Wolf, I really appreciate your taking the time and making the effort to help with this. That exchange between you and Tali was exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for.

and it was very interesting tho i know nothing about cars. i enjoyed reading this post!

i've used plenty of them in my earlier years, but they didn't work on cars. .............................but when i was a kid i wanted to take a mechanic class at the ymca. my dad signed me up for charm school instead. dang boy...that caused me to get into a lot of fights in the hood...when they called me charm girl that wasn't so bad, but when they put the word B**** on the end the fists would fly.

Wolf,
Well, I finally had the chance to look for the steering sensor that you described, but it simply isn't there. All I could find was a wire up close to the firewall (which was hanging loose and connected to nothing) Perhaps the sensor has been removed by a previous owner?

Is there any way the sensor is inside the column? The wire seemed to lead up in through the firewall, though I suspect this wire was some sort of accesory wire from some past owner of the truck, as I bought it used.

Any other suggestions?

Talimook

Tali,

It could have been removed, or you may not have that option on you truck and you are fighting something else with similar symptoms. I have seen vehicles with the sensors removed, but then the result is usually full assist all of the time which doesn't fit your symptoms. That is the only place the sensor could be located. Let me check to see what option code applies to the Electronic Variable Orifice steering and get back with you. In the mean time look in your glove box for a little decal with a bunch of 3 digit alphanumerical codes such as LT1, MM3, any combination. It will have a bunch of them. It is a white tag with black text and about the size of a 3X5 photo. I will look up the code for EVO and we will have to make sure that your truck was equipped with this option. Let me know if you have trouble finding it.

Okay wolf, I have a question for you:
I have a 2001 Ford F150superCrew.
sometimes when I am in lower speeds he feels like it is spuderrng. I have had the transmission fluid & seal replaced - everything checked out there. and a few months back I had the fuel system cleaned.
Do you think it may be the spark plugs? It only has 86,000 miles on it but I bought it in May of 2000. (The first one the dealership had of the 2001 model)

"... he feels like it is spuderrng."

You been snortin' moonshine again Allie???



Wolf,
Glove box, alphanumeric code, 3X5 tag..... okay, got it!

Tali

Right after starting out and maybe have gone 5 miles, slowed down to turn then drove about a qtr mile. It is at a low speed.
I will mention it to hubby & have him typr it up. Right now he is moving a palm tree for me & I do not want to disturb him. I have wanted that thing moved ever since we moved in.

Allie,
You've got him MOVING a palm tree?


Doesn't it occur to you that moving a tree IS disturbing him a GREAT DEAL??????

Seriously, I don't think he will mind typing!!!!


Tali

Tali,

I looked through the RPO codes in the GM service manual for your truck and there were no codes listed for EVO, yet the service information for diagnosis and testing were there. This would typically mean that every truck had it and it was not an option. I have been out of the dealership for several years , so you would have to call your local GM dealership and give them your vehicle identification number and be sure this is true. If so, then the sensor should be there at the base of the column as illustrated and if not then this is the first step you should take. Maybe not the last, but all the parts need to be there before you can proceed to diagnosing the concern.

Well the parts that really matter seem to all be there, and truthfully, I'm not REAL concerned about this matter. I've kinda gotten use to it, and have learned to just deal with it.

The bouncing during braking has me a bit more concerned, and as soon as I can, I'm going to take it in.

Thanks Wolf. My biggest problem with auto-mechanics is KNOWING what the problem is. Once I know what's going on, I just feel better.


Tali

I did not foget about asking hubby but we have been busy. Sorry.

I do have another problem with the truck. The electric locks do not unlock all the locks after hitting the button twice. It started out with just the rear driveside door but now the passenger side is doing it.
Is there a fuse I can replace to fix it?

Man, Wolf, I sure coulda used your help last week. I thought I'd share with everybody because it totally caught me off guard.

I was changing the brake pads (4-wheel disc brakes) on our 2004 Malibu, and decided to change the rear wheels first because they were the ones squeaking. People always tell me that the front one wear out quicker, but on the last 2 vehicles I've owned, the rear ones wear out first for some reason.

So, I pull the right rear wheel off, take the caliper off, remove the old brake pads, and put the c-clamp on to compress the cylinder. This is where my problems start.

I'm twisting the hell out of this c-clamp and can't get the darn caliper to compress so I can get the new pads on! I have a couple neighbors come over and they can't figure it out either. I call my dad and my father-in-law who are both seasoned car guys and neither one knows what's going on either.

Finally, I get out a cheater bar and just crank the hell out of that c-clamp. BANG! The c-clamp snapped in two!

I go to O'reilly's to buy a new c-clamp and tell the guy at the counter my troubles. He asks me "Does the piston look like a ring or a cylinder?" I tell him it looks like a cylinder. He says "You need a special tool to do that." and he gets me this funky tool that you put on the face of the cylinder and SCREW the cylinder into the housing rather than COMPRESS into the housing.

I was floored. All the other times I've done this, you have to compress the thing back into the caliper, but apparently now some of them screw in.

Just thought I'd share that with you guys in case somebody runs into the same thing I did.

Probably some engineer's bright idea.

Sorry TNT couldn't resist. I know what you mean though. When I did the brakes on my Nissan truck they were not the same as what I was used to seeing. They didn't screw in but they threw me a curve for a while.

Ok, I have a question Wolf:

We have a vehicle where the chrome on plastic grille is starting to delaminate. You know, flake off and it will continue to get bigger and bigger because it isn't adhering to the plastic.

A new grille is a couple hundred bucks, and I don't really want to spend money on that right now. Do you have any ideas on how to temporarily band-aid or slow this process down?

I was thinking maybe a little clear fingernail polish around the exposed edge might protect it from the wind. Any thoughts?

duck tape

Remember when chrome used to be chrome instead of plastic ?