Hello:

I took my car in to have the coolant flushed and they brought it back out to me 2 hours later blowing white smoke which it was not when I took it in. The engine has 106,000 miles on it and I am thinking this may be a good time to have it rebuilt or replace it with a crate engine since it is already down. I bought it used a month ago and have had a few problems with it since. I am curious what public opinion is on fixing it or replacing it.

Thank you in advance.

 

Wow! I'd have the shop in claims court ASAP! Sounds like they flushed a hot engine with a cold water hose and warped or cracked something. Like a head. Some shops don't use their brains when working on some stuff. Espeacially cast block and aluminum headed engines. Different alloys expand at diferant rates. If it wasn't blowing white, which is water, when you took it in, it shouldn't be blowing white when you got it back. I'd tell them to make it right or you'll see em in court. You said your Vette was tired. What if it wasn't? Would you let them get away with it if it was a new engine ? Just my opinion.

 

Hey i had the same thing happen to me and it is not good that you blowing out white smoke. My problem was that the head gasket seals were bad and it was causing it to smoke.

 

If you think you had problems with your motor beware of previous owners possible lack of maintenance. It is quite possible that it had a cooling problem and the off the shelf band aid fix is some kind of cooling sealant that temporarily fixes the problem. The problem with that is a good flush will make all the problems come back and it could be worse than it was before. I am faced with the same problem today but it is costing me a huge headache. I recently bought an 87 from a co-worker that I helped buy the car originally and when he first got it, it was perfect!!!. I mean collector perfect. I heard he was getting rid of it but it had been sitting for a while because the starter was bad. Happy as could be I bought it from him as is and put a new starter in it. After preliminary checks and fluid checks turned the motor over and boom. Threw a rod through the oil pan and cracked the block! After tearing down the motor I found that there was a coolant leak in the head and someone tried to fix it buy using some stop leak from Walmart! Needless to say a new motor later i am happy with a reliable engine but my dreams of a collector car with matching numbers and low miles is gone. Not to say it still isn't going to be worth something (
I am saving it for my son anyways) but it's the braging rights that are priceless. So in short be weary of used cars and be extra extra careful with understanding any small problems with your vette.