Duramax is a type of diesel engine made by General Motors. It's designed to be strong and efficient, making it a good choice for trucks that need to tow or carry heavy loads.
The Chevrolet Colorado is a smaller pickup truck that can carry loads and tow trailers. The 2017 version comes with different engine choices, including a diesel engine that is known for being strong and fuel-efficient.
A diesel engine is a type of engine that runs on diesel fuel instead of gasoline. They are often more efficient and powerful, which is why they are used in trucks and larger vehicles.
The timing belt is a part of the engine that helps keep everything moving in sync. If it breaks, it can cause serious damage to the engine, so it needs to be replaced regularly.
A turbo is a part of some engines that helps them produce more power by forcing in more air. This can make the engine stronger, but it can also lead to problems if not maintained properly.
A V6 is a type of engine that has six cylinders arranged in a V shape. It provides a good mix of power and fuel efficiency, which is why many cars use it.
GVW means how much a vehicle weighs when it's fully loaded with everything inside it, like people and cargo. It's crucial to know this to ensure the vehicle is safe to drive.
The Renault Wind is a small car that can turn into a convertible, meaning you can take the roof off and enjoy the open air. It's designed to be fun to drive and is a bit different from other cars because of its unique shape. It's not as common as other cars, but some people really like its style.
The Ford F-150 is a large truck that many people use for work or towing things. It's popular because it's strong and can handle a lot of different tasks.
A V6 engine is a type of car engine that has six cylinders. It's known for being powerful while still being fairly efficient on gas.
Term
E85
E85 is a type of fuel made mostly from corn and can be used in some cars that are built for it. It helps the car run better and is better for the environment, but not all cars can use it safely.
An alcohol content monitor is a device in some cars that checks how much alcohol is in the fuel. It helps the car run better by making adjustments based on the fuel type.
Seeing sparkles in the oil means there might be tiny bits of metal or dirt in the engine oil. This can be a sign that something is wrong with the engine.
Ethanol is a kind of alcohol used in fuel. It's often mixed with regular gasoline to help the engine run cleaner, but too much can cause problems in some cars.
O2 sensors help your car's engine run better by checking how much oxygen is in the exhaust. This helps the engine use fuel more efficiently and reduces pollution.
The Ford F-350 is a large truck designed for heavy work, like towing trailers or carrying heavy loads. The 2020 version has a powerful engine that helps it do these tasks well.
The BMW 3 Series is a small luxury car that many people love for how fun it is to drive and its nice features. It has been around for a long time and is often seen as a symbol of sporty and stylish cars. The older version called the E30 is especially popular among car fans.
The Chevrolet Silverado 2500 is a strong truck that can carry heavy loads and is often used for work. It has different versions to fit what people need it for.
The totally integrated power module is like the brain for a car's electrical system. It helps different parts of the car communicate and work together, like making sure the doors lock and unlock properly.
The communication network is like the car's nervous system, helping different parts talk to each other. If there's a problem, it can affect how things work together.
Snow tires are special tires made for driving in winter conditions like snow and ice. They help your car grip the road better when it's cold and slippery.
OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer. It refers to parts that are made by the same company that made the original parts for your car, ensuring they fit and work well.
Road Ready Wheels is a company that sells replacement wheels for cars. They help you find wheels that look and work like the ones that came with your car but at a lower price.
TPMS sensors are devices in your car that check the air pressure in your tires. If the pressure is too low, they let you know, which helps keep your tires safe and your car running well.
Berkeley One Classics is a company that helps people insure their classic and special cars. They make sure you get the right amount of money if something happens to your car, so you don't have to argue about its value.
An agreed value policy is a way to insure your car where you and the insurance company decide how much it's worth before anything happens. If your car is damaged or lost, you get that agreed amount without any arguments.
A homeowner's policy is insurance that protects your house and things inside it. But it usually doesn't cover your car, especially if it's parked in your garage.
Classic cars are older cars that people really like because they have special designs and histories. They are often collected and can be worth a lot of money, so they need special insurance.
A collector car is a special type of car that people keep because it's rare or has a lot of history. These cars are often worth a lot of money and are usually not driven every day.
The Nissan XTerra is a tough SUV that can handle rough roads and off-road adventures. It's built to be strong and has a lot of space inside, making it good for families or people who like to explore. The 2002 version has a powerful engine that helps it drive well in different conditions.
The Toyota Corolla is a small car that many people buy because it's reliable and doesn't use much gas. It's been around for a long time and is known for being affordable and easy to drive. The 2019 version has some nice features that make it safe and comfortable.
The Chevrolet Corvette is a fast and stylish sports car that many people admire. It's known for being powerful and is often seen as a cool American car. People talk about it a lot because it's been around for many years and has a strong racing history.
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Now here is the Under the Hood Show podcast. This is Under the Hood. Welcome to the Under the Hood
Show. We are glad to have you with us. Russ Evans is here to answer your automotive questions.
Thanks for joining us under the hood. Shannon Nordstrom is here to do the same.
Welcome hoodies. Thanks for tuning in so we can help you tune up. I'm Chris Carter here to answer
your calls at 866-594-4150. 866-594-4150. Do you have anything? You tease something
on our Facebook page before we started but we do have calls. Yeah no no we're gonna have the owner
of the car that I mentioned on with us. And so we'll take care of our other calls first and then
we'll when he fits in we he fits in. If I would say this if you don't know what we're talking about
and you're squeamish. Don't go check it out. It's not that bad once you know what it is. I thought
look at it closer. Okay all right all right let's go first to Kent. Kent you're on the Under the
Hood Show. What can we do for you? Hey guys thanks for taking my call first time caller here. I've
got a 2017 Colorado with a 2.8 Duramax and a test drive. I haven't bought it yet and I'm just kind
of I really haven't had a diesel for 30 years. The last one I had was a 5.7 so you know how bad
that was but anyway my question is I test drove it. It does seem a little noisy and a little
badly. It's got 95,000 miles on it and then I test drove the same model in the V6 Colorado
2017 and I'm I got a camper that I pull and it's 2500 or it's 25 foot. It's only weighs 5,000 pounds.
I was really looking for a diesel for the fuel economy and the power but I'm really worried
about it. I've been reading some forums about you know the turbos and the timing belt that
goes bad and there's a lot of stuff with their emissions for the death and I'm just wanting
it in your opinion excuse me I'm just wanting in your opinion and if it's even worth messing with
a diesel for just a few more pounds payload or just stick with the V6. I bet. I've got thoughts
right away and Russ I'm looking at him he's got thoughts right away and I'm trying not to come
come on too hard here. I got none. But you say you got the camper weighs 5,000 pounds
is my first question is go to the camper and that's empty.
Right? Well it's 43 and 43 empty and I usually put about eight to a thousand pounds.
Okay so five thousand pounds total at a scale. What's the GVW with those two different
Colorado's with the diesel or the gas? Oh shoot that I didn't write down. They're real similar.
Are they they've got to be somewhere in the right in that 5,000 to 7,000 pound range probably?
Yeah yeah I would say so yep. I wouldn't do that. No that's him. The vehicle's too small for that
load. That's that's our my first opinion regardless of gas or diesel. Yep you are already I don't know
the exact numbers but you are already at max payload with your loaded unit and you really
should be and we give this rule of thumb and it's not just an under the hood show rule of thumb
you'll see it in a lot of places but 80% of your GVW is where you should max out at so it gives you
room for heavy wind, hills, you know the braking equivalency is a big challenge if you get into
a into a challenge. Sure. Because if you just imagine hooking a 25 foot camper up to that truck
it's not going to look right. It's just not enough truck when you can just look at it.
And so that's my first opinion. Trailer's going to move the truck around. If you get into a situation
you just don't have enough mass. Now I'll back up. The Colorado's of that generation are a very
very good truck. They sell a lot of them. They're very popular. The gas ones. The diesel itself
I would not buy the diesel as a positive for pulling or anything like that. I would buy the diesel
if you knew that you were looking for fuel economy and you were going to run that thing
up and down the road a lot like a big diesel because they do have challenges and when they
break it's getting very hard to find places to work on them. Even the dealers, some dealers
won't work on them if they're once they're out of warranty and they're they are so expensive to
fix. I mean incredibly expensive to fix and they have little things little nuances on them that
break that are not readily fixable. When the glow plugs go out and you need to replace them
and they get stuck in the head that's that's a big deal a really big deal and it gets very
expensive and they put these wet timing belts in these engines. Any engine with a wet timing belt
is not a good idea. A lot of people don't change the oils when they should. There's no additive
in there to prevent acid buildup and it eats away belts. The dealers thought this would be
the manufacturers thought this would be a good thing to put wet belts in vehicles.
They're not. I mean it's hard to change. I mean a lot of things are very difficult to do on those.
If you're going to buy a Colorado like this if you said hey I'm looking at a Colorado to
drive to work and to put my tools in the back and stuff like that you said I've got two choices.
A gas or diesel we'd say we're a raving fan of the gas engine. It's going to be great dependable
long lasting but that diesel no it's going to cost you a ton. We got that from a lot of
experience with customers that own those and they hate them. They're just well it's good one.
And then and on the other hand the V6 has proven to be quite dependable and it works fine but you
just they're not as fuel efficient as you think they should be when you look at the truck being
a mid-sized truck. Now on that diesel too if you had both these vehicles you're talking about fuel
economy empty cruising down the highway. Yeah that diesel gets a lot better miles per gallon but
when you hook the trailer behind both of them and you're trying to drag 4,000 pounds with either one
of them that diesel fuel economy is going to go right down into the toilet because you're putting
under a load and it's going to dump fuel in there to trade for power so it's going to make a big
big difference there. Same thing happens with an EcoBoost Ford they are incredible you know with
those V6s driving on the road empty they get great miles per gallon compared to a V8 but once you
load them the percentage drop off on a turbo V6 versus the V8 is completely different night and day.
Oh wow you lose a lot more and then you got the turbos to worry about too. Yeah yeah there's a lot
of expensive components but you know if I was going to buy a Ford truck and I wasn't going to haul
anything with it I'd get the EcoBoost for fuel economy and they got great power they're great
for every day but if I was going to tow I'd be getting a coyote engine because I don't want the
problem with the things. Or you have to make sure that you buy it with the tow package with the
heavy duty this heavy duty that that gives you a fight and chance. Correct right. Yep okay well
you've answered both my a bunch of my questions I was a little worried about that diesel myself and
then I haven't had one and I read all the forums of course you hear all the bad stuff and the timing
belt and yep I appreciate you guys' work and your knowledge and I just thank you and punch.
Thanks Kent thanks very much for the call. Yeah that is one thing when you go to the forums
people generally don't go on the forums and say it's been great I did no problems I've
got my old changes at regular times and everything's going great 140,000 miles no one does that.
They're in the minority. Right 866-594-4150 that's the number to reach us here at the
under the hood show. Let's talk to Dean you're on the under the hood show Dean what can we do for you?
Hey Chris how you doing? Good how are you Dean? Good all right let's fix your car. I got a question
yeah I'm at 23 F-150 the other day I got out that oh they call it a quick reference guide that
comes with the pickup and towards the back in there under essential information it was called
under refueling I'll read it to you it said add at least a half a tank of fuel when switching
between regular unleaded fuel or e85 and drive the vehicle immediately after refueling for at
least five miles to allow the vehicle to adapt and change in ethanol concentration and then it
says if you use e85 exclusively which I do we recommend filling the fuel tank with regular fuel
or regular unleaded gasoline at each scheduled oil change now what's the reason for the
that last part because I use you know e85 in it all the time I've never heard this before.
They want that system to adjust and compensate if it doesn't if you don't do that it's going to
gradually switch back and then it's going to have starting issues and all sorts of stuff it needs to
see the change and you have to put at least that half a tank in there or it won't adjust properly
we get them come in all the time that we've got to go and reset the alcohol content monitor in
with a scan tool in order for it to run properly because they're just running back that GMs are
horrible for it the newer ones are getting better but the that still have it the ones that do have
it I mean they cut it out there but yeah that we were resetting that monitor all the time
because they it's a poor design system the ones built in like the 03 era had a optical
sensor in the fuel and it would constantly read you could put three drops of ethanol in there
three drops of regular it didn't care it would know it was live on the fly they said well that
part's expensive let's just monitor the 02 sensors for a change immediately after a refuel
now if you don't drive it if you refill it and drive right around the corner of your house and
turn it off it doesn't monitor that and now the thing's running horrible you got taken to the
shop they got to reset it it's not it's not good it's not a real good system russ I'd have to say
that and Chris is sitting there thinking huh if you have to read that in your quick reference guide
and rely on maybe a salesman to tell you nobody's doing that no and Chris says who reads a
reference guy nobody's doing that now the fact that it's in the quick reference guide is a good
idea like it's it maybe a 40 chance that consumers see it but boy that that's something that you
wouldn't know unless you were that extra level like you are Dean the wagon farmer I think I
um yeah I'm glad you read that but huh interesting that was interesting to me yeah I've heard
Russ talk about that before yeah I also have a 2020 f350 with the 6-2 in it and I burn it
you know e85 not all the time too no indeed we doing the same thing with that all of them
all the ones that are all the trucks that are made to run e85 that weren't built in like 2002 to 2006
I think is when they ended that sensor uh yeah if it's 07 or newer that's the way the system's
designed to run is it something that we're unaware of or people are unaware of because
most people don't run e85 that's true most most people don't run e85 they run the e15 and that's
it they go for even if they do even if they do they don't run it like all the time all the time
yeah they usually they'll usually get it really low and then try to refuel it then once they put
a full tank e85 in like in the winter the fuel prices go up and they see that their mileage dropped
off for a minute then they get scared and go back the other way instead of just running like
e30 all the time does that help you out there Dean yeah thanks a lot that explains what the
reason he knows behind that I guess thanks very much for the call thanks for this was this we
gained more from this than you did yeah and I'm sure and one thing I will say that just popped
into my head as he mentioned the quick reference guide for years our kids have had a online business
selling owners manuals we take out of the cars well the kids are getting older and it's starting
to wrap down and my wife's doing a little bit and we're just but what just a trend that I noticed
is that a lot of these new vehicles are not having an owner's manual in them anymore they just have a
small reference guide it's like a quick reference guide and then everything else is online in the
the gooey interface of the dashboard you go there to find your owner's manual and so it's just not
a thing anymore and I we had a we had three 20 25 Silverados come in I was like hmm they were
dismantling them for parts and one of them two of them had the little skinny manual and one had a
big thick one like well that's interesting and I looked them up just to see and the one was a work
truck okay that didn't have the big display and so it must have been a lesser feature so it didn't
get that option set so then they get a full size owner's manual in there yet so just something to
think about something you got to go online on your on your car's dashboard to look stuff up and that's
probably better once people get trained that way to go look at the current yeah but yeah because
they can change it if something changes they got control the data that way 8 6 6 5 9 4 4 1 5 0 let's
talk to chris here on the end of the hood show chris what can we do for you hello yeah I have a
2014 dodge caravan with 148 miles and I'm having trouble with the power rear gate
but at first I have just one quick little story Shannon was talking about exploding trees last
week yeah in late November 1970 I was deer hunting in Minnesota and the temperature was about negative
40 degrees I kept hearing these gunshots around me but there were no hunters and it was exploding
popl trees yeah if there's my story if a tree explodes in the woods and only chris hears it
right yeah nobody else dumb enough to be out there in that cold and now 50 years later you
have a cover story you're like see I told you yeah yeah it paid off well anyway my with my gate
rear gate if you close it manually uh it uh and then you press the button back there
oh wait a minute I got this wrong if it's opened manually and then I go to try to shut it using
the close button in the rear it will not close nothing happens there's no chime
the uh totally integrated power module has a code U0201 lost communication with left rear
door that's a hard failure it resets immediately and all the fuses are good that's what I know
yeah you've got a communication issue causing it not to work if there's a communication code
it's not going to work because it can't talk to it the switch can't be seen nothing can be seen
back there so that is what has to be it's like your printer being offline right just not you're
going to have to find out what's what's causing that the first thing step is you reset everything
and see what happens you know but reset it with a scan or disconnect the battery hook it all back
up see what happens and if that doesn't do it then you've got to get it into a shop where they've
got to go through the whole system look at the communication network find out why is it any
likely culprits brush that you've seen wire that's chewed by a rodent all right um a failed module
those things can all cause that because if the switch or something wasn't working it would be
able to tell you that it's open or closed or but you just can't the modules still communicate
but the switch just you'd look at at the button you push the button and it would say on the module
data oh no button's being pushed you know it'll tell you when it's on or off
so with my scanner I should be able to uh check that input you should be able to see yeah you
should be able to see the gate it should say open or closed it should say release button is pushed
or not pushed if you can't see any of that you can't the data is not flowing so you got to find
out what the data problem is so the mad so the module's either lost power because of a wiring issue
right or the the module has a problem it's got that gate module back there if it's got a broken wire
where it runs through the the door jam back there that could do that could be a likely suspect a
place to look possibly for sure that help you out there yeah because it uh yeah it uh it will
when you help it down then it will shut the rest of the way and then the front button
where you open that rear gate you press that and the gate pops open but it does not lift up it just
stays down and then it just reshuts itself and I did uh tried the battery disconnect
deal I did that for a couple of times and might just be that motor back there too I mean it's all
part of the same second self-contained just not grabbing it eat that no just not not working
not reading like it's supposed to part of the module back there but it does work so does it work
ever well he said when he pushes it down but some of that could be built into the way the motor is
built to have like a self-assist right the type of thing grab once it starts yeah and that might not
be commanded by the module that might be commanded by his motion but is that my saying that right
right position yep it's got a position sensor in it so that could be something that's it's yeah
that could be completely unrelated that it actually works there and and the button push
that might be tripping the latch might be tripping the latch but not giving the correct
internal signals to to uh command the motor yeah right okay so there's a lot of possibilities
oh it gets gets tricky when it's like that yeah Chris thanks very much for the call in this case
are we what what's what's the problem here we made it too complicated or are we too soft
yeah we just you know what I mean just close it right I mean I mean it's nice to have a gate
that closes when you push the button I I like those but I can close it the opening feature is what I
like when you stick your foot under the bumper and it opens that's a good I have stuff in my arms
all the time when I use one we have that I hardly ever drive but I use that all the time and uh
the only bad thing about that is if you've got it in a garage and the keys are in the vehicle
and there's no room to open the doors you got to make sure you turn it off
inside oh okay because if you got a cat or dog that walks under the vehicle it'll open
right into the wall I saying it can happen I find myself at the store planning like I I got the
cart and I know I'm gonna carry everything out I I have to plan for how I'm gonna get the door
open if it's real cold out or something you know that's how you dented your door don't don't start
with me I don't I don't need that right now when you buy bricks the end of the hood show podcast
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when i got my first specialty car i called up my agent and had him put it under my regular
auto policy and had very minimal coverage even dropping coverage in the storage months to keep
that was before i met the professionals at berkeley one classics i'm shanna northstrom host
of the under the hood show with russ evans and chris carter. berkeley one classics ensured me
with an agreed value policy that means if you suffer a loss there's no haggle over the value
of your vehicle they also show me that i could ensure my vehicle for what it was really worth
and keep my coverage year-round and still save money i did not know that my homeowner's policy
did not cover my car when it was stored in my garage for the winter for 50 years berkeley one
classics is ensured a wide range of vehicles from sports cars and rare exotic cars to antique
vehicles including cars trucks tractors and motorcycles berkeley one classics makes it
easy to get a quote just visit them on the web at berkeleyclassics.com and use their online quote
tool or give them a call 1-800-603-3330 that's 1-800-603-3330 welcome back everybody it's time
to get back under the hood with a motor medics eight six six five nine four four one five oh
that's the number to reach us here at the under the hood show don't forget if you miss an episode
you can find out wherever you get your podcast and if you subscribe to the youtube channel
and then join the hoodie fan club at under the hood show dot com you could win a hoodie like
reberto kellogg in canada kit congratulations for everybody here at under the hood and our
friends over at berkeley one classics celebrating 50 years of collector car coverage you know you
love your car a whole lot and if it's a classic collectible you know one of those performance
cars who but you don't get to drive it as much right so you don't want to pay for it every day
i mean you don't want to be paying for insurance when you're not driving it yeah so you can save
you could save a chunk of change check out berkeleyoneclassics.com and how do you make that change
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they're losing people they're retiring out at a much faster rate than they're going in so that's
a good one to get into uti.edu let's go to vermont and talk to roy you're on the under the hood
show roy what can we do for you hey how's it going guys good good well thanks so much for
taking my call you know we've got exploding trees up here too um so i've called in a few times with
minor issues in the past but i finally got a real issue i need some help with um so i'll
try to give you the short version um my wife and i have like a bunch of cars but they're all standard
and i had to have a knee operation so i needed something automatic to get me through a couple
of months while i was recovering so i bought this o2 nissan x terra got the 3.3 liter v6 it's the
supercharged model um only has like 106 000 miles uh and the previous owner told me that i had a
new quote unquote a used engine installed with 70 k on the engine um and everything you know
the car it looked really good really clean uh you know everything seemed to be in order um so i
bought it and got it home and i you know needed some needed some work like i did all new front
brakes and you know i put some money into it and i did a motor flush and when i put in the the fresh
oil um i decided i would drain that back out after just like a few days of driving um just to do like
sort of a secondary flush um but with no actual motor flush in the engine any longer um and i
noticed quite a bit of uh of of sparkles in the oil um you know gold uh bronze colored sparkles and
like you know a significant amount so i changed the oil again and drove it for like another
little bit and drained it out of you know a third time and and still sparkles so
my question is um i've driven it about 300 miles since then and there's no knocking uh it seems to
be running pretty well but i've never seen anything like that amount of you know metal material come
my oil before um and i'm wondering what you think i should do uh i did investigate um
sort of briefly with my local mechanic uh just like sort of hey what would a what would a reman
or a used engine cost to install if i needed that and he he quoted me like uh just over $10,000
for a used engine with a three year warranty so that's sort of out of the question for a $5,000 car
you couldn't just go with like a 2019 Corolla?
yeah i i wish i had yeah i really wish i had i you know my my plan this whole time was just
the you know i put five grand into this and then recover for my surgery and then i figured i could
probably get almost that out of it when i sold it um but of course now i can't you know i can't in
good conscience sell the car the way it is you know well if you can't sell it drive it drive it
for a year and if it still runs just as good then i'd say you can sell it in good conscience
it may be that that engine had a bunch of stuff from so if it's a reman and it had
was it reman or used they said that it was reman i think it was i'm pretty no i think it was
sorry i may i may have misspoke i think it was a used engine that they put in um it sure yeah
he told me it was a used engine and it sure looks like a used engine i don't even know if they make
a reman for that that's all i was saying so if they said it was a reman you've got metal filings
that are going to be in the engine that would have to come out but if it's a used engine it may
be that it's got if you've got a lot of sludge in the engine it will collect anything metal that's
in there it'll just kind of stick to the inside and when you wash it out it's common for us when
we take one apart and we're cleaning off valve cover there's going to be stuff in there that
doesn't come out so with your regular oil changes now the next time you change it oh watch and if
you have less metal in there and the next time you have even and there's nothing in there you
know air bubbles too will look shiny and sparkly but um it's very possible that um it'll stop it's
it just cleaned up a whole bunch of stuff so you you've got some stuff coming out of there that
is the engine making any extra noise or oil pressure oddities or anything like that um there's no
oil you know the oil pressure the like the low oil light hasn't come on um and the engine sounds
good for the most part it does it does have a little bit of a rough idle that uh sort of
i wouldn't i wouldn't maybe intermittent isn't the right word but it'll sort of rough idle for like
10 seconds and then the idle will come up for 10 seconds and then it'll rough idle for 10 seconds
and um you know i sort of assume that's more of a uh you know computer control issue or a sensor
issue than an actual internal engine issue but other than that um other than that it runs you
know it runs well maybe you're running a little bit rich it smells like um but you know i'm very
limited right now i just had a meniscus surgery so i'm super limited as to what i can actually do
and you know it's like negative five degrees so give it give it a couple weeks right now yeah
but i i really if it's not noisy and your oil pressure isn't way low when it gets warmed up
i wouldn't be as alarmed as you are right now i think that uh like russ said if you run it a
and get it cleaned out you might want to try a an oil system cleaner uh as your next oil change
did you say you did that or not i can't remember yeah i did do that i'd actually did i actually i
didn't say but i actually did that twice before i put in you know straight oil yeah you you might be
breaking some stuff loose and maybe when you don't know why the first engine failed do you by chance
why they put a different engine in did anybody say why they did that i don't know i tried to find out
my assumption was because the car has 105 000 miles and the timing belt interval is 105 000 miles
i assumed that it was a timing belt okay but i don't know yeah because if it happened to had a
a failure and a bearing or something there could have been some things left in cooler lines if
somebody didn't didn't do a proper flush there could have been some you know things that were left behind
that are now coming out and if they didn't do extra damage going through the system
it just made you just get needs to get flushed out system that's a total theory okay yeah
because engine oil cooler lines we've we run into this lot they will hold debris
the coolers and the external coolers of an engine that are go through a radiator in a lot of vehicles
uh it's it's probably shows itself the worst in transmissions
but in engines we see the same problem we used to have it with the vortex that people would buy
a used engine we'd have a great run an engine with 40 000 miles you know just a nice clean
engine and somebody calls but gosh we drove this thing for about 50 miles and now the rods are not
okay like did you put new oil cooler lines on it no oh gosh why should i do that what was wrong
with your old engine well it was knocking in the bottom well you just dumped all your metal
filings right into the crank journals it's the first dump out of there and so you got that's why
these cooler flushes and things are so important you let's let's be optimistic that you might have
some debris you just need to get cleaned out of there and and then if it slows down and quits
and it's still running good and oil pressure is good i'd say let not your heart be troubled
for what for the value of the vehicle and what it is i think you're fine
well that that would be excellent i'd really love that because i actually you know i plan
was to sell it but i actually really like it you know it's super clean it's everything works well
it's bright yellow and it's uh it's fun to drive so i'd really love to keep it at this point but i
just you know i was getting kind of a little bit worried about all those metal shavings so sure
but yeah i'm optimism is the only thing i've really got right now
i'll go with that roi thanks very much for the call good luck eight six six five nine four
four one five oh now let's talk about uh your facebook post because we have a guest on the
phone there shannon yeah we've got mike on the phone i i actually talked to him last night on the
phone i got a a referral from the president of the sue falls corvette club mark mike hardy
and i don't go to their page all the time but their algorithm on facebook apparently thought i
needed to see this because it came up on my feed because i was doing a little bit of scrolling
before i went to bed and the picture caught my attention so i got the picture now directly from
mike and uh he's currently in tucson arizona and if you do not go to our facebook page go there
under the hood show and look at the picture and it'll catch your attention for sure if it doesn't
catch your attention you're not interesting you're not interested in much of anything right i would
say so yeah okay so mike um when i what first of all welcome to the end of the hood show thanks for
calling what are we seeing in that picture oh yeah what are we seeing when when you lifted up the
hood this is a 2016 corvette stingray is what just to kind of get to the quick on that um just a nice
stingray not the zero six or anything but a beautiful car and what are we seeing that you found
when you opened the hood uh well first of all i'm not in tucson i'm in cold canyone arizona right
now okay i had that wrong we're we're snow we're we're yeah that's right we're snow birds so we
come down in the wintertime and i live in wyoming chardon wyoming in the summertime so uh when i'm
when we're in wyoming i leave the corvette down here and uh put it up on jack stands and cover it
the battery tender on it's in a garage and uh never had any problem before but anyway
what you're seeing under there are pods from the the mesquite trees down here the the pack rats
love to eat them evidently because there's a bunch of them in there well and you know what i did
pods were i did a little bit of crack research on pack rats because i did not know until this
post in our communication that a pack rat was a real thing oh i thought it was always a a reference
and every reference goes back to something real a family member yeah right yeah and so it was
interesting to me that that pack rat i think is the right term they built their midden right
there underneath the hood of your car and these pack rats they're they will the wood rats is another
name for them okay i'm just i'm being smart yeah i just read this the big big wood rats in texas
are nasty and they will actually they're they are true pack rats because they can be carrying
something to bring to their midden their nests and if they see something better along the way
they'll drop it and and in lieu of picking up something better to take with them and so apparently
they think so apparently they liked uh those tree seeds but they also liked insulation yeah they're
and uh what else did you find it oh yeah oh they had cactus in there uh we've got what to call
jump enjoya around here and they're really stickery and they had a bunch of those in there too so by
the time i got a lot that cleaned out i had a lot of stickers in my hands so listen to this this car
was on jack stands this car was yeah it was covered in a in a in a temperature controlled garage
you and i talked about this how did they get how did they get in there
well we got a it's also my wife's laundry room out there and um the dryer vent was out the wall
well it has a flapper on the outside you know and i didn't think anything of it but it was plastic
and they chewed through that plastic and once they got through the plastic flap and they got into
the hose it goes into the dryer and you know there's their wire wound but they chewed around all
wires and then they could just push right through so they had a clear path getting in and out of the
garage we could smell it or better let's get in there corvettes are great places to hang out
well you know the picture and the go ahead the problem with them is you know you can clean stuff
out but they like to chew on the wires yeah they didn't do they didn't just make a nest
this is an insurance claim no they didn't just yeah this is insurance claim yes i did
yeah they didn't get inside the car they got under the hood and then underneath the car correct
that's correct yeah they didn't get in the car bar the cabin of the car they didn't get in there
if they would have i think it would have been totaled it would have been most likely
i'd most likely would have been totaled because they'd been that there's so much unknown because
they just can't see everything and so yeah was there any odor associated with it
no not much not much at all and so i don't understand well there was some but but uh
once you got all the pods and everything cleaned out but that pretty much went away
the pods and the nests there was like there was two nests in there and all those tree pods
if you if you if you if you have yourself a pack rat problem this is like another level
boost the amount of material that they bring in but they still are doing damage do you think new
hampshire uh under oil coatings uh and also you would work for pack rats well i i've got it i've
got it sealed up now they'll never get back in that garage again so i i put screen over the
the dryer vents they can't get in there anymore i wish i'd have done it beforehand but that's
what i want to know i want when you oh i mean when you put bars on it like a jail the first
moment you saw it and your brain was able to put together what was going on what no what was the
thought uh just about cried i yeah i can imagine because we've had you know we've had evidence of
mice in our garage and i freaked out immediately and i don't have a car story the only thing that
could be worse chris is if this wasn't a newer corvette but something that he had restored
and customized himself and spent so much time putting together and then it's not like the
insurance company can come take care of it for you right even even berkeley won classics you're
talking about okay i got it insured for 200 000 because it's some super specialty corvette
and then they do that you're like but it doesn't get my car right and that can that can be the same
for the newer ones as well but mike we appreciate you coming on and kind of yeah give us i got i got
your part number i got your part number i haven't had a chance to look you have had meetings this
morning before the show but i'll uh i'll get somebody to dig into that part number and see
if we can find one they got one part that they haven't been able to get new and uh so they're
not able to drive the car right now so i'm gonna i'm gonna have somebody see if they can help them
out and find a good quality used part uh for that so yeah i would think there should be something
out there somewhere like that i've done all the checking i can and i've got a little automation
here to chivalry dealership and uh they can't find it either they everything's back order back
order so so there mike thanks very much for joining us on the show that it's a good lesson
there too because the car was buttoned up got it all taken care of and still go to under the hood
show on uh facebook or instagram then you'll see that picture we're talking about with
associated with this story thanks mike 866-594-41 5 0 that's the number to reach us here at the
end of the hood show let's go to oklahoma and talk to mike you're on the end of the hood show mike
what can we do for you yeah hey guys i appreciate the show i really do so uh yeah i've got something
going on mike it's my son's 1997 k-2500 basically the truck was given to him his first vehicle's
drive we're skeptical 57 in it about 236 000 miles on it i just happened to about a week
we could go so it was all the bad weather coming on i opened the the radiator cap and boy howdy i've
got black gooey something's bad in the radiator so i assume it's it's all the truck hadn't been
running bad there was no signs of engine light no uh you know stutter and in the or missing any you
know the driving any issues there no white smoke out the back i'm kind of looking for a plan of
action i haven't touched it since then obviously this bad weather so i'm really kind of going around
in my mind what to do i uh my thought was to replace the radiator you know flush it out
and kind of kind of go that route i've been through the truck left and right i could talk for five
minutes i'm well i've been to it's kind of been my project on the side probably ended up being my
truck after he moves on right son's a father truck everything i didn't do in high school
on mechanics in the early 80s right but anyway i just kind of watch your thoughts on that what what
really should i do i'm really concerned about because i changed the heater core i mean i went
through the radiator flushed it out new hoses thermostat back in february of 2024 and again
i just happened to stumble on this thing and i'm kind of i'm kind of had a decision and i probably
will do something with the engine i just didn't want to do it right now um so like i said it's
just sitting there and i'm looking for a plan of action what what kind of should i do if i get a new
radiator and go that route because i maybe the the old cooler is is you know the plastic tank is
cracked but well what's what's your thoughts what what kind of what should i do i mean i think it's
well more than likely the radiator's got a broken cooler inside of it it's really common we see that
enough that that's usually what it is is compared to a head gasket leaking oil in there if it's not
overheating or anything yeah so yeah put a radiator in and you got to try to flush it out but you're
only going to get so much of it out of there it's going to have oil forever i mean even if you know
when we have one coming it's got oil and coolant mixed like that and we put a remanufactured engine
in it with a new radiator and new hoses on it and then we wash out the heater core really good
the heater core is the last thing left and even with a tiny little bit of oil in it we'll still get
some oil in the cooling system and then they get all nervous and say well there's there's oil in there
what are what am i going to do it's still got oil it's like no everything's brand new except for
your heater core and you didn't want to spend another 1500 do that so we flushed it out you're
going to get some residue it's going to keep the water pump lubricated deal with it but more than
likely it's that radiator now the only other thing you can do to find out for sure what's going on
with that you take the radiator out you get yourself a pressure gauge you can get fittings
and adapters but you can go to a home improvement store and get a pressure gauge for water for your
garden hose hook it up with a t and tap it into the oil cooler line on the radiator and then plug
the other one up with a black brass plug turn on the water and and leave it and it'll pressurize
most house water systems in a city or about 60 to 80 pounds and that's fine because it's oil pressure
and just wait and if water from that cooler now and oil starts coming out the radiator
somewhere else where it's only supposed to have coolant you know that cooler was bad
but if you're going to go through all that you might as well just throw a radiator and
flush it out and see what happens more than likely it's it's bad you could try putting some air in it
and hold it under water and see if air bubbles out where it shouldn't but we see so many of
those it's usually right at the fitting where the cooler bolts into the plastic on the end of the
tanks it cracks around there where it's soldered and and then leaks it's a it's a common problem
with the with that k series truck it just happens the k and c with an oil cooler or the
tranny cooler lines on either side of it kind of hoping you'd say that right i was kind of hoping
you'd say that's kind of giving me more um you know direction to go to in that but as far as
flushing the engine out because i mean i could take the hose off where thermostats out and
put some water down that or even take it out i could isolate the heater core right you take out
take the heater hoses off wash that out really good take the take the bottom hose off the engine
off the water pump the top hose off take thermostat out pour water in both directions try to get it
cleaned out as best you can there's no product really that you can put in there to really help
to break up oil you can with rust they have an elite rust but not petroleum products and wash
it out really good and then when you're done though you've got to put the right mixture of
antifreeze in it you're gonna have a lot of water in that block and unless you can get the block plugs
out the the bolts that drain it which is really rare on those in a truck still um you could try
but if you can't get them out if you've got a block heater in one side you could pull that out
and you could drain it there or knock out two of the frost plugs and put a block heater in both
sides just to plug the holes later because you can't won't be able to pound a plug in but wash it
out really good but what we would suggest is when you put it back together since you know you've
got some water in the block use a straight antifreeze our partner at peak has pre-mix but they also
have a straight coolant you'll want to get the straight coolant to put in there and then as you
top it off check the percentage and and to make sure you have no raw water in the block to freeze
and is this this truck radiator an affordable radiator yeah they're not too bad probably a
hundred bucks yeah mike thanks very much for the call good luck that's going to do it for the
under the hood show until next time you can find us at under the hood show dot com thanks for listening
to the under the hood show with russ evans this is shannon orts from thanking you for tuning into
the north's under the hood show have a great day and remember ptla the opinions heard on this program
based on the many years of experience of russ and shannon are offered for entertainment value only
and as a guide to your repair needs no claim to repair or cause is given or implied always
consult with your own certified technician and follow all safety procedures before attempting
any repair to be a part of the show call 866-594-4150 find out more by visiting under the hood show
dot com under the hood is produced by prairie house productions all content is the property of
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About this episode
Listeners dive into practical automotive advice with hosts Russ Evans and Shannon Nordstrom, tackling listener questions about choosing the right tow vehicle, specifically comparing diesel and gas options for towing. A caller shares concerns about a 2017 Colorado diesel's noise and reliability, prompting a discussion on the challenges of diesel ownership versus the benefits of a gas engine. The episode also covers fuel types for F-150s, emphasizing the importance of proper refueling practices when using E85. Insightful tips and real-world experiences make this episode a valuable resource for truck owners.
What vehicle is better for towing 5k LBS a 2017 Colorado Diesel or Gas? How do I use e85 in my Flex Fuel Truck 2023 F150 2014 Caravan rear hatch won't work Why do I have metal in my engine oil? 2002 Nissan Xterra There are Pac Rats in my Corvette! Why is there oil in my radiator of a 97 K2500 Chevy Truck?
