97.5 Hummer 6.5 Turbo D

[KenOnch]

My son bought this vehicle in Florida in Dec 06. In Feb 07 he had a fire related to fuel line leaks over turbo. The night mare begins. The insurance company repaied the fire damage but within 24 hrs engine overheated and apparently one head and the block are cracked. My Insurance company will not cover anything unless I can prove that something done or not done during fire repair could have caused this problem.

I'm not a mechanic and woul;d appreciate any suggestions as to finding out others experiences.

[DA BIG ONE]

My son bought this vehicle in Florida in Dec 06. In Feb 07 he had a fire related to fuel line leaks over turbo. The night mare begins. The insurance company repaied the fire damage but within 24 hrs engine overheated and apparently one head and the block are cracked. My Insurance company will not cover anything unless I can prove that something done or not done during fire repair could have caused this problem.

I'm not a mechanic and woul;d appreciate any suggestions as to finding out others experiences.

Suspect, you need someone local to diagnose your problem starting w/claim fuel line is over turbo not installed that way from factory.

No one could possibly over internet forum figure out what may have happened in such situation as you describe. There are fire marshals, even private investigators that specialize in cause of fire and resulting damage (s) suggest you find one to help you.

Did HUMMER repair unit, or? If not how can one that did repair qualify themselves for such work?

Sounds like time for a good lawyer too................................some specialize in such issues and have experts to assist in their efforts.

Might try to search web for fire issues for that year and model too. The 6.5 turbo diesel used in GM and AM General has a history of cracked heads and blocks up to about early 1999 search this too on this web and others.

Good luck!

[7.4 VORTEC]

Good Day,

Here's my experience with Hummers, since I own one.

First, the chances of a cracked block (#8 cylinder problem) and a bad head gasket because of overheating happening at the same time are very, very rare. Most 97.5's that had issues already had the engine replaced under warranty. You really need to diagnose the issue. If the vehicle was damaged by fire, it could be as easy as air in the coolant lines causing hot spots. The Hummers have at least two air bleed valves that you open to release capture air when doing coolant changes, etc. The fire may have damaged coolant lines that were replaced and the system not bled.

Was the work done after the fire by a "Hummer Dealership" or independent shop. (come to think of it, how did the fire happend, can't figure that one out, very rare with diesels) Most Hummer dealers will charge about $10 to $13000 for a new engine. Since the truck is long out of warranty, I would not take it to a Hummer dealer for repairs. You will pay through the nose. My advice is find a equipment repair shop that repairs forklifts, semi trucks, duramax pickups, etc. To them the hummer is just another piece of equipment like a medium duty dump truck. It really is not technical to work on. The basics are a 6.5 TD, 4L80E, Transfer Case and planetaries at the end of each axle. Trust me, if a equipment shop can fix planetaries on $400,000 construction equipment and rebuild big rig motors, the Hummer is not any harder. Its just the Hummer dealers charge soooo much more because it is a Hummer.

If you do spend the money to replace the block, I would only use a AMG block that has the updates. Not impressed with any of the rebuilt blocks and end results from mass producers like Jasper, Diesel Depot or anyone on Ebay. Hell, I'd by a GM block thru an equipment repair shop, that way you have the warranty from both GM and the shop doing the install. Spend the extra $2000 or so and you won't have to do the job again in 3 weeks.

You need to get hire an insurance investigator specialist. They're usually are ex-insurance adjusters and really know how to deal with the insurance companies and the shop the did the work. We've often found they pay for themselves and then some. The cost is scary at first, but you really need to have an expert on your side if you're going to keep this truck and sink $5K to $15K into it. Don't be suprised if you win and the your insurance company just decides to total the truck because of the cost to do a engine replacement, if needed.

Last, you need to look at www.humvee.net

It has a informational Hummer data base that will help you diagnose the problems, ask questions, etc. The forum is very helpful. Trust me, your hummer is not the only one that seems to be the nitemare. Usually its lack of maintenance or imporper upkeep that causes most issue.

Give us some details on how many miles the truck has, how many miles did "you guys" drive the truck before the fire, etc. You may also want to see if it already has the updated block done under GM warranty.

Good luck,
George

P.S.
I've reseached this issue a lot regarding the #8 cylinder cracking, and I'm saying it's not due to heat. Front to rear difference is less than 20 degrees in the cylinder head. The block was built weak, tolerances weren't that good and I fell harmonics have something to do with it. Head gaskets are a weak link, so that is very common. I'm guessing you don't have both issues going on.