Back in '05, diagnosing a bad injector meant pulling them all and listening for the 'hiss' on a bench, but now my $2,500 tablet scanner can usually pinpoint the culprit from the driver's seat in about 10 minutes.

I miss the hands-on certainty of the old way, but I can't argue with getting a truck back on the road before lunch; what's one diagnostic method you're glad to have left behind?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_joseph2mo ago

Ugh, the old "spray starter fluid around the intake" to find a vacuum leak. I spent more time cleaning that sticky film off everything than I did fixing the actual leak. My shop smelled like a cheap magic show for a week.

hannah_perry2mo ago

Oh man, the old carburetor adjustments with a vacuum gauge! Spending an hour trying to get that needle to stop dancing, just pure guesswork. Modern fuel injection just WORKS, you set it and forget it. I do not miss that fussy, endless tweaking at all. The new systems are so much more reliable from the get go.

christopher9432mo ago

Yeah, I had a '78 pickup that would only idle right on Tuesdays. Chasing that perfect vacuum reading felt like arguing with a ghost. @the_joseph, at least your magic show had a smell, my garage just had a cloud of frustration and unburnt fuel.