Wardi
Newbie
So, after 115K VERY HARD miles on a 2000 Z71 Tahoe I bought new and have done all the maintenance on, in 2011 I decided to bite the bullet and put a new engine in it. I drove the new "trucks," did a bunch of research, but decided to get a GM Performance Products HT383E. Not cheap, but I had a local dealership I liked enough to have them do the work, met the Tech - liked him - so went for it. Also, I wanted the 3yr warranty. Anyway, since I'm in California, and this is my daily driver, I didn't modify it much more, as I needed it to smog (every 2 years here) and actually really haven't pushed it much anyway (less towing). And the house I'm in now, I just can't pull an engine out of a Tahoe.....just can't.
Sooooooo, about 3-4 months ago it starts to leak oil out the front of the engine, from around the from crankshaft seal (behind the balancer). It got pretty bad, almost a quart a tank full, but I watched the dip stick and oil pressure gauge while diving. So finally I get fed up, clean the engine off with Gunk and water, let it dry, crank it up, climb under there and watch for the oil. Sure enough, it's coming from ABOVE the crank shaft. Since I'm an old guy now (54), it was really hard getting a good look up there without taking the water pump off, but it just didn't seem to be coming from around the crank seal or the timing sensor, it was coming from above all that. I googled the crap out of this, which is one of the ways I found this great board, and actually found some pics and discussions about the camshaft gear bolts coming loose and working themselves out and digging a hole in the plastic cover. If all three work themselves out.....that would be bad....real bad.
So I take it in to the dealer I know and have them look at it. They keep it a bit and then get to it and tell me it's the seal.....Riiiiiight.......I'll be right over. So I'm over there, and the Service guy is pretty good so he lets me in back. I see the balancer off, and the seal looks good to me, and I run my fingers under the water pump - and I can feel the camshaft bolts right through the plastic cover!!! I couldn't believe it....and the tech was like "Whoa!?" I come back the next day and here's what we find:
So 2 of the bolts had worked themselves out, one was completely gone, the other was about to go, and the third was hanging in there!! If you look close, you can see were the one bolt hole looks OK, but the other 2 have thread marks. Good news is the camshaft threads were/are OK, so with a little locktight and a http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g1792/overview/year/1999/make/chevrolet/model/tahoe it's together and fixed.....under warranty.....JUST!
Sooooooo, about 3-4 months ago it starts to leak oil out the front of the engine, from around the from crankshaft seal (behind the balancer). It got pretty bad, almost a quart a tank full, but I watched the dip stick and oil pressure gauge while diving. So finally I get fed up, clean the engine off with Gunk and water, let it dry, crank it up, climb under there and watch for the oil. Sure enough, it's coming from ABOVE the crank shaft. Since I'm an old guy now (54), it was really hard getting a good look up there without taking the water pump off, but it just didn't seem to be coming from around the crank seal or the timing sensor, it was coming from above all that. I googled the crap out of this, which is one of the ways I found this great board, and actually found some pics and discussions about the camshaft gear bolts coming loose and working themselves out and digging a hole in the plastic cover. If all three work themselves out.....that would be bad....real bad.
So I take it in to the dealer I know and have them look at it. They keep it a bit and then get to it and tell me it's the seal.....Riiiiiight.......I'll be right over. So I'm over there, and the Service guy is pretty good so he lets me in back. I see the balancer off, and the seal looks good to me, and I run my fingers under the water pump - and I can feel the camshaft bolts right through the plastic cover!!! I couldn't believe it....and the tech was like "Whoa!?" I come back the next day and here's what we find:
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So 2 of the bolts had worked themselves out, one was completely gone, the other was about to go, and the third was hanging in there!! If you look close, you can see were the one bolt hole looks OK, but the other 2 have thread marks. Good news is the camshaft threads were/are OK, so with a little locktight and a http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g1792/overview/year/1999/make/chevrolet/model/tahoe it's together and fixed.....under warranty.....JUST!
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