That might have been a good "1st choice" for a radiator but now that the damage is done, I push on.

If the folks at reach really do stand behind their products, I am sure they will replace the engine as well as the defective radiator. At least that's what they said. Asking them to use another (Competitors') brand would be an insult. If they are willing to make things right; I don't want to be a jerk about it.

I'm lucky also that the retailer does engine swaps too. He thinks they will probably pay for a remanufactured engine with a Warrantee. The whole thing kinda sucks but I may just come out of this "ahead." fingers crossed

 

Well the "jury is back." Reach Cooling has decided that they are not at all at fault with the defective "quick connect" fitting failure. Replacing the engine is out of my budget so I am seeking legal representation.

It's odd because the company is HUGE. Manufacturing in Shanghai and headquartered in Miami. I guess maybe the "bean counters" figure it's actually cheaper to defend it than make it right.

 

I'm shocked, I tell you. Just SHOCKED.

 

That totally sucks. So sorry.

Was any explanation given for why they thought they were not responsible for the bad component? Was it because a professional did not install it?

 

Yeah. They tested it with what they call a "100lb pull test." They used a different retaining spring and hung the unit from a 100 lb weight without it letting go. The retainer that came with it was "missing" when they received it. They said it was "installer error" with no explanation as to how I managed to drive it for two weeks without so much as a leak.

These fittings are known to lock on or not. I think the retaining spring failed to hold it and it is convenient for them not to have used it because it was "lost." I'm just really pissed right now.

 

Do you think the retaining spring was bad? Am I correct to guess you lost it when the leak happened?

 

I hope it works out for you. My personal experience has been that manufacturers will try to avoid taking responsibility for product failures if it's going to cost them money. Hopefully, you can get something out of them (at least a used engine), because it's going to suck for you if you have to buy a new one and pay to have it installed. Good luck.

 

The spring/clip was on it when I re-inserted the line and with it when I took it out to ship back to them. They say it was missing when they got it in Miami.

 

back in May of last year I was driving to work and saw the cloud behind me and my oil pressure dropped to 0 and the check gauges light came on. This was on Friday. I got it towed to a shop that my dad worked with at the time. Luckily I pulled over and shut it off asap. Apparently I had blown out a cooler line from the block to the oil filter. $150 later I had a new line and oil and it was fine, He got it done and back to me by Saturday afternoon. I changed the filter later on and found chucks of rubber in the filter. It looks like the filter clogged and over pressurized the line and that is where the rubber chunks were from. I thought about trying to get ACDelco to pay for it, but I figured that it wasn't worth the effort for $150. If I wasn't on a side road I may not have been able to pull over in time. You might be surprised how cheap used engines were. I think mine was around $500 - $600 shipped, with blown intake gaskets. I have had it in for almost 4 years and 40k miles and no problems so far.

 

I actually have a perfectly good 4.3 V-6 in my wrecked Astro Van. It's just above my skill set to swap them.