She will be missed....our '02 Blazer w/249K on her, sorta died yesterday

[Meghan54]

Well, it's like this. I've been pushing our '02 Chevy Blazer pretty hard the last few weeks. Been moving in increments from Savannah, GA to Cape Cod, MA, mostly using the Blazer pulling trailers, like the U-Haul dual axle 6x12 and our 5x8.

Yesterday afternoon, just after getting into Rhode Island on I-95 N, pulling said 5x8 trailer that was packed almost to capacity and the truck loaded to the gills, began to notice smoke trailing the truck as I climbed the small hills and would dissipate as I "coasted" down the other side.

After I'd noticed the trailing smoke, I first thought it was a trailer tire that was smoking or a bearing/wheel on the trailer gone bad.

I pull over and notice the smoke wafting from under the truck. Open the hood, more smoke (truck is idling).

Turn truck off, slither underneath. Oil's apparently coming from a bad rear main seal and has coated the underside of the truck, and this was a seal which wasn't bad when I left the house. I'd been hearing a bad bearing noise a few days before leaving, but it sounded like a bad bearing in the A/C compressor or alternator or water pump and was hard to isolate where it was coming from. (But I had my tools with me and figured if any of those parts went out, I could manage to get to some sort of parts store and replace the bad piece, even if it meant working on the side of the road.)

Well, once the rear main seal went, the "bad bearing" sound got deeper, "knockier" sounding, and finally localized itself to the rear of the engine....most likely a bad rear main bearing.

So, get a relative of my wife's to pick up the trailer and take it home for me....but couldn't get it until this morning.....that meant spending the night on the side of the road. Dammit.

But he arrived at 7:30AM this morning, got the trailer off the Blazer and onto his pickup and took off. Wife arrived just afterwards with a qt. bottle of Lucas oil stabilizer stuff, poured in the whole quart. Damn sticky but slick stuff....and thick.

Then proceeded to start the truck up and drive the last 2 hours of the trip. Truck made it the whole way, albeit with oil pressure that was slowly falling the whole way. And as I pulled into the driveway, the bad bearing really began screeching.

Truck is now dead. She was a great runner while she lasted. She did 9 1/4 years and 249K miles before this. And prior to this, she always started, ran, and pulled anything and everything asked of her.

She will be missed.

 

[punjabiplaya]

not bad, we usually run our cars into the ground like that too

main seals is too much of a fix to keep em going unless there's another car and you want to turn it into a project car

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

Driving a car with a bad bearing is a bad thing. The engine will slowly tear itself apart and destroy more and more of the engine the longer it runs. At some point it will just seize up.

The longer it runs that way the more expensive the repair job becomes, you can even destroy a block that way.

It seems like you just wanted to not pay for a tow and already wrote the truck off as a loss so doesn't seem like a big deal.

 

[JulesMaximus]

150,000 is about the most I've ever driven a car before getting a newer one...they've been toast by then because I usually bought them used. My current car is the longest I've owned any car in my entire life, 8 years, and I have 105,000 miles on it. Original owner.

 

[Meghan54]

Driving a car with a bad bearing is a bad thing. The engine will slowly tear itself apart and destroy more and more of the engine the longer it runs. At some point it will just seize up.

The longer it runs that way the more expensive the repair job becomes, you can even destroy a block that way.

It seems like you just wanted to not pay for a tow and already wrote the truck off as a loss so doesn't seem like a big deal.

Well, first, how much do you think a 2 hour + tow would cost? Add to that the cost of replacing a crank and all its bearings (mains and rods), seals, and I think I'd have been approaching if not exceeding what the truck is worth.

Second, I'd already given the truck up as terminal from the sounds I heard and the rear main seal giving up. So, no real further damage was done as the terminal damage was already done.

On the other hand, that Lucas crap really did do a good job holding together and lubing the remnants of that bad bearing. It took almost all the bad sound right out of it, at least for the vast majority of the trip. And it also thickened up the oil enough to almost completely stop the leak, again for the vast majority of the trip.

So, while I probably ensured the crank/bearing is completely destroyed driving it like I did, part of that was borne out of necessity.....truck just wasn't worth $10/mile in towing and having 130 miles or so to drive.

 

[halik]

Well, it's like this. I've been pushing our '02 Chevy Blazer pretty hard the last few weeks. Been moving in increments from Savannah, GA to Cape Cod, MA, mostly using the Blazer pulling trailers, like the U-Haul dual axle 6x12 and our 5x8.

Yesterday afternoon, just after getting into Rhode Island on I-95 N, pulling said 5x8 trailer that was packed almost to capacity and the truck loaded to the gills, began to notice smoke trailing the truck as I climbed the small hills and would dissipate as I "coasted" down the other side.

After I'd noticed the trailing smoke, I first thought it was a trailer tire that was smoking or a bearing/wheel on the trailer gone bad.

I pull over and notice the smoke wafting from under the truck. Open the hood, more smoke (truck is idling).

Turn truck off, slither underneath. Oil's apparently coming from a bad rear main seal and has coated the underside of the truck, and this was a seal which wasn't bad when I left the house. I'd been hearing a bad bearing noise a few days before leaving, but it sounded like a bad bearing in the A/C compressor or alternator or water pump and was hard to isolate where it was coming from. (But I had my tools with me and figured if any of those parts went out, I could manage to get to some sort of parts store and replace the bad piece, even if it meant working on the side of the road.)

Well, once the rear main seal went, the "bad bearing" sound got deeper, "knockier" sounding, and finally localized itself to the rear of the engine....most likely a bad rear main bearing.

So, get a relative of my wife's to pick up the trailer and take it home for me....but couldn't get it until this morning.....that meant spending the night on the side of the road. Dammit.

But he arrived at 7:30AM this morning, got the trailer off the Blazer and onto his pickup and took off. Wife arrived just afterwards with a qt. bottle of Lucas oil stabilizer stuff, poured in the whole quart. Damn sticky but slick stuff....and thick.

Then proceeded to start the truck up and drive the last 2 hours of the trip. Truck made it the whole way, albeit with oil pressure that was slowly falling the whole way. And as I pulled into the driveway, the bad bearing really began screeching.

Truck is now dead. She was a great runner while she lasted. She did 9 1/4 years and 249K miles before this. And prior to this, she always started, ran, and pulled anything and everything asked of her.

She will be missed.

How often did you change the oil?

Of all the snake oil things sold in the stores, the stop leak stuff does actually work. I've used it successfully to swell weeping rear main seals .

 

[jlee]

Are you going to drop another motor in it and keep it going, or get something else?

 

[BUTCH1]

Kinda asking a lot from a vehicle with 249K miles on it, surprised it got that far.

 

[skyking]

Driving a car with a bad bearing is a bad thing. The engine will slowly tear itself apart and destroy more and more of the engine the longer it runs. At some point it will just seize up.

The longer it runs that way the more expensive the repair job becomes, you can even destroy a block that way.

It seems like you just wanted to not pay for a tow and already wrote the truck off as a loss so doesn't seem like a big deal.

The tow bill would pay for most of a used engine, and that would be the most sound economical advice at this point if he were to keep it.
Good on ya OP for limping it in

 

[alphatarget1]

Are you going to drop another motor in it and keep it going, or get something else?

Yeah, I'd find a motor from a junk yard and drop it in, lol.

 

[Zap]

Well, first, how much do you think a 2 hour + tow would cost?

IDK, but a 40 minute tow once cost me something like $150, and that was a long time ago. I'd imagine a 2 hour tow these days would cost a pretty penny.

 

[Meghan54]

Kinda asking a lot from a vehicle with 249K miles on it, surprised it got that far.

Well, it may have seemed to be asking a lot, but until that moment, the old girl was up to any task we'd asked of her. I know 249K is a lot of miles, esp. when you include the towing we'd done with her, but she'd given no indication that any impending disaster lurked. Never know about those things until they happen.

IDK, but a 40 minute tow once cost me something like $150, and that was a long time ago. I'd imagine a 2 hour tow these days would cost a pretty penny.

Pretty penny? Pretty dollars and a wheelbarrow full of them. The $10/mile quote we got was the most charitable of the quotes on towing the truck 2 hours.....most were $15/mile and above. And the $10/mile quote was only from the breakdown point to the house, that didn't include the cost of getting the truck to us....was told that'd be around $5/mile. And since we're just not exactly made of money these days, we chose the cheaper option, completely kill the motor trying to limp home. Was amazed it did make the complete trip, but then again, we got the trailer pulled off separately by a relative of my wife. It'll sit covered in his yard until we can find a vehicle to tow it to us.

How often did you change the oil?

Of all the snake oil things sold in the stores, the stop leak stuff does actually work. I've used it successfully to swell weeping rear main seals .

The truck had only synthetic oil used in it since its first oil change (we bought it new). I changed it every 6-7K miles. Primarily used Royal Purple in her although I used Pennzoil Ultimate once in a while. Filters were always Mobil 1 or K&N or Purolater PureOne filters.

First time I ever used a Lucas product and given the circumstances it was used, I'd say the Lucas Oil Stabilizer stuff really did an excellent job. Stopped the leak almost completely....wife did say there was a slight haze emanating from under the truck while limping in, but nowhere near the mosquito fogger it was before adding the Lucas.

Are you going to drop another motor in it and keep it going, or get something else?

That's a question we're pondering right now. In the last year, we replaced both front and rear rotors and pads, radiator, water pump, recharged the A/C, shocks all around, idler arm, new cat about 75K ago, etc. I tried to keep up with the maintenance on her which is one reason I believe she lasted so long.

The tragic thing is a new 4.3L V-6 from GM, with its 3 yr./36K mile warranty, is around $1700 or more. Install costs up here in Cape Cod will be well over $1000. But other than the engine, the truck is in excellent condition.....glass perfect, paint excellent except for a couple of minor chips (normal crap, ya know), interior is almost perfect. Everything works on it and works well.

Shame to let it go without even trying to fix her, but having to put in over half its value to get her running again is just a bitter pill to swallow right now. But it's a plan that's being kicked around between the wife and myself.

 

[hanoverphist]

couldnt you have had the same family member with a truck rent a flatbed trailer and drag your truck home on it? when my friends trailblazer dropped dead in wickenberg we got another friends flatbed trailer (with a winch, yeehaw) and picked it up. that was about 100 miles, and just the cost of gas and lunch for it.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Yeah, I'd find a motor from a junk yard and drop it in, lol.

With 250k on it I would think everything else on the vehicle would be pretty shot.

Then again, my wife's best friend has a 2002 Lexus ES300 with 300,000 miles on it and it is still going stong on the original engine/transmission.

 

[halik]

Well, it may have seemed to be asking a lot, but until that moment, the old girl was up to any task we'd asked of her. I know 249K is a lot of miles, esp. when you include the towing we'd done with her, but she'd given no indication that any impending disaster lurked. Never know about those things until they happen.






Pretty penny? Pretty dollars and a wheelbarrow full of them. The $10/mile quote we got was the most charitable of the quotes on towing the truck 2 hours.....most were $15/mile and above. And the $10/mile quote was only from the breakdown point to the house, that didn't include the cost of getting the truck to us....was told that'd be around $5/mile. And since we're just not exactly made of money these days, we chose the cheaper option, completely kill the motor trying to limp home. Was amazed it did make the complete trip, but then again, we got the trailer pulled off separately by a relative of my wife. It'll sit covered in his yard until we can find a vehicle to tow it to us.





The truck had only synthetic oil used in it since its first oil change (we bought it new). I changed it every 6-7K miles. Primarily used Royal Purple in her although I used Pennzoil Ultimate once in a while. Filters were always Mobil 1 or K&N or Purolater PureOne filters.

First time I ever used a Lucas product and given the circumstances it was used, I'd say the Lucas Oil Stabilizer stuff really did an excellent job. Stopped the leak almost completely....wife did say there was a slight haze emanating from under the truck while limping in, but nowhere near the mosquito fogger it was before adding the Lucas.






That's a question we're pondering right now. In the last year, we replaced both front and rear rotors and pads, radiator, water pump, recharged the A/C, shocks all around, idler arm, new cat about 75K ago, etc. I tried to keep up with the maintenance on her which is one reason I believe she lasted so long.

The tragic thing is a new 4.3L V-6 from GM, with its 3 yr./36K mile warranty, is around $1700 or more. Install costs up here in Cape Cod will be well over $1000. But other than the engine, the truck is in excellent condition.....glass perfect, paint excellent except for a couple of minor chips (normal crap, ya know), interior is almost perfect. Everything works on it and works well.

Shame to let it go without even trying to fix her, but having to put in over half its value to get her running again is just a bitter pill to swallow right now. But it's a plan that's being kicked around between the wife and myself.

There's a million GM 4.3L used motors with warranty for ~600 delivered. Most of them come with compression numbers too.

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

If the tow was less than $1000 I would have done it. I would have then thrown a used engine inside and driven that one until I needed another used engine. In the worst case you have a running car. You can still buy a used engine though and throw it in.

 

[Eli]

It's kinda funny. I'm spoiled both by the MPG and the longevity of the Insight. Not only will I never be able to consider 45MPG good again, I'll also never consider 250,000 miles to be good again.

Oh well.

 

[Meghan54]

It's kinda funny. I'm spoiled both by the MPG and the longevity of the Insight. Not only will I never be able to consider 45MPG good again, I'll also never consider 250,000 miles to be good again.

Oh well.

And that Insight can tow an 18' boat and hold four largish dogs how well?

Vehicle choices are all about tradeoffs.....the Insight may give gas mileage and longevity, but for some, they really don't serve much of a purpose, other than a putt-around car.

 

[Eli]

And that Insight can tow an 18' boat and hold four largish dogs how well?

Vehicle choices are all about tradeoffs.....the Insight may give gas mileage and longevity, but for some, they really don't serve much of a purpose, other than a putt-around car.

Oh no sorry I wasn't trying to put the Blazer down or anything, it was just an observation.

I agree, the Insight is pretty much useless except for MPG. It can barely handle a trip to Costco. But I still love them.

I have a Chevy 1/2 ton back home in Portland.

 

[fbrdphreak]

+1 to dropping in another engine. It doesn't have to be a new one from GM, but that would probably be a good investment.

It may be $1700 + install, but will you get another vehicle like that for ~$3K? Are you okay with making payments on a newer vehicle?

Of course you've got to have the cash handy to make that happen.

Either way, she gave you a good run. I wouldn't mind picking up one of those rides as my hauler if/when my 97 LGT passes on.

 

[BUTCH1]

There's a million GM 4.3L used motors with warranty for ~600 delivered. Most of them come with compression numbers too.

That might be the route to go, why spend thousands on a new motor plus at 249K how much longer can OP expect the transmission to last..

 

[angminas]

Agreed, if you can spend $3k and get a nearly new vehicle which you obviously have a lot of use for, it's a no-brainer. You're not planning to sell it, so the value of the car has nothing to do with the blue book and everything to do with the pocketbook.

 

[angminas]

If the tow was less than $1000 I would have done it. I would have then thrown a used engine inside and driven that one until I needed another used engine. In the worst case you have a running car. You can still buy a used engine though and throw it in.

Spend a grand to tow it, then change the engine too?

 

[skyking]

Spend a grand to tow it, then change the engine too?

sticking to his guns FTL. Once the rear main started leaking bad, that engine was toast anyway you look at it. Metal was already everywhere from the failed rear main. Like I said, the OP was spot-on for limping it back from enemy territory.

 

[BUTCH1]

sticking to his guns FTL. Once the rear main started leaking bad, that engine was toast anyway you look at it. Metal was already everywhere from the failed rear main. Like I said, the OP was spot-on for limping it back from enemy territory.

Huh, the seal is rubber, the problem arose from loss of lubricant, not the seal itself..