I trusted some kid in a small town and got ripped off.

[Kali]

I am a dumbass.

Saw this old truck for sale on the side of the road one day. Called the number and met with the kid for a quick test drive that evening. Next day we went and had another look at it. It was old but in pretty good shape, started good, cruised at almost highway speed, 4x4 worked. Interior not in too bad shape for how old it is, price was reasonable so we offered 500 less. Kid said he couldn't do it, but next day called me and said he would. So we went and got it. Got the toolbox and a set of 17 inch rims and tires thrown in. The crappy old tires made it home and I drove around on them for a week while looking for new ones. Glad I didn't spend anything else on it yet.









I even got my mirror charms up.





First ranch chores with it.





Sunday we worked cattle and I noticed it was blowing a lot of steam/white smoke, but it was cool and humid and had even rained a little the night before.


Yesterday I went to run the dogs and check on animals and it was blowing white like crazy, started to overheat and lost a lot of coolant. There is water in the oil.

That kid seems too young to bringing such bad karma onto himself. I am sure there was crappy sealant in the radiator. He ripped me off. I was a sucker for the pretty blue truck.

The 4x4 worked good though. For the ten minutes I got to use it.



PS
Anybody got a 87 Toy engine in decent shape for sale?

[cyberswede]

1. Man, that sucks!

I hate that people can't just be trustworthy.

Best of luck finding what you need!

[Kali]

7. I have been really bad.

Rented a car to get home from the airport when I got back from Germany and I have kept it ever since. Think I am going to keep it another month. Can't really afford it but I can't even look for something to buy without it. Hope to find something trustworthy or at least with some kind of warranty ASAP! The old truck is going on borrowed time but I am hoping it will hold out until next year. I have a big van I want to try fixing one more time for a trailer-pulling ranch "truck."

Meanwhile I just blew a few payments or part of another offer on the shiny blue object.

[Ptah]

2. Sounds likw you shopped at Lose Auto Center

[Kali]

9. I wish.

If it had been a business, I might have some legal recourse. I figured I would have to put a chunk of money into it fairly soon, but not quite that fast (or that much!)

[Ptah]

14. Perhps the $500 discount will cover repairs.

Hopefully it's just the gasket.

My minivan needed to have two gaskets replaced and
it runs quite nicely.
116,000 miles on it so far.

Good luck, Kali.

[Kali]

23. that would sure be acceptable to me if so.

I will cross my fingers and have somebody look at it (oh, Dusty....)
not going to worry for a couple months, though. too much else on my plate right now.

[rug]

3. Do you think he knew it?

I know shit about cars but I can get you from the Bronx to Canarsie by subway.

[Kali]

10. Oh yeah, he knew.

He had the thing for 2 years and even put this engine in when he got it. He so kindly let me have the receipt for it to show the engine was fairly new. Obviously the rebuild didn't work and he tried to seal it with gunk in a jar. FAIL. Well, not really for him but that kind of shit never works for long, but it lasted long enough for him to get rid of the problem.

Prior to that it was a single owner in the next county over and had an OK history. That guy took pretty good care of it. No rust in southern Arizona!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

4. sorry, Kali -- I know how it goes. Finally had to replace the pump in my well this week.

Limped along two more years but, finally gave out. Durn thing was Smoking Hot when we pulled it up

cost: $750.oo ... looks like another Lean Christmas again this year *le sigh*

but, we (me and you) are surviving, right

good to see you no matter the reason why

[Kali]

11. How deep?

I am told ten years is good for a submersible, but we had one go out at 6 about a month after the warranty.

It was a horse and a half at 550 feet. Ouch, you don't want to know.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

16. lucky me, I am on top of an underground spring. The mouthhead is maybe 50 yards from my well -

We hit water at about 30 (or less) feet. 550 feet *ouch*

[csziggy]

29. See what the blades are made of on the submersible

The previous one in our well had plastic (maybe nylon) blades. The motor was still good but gad nothing to push with - water pressure was just too low to live with. New one has stainless steel blades which are warranteed for ten years just like the motor.

[UncleYoder]

5. That's a pretty nice

looking 87. But then you don't have to deal with road salt.
May I ask how many miles were on the odometer?
You know you can get a 22R or 22RE crate motor for about $2500?
As nice as it looks, I would just drop one in and she should be good for another 20 years.

[Kali]

13. yeah I thought it looked good too LOL

it says 275,600 +, and all the guages seem to work, lights (except front right side lights), work, even the fluid pump for the windshield washer still works!

I will be ignoring it for a few months but will probably try to fix it. Too nice not to try, I think.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

6. I spent 11 years in the car business and I'm here to tell you....

.... the general public can be every bit as scummy as any car dealer.

Car dealing (like horse trading?) is a dirty business.

We caught, and prosecuted, people for spinning mileage back. We had people doctor engines and transmissions before trading. I've seen little old ladies brag about selling a car with an undisclosed bad engine to some "sucker" on the street.

We had people trade in cars who claimed the title was lost only to have the title come back "salvaged".

That's not to mention bad checks, fraudulent cashier's checks, outright thievery and identity theft.

I had a ring of identity thieves come in on a Saturday. The crooks were supposed to come back Monday to pick up the luxury cars they were buying with someone else's identity. We had the Illinois State Police car theft task-force staking us out. The plan was to give me $6000 dollars cash, sign papers and rive out with three luxury used cars. My boss wanted me to throw $3000 dollars in my desk drawer and say that's all they gave me (LOL, we were crooks too!).

[Kali]

15. ha!

[TrogL]

8. If it's the head gasket, he may not have known

The engine may have been used to his driving style, especially if he's been nursing it. Farm work may have been more than it could handle.

I had a Ford Windstar, notorious for blowing head gaskets and transmissions and sold it to my ex-wife. It was working fine at the time. Within a week she'd blown the head gasket and wrecked the transmission.

[EOTE]

12. ^This. And I wouldn't assume that the engine is blown so long as it didn't overheat long.

Can you get the heads refinished and the gaskets replaced? That might solve your issue and not be horrifically expensive.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

17. I think this is a possbility and will probably cost her the original 500 she thought she was

saving and it could be why the guy took the deal cos he knew it

[EOTE]

18. Perhaps. But it's a good deal preferable to refinish heads and replace gaskets than to replace an

engine. One that should hopefully have a good amount of life left in it. I just hope the engine wasn't allowed to overheat long.

[Kali]

22. it didn't overheat for long (for me anyway)

and I will have somebody look at it, but my understanding is that job is pretty labor intensive. While we have come a huge long way with our vehicular repair/replace abilities since we started out, both those jobs are still beyond our skill/comfort levels.

Previous experience with small engines would indicate it does not take very long overheating to ruin them. (that lesson was learned many years ago, at least I know to quit ASAP and not "try to make it home" when the thing heats up)

[EOTE]

24. That's good. If it was less than a minute or so, you should probably be good.

And yes, it typically is labor intensive and often there's a need to remove the engine. Still, it's typically a good deal less expensive than getting the engine replaced. Usually, the heads might be a bit warped, but they can often be grinded down to get a smooth surface again. Hopefully that's the case here.

[Kali]

20. it hasn't had any real farm work yet

but he did enough work on it he had to have known. I don't think I did this in less than 100 miles in one week.

[UncleYoder]

19. Since it's

a 2 year old replacement motor, it would be worth having a mechanic take a look.
Those engines are tough. Might have a pleasant surprise.
One other suggestion, make sure you rotate those wheels every couple of months.
Otherwise, they have a nasty habit of freezing on the hubs and are a bugger to get off.

[Kali]

21. yeah I will have somebody look at it

but labor on that job tends to make it be almost the same as replacing, doesn't it?

and LOL on rotating wheels. I get enough flats for that to not be a problem. The husband says I hunt for barrel cactus, but I say they jump in front of me.

[EOTE]

25. I'd imagine about $900 total.

That would be if the heads are warped and need to be milled. Could be a fair bit cheaper if that's not necessary. I'd think that would be a good deal cheaper than getting it replaced.

[NJCher]

26. go back and take it up with the kid

Tell him you want $X amount back. You could also consider suing him in small claims court.


Cher

[MiddleFingerMom]

27. Ooh............... shiny!!!

[jmowreader]

28. Call junkyards. 22Rs are common and cheap.

[patricia92243]

30. Kid in a small town? People are people, some good, some not. Size of their town doesn't make any

difference.