Strange trouble!!!!

Topic: Strange trouble!!!! (Read 1845 times) previous topic - next topic

Strange trouble!!!!

June 08, 2014, 10:32:24 AM

Over the past 50 years or so i have seen troubles that boggle ones imagination as a mechanic. And just when you say you have seen everything WAM a trouble crops up that is beyond DUMB and amazing. My chevy step side 1500 is equipped with a 4.3 fuel injected engine totally stock other than cosmetics and a 5 speeder and custom exhaust. JR was driving it and told me the idle was acting crazy. UP DOWN and with no rime or reason. I am not a stranger to idle surge so i took it for a test drive. Shure enough the idle was doing crazy things. Stalling 2000 rpm to 4000 ideling then clearing up. So out comes the scan tools and it clearly showed me an IAC ISSUE. Ses light on and so forth. The trouble was so strange it had me going nuts as i checked the iac and ran it on the dyne for road loads. Nothing!! What the HELL was going on. So JR took over and removed the air hat and looked in to the THROTTLE BODY with the blade wide opened. BINGO we found the trouble. Part of the throttle blade had broken off and was jamming the throttle blade. In all my life and career fixing cars i never would have suspected this. Here is part of the throttle blade that broke off and was rolling around inside the intake manifold jamming the throttle blade. Live and learn but always remember the troubles. Have a good Sunday guys. Here is the culprit. I am just glad the piece did not make it's way in to a valve or cylinder. That would have been very bad to say the least. Thanks.

Strange trouble!!!!

Reply #1 – June 08, 2014, 03:41:36 PM

That happened to my ex girlfriend's Hyundai Pony (for you Americans that don't know what a Hyundai Pony is, it was Hyundai's first car in North America, sold only in Canada from 1984-1986. It was a 4-door hatchback, RWD, powered by a Mitsubishi 1.6 with carb, manual choke, and points-style ignition. Imagine a Korean Chevette, but without the Chevette's sophistication, style, or reliability). I was driving behind her in my old Formula Firebird, and all of a sudden she started speeding up, but the brake lights were on. She managed to slow down enough to pull onto the shoulder of the road, but when the rear wheelshiznit gravel the right rear started spinning, allowing her to stop. I get out of my car, walk up to her, and she's panicking - she's sitting there with her foot hard on the brake, engine screaming, and back wheel still spinning. There were literally flames coming out of the tailpipe as that little Mitsu was spinning harder and faster than it ever had. She says "WHAT DO I DO?!?!?", I say "Turn it off!", which she does. I took the air cleaner off and found the throttle blade broken off and stuck sideways in the carburetor. We left the car there, went to a junkyard, got another carb, and went back to the car, where I installed the new carb on the side of the road. Great fun.

Yeah, Tom, I agree - as long as any mechanic lives he'll never see it all. Cars have a way of doing some really, really strange things...

Strange trouble!!!!

Reply #2 – June 08, 2014, 08:16:02 PM

Took me by surprise and i was shocked i will telly you that. Strange. have a good week guys!!

Strange trouble!!!!

Reply #3 – June 08, 2014, 10:31:04 PM

I wonder what made it break in the first place? That's crazy.

Strange trouble!!!!

Reply #4 – June 09, 2014, 05:47:19 AM

Stacks me and JR were thinking the same exact thing. Some kind of transit vibration from the incoming air or just a failure of the metal. As you can see part of the metal was left behind on the throttle plate. I was actually ripped away it looks like?? The question is why is this part even THERE???? And what the hell does it DO????? It was rivited together with the throttle blade. Like an eyebrow. Have a good week Guys

Strange trouble!!!!

Reply #5 – June 09, 2014, 12:47:34 PM

Any way to notify chevy about that? If that one is in as bad a shape as it is, there has to be others doing or at least getting ready to do the same thing... could warrant a recall.... wouldn't want that dangerous throttle sticking like with the prius(s) a while back

Strange trouble!!!!

Reply #6 – June 11, 2014, 01:03:56 AM

ok, i get it now,, t his part is an adaptor onto the TB butterfly itself... interesting problem.,, you got lucky.

curiosity has me though,, perhaps you can load up a bone yard throttle body, take it back to the shop and find out if the rivits are aluminum... swelling of two different types of metals may have offered a loose connection during multiple warm up / cool down periods.

Strange trouble!!!!

Reply #7 – June 11, 2014, 06:23:09 AM

Jay what we are doing now is checking every one of these that come in to the shop. The rivits are steel. And that plate is aluminum. As you can see it looks like it actually ripped off. reason being the rest of the metal is still on the shaft. I ordered a new onw and it also had this extra [part on it. I thought GM might have superseded it because of this issue but they did not. I spoke with the head tech over at Danbury CHEVY a good friend of mine and he says he has never seen this happen before. Have a good Wednesday guys

Strange trouble!!!!

Reply #8 – June 11, 2014, 11:10:26 PM

Tom, The north east GM training center is in Ardsley NY. I gotta go down there probably 5 times a year. I ran into a fella from Danbury Chevrolet. He says there doors have heated blow driers mounted above them so it cleans the car off when you pull into the shop. Is that true??? We just built a LARGE new Garage, we call it the Garage-ma-hall. But we DON'T have freaking driers for rainy days. That would be sick. I work at Healey BTW, the one in Middletown not Poughkeepsie.

Strange trouble!!!!

Reply #9 – June 12, 2014, 08:54:21 PM

I think they do in the new part of the dealer. Have not been there on a rainy day. Have to check that out