Well this is a long drawn out story that is worth writing and I thought I'd take a few minutes to share some experiences worth hearing about.
All started a week ago, I was towing my RV back from Indiana and the TB started overheating, Check engine light was on and it turned out to be a bad fan clutch, no suprises there by what I read.
I decided to tackle the fan clutch myself and while I was at it and ambitious I decided to do the water pump. New fan clutch from Chevy with a buddies discount was $325 PN 25790869. This is the most current clutch. If you have time $200 on Ebay!
I got a new water pump from AZ for $60 and a 1 7/16" wrench from Tractor Supply for $12. I tried that useless fan clutch wrench and gave up and bought a real wrench.
I had the truck back on the road in a few hours, more running around time than actual labor time. Well that lasted for 5 days! Here is a valuable lesson!
DO TORQUE the water pump bolts according to GM Specs. DO NOT just tighten them. I fixed cars and have been around cars for the better part of my lifetime. Never used a torque wrench on a water pump! HUGE mistake fellas! That very large and very strong fan clutch vibrated the water pump loose and left me with a tow bill for $100 and a damaged water pump and serp belt!
The spec for the water pump torque is 96 inch lbs. in two stages. I did the second time in 4 stages to make absolutely sure that the pump was equally torqued without question. I also used blue lock tite on the wp bolts the second time. This was a costly mistake that I have been trying to get to you folks but was just to damn busy.
So the story goes on... I drove the truck to Nashville TN this week to tow a U-Haul trailer back to Cleveland. Truck drove down beautiful, no issues I thought life was good! WRONG answer!
I Picked up my 6X12 U-Haul trailer and headed back to Cleveland, I was just getting into Bowling Green KY and the truck started to spit and sputter and the check engine light was flashing! I pulled off, I have my own scan tool and saw codes P0300 and P0304. The missfire didn't concern me by itself however the tapping noise from the valvetrain had me concerned. It was late in the day, I was in a strange city with a heavy trailer and I decided the best thing to do was trade the U-Haul trailer back to the nearest dealer and get a U-Haul truck and car trailer. and continue home.
After several exhausting hours transferring the load and loading the TB on the trailer I decided it was best to spend the night and head home early the next morning. Since I had some down time in a nice air conditioned hotel room on a 96 degree day I decided to search my favorite TB forum TRAILVOY for answers to my mystery. I found all sorts of comments about codes P0300 and P0304 and lots of info about bad, water damaged ignition coils and camshaft actuators and I had a glimmer of optimism that maybe, just maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought!
Headed home from Bowling Green I get through Louisville Ky and guess what... You'll never guess.... Thats right... U-Haul truck let me down on the side of I71 at a major exchange... TWO left rear flat tires. NOT one TWO!
I called U-Haul furious! Both of those rear tires were wore down through the steel belts! HOW COULD THEY LET A TRUCK GO LIKE THAT???
The tire service guy shows up 4 hours later with one tire. I said i need TWO!
He was a great guy, made it right with the second tire, got me on the road asap! Honest mistake he didn't realize I had two tires down when he was dispatched. He said every scrap tire in his truck was from U-Haul, and he had a bunch! He said 1-2 calls everyday for the same stuff i just experienced! How could they put life and property in danger??? Who's the boss??? I assure you I will be taking this right up the pecking order!
I got home late last night and had errands to run all morning. So I decided to be pro active and get a coil, a set of plugs (110k miles) and a cam shaft actuator while I was out, and maybe just maybe the truck would run today???
FYI The ignition coil at the dealer with a discount is $146. A ignition coil from AZ with a 2 year warranty is $62. Guess which one I bought??? And FYI again the AZ part had the OEM Delphi label on it. So heads up on that, save some $$$!!. The actuator from GM was $68 with a discount.
Anyway I headed home full of optimism! I thought for sure this truck would run tonight! I could just feel it... After all everyone said these motors run forever! 110K ain't nothin on a TB... A buddy at the dealership said, "We haven't had any engine swaps to speak of, they run great". He also suggested the cam shaft actuator. So I was pumped! I figured in a hour or two I'd have my truck running and in the clear.... NOT!
More bad news... NO COMPRESSION in cylinder #4. Yes the coil had water marks on it but no...It didn't fix a damn thing! And yes I still have a distinct valvetrain noise and yes it still misses!
So some horror story was certainly developing. With 110k miles and a internal engine noise and no compression I decided it was replacement time. I priced a NEW GM Engine with a 100K warranty $3800. I looked up labor time 30+ hours. I figure at $80 a hour that's a killer!
And now here I sit.... I just bought a used engine from a place in Cincinnati,
4,000 miles on it with a warranty $1365 delivered to my door. I figured at 4,000 miles it's a proven engine and broken in! I was in the auto business for years so instead of me taking 30 plus hours I decided it was time to make some calls. I have a buddy that I worked with, he went on his own and willing to do the swap for $1300. I still have the U-Haul equipment and will be towing it to his shop tomorrow so it can be worked on next week.
FYI the place for low mile engines at great prices is Stricker Auto Parts in Cincinnati. Ebay ID stricker_auto Phone 800-543-2748. They sell only late model used parts, many from untitled manufacturer cars that have been damaged or in accidents.
So as the story continues to unfold I will update everyone on the final outcome. I must say I am beyond disgusted with the whole chain of events, hopefully that bad luck will turn around and I can have my truck back with a like new engine very soon!
Moral of the story: I don't have one yet but I love my TB, Its treated me good for 18 months, I can't see not giving it a chance to redeem itself.
Other items I have done in the past year include: Exhaust manifold (Broken studs), O2 sensor, Thermostat, idler puller and Oil, Tires and Brakes.
Please feel free to comment!
All started a week ago, I was towing my RV back from Indiana and the TB started overheating, Check engine light was on and it turned out to be a bad fan clutch, no suprises there by what I read.
I decided to tackle the fan clutch myself and while I was at it and ambitious I decided to do the water pump. New fan clutch from Chevy with a buddies discount was $325 PN 25790869. This is the most current clutch. If you have time $200 on Ebay!
I got a new water pump from AZ for $60 and a 1 7/16" wrench from Tractor Supply for $12. I tried that useless fan clutch wrench and gave up and bought a real wrench.
I had the truck back on the road in a few hours, more running around time than actual labor time. Well that lasted for 5 days! Here is a valuable lesson!
DO TORQUE the water pump bolts according to GM Specs. DO NOT just tighten them. I fixed cars and have been around cars for the better part of my lifetime. Never used a torque wrench on a water pump! HUGE mistake fellas! That very large and very strong fan clutch vibrated the water pump loose and left me with a tow bill for $100 and a damaged water pump and serp belt!
The spec for the water pump torque is 96 inch lbs. in two stages. I did the second time in 4 stages to make absolutely sure that the pump was equally torqued without question. I also used blue lock tite on the wp bolts the second time. This was a costly mistake that I have been trying to get to you folks but was just to damn busy.
So the story goes on... I drove the truck to Nashville TN this week to tow a U-Haul trailer back to Cleveland. Truck drove down beautiful, no issues I thought life was good! WRONG answer!
I Picked up my 6X12 U-Haul trailer and headed back to Cleveland, I was just getting into Bowling Green KY and the truck started to spit and sputter and the check engine light was flashing! I pulled off, I have my own scan tool and saw codes P0300 and P0304. The missfire didn't concern me by itself however the tapping noise from the valvetrain had me concerned. It was late in the day, I was in a strange city with a heavy trailer and I decided the best thing to do was trade the U-Haul trailer back to the nearest dealer and get a U-Haul truck and car trailer. and continue home.
After several exhausting hours transferring the load and loading the TB on the trailer I decided it was best to spend the night and head home early the next morning. Since I had some down time in a nice air conditioned hotel room on a 96 degree day I decided to search my favorite TB forum TRAILVOY for answers to my mystery. I found all sorts of comments about codes P0300 and P0304 and lots of info about bad, water damaged ignition coils and camshaft actuators and I had a glimmer of optimism that maybe, just maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought!
Headed home from Bowling Green I get through Louisville Ky and guess what... You'll never guess.... Thats right... U-Haul truck let me down on the side of I71 at a major exchange... TWO left rear flat tires. NOT one TWO!
I called U-Haul furious! Both of those rear tires were wore down through the steel belts! HOW COULD THEY LET A TRUCK GO LIKE THAT???
The tire service guy shows up 4 hours later with one tire. I said i need TWO!
He was a great guy, made it right with the second tire, got me on the road asap! Honest mistake he didn't realize I had two tires down when he was dispatched. He said every scrap tire in his truck was from U-Haul, and he had a bunch! He said 1-2 calls everyday for the same stuff i just experienced! How could they put life and property in danger??? Who's the boss??? I assure you I will be taking this right up the pecking order!
I got home late last night and had errands to run all morning. So I decided to be pro active and get a coil, a set of plugs (110k miles) and a cam shaft actuator while I was out, and maybe just maybe the truck would run today???
FYI The ignition coil at the dealer with a discount is $146. A ignition coil from AZ with a 2 year warranty is $62. Guess which one I bought??? And FYI again the AZ part had the OEM Delphi label on it. So heads up on that, save some $$$!!. The actuator from GM was $68 with a discount.
Anyway I headed home full of optimism! I thought for sure this truck would run tonight! I could just feel it... After all everyone said these motors run forever! 110K ain't nothin on a TB... A buddy at the dealership said, "We haven't had any engine swaps to speak of, they run great". He also suggested the cam shaft actuator. So I was pumped! I figured in a hour or two I'd have my truck running and in the clear.... NOT!
More bad news... NO COMPRESSION in cylinder #4. Yes the coil had water marks on it but no...It didn't fix a damn thing! And yes I still have a distinct valvetrain noise and yes it still misses!
So some horror story was certainly developing. With 110k miles and a internal engine noise and no compression I decided it was replacement time. I priced a NEW GM Engine with a 100K warranty $3800. I looked up labor time 30+ hours. I figure at $80 a hour that's a killer!
And now here I sit.... I just bought a used engine from a place in Cincinnati,
4,000 miles on it with a warranty $1365 delivered to my door. I figured at 4,000 miles it's a proven engine and broken in! I was in the auto business for years so instead of me taking 30 plus hours I decided it was time to make some calls. I have a buddy that I worked with, he went on his own and willing to do the swap for $1300. I still have the U-Haul equipment and will be towing it to his shop tomorrow so it can be worked on next week.
FYI the place for low mile engines at great prices is Stricker Auto Parts in Cincinnati. Ebay ID stricker_auto Phone 800-543-2748. They sell only late model used parts, many from untitled manufacturer cars that have been damaged or in accidents.
So as the story continues to unfold I will update everyone on the final outcome. I must say I am beyond disgusted with the whole chain of events, hopefully that bad luck will turn around and I can have my truck back with a like new engine very soon!
Moral of the story: I don't have one yet but I love my TB, Its treated me good for 18 months, I can't see not giving it a chance to redeem itself.
Other items I have done in the past year include: Exhaust manifold (Broken studs), O2 sensor, Thermostat, idler puller and Oil, Tires and Brakes.
Please feel free to comment!