Waiting on the Goat

"Dale Franks" (DaleFranks) 04/04/2014 at 00:32 • Filed to: GTO, Pontiac, CarMax

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The inspector for the CarMax warranty people went to the GM dealership, looked over my car, and sent his approval to replace the engine to MaxCare. So, it looks like CarMax is going to pay for a new LS2 engine to be dropped into the GTO.

I still don't know how the engine got cracked. Friday night something went terribly wrong, though. It overheated on my way home after teaching my Friday night Management class. I barely made it home.

Monday night, when I got home from work, I got in the GTO, with my wife following me in her car, and set out for the Buick/Caddy dealership. I had to stop after 10 blocks because it overheated. I shut her down, opened the hood, and waited for 15 minutes. I made it another 10 blocks to the dealership by turning the engine off at each light and coasting as much as possible between lights.

So, the radiator is cracked, and the engine is cracked somewhere, allowing coolant to get into the engine oil. I only got 2,500 miles on the car before this happened.

Hopefully, I'll get more than 2,500 miles off the new engine.

I'm really wondering what, if anything, the previous owner did to the GTO, and if he knew a problem was coming before he sold it. I'm also wondering why CarMax didn't catch any problems before they sold it to me.

As soon as MaxCare approves the parts list from the dealership, the service guy says they'll have the car back to me in about a week.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes right this time.

Anyway, kudos to Carmax for honoring the warranty. I'm pretty sure they aren't happy about spending seven grand on a new motor plus labor.

But I sure am.

AthomSfere > Dale Franks 04/04/2014 at 00:34

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That damn engine balded the tires too, better honor that warranty CarMax!

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Dale Franks 04/04/2014 at 00:34

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Serious bummer on the problem, but CarMax warranty FTW!

offroadkarter > Dale Franks 04/04/2014 at 00:34

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how many miles on the car?

Dale Franks > offroadkarter 04/04/2014 at 00:35

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72,500. I was going to take it in for service this weekend, because it was due for the first oil change.

Dale Franks > offroadkarter 04/04/2014 at 00:36

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Well, it's in for service, all right.

Dale Franks > AthomSfere 04/04/2014 at 00:37

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Those were the tires that were on it when I got it. These pics are from the day I got it.

M54B30 > Dale Franks 04/04/2014 at 00:40

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Luckily for you, I have exclusive footage of what the previous owner did from every stop...

Sorry about your luck

AthomSfere > Dale Franks 04/04/2014 at 00:42

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offroadkarter > Dale Franks 04/04/2014 at 00:43

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Does it seem like it was maintained well? I know the manual LS2 cars had "oil consumption issues" if you drove the car like it was intended

Dale Franks > M54B30 04/04/2014 at 00:43

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I live and commute in the city. I never even got a chance to do stuff like that. I bought it because I wanted to autocross and track it a little bit. Never got the chance to do that, either. Since I usually ride a motorcycle on a daily basis, so far this winter I've mainly just driven the Goat in the rain.

Dale Franks > offroadkarter 04/04/2014 at 00:45

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It seemed like it it, but who knows? Once a dealership gets it, they clean it up pretty good. That could hide a multitude of issues.

offroadkarter > Dale Franks 04/04/2014 at 00:55

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if its a real big POS they can't hide that very well. I test drove a 04 S60R at a volvo dealership that had AWD clunking, brake grinding, and a chewed up center console. No amount of armor all would hide that

TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! > Dale Franks 04/04/2014 at 01:00

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Man, I wish we had CarMax up here in Canada. It would make owning an older STI a lot more palpable. Even with the amount of sideways hat wearing kids that seem to own them... somehow.

shop-teacher > Dale Franks 04/04/2014 at 08:41

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Did you ever check for strut rub? That's a common problem for these with 17" wheels. The inside of the front tires rubs ever so slightly on the struts. Might want to have them check that while its in the shop anyways.

Apparently 18" wheels were the best cure for it, but I didn't have my GTO long enough to test that. An alignment change could fix it with 17" wheels.

Frank Grimes > Dale Franks 04/04/2014 at 09:59

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YOu should casually mention that this is in fact a rare optioned car and it will require the LS7 engine. BAM! 505HP I am a genius!

thedevilinside > Dale Franks 04/04/2014 at 10:44

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GTOs are pretty fun to autocross. I did StopTech front rotors with HPS pads. Second gear traction control off and you're good. I Tried for good times, and actually did fairly well for being inexperienced. But a lot of the time the rear started to step out and I just gave it more gas. Just too much fun.

thedevilinside > shop-teacher 04/04/2014 at 10:48

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17s arent the only problem I don't think. Rear radius rod bushings are helpful too.

Dale Franks > Frank Grimes 04/04/2014 at 10:50

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Yeah. I already tried that. They aren't even willing to bend on an LS3.

Frank Grimes > Dale Franks 04/04/2014 at 10:53

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Aint no shame at all in an LS2 but it was worth a try.