to take my 99 Tahoe into a mechanic today to have the cv boot changed out on the passenger side. So not to long after my wife drops it off I get a call telling me that the antifreeze needs to be changed out, it is not any good anymore. Now why they are looking at my antifreeze I have no idea. So anyhow I tell him to go ahead and do the flush with there special chemical and new antifreeze. He tells me that he wont be using dexcool either since it gums up the cooling system. So come 4PM I get a call from him telling me that there is another problem now. The intake manifold is leaking coolant in 2 places and needs to come off and new gaskets be installed. So he doesnt want to do the flush till he takes care of this problem. So I call Bullshit on the whole damn thing and tell him to button the thing up and make sure that the cv boot is fixed by the time I get there. So my question is, Is there a problem with GM 350's leaking coolant at the intake manifold or is this guy full of shit. He tells me that it must be going down into the valley. Well heres the thing. I do the oil changes and I have never seen any water or antifreeze in the oil. So what gives? What do you guys think is going on???
I changed my intake gskts on my 98 1/2ton at 67k its no joke but kinda makes you wonder why they were looking in the first place. The gaskets on that are plastic with orings they just get hard and brittle after time and do not try to tighten them up you will only make it worse if they are leaking.
Ihave a 1993 GMC 2500, 211,000 miles and not a single leak at the intake. My mother in law has a 1998 Yukon, 165,000 miles, no intake leak. I dunno but it does seem a little fishy to me?
GM tech for 15 years here, very common problem. Why was he looking at your coolant? That's his job, making sure your vehicle is in tip top condition when it leaves. Why the late call about the intake? Not doing his job! Making sure that he has found all issues that you need to be concerned with before making the first phone call. Also very common.
I had a 1997 that leaked at 70k. Another problem I ran into, and so had several of my friends was fuel pump. Mine went south at 56k.
Ford Tech here.I always look a vehicle over when i have it.
Problem is if they didn't look it over and a week later you are towing your boat
across the desert and it overheats.Good chance you'd be on here bitching about those motherfockers just had my vehicle in the dealership last week and didn't catch a coolant leak.
They are there to spot problems or potential problems,Like K26 said they should have called you 1 time with any recomendations of repairs or maint,not the last minute.Trust me we are always the bad guy at the dealership for telling people recomended repairs and maint.
When they decline and break down,they are back bitching about my vehicle was just in and nobody told them.Thats why i always write a story and document everything.
Some mechanics get commision on the parts they sell so they are always trying to add more to the job.
Your intake may have an aluminum fitting in it tapped into the coolant passage with a quick lock aluminum pipe that feeds the heater core.These fittings rot away and seep coolant before total failure.This could be mis-diagnosed as an intake gasket but the last fitting I changed I did the intake gasket too because it was on its way out.You can get a steel replacement fitting from your local auto parts store about $6.00.Lisile tools makes a special easy out for removing the broken fitting.
I have changed this fitting on my 97 Suburban and done several trucks at my job but only two intakes needed resealing.
have a 98 1500 Z71
Intake leaked @ 65K and coolant took out water pump too.
Changed coolant to old green type and has been fine ever since.
Heard about the fuel pump problem and have to friends that lost there pumps.
Heard there was a lawsuit against GM and Dexcool on the Orange/pink colored antifreeze.
Also watch for speed sensor to go out in your front brakes :cry:
Have 104K on mine and am thinking about going Duramax, I pull allot
I think if I remember right the mechanic said that the gaskets were plastic type and failed due to the antifreeze? Maybe Kachina26 can shine some light on that but I know they were the same gaskets that went back in because I asked if they had a fix for the problem :220v:
Good chance you'd be on here bitching about those motherfockers just had my vehicle in the dealership last week and didn't catch a coolant leak.
Exactly!! Wouldn't you rather be glad that your not on the side of the road with an engine that has cracked cyl heads when you discover that your intake is leaking? Your bitch shouldn't be with the tech, it should be with whomever designed those Vortec intake gaskets.
GM tech for 15 years here, very common problem. Why was he looking at your coolant? That's his job, making sure your vehicle is in tip top condition when it leaves. Why the late call about the intake? Not doing his job! Making sure that he has found all issues that you need to be concerned with before making the first phone call. Also very common.
Also a GM tech here, I agree with Kachina26, Vortec intake leaks are very common as well as the heater nipple that was also mentioned by 502 Jet. The intake gasket design isn't the best, they get brittle and start to break down from the heat. Very common. Dexcool gets a bad rap. If the coolant system stays full with no airpockets, dexcool works just fine. Dexcool messes things up when there is a coolant leak and the dexcool starts mixing with air inside the engine making a sludge. If you keep your coolant system full, dexcool is just fine.
Also, every vehicle I pull in my stalls at work gets a maintenance and safety check. I look for common probs such as leaking intake gaskets on Vortec motors, leaking intakes on 3.1 engines. etc. I find that customers are very appreciative when I point out potential issues from what I find during the inspection whether they get the work done by me at my dealership or not. I've even helped people get their cars repaired by other shops I know to be reputable when they can't afford the dealerships labor rate. Its all about building trust with the customer. I also think that calling at the last minute is pretty crappy. They should have had their stuff together and made one phone call. When you have to keep calling a customer back they don't trust you, just as happened here.
Some mechanics get commission on the parts they sell so they are always trying to add more to the job.
I only wish this would be true, that's usually independent shops that have this policy i.e. Pepboys, not dealerships for the most part.
Jay
I had to take my 99 Tahoe into a mechanic today to have the cv boot changed out on the passenger side. So not to long after my wife drops it off I get a call telling me that the antifreeze needs to be changed out, it is not any good anymore. Now why they are looking at my antifreeze I have no idea. So anyhow I tell him to go ahead and do the flush with there special chemical and new antifreeze. He tells me that he wont be using dexcool either since it gums up the cooling system. So come 4PM I get a call from him telling me that there is another problem now. The intake manifold is leaking coolant in 2 places and needs to come off and new gaskets be installed. So he doesnt want to do the flush till he takes care of this problem. So I call Bullshit on the whole damn thing and tell him to button the thing up and make sure that the cv boot is fixed by the time I get there. So my question is, Is there a problem with GM 350's leaking coolant at the intake manifold or is this guy full of shit. He tells me that it must be going down into the valley. Well heres the thing. I do the oil changes and I have never seen any water or antifreeze in the oil. So what gives? What do you guys think is going on???
Easy there Scooter: Like they said its there JOB to look and check a few things on your truck. If you brought it in for tires wouldn't you want to know that your brakes are bad before your trip, If you were going on one.
Instead of getting mad or telling him to button it up, Why not make time to go down there to look at it for your self, By the way it sounds, This guy is a jackASS for telling you theres something else wrong, That could possibly keep you or your wife from being on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck.
Trust me been there done that this weekend in Havasu, Wife Kids and 117deg, not fun.
Give the guy a break he mite not be BSing you, check it out. I know how you feel sometimes you don't know who you can trust. The problem is we just dont want to spend more $$$$$.
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