GM engineering meeting: “guys, let bring in our service techs for input on the serviceability of this next design..”. Entire room breaks out laughing...”nah, just kidding”
Having "been there", "done that", it usually goes, "Hey guys, this thing is going to be a PITA to work on", reply "Yep, thank NHTSA and the EPA for the 40% decrease in bay space, and styling thinks we should have these shiny baubles that nobody will see, but convicted the BoD that without this $125 in extra BS we'll lose 75,000 sales. True story, been in meetings where everybody is "jeeze, this thing is going to be a pita to work on", and everybody is "Well, we could get rid of this, that, the other thing, but then it doesn't pass EPA requirements, we could lose this and that, but then it doesn't pass NHTSA needs, and there is NO WAY we are touching anything Styling says we must have....Remember Fred, John, George, Mary and Stacey? Yea, those 5 went up against styling...they got fired along with most of their departments and replaced"...you don't go against the studio, they always win for some idiotic reason. Not saying they couldn't have done a better job, but all the crap you need on an engine today? Sheesh, I have a 5.7L V8 in my 1999 Tahoe, I can almost climb into the engine bay, my buddy has a 2018 Tahoe...smaller V6, and you have to tear half the engine apart to get to anything because of all the NHTSA and EPA stuff that's in it.
@@WreckDiver99 well said. Some of the government regulations are like a spoiled child demanding every toy and candy bar in the store. I WANT SAFETY, FUEL ECONOMY, AND EMISSIONS. Uh, little child , you cant have one without sacrificing the other.
I used to park & drive cars at a auto auction. We would drive up in a van of 7 drivers, we would hop into cars, & you would watch the youngins pop out & say "It's got a stick!" The old guys would hop in the Challenger & motor on!
When I was in the service, and would go overseas, none of the young troops could drive the sticks. My favorite was a Ford van, with an underpowered diesel, with a five speed on the column.
Turns out the Snap On tool I found in a parking lot that I though was some kind of alignment tool is a hose pick. I knew I watched this channel for a reason.
I sure hope the folks in Avoca know how lucky they are to have a skilled and honest technician like you available to diagnose and repair their motor vehicles. Best wishes from Florida for this new year.
What happened to replacing a thermostat on a small block chevy, maybe 10 min including looking for one of the bolt you drop under the car that rolls behind the tire so you can't see it LOL
@@andysanchez5423 Really not that bad of a job. Not as easy as a 350 Chevrolet but not that bad. The easiest method is to remove the alternator and the thermostat is easily accessible.
@@markh.6687 I have done the job on a 2003 GMC Envoy that is in my fleet. I did not have to "remove the front end of the vehicle" (whatever that means?) to do the job. Removing the alternator provides direct access to the thermostat assembly. It is a 45 minute job.
This is by FAR the fucking best automotive repair channel on youtube........... I unfortunately live in the sewer of NY, wish I could ride up to Eric and get my pile of dogshit Jeep fixed(SMA is around 360 miles from me)
Whoaaaaawhhh, I just replaced the whole thermostat housing on my wife’s car this morning, switch on you tube this evening and bingo you posted this identical video.🤯😁😉
All cars, Eric features in SMA vlogs now would like their own media agent to negotiate better viewing. Thanks for sharing SMA. Best regards from the UK. John.
Where was this video a week and a half ago!? Just had to do this on my wife’s 2015 Chevy Sonic ltz. Same exact codes, ended up replacing the thermostat, but honestly I was just throwing parts at it and it just happened to be the right one this time. Now I know how to diagnose the problem correctly for next time! Thanks Eric!
Thank you for the parking brake tip. I would have chased my self around in circles trying to resync the TPMS. We live in Wisconsin and I have refused to use the parking brake for decades because the parking brake froze one to many times because we are in the salt rust belt. You definitely are the man!!!
I've found that using the parking brake every single time I park keeps it from doing that. It helps that I grew up driving a manual so that habit has remained.
Thermostat opens electronically if car is been driven hard before it opens manually to keep on top of extra heat been produced thous keeping engine at a good temp hope this helps. Great channel by the way.
Command is proportional with calculated engine load and or coolant temperature gradient increase. Low load, wax does the job, otherwise it is helped by the heater core.
2 cars go by, rush over, sounds like my town. "Who opened the flood gates!" Great diagnose. I can't believe how complex these cars are nowadays. My '64 C10 with a crate 350, I need a timing light, dwell meter and a screwdriver to tune it practically!
I like the way Eric does his diagnosis. Once he identifies the problem he goes in and tests the circuit for proper powers and grounds and then tests the part before replacing it. Nice work
Learnt a few things my sister has a Chevy Trax that has a 1.7 litr Diesel engine. Good little AWD car for where we live.. middle of nowhere Scotland. Things rust here also but salt only used in winter. Not sure if the fans work on the car, certainly never heard them and the AC doesn’t initialise (no fan clutch operation etc) so these are jobs ‘on the cards’.. Eric did a Cruze fan clutch fix so happy subscriber here..Cheers Eric..
Eric, I found it funny. I just did a Chevy Cruze with the exact same problem. What I found funny was I had Napa deliever the exact same part. As always I check the part to make sure it's the same. However, The little bugger got me when I was done. Turns out although the thermostat was the same but the plug was a little different. The little ribs inside were on the wrong side not allowing me to plug it in. I was so pissed. I didn't want to do the job all over again because of some little stop tabs. So I ended up using a little pick and knocking them off ( on the thermostat side). Then the plug went right in. Finished the job and checked for OEM operation. Funny thing was I had looked at the plug on the thermostat before I started and it "looked fine". (famous last words lol) Those tabs were so small I didn't see it. I really hate aftermarket just as much as you if not more. For that very reason. BTW, the computer looks for 12-18 ohms. I hope you got a laugh out of my story. Ron
I use to remove the thermostat every summer from my old XD 1982 Falcon. It had no air conditioner and ran on dual fuel. LPG ran hotter and dryer, while Petrol ran cooler. So in Australian summer I would run with bonnet unlocked and wood blocked between bonnet underside and latch (prayed bonnet latch kept it down at 100 kph) and kept the heater on at full bore. You could see the engine temp rise to 3/4 if I turned the heater fan off and back down to just over 1/2 if turned it back on. Was a XD Falcon 3.3 litre alloy head station wagon, so had alot of weight to move with a underpowered engine, especially if switched to LPG. So in summer I also ran it on petrol as it helped also to keep it cooler. I admit as I got older, I enjoyed the perks of Airconditioning and power steering.
My daughter's 10yo High-YOON-day had the "service TPMS light" on. The tire shop adjusted pressures to 34psi all the way around, then read the pressure off of each sensor individually; they read 0, 15, 34, and 85. 😎
@@mauricevandoeselaar manual transmissions are extremely rare in US in cars and trucks since the 1980s. the current generation has no idea how to drive one
@@mauricevandoeselaar As @mxsport mentioned, manual transmissions are rare here. The sale of any sort of vehicle with manual transmissions have fallen so much that new models of cars simply don't offer a manual transmission as an option when purchasing. Because of this, younger folk have not been trained on how to drive one. So if you have a car with three pedals, the chances of it getting stolen are very low. I recall in Seattle a while back some teenagers tried to steal an old lady's car. They hopped into it but it was a manual, and of course they kept stalling it - so they bolted and were caught a short time later by police.
I love my 13 Cruze LTZ RS. Bought and sold a ton of cars over the years, and it's one of my favorites. Sitting at 214k, put 14k since I got it in November. All I've had to do was the typical valve cover which is easy. Has an oil leak but I change my oil every 3k miles and it never drops below full on the stick. But what kills me is they put an aluminum thermostat on the junk 1.8 engine, but couldn't put an aluminum thermostat on the 1.4 Turbski engine. You can buy aluminum ones, but they were plastic from the factory. That's one of my only gripes about the engine. I've worked on cars for 16 years. I've seen a lot. People shit talk the 1.4, and no it's nowhere near the best. But it's a good engine that gets fantastic mileage
great video, see alot of those cruzes, we always recommend the whole assembly instead of just the thermostat since you gotta pull it loose for the thermostat .
I had 2014 Cruze, it was the leakingest car I've ever owned. Sold at 164,000 miles and only fixed leaks. Oil cooler was the worst. Between the engine and turbo/exhaust manifold. Clearly the best place for oil cooler. Hottest place under the hood.
I always pull hose clamp first, then use pump pliers around the hose at top of neck and towards the base work it gently back and forth until loosened up. if it's still that tight "heat gun" the hose. yeah it should just be replaced at that point, but sometimes you have to do the dirty deed and get things rolling again! I have a hose pick, that I've used twice since new. it either digs into the hose or gouges the housing no matter how careful and precise you are. I have used it more for non "hose removal applications than not.
Awesome channel and Great job ! Crew up in shop like yours and then joined the Navy . Spent a life time troubleshooting, repairing ,training and now designing Engines and Equipment. Again great job boss !
To those asking why they might put a heater in the coolant thermostat, it is because it is likely the cheapest means for them to have a variable temperature thermostat. The wax motor is set to open the thermostat at a "higher than normal" temperature, say 220-225 deg F (seems to be the normal range from my experience), but by turning on the heater and applying additional heat to the thermostat, they can make it open at a lower temperature. Higher coolant temperature (to a certain extent) helps increase fuel economy and reduce emissions, whereas lower temperature is better for performance.
School is in session! Good to hear you are including the "subtle wise guy joking" module in the curriculum. Also, that Cruze is ticking like an old fashioned alarm clock, expect you will be seeing it again, either for repair or to administer "last rites".
How can such a complicated, computerized, system, be cheaper to build and engineer, rather than the plain old 180 degree mechanical thermostat, we all grew up with, and took 15 minutes to change out. With all this computerized equipment used in such a harsh environment as a moving motor vehicle, I'm not surprised at all the breakdowns.............Good Job, Rick...!!
180F thermostats are long gone. The emissions and fuel economy were lousy. 190F was better but the more modern temperature control are now standard. Toyota has gone the electric coolant pump route.
It’s cold. Well, there’s your problem! 🤣 You just never know what you’re going to get on this channel; it’s like looking for treasure in the local pawn shop/flea market. 😎
It'd be cool if (one day) you had the time to put out videos highlighting problem engines and maybe even transmissions from the various manufacturers, pointing out specific areas of concerns.
Great job. I use to have a 2012 Cruz 1.4 stick. I had to replace water outlet, leaks. Also done 4 rocker covers for a defective PCV. Had almost 300,000km on it when I got rid of it. Again thanks for your videos, very entertaining.
Wow! That was informative and entertaining. Good video! Hey in a couple of years Chevy will put a sensor on a hammer so you can see how hard it hits and we'll put a bracket in front of it because that's how we roll.
Talk about GM with needing to move the water pump housing to remove that thermostat housing, we had a 1967 IH dump truck with their DV500 diesel and I needed to change the oil cooler. It was located on the engines left side within the C of the chassis. It had 12 bolts to be removed and the last bolt hit the inside of the chassis and could not be removed. Needed to pull the engine forward about 18" to get that last bolt out. You can imagine the choice words I had about the engineer who designed the placement of the oil cooler. You and the family stay safe.
Awesome channel. I have a lot of respect for what a good mentor you are to younger mechanics. The world needs more young people who know how do something productive with their time and are willing to work hard to make an honest living.
Love your channel i Love watching working on stuffs ,, im a heavy equipment and 18 wheeler mechanic i fix anything from a forklift to a big truck to a broken heart,, I love the dio equipment you use , I'm expected to fix said equipment without test equipment ,, I share your videos with my boss hopefully they will learn to know what it means to dio,, thanks
Millenials anti theft device( lol- manual trans) .off to work😥.. having eric o as a boss, that would be cool, seems like a great all around man. Wish more boss's would be(take notes your power trip donkeys...thanks for video..rush hour in avoca(lol)...🤙
Right out of high school I worked at GM running a metal press to make the bracket that held the air-conditioner pump onto the engine block. This was in the days, when GM recommended a "tune-up" every 6 months or 6000 miles. The bracket had to be removed to do this tune-up, which meant that the fan belt had to be removed, and when replaced the belt was tensioned by hand with a wrench. Nice to see GM maintain this tradition for more than 50 years. Yea, you rock GM. Never make it easy for the service personnel. GM clearly believes that their customers have money to throw away on paying Eric to remove three parts to repair one of them.
First mention of Napa you failed to say "not a sponsor". My first thought hey wait is Napper a sponsor now? Then thermostat comes in and nope. I got excited for you there Eric.
@@stoneblue1795 yeah DexSludge would be a better name. I own "two Hondus and a Toyota Tacoma with the big 4 0" to mimic Dr. O haha. So I am happy to avoid those headaches.
yup ... just replaced one on a sonic... gotta remove brackets just to change the thermostat...be sure to open the bleeder valve to get the air out....on the sonic ... it is hidden under the radiator cover... took me 20 mins to figure out why it was not sucking in the new anti-freeze...
I don’t know what 12 people gave you a thumbs down but them 12 people need a thumb up there you know what LOL. I watched a ton of your videos and appreciate your knowledge and information. I can’t ever remember watching a video that I would give you a thumbs down on.Keep up the good work, oh and screw those thumbs down people if you dont like the vid dont watch it.
Hey im a millenial but I know how to drive stick in fact the first car that I've ever bought was stick didn't know how to drive it but I made damn sure I learned love driving stick I think everybody should learn!
Drove stick in my late teens and early 20's; 55 now. No desire to ever drive stick again. The constant city/suburban driving playing Speed Racer is not worth the workout I get trying not to get killed by idiots who are deaf, dumb, blind, and suicidal. With an automatic I just have to either hit the brakes or the gas and hang on!
shame GM at one time had quality. now you couldn't give me a new GM product. honestly I wouldn't want a new product from any of the makers. all hunks of junk and pain to work on. ill take something made pre 80
@@Dratchev241 It's not really true, depends on the model of vehicle. I certainly have worked on a few that were a royal pain in the butt, I've got a 2008 Toyota Prius 348,000 miles, and it's really easy to work on for the most part. Sometimes you might have to take several things off to get to something under it but it all disassembles easily and logically. Virtually the entire car is a 10, 12 or 14mm bolts. Surprisingly easy to work on.
