Found the answer to a problem today that I personally don't think I would have figured out....What is it you may ask?
Well, first off, it is not LS specific. But, it could have been. I didn't show it earlier, but before I could work on the Cheyenne, I needed wheels to drive. A family member gave us a very worn '02 Jeep Liberty. It had about 188K and little maintenance over the past few years. Among other issues, it had a cooling problem (engine and a/c) when I got it. I literally fixed everything I could think of on that Jeep...about $2000 worth in parts. After all that, I still had an issue with the cooling and a/c. (not all the $$ was on these areas, replaced all suspension/steering/brakes etc. too).
I had replaced literally everything I could think was a possible problem. Water pump, hoses, thermostat, radiator, used Zerex coolant, installed new electric fan AND installed trailer package shroud and engine driven fan, even had a new fan relay that I saw needed to have wires soldered and shrink wrapped. It did run much better.
Issue I had was not really discovered until it got hot outside. Driving along the a/c worked great, no cooling problems inside or with engine. When I came to a red light, after about 20-30 seconds, the a/c would start turning warm. And, sometimes the engine temp would start climbing. What to do?
I checked and double checked everything I could think of. I got so frustrated I took it to a local shop (I have a regular guy I use if I can't fix something), but grew impatient and took it to the "guy around the corner". He said my engine fan clutch was bad and needed the a/c charged up. OK, I paid the $250 bill. I could see shortly the Jeep acted the same.
I threw my hands up and called my buddy and took the Jeep over to him and told him my story. He called me today to say it was fixed and ready to be picked up. I had to know, what was the problem. He said, "first, it was nothing you did". I felt better already. He said, "problem was the new electric fan, it was internally wired backwards". So, when I would stop, the engine fan would pull and the electric fan would push. This would create a "vacuum" and allow the a/c compressor to get hot and shut off. He re-pinned it and said it works great now. Long story to show that even when you buy a new part, does not mean it works right. Never assume. And, be careful with the cheaper import stuff...The first guy did not check everything out properly. I will never know if the engine fan clutch was actually bad. But I sure did not get $250 worth of service. So, when you do find a reliable trustworthy mechanic, treat them good and use them consistently. My buddy fixed it for way less than half.
If you made it to the end, Thanks for letting me ramble...it was something simple, but would not have considered. Seems all experience in life has a cost, some more than others. At least this one was cheap!
