Busted Hoe

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Big-Hoe

Guest
Sheared both u-joints and broke the yoke. Than to add insult to injury... Drove off the road for no apparent reason and sunk her deep. I say road, because we were not even on the trail anymore, nope, straight, flat road. Many thanks to my buddy Keith for pulling a drive shaft from Kennys and bringing it up to White Lake, even if it was not the right yoke. Drove back to Ottawa in front wheel drive on the highway. Only noticeable difference was heavy steering and no more annoying slip yoke...
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98AT

Well-known member
Shitty situation,at least you got er home!I'm having some big problems with my 1998 K1500 Pickup also,a simple tune-up is turning into a nightmare.I had a big camping weekend planned that was ruined because the shop couldnt fix my truck like they assured me.
 
B

Big-Hoe

Guest
Wanna lend me your yoke then since you're not using it :eek: lol
 

98AT

Well-known member
I went out to go to work the other morning and I fired up the truck,it turned over but wouldnt start.Weird its never done that and Ive owned it for 4-5yrs now.I let it sit,try it again and same thing,it wants to start but nothing.I let it sit 15 minutes and try it again....starts right up and runs great like usual.

I always do yearly tune-ups with all AC Delco parts and perform regular maintnance whenever needed,its a well taken care of truck.I call the shop I usually deal with and there booked for the day so I decide to bring it to another shop some guys from work suggested.

I drop it off at 7am firday morning,10am comes along and I get a call from the shop.Apparantly its got weak spark and the wires are arching.They suggest a tune-up on it plugs,wires,cap,rotor and a fuel filter.They quote me $900 which is expensive to me even though I know the parts combined are roughly $4-$500.

Day goes on and its 230pm now and I havent heard anything back so I show up at the shop.All parts are on the truck but there waiting on one more part.I told the manager I'll be back at 330pm when I'm done work and he says he'll have it ready.I get back at 330pm and its running and idle seems nice and smooth but under load there getting a misfire and none of the mechanics can figure it out.They put the old parts back on and tried it to see it one of the new parts was bad,it didnt help,they tried the new parts again and went over everything 20 times to make sure everything was hooked up properly.I suggest the timing is off,they say oh no the computer sets that which I do know but when you take the cap/rotor off and mess around I know from past experiences that the timing needs to be reset with a tech-2 scanner.

They scan for codes and pull up a Crank Sensor even thought the truck is not throwin a CEL at all.Install the new sensor and same issue,they put a cam sensor in and same thing.At this point it is 5pm and there basically stumped and throwing parts at it.They decide to take it out for a test drive with two mechanics,one driving the other observing the scanner,they get back and bammmm they got it,its running great,no misfire and everything is good.

I take there word as I'm in a rush,its 7pm at this point Ive been there since 330pm,I'm pissed off,angry and I'm 2 hours late leaving for outta town with an angry GF at home.I drive up the road to get gas,fill up go to leave and my truck wont start!At this point I'm beyond pissed off,I wanna smash something lol.

I eventually got it to start,call the shop the next morning have a firm talk with the manager,I tell him I"m utterly disappointed and I want my $900 back.This is a simple tune-up that has turned into a nightmare and clearly your mechanics arent capable of fixing the problem after having the truck for 13hours.

He talks me into bringing it back in monday morning so we will see.I gave him two options,they have it fixed by lunch or I'm bringing it to my regular shop and they can pick up the bill for the PROPER REPAIRS.He agrees is they cant get it I'll get my money back or they will send it out and foot the bill.

I think they misdiagnosed the original problem or its a timing issue when they did the tune-up they musta messed something up bad.Could be a faulty part which ther are going to check tommorrow by ordering all new parts.

Every year I get the same tune-up done and Ive never had a single issue,the truck always runs smooth.I dont know how you can diagnose a problem,fix it apparantly and charge the person $900 to then be back at sqaure one with a no start problem.Clearly there is another issue,I've already told them I"m not paying another penny outta my pocket and that I want my truck running 100% like it was when I brought it in.Even though it had a no start issue when I brought it in,it still ran 100% when I was able to get it started which it is not doing now.


/End Rant
 

chunkytrunks

That's MR.EX Pres to you!
Club Member
Sounds like maybe a fuel pump. They can be very intermitant like that

Glad you got the Tahoe back home!
 

98AT

Well-known member
Fuel Pump Kicks on and Off everytime the truck turns over,its a louder pump you can clearly hear it.They tested fuel pressure I'm pretty sure and ruled out a fuel pump.

Diagnoses was "Weak Spark",the wires were arching causing the truck to not start intermitantly.I honestly dont think they really know what to do or what the issue really is.They have it until lunch then its going to my regular shop where i'm confident the problem will be fixed.

It can only be soo many things,these Vortecs arent a very complicated engine to work on.If a shop with 5 mechanics cant figure it out then I dunno wha to say,I wont be dealing with this shop ever again though thats a gurantee!
 
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Big-Hoe

Guest
That really sucks! I had problems like that with mine. The distributor drive gear was worn down so much it was putting the timing off. Same thing, intermittent misfires/weak spark. The shaft has quite a bit of up and down play, so the loose gear will sometimes ride on the right spot on the cam gear, and sometimes it will walk to a bad position. Chevy used a soft distributor gear, doesn't damage the cam gear but took me months to figure out. 60$ for a new gear, felt like I put in a brand new engine. Tell them to pull the distributor and check, gear has to be marked properly before removal as installed 180 degrees off the timing will never get set right. Hope that helps
 

98AT

Well-known member
Its a real pain in the ass,it comepletly came out of nowhere.I was in a tight spot and needed the truck repaired for an upcoming weekend camping trip,the shop I usually go to was booked so I went to this shop.If I had of known I would of waited,I'm confident I wouldnt have this issue and the truck would be running 100% if I had brought it to the usual shop I deal with.

I dropped it off this morning at the shop that did the work,the service manager and I had a talk and I got my point across.He said no matter what they will have the truck back running 100% by the end of today.

Here's a list of what they replaced on Friday:

Plugs/Wires
Ignition Coil/Ignition Module
Distributor Rotor/Cap
Fuel Filter

All parts were replaced with AC Delco parts as I have always run AC Delco without any issues.All I want is a properly running truck,right now I'm out a lot of money and I have a truck that is still not starting and not running 100% when it does start.
 
S

swhytie

Guest
This may sound crazy buddy of mine had an issue with his dodge, similar, there was an o ring for the pcv valve that wasnt replaced on tuneup he ended up selling the truck for 2.50 part...my jeep was doing the same, and it was my intake manifold that was full of dust and dirt would suck some in now and again and die right out...few simple things but just experience..hope you find your trouble. I found the dirt when I removed the throttle body to clean the idler valve....
 

98AT

Well-known member
So today its been at the shop all day since 7am.They have thrown a bunch of new parts at it to rule out a disfunctional part they installed,they have replaced all sensors and it still misfires under load.

They checked the fuel pressure and its good when the truck is running.Now the mis-start issue still happens outta the blue and when they re-checked fuel pressure when the truck doesnt start the fuel pressure is low.They determined that it is a misalaneous misfire and intermitent when the truck doesnt start so it has to be the Fuel Pump.
 
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CaptainFitz

Official Wannabe
Club Member
Sheared both u-joints and broke the yoke. Than to add insult to injury... Drove off the road for no apparent reason and sunk her deep. I say road, because we were not even on the trail anymore, nope, straight, flat road. Many thanks to my buddy Keith for pulling a drive shaft from Kennys and bringing it up to White Lake, even if it was not the right yoke. Drove back to Ottawa in front wheel drive on the highway. Only noticeable difference was heavy steering and no more annoying slip yoke clunk. Anyone got a Chevy yoke lying around?


Did you ever get your Hoe fixed?
 
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Big-Hoe

Guest
Way too busy at work to go find a yoke. I have two perfectly good drive shafts and got some u-joints. It'll be a 20 min job once I get a yoke. Thanks for asking. Good thing I've got five vehicles, eh?
 

CaptainFitz

Official Wannabe
Club Member
Lol i thought i was bad. I have been trimming the fleet for a long time.. peek was 12, down to 3 on the road, and 2 currently not plated at moment..
 
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Big-Hoe

Guest
Worse yet, I live in a townhouse! I park the two motor cyles on my back patio :banghead:
 
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