One of the best trucks on the road! Then why won't CAR WIZARD's techs work on this '99 Silverado? 

The best boss a mechanic can have is the one who does not forget where he came from. People outside the industry don't understand how frustrating these jobs can be. Good on you for treating your people well

I built these back at Pontiac Assembly. I can still remember my job on the line in trim! Today marks my 25yr anniversary at GM.

These are for sure amazing trucks! I have a 2000 gmc sierra 1500 4x4 5.3 v8 and it’s a few miles away from 390,000 miles. My family has owned it since 30k miles (2001) and it has never broken down on us or left us stranded. If it was going to break, it did it at home. Such a great reliable truck.

If more mechanics and shops were like you I wouldn’t be working on my on stuff in my driveway, I’d be out enjoying my life on my time off, knowing my vehicle was in good hands and I’m not getting ripped off.

I worked in automotive shops for over twenty years and ran my own for five years.I absolutely agree with you taking care of your technicians!I always keep track of what i was assigning to each one and tried to be as fair as possible.If someone got a crappy job like this i send some gravy jobs his way to make up for it later!I feed my guys lunch twice a month and occasionally a beer after work.We also did a yearly fishing charter the guys loved!People that feel appreciated are the best employees to have trust me!

I subscribed to this channel a couple years ago. Shortly after I got this exact truck based Wizard's recommendations. And then when gas started going up I got a Buick LeSabre. Another Wizard approved vehicle. I've got two super reliable vehicles now. Paid under $6000 total. Thanks Wizard!

In the military when it came to troubleshooting, we learned the half-split method. You find somewhere in the circuit where you can test (hopefully somewhere half way down the circuitry), where you could test and see which "half" of the circuit has the problem. I could be wrong, but had your disconnected the wiring harness plug first, you "might" of saved yourself from tearing into the steering wheel.

30 year gm tech here, we don't break the dash down into individual parts, we take the whole dash out as one part, few bolts on each end, i-shaft, underhood connections and nuts, electrics on each end, a few other bits and bobs then two guys man handle the whole thing out. Sometimes we don't even take it out of the truck just lay it back out of the way setting it on boxes.

Probably a good time to change the blend door actuators while you have the dash out.

I just bought a 2003 Silverado 2 months ago. With Car Wizard’s seal of approval, I’m even more happy. (Plus I already knew of the reliability). $6800 with cold AC, no sun burns, no Rust since I live in California. 😎

Young tech here , and all I got to say is thank you Mr.Wizard . I’m only 3 years into the field and I hope to same day learn from a tech like yourself sir. It’s senior tech like you that keep me going in field we’re real techs are a dying breed . Thanks again.

I used to stress so hard as a newer tech, but David the car wizard has showed me “don’t over think keep it simple”( mind set ) I thank him for that . My diagnostic time has cut in half and I’m have less and less comebacks😊 and my income has improved so much. 🙏

So being a guy who's career is in hvac... EVERY thing Wizard just said guys is SUPER VALID. 110% the truth. And Wizard, dude, never would have thought to just uv the water dripping out on the ground. Bad ass pro tip Info right there bud. 👍👍

One of the best Car wizard episodes I've ever seen. "Why did it cost five hundred dollars to 'just run a wire to my horn'?" "Because it took five hours to pull everything apart and analyze the true cause and actually fix the true cause of the problem." The ac fluid in the evap water is magic..so simple yet Genius. Your mentor is a true car sensai. And the dash? What a five star hassle. I was so glad to hear you say you were going to replace the heater core at the same time. That dash cover by itself,getting that 23 year old sunbaked plastic off -AND BACK ON-without wavy cracks in it will be a miracle. And everything is put into the dash in a sequence like you said-there is no quick to it because just when you think it's going great, a 23 year old part laughs in your face and says."no,you don't". My back hurts for you,Car Wizard,just thinking about all the damn work that goes into the removal and reinstallation of that dash. But there are cars that are much worse too. And I think the audio of dash disassembly video might be full horn edits,if the car gremlins come your way which looking at the truck ,i think you might be ok,at least ,I hope so. As long as the people who rigged the horn did'nt rig anything under the ac part of the dash. Great video,nice to hear Mrs.Wizards voice in it always. Good luck and keep the Absorbine Junior bottle close. This episode could be called "It's not what I have to fix,It's what I have to remove to get to what I have to fix." But you and your guys deal with that everyday. Good hunting,Car Wizard.

This was a fantastic video. You took us along on 2 very tricky troubleshooting problems. You gave us the benefit of your extensive experience. You shared a trick for diagnosing evaporator leaks that I hadn't figured out in my 35 years wrenching on my old junk. You showed us your integrity in doing right by the customer (recommending a heater core) and your staff. Epic, epic, epic stuff. Thank you!

2001 Dodge Ram 1500 manual transmission. My mechanic was nearly in tears after he did the same for my AC core. What a guy ! Love the truck.

Definitely some of the best trucks ever made. My dad had a 2000 Silverado 2500 with the 6.0 that he bought new from the dealer. He sold it in 2018 with 332,000 miles. It was an oil field truck so it didn’t have the easiest life but the driveline was still completely stock. I still see it on the road every once in a while.

I’m not a mechanic but been doing HVAC/sheet metal mechanic for 33 years and all for the same small family owned company.the Wizard is speaking a lot of truth that I wish other owners could learn. You may own the company but your workers make the company.you better keep your guys happy.its so hard to find good workers in the trades,your workers can leave and have a new job the same day. It’s refreshing to see a owner who understands this and also still works on the customers vehicles

I remember when Car Wizard said that one time, Ï can buy a new engine, but I can't buy a new person. Drop it." I really have huge respect for him both his professionality and humanity.

I have a 1992 Silverado and just turned 30 years old. This was the truck I purchased for my dad for $18,000 and now when he passed away I got the truck back. It has 120,000 miles on it and it looks great and runs great. The only thing I had done to it was to replaced the fuel pump that was weak other than routine maintenance it has been a good truck.

My father in law has a 2002 Sierra GMC with over 270,000 miles and it still runs with original engine and transmission. It was solidly built and a reliable truck.

If I had a boss like you early on I might still be happily turning wrenches, Wizard.

The evaporator cores are always the most common places to leak. That's why they put them in the dash in newer cars. I remember when they were contained in a box on the engine side of the firewall. But, auto engineers being what they are today know they only have to last until the warranty period is over.

A co-worker just spent $53,000+ on a new 2022 Silverado, and his father owns the dealership. I spent $5,800.00 ( this year) on a new engine for a 2001 Silverado. Old engine said "she was done for" Went from a Carb to fuel injection 4.3. Not the fastest thing on the highway. But she gets the job done when she's called on.

As an aircraft mechanic I wish my shop adopted the same idea. Yes we’re paid to do work but, that doesn’t mean we need to get slammed every single day with the worst jobs. Sadly in the corporate world they frankly don’t care.

There's something quite enjoyable about watching a smart guy solve interesting, practical problems.

That's why you are a rare mechanic and "The Wizard" We need more like you!

I remember seeing the car wizard the first time he appeared on Hoovies channel. You have come a long way from. That episode and I am glad Tyler convinced you to start your own channel. Invaluable information most mechanics would not tell. Thank you. 😊

Ha!!! The first thing that came to mind when I heard evaporator, was how much fun it is to pull that dash, while avoiding hearing any snapping... crackling... and popping noises! Definitely a job for the more patient of techs, who'll finesse it rather than force it.

The fact that you do your diagnostic work and don't just take a shot in the dark and start changing out the most likely suspects tells me that not only are you a true mechanic but that you are honest as well. I work in building maintenance and have dealt with so many shady vendors that are nothing more than parts replacers and are all too happy to just keep making money off of my employer! Thank you for what you do here in showing people what you have learned! Sharing wisdom and not just acquiring it is the true sign of a wise man!!

I absolutely agree with you on not throwing parts at something. Working on my own stuff as a teen and not having a whole lot of money I had no choice, but to make sure I found the exact issue before buying the part.

Wizard's inspections and diagnosis on car problems are always so thorough, you learn so much with very simple yes or no answers 👌🏻

I removed an HVAC box out of a Cat-Eye Chevy with another student while at school for diesel mechanics as part of our HVAC class. Took us a couple weeks to do it (4 hours a week for this class). I agree with your mechanics. I will never do another one.

I love the statement about the people being able to buy a truck with a check and not even flinch, but won't. That's usually why those people have that kind of money. They understand that an old pickup will do everything the new ones do except for being a tool for putting large sums of money in other people's pockets.

Ive been an auto tech for over 20yrs and love to see how other techs diag certain things. Most of the time its the same as i do. I learned to check the condensate many years ago when i worked at a dodge dealer. The late 90's early 2000 dodge trucks were notorious for leaking evaporators. So much easier to change than the Chevy but its the same process. Thanks for the videos and you sound like an awesome boss to work for. We all have out strengths and weaknesses.

I love Wizard's enthusiasm and how he actually challenges himself to do this job again, only years later. He certainly has the right mindset! In the back of my head, I was also wondering if the heater core would come up, since the dash is being pulled out, and it did! 😁 That said, those GMT800's are legendary.

Legend has it: The Car Wizard once wrestled an elephant to the ground using the power of his mind.

This is what the wizard makes the big bucks, doing the work no one wants to do. Great video man 👍

Recently finished fixing up my 2000 single cab it was hit at the front so decided to do a Cateye conversion 😁 and fixed a lot of things like knock sensors, oil pump sensor, intake gaskets, added some power adders cam, efans, new radiator and other things. Runs like a champ got it for 2k and put in around 4k so it was worth it. 2 more years and it’s a classic.

Thanks wizard. I bought an extended cab 2001 GMC Sierra (work truck) brand new with 4.8 L engine, paid $17,500. I still drive it and it has 86.000 original miles. Just basic maintenance so far. I commuted by plane to work part of each month, so the truck was not driven part of the month. I just got the truck for wheels/ home Depot, etc. I occasionally tow a small utility trailer to do odd job chores for my home/property. It is so easy to work on, last year I changed out radiator, water pump, thermostat and housing,rad hoses, new serp belt, coolant, new coolant tank with level sensor, idler pulley, belt tensioner. I spent $650 on parts and it took two days counting rounding up the new parts. The water pump was dripping at the seal weep hole. The other parts were changed for longevity, they were still working. I enjoyed the task, plenty of room to work and so simple. I am 65 years old. My dad taught me how to do these type jobs on my cars in my youth. I bought a 1971 cutlass in 1974 for $1500, very fun reliable car. At 18 I bought a brand new 1976 Chevy C10 sport step side p/u for $5000. I am one of those guys that can buy any truck that I desire, but I refuse to pay the amount they go for now. Insane to pay 70k for a depreciating item with high ins costs and operating costs. Not to mention failing lifters, sensors out the wazoo, etc. Thanks for the videos. Great job with your shop and RU-vid.👍🇺🇸😁🌞😎

GMT800 + 3800 s/c Buick 2 car combo has been really good to me. Half a million miles between the two

My late father was a self-taught mechanic. When he retired in '85 he'd tinker with cars. But of the cars he owned over time he always changed the horn electrics from the steering wheel to a push button on the dash. I reflect and believe he did this under boredom. Whilst tops at mechanics, he was limited in his brilliant brain to just + and -. RIP Dad

I wish most auto industry bosses were like you! At my shop we tell them not to bring in certain cars but they still do. We are a specialized shop and dont have all the special tools to work on some cars and expect us to get it done quickly! LOVE YOU CHANNEL!

I can identify with those "nightmare jobs". I was a tech in a smaller shop with a great employer/owner that understood these situations. He would assist me on these but most of the way through I was by myself. Sometimes we would discover a leak that was caused by initial assembly. We would have to find a way not to cause the damage with our assembly. We got creative sometimes but usually successful. Patience is the needed virtue here. Rushing through a job can cause more damage than working recklessly. He had signs around his shop that was simply "Right now". When he would point them out to me I would ask if that meant right now, or it meant right, now. He would nod his head and understand why I was taking longer than he initially thought it should take. He was as much a perfectionist as I was.

I feel the same way on my diags- I want to figure out EXACTLY what's wrong with it, not just throw parts at it until something fixes it. It's a real shame that both the flat rate pay system and service managers rushing us to sell as much as possible so the numbers on their page look good at the cost of everything else disincentivize taking the time to do the job right the first time.

99-06 was the last good generation of Silverados. I've got an 2004, W/t 4.3L manual, has 284K miles. It's my backup/junk hauling truck. It sits for months at a time. Always starts right up, it's cheap and easy to fix when it does break

I have the exact truck only 4x4 and blue. Been a great truck over the years but I bought a new one back in 19 for longer distance travels. Same problem with my AC to in my old one. I just roll the window down and remind myself im in a almost 24 year old beater truck. Works for me!

Now I know why my 90 Chevy p/I air con does not hold hold charge after lasting approx. 1 year. Even my mechanic didn’t know this. Rather than letting pull dash and fix it I will does recharge coolant when I need it which is rarely as I live is SF Bay Area. Thank you again Mr Wizard as you prove again your the best !!! Hal

with my amazing mechanical skills, when I found that fake relay switch worked to control the horn, I would run that to my dashboard and superglue it on top....problem solved.......

I bought a 1 owner, 125k mile 2002 Suburban LS 2wd 5.3L because of you Wizard. I paid $4500 for my mine and put about $4000 into for PM, brakes, rotors, shocks, A/C, oil leaks and tires

As a mechanic in training i’d rather pay $16,000 for a low mileage 1999-2002 Chevy silverado than $75,000 for a 2023 Chevy Silverado that would have me in default😂

I scored a truck just like this for $4500 about 10 years ago. It had 250k on it when I got it, and I put another 250k on it before the rear axle broke. The 5.3 V8 never gave me a single issue. All I ever did was change the oil and replace the spark plugs.

It’s videos like this is why wizard is a step above the rest. You’re a class act wizard and you never forget where you came from. Another great video

Kansas did have annual inspections in the late 70's/early 80's, the inspections stopped due to heavy owner complaints and fraud on the inspections.

Can I say... you as a boss who has no issues with understanding your teams strengths and pushing them in those without stressing them in things they don't want to do, I have so much respect for you! I really enjoy watching your videos and seeing how understandable of a boss you are and team player I can tell your team is top notch! I'm very fortunate I have the same thing with my boss working on helicopters. You guys are diamond's in the rough🤙👏

Gentleman, at my 71 years of age and been born and raised in the mechanical field I have seen your integrity and honestly, CONGRATULATIONS, for your kindness, your videos are outstanding and impressive, even when I am retired I enjoy every second of it, my most expensive thanks to you and each and every one that one way or another made it possible to bring it to us, blessings to you and your love ones, from the endless summer paradise Puerto Rico Jesus Torres.

I have an 02 Silverado Z 71 four wheel drive. I bought her from the maintenance man where I worked. It had a little more than 200k miles on her when I got it. Today she has just over 325,000 miles and absolutely everything still works like new. I'm lucky to have a mechanic who is a personal friend. He went over that truck top to bottom and gave me a list of repairs and general maintenance items that should be performed in order of importance. Last month I completed the list. I thought at one point I had spent more on the truck than it's worth, but today I'm thinking it was money well spent. Her name is Big Red, I'll never sell her. Looks exactly like the one in the video, except mine has some peeling clear coat, dents and rust. She's a 30-30 truck. From 30 feet, or if I pass by at 30 mph you won't notice.

I had/ have 1990-2006 GM trucks vans .. 250-400k miles . Cheap easy to fix. Fuel pumps and wheel hub bearings minor issues. TBI and Vortec excellent 👍 Convert electric FWD to mechanical engagement . Change oil and tranny fluid and rustproof underneath with fluid film it will last forever.

Great video and thanks for sharing your experience. You definitely know how to troubleshoot. I have a 2001 Chevy Silverado 1500. Great truck. Original engine and transmission at 227K miles. My AC worked for over 20 years before I serviced it. It only had leaks at the service ports. Simple fix.

Understandable shops won't do this but as a DIY for evaporators, Red Angel stop leak in the 2oz bottle is a wonderful product. We had a mustang with a leak and it fixed it, ice cold air. I also do not run cooling system pressure in any of my family fleet and they are perfectly fine. 60/40 mix and disable the radiator cap or the ones with the bottle, leave the cap a little loose. No overheating, no pressure stress on parts.

The Silverado 4.8 is way better than the Ford 3v 5.4, my dad owned one for 15 years until he passed on 2 years ago, now the truck's gone

This might be one of my favorite videos of yours. You work on high end vehicles. I know you're getting away from the hard to find parts for vehicles, but to still take in a normal day to day vehicle... Respect Hoss. So much more to say. You do good and cool stuff.

Love my 2002 Chevy Tahoe. Liked it so much I bought another one same year same color white. I loved knowing the problems that come up and how to fix them. One has the 4.8 and the other has the 5.3. Both have plenty of power.The 4.8 just gets a little better gas mileage.One has leather and cargo doors and one has cloth and vertical rear door.Love them both.

Man you are a really good mechanic I take everything you say with a grain of salt very informative. I'm very picky about vehicle maintenance and try to getas much info I can I just bought a 05 suburban this helps a ton thx great job man if I lived closer to you I would like to work and learn from you.

Standard practice is to change the filter/dryer anytime the system is opened

Love my 06 Silverado! Going to keep it running for as long as possible. Only 111,000 miles on it. My neighbor has a 99 Tahoe. Good as gold.

The answers are usually simple. Solutions are not the simplest to achieve, but are attainable with the right attitude, along with a little patience. Glad to see a shop that takes pride in doing it correctly.

All great advise by the Wizard. After 50 plus years in the business I have learned that good mechanics are hard to find and you need to take care of them. I own three shops and the only thing keeps me from opening more is the lack of good qualified mechanics. Times have changed, not many young people want to get into this business. The learning curve is long and without a good mentor can be hard physically and mentally. Even with my experience I enjoy watching Wizards videos, always something new to learn, keep up the good work Mr.and Mrs. Wizard.

Best truck made. I bought mine in 99 for 17k out the door. I put 250 THOUSAND miles on mine with NO PROBLEMS. The brakes last for 125 thousand miles before they need new pads. Oil changes wipers batteries and tires I ever needed to due. I got 21 mpg at the beginning and 17mpg when I sold it.

My only real concern with the replacement wire fix is what other wires are getting grounded out. It feels like the harness is getting cut by the frame somewhere... so the horn could be a canary in the coal mine that other stuff could start getting grounded out soon.

Would be a dream to work for a man like Car Wizzard. Guy has incredible integrity and knowledge

Wizard is a realist and this is why i keep coming back to this channel

8:58 The biggest issue with this type of repair is that the fault in the harness will most likely effect other wires in due time, that is why you need to isolate the fault, tear down the harness, and find the fault or replace the harness. Almost every time I've found the source of the fault in an automotive harness, other wires were damaged and would have either shorted to power/ground or broken within a year or less.

I have an issue with using a separate wire to bypass short in horn wire. This will fix it but what if this short was caused by the harness running over something sharp or hot. If this is the problem then very likely some of the other wires may short to ground eventually, but finding the short it may save other problems in the future. I agree that the 2000 through 2006 are the best Chevy pickups or Tahoes to own.

Really good to see a REAL HONEST MECHANIC great job showing people there is a few of us left

I came across a 1997 Chevy Silverado with a 5.7L Vortec engine during a trip to Texas last year. The truck had 168,000 miles with a recent transmission rebuild. I bought the truck with a plan to rebuild the motor and have it repainted once I got the truck home. I drove that truck from Texas to WI and that engine used 1 quart of oil. I replaced the leaky valve cover gaskets and had the truck repainted. The engine still runs strong! After new paint I have a total of $7000 in the truck. I was going to buy a new truck, I saved myself $50,000!

Wizard what a guy, I was a mechanic for 30 years and never had a boss like you. I remember those jobs that made you want to walk out, but didnt. I think you have some great techs can't blame you for trying to keep them. Luck forward to your vidios.

The more I watch these videos, the more respect I gain for you wizard! If I wasn’t a 22hr drive away, I’d absolutely bring my car to you! 😜

"I do! I control the horn now!!" I'm going to use this when it's appropriate. Thank you Mr. Car Wizard.

Thanks for all your vids! Great information. This one happens to address a version of my truck ('99 5.3/2wd) which has numerous issues. It's my "beater" so I refuse to put much money into it, but would love to get a few things working correctly. It just so happens that my horn will get stuck "on" at random times when I use it. The only way I've found to get it to stop is pull over, park, and just beat on it with my fist around the edges of the airbag until whatever is stuck breaks loose. Seeing where the actual contacts are from this video, I know exactly where the problem is, but don't know if it can be fixed DIY. Thanks again for the great work!

As a small business owner for over 35 years, I never ask a worker to do a job I have not done several times. Great job wiz. Also my 2015 GMC with 180,000 miles is doing the same thing. I will NOT be fixing it.

My experience with mechanics on this issue is that they want to charge for replacing the a/c coil and heater coil as two separate jobs running the bill up out of sight. It's hard to find mechanics that do things honestly around here. It sounds like you are one of the honest mechanics. My hat's off to you.

Thank you for explaining how you troubleshoot a problem. I like that you look for the cause and not the symptoms of trhe problem. I am bummbed that you are just replacing the horn wire but that is the best thing to do for the customer to save them $$. I wanted to find out where the wire is shorting to ground at. My guess is that the jacket for the wire rubbed down so now the wire is contacting the metal. Now just got to hope it was just the horn wire and no other wires are having their jackets worn down.

I have a 2000 version of this truck with the smaller 8 cyl. It has 50,000 Miles on it. Love it.

Tip Cold plastic is more brittle than hot plastic Grab a hair dryer and warm any bits you don't want to break. Not a hot air gun unless you can get one that has a really low power setting , a hair dryer is best as they are covered in plastic so you can put them down and not melt any thing.

This is amazing because I had the exact same issue 3 wks ago with my 1991 GMC truck...tech found the Evaporator leak and also changed out the heater core. You're amazing Mr Wizard!

Great tips on taking us through diagnosing auto problems and working through things logically. It feels similar to the process for working out where things are going wrong in computer software. One other thing I might do with the old, 'redundant' wire for the horn is to put a label or two on it (even though it is probably color coded and on the circuit diagram). It might help you or someone else in the future who comes across the unconnected wire and thinks "I wonder what this one does and if it should be connected somewhere?".

sometimes systems have a evaporator with a txv in the duct with it, in that case you would give a tear down rebuild quote with in interest on shining the black light on the joints and txv and evaporator in order to give them a final accurate quote.

My father sold his last 02 Silverado identical to this with 300k miles to buy a new truck. New truck was another 2002 Silverado with 220k miles. Both had/have original everything everything. Very little maintenance or repairs over the years.

That is information literally worth weight in gold man, I know to many people who have issues like this and dealerships and shops cant find issues. I love coming here because you actually teach more than talk, if you know what I mean.

I really like that he’s gone in more and more on the production and everyday jobs he’s really good at this

I did this on my 02 2nd gen Ram. The dash was made of popsicle sticks from day one. 20years later, kid gloves. Still going strong.

“I want hard, fast data” - Too bad, all of our local mechanics like to guess what the problem, instead of actually figuring out what the problem is.

I had to do the heater core on my 2000 Grand Marquis the other day (basically the same job) and it was not fun. Luckily nothing broke but my hands/arms were sure cut all up to heck. I was also getting really mad. I've never realized how heavy those dashes were before judging by how much of them were plastic. As a kid I wanted to be an auto mechanic but now as adult I'm so glad I didn't get into the trade.

Top notch advice, this is the first place I check for an AC leak

I had to replace mine too. A 31 year old Jeep Cherokee limited, just took my time it took me a week to finish and one lesson I learned was change heater core too.

You are right these trucks are amazing! I just sold mine and I’m sure I’ll regret selling it. It was probably my favorite model Silverado. Thank you for the video and for all of your tech tips. 👍👍

You can see the wear mark on the fender where wizard's arm wore through the paint ;-). Great job wizard for deducing these issues.

6:14 “I do. I control the horn now. “ “I’m the captain now. “

This channel is now my go too ch love this guy and his honesty most will give you estimates or fix you problems or try to and over charge for parts and not even governor you Vaseline