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Repair or replace?


wayne36

Question

I have a 2004 Silverado with 163k I am going to need to replace valve seals quote is at 900 and I have a problem with coolant leaking into the motor somewhere. So with that mileage should I just replace the valve seals or drop a rebuild in it. No quotes on a rebuild yet but i'm guessing 3k?

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Chris i believe they also made a similar cover to yours that said "vortec max" in red letters. Also why do you have the clutch fan shroud with NHT efans?

Pics from different times. Thats before i made the fan swap. And the vortec max cover was limited run. 06-07c

 

I used to have the 06 cover

6b2f48e5bb5f5ab57360ed973763681a.jpg

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My '04 with 134,500 miles just suffered the failed head issue. Haven't popped the valve cover to confirm I have Castech heads, but no matter I definitely have coolant getting into the oil. Blackstone Labs oil test showed this and changing the oil just the other night showed how bad it is. Black sludge came out of the drain hole, and the catch can I run on the PCV hose was FULL of coolant and gunk. My heads are 862's, so I think various castings are susceptible.

Now debating to replace the engine or get rid of the truck. New motor is round $3,600 and I'd do the swap myself or take it to a friend's shop. The rest of the truck is solid, so $3,600 sounds better right now than making new truck payments. Plus, I'm not crazy about GM's AFM system on the new trucks.

Not such a fan of GM right now, to the point I test drove a 2015 Ford yesterday.

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Which vehicles have the castech problems?

Models affected:

 

2004-2006 Buick Rainier

 

2001-2006 Cadillac Escalade Models

 

2001-2006 Chevrolet Avalanche, Blazer, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe, TrailBlazer Models

 

2001-2006 GMC Envoy, Jimmy, Sierra, Yukon Models

 

2001-2004 Oldsmobile Bravada

 

2005-2006 Saab 9-7X

 

with 4.8L or 5.3L VORTEC® GEN III, GEN IV V8 Engine (VINs V, T, M, B, Z -- RPOs LR4, LM7, LH6, L33, L59)

 

TSB for it http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/Bluegorilla/2008-12-05_142924_Coolant_loss_5.3.pdf

 

 

Also the heads on the exhaust side on top have a casting number. It can be seen with the valve covers on. Easiest one to see is passenger side and its at the front. 706 is the main casting affected by Castech. Here is a pic of what the casting number looks like

317.jpg

317.jpg

317.jpg

317.jpg

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Models affected:

 

2004-2006 Buick Rainier

 

2001-2006 Cadillac Escalade Models

 

2001-2006 Chevrolet Avalanche, Blazer, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe, TrailBlazer Models

 

2001-2006 GMC Envoy, Jimmy, Sierra, Yukon Models

 

2001-2004 Oldsmobile Bravada

 

2005-2006 Saab 9-7X

 

with 4.8L or 5.3L VORTEC[emoji768] GEN III, GEN IV V8 Engine (VINs V, T, M, B, Z -- RPOs LR4, LM7, LH6, L33, L59)

 

TSB for it http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/Bluegorilla/2008-12-05_142924_Coolant_loss_5.3.pdf

 

 

Also the heads on the exhaust side on top have a casting number. It can be seen with the valve covers on. Easiest one to see is passenger side and its at the front. 706 is the main casting affected by Castech. Here is a pic of what the casting number looks like

Thanks chris. Just what i was looking for [emoji106]

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Isn't the 04 5.3 engine in the area of bad Castech heads? The heads that ended up being porous? If so, and you have antifreeze in the oil, it is time to pull engine and either replace, or have yours rebuilt. Both heads are likely toast if they are porous. Take a look at this thread

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/119868-castech-heads

 

There is a link to the TSB on the subject of castech heads being porous.

 

Getting engines from the wreckers can be a good idea, as well as a bad idea. You have to believe them when they say how many miles on the engine, and how long did it sit outside not covered or protected? Wreckers have a warranty for the engine, but, the labour to re and re the defective engine is not covered. Best thing to do is sit down and price the different ways to go, including labour, and add in what it would cost to deal with warranty parts that failed. Not talking about new parts, failure rate is predictable with new parts, but not with used parts. You also need to decide if this truck is what you want for the next 5 years. As others have said, look the truck over, is everything else good enough for you? Paint, interior, all the rest of the drivetrain. At 160,000 miles, the truck is going to need other work.

 

Once you add up the costs, you can then make an educated decision. One thing to remember, your decision if your decision based upon your life and needs. It does not matter what I would do(in regards to final decision), my life and needs are far different from yours. The internet may be a great source of information, but it is a poor source of opinions on what you just did or are considering doing.

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Dude go to a junk yard and pull a low milage lq9 for around 2200$. Cam it while its out too piece of cake

I dont know what junkyards you go to, but the LQ9 was relatively low volume for a truck. And every day get more scarce. i have yet to see one in a junkyard. I had a shop source a wrecked SS to find mine. That truck came from about 10 hrs away.

 

Get a junker LQ4, LS6 cam it and add 243 cast heads. The same if not more power than an LQ9 with lower compression so later eill be more boost friendly than an LQ9. I wish i went that route now.

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E10 is pretty much everywhere. NH phased it in based on counties air quality or some BS. The area around Tilton was one of the last to switch from mtbe but that was still more than a decade ago. When I was at the Hyundai dealer the training rep said New England in general had junk gas quality.

A pump i filled up at last week said it contains MBTE. Old pump so i doubt it did
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Yes they do. And they also arent happy if you use regular 87 octane

My truck isn't either ... but it's a LMG. If I run 87 and tow, it will ping so loud trying to maintain 65mph that I have to do 50 on the highway.

 

Odd thing about it is, it never did it when it was new, even with the Hypertech program. The truck seems to have slowly GAINED power as it's aged, just based on seat-of-the-pants. Almost like it was programmed to be a dog just to get it though warranty. Wouldn't surprise me ....

 

Even with premium I will hear a slight ping at full throttle. I always thought the computer was supposed to take care of all that. Bugs the crap out of me that I can't turn a bolt and twist a distributor ...

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My truck isn't either ... but it's a LMG. If I run 87 and tow, it will ping so loud trying to maintain 65mph that I have to do 50 on the highway.

 

Odd thing about it is, it never did it when it was new, even with the Hypertech program. The truck seems to have slowly GAINED power as it's aged, just based on seat-of-the-pants. Almost like it was programmed to be a dog just to get it though warranty. Wouldn't surprise me ....

 

Even with premium I will hear a slight ping at full throttle. I always thought the computer was supposed to take care of all that. Bugs the crap out of me that I can't turn a bolt and twist a distributor ...

Well the thing with the LQ9 and octane is the compression ratio of 10:1
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Wow - that's up there for a stock engine. Must get out of the hole nice.

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LS2 heads bump it to 10.9. An LS2 is 10.9. They use the same bore/stroke and the LS2 pistons were pulled from the LQ9. But on the topic since he has a gen 3 engine and not a gen 4, all other gen 3 engines are virtually plug and play. He can swap in an LS1 or LS6 if he pleased. But if i were in his shoes, and i may have been i would swap out the engine. Not sure if my issue with the 4.8 was a Castech issue or blown head gasket, didnt care to find out, i just did the swap i wanted since i had opportunity and could justify it in my head with something being wrong with the old one

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