1999 Tahoe 5.7L 350 engine

[HowardDog]

New here and I desperately need some help. I have no idea about engines and I'm relaying what my mechanic has told me. I bought this Tahoe from a guy who had just replaced the engine from O' Reilly's. They got it from Power Torque and it has a 3 year parts warranty. The engine was put in September 2015 so I have 1 year left. 11,000 miles have been put on the new engine.


I was driving down the road and went to turn around. I put it in reverse and the Tahoe just died. Would not start, so I got it towed to the mechanic.

Long story short, the timing chain broke along with one of the gears.

Power Torque said to pull it and send it in to see if it would be covered under warranty(mechanic doesn't think it will be). I would have to pay the mechanic for his labor.

Mechanic said he could replace the timing chain and gear and check the compression to see if anything else was damaged. He said it may or may not fix the problem.

What do I need to do?

 

[bigfootchiro]

Did the engine come with the timing chain? Sounds like it did, but I would double check. Also, go to their website or call them to see what the warranty covers. I've never heard of a timing chain/gear braking like that. Is the engine seized?

 

[HowardDog]

I have a phone call in to them and I'm waiting to hear back. My mechanic said it looks like a nut or bolt got in there and broke the chain.

I have no idea if the engine is seized or not.

 

[bigfootchiro]

I would ask the mechanic where he thinks the bolt came from. If it was installed by the manufacturer improperly, should be covered under warranty.

 

[HowardDog]

I asked him and he said someone had to put it in there because it did not come from inside of it.

Would the mechanic that put the new engine on 2 years ago have done this? Or does the engine come with the timing chain cover already on it?

We asked the old mechanic who installed the engine if he might have done it and of course he denied it. He also said he put the engine on 2 years ago and the nut is just now breaking the chain?

I have no idea what to do. I hate to pay my mechanic to pull the engine only for Power Torque to deny the warranty.

 

[bigfootchiro]

That is true. Should have been an issue and would have heard it rattling around. This is a very interesting situation. IDK how Power Torque works, so I would look into whether it came installed or not. Maybe it came from the oil pan? Next question would be, how did it get INTO the pan?

 

[HowardDog]

Well here's where it gets interesting. I had an oil leak back in January and the GM dealership (after 4 gaskets) put a new oil pan on for me.

 

[east302]

Do you have the maintenance records for the period after the engine was replaced? They will ask for it, as they probably have some fine print in the warranty stating that any damage due to a "lack of maintenance" will not be covered.

The trouble is, they will be the ones determining why the timing chain and gear broke in the first place. Did your mechanic have any ideas on the "why" part of this?

If they denied the claim, you could then try Oreilly corporate and see if they would help out, but, otherwise you may be SOL and better off trying to fix it (if not too damaged) or getting a junkyard 350 replacement.

 

[HowardDog]

Do you have the maintenance records for the period after the engine was replaced? They will ask for it, as they probably have some fine print in the warranty stating that any damage due to a "lack of maintenance" will not be covered.

The trouble is, they will be the ones determining why the timing chain and gear broke in the first place. Did your mechanic have any ideas on the "why" part of this?

If they denied the claim, you could then try Oreilly corporate and see if they would help out, but, otherwise you may be SOL and better off trying to fix it (if not too damaged) or getting a junkyard 350 replacement.

I've only changed the oil 3 times in it (only 11k miles on the engine) and I could probably get 1 receipt out of those. The others I trashed.

Mechanic said either someone left the nut in the engine or it came from the oil pan. Since I got a new oil pan in January I'm assuming the latter.

Estimate on fixing or replacing the engine?

 

[HowardDog]

What are the chances of him replacing the timing chain and gear and it start working?