Tow Vehicle Laid Up

[Waynes345]

I know there are a fair amount of Chevy tow vehicles out there and thought I'd pass along my current problem. I've got a '04 Z71 Tahoe with about 80,000 on it. Recently had to fill the coolant reservoir a couple times but could see or smell no evidence of coolant leakage. Check engine light went on the other night and the reservoir was down 2/3 gallon again. Took it in and the fault was for "lean". Pressurized the system and no leaks. No CO in the coolant. Pulled the valve covers and there was sludge in the top end. Evidently GM used a couple of head suppliers and the Castech heads are prone to developing small cracks. That's what the problem is with mine. GM issued a TSB about it, but it seems most of the mechanics don't know about it. Bottom line is the heads need to be replaced. What a bunch of crap, three grand or so heading into the holidays. Well at least it wasn't the Outback engine.

[deerfield]

Waynes345 - Sorry about the tow vehicle engine trouble and expense. $3,000 is a lot of money any time. My '99 Suburban has 147k miles. It does cost to maintain and repair, but still easier on my cash flow compared to buying new or carrying a loan or lease. Was on ACL web site last week and noted that the lake is ranked among the best for bass fishing in the nation. Not that we would ever use our boats for such a purpose. By the way, who would have ever thought that KSM and his buddies might be relocated to Thomson prison in northwestern Illinois just south of ACL? Not making a statemeent here one way or the other. Was in DC earlier this week and watched Holder on the Hill for the Senate hearing. Will be interesting to see how this moves forward. Back to your post, hopefully replacing the heads will get you squared away for 80k more miles. - Deerfield

[Suprahunter]

Wayne
Put a good block sealer in it and run it The stuff they have today is amazing. I wouldn't put new heads on a 80k engine . For 3k you could replace the whole engine.

[viking]

Man - that's a bummer. A chunck of change anytime but especially going into the Holidays.

[maxpower220]

GM issued a TSB about it, but it seems most of the mechanics don't know about it. Bottom line is the heads need to be replaced.

Doesn't that mean the GM has some stake in replacing a known problem? They did warranty work on my 02 Avalanche (repaint the plastics) due to a TSB. I had to go all the way to a Regional rep for GM to get it approved, the local dealer didn't want to work on it.

Also, if you need to go ahead and replace it, I would call around to many shops. Also, you could think about trading it in on a newer used truck.

[Waynes345]

Waynes345 - Sorry about the tow vehicle engine trouble and expense. $3,000 is a lot of money any time. My '99 Suburban has 147k miles. It does cost to maintain and repair, but still easier on my cash flow compared to buying new or carrying a loan or lease. Was on ACL web site last week and noted that the lake is ranked among the best for bass fishing in the nation. Not that we would ever use our boats for such a purpose. By the way, who would have ever thought that KSM and his buddies might be relocated to Thomson prison in northwestern Illinois just south of ACL? Not making a statement here one way or the other. Was in DC earlier this week and watched Holder on the Hill for the Senate hearing. Will be interesting to see how this moves forward. Back to your post, hopefully replacing the heads will get you squared away for 80k more miles. - Deerfield

I ordered the parts and will have it put back together next week. I did think about putting some stuff in it and see if it seals up, but it's a nice truck in good shape and I'd better get 200k out of it so I hope it's money well spent. As far as ACL goes, it's a great bass fishery, though as far as I am concerned this was a bad year with the crazy weather. I split expenses with a buddy of mine on an old pontoon, and if I wet a line, it's usually off that. As far as the prison goes, I didn't realize it was that close. I say bring 'em on. They built that place and it has nobody in it. Put them in there to rot.

[deerfield]

Deerfield, here is a bass I caught a couple weeks back at our lake
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/8244/dscn0590v.jpg
By sled491 (http://profile.imageshack.us/user/sled491), shot with COOLPIX S210 (http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=COOLPIX+S210&make=NIKON) at 2009-11-26

You caught? Uh, uh, I don't think so. Bet one of your fine kids caught that monster and are entertaining you by letting you hold it for the picture. By the way, glad to see you were not using the Outback for this little outing. That would be sacrilege!

[james yarosz]

SLED,just curious,why do you have a "cherry picker" on your boat.

[Razzman]

That's a boom to hoist on the beer cooler!

[Waynes345]

Dude that sucks. I had 220 000 on my Diesel before I ran into that concrete barrier. Vehicles today will last a long time if you look after them.


Sled - Got the truck back Friday morning and drove to Brule in the UP for a race camp for the kids. Ran great and changed the oil today. I hope to get another 100k on it before I have to do anything else, or run into a barrier.

That's one heck of a bass

[Sled491]

The cherry picker is on our barge. We use the barge to haul materials to the island our house is on, we also build for customers on the island so it gets used almost daily while we have soft water.

Deerfield, Outback was at home comfy in the garage so no worries :) get it! And I did indeed catch that fish, I am after all a man of many talents.

Wayne, my buddy was at Brule last weekend for a ski camp. They were the group from Alpine Valley. Glad to here the ride is back and strong!

Mullet, yeah right.

[mustangairchair]

i would be looking close at that engin gms like to start knocking after they had antifreeze in the oil, it takes the babbit off the bearings and then starts knocking after you get the antifreeze leak fixed. 3000 is very expensive to do that repair.you sould be able to get a rebuild long block for about 1600 to 1800 and do the motor instead ,then you know what you have

[deerfield]

As far as the prison goes, I didn't realize it was that close. I say bring 'em on. They built that place and it has nobody in it. Put them in there to rot.

Waynes345 - Hey, looks like it's a reality. President Obama today announced his decision to transfer terrorist detainees from Guntanamo Bay, Cuba, to the prison in Illinois that's in the vicinity of ACL. Can't find details with respect to timing, but it's a done deal. Governor Quinn received a letter of intent from the feds to acquire Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson IL signed by Secretary of State Clinton, Attorney General Eric Holder, and Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair. We bought our lot at ACL in part because it was away from things. Now, not so sure. - Deerfield

[Sled491]

Wait a minute, I thought our prisons were full across the board? Now we have an empty one? And on top of that we are going to take known terrorists (those who tried to hurt, kill and destroy us) from off shore and land them sqaurely on our back porch? Great!

[Waynes345]

Wait a minute, I thought our prisons were full across the board? Now we have an empty one? And on top of that we are going to take known terrorists (those who tried to hurt, kill and destroy us) from off shore and land them sqaurely on our back porch? Great!

Sled - You need to understand the politics of our fair state. The politicians built a maximum security prison to stroke some other politician and gain some political points. Then the other politicians wouldn't let the prison system populate it with the target badguy prisoners because they would lose something in their districts and lose political points. So, we have had a nearly new maximum security prison sitting there for a few years collecting dust. Put somebody in the damn place. On top of it, this state has been turning convicted felons loose in secret because we don't have the money to keep them. What a mess. And we have to sit around and let our former governor make us look like fools. I'm a taxpayer out that way and I say put the place to use.

[kaneboats]

I think it's funny when Floridians complain about their politicians. They have NO IDEA what it's like to live in the land of (used to be Lincoln) Daley, Obama, Blago, Ryan, etc.