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Feel free to say...."I told you so"

D

Dave12

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Location
London, Ontario Canada
After all the BS I've been through with my truck I had the heads replaced with new ones thinking this was the source of my coolant leak. Mechanic said the heads were badly cracked. I was told by several people to check the block too (pull the pan, check the webbing etc). I ignored the advise because of time and money but I was wrong in the end. $2600 later (parts, labour, tax, etc) I have brand new heads on my truck and it's leaking coolant worse than ever. It appears to be going right into the oil pan because the level is up and the oil is becoming the consistency of light grease. Too add to my pain I also had a brand new turbo put on to the tune of $1000 because it turns out my old one had excessive play in the shaft.

So I'm $3600 in the hole with a truck that isn't fixed. I don't want to sink anymore money into it. I've asked the mechanic if he is interested in taking the truck off my hands for my money back plus another $1000 or so. He's thinking about it. Next option is the pull the turbo and heads and see if he will refund my money for them and then I'll sell the truck in that condition or part it out to try and get as much money out of it as I can. I made some bad decisions and had some bad luck.


This will be the end of diesels for me. I can't find a decent mechanic anywhere in my area that works on them. I've already started looking at gas trucks.

So depending on what happens with the mechanic there might be a 6.5 parts bonanza in the near future.

Question....How difficult would it be to pull the heads without impact wrenches considering they were just off a week or so ago? Is everything torqued too tight to do by hand or is it just time consuming? I don't know if I'm going to end up having to pull it back apart myself.

Dave
 
Taking them off with hand tools should not be a problem. Thats how they went on for proper torque. If you don't have a breaker bar, you might look into one. But you could probably do with out one, just a little easier with.
 
If you don't have impact a 1/2" breaker bar will probably get it done for you. or add a length of pipe to the bar for more leverage, but they shouldn't be all that tight. You might want to do a rethink on scrapping it, new truck payments aint cheap gasser or Diesel, I suspect a donor block can be found, do the work yourself it isn't rocket science, plus all free help here (If you'll take advantage of it, :biggrin5: listen to it ) we can get you back on the road, for a whole lot less than payments to come, I wouldn't sell to the mechanic he has you over the negotiating barrel, part it out if you truly feel the need to get out of the 6.5 game, at least then you will have a chance of breaking even.
 
Tim,

I hear what you're saying but I don't have a garage to work on an engine in otherwise I would probably give it a try. If the mechanic doesn't give me what I want then I won't sell it to him. I'll try and get the money back for the parts that he just put no (Heads and Turbo) and then I'll part out the rest or sell it like it is for as much money as I can get. Either way I'm not going to get what I would have if I just sold it before I had work done on it. You play the game, you take your chances and I lost. If I had a quality diesel shop in the area I'd think about keeping it but I don't and this whole experience hasn't helped.

Dave
 
Dave, there's a guy on the other place selling a Tahoe with rusty stuff and a good engine, if you're interested... Could maybe work something out as far as getting it hauled up to you (the brake lines are all rusted off and nobody will touch it... it's got all kinds of good engine stuff). Just a swap job.

Heck, you could haul yours down over the line and put the engine in there and drive it back... beat the GST monkey both ways...

Just a thought. I feel your pain, man. If it makes you feel better, I'll say 'I told you so', but I don't want to.
 
Garage

You dont need a garage to work on your vehicle. I have been turning wrenches without one since I was old enought to help my dad out.

You could purchase for under our around $100 a camping canapy to keep the rain off you and your truck while you work on it.. I had a buddy when I was living in Alaska who made his own garage out of 2X4's and a cheap blue tarp, I think it cost him around $50. They also sell those tent like garages online for a couple hundred dollars. That is if you think you have to have a garage.

But, I will say if you can afford a garage it sure does make life easier when it comes time to turning wrenches.
 
Jimmy,

Yeah I saw that on the other site. I'm afraid I'm not overly inspired to try and do too much more with this truck. I just wish I had thrown in the towel before I spend any money on it. I guess I had to give it a try and it didn't work out. I'll probably end up losing a couple of grand in the long run but it's just money....lesson learned.

DieselCash,

Good though with the canopy/portable garage but as I said above, I just can't be bothered at this point.

Dave
 
Dave, sorry to hear about your bad experience. It must be frustrating to spend the money to no avail. Leo
 
Sorry to hear that Dave.

If you were closer to me I would take the truck off your hands for you (or fix it for you)...
 
All I'm gonna say is "That really sucks Dave!" It's been a long road and to end up at this point really sucks. I feel your pain. I would help ya out in a heartbeat, you know that, just a bit to far to travel.

Why not give Justin a call? He's fairly close and he has done his own engine before. With the 2 of you it'd be a breeze.

As far as pullin' the heads back off, you can do it right in your driveway. Since everythin' was just off you will have no problem. Pull the hood and go at her!
 
feel for you....sounds like one of my stories............give yourself a chance to cool down, I never make good decisions when i'm all pissed off.
Sleep on it for a couple of days, can't hurt.

Luck,
Louis
 
one way for a good mechanic...

I understand the frustration level. Hit it with a few vehicles time and again.

Now if having it worked on by a good/excellent 6.5 mechanic would keep you in the game, then here's an option.

Apparently a guy coming to our company from Thunder Bay Ont to Alberta had a friend ship a truck on the train for less than he could drive it out for. I'm thinking of doing the same thing with my US vehicles, once I confirm this. He's on vacation right now, and I'm going out just before he's back in. However, if you're interested I'll start the e-mails burning instead of asking in person.

You could ship to SK or points elsewhere (US-bound might be problematic, especially if you're not there for delivery); get it really well repaired to near mint condition and get it shipped back. You would then end up with a machine you shouldn't have to touch except for basic maintenance for a very long time. The shop rate would be reasonable and the shipping cost may be tolerable. Heck, SK rates versus ON rates may make the shipping free!

Just a thought, and I don't mean to volunteer anyone. And if it is to be sold, now some 6.5ers here may be interested in buying it from you...

Good luck,
Sir Veyor
 
Thanks for the suggestion but my wife says no more money is to be spent on this truck. I talked to the mechanic today and it looks like we are going to be able to come to an agreement that will work for both of us. Not as good as if I had got rid of it in the first place or had it fixed right in the first place but better than nothing. I'm seriously looking at a 99 Silverado with a 5.3 with 99,000 kms.

Dave
 
AlbertaRedneck said:
Is he buying the whole thing?
Click to expand...

Suppose to be. Less the tires. The truck that I'm looking at....actually I just bought it, needs tires and they are the same size as the Toyos that I just bought last fall. I'm also going to check with him to see if I can pull the intercooler and gauges. He's apparently buying to truck for his wife to drive after he replaces the block and I'm sure she can live without them.

If the deal falls through, which it could because he's still a little on the fence then I'll be parting the truck out unless someone else wants to buy it complete in it's current condition.

Dave
 
teroma25 said:
What about the rims Dave? Who's gettin' them?
Click to expand...

You if I end up keeping the truck and parting it out.:smilewinkgrin:

I'm going to talk to the mechanic on Monday and see if I can get a firm commitment out of him. If I can't then I'm telling him I want my money back for the turbo and the heads (which I will return to him) and then the parting out will begin. Rims will be a little tricky because I'll have to get something from the wreckers to put on when I pull them. I don't think the neighours will be too keen on me having a truck sitting on blocks in the driveway. :nono:

Dave
 
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