Rage against the machine!

Apr 13, 2024, 8:22 AM

Social media won't care, but yesterday was a great day for me. Why? Because, although the body is shot to hail, I still was able to force myself out to my shop long enough to effect repairs on my "trash hauler" pickup, a 2007 GMC Canyon Crew Cab.

It was not what would be considered a major repair by any decent mechanic, replacement of the "linear shift assembly" up under the dash. That thing is basically a solenoid on a floating rod, with both ends connected via ball socket, one to the shifter linkage, and one to a stationary point. The solenoid will only "make" when the rod is in the right position for the solenoid plunger to fall through the hole in the rod. A nylon bushing in the rod gives up over the years, and one end of the rod falls off, making this impossible. That is what happened to mine. (Note: You cannot buy that bushing, GM makes you buy the whole assembly, ~$50.)

Now, I say this was not a major repair, but it DID require a lot of disassembly of plastic under dash components, the shroud around the steering wheel, e-brake handle, and hood latch handle. Not to mention working under the dash, which as ANY mechanic will tell you, is their least favorite thing to do. For someone with five lower back surgeries, it is dang near impossible. I compensated at times by literally sitting in a folding chair outside the truck, or on the garage FLOOR outside the truck, only bending over under the dash when absolutely necessary.

It probably took me three times as long as it would have ten years ago, but, ultimately, SUCCESS! Truck is back in operation now, we drove it to eat some dead hog at Dukes BBQ last night. This was one of those times I pretty much had to do something myself. The truck would not go into park, and thus, the key could not be removed. I had to just drive it into the shop, shut it off in neutral, and leave the key in it until I could troubleshoot and order parts.

YouTube is usually invaluable these days for videos of problems and repairs, but let me down this time. I WAS able to find a couple of threads on the Colorado / Canyon group pages that kind of clued me in on what the problem MIGHT be. I took a flyer and ordered the part, to get it on the way, while I figured out how to dismantle things. A set of 2007 GM Factory Service Manuals (THREE Encyclopedia sized books!) paid for themselves on this job. I was actually happy to see one end of that linear shift assembly hanging loose when I removed all the stuff out of the way, meaning I had made a correct flyer diagnosis. Score one for the geriatric mechanic, and Rage against the machine!

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see a SUPERB mechanic at work, check out a YOUTube channel called South Main Auto Channel. It is a mechanic named Eric O, in Albany, New York, who posts videos about various repairs he makes. I have watched many a repair video on YouTube, and he is, by far, the best mechanic I have seen.

What is just mind boggling to watch, for somebody here in the south, is just how quickly vehicles up in the northern climes rust away to nothing. Trucks barely five years old with the frames literally falling apart due to rust from all the salt they use on the roads up there. That has led to some interesting videos on the South Main Auto Channel, problems that would never even exist here down south.

Eric O has a great sense of humor, as well. He will start talking about "The Parts Cannon", which means whoever attempted to repair the vehicle before him just replaced part after part, hoping to hit the right thing to fix the actual problem. Also, according to him, "Rusty, Crusty" is almost always to be associated with Chevys, as in "Another rusty, crusty CHEVY!"

He obviously has access to a whole lot of electronic tools and reference material, but unlike a lot of others, he actually knows how to logically USE all that stuff, and systematically troubleshoot problems to a defined conclusion. But, one of the things I like best about him, on the rare occasion, he does get a "comeback". Every mechanic who has ever worked does. He does not hide from those rare occasions, instead, he also makes videos about them, explaining what happened. It is worth your time if you are interested in mechanicing at all.

Rage against the machine!

Re: Rage against the machine!

I always considered myself a pretty doggone good mechanic. But, if you want to

Re: Rage against the machine!

Re: Rage against the machine!

Re: Rage against the machine!

Re: Rage against the machine!

Great Job!

Re: Rage against the machine!

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