You tube and the downfall of man

[cantflip]

Got a free 02 F150 with a 5.4 Triton. Engine had a miss. It could have been anything, coil pack, injector, but no. Spark plug on right rear bank is broke. The rear 2 cylinders sit recessed in the firewall. Screw that. Scrap guy gave me $400. I know what he was thinking, easy fix and flip. Good luck.

They even sell a tool specifically for those plugs... works pretty well I hear. And I do hear of the guys pulling the cab for gas engines sometimes too.

Stuff that seems too hard for folks to do in their driveway can be good money for the tech that has it all figured out.

This picture reminds me of the car that made me quit working for Pontiac. A 1984 Fiero, one of the first cars you had to drop the engine out on the frame to do any repairs on. Had to replace the engine block in one, got paid a whopping 10 hrs. for the job, and it took me a week to do.

Fiero's sucked, but I never worked in the brand to play warranty times... Truth is, lots of 70's cars were awful to work on too, if you hadn't learned how to get at stuff. Can't count how many times I saw that someone had given up trying to replace all of the spark plugs themselves... and how often I figured out it happened in another bay in the shop.

 

[65Fury440]

They even sell a tool specifically for those plugs... works pretty well I hear. And I do hear of the guys pulling the cab for gas engines sometimes too.

Stuff that seems too hard for folks to do in their driveway can be good money for the tech that has it all figured out.

August in summer in the Sunshine State makes most things too hard to do, even in the shop.

 

[traintech55]

Can't count how many times I saw that someone had given up trying to replace all of the spark plugs themselves... and how often I figured out it happened in another bay in the shop.

A lot of members here will probably not know that up until the 80's each G.M. division had its own engine designed by their own engineers. Any G.M. car with factory A/C was an absolute nightmare to change # 8 spark plug on. Forget about a compression test if it was needed.

 

[cantflip]

A lot of members here will probably not know that up until the 80's each G.M. division had its own engine designed by their own engineers. Any G.M. car with factory A/C was an absolute nightmare to change # 8 spark plug on. Forget about a compression test if it was needed.

I recall seeing lots of newbies trying to pull off the A/C compressor, instead of going through the wheel well or up from below. I love the GM confusion... every division except Caddy had an in house 350, Caddy's used an Olds 350 and then a SBC 350 (which must have made the dealers wince every time that was mentioned. B-O-P all had their own 455's too...

 

[commando1]

JURY ORDERS G.M. TO PAY 10,000 IN SWITCH OF ENGINES

 

[traintech55]

JURY ORDERS G.M. TO PAY 10,000 IN SWITCH OF ENGINES

Yes Stan, that was a very bad time for Oldsmobile, I started working for them in Feb. 1979 and the Chevymobiles were total pieces of garbage. Chevrolet engines from that time were notorious for soft camshafts. Man it got to the point I could change a cam with my eyes closed. But then the quality control at G.M. was really terrible. I could fill a whole thread with all the mistakes that had to be repaired from the factory.

 

[65Fury440]

Yes Stan, that was a very bad time for Oldsmobile, I started working for them in Feb. 1979 and the Chevymobiles were total pieces of garbage. Chevrolet engines from that time were notorious for soft camshafts. Man it got to the point I could change a cam with my eyes closed. But then the quality control at G.M. was really terrible. I could fill a whole thread with all the mistakes that had to be repaired from the factory.

From 1980-84 my truck route took me by a couple Chrysler plants in the Detroit area.
The amount of alcohol and pot consumed in the parking lot on lunch break was astounding, and right out in the open. It was like a party.
Can't believe it led to a quality product for any of the makers.
I had a 77 and 79 Chevy Monza with the 305 SBC, yea both had cams go flat.