2004 Pontiac Sunfire
5 speed manual
58,000 miles
Not pimped, not raced, not hot... it gets me from A to B and back again. Well, used to...
Friday night on the way home, pulled out from intersection in 1st. Shifted to 2nd and felt a loss of power and noticed my headlights dimming and the engine stuggled to run... Thought I was out of gas, looked at the gas gauge... that was ok... so I pushed the clutch in and gave it some gas... and heard some pretty bad noises coming from the engine.
Pulled off the side of the road and shut-r-down. After a short tirade of profanities, attempted to start-r-up... ewwwww... more bad noises from under the hood and a nice plume of white smoke out of the exhaust.
Popped the hood to take a look, as if I knew that I was looking for... didn't see any body parts, or anything that didn't look right. Pulled the dipstick and it looked a bit "green"...
Had it towed to the Gm dealer Saturday morning. Waiting for a phone call today to hear how bad it is.
I am hoping for just a head gasket and/or the timing belt. But I have a feeling it's terminal...
Anyone have dealings with GM on the 10/100 PowerTrain Warranty? I am hoping all is covered. From what I've read, it covers everything under the hood.
If it is terminal, and not covered, I am hoping to break even on a trade ($4900 owed)
I would say it sounds kinda like a head gasket. That doesn't mean its no big deal. Sounds like it was going/gone long enough to do some serious damage to the bottom end...
"The Blue Bullet"
yea i would also say a headgasket went, but to hear noises that bad? ehhh i thin it might of tore something up, as you said it's probably terminal.
Coolant in the oil and white smoke out the exhaust are telltale signs of a blown head gasket. But like the others said, a head gasket shouldn't make horrible noises. It should be covered by warranty (that is if you have something past the 3yrs/36month). Don't let them try to tell you it isn't.
Rob
Sold 2/2/05
At least it didn't chuck a rod through the hood... seen that happen before...
My guess is, timing belt broke, and it ran long enough (300-400 feet; 30-45seconds) after I noticed the problems to destroy a valve or three which in turn bounced around in there...
It's makes me sick to my stomach... This was my first vehicle that I purchased that wasn't handed down the family chain... and I really enjoyed it. And as bad as I want a G5, I didn't want to go about it this way....
REDGOTE wrote: It should be covered by warranty (that is if you have something past the 3yrs/36month). Don't let them try to tell you it isn't.
It should fall under the 10 year / 100,000 mile warranty. Unless there is some fine print that says it covers everything unless you are taller than 6'2". Then I'm in trouble...
we dont have timing belts buddy.
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- Sold my beloved J in April 2010 -
#1 we don't have a timing belt, its a timing CHAIN. if you broke that I'll give you $50
#2 our coolant is orange not green. looks like someone put koolaide in your cooling system.
dunno what happened, but I'm leaning towards no oil in the engine
that is true, unless it was refilled with the generic green stuff, i couldnt see where the liquid is coming from, but it should be warranty, as long as oil changes were done on schedule
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2267189
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we dont have timing belts buddy.
Thanks for the info Mr. Chilton
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#1 we don't have a timing belt, its a timing CHAIN. if you broke that I'll give you $50
#a. Thanks for the INFO. I've heard that bit of INFO somewhere on here before. You can KEEP your $50.
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#2 our coolant is orange not green. looks like someone put koolaide in your cooling system.
#b. Well, there's the problem. I put the KoolAid in the cooling system. Heard it adds 5-10 Hp. But I added Berry Blue KoolAid, not green or orange. Should have matched the flavors huhh? I'll have to look into that one.
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it should be warranty, as long as oil changes were done on schedule
Oil was changed every 5,000 miles (along with the KoolAid) but the problem may be that I can't prove it. I do not keep the receipts for that.
Still haven't heard back from the Service Dept. Maybe they parted it out and saved me the trouble...
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Oil was changed every 5,000 miles (along with the KoolAid) but the problem may be that I can't prove it. I do not keep the receipts for that.
Still haven't heard back from the Service Dept. Maybe they parted it out and saved me the trouble...
if all the oil changes where done at a GM dealer, they will have it all on file.
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dunno what happened, but I'm leaning towards no oil in the engine
if there was no oil in the engine the engine would seize. and the car would roll to a stop. but he heard a lot of noise. so im thinking snapped timing chain.
http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/my2005cav/my%20car%20the%20bash.jpg
Did this car have the Ecotec motor.
I have seen one at work blow a headgasket, or snap a chain.
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
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so im thinking snapped timing chain.
That's what I'm thinking too. Just hope there was minimal damage internally.
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Did this car have the Ecotec motor.
Yes, I believe so. If the factory engine in the 2004 Sunfire is the Ecotec.
Next time you buy a car you should read the papers they gave you.
When you buy a car and you don't know witch engine is in there, it's like making love and not knowing who you slept with. The powertrain warranty doesn't cover everyhting under the hood. It cover only the engine and tranny for INTERNAL parts. A sensor on the engine (IE CPS) won't be covered.
The engine will not seized without oil. It will after a while but the first thing will be the mains and rods bearing that will let go. Same thing for running with coolant in the oil. The bearing get chewed up and you end up with knock.
Paul - The 02 eco had a problem with the timming chain when they first came out. Some of them broke under normal use.
Gilles
2.3 Ho
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Next time you buy a car you should read the papers they gave you.
When you buy a car and you don't know witch engine is in there, it's like making love and not knowing who you slept with. The powertrain warranty doesn't cover everyhting under the hood. It cover only the engine and tranny for INTERNAL parts. A sensor on the engine (IE CPS) won't be covered.
The engine will not seized without oil. It will after a while but the first thing will be the mains and rods bearing that will let go. Same thing for running with coolant in the oil. The bearing get chewed up and you end up with knock.
Thanks for all of the info.
To be completely frank, I don't eat, sleep, drink, smoke etc etc for my car. Like I said before, this car was an A to B and back again car. I bought it because the price was right at the time. Not because I could sink thousands of dollars into it and make myself believe it was a high performace car. It's not. It's a Sunfire.
I understand that most of you are passionate about your j-bodys, and I can appriciate that, however to compare buying a car to making love?
Where do you live at?, Do you have a garage?
Want that engine swapped out?
- 2004 Cavalier - 124k, owned since new
***Sorry to thread jack*** But If I bought my car from a private seller 03 Cavi 29,000 miles is there any kind of warranty on it at all
***Looking for a BLUE 03+ STOCK cavi wing pm me if ya got one you wanna sell***
Warranty doesn't transfer. You don't need proof of oil changes (check the warranty agreement if you don't believe me) unless the reason it's blown up looks like you never changed the oil..... I'd be amazed if you snapped the timing chain, not saying it doesn't happen, but it's pretty rare on an unmodified eco.
My bet is blown HG, hydrolyzed the motor, and bent a rod or two.
here is my 2 cent. I bought a used 2000 Pontiac with 19,000 miles on it. Before the 3/36 warrenty was up, it blew a head gasket. The local GM dealer fixed it, no questions asked. My point is 1. they won't ask for maintaince scheduales from you and 2. the factory warranty is good for the first 3/36 no matter who owns it.
Mako.
As for the problem, definately sounds like head gasket. As for the noise, could be a numble of things.
UPDATE
Called the stealership this afternoon.
Something let go in the engine and tore it all to hell.
Service guy said I'll need a new engine.
My question is, I though the Power Train warranty was 10yr/100,000 miles? It's a 2004 Sunfire.
The service guy said the Power Train warranty is 3yr/36,000.
WTF?
Anyone knowlegable on the warranty?
I'm not sure why you think you have a 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty, because the OEM warranty for a 2004 Pontiac Sunfire is as follows:
Basic (mo.) 36
Basic (mi.) 36,000
Powertrain (mo.) 36
Powertrain (mi.) 36,000
Rust (mo.) 72
Rust (mi.) 100,000
So, unless you purchased an optional powertrain warranty (if even available?) I think you're probably SOL. Sorry.
That's why in my first post I said it would be covered, "that is if you have something past the 3yrs/36month". I have a 50,000 mile on mine. They just added it to the price of the car, so it goes on my payment every month.
GM warranties have always sucked, and they just started offering a better one... but it is still behind the competition.
You can find a used Eco and most likely find an org member near you to give you a hand swapping it in.
Rob
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Wednesday, December 13, 2006 10:05 AM
Sold 2/2/05
