February 23, 20206 yr Popular Post 56 minutes ago, Woodbutcherbynight said: Long gone are the days of tuning up your own vehicle and slapping a cap and rotor button on to keep going. Points; let's not forget the burned out points.
February 23, 20206 yr @Woodbutcherbynight 49 minutes ago, Woodbutcherbynight said: This is a generic way of the ECM telling you, "Hey I saw a misfire but I can't seem to recall which one." I normally find the guilty party by way of data. Don't just replace the converter until you can look at data, specifically the Bank 1 Sensor 2 data. A vacuum leak can cause this code, or a misfire. Or a plugged up converter. List of possibilities is endless. Check to see if it is plugged in well, stupid but common mistake / problem. You can also get this code from a small insect taking residence on a wire inside the sensor. Crazy, not really fixed one last week that had a dead hornet jammed up against the wire. This is can be easy, or hard. If you have a scanner that has bi-directional controls it speeds up checking it out. Can be as simple as a bad EGR solenoid / valve assembly. Or a plugged port, or a wire / wires that a critter has decided looked tasty. And yes I see this a lot where I work. Lot of retired folks that don't drive often. Perfect place for the rodents to make nest / or eat wires and hoses. AND to top all the above off you could potentially have a bad ground, or a ECM that has just decided to hell with it I quit. For those that wonder why we can't just look at a code and say it is thus, only in a perfect world. For just this one set of codes P0171 /P0174 the list is several pages long of things to check. These checks go from vacuum leaks to Fuel Pressure and anything in between. Long gone are the days of tuning up your own vehicle and slapping a cap and rotor button on to keep going. Code readers are great but that is only the beginning of your journey into this mechanical nightmare. Even so, most days I enjoy the challenge and I am well compensated for my knowledge and skillset. But some days when I am getting beaten to death on a problem changing oil and an air filter are a welcome distraction. 50 minutes ago, Woodbutcherbynight said: This is a generic way of the ECM telling you, "Hey I saw a misfire but I can't seem to recall which one." I normally find the guilty party by way of data. Don't just replace the converter until you can look at data, specifically the Bank 1 Sensor 2 data. A vacuum leak can cause this code, or a misfire. Or a plugged up converter. List of possibilities is endless. Check to see if it is plugged in well, stupid but common mistake / problem. You can also get this code from a small insect taking residence on a wire inside the sensor. Crazy, not really fixed one last week that had a dead hornet jammed up against the wire. This is can be easy, or hard. If you have a scanner that has bi-directional controls it speeds up checking it out. Can be as simple as a bad EGR solenoid / valve assembly. Or a plugged port, or a wire / wires that a critter has decided looked tasty. And yes I see this a lot where I work. Lot of retired folks that don't drive often. Perfect place for the rodents to make nest / or eat wires and hoses. AND to top all the above off you could potentially have a bad ground, or a ECM that has just decided to hell with it I quit. For those that wonder why we can't just look at a code and say it is thus, only in a perfect world. For just this one set of codes P0171 /P0174 the list is several pages long of things to check. These checks go from vacuum leaks to Fuel Pressure and anything in between. Long gone are the days of tuning up your own vehicle and slapping a cap and rotor button on to keep going. Code readers are great but that is only the beginning of your journey into this mechanical nightmare. Even so, most days I enjoy the challenge and I am well compensated for my knowledge and skillset. But some days when I am getting beaten to death on a problem changing oil and an air filter are a welcome distraction. The EGR solenoid/valve was a bit sticky, so cleaned and reinstalled. There is what seems to be more than one cylinder misfiring. ...possible distributor cap. My back was totally killing me after getting the brakes on the Malibu fixed so not happening today. Codes only really tell you which sensor is reporting an error, not the root cause, but sometimes a failed sensor can really give you fits. DAMHIKT!!! Oh BTW, It's a 4.3 Vortec.
February 23, 20206 yr Had a "Misfire #6" turned out the sparkplugs were installed on the engine assembly line....170K ago.....#6 barely had anything left to fire with.... Edited February 23, 20206 yr by steven newman
February 23, 20206 yr Popular Post 1 hour ago, Woodbutcherbynight said: Long gone are the days of tuning up your own vehicle and slapping a cap and rotor button on to keep going. That's why my next truck will be old and fun.
February 23, 20206 yr 1 minute ago, steven newman said: Had a "Misfire #6" turned out the sparkplugs were installed on the engine assembly line....170K ago.....#6 barely had anything left to fire with.... Ah the simple ones, a rare breed. Had a Ford E150 in today with a spark plug that blew out of the hole. Destroyed the coil, as it was in several pieces. Had to drill out the plug hole and install an insert. Epoxy will be cured by Monday and back on her feet. 17 minutes ago, Larry Buskirk said: Oh BTW, It's a 4.3 Vortec. If not you can check the injector assemble lines for leaks. They put that under the upper intake, fun to get to and install. And it aint cheap either, did one few weeks ago as I recall the injector assembly was a $400 part, you don't want to know the labor.
February 23, 20206 yr Popular Post 6 minutes ago, steven newman said: Had a "Misfire #6" turned out the sparkplugs were installed on the engine assembly line....170K ago.....#6 barely had anything left to fire with.... ....Well now, got your moneys worth out of them plugs.
February 23, 20206 yr 2 minutes ago, Woodbutcherbynight said: you don't want to know the labor. Why do you think I still manage to fix my own. The labor alone would be more than either one of ours is worth.
February 23, 20206 yr Popular Post Did this test run on a piece of fir on Friday. Need some wood epoxy to fill in all the chipped areas. Also, need to narrow down the section just under the upper ring. It's a bit bigger than the 100 year old piece. Once I get this right, I have 4 more to make. The next 2 days will be turning one or two.
February 23, 20206 yr ...Talked to a ASE certified GM dealer mechanic I know. Told him the codes, and he said the following. "Check to see if the distributer shaft bushings may have went south. He stated they went to plastic bushings, and it's a common problem on the GM products, and when they go it's not uncommon for this to trigger several codes due to the misfire condition it creates."
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