Problems with 1999 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

Exhaust manifold bolts breaking off. *tr

I have a 1999 chevy silverado which recently caught on fire 20 minutes after i got to work on wednesday morning. the vehicle is a total loss. the fire started on the drivers side in the engine compartment. *tr

1999-20?? gm 5.3 liter engine. left side exhaust manifold, last bolt back head has popped off. i have seen four other motors like this and have heard of several more. this allows exhaust gases to enter the cabin area posing a risk of co poisoning. *tr

I have a 1999 chevrolet silverado truck with the 5.3 liter v8. there has been an on going gradual loss of coolant with no apparent leak to be found. upon further investigation the cause is due to the poor casting of the cylinder heads causing pressurized coolant to leak into the engine. the solution is to replace the castech (mfg) heads with new heads $1,100 each). chevrolet is apparently aware of this common problem and has issued i believe service document 1986750. if gm is aware of this problem caused by the mis-manufacturing of the part a recall should be issued to all affected vehicles. *tr

1999 chevrolet suburban k1500. have smelled coolant leak for some time. recently noticed that the coolant reservoir was not holding fluid. went to local shop to have vehicle serviced for leak. they reported that there is a significant leak between the manifold and the coolant intake line. the said that this is a dealer service item, and probably quite expensive, because engine must be torn down. repair shop said that this is a common problem with suburban vehicle because of disparate metal usage between coolant system and aluminum engine block. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated while stopped at an intersection, the steering locked up, and the steering wheel could not be turned to the left. this was accompanied by the the sound of hydraulic resistance. the vehicle was not taken in for service. second, a piece of plastic fell off the interior of the vehicle. causing the driver seat to slide freely on the adjuster track when the contact sat in the seat. the vehicle was taken to a service dealer who was unable to determine the problem. third, the contact replaced the daytime running lights twice. the lights only worked for 3 to 6 months at a time before having to be replaced. the lights were not addressed by a dealer or a private repair shop. fourth, the headlamp switch constantly became excessively hot during operation of the headlamps. the vehicle was not taken in for inspection of the switch. fifth, when the 4-wheel drive mode was engaged, the wheels did not turn independently, causing increased effort in turning the vehicle. this problem was not inspected. sixth, the starter failed while attempting to start the vehicle. upon inspection of the starter, it was noticed that the housing was cracked. a private mechanic was consulted, who notified the contact that this was a common problem. finally, the passenger seat belt did not feed enough to allow for passenger comfort which caused the passenger to be abraised by the belt. the inertial control seemed to be intermittent. the seat belts were not inspected by either a private repair shop or a service dealer.

Antilock brake illumination on panel goes on and off for no apparent reason. brakes, rotors and drums were checked, various other problems include,water pump replaced, starter replaced, radiator replaced, heater core problems,alternator replaced, certain illumination lights on radio come on. *nm

I have been a life-long gm owner. in 1991 i owned a buick regal and in 1992 i owned a gmc jimmy. by the late 1990's i had owned a '93 blazer and a ?94 c-1500. never have i had as much trouble collectively with these four vehicles as i have had with my 1999 silverado k-1500. it began in october of 2003 when after only 46,584 miles i had to have the right and left head gaskets replaced due to deterioration of the gaskets, which totaled $989.47. the life-long mechanic that repaired the head gasket believes that the gm/100,000 mile antifreeze deteriorated the gaskets and therefore replaced it with the time-tested standard green antifreeze. i was willing to overlook this problem but right before christmas of ?04 i had to have the automatic transmission and torque converter completely rebuilt due to the loss of second gear, fourth gear, and reverse for the total cost of $1234.00. the owner of the transmission shop was able to diagnose the problem initially over the phone because of the numerous other gmc or chevrolet transmissions he has had to overhaul. i have the work -order/receipts for both jobs completed.*ak

I am writing to convey my extreme disappointment in the quality of chevrolet vehicles. we own a 1999 chevrolet, tahoe which we bought new. on december 24, 2002, our transmission went out at 103000 miles. as a result, we had to have a new transmission installed at a cost of $2,646.72 plus the cost of renting a vehicle. we drive about 25,000 miles per year. we do not do any towing, we do not use four-wheel drive except in the winter, and we take good care of our vehicle. since this incident, this transmission we had replaced has failed again, fortunately about 2000 prior to its 50000 mile warranty. i am still trying to understand how this is happening. we do not abuse our vehicle and we drive like any regular person does. oh yes, poor engineering. furthermore, about a year ago, we had to replace the intake manifold gasket on our engine which cost us $700. not only that, when we took the tahoe to have the 2nd transmission fixed, i asked if our cracked door handle was the result of a break-in. the technician chuckled and said that was common. he even had the audacity to blame it on the consumer for not using the door handle properly actually showing us how you had to lift and. seems to me that this is poor engineering. i even went so far as to contact several chevrolet dealerships who unanimously agreed that a transmission on these vehicles should last at least 200,000 if not the life of the vehicle. i?m not sure what anyone else expects from their vehicles, but we do not expect a major component, like part of the engine, to blow at such low mileage. i did make my voice heard by writing a letter for the 1st transmission they put in, but all they could offer me was $1000 loyalty voucher towards the purchase of a new gmc product. if they can't make good on my first gmc vehicle, then why would i buy another? in closing, i need to make my voice heard so people don't buy gm products.*ak

Consumer states that while driving at various speeds and without warning the vehicle will shut off consuner also states that it is hard to restart the vehicle when this occurs. dealer notified. nlm