Brad Clayton

I teach 9 months out of the year and work at a local diesel shop during the summer. I love it because I make some extra cash and it keeps me in the game. This is super beneficial for teaching. Most of my colleagues are stuck in what ever year they stopped wrenching. The big advantage is this shop works on all of the big 3. The worst of them being the Duramax. I am convinced that Chevy absolutely hates mechanics. Right now the shop looks like a Dodge dealership. The redesigned Cummins with hydraulic lifters are coming apart at an alarming rate!!! @Keith Browning are you seeing a lot of lifter failures on the 6.7's?

Best thing that ever happened to my career was becoming a teacher at a local automotive community college!

Well, a good two years later and we can close the case on this file! Just kiddin'. I forgot to post that this truck went bye bye and I never got an update on what happened.

Sorry for the late update, customer is driving the truck and it's been "out of sight out of mind". So the programmer can be removed and the truck runs, it just says it will derate in "x" number of miles. Concern is still present. The biggest issue I have is you can't get the thing to do a crank relearn. I don't know. I'll post an update if I get something. I have basically washed my hands of it now.

Oh, I agree with you whole heartedly on that sentiment. The injectors are in the same spots and 3 and 8 were replaced and IQA's imputed accordingly.

Been a long time since I have posted, but I have head scratcher here. 2016 Chevy 3500 HD vin# 1GC4KYC80GF236554 MILES= 124,000 The truck has a tune on it and things weren't monitored as well as they should and it blew a hole in a piston. The owner drove it to the shop I work at instead of towing it. My man was dead set on gettin her there under her own power, (smokin like a freight train, about to shake the dash out the passenger window, top speed of 35 mph, you know) The engine was replaced with a long block and all was right with the world. Customer picks up and comes right back, says it has a vibration that will chatter your teeth. This is verified at 65 to 75 mph under light accel. Lots of chassis stuff has been checked and found ok, the usual wheels, driveshaft, ect. I noticed that if the RPM deviates too much, then the vibration goes way, like down shifting, or unlocking the torque converter. When the truck is acting up, the fuel trims for 3 and 8 max out at 25. Here is the kicker: if you do a crank relearn, it takes about 70 miles of driving to get the problem to reoccur. Hence the reason the truck was given to the customer the first time with no issues. I appreciate you guys reading this and any thoughts would be super! I am not a Chevy guy but I am convinced that GM hates their techs.

Did a ton of em in my area, real mess, lucky none of them caught on fire.

Looks like they missed a spot, riiiight around the 10:30 area.

up to 20 hours allowable "M" time, I second that!

What's the full repair going to be on that one?

I shop at Harbor Freight, that's where I get my zip ties and bungee cords......that's about it.

I bang the chrome ones on with my rubber mallet, but if they are black, I put the package they come in betwixt the cap and my rubber mallet, no marks that way.

Here in the South, we were shorts about 10 months out of the year and I can't stand to have a frickin' dirty ass air hose rub on my legs, looks like I got whipped with a hickory switch dipped in charcoal.

Oh how I dislike taking ASE tests. My boss at the college called me the other day and said some of my ASE's had expired. One of the requirements to teach is to be ASE master (A1-A8). Well come to find out, all of mine had expired! To say that I was in a bit of bind would be an understatement. I had till May 31st to get A1-A9, L1, L2, and G1 test recertified. So I took 9 ASE tests one day and the last 3 about two weeks later on one day. This required taking two mornings off from my job at the dealer and about 300 bucks. Taking L1 and L2 back to back was a....... exhausting. The bar was set pretty high for me as failing any test would require a 30 day wait before retaking and I had no time for that. I was quite happy with the results. A1-A9 ended up being 250 questions of which I missed 13 total! L1, L2, G1 was 125 questions and I missed around 10. I can say with some confidence that I will not let them expire like that again!!!!!!

I have always been a classic tool guy, you know not much for change. This would include red tool boxes and air tools. I had to pull the powertrain out of a salvage truck yesterday at a friends garage. About the only air tools to be found were air hammers and die grinders. I must say I was quite happy not having an air hose wrapped around my ankles and such, esp. in the interior (I was pulling the cab on a '99 Super Duty). All the tools I used had plenty of power and the batteries lasted the whole time I was there with no issues. The 1/2 impact was a bit heavy though. These were all Milwaukee Fuel units. My favorite item was the little light for the air ratchet, a definite plus! I have considered getting a set but I plan on retiring from the industry and I probably will pass on any new tool purchases.