The engine-less Sierra

Way back in June I was informed that my 2005 GMC Sierra pickup truck would need a new head gasket. For those of you who aren’t familiar with internal combustion engines, the head gasket is a large, complex gasket that fits between the engine block and the “head” – the piece that caps the cylinders. Its purpose is to ensure a tight seal on the cylinders, keeping oil and coolant from getting into the cylinders and preventing high-pressure combustion gases from escaping into the cooling system. It is a very important piece of a very complex puzzle.

And it is a bitch to replace. The engine must be pulled out of the vehicle, then completely disassembled, cleaned and reassembled with the new gasket installed. The original estimate was $3,000 but I expected it would be substantially more, probably $4,000 after adding in parts and state tax. Well, I was low. The final cost was $5,574.05. There was “extra labor”, glow plugs (i.e., spark plugs for diesels), thermostats and two injector return hoses.

This truck is important to our lifestyle. Our fifth wheel goes nowhere without it. As we needed to vacate our current location by Oct 22, it was vitally important that we have a functioning truck by that date. I briefly considered trading it in on a newer used truck, but could find no suitable replacement. Buying a new one would mean an additional $60,000 of debt, which was not palatable. And the truck has only 127,000 miles, which is nothing for a diesel engine.

So it was with a great deal of trepidation that I handed over the keys for what would be nearly a two-week job. My trepidation was not diminished when, a week into the job, I stopped by the Keeler Bay Service and Sales to check on the progress and found the truck sitting outside with the engine in about a thousand pieces, filling the back seat and much of the bed of the truck. Nor was I soothed when I inquired as to status and they said that the repairs were being delayed because the wrong gasket had been delivered to them. Nail-biting time.

Well, the repairs were completed and the truck was returned to me a week ago. I took it for a 100-mile test drive yesterday and it seems ok. I wasn’t towing anything, so I still am not completely sanguine about the situation. But I have built some confidence that they didn’t make it worse.

That sounds like faint praise, but the fact is that I was very worried that they might do exactly that. I drove the truck all summer – not far, but frequently – and we did use it to tow the RV to the Escapade in July. It was operating flawlessly, which made the decision to invest over $4.000 all the more difficult. But Mitch, the owner of the Keeler Bay shop, told me that they found oil in the coolant when they took the engine apart, which was a symptom of impending doom. He assured me that the engine would have been destroyed if I had further delayed the repairs.

So now, $5,500 later, I have a truck that operates as well as it did before. But will (hopefully) last for years.