POROUS ENGINE BLOCK: 2000 5.7 Liter

Actually it's not the same engine but it does share a similar block, may even be the same block now. To answer your question, yes, there are times during the casting process that porosity can occur. Many reasons, cold mould, incorrect melt temperature, poor core material adhesion, impure metal, impure core sand or mix, bad wax, missing glue in core buildup, slow pour, vent obstruction, sprue restriction, improper riser heights, cold shut, and core shift plus a few I forgot. Bound to happen in mass production from time to time and I've seen 2 in my life time of which one was in cast iron block the other in an '04 LS1. The LS1 is owned by a retired employee of GM from the foundry that cast the block. How sad is that?

By the way the LS2 started out life as a truck block.

Thanks for your info - it helps ease the burden of the engine replacement.

"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in ... and how many want out."

Similar problems:

Recently (late '90s production) both Acura and Hyundai have had recalls for engine block porosity. In the '70s GM had incidents of porosity in large Hydramatic cases and a dealer-level TSB to correct those. Fix was a resin coating for affected transmission cases. Noted that issue when looking through the TSBs for my '79 Firebird. A friend's GMC truck had a Hydramatic that "sweated" fluid on the outside of the case.

Since this is a case of hidden defect, I'd imagine that GM will make it good.

Thanks for the post -- we usually assume gasket/seal failure when coolant contaminates--something else to consider on the LS1. Now I'll be personally feeling the fluid rather than just checking the level.

Thanks for the help. It is yet to be determined what GM will come to the plate on their 3 year / 36000 mile warranty. After searching the net, went to this group fro answers. It may not be desired ones, but they make sense. The feeling & the financial loss is like a reverse lottery, were the 1 in 10,000,000 is you & the prize is a bill!

Thx

"I'll go anywhere as long as it's forward."

Snip

Actually the problems you are pointing out are from die castings and it is not the manner in which the engine blocks are cast. Cold shuts and seams are more prevalent in die castings and many require impregnation as a standard part of manufacture.

Blocks are not as thin and don't suffer quite so much from porosity/cold shuts/seams as do the die cast parts. Very seldom do you see a block leak but it does happen.

You might see if your state / locale consumer laws allow a warranty claim for a "latent defect."

That is a good point.

Thx

"Champions keep playing until they get it right."

Over the past 40+ years, I've seen a handful, maybe a dozen cases where GM's district representatives have quietly reached beyond the written warranty and have approved repair/replacement of powertrain components where servicing failure or abuse wasn't a factor. I've heard that the district rep had authority to make approvals out to 50K miles. Since this instance is beyond 50K the buyer may have to be more 'hat-in-hand' and be more assertive. Advertising the problem or hanging lemons on the car isn't a good approach!

The old Uniform Commercial Code used to cover 'hidden defect' and require the seller to make good where a buyer could not be reasonably expected to identify the problem during or immediately following the purchase.

Canada has affirmed that principle in their new commercial code and lets the buyer void the initial purchase in some cases of hidden defect. The U.S. has gone a bit in the opposite direction. The Magnuson-Moss revision to the UCC does a better job or protecting the seller/manufacturer and takes some of the teeth out of 'hidden defect' putting the buyer in the hands of the attorneys (oh joy!) to really understand what the law means.

Once the dealer makes a determination, request a conference with a district service rep. If that doesn't work then appeal to GM.

I must have been one of those rare cases in 1971 with a Vette with a rear wheel bearing that went out with a bang at 12,300 miles. I wrote several letters and finally GM decided to "extend the warranty" by 300 miles and send me a check for what I paid for the repairs. Of course, they did not reach out again at 12,500 miles to repair the power steering that broke.