What should I do?
1998 Grand Prix.
Jiffy Lube found water in oil.
I paid to have head gaskets replaced (ouch).
Now engine has no power and someone said my “rods are knocking”.
Cant buy new car, broke.
first of all jiffy lube, don’t let them near you’re car. water must have been in the oil to long and the bearings are ruined.have a rebuilt engine put in.
How do you go about getting a rebuilt engine?
I know this is probably elementary, but I am girl and new to this stuff.
Thanks!
I think the cheapest and least painful way would be to put a junk yard engine in. Get a 6 month warranty on the engine. Some yards would install. Check prices on car-parts.com and also google used engines. How is the rest of the car?
Water in oil is a KNOWN problem with GM engines from around the mid 90’s through 2005. The most likely cause is NOT head gaskets…but intake-manifold.
Who diagnosed head gasket replacement…and who preformed the job???
All the quick lube places have poor reputations for a number of reasons. You would do well to totally avoid them.
Ask around your friends, family and neighbors for the name of a good local INDEPENDENT mechanic (not part of a chain) and have him or her take a look at it. In the end someone is going to need to get hands on to be sure what is needed.
I believe the Mechanix files are still here somewhere and they may help you find a local mechanic.When were the head gaskets done? How long ago and how many miles?
You might have some recourse with the shop that did the head gaskets. Improper installation of the intake manifold gaskets (when the head gaskets were replaced)could be the reason for the water in the oil.
The first step a shop (Jiffy Lube does not qualify) should perform after finding water in the oil is advise the car owner they may have a serious problem. Coolant diluted engine oil can wipe out an entire engine depending on how bad and how long this has gone on.
Best bet is to find a used engine. As to whether your GP is problematic that all depends on the “rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would say.
Most GPs used the 3.8 which is one of the best engines ever built.
Buy the car new?
Ever overheated? If you did not buy it new, then that question is moot.
You say it has no power. Did it have power before the head gasket job?
Was it knocking before JL found the water in the oil?
See what I mean? It takes info to even make a half-educated guess at what is going on.
The rest of the car is perfect.
We replaced the head gaskets at 130,000 miles and as we drove away from paying big money,we heard the “rods knocking” and the engine lost power. The mechanic told us we that the water had corrupted too much of the engine.