My 03' with 30m miles suddendly went HOT, then a quick red line and shut down. The message was "low on coolant". Put coolant in, ran OK, cool temp and drove to the dealer.
They called the next day with the bad news:
- Coolant leaked INTO the engine. Hydrolock!
- No coolant leakage outside.
- No fix other than a new $8m engine
Just doesn't make sense. This is my 3rd Corvette, all treated with TLC. You'd think GM would stand behind their product.
Anyone else that's gone through this, please email.
dickolson@earthlink.net

 

Ouch! That hurt me just reading it. Best of luck. Let us know how it turns out.

 

that's because they probably don't rebuild engines at the dealership

 

Why did it "suddenly go hot"?

 

No idea except the coolant emptied into the block. The dealer wants $2500 to find out themselves.

 

they suggested i trade the 03' in on a new Z06. Great customer disservice.

 

You probably lost a head gasket. That would allow the coolant into the cylinder and hydrolock the motor. Headgaskets just don't go bad that easily. Pull the plugs and verify the cylinders, drain the oil and verify coolant in there before tearing it down.

 

If it runs it's not hydrolocked, you probably bent a pushrod or something and it can be rebuilt.

I hydrolocked a motor one time and it chucked part of the block off the side of the cylinder. The 2nd time I hydrolocked I pulled the plugs and cranked it over. It spit water about 6 feet in the air and then was fine.

I would take it to an engine builder, it sounds salvageable

 

Are you qualified and confident enough to pull the engine apart yourself? Do you have the time, tools and space to do it? Is there someone who could help you?

If yes, then check it yourself as suggested. You have nothing to lose.

If no, which might be case since you took it to a dealership (and no mention of warranty, either), then you're at the mercy of whatever shop you take it to.

The car is now 5-6 model years old with 30k miles. How long should GM warranty the motor? It's one good reason to have an extended warranty. Stuff happens! It's only been very recently that GM has extended the drive train warranty to 100k miles.

Will the car need to be towed or can you still drive it somewhere? Are you the original owner? Has the motor ever been modified by the original owner in the past?

The LSx motors have been around for some time now. They're pretty hardy motors. Losing a head gasket isn't unheard of, but it would make one wonder if the cylinder heads have been off at some point.

Get some highly recommended independent shop recommendations in your area for their second and third opinion(s).

You might also find a salvaged car locally with a good motor which could be swapped out in lieu of rebuilding yours. Your motor has value to a rebuilder.

 

They do stand behind their product. But like any other automaker there is a limit to how long. Your car is 6 model years old. The factory warranty was for 3 years/36K miles. Currently GM has one of the better drivetrain warranties for new cars and it only covers 5 years/100K miles.

If it was a Hyundai it might have a 10 year warranty but would you care?

Bill

 

If they say it's hydrolcoked get it in writing and take that to your insurance company they will cover it under your policy.