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[Oldiron440]

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That's funny in 89 I bought a new Dakota 4x4 after 12 months and 12k I swore I'd never own another new mopar.

 

[Aspen500]

I bought an almost new '96 Dakota 4x2 in 1997 with 38,000 miles and 22 years later it's still going strong (after major Wisconsin rust repair that is). Only things it's needed that I don't consider normal maintenance is the A/C evaporator (in 1999) and about 3 years ago, the heater core. Otherwise, just normal stuff (tires, brakes, water pump, fuel pump, etc). Check engine light has never come on, trans works perfectly, the engine burns 1/2 qt oil in 3,000 miles, no leaks, no squeaks, rattles or clunks. Current miles 169,494. So there.

Would I buy a new one today? Well, IF I could afford one, the only thing Mopar makes that I would want is the Challenger and that's it. Wish I had a Challenger instead of my Mustang but, even the oldest 6 cyl Challengers are out of my price range yet. To be honest, there's only 2 vehicles made today that I would even consider buying new and those are Challenger and Mustang, that's it. There's nothing else made, by any company, that would interest me in the least.

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[7T8 Custom]

 

[Shorty Thompson]

 

[Aspen500]

I gotta tell you, of all the vehicles that get towed in to the shop at work the winner is (and in a landslide victory) GM products.

 

[Oldiron440]

Let's hear it for GM, when I had my body shop my largest supplier was a GM store. For some reason I fixed a lot of Pontiacs and the local dealer had a body shop.

 

[Aspen500]

Not meaning to brand bash (well, maybe a little, lol) but, we constantly work on GM's with air bag faults, ABS faults, various electrical and electronic problems, failed wheel bearings, stuck brake calipers, etc, etc, etc. Things we hardly ever do on other makes. Seems we replace wheel bearings (the integrated bearing/hubs) on at least 100 GM's for every 1 of every other make combined. With air bag faults it's more like 500 to 1, ABS same thing. Oops, can't forget timing chains on the 2.4 Eco-Tec and the 3.6L. Rarely does any other make need timing chains unless it's got like a quarter million miles on it. All the Eco-Tec and 3.6L timing chains I've done have 70,000-100,000 miles. Not impressed with GM quality. However,,,,,,,,,,,it's why we're there and GM's are really good job security.
Some of it may be parts. A good portion of the parts we get for GM's (Genuine GM Parts, not aftermarket) say "Made in China" on the boxes. Get dealer parts for a Ford or Mopar (Or Toyota for that matter) and more often than not it says "Made in USA", just saying............

 

[Oldiron440]

I got a call from my oldest daughters mother, her 2011 Chevy Cruise just quit, 36k smoke out the exhaust then stopped, I told her I didn't have a clue other than it wasn't going to be cheap.

 

[7T8 Custom]

At 36K it should still be under factory drivetrain warranty unless somebody forgot where the oil goes back in after an oil change.

 

[Aspen500]

In the past few months, I've replaced the 2.4L in four Cruze's and half dozen in other GM models. The PCV orifice plugs up, causing condensation to build up in the crankcase, which freezes the intake side of the PCV system shut, especially when it's as cold as it was this winter. Pressure builds up, blows the rear main seal out and all the oil empties out before the driver knows anything is wrong. By the time the oil light comes on, the damage is done. In every one of them, the balance shafts seized and broke the balance shaft/water pump chain. Once the shafts seize, there's not really any coming back. Solution, GM Authorized Reman engine. Avg cost parts and labor, $6,200 (the engines are about $5,400). Sad part is, a couple of them were just out of powertrain warranty. One of our fleet customer's with a 2015 Equinox (145,000 miles) junked it because of this problem.
The PCV orifice is about the size of a pencil lead, maybe not even that big. The problem is even worse if the owners don't use synthetic oil and/or don't change it often enough.

 

[Oldiron440]

How long is the power train warranty for on a GM? Car doesn't have miles but its eight years old.

 

[Aspen500]

GM's powertrain warranty is 5 years or 60,000 miles for gas engines. Duramax is 5 years or 100,000 miles. I think that's about the same as the majority of other makes as well.

 

[Oldiron440]

I talked with her today and she said she just had a oil change by the dealer and had less than a hundred miles on it. There saying she had an oil leak and had no oil. What a scam!
They found her a used motor and will have it done this next week.
It's totally not my place to get involved but I can't help but want to. She's 60 years old and uses a walker to get around and lives on disability. Her dealership must be run by a bunch of heart less basterds.

 

[Aspen500]

As I mentioned, those engines can empty he crankcase before you know what's happening, especially if it blows the rear main seal out.

I've put a couple used 2.4L Eco-Tec's in at work but a good one is kind of hard to come by (supply and demand). It's like trying to find a GOOD used Dodge 4.7L, almost impossible. I hate to talk bad about Mopar but, that 4.7L is not a good engine. Well, I guess they are to a point and then they all of a sudden go BOOM.

 

[Oldiron440]

I had an 05 4.7 that started making valvtrain noise at 70k and I sent it down the road without any reservations.

 

[Aspen500]

I had an 05 4.7 that started making valvtrain noise at 70k and I sent it down the road without any reservations.

Smart move! The rattle is the first signs of impending doom on those engines the way it seems.

 

[Yellowdart69]

In the past few months, I've replaced the 2.4L in four Cruze's and half dozen in other GM models. The PCV orifice plugs up, causing condensation to build up in the crankcase, which freezes the intake side of the PCV system shut, especially when it's as cold as it was this winter. Pressure builds up, blows the rear main seal out and all the oil empties out before the driver knows anything is wrong. By the time the oil light comes on, the damage is done. In every one of them, the balance shafts seized and broke the balance shaft/water pump chain. Once the shafts seize, there's not really any coming back. Solution, GM Authorized Reman engine. Avg cost parts and labor, $6,200 (the engines are about $5,400). Sad part is, a couple of them were just out of powertrain warranty. One of our fleet customer's with a 2015 Equinox (145,000 miles) junked it because of this problem.
The PCV orifice is about the size of a pencil lead, maybe not even that big. The problem is even worse if the owners don't use synthetic oil and/or don't change it often enough.

Is this similar, to the problem with BMW, 6 cylinder engines?

 

[Oldiron440]

Smart move! The rattle is the first signs of impending doom on those engines the way it seems.

I briefly thought about building a small block for it, but getting the dash to work was something I didn't want to deal with. It was a 2wd 4 door that I really liked but it was starting the rust issue and it wore rear tires. So by by.

 

[Aspen500]

Yellowdart69, I have no idea. We work on about 2 or 3 BMW's a year (and that's 3 too many IMO, lol). They aren't that popular around here and you don't see very many on the road, especially with the nearest dealer being almost 100 miles away.

That's the sticking point on newer vehicles. it's all but impossible to do an engine swap since every vehicle system relies on the others to operate what with all the networks and especially the multiplexing. You'd be hard pressed to even swap the same year engine from the same type of vehicle, like going from a V-6 to a V-8. The car would reject the transplant. Trying to get an older non-computer operated engine to interface with the dash, ABS, trans and body controls, etc. is a lost cause, i.e. not worth the trouble. It's bad enough sometimes just getting a new module programmed to the vehicle so it'll "talk" with all the other 8 million modules and actually have everything work with no warning lights or things that don't work. Modules (computers) come blank and you have to download the software specific to that particular VIN before it will work using a pass through device hooked to a scanner and download the software from the manufacturers site (Ford, GM, Chrysler, Toyota, etc). The software isn't free, it usually anywhere from $45 to $75 per vehicle and for each module you need to program in that vehicle and,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH! Sometime's it goes smoothly, other times you want to pull your hair out, lol. Ahhhh, the joys of being an auto tech and working on the modern automobile.
We always joke that Metallica's "Sanitarium" is the auto techs theme song but it's not that far from the truth.

Hmmm, funny how threads can go way off track when a discussion gets going, isn't it?

 

[MiradaMegacab]