So I'm driving my 95 ESi the other day and I notice this horrible noise coming from under the hood. I bring the car into the dealership the next day and they tell me I've spun a rod bearing and need a new shortblock because it basically threw metal throughout my entire block. They tell me that my extended warranty company will probably cover a used block to put in to replace it. Then I get a call saying they want records of oil changes, etc. No problem, I get them a copy of those. Then the warranty company is still not satisfied and they send someone out to look at the car. Of course, they find problems and basically say that this was my fault and they wont cover the repair. They say my head gasket was leaking and that's what caused the breakdown. Right after I noticed the problem I checked my oil and it seemed to be at a normal level... So basically the warranty company is giving me the shaft and I dont know what to do now. The dealership is quoting about $6000 for a new shortblock install and $4000 to install a used one with 60k miles. Obviously this is unacceptable :) Does anyone have any advice for me?? I am at a complete loss as to what I should do next!!

Ben

well your options are buy a short block for 2g from howell automotive.com and install yourself, pull your own motor purchase a rebuild kit and send it to a local engine remanufacturing shop and have them rebuild it...

or u could find a used engine i would rebuild it yourself or buy a rebuild block....


rebuilt short block is about 2k,
rebuild kit is about 1k then u need the extra parts so figure about 1700$ to replace all the parts and machine work...

if u can get acess to a cherry picker and tools u can do it your self if not u might want to find a another shop and take out a loan....

if u want more info on this i can spell out the prices for ya on everything u should replace...

it jsut depends on how much mechanical knowledge u ahve is to how u want to tackle this where do ya live maybe somone in your area can assist u from the board...

Well I told you my thoughts this morning...

1) find your own parts and rebuild 'er. Either have a shop do it or do it yourself, I would be willing to help if you want.

2) or keep calling your warranty place and give them hell. Thats what I had to do on my old eclipse, I just bugged them until they fixed it.

Just don't get rid of the car with my old CF hood on it, at least gimme the chance to buy it back :D

I bet you took the car in with ur intake and mods under the hood, and the rims too. I would have came back to the place stock or near-stock so they cant shift the blame on you. Might not be too late, it's worth a try. Good Luck.

Yeah I didn't even really think of it, I didn't think the problem would be so big. Is there any way that I would not have to do all that bottom end work? It seems like some people on the board just had to replace the crank and the bearing... Maybe it will be worth it to rebuild anyway. The warranty company basically said they are denying the claim because my head gasket was leaking and not because of the other mods. I'm probably going to take it to another shop (its at the dealer right now) and have them take a look at it.

Ben

Ya but the head gasket leak is common for all of us, because of that back corner bolt being too long so the head doesn't properly seal. (when I say, back corner, facing the front of the car, the back right corner, drivers side)Everyone here in houston who has had head work done they grinded off a few threads of the said headbolt so it can torque down and seat properly.

if its under warranty shouldn't that cover the head gasket too?

Contact an attorney.

The HG is PART of the drivetrain.

Also, take a look at your warranty, there might be information on whom to call. Stick with this, and start being a little indignant to these chumps. You deserve redress IMO.

hell i spun mine twice first time factory warrantied it. second time four months later they wouldn't said intake and exaust voided it, it was the setup that was on there the first time. I ordered clevite's polished the crank and haven't had a problem since. just a thought if you didn't get piston slap you could be able to do it that way.

I'd still stick w/ getting it covered under warrenty, if your under warrenty, there is no reason they shouldnt repair it unless there was a turbo kit, NOS, or shit like that... but an intake and exhaust... nahh... they cant do that shit.... thats not going to cause a head gasket to blow and spin a rod bearing... I'd argue that till i was blue in the face if i was you... or have an attorney call them.. either that, or have them refund the extended warrenty price if its listed, since they wont honor it... or burn down their building, hehe :-)

i agree....they cant void the warranty due to modifications unless it can be proven that the modification directly resulted in the engine problem. I would certainly go back and complain....Tell them you will take them to court if they dont fix your car. Most places will just fix it because they dont want the hassle.

Yeah I've decided to stick it out and keep battling with the warranty company. Their argument is that I was low on oil and thats why it happened. Should it really matter? I changed my oil every 3000 miles and took good care of the car, they should have to fix it.

Ben

i mean, its kinda a grey area, cause if you let you car run out of oil... then its your fault, but if your headgasket blew out and the oil ran out and locked up, then thats not your fault... if they can tell the head gasket is blown, expecially if its in the problematic corner these engines encounter, then i dont know why they'd haggle w/ you?

Wow, that is very expensive....I had my engine rebuilt for 3200 at a dealership and got new pistons, crank, rods, bearings, machined block, all new belts, waterpump, oilpump, headgasket...all other gaskets...seals..valve liners, cleaned head and all labor. I am probably also forgetting a couple of things. And I'm sure you could take the warranty to small claims court and win.

I spun a bearing, and all that they checked was to see if I changed my oil periodically. They had no way of knowing how much oil was in the motor when the rod got tossed, since most of the oil was on the underside of my hood. :-)
-=B-=