OK LET ME TELL YOU WHAT,JUST BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE SHOP AT AUTO ZONE DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO BUY AUTOZONE PRODUCTS.THEY DO SELL AFTERMARKET PARTS TO NOT JUST AUTO ZONE PARTS.AND I HAVE GOT PARTS FROM CARQUEST THAT AUTO ZONE CARRIES,IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAD SOME BAD EXPERENCE WITH THEM I USE THERE PARTS AND AFTERMARKET PARTS THEY SELL. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR ,I DONT CARE WERE YOU BUY IT.WEATHER IT IS A NAPA,CARQUEST AUTOZONE.MSD.SUMMIT.JEGS,ADVANCE AUTO,PARTS, IT IS ALL DISHED OUT TO THE CHEAPEST BIDDER AND BUILT.AND ABOUT 5% OF THE PARTS ARE BUILT HEAR IN THE USA. SO WHEN YOU GET A PART FROM OVER SEAS WICH IS 95%OF YOUR PARTS YOU ORDER ,AND YOU MY TALK ABOUT BRANDS BUT ONLY ONE COMPONEY IS MAKING ALL THOSE BRANDS YOU DONT LIKE AND USE, YOU ARE TAKING A CHANCE ON BUYING THAT PART.AND THAT IS THE WAY IT IS[sm=WTFsgign.gif]CHINA


LET ME TELL YOU A LITTLE STORY ,WE ALL LOVE NAME BRANDS. TAKE FOR INSTANCE SNAP ON WE LOVE SNAP ON RIGHT,WELL I OWN A LOT OF SNAP ON TOOLS JUST ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO I BROKE A RATCHET I TOOK IT TO THE SNAP ON TRUCK AND ASK IF HE COULD FIX OR REPLACE IT.HE SAID THE RATCHET IS TO OLD, HE CAN NOT FIX IT SO I SAID THEN YOU WILL REPLACE IT RIGHT ,BECAUSE IT IS LIFE TIME .HE SAID THEY DONT CARRY THAT RATCHET ANY MORE SO THEY CAN NOT REPLACE IT,SO THEN I GOT MAD RIGHT, I PAID LIKE 50 .00 BUCKS FOR IT AND I WANT IT FIXED OR REPLACED.SO I CALLED SNAP ON.THAY SAID THE SAME S..T THE GUY IN THE TRUCK SAID.,,,,,PLUS THE GUY IN THE TRUCK TOLD ME THEY ARE MAKING ALL THER TOOLS IN CHINA,THATS RIGHT CHINA.SO YOU CAN TAKE YOUR NAME BRAND AND LIFTIME GEARINTEE AND STICK IT UP YOUR *** AND I HUNG UP WITH THEM,AND NEVER GOT MY RATCHET FIXED,JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT,

SNAP ON TOOLS[sm=shootshoot.gif]

 

Yeah, I know about the Snap On thing. I think it has a lot to do with the rep you have, because we have had several, couple have been real good about the warranties and others really suck, take forever to get things done (like the one we have now). I, also, have a considerable amount invested in Snap On tools and, test equipment. Scanners, scopes, battery testers, and the like. We don't have a decent tool rep in our area any more, any kind (Snap On, MAtco, Mac, Cornwell).

 

What I do when Snapon, Mac, Matco, etc won't honor a warranty is that I quit buying stuff from them. You can get everyone in the shop to sorta unionize against the rep and his sales figures drop real quickly and you get a new ratchet. It might not be identical, but they should give you some type of replacement.

A lot of Craftsman tools nowdays suck, but at least there are no questions asked when exhanging them. When it comes time to warranty a husky tool, you call an 800 number and they ship you a new one--very handy when you LOSE a tool, too because you don't have to send your broken one back to them.

There ARE good aftermarket parts out there. Things like U-joints, wheel bearings, belts, spark plugs I wouldn't hesitate to go aftermarket. You get what you pay for. Its soooo aggravating when the service manager wants to save a few bucks and go with cheaper aftermarket parts, AND THEY DON'T FIT!!!! So, my time is wasted doing the job twice, while I wait for parts to arrive that DO fit. It happens all the time.

Anyways, the problem with the vette was a bad ground to the EST module--not the one in the distributor, but the brain-box in the battery compartment. If I disconnected the EST from the distributor, it'd run much better that way. Also, I only got 11.75 volts from the B+ terminal to the body of the EST module, and I had a full 12.3 volts between the B+ and the door striker... hmmm. I ran a ground wire from the battery to the EST module while the car was running, and VRRROOOOOMMM it smoothed right out, the CHECK ENGINE light went out, and it ran absolutely awesome. Now, when it is started, you can hear how the engine runs different as it switches to EST control after about 10 seconds of running. Before, it would run crappy right away and always seem to be running off of EST control.

Does anyone know where the EST's ground is? Everything is fiberglass, so I imagine that it is under the hood somewhere, possibly under the console. My wiring diagram from Ecklers doesn't tell me ground locations. Otherwise, its a pretty darn good diagram for $15. The connectors at the EST itself appeared to be in good shape otherwise, despite having an acidic battery right next to it!

and uhh, sorry. ESC=EST=Electronic Spark Timing. Depends on what book you read.

 

Usually on thermostat housing bolt. Only the 80's model pickups use ESC.[8D]