1994 vette 350 5.7 8cy engine looking to buy

Chevy small blocks can be very forgiving. Fix the coolant leak, fill it with coolant, start it up, and see what happens... if it's not making funny noises or overheating again, it may be OK.

How the oil level, what does the oil look like, is the radiator clear of trash, was the fluid level in the coolant tank at the proper level before you started out, is the drive belt slipping, water pump working, is your emergency brake on, are any of the coolant hoses sucked flat, did you turn the engine off or did it seize, and how much did you drive it before the 10 minute drive?

If all of those were ok at the beginning of the drive my guess would be an oil pump failure, head gasket failure, or a doctored engine to make the sale. A 10 minute drive is very short to trash an engine even without proper oil flow depending on how it was being driven.

This was the first time i ever drove the car...i jus put the tags on that day... i kinda figured something was wrong right when i pulled out it wouldnt take off like i thought it would ....since i got it towed that day...i tried to drive it down the drive way i start it up and let it run about 30 mins after it heats up the temp drops again and the oil pressure drops the motor starts knocking...To tell you the truth im young and i dont know much about working on a car, but i think it had problems before i bought it and the bad thing is i bought it from my aunt...so its a hard situation i want the car but im out of a lot of money....so i dunno if i sale it i would even get my money back and i didnt even get my moneys worth with 10 mins of driving.....i turned off the car when it started smoking and wouldnt pick up speedi towed it from there...if i let it sit for days and drive it down my driveway it will drive over 40 but has problems after awhile...The car is flawless outside and inside but i feel ripped off Thanks for your help tho i really appreciate it

Rob

Most of us would advise any buyer of any used vehicle to do a complete mechanical inspection and title search before purchase is final. If the buyer is not trained and competent to do the mechanical inspection (and maybe especially then), they are well advised to obtain an inspection from a person qualified and experienced with the type of vehicle. This inspection will usually include a test drive with a FULL check of the vehicles performance. A proper inspection requires a hoist and will probably take

1-2 hours or more. It should include a careful search for any body work or previous damage or repair work.

You have not given us nearly enough information to attempt a diagnosis of the problem We would need to know how long the vehicle had been out of service and whether you checked all the obvious stuff like fluid levels and proper operation of the serpentine belt and the free turning of its driven components. Is there any blockage of the airflow through the rad and is there any evidence of oil or coolant leaks or blowby. Is the electric fan functioning and what temp it turns on and off. We would want to know if it was charging properly as indicated by the voltmeter reading and also the oil pressure figures as the engine warms up. You need to get a knowledgeable mechanic to look at the car.

If your aunt has taken advantage of you by selling you a damaged car without telling you everything she knows then you have more problems than just a bad car. She may not know about any problems and you should have a serious talk with her as she should not be taking advantage of your age and inexperience. I would have a full title search done before you talk to her as there may be liens on the car that she has also chosen to withhold from telling you. You may have legal recourse but you need a better source of legal advice than Usenet.

You also need to learn to use the caps key and punctuation.

Good luck

There are plenty of engines available:

We can't diagnose the problem for you over the internet, there are too many possibilities, and your description of the symptoms is not very enlightening; we certainly can't out-diagnose the mechanic who actually looked at your car.

Your problem is finding someone you can trust to check the engine out thoroughly. Something is causing the overheating, and it doesn't sound like the shop told you the cause of the problem (or if they did, you didn't tell us). $10K sounds like a lot, but you can be sure it will cost several thousand (at least!) to have the engine R & R'd, plus the cost of an engine (perhaps $3K to $4k plus shipping), plus misc parts, tuning, etc. $10k isn't out of the realm of possibility. That's why it's important to have the engine properly diagnosed to determine the problem, in hopes of avoiding that cost. It may cost you $500+ to do that, but at least you'd know for certain what you're facing. If your uncle works on cars, ask him who he'd trust that you could take it to... at your expense. Of course, it now sounds like you can't trust your uncle!

If you have any mechanical abilities and a place to work, you might be able to do a lot of the labor of changing out the engine yourself, perhaps saving yourself a grand or two, then tow the car to a shop for the final hookup checks and tweaking... but it doesn't sound like you're up to it.

The alternative is to sell the car for parts, and chalk this up to life experience: never buy a used car without having it checked out by a mechanic first, and always be prepared to spend an extra 20% (or more) fixing things the mechanic doesn't find. If you don't want to do that, you need a warranty, and warranties normally only come on new cars. Private sales are "as is", buyer beware.

Too bad your aunt is stonewalling you like this, but then we're only hearing your side of the story.

Check your area for "Lemon Laws", if you have one, send the car back to your aunt & uncle and tell them to either return your money or return the car in proper working order.

Getting ripped off is oen thing, getting ripppedoff by your aunt and uncle is another. I'd march that car right back and get my money and fast.

knowledgeable

Lemon laws apply to NEW cars not to private party used car sales.

It started out that way, but in many states there's been court rulings expanding it to remedy people in the auto industry from hiding or not disclosing problems with cars they sell. And since the kid stated his uncle was in that industry, he would fall under those rules.

One thing I missed here...what did you pay? I don't mean that you should tell us, but if it was a good deal from the aunt, and you have to put in $5K woorth of engine, and the amount you're out is under, say, $12K or so...you're doing ok. On the other hand, if you paid $15K and now $5K, well, not so great, but it is still (bottom line) a Vette.

-George C

92 Red/Red