Stupid Mechanics

[Mr. Beanz]

I'm posting this because it is fairly common and similar to the problems I run into with bike mechanics as well. You go to certified mechanics for a reason and too many times, total let down!

 

 

 

This is the video I made after fixing my truck. A local mechanic changed the sensor some time back. I ended up paying over $600 vs his $300 estimate. After h replaced the sensor, he said I needed the fuel injection rebuilt because the engine light would not go off after is initial estimate. So he does the rebuild and my engine light will still not turn off. The $300 was to turn off the light and smog but he couldn't get it right. Yes I had a sheot fit!

He finally got the light off and smog certified. BUT the freakin' light went back on a few days later. I went back and had another sheot fit! He says that the only fix is to rebuild the engine since the code is a misfire of the engine. So I asked a few mechanics about the situation and all suggested to rebuild the engine. First of all, the truck runs fine, it's just the stupid light so I don't understand why the rebuild advice.

Years later my truck starts missing and now I'm thinking the engine is getting ready to go. The next day the truck leaves me stranded and I'm thinking a $2500 minimum rebuild. Great! So one day Gina and I head out to SART in her car and luckily we end up running into Alan who is a mechanic. I tell him the sit and he says no rebuild, check the code for the crank shaft position sensor since it is a common failure.

I don't have a code reader and $70 to plug in at the mechanics. He says he has a bargain priced read and even the inexpensive models work fine. So we take him out for a burger, for the use of the reader, I take it home and sure enough code P0335 (crank position sensor). Holy sheot!

Part is $56 at Auto Zone and $68 at Pep Boys. Guess which I chose! Wrong, Auto Zone part did not come with the shims required for older high mileage vehicles. AZ wanted $3 per shim and since they are only .020 thick, I would need 2.  Pep Boys also had a lifetime warranty but most important are the shims.

Why are the shims so important you might ask? Because the engine shifts, does whatever over the years and the parts ends up making contact resulting in a marring of the part. This old one was about .010 deep. So 2 shims equals .040 and the .010 cut marring result in a gap of about .030 which is the minimum gap required for this part.

IF IF IF IF you do not use the shims, the part is immediately marred upon installation and will register on the vehicle's computer once again as code P0335, crank shaft position sensor.

So that explains why the mechanic that did the work on my truck could not get the engine light to turn off for more than a few days. I'm betting my injectors didn't need a rebuild either, didn't run any better. If he had used the shims, I'm betting the sensor would have lasted much longer and my repair would have been half as much. So much for misinformed mechanics! I'm just a poo poo face guy trying to fix my truck and I can find the answers! Sheesh!

So anyway, if you replace your sensor and have the marring (scrapes) on the old part you removed, be sure to use the shims. I will make a big difference.

So now my truck is back on the road and running much better than ever because the code detects misfiring and now my engine light is off! Not bad $65 vs the $2500+ the local mechanics recommended!

 

This is my little video I made after having a hard time finding info on my exact make and model. Hopefully it will help others locate the part with much more ease than I had.  Locating the part was the hardest part, maybe 15 minutes to swap the thing "THE RIGHT WAY".  If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself!

 

 

 

 

This shows what the damaged part looks like. This is the part the mechanic installed without the shims. I didn't take a pic of the new part before installing so I photochopped the same image to look smooth, way it is supposed to look! Tell me that thing didn't need shims!

[JerrySTL ★]

There's a V6 Nissan engine from back in the 90s which they and other manufacturers used. The knock sensor code was VERY common and it was about $800 to change the knock sensor. The kicker was that the knock sensor code meant that something, like poor gasoline, was causing the engine to knock or ping. In other words, the knock sensor was doing its job and did not need changing. There were a lot of pissed people who paid $800 for nothing.

 

Any good mechanic knows that the OBDII codes are a place to start the troubleshooting and NOT to start pulling apart things based just on the code.

 

BTW: I have a code reader in my car: a ScanGauge II. 

[Reverend_Maynard]

You are fortunate that you are able to change the cps without practically disassembling the whole engine.  In my car, it's located behind the timing belt, so you have to remove everything from that end of the engine to get at it.  An all day job, if not two.  I replaced mine at the same time as I did the timing belt, just to be sure I wouldn't have to do that job again.

[Randomguy]

Well, damn.  How much did you spend altogether?

[charlie burgh]

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[Mr. Beanz]

There's a V6 Nissan engine from back in the 90s which they and other manufacturers used. The knock sensor code was VERY common and it was about $800 to change the knock sensor. The kicker was that the knock sensor code meant that something, like poor gasoline, was causing the engine to knock or ping. In other words, the knock sensor was doing its job and did not need changing. There were a lot of pissed people who paid $800 for nothing.

 

Any good mechanic knows that the OBDII codes are a place to start the troubleshooting and NOT to start pulling apart things based just on the code.

 

BTW: I have a code reader in my car: a ScanGauge II. 

 

 

I will have to look into a code reader myself. The reader Alan let me borrow was $40. It worked, better than the high tech thingy the mechanic ha  ha ha! 

[Mr. Beanz]

You are fortunate that you are able to change the cps without practically disassembling the whole engine.  In my car, it's located behind the timing belt, so you have to remove everything from that end of the engine to get at it.  An all day job, if not two.  I replaced mine at the same time as I did the timing belt, just to be sure I wouldn't have to do that job again.

 

 

This is what I was worried me while gathering info on "how to". Some looked very simple (top of engine) and others a PIA. I was lucky.

[Mr. Beanz]

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[Indy]

BTW: I have a code reader in my car: a ScanGauge II. 

 

Doesn't everyone?

[Square Wheels]

Doesn't everyone?

 

Nope, my last car was only three years old.  I needed new wipers so I bought a new car.

[Indy]

Nope, my last car was only three years old.  I needed new wipers so I bought a new car.

 

We all don't have money to throw away like you do.

 

I had a P0307 this morning, now I know exactly which COP is the culprit, but decided to change them all anyways.

[Indy]

And I freaking hate how to videos on how to repair stuff.  They take far to long, a couple quick pictures and a little light verbage is far more effective.

[Mr. Beanz]

Well, damn.  How much did you spend altogether?

 

 

$68 plus tax. Lifetime warranty on the part from Pep Boys including the needed shims.

 

The part at AutoZone was $56, one year warranty and the life timer was $72. BUT neither AZ model included the shims and the shims were available only through their website. $3 each and I would need 2. 

 

I thought I only need 1 shim but thanks to the instructions included with the Pep Boys part I was informed that I should use 2 (included) to achieve the proper .030 gap.

 

The dude at Auto Zone said I should really go for the lifetime. I said to him "if I get the lifetime and install it without the shims and the part gets marred because you don't have them, I'd bet that voids the warranty". He said it would void the warranty so why would I buy it if he didn't have the shims I needed to install it? Just an fyi for somebody planning on lifetime parts, any physical damage voids the warranty.

[Square Wheels]

We all don't have money to throw away like you do.

 

I had a P0307 this morning, now I know exactly which COP is the culprit, but decided to change them all anyways.

 

Actually it was an impulse buy.  My wife and I used to commute in her Prius, then she got a different job, different hours, different town.  I was not going to be doing all my own driving.  I got a hybrid of my own - but the wipers in the old car were worn out, so it seemed like a good deal.

[Lisa Michelle]

Al has worked on my Buick since 2009

[Reverend_Maynard]

Our AutoZone will hook their reader up to your car for free.  Also, in may car, you could use a paperclip to jump a couple of pins to make the check engine light itself display the codes through a morse code like blinking of the light.

[Mr. Beanz]

Our AutoZone will hook their reader up to your car for free.  Also, in may car, you could use a paperclip to jump a couple of pins to make the check engine light itself display the codes through a morse code like blinking of the light.

 

 

I believe they do here too. But my truck was not running and when it was, all the mechanics I asked said I needed to rebuild the engine. If I had not put faith in the mechanics, I could have fixed it long ago. 

[Mr. Beanz]

And I freaking hate how to videos on how to repair stuff.  They take far to long, a couple quick pictures and a little light verbage is far more effective.

 

 

I believe that to be true but having videos is just another channel and tool that many viewers need. Some people need to hear and see in order to learn or understand. It's just another channel available to those who choose it.

 

I've taught many people how to use calipers, mics, height gauges etc. If I had given them pictures, half of them would still be sitting there trying to figure them out. If I show them and explain (much like a video), it makes a huge difference to many of them.

 

Not everybody is as educated as you. BTW, It's "too long" not "to long".......see what I mean.  

[Reverend_Maynard]

I believe they do here too. But my truck was not running and when it was, all the mechanics I asked said I needed to rebuild the engine. If I had not put faith in the mechanics, I could have fixed it long ago. 

Yeah, it can be a problem if you can't get the car to AZ. 

 

Even with the computers today, it's still an inexact science.  Especially when it's a malfunctioning sensor, it's hard to know if the sensor is faulty unless you change it out (or in this case, hooking it to a gas analyzer should have told them that there was no misfire).  An experience mech should have thought of the sensor before recommending a $2500 rebuild, though.

[PissedOffLaxDude]

And I freaking hate how to videos on how to repair stuff.  They take far to long, a couple quick pictures and a little light verbage is far more effective.

I agree.  Even if there are a lot of pics, it's almost always easier to figure it out with pics versus a video, at least it is for me.

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

Al has worked on my Buick since 2009

 

You'd think he'd be finished by now.

[Mr. Beanz]

You'd think he'd be finished by now.

 

 

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