2009 Yukon Denali 6.2 L9H Engine Replacement

[KraftMatic87]

I just talked to LT and he said to give him a call - 719-632-2167.

I called and left a message I’ll call again in the morning before I send my truck to this shop that’s closer to me. I sent Tolman Performance a very detailed email yesterday of the entire situation with pictures, inspection reports and the YT videos I posted on this thread so I’ll see what they say tomorrow! Thanks for the tip!

 

[KraftMatic87]

I talked to someone at LT's shop today. I was going to get it towed down but AAA informed me I only had the basic plan, so anything after the first 10 miles is ~$7 / mile which would cost me about $600ish to get it down there. Upgraded to Premium AAA for $48 that has 100 mile free tow, but I have to wait 24 hours until I can use it. Courtesy Automotive said they might not be able to look at it until the week after July 4th. At this point I'm willing to wait a month or two if I have to if I can get this thing running clean again.

My neighbor is loaning me her truck so at least I'll have a set of wheels until I can get the Denali back. What a freakin' roller coaster this has been. I've been trying to keep a positive attitude but this situation just really sucks. My wife keeps reminding me I should have just bought another Highlander. She ain't wrong!

Hoping I have some better news in a few weeks on how LT and Courtesy Automotive can get me back on the road. Thanks again everyone for your help, once this thing is on a flatbed tomorrow at least I know I'll eventually get some honest answers.

 

[swathdiver]

I talked to someone at LT's shop today. I was going to get it towed down but AAA informed me I only had the basic plan, so anything after the first 10 miles is ~$7 / mile which would cost me about $600ish to get it down there. Upgraded to Premium AAA for $48 that has 100 mile free tow, but I have to wait 24 hours until I can use it. Courtesy Automotive said they might not be able to look at it until the week after July 4th. At this point I'm willing to wait a month or two if I have to if I can get this thing running clean again.

My neighbor is loaning me her truck so at least I'll have a set of wheels until I can get the Denali back. What a freakin' roller coaster this has been. I've been trying to keep a positive attitude but this situation just really sucks. My wife keeps reminding me I should have just bought another Highlander. She ain't wrong!

Hoping I have some better news in a few weeks on how LT and Courtesy Automotive can get me back on the road. Thanks again everyone for your help, once this thing is on a flatbed tomorrow at least I know I'll eventually get some honest answers.

Your Denali is far nicer and more comfortable than a little Highlander. They have issues too. Once this gets sorted out you'll get to enjoy it. I just took a nice drive in mine with my wife this morning.

LT is a straight shooter, he won't steer you wrong.

 

[KraftMatic87]

Your Denali is far nicer and more comfortable than a little Highlander. They have issues too. Once this gets sorted out you'll get to enjoy it. I just took a nice drive in mine with my wife this morning.

LT is a straight shooter, he won't steer you wrong.

This is the perfect rig for my family it just needs more love than we thought. I'm really looking forward to getting it fixed AND having peace of mind that someone trustworthy looked the truck over before I drive it up to the mountains with my family, I don't care that I have to maybe wait a month to get it back. It sounds like people send their vehicles from all over the country to Courtesy Automotive, so that's the kind of place I'm looking to do business with for sure.

 

[petethepug]

Uh, red flag. Take it in now or we won’t have time later.

…. Courtesy Automotive said they might not be able to look at it until the week after July 4th. At this point I'm willing to wait a month or two if I have to if I can get this thing running clean again.

 

[KraftMatic87]

Uh, red flag. Take it in now or we won’t have time later.

…. Courtesy Automotive said they might not be able to look at it until the week after July 4th. At this point I'm willing to wait a month or two if I have to if I can get this thing running clean again.

It's going to the shop on a flatbed tomorrow morning, and I haven't driven the truck in almost two weeks since I heard this knocking noise. The shop just said they were so busy they might not be able to diagnose and fix it until the week of July 4th, so its going to have to sit for a few more weeks. I'm willing to wait to get some straight answers from a trusted source.

 

[wjburken]

Have you gone back to the goofball that did the pre-purchase inspection and ask them what they actually inspected?

 

[KraftMatic87]

Have you gone back to the goofball that did the pre-purchase inspection and ask them what they actually inspected?

Yeah they are playing dumb. The place is Lee Myles Auto Care in Boulder, CO. I had a friend recommend them because it was close to the dealership I bought the truck from. They have a ton of great reviews and they had worked on my 2013 Highlander a year ago to replace a starter and do a drain and fill / filter change for the transmission. They wanted me to bring it back in tomorrow but I’m just getting it towed to LT. Why would they help me fix something they didn’t even bother to inspect? Oh they did tell me my brake pads were on a 4, which is hilarious that’s the one thing I could check without the truck being on a lift! They did say they would refund me my $160 inspection fee. GEE THANKS DUDE that sure will help me with my engine overhaul! When my truck is fixed I’ll go pay them a visit to tell them what crooked jerks they are. At the very least they neglected to do their job or they knew how bad it was and just gave it a clean bill of health.

Here is the link to their joke of an inspection report: https://www.shopbosspro.com/getstatusdvionly.php?ro=19180&shopid=19479&typ=dvi

Next used car from either a dealer or private party I buy will get two inspections done by different shops. Worth the extra $150 to make sure they say at least close to the same thing. Expensive lesson to learn for sure.

 

[KraftMatic87]

My baby is on her way to LT! I'll post my updates here when I get the diagnosis from Courtesy Automotive. This situation has been really difficult the past few weeks but I finally feel like I'm heading in the right direction. Thanks everyone for all of your help!

 

[KraftMatic87]

Thomas the Service Manager at Courtesy Automotive called today with bad news. They are recommending I replace my 6.2 motor with a Jasper reman since there is metal in the oil. I am completely devastated but had a feeling it might come to this. I'm looking at around $10k - $12k but I haven't gotten a formal quote yet from them. If I sell this truck in its current condition I would be lucky to get a few thousand for it. We owe $9k on this truck, which is definitely not a good situation to be in. If I had paid $4k-5k for the truck knowing it needed a new engine I probably still might have bought it and made the investment. They said they could tear into the motor and determine what is actually wrong with it but I'd be paying labor for that. I did get a quote from a place near LT's shop called Acer Engines that would pull my engine, recondition the block and replace everything inside for $5000 plus tax. That would have a 12,000 mile / 12 month warranty. The Jasper Reman would have the 3 year / 100,000 mile warranty.

My wife actually is taking this better than I am. She says we don't have a choice and we have to fix it because we will still need a second car no matter what. We will loose thousands trading this in and still have the loan. I'm definitely going to have to get creative with paying for this engine replacement. I bought this from a dealer and the only way I could get money back from them is by taking them to arbitration, which would mean I would have to pay for a lawyer as well.

Thomas said that LT would be looking at the truck later today or tomorrow himself to clarify what my options are. I feel like such a naïve and foolish mark for ending up in this situation, especially after having the pre-purchase inspection done. If I did move forward with the rebuild or engine replacement I would have a new torque converter installed so at least I won't have to worry about the transmission for a while. The tremendous joy I had when I bought this thing 5 weeks ago has just turned into absolute sadness. Curious to hear anyone else's thoughts on how to move forward.