Recent content by Schurkey

Cylinder heads are aluminum. Therefore the threads the spark plugs screw into are aluminum. Aluminum is soft, easily worn/damaged. If that engine has been run with loose plugs, those threads are probably damaged. Every time the cylinder fires, the spark plug wobbles around on the threads...

The Usual Four: Verify System Voltage. Most “12-volt” batteries should show 12.6—12.8 when fully charged, depending on battery construction and temperature. A “12-volt” battery measuring 12 volts on an accurate voltmeter is near-dead. Assure battery connections are clean and tight...

Do you not know to remove the LOCKING INSERT that prevents accidental disassembly??? Remove clip, push down on lock-tab. Connector pulls apart. SAME system used on ignition coils, and--I think--fuel injector harnesses.

Balance has nothing to do with piston slap. An un-balanced engine may have a shorter service life due to other factors. Piston slap is due to an ill-fitting piston in the bore. This ill-fitment can be because of bore wear, but is more likely due to the piston itself. Offsetting the piston...

^^^ Yes. BIG fan of oil analysis. GM has a long, sad history with piston slap. Theoretically--according to GM--piston slap is harmless and can go on forever. In reality, it may make the knock sensor unhappy, which retards timing, which reduces fuel economy and increases emissions. But it'll...

I bought counterfeit ACDelco plugs from a dirtbag "Amazon Associate" from Forney, TX. Got suspicious, sent these and other photos to GM. GM confirmed that the plugs were "Not Authentic".

Go to any big-truck repair shop, and ask to buy a length of 1/4" Synflex hose. Thinking Eaton makes it. We used a lot of it in various diameters when plumbing the compressed-air system on City Buses.

I don't see any compensation for wheel run-out. They say it needs to be performed on a flat/level surface. Good luck with that. Ordinary pavement is rarely level. Takes significant effort to set-up an alignment rack so it's level side-to-side, and front-to-back. The way I see it, this...

CONFIRMED counterfeit plugs purchased from an "Amazon affiliate"; a dirtbag operating out of Forney Texas. I sent these photos and others to GM, who replied that the plugs in question were "Not authentic".

Bearing "2" is the one that's given me repeat problems--the original disconnect, and the "rebuilt" one that I bought to replace the original. Both failed the bearing on the "gear", and destroyed the machined surface of the gear in the process. My "fix" for that is to NOT use the "official"...

Some ball joints (my '97 K2500, for example) are including a tube of green anaerobic locking compound; to assure the thing doesn't work loose. I don't see the need on GMT360/370. I used lube on my Trailblazer control arms, too. Any lube is better than no lube--but a high-pressure moly-based...

If you insist on screwing-up the ride-height, you MUST get a proper alignment done afterward. Do all the front-end work at the same time. Pay for ONE alignment instead of multiple.

Things go way easier if you hit up the "Loaner Tool" section of your local parts store, and borrow the ball-joint press kit. I liked it so much, that I told them to keep my money--I'd just buy the thing. Needed an impact socket, not part of the kit, to do my Trailblazer. Old joint coming...

Not true. Some codes do not turn on the MIL. Then there's pending codes, and history codes which may not turn on the MIL.

Cheap-junk "consumer-grade" code readers and scan tools generally can view "P" codes, but not the other varieties. They may not even show manufacturer-specific "P" codes, mistranslating certain "P" codes such as P0301--P0308 into generic codes like P0300. Another in a long list of reasons I'd...