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Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Rocker Arm problem

Our 2003 Olds Silhouette with 170,000 has started showing unfortunate aging pains.

Just after Christmas, coincidentally (or not) a couple days after a drive from NW Michigan to SE Michigan and back, the check engine light came on, we started having shaking and stuttering, reduced power, and stalling at stops (all per my husband, as I never drove it while it was in this condition).

We took it to a local mechanic, who diagnosed our #2 piston as having loose or stripped rocker arm bolts. He ended up also tightening a 2nd one. Total bill was about $388. He warned that this could continue to happen with the other ones.

Post-repair, the car was running beautiful. Couldn't tell the engine was running while idling at a traffic light.

Well, Sunday, same thing happened again. We're planning on taking it back to the same mechanic. My husband recalls him saying that if they did all 6 of them, the job would run about $700-$800. We're tight, but leaning towards that rather than a piecemeal "repair as they blow."

I do not have a specific question to ask. I'd like to know what people on here think about this situation. Whether the price sounds right, etc.

We absolutely HAVE to have this vehicle on the road. It's all we've got, and we live in Elk Rapids and my husband works in Traverse City. That money would have gone toward saving for a 2nd car so we don't keep ending up in a panicked, vehicle-less position. But we gotta keep this one running for now.

1 comment:

  1. I think you have to add some Auto Body Collision Repair Pic's to make your blog attractive

    ReplyDelete