Long story, but I will make it as short as possible.

2003 Duramax Crew Cab 4X4
72000 miles

Approximately 6 months ago, while pulling a 10,000 boat, a water hose blew off (clamp loose from factory) and I overheated the truck. I was on a long hill, two lane mountain road, thus could not pull over until safe. Engine was very hot!

The truck was towed to the dealer, they fixed the hose and I was on my way. Ever since that time, the low coolant light comes on periodically but goes back off. I have had it serviced three times and have asked them to check it out, but they can't find a leak, they top it off and the low coolant light doesn't come on for a couple of weeks.

About three weeks ago, I got in the truck and it appeared to take a long time to warm up, I was watching the gage when it went from 160 to 250 in a matter of 2 to 3 seconds. I pulled over and had no steam, no bubbling, nothing. Didn't appear to be hot. Started the truck and the temperature went right to 210. Drove home and parked the truck. The next morning, I started the truck to take to the dealer. Checked under the hood to make sure I had coolant and I noticed bubbles in the reservoir.

The dealer said I had 4 injector sleeves that were leaking into the combustion chamber. Took 8 days to get my truck back. Drove from the dealer to my office, maybe 5 miles and I had coolant blowing out the recovery tank. I took it back and noticed that bubbles were in the recovery tank again. The kept it overnight and told me to pick it up and drive it until the problem gets worse. They think it's a cracked head, but do not know which one and said that the warranty will not pay for them to pull both heads and until the problem gets worse, they do not know which side.

This morning, my temperature gage read 160, then shot up to 250, then back to 180. Stayed at 180 for quite a while, then crept up to normal. My oil pressure fluctuates from 65 to 58. The fluctuations appear at a steady throttle.

Also, the A/C seems to have a mind of it's own. It was 90 degrees out last weekend. I had the A/C set to minimum and the damn heater came on. This has happened a few times in the last week, usually right after the low coolant light comes on.

I have an appointment with another dealer tomorrow, but would appreciate any comments good or bad.

Sorry for the long post

Jeff

Sounds like a head gasket.

Certainly not 911 forum material and moving to appropriate forum.

good luck, this can be a very frustrating and long fix make them furnish a loaner right off the bat... money out of their pocket seems to keep them intetrested

Head gasket

Yup!!!

they only resealed 4 injector cups?

Yes, thy only replaced 4 of the injector sleeves. Not sure why, but I know that they were not the problem.

Before I started the truck this afternoon, I opened the recover tank and released all of the pressure. The engine was completely cold. I replaced the cap and started the engine for about a minute. After a minute, I shut off the motor and opened the cap and low and behold, we have pressure. Absolutely no way for pressure to build unless I have a cracked head or a head gasket problem. I have another appointment with another dealer tomorrow. I will post what happens.

Thanks for the replies

Jeff

It's possible that a injector cup seal might be leaking also.

my guess is one of the other 4 injector cups they didn't reseal is the culprit

I had the exact symptoms............. End result Head Gaskets!
GM says the must follow protocol and replace the cups first.

OK, Heres the deal. The dealer says one of the cylinders on the right bank has antifreeze in the cylinder. I know it's not good news, but at least I have someone who has diagnosed the problem. He found the cylinder by spinning the motor with the glow plug removed and held a piece of paper next to the hole. The dealer says, blown gasket, cracked head or cracked block.

I just called the dealer that couldn't diagnose the problem and told them I want my money back that I had to pay for the work they did, that wasn't the problem. I still can't believe they told me to drive it until it breaks. I have talked with customer relations and will write a letter to GMC. Lets see what happens.

Thanks for the replies.

Jeff

You said you wanted your money back.....what money, should have been covered under warranty unless you are talking about the $100 deductible and agree you should get that back or at lease not have to pay it again at the new dealer. These guys think they can send you on your way and you will pop for the $100 deductible each time you bring it in. f it's the same issue you should not have to pay the deductile each time they fail to fix it right.

Good Luck, sounds like you at least have it with a dealer that knows what's going on.

Regards,

Yes, I'm looking at getting my deductable back or have it applied to the other dealer. Infact they charged my a $200 deductable, which the new dealer said that it should of been $100. I have already asked for a refund. I'll wait until the weekend, then ................ I don't have a clue, but I'll do something!


Jeff

I thought the computer shut the engine down when the temperature reached a critical value.

I thought the computer shut the engine down when the temperature reached a critical value.

Couldn't that be a safety hazard? Jeff stated that he could not safely pull over right away, so say you're pulling up a steep grade, with lots of traffic and no where to pull off, the engine goes into overheat and shuts off :eek:. Personally, I'd rather risk destroying the engine (cracked head(s), block, etc) than the truck shutting down on an uphill grade... Think of the lawsuit GM could have if that happened and casued a major accident....

Yes, I was on a 2 line narrow mountain road, which leads to my house. It was about 10:00 at night. If the computer would of shut the truck down, I would of been toast!

Jeff

Maybe shut down is the wrong term. Maybe saying it goes into limp mode would be better terminology. I am nearly sure the tranny will do that should it overheat, so I don't see why they wouldn't have the engine doing the same. Of course it could turn into a safety hazard, but then again nearly anything could be considered a safety hazard under the right conditions.

I always thought that the motor would shut down a few cylinders and cycle them.

Just thought I would post an update. The second dealer found coolant in the number 1 cylinder. They also informed me that the first dealer did not replace the injector sleeves as they had claimed. So they started with the sleeves and after the finishing the job, noted that the sleeves did not fix the problem. So they removed both heads and found both of the heads were warped beyond repair. They have ordered new heads and new injectors. So far they have had my truck since the 24th of May. They just finished pulling the heads today, June 10. I ending up getting the GM rep involved. It's amazing how much better things go when you talk to someone that matters. Oh and we have a conference call with the first dealer set for next week. The rep assures me that I will get my money back from the first dealer.

I am sure that since I have the rep involved, the job will progress much faster.

Jeff

Keep us posted on the outcome

That sucks its stealers like that frist one that keep me wondering if I should buy a brand new truck or not.

My truck started losing coolant and the light started coming on. Then it started running rough. Took it in and they replaced all the injectors at 60K mi. No charge to me.

Now it is still losing coolant to the point where each 2k miles I have to add.

I am guessing that I have a head gasket or head crack/warp problem. Need to take it back in I guess.

If it is one of these do you guys know if this is covered under warranty? She has just over 71K on her now.

Dealer says they found a leak at the number 8 cyl. Head is going to be pulled and shipped off tomorrow.

I understand the warranty is 100k miles. Engine only.

]Yes- they are covering it. There is a $100 deductable. They said they cannot cover the rental but since it took them 10 days to just diagnose it, I think I am going to have a talk with them about the $1000 rental bill when this is all over.

My GM extended warranty covers rental vehicles.

Tom Cobb

I don't have an extended warranty. This is covered under the standared 100/5 drive train warranty which apparantly does not cover rentals.

Will update later with details about the diagnosis, fix, and warranty coverage.

Sounds like a head gasket.

Certainly not 911 forum material and moving to appropriate forum.

Dude, I know your the moderator, but your statement was cold blooded. Its 911 material to him, where would you post it, if that happened to you?

I dont think he was being cold blooded, just getting to the point. I think 911 is more for things that need imediate attention not for trucks that are already at the dealer. But I would have flipped if it were my truck and maybe even posted here too.

Diagnosis (after 15 days in the shop) was what I TOLD them it was when it came in - a blown head gasket. Took 6 more days to fix it. Then they told me it was done but they wanted it one more day to test drive it. They called me on the 22nd day without my truck and told me that the coolant was still pressurizing. They now have to get permission from GM to replace the heads. So far I am without my truck for 24 days and my rental truck is costing me $1400 and counting. I am NOT happy.

I had a similiar problem with my 2001 with 118,000 miles. Brought it in to Dealer for an injector replacements and the mechanic told me one of my cups just fell out. If I have the problem again he said they will have to check the heads and it will be about $4000. Is it really worth it to get this engine fixed or buy a new one for $3500 - $6000??? Ebay had one tonight for $4800
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GM-Goodwrench-6-6-Duramax-Diesel-Crate-Engine_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33615QQitemZ7995 399830QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVWhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GM-Goodwrench-6-6-Duramax-Diesel-Crate-Engine_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33615QQitemZ7995 399830QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Mine at least is covered under the 100K engine waranty so- unless they keep the truck for another 2 months - it will be cheaper for me to let them fix it rather than buy a new whole engine. I am not sure what I would do if I were you though. You might want to look to some non-dealer mechanics and see what they would charge. Also, if you are going to spend the $$ on the truck, then you might want to check to see if there are better than stock parts to put in for the head repair. Stronger head, better head gasket etc. It might be cheaper and better than buying a new engine or making the repairs with stock parts. I don't really know but someone here probably does.

My concern is to get someone to pony up for the rental because the delays in this repair job have been extraordinary.

OK - update - after 24 days in the shop GM will pay for the remainder of my rental so the $$ bleeding is stopped. I'll work on reimbursment for the $1350 later.

The truck had its head gasket replaced to no avail so now they are replacing the heads. If that does not work then new engine or new truck I guess.

There is definately a flaw here. The problem seems not to be with the head gasket but with the heads. The tech working on my truck told me that GM admitted to him that they have been replacing A TON of heads. There is some sort of defect in their construction - porosity is what he called it I think.

The dealers are forced to go through protocol which means they have to replace the head gasket and see if that solves the problem (which is rarely does). Then they replace the heads. This is taking way too long. 28 days and counting.

Update - dealer called and said everything was done. Went to pick up the truck, got in, turned the key, SES light!
Left the truck there. Today the called me again and said it is ready. SES turned out to be a bad #8 Glow Plug.
Hope it is done. I miss my truck.

sounds like excellent service

Have the truck back now!

All seems ok with it. Long ordeal is over. (knock wood).

There is definately a flaw here. The problem seems not to be with the head gasket but with the heads. The tech working on my truck told me that GM admitted to him that they have been replacing A TON of heads. There is some sort of defect in their construction - porosity is what he called it I think.




Not sure of that statement.

Any techs on here see a ton of head replacements? I heard that rumour once a long time ago.

All seems ok now with the truck. Except I now have the D-max tick that I never had before. I guess I should have it checked for an exhaust leak.

Any thoughts?

As far as the head replacements - I have no idea on the numbers. I just relayed the info that the tech at my dealer told me he heard from the GM engineer.

ltchip - keep us updated . i am intrested to see how this turns out in the long run .thanks

Will do. I have 28K or so left on my engine waranty. I installed the Juice again and the truck runs great. I drove it 300 miles this weekend since getting it back on Sat. and it seems to be getting great milage. Ran it mostly on Juice level 3. Once I get through this tank I'll post the milage.

I have about 3000 miles on her since the head replacement and all is well. The Duramax tick even subsided. Mileage and performance are better than ever. I got 18.5 mph on Juice L3 on a long trip unloaded.

I tried to work through GM customer service to get some of the first 21 days rental paid for ($1300), and they denied it. They called the dealer to see if they were willing to pay and they also denied it. I then escalated it to the GM area manager and it seems that they are reconsidering their position on this. I know that the engine warranty doesn't cover rentals but my argument was that the truck, even with a cracked head, should not have been out of service for 35 days.

My guess is that they will pay for some of the rental costs in the end.

Still no final decision on my extra rental costs. Crossing fingers.

good luck with getting your money back. atleast your truck is running good!!!!

:)

Yeah -it now has 75K on it so the new heads are working out well. No further issues with coolant loss or anything.

Look at the bright side, you now have a DMax with a new head gasket, heads, and glow plug. If you get GM to cover your rental car fees, then you'll come out pretty good.

I am not bitter about it other than I think 35 days in the shop is excessive for a problem where based on my research and history with the truck, I told them it was a head problem. They screwed up by sending the heads out to be checked and they came back ok so they were re-installed with a new head gasket. Too much time in that whole process and that is what cost me bucks plus I had the loss of use of my truck.

78K miles now - so I think the new heads are fine and everything is running well. GM and the dealer finnally came to an agreement on the extended rental charges and paid me 800 bucks of the $1300 so my liability for this repair was a manageable $100 deductable plus $500 rental fees. Not a bad deal in the end but a very big hassle.

I'm glad you finally got everything worked out. I had a bad injector cup in mine and they finally had to send it to their Izuzu dealer to have it fixed.

same exact problem at 65,00 miles same expierence with the dealer taking so long was told exactly the same thing truck is in the shop as we speak will be 3 weeks tuesday and not counting the months it has been in before cant wait for this expierence to be over.hope mine turns out as well as yours.:eek:

Hope so too! Mine is still running like a top. Got the new updated Juice in her and it really runs strong. Now my converter is going so I am in the process of figureing out which trans to go with and who to do it.

We have a 2004 DM that has been having injector problems for a while. Has had 4 sets replaced. Now it's having low coolant problems, misses and runs very rough at startup, then runs good after a minute or less.
Was diagnosed with cracked head or heads. Dealer said it will take 3 to 4 weeks to get it repaired.

I think it is time to trade!

83K miles now and still running fine after my head replacement.