There are just some days I wish I didn't turn wrenches

[strutaeng]

Our 2013 Town and Country had a mysterious battery drain problem. It was so random. Usually my wife would get it to go pick up the kids from school and the thing would be completely dead. Somehow I found a little gadget you plug into the fuseblock: unplug 2 fuses, plug gadget in and replug 2 said fuses into the gadget. IIRC, the tipm causes the fuel pump relay to remain on after the engine is off, draining the battery completely. But after the gadget was installed it hasn't had that issue.

A few years after that I had a no-charge issue. That one was more challenging to diagnose. I wound up getting an older scope and determined the ECU was not PWM commanding the alternator to charge. I ordered a remanufactured ECU. To my luck, they sent me an ECU that wasn't programmed correctly. When I put it in, it had all kinds of codes. Eventually I figured it out and got it warrantied. By now, the thing had been sitting for a year. We had bought a 2020 Express Van since we had outgrown the minivan, so that's what my wife has been driving. I'm glad those full sized vans are so old school and reliable.

We still have the minivan for miscellaneous errands...I think it only has like 88k.

 

[OR VietVet]

The owner is deciding on what to do. She is aware that percentages point to the TIPM but I cannot guarantee the replacement until I would do deeper inspections. She may have the dealer inspect and agree and then have me do the replacement. Shall see.

 

[OR VietVet]

She texted me today and said had not contacted the dealer yet about inspection fees and was gonna give them her VIN to check for coverage of any kind. I did do a NHTSA check with no luck. She also said the CEL is now out. I told her that if she does enough key cycles with no signs of trouble, the CEL can go out by itself but may come back if the problem comes back. I get the feeling that she is gonna be like most vehicle owners. As long as lights are out, she will not worry and then when lights come back it will be an emergency. She does not seem proactive to me at all.

No problem. I picked up a new customer today. I changed vehicle insurance from USAA to Progressive. My full coverage for my Tahoe was 117 a month, with the added fee for monthly payments. My new full coverage is $264 for 6 months. USAA wanted to give me another quote for 6 months when I was canceling. Turns out that could be $70 a month. I said no because they should have taken care of a vet better. Now the Progressive guy has 3 cars/trucks he wants me to inspect and do some work on them.

 

[OR VietVet]

Next step for my girl's 1990 K2500 5.7 is the valve stem seals replacement. Have done this job before on other trucks/cars, over the years. I have always used air in the cylinder to keep the valve up during the spring removal and seal replacement. I no longer have a large air compressor at home. Just a small 3 gallon one that is noisey as hell. My shop owner friend has a different method that her uses. He gets the piston down and then uses the clear very flexible small silicone hose/tubing and shoves it in the spark plug hole and leaves a tail out of the hole. Then rotates the piston to top dead center and that holds the valves closed while he does the seal replacement.

If there is any other new method that others of you use, please share here. Thanks

 

[Jimmyy]

I heard of people using rope, but that pretty much the same as the tubing.

 

[89Suburban]

Yup a soft rope does the trick too I have heard.

 

[iamdub]

Next step for my girl's 1990 K2500 5.7 is the valve stem seals replacement. Have done this job before on other trucks/cars, over the years. I have always used air in the cylinder to keep the valve up during the spring removal and seal replacement. I no longer have a large air compressor at home. Just a small 3 gallon one that is noisey as hell. My shop owner friend has a different method that her uses. He gets the piston down and then uses the clear very flexible small silicone hose/tubing and shoves it in the spark plug hole and leaves a tail out of the hole. Then rotates the piston to top dead center and that holds the valves closed while he does the seal replacement.

If there is any other new method that others of you use, please share here. Thanks

When I replaced my valve springs a year+ ago, I used the same method as your friend, only I used a small but stiff rope like paracord. I have a large air compressor but I didn't wanna hear it or the steady hissing of the air.

 

[OR VietVet]

My landlord has a guy that is another tenant and he has a 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 5.7 gas engine that will die while driving, when accel from stop or accel like you want to pass someone. I have not looked at it yet, likely this weekend, but he has had codes pulled: P0700-Transmission Control System (MIL Request), P1794-Speed Sensor Ground Error, P1790-Fault Immediately After Shift and P0725-Left Front Sensor Circuit Failure. When it happens he can shift to neutral and it restarts immediately. It never fails to restart. Also, if he does not accel hard, the problem does not occur. He says can easily duplicate and will be taking me for a road test this weekend.

He has replaced some parts and is getting that list to me and who makes them. My first WAG is a mount problem that has caused some wiring to be rubbed thru and damaged.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[TollKeeper]

I am assuming this is a 2500 diesel?

I dont do a lot with them, but my fleet is 100% diesel... Semi Trucks.. a bit different.

It sounds like air is getting into the fuel system, and the cummins is repriming it at each restart.

But if its a Gasser... Its almost as thou it lost cam/crank sensor for a moment.

But my gut is telling me its fuel pressure related.

Other things that are common on the 2003 gasser..
Failing throttle body
Faulty PCM
Faulty Fuse Box (to old I think to be TIPM)
MAF
Coils

 

[OR VietVet]

I just edited post. It is a 5.7 gas engine He has installed a Duralast Crankshaft Position Sensor and a Delphi Transmission Speed Sensor.