I know this comment doesn't have much to do with the actual repair but there is a lot to be said about you Eric O for always trying to remain professional even when people bring you to your wit's end. I've always respected you for never bad mouthing customers and remaining civil when dealing with others. It's so easy to start swearing and speaking poorly of others but rather shows a man's true class that he doesn't allow his emotions to puke out his mouth uncontrollably. I myself always present myself as a professional, even when I have mixed feelings about others. Some people don't realize that your credibility suffers when you project an immature attitude. For you personally, your actions only enforce to me that you are a truly top-notch human being. SMA number 1 auto repair channel on RU-vid. Period.
Yep the SMA cool head approach even when fatigued and under duress is what sets him apart. Always a civil approach to all and effort of courtesy and some humour .
Learned 4 new items of info from this video. 1) Mr "O" had me believing he had invented smell o vision, caught myself going for the wiff, just woke up. 2) SMA has a amateur hour after he closes, with guest visits from the local ding dongs. 3) Mrs "O" doesn't like his " Odour de Gear Oil. And 4) Miss Hannah has to give him the " adapt and over come" speech on a regular basis. Good job on the diagnosis. I agree , you would usually see the complete bank show lean conditions and or misfire with the major intake leak.
My biggest gripe with the Encore and the reason I hardly ever use it is the loading of data when changing pages in the data stream. I can’t stand how it always has to load data from the page before you can scroll again. Also the countdown after quoting things like special tests. Gear oil is the worst. Especially old gear oil.
I was saying check the Spark Plug for cracks! Then you swapped it with number 2 so ruled that out immediately! 'Smoke Guy' is gonna see all that smoke coming out the doors & come back! Keep your chin up BIG O!✌️
Free Tip Sunday. Once you see the smoke pluming out, if you turn down the flow rate of the smoke until it just dribbles out of the leak you can see exactly where it's coming from better. Something Mark Warren teaches in his Evap classes.
@Hector Cortez-aponte-cabrera Yes. It's just a tip to help diagnose a problem. Eric O wanted to get a clearer look at *exactly* where the smoke was coming from. Guessing can come back to bite you, or just result in wasting your own time. He just needs to remember that feature next time :\
The intake gasket is junk on a lot of their V type engines. My 3.1 Malibu was changed twice and my buddies 3.8 impala 3 times. My moms 2.4 sunfire never had a problem with the intake gasket.
My last truck was a 96 GMC with the 5.7 vortec. They used crappy neoprene gaskets. I replaced it OEM once. Then later on (100 K or so) I replaced it with the Fel-pro gasket. Steel and rubber. Sold it at 190K in 2010. Several friends that had the same year truck. They ended replacing them as well. That gasket dried and cracked. Good truck though. Wish I'd have just kept that truck and bought a another Motorcycle. I ended up with a 08 GMC. Also has been a great truck and currently at 170....
Excellent point on the homemade wrench. And the fact that he played "parts cannon" on all those other parts that probably weren't the real cause of the problem to start.
Everyone has been a parts clown at times. At least if it is your own car you can keep the parts until you really need them. I just get them from my favorite place. the wrecking yard. I can spend hours there just looking at all the cars.
Smashing diagnostic, your final test with smoke was excellent :-D, i love visual tests. After the compression test was fine and the injectors tested fine i was clueless.
I was thinking about air leak but highly localised - which would be unusual. Pipe off somewhere local to that intake port area but I am not familiar with that particular beast anyway.
I've seen you comment about complaints of background noise etc. from some viewers. Seems to be a common thread with RU-vid creators. Those people can go watch some wingnuts Channel who can't fix lunch, but can produce a professional quality video. I'll stick with guys like you, who know what they're talking about. Or maybe you can add yelling "Quiet on the set" to Mrs O's job description. But smile when you ask her!
Seriously, it is an auto repair business not a freaking recording studio. You want recording studio sound go to a channel we're at the face swinging in the wrench couldn't straighten a paperclip. Auto repair shops have background noise, blowers compressors wrenches impacts, you name it.
I am impressed by your methodic aproach. Loved listening and following your every moves. You explain things so well. In todays auto world you need to know about full diagnostics before cranking on a wrench! I subscribed!! God Bless.
This type of problem-solving mystery where viewers get to play along while watching is really interesting and very engaging. It's a lot of fun trying to figure out the problem before you do, and I believe it results in much greater knowledge retention vs just a straight tutorial video about how to fix a specific problem. Really valuable content - thanks for putting it together!
I watched a mechanic rebuild carbs one time (an older Honda) and spent 1/2 a day and not fix anything. He finally did the basics and found low compression on one cylinder. If he'd done that first he'd saved a lot of time. You are correct in checking fuel, spark and compression first. Eliminate the basics!!
I've never put anything on my plugs when I replaced them. I justed used light finger pressure to make sure the threads were seated properly and hand tightened them before I picked up my wrench.
@@tanis143 I was taught to clean the threads. Take a plug out playing the threads, clean the carbon out of the plug, check the gap, reinstall. This is back in the day of leaded gasoline though
Thanks for all your videos! They give me confidence again being a Diesel Mechanic by going back to basics and not over thinking! And found a ground wire broken on my 05 Colorado for the MAP Sensor. Thanks again for your knowledge!
that smoke machine sure made a definitive diagnosis . i usually do the "down and dirty" brake clean with the straw spray as well. you are thorough every time. i would hate finding the problem and not being able to fix it....it would be like cranking the "jack in the box" right until it is ready to pop out and stopping right before every time!!! and thats no bueno!!!!!!
A quick easy test to see if the intake is leaking is to place your hand over the oil fill tube and feel for vacuum, and the pcv opening on the other valve cover. If it sucks, it's gonna suck.
Might as well change out the CSFI spider with the MPFI upgrade while the pain in the ass intake is off it. The stock poppet injectors are guaranteed to fail eventually.
Yeah, they are pretty damn good engines, gm has honestly or done themselves EVERY SINGLE TIME they went to the drawing board and designed and engineered a new generation v8...every time they made a WAY BETTER product
@@alfonsomorales4251 for 98 it would have been the vortec 5.7 (350). I think in 99, both the 5.3 LS and the 5.7 Vortec were available. After 99, only the 5.3 was available.
@@river1403 No the 5.7 is definitely the 350. This engine style was available in the Suburban and Tahoe from 96 to 99,and the trucks from 96 to 98. Some vans also had it well into the 2000s. I've owned 2. They aren't exactly bulletproof, both of mine had cracked cylinder heads but at least the repair is one of the easier cylinder head swaps out there.
Fun Fact: oil is a dielectric insulator. We use everything from hydraulic oil to straight 40 weight motor oil inside of oil filled junction boxes that go underwater offshore.
Robert L that's the point I guess I was trying to make. Why would you use that stuff if it could cause problems. Guess different people use different lubricants.
I have to put my 2 cents worth in here after having the 4rth incident of it's same kind with this same shit. I had a Silverado I care for a great deal belongs to a good paying customer and it is one nice clean kept truck. He was having 3 misfires old plugs used his truck hard this summer towing a trailer for his retirement business. The emphasis I wanna make is about the PUG WIRES Auto Zone an Advanced sell can be bad right out of the box. I always bad mouth the two stores in my videos. However both stores have decent starters now and alternators. But watch 4 those plug wires before you go pulling the entire motor apart.
Hey Eric, I know it's after hours. But would you have any cigarettes or low-cost wine in your in your convenience store? The fun thing about living in a small town. Never assume this fits (Ass out of U and Me) Great video, helped me out with a friends 5.7 with a quick way to find a bad coil with the clogged injector. Thank you again, oh do you sell cigs after hours?
wonder if how it went down is that he neglected plugs, had some misfires, then a backfire which blew out the intake, got much worse, then he swapped in new plugs/idle air/tps.
Bet it's losing coolant too....seen distributor gears worn out ,cam lobes worn ,high oil use all due to that stupid plastic gasket gm uses.... literally have replaced hundreds of those on every " v" style engine in that era. Good for my paycheck ,bad for my customers.
I had a Chevrolet Suburban that would flood it self after is warmed up. It was the temp sensor was bad since they have 2 sensor in the one unit one for the engine temp guage and the other that sends the temp for the Computer and fuel mixture.
I swear now that I'm back on east coast I'm willing to, if my truck will make it, to bring it up to SMA to get worked on. Love how thorough and honest you are with diagnosis. Discovered you back when I lived in texas. My old 98 Chevy made the drive to the east coast but picked up some issues on the way. Need her running like new again
Hey Eric in the new age of fuel injection I have been screwed also. Port fuel injection vs TBI acts like your run of the mill carb relys on carryover into all of the intake runners. Can see your misconception on the diag. Good catch in the end.
Sounds like he needs some gear oil on that door hinge too.. Haha The cigarette guy came back "Hey man, don't lie to me..I saw you smokin behind that hood MAN.!" Should have given that guy a shot of brake clean. But then again... you might have a new buddy hangin around asking for more. Doing a great job Eric...As you always do brother!
Hahaha..that would be awesome.! Hooka from Hell (: Funny..It's like you can hear me about as much as I can smell that gear oil when you were attempting to put the tube on the throttle body for the block off..I'm saying, turn it around..turn it around and then you did. I laughed pretty good. I only knew it would work cause I just did the same thing about a week ago. Nice one Bro
You took a different route but you got to the same place. No wonder you get guys on bikes riding up asking for a smoke.... it was like a hookah bar in there with all the smoke.... Probably had Vape dudes on their way from across the county.
I love his thinking out loud. It shows how he troubleshoots and it teaches people new to cars and working on them the thought process. Mr. O would be good at anything he tried. Yes two of the prerequisites for being good at things. He is willing to try. He thinks.
Love your videos but if you could mention at least approximate odometer reading at the beginning of the video I think that would be very helpful and muchly appreciated :)
Do they send you a complete course on how to use the troubleshooting computers or do you have to learn as you go after reading the basic users manual? Great devices to have if you know how to use and interpret the information.
So . . . . now you are giving out free cigarettes with your SMA bad air ??? If your shop had AC you could keep the doors shut !! 105 out here in SoCal yesterday.
Sounds like you were having one of my days there! That's my main reason I haven't put out any RU-vid vids yet - I think I'll come across as a grumpy SOB, lol. You did a good job of hiding it though - if you didn't mention you were having a bad day, I'd have never known. That same vehicle right there almost made me throw in the towel on OBD-II vehicles. My buddy has a '96 - looks identical, except for maybe the 4x4 buttons being a little different. He had torn his apart for a no-start. He figured it was easy enough to check the timing chain, thinking back to the old 350's. Well, the Vortec is slightly different as you know! He got so frustrated he took a sawzall to the Y pipe, and attempted to yank the oil pan. Total disaster. I ended up with the truck - towed it to my place. Long story short, I reassembled everything and replaced the timing cover. It ended up having a bad ECU .... BUT, that's where things got crazy. The junkyard that sold me the ECU looked me in the eye and told me it was off another 5.7 Tahoe. It would only run on 6 cylinders! No matter what we did, that's all that would fire. It sat here over a year before my buddy decided to just drive it getting 5 MPG on 6 cylinders. After I got my Autel, I was able to retrieve the VIN from the ECU - ran the numbers on the net, and it came back to a '96 S10 Blazer!! No wonder!!! Explains why the guy at the junkyard was hemming and hawing about the warranty being too close to expiring (also told me when I bought it they'd take it back for 90 days, no questions asked!) - told me he'd only take it back with a receipt from a dealer! I was PISSED. Guy was a liar, and it cost my buddy thousands in unnecessary parts. I'll call them out on the net for anyone in central MA that happens to be reading this - it's Amherst-Oakham Auto Recycling. Avoid them! Only person I hate more than a liar is a thief - one in the same in this case! I ended up buying an ECU off eBay for my buddy - seller programmed his VIN into it, so it was just plug and play. Best $100 I ever spent. Truck has been fine for the past 4k miles (aside from a corroded distributor cap causing a double-dead miss). Great idea using the intake tube there! I'm gonna remember that one. :)
"the cigarette guy come back" lol he seen the smoke thought you was bogartin. pretty sad this scan tool isnt working and that wont work with that. ya have to end up with a pile of them in your toolbox
Being the owner of two of these trucks, leak was the first thing lol. Also, at least with this type of 5.7 Vortec, you can't dicker with the timing... That is set by the computer, not adjustable.
you never forget the smell of gear oil, not sure if it me subconsciously getting it on my skin that you can taste it in your mouth one of the reasons i used to keep mints in my tool box. I hated doing clutches and gearbox's I worked in a garage that serviced taxi's you get through allot of everything with them drivers especially brake pads.
Zen and Art of Auto Diagnostics - Stay on the path and punch through to clear the bay. “Peace of mind produces right values, right values produce right thoughts. Right thoughts produce right actions and right actions produce work which will be a material reflection for others to see of the serenity at the center of it all.” ― Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
It is never boring to watch you running data with the scanner. at least for be anyhow! One of my kids is driving my old '99 GMC Yukon with a 5.7. It now has 330 k plus. It's been a good truck.
Seems strange intake manifold affecting only one cylinder as the leak was widespread. There was good compression and balance numbers stacked up, ok and gas pressure looked normal with adequate spark. Great output from that smoke machine, leaving no doubt as to the inherent problem. Could do with a smoke, any chance of a handy cigarette, seen the door open ??
And another x files video, this time with cigarette man, give him a big snort off ur smoke machine, that should last him awhile, thanks for a quick tip Tuesday on a Monday
That's so funny you said that about gear oil. On the ford tech channel I was telling him my wife hates when I do rear differentials because it smells for days. Every time I do one and walk in its back out side to get sprayed with the hose. That smell is unforgettable especially a burnt rear end nasty stuff there my friend
First time I've heard of someone using gear oil on the spark plug threads. That's a first prize for "stupid". As if they hadn't thought about the electrical path is to the spark plug ground strap to the cylinder head from the center electrode. The spark now might jump to the side of the cylinder head or the top of the piston. I'd expect a "Nightmare on Elm Street" scenario when the customer replaces his own intake manifold gasket(s).
Lube the plug??? I've never put anything on a plug for lube, is that a standard thing? Before anyone says it, I've never had a problem changing plugs because of none lubed plugs. They come out just fine.
Usually we use anti-seize. lots of manufacturers started using a coating on their plugs like NGK and recommend to not use anti-sieze as it throws off torque readings.
@@dixoncider7256 That's weird, I'm 53 years old, and my Father was a mechanic most of his life and had me changing plugs at 10 years old and we never have ever put any lube on a plug. I have also never had a plug that was stuck in the head, from lack of lube. I have had some that people brought in with original plugs, way overdue for changing that were a bitch to get out lol.
Incredible Mr. O....Reality diagnostics, Humble attitude, True to Life. Always appreciate your Service and Inputs...That guy over on 'Schrodinger's Box' needs to pay attention to you!...He's stuck on himself for a 2 percenter. Ridicules others. Your personality is appreciated! Is just one reason you have a Fantastic Wife! Thanks.
Hi Eric great stuff you put out keep it up.You said to apply silicone grease to the oring , will that not cause issues with the O2 sensors.What is called silicone poisoning. Regards
Like your videos, sub'd. This dude is lucky coolant hasn't found its way into the crank case yet. Happened to my 97 2-door Tahoe, found chocolate shake-like liquid on dip stick. Yuck.
