My work truck developed a head gasket oil leak at 120K. I stopped by our shop today to see how the repair is progressing (my loaner car is a Chevy Cavalier )

I do all my repairs on my own vehicles, so I find it interesting to see a vehicle from a different perspective.

 

Nice pics . My 2000 has developed a small head leak as well . 236,000 miles so i cant really complain.

 

I smelled burning oil for the last 5K miles, and it was leaking about 1 qt every 1500 miles. When I brought the truck in for it's 6 month PM, I told the mechanic about it and he confiscated the truck (and stuck me in the Cavalier), saying policy was to fix all oil leaks immediately. At one point we were both staring at the engine, and he quietly said "...I think I'm a little over my head, I don't even know where to start ..." I have faith that he'll do a good job, it's just going to take him a while.

 

You gottuh communist in that shop. Who ever put that oil filter on that engine must really hate Fords. No wonder the damn things bleeding.

Nice shop tho - I need a lift like that .

 

They certainly don't take care of a vehicle the way I would. Fram oil filters, 15/40 oil in all gas vehicles ("...we got too many types of vehicle to have different oil for each one ..."), oil changes every 6K. Our equipment division provides and maintains 1000's of vehicles so I have to think they know what works for them. I'm just worried they'll sell my truck as it may appear to them as a "troublesome vehicle" due to all the time/money this repair is costing.

I just hope he gets it going soon. Taking a guy out of a F150 and putting him in a Chevy Cavalier is tough on the ego (the contractors I work with laugh at me every time I pull up on a jobsite).

 

They use 15 weight? Wow. I wonder if you could bring them up on abuse charges lol. Oh well, that's to bad, -what a waste.

They still make the Cavalier huh. That must be a small car, it use to be, yea that would suck lol.

Good Luck - Nice Pics

 

It's a '98 and a VERY small car. This particular one was absolutly filthy inside, (they fired the guy who drove it last), and I spent 3 hrs mucking it out before I could stand to drive it. At work they're known as the "Speed Bump" (due to their shape) or the "Cadavalier" (due to their size/lack of power).

I drool everytime I go in there. In all my years of working on cars, I've never even had a garage ... I do all my work groveling in the dirt.

 

thats sweet i found this from the other thread of the trans cooler in the radiator. any ideas on how hard that was to do? if its not to bad man would doing that make life that much easyer to work on stuff!!

 

thats how they work on diesels, pull the cab to work on them. Unfortunately the cab bolts are under the carpet, and go down into the frame. Its a safer setup that way, but it makes for more work to pull the cab off.

Nice 7700 BTW, those are getting harder to come by in good shape :o

 

I don't think our mechanic had a very good time getting the cab off. Everything must be disconnected (cooling, steering, AC, brakes, trans cooler, etc.). This truck is also bi-fuel (propane) so that whole system needed to be removed along w/ all the stuff we connect to the truck (lights, foot meter, etc.).

Thanks, I try to take as good of care of it as possible considering it spends its day on highway construction jobsites (not always a easy life). California taxpayers loaned me this truck in 2003 so I could better do my job ... the least I can do is to take care of it. Many of my coworkers trucks are totally thrashed due to neglect, something that irritates the crap out of me.

 

there a speed bump because they not hard to run over.

seriously i hate it when people dont clean out there vehicles, especially when i have to drive it. i had to testdrive a chevrolet pickup one time and i puked as soon as i got in it. the guy left chinese food sitting on the floor in the hota$$ sun. it was the guys everyday driver. i couldnt work for the rest of the day i felt so sick. one guy even leaves his dog in his truck when we work on it.