Recent subscriber. Love your channel. I love how you speak straight. No theatrics , not speaking proud or shameful. Just straight up, well spoken knowledge. Great automotive channel.
I've seen some other RU-vidrs use a neck-mounted Go Pro mount so they can record what they are doing with both hands. The camera is attached by magnets so you can pop it off when you want to record yourself. It might be worth a try for those two-hand projects.
I rented a cruse once, It was brand new. I personally didn't like it, but the wife did. Far as your video goes, nice job, I think you are right on target.
Agree about plastic parts. First gen Mini Coopers had a plastic check valve in the bottom of the oil filter housing to allow oil to drain for filter changes. This valve would eventually fall to pieces, usually while removing the filter so when you started the car you had no oil pressure at idle. For years the only remedy was to block the hole completely or buy a new filter housing for $280. Finally someone started making replacement valves so now you can fix the problem for about $40. Love the videos.
2 gallon pump sprayer 1 gallon kerosene 1 qt conventional ATF 1/4 cup Ultra dish detergent HOT water to fill. Mix before & while spraying. Coat heavily. Let soak 15-20 minutes. Pressure rinse. Best engine wash/degreaser you can't buy.
I once had an impeller slip on the shaft. Low speed it ran ok. But higher speed, the temp gauge would climb. It was thought at first the the rad could be plugged up but it turned out it was the water pump. It pays to take it to someone who knows what they are doing. Love your videos Kenny.
Thank you!! It's quite uncommon, but I have seen it a few times . I actually made a video about one about two months ago. Was an older Chevy Silverado with a 5.7
VW I kept the plastic housings around as spare parts, along with the o rings as well, because they are a known failure. Plus a spare set of plug leads. That, plus valve cover gaskets and water pumps, are a very common failure on most vehicles. My Cruze next service will also involve that valve cover replacement, easy as the plugs will come out for checking, and time to look at the brakes, half way worn. 3 different size pads in use on the model, and you need to see which one you have to get new.
Water outlet housing and bleeder hose on the back of the head. Water pumps are horrible on these. Never replaced a thermostat on these. I have changed lots turbos and catalytic converters on these. Lots of oil leaks too. I have also done lots of pistons on these for broken ring lands. There is also a special warranty coverage on these for the water pumps. And make sure you torque the water pump properly or they will leak. The valve cover(with the gasket) is cheaper than just the gasket itself. Check the RPO label in the trunk where the spare tire is or in the glove box. Engine code stats with an 'L'. That's engine is either going to be an LUV/LUJ engine.
I have an 08 Saturn Astra with a 1.8 L Ecotec engine. I just replaced the water pump this past fall. Different design than 1.4. I also replaced the seals on the oil cooler a while back. Those will leak oil and / or coolant. When I opened that up it was full of gunk. Cleaned it out. Flushed system. All is well. Oh and I replaced the cam cover gasket, too. No leaks! 113,000 miles on it, and so far so good. Need to do transmission fluid exchange next. Thanks Kenny. Keep wrenchin'!!
2011 LTZ I've owned one. Not really engines problems for my experience but the hvac blower needed to be replaced 3 times, transmission cooler lines replaced, reseal the transmission 2 times, rear defog stopped working. Engine wise no problems. I Maintenant well my cars so usually no worries. Thanks
Food for thought. I worked in auto parts, and when in doubt provide the vin of the vehicle. Some mid year changes to vehicles can cause part fitment or electronic problems.😮
Yes many parts are Vin linked, except some are also linked to date of assembly, because different supplier batches came in, and thus you find 3 different parts are listed, mostly mounting the same, but for things like brakes different disk assemblies and pads can be installed, and are not interchangeable.
It's Mrs. Wrenching. You're absolutely right! I worked in a dealership for years & mid year changes often caused a kerfuffle. Thanks for your input-Meg
@@DaddyyCrab Friend has a B class, and literally even spark plugs you need a VIN for it. We both have a photo of the VIN in case it is needed, and one of us will have a phone at the parts store.
I own one of these. I love the car, but hate working on it since everything is plastic. The water outlet (they make metal ones now), that hose, and the reservoir are common issues over on that side. I think the issues with the the turbo is crap oil (needs to be low ash oil dexos) or high miles before the oil change. Usually the bearing goes out because of coaking in the oil feed tube. The turbo has a crap waste gate actuator and the manifold tends to crack causing boost leaks. That is why they did a redesign on the oil feed tube on the turbo. There was a special coverage for gm to replace the water pump for free. As far as the pvc the orange nipple on the intake manifold usually goes and then that causes the diaphragm on the valve cover to blow out due to over pressurizing the case. Pull the center tube off the top of the intake and clean it off in there to see if the nipple is there. (tube can break). With the valve cover they also make these in aluminum as well. I replaced mine with an oem , cleaned it up and installed it and torqued with my torque wrench and it still leaked even after rechecking the tq. I end up using the right stuff to seal the valve cover. There also is an updated oil cap with a extension..
My wife's Vauxhall (GM) Corsa has that engine but the normally aspirated version. Water pumps, thermostat and temp sensor housing are a common problem with them. Also change the air bleed pipe (the first fitting you said breaks) at the same time as the sensor housing as they never seal. The water pump can be a real pain to change especially when you try in direct sunlight it on the UK's hottest ever day, 43C. 😰 If her car had lost a fair amount of fluid they can air lock easily and you don't get enough water in them and they are a complete arse to bleed.
Will say I have the 1.6l version, and yes those valve covers do fail, might have to get the whole thing from Isuzu (took over the GM brand when they pulled out) as well, though normally I have good results in just cleaning both sides and using gasket maker on the new seal, and making sure to not exceed the recommended torque on the bolts.
The other issues with that engine are the PCV systems are built into the valve covers, which eventually go bad? Besides the turbo's failing, not too bad of an engine, if it's maintained properly?
It's unfortunate that most makes & models have some kind of inherent or "common" problems that are just part of an economical design. it's not a new issue and it doesn't always involve composite plastics. I would just like to see more cast aluminum come back on to the engines themselves. I'll gladly give up some of the "nanny features" in the car to have a stronger component list under the hood. and that's one reason you see people building their own secondary hot rods to play with. imagine if YOU had the choice of what goes on, and in the engine. 🤔
Kenny do you own the shop where you work someone with your ability should have your own shop love your videos I have learned a lot of tricks that I had never thought of
Thanks James. I dovwork for a shop at the moment. I am currently working on having my own place. Hopefully it will be a reality in about 6-8 weeks . Fingers crossed 🤞
@Wrenching With Kenny I will thanks for the videos you helped me diagnose a misfire problem on a 2007 Nissan Murano that 2 different shop couldn't find so keep up the videos
@@WrenchingWithKenny Best luck for that, if I was in the USA you would be my mechanic, but being your own mechanic does mean I do most of my own servicing, plus I know a good shop for those that need special work. Of course I did see a nice '07 Cadillac in there, and I did do some free help with the owner on it, because you very rarely see a '07 Cadillac with mostly all original parts, mostly because the 1907 was more than half wood. Also a lot of MG cars, and those are nice, even though I cannot fit in them easily, but they are fast, even when you drive slow, because of that low and open body.
The turbo pressures the pcv and pushes out oil everywhere. If the pcv was outside valve cover it probably would not need replaced. Just replacing the valve cover will not fix the leak.
I have the same problem with my thermostat housing i moved a hose going to the throttle body which snapped so i thought i might as well replace the whole thing while i am in their
It should be a no no for any manufacturer to put plastic connect hoses on any motor they do this knowing that they will eventually go bad an then you will bring it back to the dealer for a repair where they can charge you outrageous prices ! It's bull !
i actually recently came up on one of these but from 2012. personal care mind you. this piece of junk has 3 pcv's. on in the intake, valve cover and a flexible plastic tube heading towards the turbo. given the price of cars now, it was still risky even at $1200. 1k in parts later and she's fairly reliable, no low end torque(which sucks, stop and go, manual in city like traffic with hills) till 2k rpm's (when the turbo kicks in) and an extremely shitty 1st to second shift (takes about 1second of letdown to get a smooth shift from 1st to second) because of GM programming to make the car seem more eco friendly (2012 chevy cruze eco 1.4t manual) and the revs hang to burn off pcv from what i have read. anyways, i have a love hate relationship with this car, so much plastic junk and things that do not make sense, no bearing in the flywheel to stabilize transmission, throw-out bearing is a one piece with the slave cylinder, it's plastic, flywheel is dual mass with springs that tend to fail and cost 200+ usd and from what i have read the typical lifespan of the clutch is 60k. let alone the turbo having hairline fractures near the wastegate being brand new is considered OK? early mileage bearing failures on the trans also frequent and them gapping the plugs wrong from factory which the auto community dealt with and they later put out a TSB for a higher gap, the lower gap resulted in piston slap and premature wear. sad part is, the car is very fun and sporty to drive beyond this all while getting great mpg. im not sure if it was oversight or penny pinching but this could of been a great economy car that wasn't neutered. i have grown to love mine a bit but i do know what lays beneath.
Maybe in one of your videos you could provide some 'context' for your shop. I assume that since your calling customers and maybe ordering parts and estimating as well from the sounds of it, you have no dedicated advisor there? Are there other techs there? From the background of the lot, it looks like the business does some salvage work also? Or maybe involved with flipping auction vehicles? I hope they are paying you properly if you are wearing the hat of Tech and advisor. Anyway, just curious, as viewer's watch your vids it's nice to know a bit of background info. thx
Hi it's Mrs Wrenching. Kenny is helping a customer that is in a pickle. He has explained his role in a few videos. Basically he functions as service advisor, parts, technician & sometimes estimator. The owners buys a lot of auction vehicles. Typically, 2 of the same vehicle, one with engine issues & the other with heavy body damage. Their plan is to have Kenny take them apart & create 1 sellable vehicle when he has "down time from fixing customer cars" 😂 I stopped counting at 54 purchased vehicles. There are also vehicles on the lot that have been towed in or the repair cost is higher than the value of the car that came in & those customers never come in to pick up 🙄On the brighside it's not my sweet tea! Keep wrenching
Certainly NOT your fault, but we really need to do something about parts pricing and availability in the world. I had to pay $450CAD for an output speed sensor for my 2010 Ford Fusion with the manual transmission. I'm sure there are not a lot of them out there, but that price was hard to swallow. I had to save up for a month before I could have that and one other problem fixed.
It's Mrs Wrenching - I left the auto industry because of supply chain/vendor issues. Now I work in home improvement & I'm STILL dealing with supply chain/vendor issues. Unfortunately, I don't see it getting better anytime soon. Remember that price point (cheapest) is not always the best. Sometimes you end up with junk that causes more problems than it fixes. You're blessed if you can do the work yourself or have someone you trust that can do the work for you. Keep wrenching friend - Meg
Hey kenny, can you give some opinions on the toyota v6 3.5 2GR FE engine? We are in used car market but heard alot of timing cover leaks water pump failure on these engines? are v6 toyota worth to buy? Thanks
@Wrenching With Kenny yes, from now on I will never work on a hot engine if I can help it. The only thing is: I was just checking my oil when it happened. This is dangerous stuff. Plastic and cooling systems don't mix
