The blending door is a flap inside your car’s heating/AC system. It helps mix hot and cold air so you get the temperature you set. If it sticks or moves wrong, the air can come out too hot, too cold, or in the wrong way.
A seat heater is the heating element built into the seat. It’s controlled by buttons and wiring. If it turns on by itself, something in the control or wiring is likely acting up.
That door controller is a small electronics box inside the door. It helps control things like seat-related functions. If it’s bad, it can send the wrong commands and make the seat heater act weird.
The seat element is the part inside the seat that actually makes heat. If it shorts, electricity can flow where it shouldn’t, which can make the heater turn on at the wrong times.
A connector is the wiring plug that connects the seat’s heater wiring to the rest of the car. Unplugging it can stop the heater from getting power while you travel.
The orifice tube is a small restriction in the AC system that controls how refrigerant flows. If it’s blocked or not working right, the AC can act up—like cooling inconsistently or freezing.
Part
mode blend
Mode blend is how your car decides where the air comes out—like the dashboard vents versus the floor. If the HVAC doors or controls aren’t working right, the airflow direction won’t match what you set.
Pioneer is a well-known electronics brand for car stereos. The AWH 4500 series is a specific model line, and the host is saying it can sometimes act up due to software issues.
Term
Vaportive Emission Code
That’s a warning code your truck’s computer stores when it finds a problem related to emissions. It can point to things like the system that controls fuel vapors.
A software glitch is a malfunction caused by the infotainment software rather than a physical hardware failure. The host says the Pioneer touchscreen head unit can behave this way and may require a reflash (reprogramming) to restore normal operation.
Term
reflashed SIM card
The host is saying the fix might involve updating the SIM-related software so the stereo stops freezing or acting weird. It’s like reinstalling/updating the software that runs the device.
The temperature gauge tells you how hot the engine coolant is. If it suddenly jumps high, the engine may be overheating—or the gauge itself might be acting up.
When someone says “water leak” on a truck, they usually mean coolant is leaking out. Coolant keeps the engine from overheating, so a leak is a big deal.
Intake gaskets seal the interface between the engine intake manifold and the engine. If they fail, coolant or other fluids can leak, and the host ties the suspected leak to the intake area before and after replacing them.
In cooling systems, a bypass is an alternate route that coolant can take. The host is saying there’s a small bypass area up front that they serviced because it might have been leaking.
The BYD Seal is an electric car. In the podcast, they mention putting in new seals and making a bypass, which usually means fixing or rerouting parts that help keep things sealed or properly cooled. These repairs can matter because the car needs good protection from leaks and correct temperature control.
That phrase means the coolant/antifreeze mixture. It prevents the engine from freezing in cold weather and also helps keep it from overheating.
Car
GMT 800
“GMT 800” is a GM generation/platform for a lot of older full-size trucks and SUVs. The host is saying the dashboard gauge cluster on those trucks has a reputation for failing or acting up.
This is the truck’s built-in system that watches sensors and warns you if something seems wrong. Even if it doesn’t store a code, the dashboard warnings can still be triggered by sensor readings.
“No codes” means the truck’s computer didn’t save any error messages. If the problem was temporary or related to the gauge itself, you might see warnings without stored codes.
The thermostat controls how coolant flows to keep the engine at the right temperature. They’re saying the car may force it to open more when it detects a fault.
They’re talking about a GMC Yukon they previously owned or drove. They’re saying it had a similar problem where the car limited power to protect itself.
Those are check-engine codes that usually mean the engine is getting too much air and not enough fuel. That can make the car run poorly and may cause it to limit power.
Term
449 mission code
They’re talking about another check-engine code. Since it’s mentioned with other codes about the engine running lean, it likely points to the emissions/fuel-vapor system being the problem.
Term
charcoal cancer
“Charcoal cancer” is the speaker’s slang for the charcoal canister used in the evaporative emissions system. If the canister breaks down, debris can get into valves like the purge valve and cause them to stick, leading to drivability issues and lean-running codes.
Fuel pressure is basically how hard the fuel system is pushing gas to the engine. If it’s too low, the engine doesn’t get enough fuel and can act like it’s starving.
The fuel pump is the part that sends gas from the tank to the engine. If it’s failing, the engine may run poorly or not start again after you turn it off.
The fuel tank holds the gas. If a repair requires dropping it, that’s a bigger job because you have to deal with fuel safely and get the tank out of the way.
A scissor jack is the small jack that comes with many cars. It’s okay for simple tire changes, but it can be risky or impractical for bigger repairs like dropping a fuel tank.
When a car is “throwing codes,” it means the computer noticed a problem and saved an error message. A mechanic can read those messages to help figure out what’s wrong.
This is a special cleaner for the sensor that measures how much air the engine is pulling in. If that sensor gets dirty, the engine can run wrong and throw codes, so cleaning it can help.
It’s a cleaner used on electrical connections and parts. If dirt or residue is causing a bad connection, cleaning it can help the sensors and wiring work correctly again.
A “383 stroker” is a modified V8 engine where the crankshaft is changed to make the engine bigger. That typically makes it pull harder and feel stronger, especially at lower speeds.
“Square body Silverado” is a nickname for an older Chevrolet pickup with a boxy, classic look. In this episode, it’s also been modified with a stronger engine than stock.
“Fox body” is a nickname for a specific generation of Ford Mustang from the late 1970s through the early 1990s. The host is saying this one is heavily modified for performance.
The El Camino is a Chevrolet that looks like a car but has a small truck bed. It’s a classic enthusiast vehicle, and it’s mentioned here as another project car in the shop.
A fuel filter cleans the gas before it goes to the engine. This story highlights that on these 2006 models, the filter is inside the fuel tank system rather than as an external part on the fuel line/rail.
Fuel injectors are the parts that spray fuel into the engine when the computer tells them to. If they’re “firing,” they’re being commanded to deliver fuel.
The air box is the part of the intake system that brings filtered air into the engine. If a hose or clamp is loose, air can get in the wrong way and the car’s sensors can get confused.
Diagnostics are the car’s way of telling you what went wrong. A scan tool checks error codes and sensor readings so you can see if the problem is truly fixed.
Clamps are what hold the intake hoses and tubes tight in place. If one is missing, air can leak in where it shouldn’t, and the engine can start acting weird.
The Rolls-Royce Ghost is a luxury car designed to be very comfortable and refined. The transmission is the part that helps the engine’s power get to the wheels smoothly. If the transmission has trouble, the car can shift badly or feel like it’s not driving correctly.
Cruise control is the feature that keeps your speed steady without you pressing the gas. If it acts up, it can make the car behave strangely while you’re trying to drive normally.
Term
free wheels
It sounds like the truck was coasting like it wasn’t really slowing itself down. That can happen when the drivetrain isn’t connected the way it normally is, so the vehicle feels like it’s “free-rolling.”
Term
evaporative mission code
That’s an error code related to the fuel-vapor system. It’s the system that keeps gas fumes from escaping, and when it finds a problem it can turn on warning codes and make the car run weird.
Dropping into a lower gear increases engine RPM at a given road speed, which can help stabilize combustion when the engine is misbehaving. It also changes how the transmission manages torque delivery, which can reduce symptoms like popping if the issue is tied to load/throttle conditions.
Overdrive is a “cruise” gear that usually lowers engine speed to save fuel. If the car is acting up, the transmission’s shifting into or out of overdrive can feel different.
If the A/C freezes, the cooling part can get so cold that ice forms and the system can’t work right. Turning the A/C off but keeping the fan running can help melt the ice so it starts cooling again.
The blend door is a flap inside the climate system that mixes hot and cold air. If it’s not moving or controlling correctly, the A/C can act weird and not hold the temperature you set.
A ground wire is the car’s electrical “return path” that helps electricity flow correctly. If it’s loose or corroded, the car can act up because signals don’t get a proper electrical connection back to the battery.
The host is talking about the Chevrolet Avalanche. They’re saying it’s especially prone to electrical ground problems, and that the battery’s negative cable can be a big part of the issue.
The negative battery cable is the wire that connects the battery’s “minus” side to the car’s metal body. If that connection or routing is poor, the car’s electrical system can have trouble working right.
Ground straps are thick wires that connect important parts of the car to the metal body so electricity can return properly. If they’re corroded or loose, the car can get electrical problems.
Wheel chocks are blocks you put in front of (or behind) a tire so the car can’t roll. They help keep the car from moving while you’re working under or near it.
Contact areas are the parts of electrical connectors that actually touch. Cleaning them helps the connection work better and reduces problems from dirt or corrosion.
An electrical issue usually means there’s a problem with wiring, a connector, or a ground. When it’s intermittent, the car can act up only sometimes—like when the road is bumpy.
Term
pcim ground
A “ground” is the car’s electrical return path. If the PCIM’s ground is bad, the computer can lose its connection and the truck can act weird or go into a protective mode.
“Cleared codes” means using a scan tool (or similar method) to erase stored diagnostic trouble codes from the vehicle’s computer. Clearing codes can temporarily make the car seem fixed, but if the underlying wiring/ground or sensor problem remains, the codes often return.
AutoZone is a store where you can buy car parts and sometimes tools to diagnose problems. The speaker plans to pick up a replacement part there.
LIVE
Music
Welcome to The Wrecking Yard, I'm Jerry Wayne, long man.
Y'all, presumably still y'all. All are welcome here in the
Church of Internal Combustion. We just asked that you show up with an open heart.
Of course, I am coming to you from lovely Arvada. It's just, we got us an Airbnb in Suburbia
here in Denver for the week while we were up here.
Oh, that's hot coffee.
Yeah, man, it has been an adventure. This is the first of all happy Father's Day to all the
other fathers and dads out there. If your old man's around, you get to celebrate it with him.
I hope you're getting an opportunity to do that today. If you're just a father yourself,
I hope you get to spend some time with the kiddos today and just maybe take it easy.
We don't have a lot planned ourselves. In fact, it's been such a whirlwind of a week.
I don't have Diwali Bottoms today. Didn't even get a chance to write this episode because,
well, we'll get into it. It has just been a week, guys.
I'm going to take it easy today. That's what I'm going to do today. There's a grill over yonder,
and I'm about to probably pop a gummy and cook a whole mess of fajitas.
Don't be surprised if a teenager pops through at some point. We got a handful of them hanging
out here at the house. I think they're all sleeping still. They all stayed up pretty late.
It's about 10.20. That's mountain time, though. It's 10.20 mountain time, and
it is. I can get my weather change, and there we go. It is a lovely dry 80 degrees outside,
and I thought, boy, get the afternoon cord wrecking yard outside. Boy, that sounds all right to me.
The weather here has been just splendid the whole time we've been here,
which is a nice change because the last week or so before we left, it didn't do nothing but
pissed down rain in Houston. I was feeling a little soggy, a little washed up,
where you go get dried out. Yeah, I didn't get the chance to sit down right this episode. I have
been just, it's just been nonstop every day this week, and I just decided to raw dog it
in the spirit of Father's Day.
Makes sense. First of all, let's thank our sponsors. Outlaws and gents, men's grooming products.
You know, I use them every day. It's my stuff. They've kept me looking good. I've really enjoyed
them since we've been here in Colorado. It's so freaking dry. My beard keeps wanting to turn
into a drywall sanding sponge. It just wants to puff up, and so it's been nice to have my
outlaws and gents beard on, beard butter here to keep me soft, keep me manageable.
Of course, always, world outlaws, late models, and sprint car series. Of course, love those guys,
or in fact, I got a trip coming up with them real soon. In fact, we're going to,
we're going to leave Denver tomorrow and head back to Houston. And then Wednesday, I believe,
24th, I got to get up and fly to Minneapolis and get me a rental car and drive to Fergus Falls,
Minnesota to the I-94 Raceway for the late model races. So I'm looking forward to that.
Pretty crazy. I sat in the green room last night at the comedy club and watched David Gravel
taking home $300,000 at Hussett Speedway. And I sure enjoyed the hell I watched that.
That boy got a bunch of haters. He's got a bunch of haters and
he just shows up and takes the money and lets them hate. Personally, I'm a fan of it.
Oh, nobody is bigger trolls and talks more shit online than race car people.
I swear to God, you get on those world outlaws posts or anything. Oh, it's rigged. It's rigged.
Because somehow, somehow one series and one car owner convinced 49 other teams to let him win.
But they would let every lap of the race. Let's just be for real, for real.
Some of that mentality makes me laugh.
Oh, man, it has been a journey this week. I am a little whipped. I will not lie to you.
It's not all bad. Some of it's good. The avalanche,
the avalanche is a little, oh, boy. The avalanche has put me through it this week.
And I think I've narrowed down what the problem is, but I haven't still found the actual problem.
But I'm almost 100% sure I know what the problem is. And I think after I explain to you guys everything
that's happened, some of you will come to the same conclusion as me that I've had some experience
dealing with this sort of thing. I spent all last week working on it, doing this and that,
getting stereo installed, getting the blending door done on the AC and the blending door works
great now and taking care of little problems here. They're doing the plugs, that kind of stuff.
Old girl was running good. She didn't give me any indication
that there was problems afoot. Other than there was some little telltale weird things going on.
I told you guys for a couple of weeks now, and really I found out after I talked to David,
this was already happening. It's just one of the things you forgot to mention to me. But
every once in a while the seat heater would just come on. And you turn it off and it'd come right
back on. You turn it off, it'd come right back on, just with its own free will. And so I said,
man, I did a little looking into it. A lot of times that's going on, it's that
controller in the door that's bad. Well, those kind of parts really not that expensive. So I said,
screw it, I'll just try that. So I ordered one of those door controllers and I changed it out.
And then the seat heater wouldn't work at all.
I said, well, I don't have time digging that before we go to Colorado.
But as long as it's not coming on, that'd be good enough. And then it started coming back on again
by itself. At that point I did a little digging and I still didn't have time to really dig into it
and find out what was going on. I've heard the seat element can short in the seat and make that
happen. So I got up under the seat and I found that there's a little green connector that runs
all that. And I disconnected that little green connector for the trip.
Also been having these intermittent weird air conditioning issues.
You know, it was a lot of people said, you know, maybe it's freezing up and stuff. And it had done
that once or twice. And then I went out there and, you know, cleaned up, changed the orifice tube,
did some other stuff and they quit doing that. Blend door wasn't working right. The mode blend
door wasn't working right. So I put a new mode blend actuator on the door.
The whole stereo head unit was fried. So I had this other stereo went and I got that stereo
working and installed and everything was perfect on it. Real nice touchscreen space,
like a Pioneer AWH 4500 series. Nice, nice stereo.
There was little things, little things here and there. The back right door, the window every
once in a while would roll down a little bit. And I couldn't figure that out how that was
happening because nobody, very rarely does anybody ride back there. I'd roll it back up,
maybe the end of it, you know. So we all piled and pick up about four o'clock in the morning,
five o'clock in the morning, loaded the bed of that pickup down with all the stuff we was bringing
for us and kiddos and have our nice week here. We shot out of Houston about five o'clock in the AM.
I reckon that was Wednesday. It's past Wednesday.
Man, about two hours out of town
and I started getting a Vaportive Emission Code for
it was a 449 code, Vaportive Emission Code for that down gum, what you call it plunge valve or
whatever right up there on the intake. And I just changed the purge valve and I just changed
the purge valve. Got a brand new AC Delco purge valve on it and I checked the connections and
dielectric grease them and all that good stuff when I put it together and
so boy it's weird for that code to pop back up and I took my scanner with me, my tools with me,
because you know it's a 20 year old truck I expected maybe find a problem here and there and
so I pulled in gas station, checked it out, couldn't couldn't really find anything wrong with it,
cleared the code, started the truck back up, code didn't come back.
All right check the gas cap, make sure that was on tight. We hit the road again,
went up two or three hours down the road and stereo system glitched out. Screen went all wonky,
told me it was uh looked it up says software glitch, it's common with them pioneers sometimes
you have to buy a reflashed SIM card or whatever to get them going again. Told me I can unhook the
battery for 15 seconds and that would reset everything. We had stopped to get some fuel anyway
so I done that and cleared that problem upstairs it was working fine after that. So all right
we had decided that we got to Amarillo so it's about
about 9910 hours get to Amarillo. So before we get to Amarillo
Rachel's going to take over and drive for a little while until we got to Raton Pass in New Mexico
and then we got to Raton Pass in New Mexico she was going to have me drive again while we go
through the mountain pass and everything just because she's not familiar with my truck and
she hasn't spent a lot of time driving in mountains and shit like that and those of you
had done it know it's a different scenario you kind of got to be on your guard and see how that'll
work out. What about
just outside of Fort Worth coming up on 287 all of a sudden the the temperature gauge went to
Neil on the truck slipped to Neil. David kept telling me he was having a water leak with that
truck he's losing water on it but I never could get it to duplicate that after I changed the intake
gaskets and changed that little there's a little bypass on the front and I put new seals on that
and swapped that out and he kept telling me he thought it was leaking under the intake well we
hadn't had any water leakage I hadn't had any water loss since then. I still had jugs of water in
the little that Avalanche got little side tool boxes on it in the fenders and I had jugs of
water on them fenders just in case you know boy
that temperature gauge went to Neil that worried me so I pulled over to gas station
jacked around with it check make sure it had plenty of fluid in it with plenty of
ant freezing water in it and it did the button low or anything like that
I said damn man you know I know the GMT 800 clusters are known for taking a dive too and I
said boy it's probably just my luck it's daggum clusters taking a dive on me on the drive
once again chalked up car truck wouldn't pull no codes
I didn't know I do now know that that's part of the internal warning system of the computer system
is that if it's getting certain kind of errors it will drop the
temperature gauge to Neil and open the thermostat all the way up
I didn't have a clue about that
we got back on the road and boy just south of the embryo I'd say probably about
it's just in the worst place too there's this section south of the embryo
uh short of clared in and all that
and clawed just south of the clawed about 10-15 miles south of the clawed
I had it in cruise control all of a sudden it started surging like it was losing power
and pops the engine code boy what the hell man and you go to give it gas you won't do nothing
just pop like it felt like it was
in a limp mode uh same way Rachel's Yukon used to do mine was 2000s E71 didn't do that but that
07 Yukon it would go in limp mode everyone's fault was acting up I said damn man
so pulled over at gas station and clawed
see what was going on
and it was pulling PO 171 PO 174 codes
and it was pulling that 449 mission code again
the only thing I can figure out is that that that purge valve was acting up something was
doing something screwy that purge valve was staying wide open and making the engine run
lean as hell and the engine throws itself in the limp mode to keep you from cooking a piston
well I clear the codes they'd come right back I went out there I hooked the purge valve took it all
apart cleaned everything up put the purge valve on codes come right back I tested took the purge
valve back off tested it purge valve's testing good you couldn't blow through it or anything
which is you know they say if you take it off you can blow through it then damn thing stuck open
sometimes like the charcoal cancer is going bad they'll get a little piece of charcoal stuck in them
something like that damn damn damn every other indication that I was getting from the truck
was telling me I wasn't getting enough fuel pressure everything was telling me the truck
was starving for fuel and I started panicking because I was like man if that means fuel pump
and granted I will tell you most of the time when a fuel pump takes a dive on me that thing
as it's right after you shut the truck you know what I mean you shut it off and it don't start
again and it's a bad fuel pump you I have never had one slowly die on me I know it's possible
I just hadn't had it happen especially not with a GM product everything was telling me it was fuel
pump everything was everything I was getting back from scan data and everything was telling me
when now fuel pressure there's a fuel pump problem and that's a that's a hell of a job to
tackle on the side of the road or at a gas station it's not something you want to in the meantime
during all that I've been trying to keep my cool but I did say the f word three times really loud
at that point in front of my wife and children and then after I did that I sucked it up got to
work on the thing in the meantime it was getting hot in the truck
and my oldest was in that back right seat went to roll the window down while I'm working on the
truck and the window just falls off in the door in the middle of all that and there's no fishing
it back out or anything so I had to figure out what to do now so I put everything back together
on the engine I got on Facebook I reached out I said hey man I got any friends in the Amarillo area
that might have a spot I can come park this truck and work on it you know just for a little bit I
don't need you know now ask for a place to stay anything like that just I just need a place to
work on this truck where I'm not gonna have anybody hassling me or anything like that because if I
gotta drop this fuel tank that's gonna be a job you know and also probably gonna need to borrow
Jack because I don't want to try to drop that fuel tank with scissor jack and of course it's three
quarters full of fuel because that's when fuel pumps like to go out
then I had to jump around there and take the back door apart and fish the window out find
that the window regulator cable has broke and just dropped the window so I got a piece of string and
I tie the window up put the door back together
a couple people reach out to us a bunch of people reach out to us on Facebook offering help but
one particular fellow Robert I'm probably gonna mess up his last name I should have wrote it down
Robert Burton I think he he reaches out and he tags his brother Jerry Burt
and he says my brother's got a shop over there and he's got a lift in the shop
and I you know I know he'd be willing to let you use it and it's tools and all that kind of stuff
this point I've limped the truck to the advanced auto parts in Amarillo another 15 miles I've
limped the truck there and it's still throwing the codes acting full
guys in advance don't have any anything I'm looking for they don't have fuel pressure gauge
they don't have none of that so I lift the truck over to O'Reilly I rent a fuel pressure
gauge I go ahead and buy the fuel pump because I just assume I'm about to have to change this
fuel pump and I went ahead and got some mass airflow sensor cleaner and some electrical
parts cleaner just in case this was some kind of weird electrical problem you know
meantime over there that dude Robert hits me back and they give me the address and tell me
where to go and I go over there and I meet another dude named Robert who opens a place up for me and
then also opens the house up and allows Rachel and the kids going to hang out in the AC while
I'm trying to diagnose the truck and figure out what's wrong with the truck and the guys got a nice
little shop and Amarillo drag racing stickers all inside everybody kept saying uh reach out to that
Amarillo drag racing club because a bunch of mechanics and stuff and I didn't know that's what
these guys were all tied in with I just knew one of these dudes was a preacher and uh
just something told me to trust the guy you know and it's that whole you know I've been doing this
five labors a growth thing and then I had to practice all that in the same day the humility
the trust the all of it I had to be that guy that uh let the Samaritan help him
you know I had to trust another human being with my family we even had Ophelia with us the cat
it's a bad situation that father has gotten his family and uh
meanwhile Jerry Burke the guy owns the house shows up and his poor wife has been in the hospital
passing the kidney stone and this woman is the most gracious kind hearted lady I I've ever met
especially considering what she already been through that day and then come home and just
find strangers at her house working on the truck and strangers sitting in her living room
with their I thought these guys were all brothers it turns out they're they've
related they're just all really close you know
in the meantime the the the guy that reach out to me first Robert he shows up and
we talk about what's going on with the truck a little bit and they're all pretty knowledgeable
they all know a lot of stuff and I feel at ease around you know what I mean and uh
Robert's got his cool uh square body Silverado package square body with a 383 stroker in it
and uh Jerry Burke the guy with the house on his in his shop he's got this bad ass old fox body
that's just built to the hilt in there I mean he's got some donuts put away in this
car and the other guy's got an El Camino but it's funny because we got two Jerry's and two
Roberts so we got two Jerry's and two Mr. Bob's on the situation I'm feeling better and better by the
minute well I test the fuel pressure and uh get the fuel pressure meanwhile Jerry kind of hard as
he is goes there gets a big old fan because it's 100 it's a bit of 101 degrees gets a big old fan
and puts it on me do a fuel pressure test pristine fuel pressure not a thing and wrong
with that fuel I mean GM's are real finicky about their fuel pressure and this thing has
dead on balls 55 psi fuel pressure not reason the world this thing should be starving for fuel
there's not an external fuel filter on the rail in those 2006 models only fuel filters in the tank
on the actual pump not a problem in the world this thing getting fuel to it that fuel rails
packed tight and loaded and ready to go fuel injectors off plugs are all firing
boy I was happy no I wasn't gonna have to change the fuel pump but I will guarantee you this if
I had to those three men would have stood out there with me and helped me every bit of the way
they were just a good bunch of people and it's real
only thing I noticed was the the the clamp and I hadn't noticed this before but the clamp going
to the air box was missing the clamp that clamps the uh intake the mass airflow sensor and all that
to the air box was missing and that tube was jerked up cockeyed and it was sucking air off
top of that tube oh excuse me allergies a little messed up
that's a boy
that's a weird one and I know on Rachel's Yukon every once of all that mass air flow sensor would
just uh pitch a bitch and throw that truck in limp mode so I took that mass air flow sensor off
cleaned it all up really good put everything back together fire that truck up run diagnostics
so it wouldn't pull a single cold run like there's never been anything wrong with it ever in life
there's nothing worse than fixing something and not knowing how you fixed it especially when you
got another 78 hours of journey ahead of you and you've already wasted two hours jacking
this thing getting some help just talk to Jerry about it man I feel pretty good about it I'm gonna
go out of part store return this fuel pump return this loner fuel pressure gauge and I'm gonna get
a couple clamps because that's it's kind of a special clamp on that hose I'm gonna get a couple
clamps rig something up Jerry goes no you ain't gonna do that he had uh 06 cat eye silverado
out there he goes I got a parts truck and he went that man went he wouldn't let me buy it he wouldn't
let me give him the money refused went out there and took the clamp off his truck and put the clamp
off his truck on mine it's just you know we spend so much time these days and the people you hear
on the internet are the extremes for the most part it's it's the it's the extreme Christians
that you see on the internet saying hateful things to people it's the extreme non-christians on the
internet you hear saying hateful things to people and it was so nice to be in the presence of people
that their belief in ministry is in their actions their whole ministry these people and I knew you
know they were all christian and knew one of them was a pastor but there was there was not a lot of
talk about that the the talk was how can we help do something to help you guys won't
stay the night here do you guys want to eat can we order some pizzas for you know your wife
kids can we it was just it was nothing but kindness and walk in the walk just walk in the walk jerry
burk walk to walk i don't remember the other robert's last name he's walking to walk robert
walk in the walk not talking to talk just walking the walk just putting putting putting the the
the do and do right it was overwhelming experience that kind of kindness
when we thanked them we got back on the road
i just told rachel i said i'll drive the rest of the way i'm just gonna drive the whole trip
because truck's acting up you're unfamiliar with it and i'm still not a hundred percent sure of this
yeah rachel's like yeah and and also y'all don't know this but rachel hurt her shoulder
a couple weeks ago like we think she about tore a muscle or something she's been getting
health care for it and everything but she has been in just agony her whole like in her shoulder
blade on the back of her back and she's just had a real hard time and so she was uncomfortable
and i was like i'll just drive and so we just take off that stretch from amarillo and if you've
ever driven that stretch for amarillo to retan it's the worst it's just this long after you wind
through all these bluffs and plateaus then you're just on this long straight road through new
mexico that speed limit jumps up and down for no apparent reason other than just shits and giggles
worse roads god in mexico has the worst roads just beat you to death but it was way worse than
that mazda i'll tell you that uh the avalanche handled them bumps better and the thing when
everything was going right things just drove perfect not a problem in the world i got it thing
cruise control 70 mile an hour we're just b bopping down the highway and about halfway to retan
probably about 200 miles from retan in the middle of nowhere i mean this truck picks its moments
in the middle of nowhere it just slips out of gear and starts free revving going down the highway
and cruise control and i was like i'll tell me that transmission didn't just give up the ghost
you know like i can't there's only so much i can take today
i'm already in high alert i'm already exhausted i've been up since uh 2 30 in the morning getting
the truck loaded and everything it's now we were supposed to be there about 8 p.m it's now like
7 p.m and we're still not even to retan and the last thing i want to do is drive that mountain pass
in the dark i hate driving that pass in the dark
we're 200 miles outside of retan that thing free wheels goes starts free revving and cruise control
i said damn it boy i mean i know what to do so i popped out of cruise control and i went to give
it a little gas and it was doing that pop piss poor running thing in pop pulled that
evaporative mission code pulled that p.o 171 p.o 174 code again i said damn it
and uh i took transmission and i dropped it down into third gear i slowed down to like 50
miles an hour and dropped it down in third gear and when i dropped it down in third gear it engaged
but it was still doing that pop like it didn't want to run thing
so i just let off the gas and it slowed down i cleared those codes again
minute i cleared those codes that thing run like a champion no problem
eased on up in the overdrive no problem shifting transmissions holding strong
i didn't know that's also part of lip mode you can do that too throw the damn thing out of gear
so i was like man baby there's something short in that cruise control both times something this
has happened it's been that cruise control i ain't gonna use cruise control rest trip
get on in return of course we get we had to go through the pass in the middle of
in the dark and it's sketchy and i don't i don't like driving that pass anyway by
damn sure don't like driving in the dark especially with a truck i ain't 100 confident in anymore
get on in the colorado uh and the stereo screws up again flips out again doesn't want to heat up
oh so also the other thing that started happening uh about five hours in the trip is the air
conditioner started freezing up every time it frees up you turn the a c off just turn the
blower motor on blend door all that stuff's working fine turn blend door off it thaw the damn a c out
turn it back on go go go but it's like the clutch was never cycling off like it was just
running till it froze the thing every time i tried different temperatures everything
so now i just have to start cycling it you know because it's 101 degrees outside i ain't trying
cook the family as this does that we roll into Denver it doesn't go in limp mode again we rolled
into Denver probably about 130 and they uh just you know 16 hour trip turn into 20 something 20
hour trip get the truck unloaded get our airbnb get up next day i have to go to the airport
morning pick up my oldest kid's friend from the airport truck work is fine no problems
i had a show that night Denver improv which was we didn't sell as many tickets i wanted to Denver
improv we only sold 31 tickets thursday night but damn if they weren't the best 31 people that could
have come we had wrecking yard people there we had it was uh it was a lovely experience a lovely show
had a great time also uh got to meet the manager the brea improv that i'm going to do on my birthday
good show ended up actually making some decent money on the show even with low ticket sales
uh because the way the contract was set up and then
and so the next day i know i got shows in Fort Collins so last year when i did Fort Collins we
were staying in Colorado Springs i left Colorado Springs at three you made it in my show in Fort
Collins no problem at all made it plenty time so Ray said what do you want to do do you want to
work on the truck today i said no i'll probably mess with the truck tomorrow so let's go
take our young our oldest had all their friends here in Denver they were hanging out so let's
take the youngest over the water park go have some fun with him and so we took Noah over to this
little water park thing in west minster and hung out over there the truck was running fine not a
problem come about two o'clock i was like hey i need to head back to house take a shower go do the
shows in Fort Collins we're leaving them water park and i watched my radio my stereo face short
out in real time led screen everything just goes haywire and it's still jacked half of it's just
jacked it's not a big deal you can get a replacement or whatever but just one more thing
it's just one more thing you know come back to house dropped in my off i get shower change start
heading to Fort Collins i end up stuck in traffic for like two and a half hours the first show had
already started by the time i got to the club there was a big wreck highway 34 they had all the
northbound lanes on 25 closed i ended up getting there like the show started at six i got there
at like 620 and was in the club for about 10 minutes before i had to go on stage did him get
to see the crowd until i walked out and damn near sold out i said boy this is the way to go boy we
had a hell of a show so in between that i'm googling and researching truck and
come clues the trucks got a bad ground wire somewhere trucks got some bad grounds and the
gmt 800 are known for that especially the avalanches and they're known for uh that negative
battery cable crowding real bad on on the inside i start googling part stores dimmer who's got this
cable me i'll just go ahead and swap this cable out and i'll get under there with a wire brush
and just start checking all the rest of the ground straps that i can access now i don't have a jack
or a stool or anything and i'm a little too short to ratchet off too deep in the hood and uh
second show we do the second show once again amazing testimony after testimony
from people tell me how i've brought joy in their life i've had more people tell me stories about
sitting in a hospital waiting room and watching my videos while they were going through something
awful and it really uh they really touched my heart to know that i was helping people and
something like real bad time like that because i married the whole time my mom was dying i played
there was this little game i had on my phone and it was called clash of the clans and you built
your little clan up and you fought with these other little Vikings and stuff and it was just
something to keep my mind off what was happening i played the shit out of that game the whole time
you know when i was sitting in the waiting rooms in the hospitals and to know that people was going
through something awful like that and watching my videos and it was helping give them some joy in
a dark time really touched me in a big way and also i'm telling the harry story at the end of
the show now and people are also coming up and telling me about their struggles with opioids
and things like that and roads they've been down dealing with that that's touched me a great deal
too i wasn't aware there was that many of us
leave fort collins come back dember truck runs fine all the way back dember
get up next morning i found one out of zone and dember about 10 miles from here that
had that negative battery cable i was looking for and then a lot of people are you just make one
well yeah you could but i don't have crimp tools and this and that and i had a couple people's shops
reach out to me but trying to time it when i know i've only got a small window to work on it before
i got to leave go to four collins it's kind of hard to do when you're dealing with third part
of the people you know you don't want to impeach on people's kindness when you know when somebody's
like an offer to do something for you but also i'm on a pretty tight schedule
man i go over and get that cable takes 30 40 minutes get over there 30 40 minutes get back
realize that only thing i got the damn scissor jack i don't trust that this driveway is real
inclined i don't trust that scissor jack i didn't have anything to block up the wheels with
i wasn't about to climb under that 750 but they got big curves on the side of the street so i pulled
the truck in the street and turned the left wheel up on the curve so i could get up under the truck
and unhook all the points of contact it's got two points of contact that come off that cable
wire brush the shit out of everything clean up the contact areas go get the new cable out of the
box it's the wrong cable don't it don't even almost match it ain't even close
it's after i called the others i'll make sure they put hands on that cable and the guy that
put hands on that cable i could talk to them phone i tell you he's kind of a dipshit be honest
with you and he said i put it on hold for you then you didn't get my name or anything he hung up
so when i got over the others on my son me and no going there it takes us 20 30 minutes to get
the cable because nobody knows where this guy stuck the cable he stuck it under a shelf somewhere
didn't tell nobody and then left for lunch and so they have to hunt all over the store before
they find this damn cable then i get back and hook it all find out it's wrong dadgum cable
boy see shit well by that time it's two o'clock i ain't got time to do shit take a shower
put put my old cable back on clean everything up as good as i could clean all the contacts
i took a couple of the ground straps and went off the back of the engine going to the firewall
that one i don't feel too good about i'm gonna replace that one but i did the best i could
clean it up everything put it back on took a shower hauled ass back to fort collins
so friday night both them shows was almost sold out and i'm kind of superstitious
i said boy ain't no way in hell we're gonna have two shows like that again tonight not after
two badass shows like that these two shows are going to be stinkers no saturday early show is packed
and we we knock it out of the house opener comic got in bks amazing
knock it out i'm like boy this last show is going to be a stinker sold a bunch of diamond
gem certified stickers the harry story went well i filmed both of those shows saturday
because i'm trying to get some more clips and stuff for advertisement and uh
as well we'll do today instead of a closing sermon day uh i'm gonna play you guys clip
would be doing harry that sounds not great on it so you had to bear with me i got some better
quality sound coming for it but uh i'll play so you guys you guys that have been around a while
you know the harry story so you can kind of see how i'm telling it on stage we'll play that today
both those shows packed late night saturday shows probably the biggest show probably the most
sold show once again testimony after testimony
my heart's more full than it deserves to be
100% more full than it deserves to be
amazing night good tickets sick it sells all weekend which is
y'all don't know how much anxiety i had about a four-show weekend trying to sell enough tickets
for that and everything's just making me feel like this tour is gonna gonna go without a hit
like we're gonna do all right on this tour and if we do good on this tour this year next year
we can go more places which is always the goal go more places get more people to enjoy the live act
and man friday night also uh uh some friends of me and rachel showed up so 20 years ago
rachel and i was working at the laugh stop there was a waiter named adam and another
waiter named courtney and we were just all we all hung at service people hang out together we
drank together and we were all beating our livers up and living youth though we were a little bit
older than them we were all living our youth and just having a good time and courtney was always a
pretty good friend of me boy she was always a pal to me and i look up after the first show friday
they've been married for a long time and they moved off to la and i guess they live in dember
outside of dember now and they come walking up after the show and i got to sit down and it was
just so wild to see these two people from 20 years ago that are part of rachel and i's origin story
and we're part of theirs and and just be with them in a comedy club lounge a thousand miles away from
where all that happened and it was just so wonderful to visit with them and see them really
did my heart a lot of good so it's been as far as the show's going it's been incredibly successful
weekend i'm feeling better about the tour and a little less anxious as far as the average goes this
is not been an incredible weekend and that thing i mean y'all tell me am i crazy that's too many
weird problems right that's definitely a grounding issue there is definitely an electrical issue
with that truck it's either got a pcim going bad or a pcim ground that's not that's losing
connection when you get because i know it's on bumpy roads it starts acting up it went in the
limp mode for just a little while yesterday and i cleared codes and it was fine again and
i'm gonna stop i'm still like i still there's part of my brain keeps trying to convince me
there's charcoal stuck in that that purge valve so i think i'm just gonna buy another purge valve
when i'm in auto zone and just have that in the truck with me for the drive home because we're
gonna relax while this is rendering and getting ready to upload i'm going to uh i'm gonna run over
and return that bad cable from out of zone and then we're just gonna relax i got we got a whole
mess of uh chicken and beef and i'm i'm gonna cook these kiddos up some real texas fajitas and
we're just gonna have we're gonna make a day we got i don't know you see a little put put golf
thing we're gonna place a bench of golf and there's a hot tub over there me mom probably get back
in that hot tub and relax and enjoy some of that colorata cabbage before we gotta come back to reality
monday and then i'm just gonna take it easy on the way home and hope avalanche can see fit to
give me a less problematic trip to the house after i cleaned up all these grounds and stuff at least
that's what i'm hoping and i get back home i got to fly immediately out to minneapolis
next day but i get back to minneapolis i got uh three or four days before i got ahead to california
and i'm going to i'm on to spend those days tearing into avalanche and see if i can't find
the root evil that is causing all my woes i ain't mad about it i mean you don't want you know the
biggest takeaway for me is i am not my father cuss a little bit when things first went wrong
but the rest of the time i spent my head down just fixing problems so that we could get here
and that everybody could be safe not a bunch of carrying on yelling throwing tools none of that
nonsense feels good to be at a stage in my life where you know what i mean like you spend so many
years with that temper and that anger and it feels good to practice what a preacher a little bit too
put those five labors growth into action take care of things need to be taken care of
do some testimonials real quick well then i'll play that hairy clip for you guys before we get
out of here how about that let me look you loo here
sorry i got pulled these up boys give me every ad in oral
let's look at some of our testimonials from last week's shot that's scott johnson 718
i love the interview this is our interview real clear for brooks
i love the interview and i'm really excited for your future exploits and the printed word
by the way your show in denver last night kicked ass thanks for sharing your talent with the rest
of us thanks for coming out of that denver show i had a great time on that stage it's a good club
i look forward to coming back maybe selling some more tickets next
our old buddy the concaft over in ireland late to the party as usual but i like to think i show
up with a slab of cans of charcoal listen you and clifford has been inspiring i'd love to
hang out with you too learn some stuff and hopefully teach some stuff too i was smiling
the whole time when i was listening about the boys in duwale turning the corner thanks to you
and clifford for the great episode i'll pray to the machine spirit that you have safe enjoyable
stress-free road trip i don't think the machine spirit was listening brother
yeah i like that that's one of my favorite episodes of duwale bottoms i've ever written
and i'm looking forward to what comes next
up right here had dirty white boy 1970 hey jw i'm sure don't doubt you have a similar
electrical gremlin like i did i had a 2001 uconn three-quarter ton they had programmable memory
seats i found they'd randomly change positions overnight or whenever i drove it next never
had a problem the heaters though i'm sure it's related i never got it figured out it was only a
minor inconvenience but i'd be curious if you find the problem these were the early days i
had some kind of control module for every damn bell a whistle today's trucks make my head spin
i'm still a carbureted man in a fuel-injected world all the tv screens belong living room not
the dashboard anyway safe travels my friend i appreciate it brother yeah it's electrical
gremlin she's her name is bad ground wire and i'm on finder i'm i'm just y'all tell me if i'm
wrong tell me if i'm crazy but i'm just hundred percent convinced i got a bad ground on that
truck somewhere acting as some fifty full
hope you guys have a good father's day appreciate you sharing your sunday with me
and uh just keep your fingers crossed for us on the road home monday
i'm jw i love you now enjoy this short clip me doing this is the early evolution of the
harry story and how it's gonna work on stage but i hope you enjoy it i love you guys i want to tell
you guys this last story and i don't know it's on my heart to talk about it i've been working on it
for a little while it's a hundred percent true story but back in about 2012 uh i was addicted to
painkillers i tore up my back in my 20s tore up some discs and stuff and a doctor introduced me to
opiates and i spent the next 10 years of my life living on and i convinced myself i wasn't addicted
right because i didn't take them recreational i didn't take them to get high i didn't take them
to have fun i took them to go to work and so i convinced myself it's what i remember what i
would tell myself while i was sitting in the little pill mills trying to get them i was like
well you're not addicted to drugs you're addicted not being in pain and you tell yourself you tell
yourself that enough you start believing and at the beginning of that year at the end of that
year 2012 my mother was in the hospital dying of liver disease and my friend rodney norman i
in a comic had told me one time that he joined the marines after his son died because he figured
nothing could hurt him more than that and i said boy nothing could hurt me more and lose my mom
i'm quit these pills right now i'm cold turkey and boy was i wrong holy s**t that hurt i'm talking
30 days my eyelids hurt i've never been him jumping drugs is good brother i've never been so much
pain in my life and the kicker is when you get done being in pain from the withdrawals your back
still jacked up you're still in pain and so i go to dr andy but who had helped me get off the pain
pills and i go to dr andy i go i need some help they said let me send you over to this doctor i
know we call him dr kane and dr kane is a pain management specialist he'll get you some cortisol
shots and fix you up and dr kane decided because i was a cash customer that i couldn't afford cortisol
shots so he put me on this medicine called naran and i took that medicine that was a monday night
i took that medicine that first night and i was in more pain i had the scariest nightmares i've ever
had in my life tuesday night the dreams got worse like crazy my mom had just died i was having dreams
about her sitting up in the coffin telling me i was a burden on my family just the worst dreams
i've ever had in my life wednesday morning i woke up out of my mind like wanting to end myself
and when i tell y'all that is not my style that is not my style i'm terrified of death right y'all
don't ever unplug my ass somebody might come up with some shit they y'all want to freeze me put
me ahead in a tube or something until we find a better body for me let's do it i'm on board okay i
don't want to leave this on 15 till my knees sound like a screen door i want to get it all
and so i knew something was wrong because that's not how i think and i knew something was wrong
and i was feeling that way and i i got my wife for what always happened and she looked up the
medicine we found that one of the main side effects suicidal thoughts dr kane told me to
call him if i needed him so i called his office i got his nurse she goes well i'll tell him what
happened i'll have to call you back he doesn't and i had to go to work right is everybody okay back
i had to go to work right after that and i went to work and at the time i worked at that little
community where i got hurt right there on the lake and right up there on the lake there was a little
boat launch and right by the boat launch there was mack donnells and every working man he knows
got a favorite place he likes to eat lunch my favorite place was at the boat launch mack donnells
i gave me a happy meal and i'd watch guys screw up unloading and loading their boats
put a little joy in my heart before i went back swing hammer the rest of the day
there's a dude worked at that mack donnells named jimal jimal was a tall black dude that always
gave me shit because he caught me smoking a joint in the parking lot one time and so every time i walk
in he would joke with me about smoking weed and that day i walked in there was no exception we
made a couple jokes i went and sat down to eat and right across the table from me at the next table
was this old man reading the newspaper and old man looks up at me puts his newspaper down starts
talking to me tells me his name's harry he's retired tractor mechanic from detroit grew up in
a junkyard just like me said that he'd move down the con road be closer to his kids and we talked
about life and love and how important it was to be close to your children because they'd be your
only friends when you got older and i walked out of that restaurant feeling like a weight
lifted off me like i was going to be all right and uh went back to work um dr can call tried to
prescribe me an anti-depressant i told him to kiss my ass and i went home for work i told my wife
my father-in-law about harry and they were like wow that's amazing i was like yeah and then the man
just put my mind at ease boy about three days later i went back in that magnum so and i walked in
old gemal looked at me and goes dog what was you on the other day
what do you mean he goes bro he said you come in here and sat down and talk to yourself for 45
minutes people were staring at you and shit he said bro i got i went up there pretending like
i was mopping behind you to see if you had a blue dog there wasn't no bluetooth
and i run out of the i run out of the mcdonald's mortified right i went to the house and i told
my wife what happened i told my father-in-law what happened my wife's very rational scientific
gal very intelligent she said you know i've read that sometimes if your brain knows you're in trouble
they can do things to protect you they can create auditory hallucinations visual hallucinations
your brain can save you if you're in trouble my father-in-law was a very religious man
he said fellow i think to god sends you a guardian angel named harry and either way
i don't look a gift harry in the mouth but if it was the lord i appreciate it wish you had to
guys i'm jw i love you
About this episode
Father’s Day sets the tone as the hosts talk travel plans and then dive into a packed stretch of real-world truck troubleshooting. From seat-heater and HVAC controller swaps to EVAP purge valve and lean-code hunts, the episode follows intermittent faults that come and go. Roadside fixes include fuel-pressure testing, mass airflow sensor cleaning, and tracking down grounding/battery-cable issues on GMT 800 trucks. Between racing travel updates and a few personal reflections, the theme stays consistent: keep everyone safe, then diagnose methodically.
Join me in Denver while I recount an adventurous three days of travel with the family. I've also included bonus footage of one of the Fort Collins shows where I'm telling the Harry story on stage for my original Reckon Crew.
