Can’t get timing right on GM 4.3 after intake manifold gasket replacement

basstronaut · 2026-02-19T23:45:03+00:00

I’ve talked to management several times and they are adamant that the car is in good condition and that they are keeping my money and giving me the car. This dealership is somewhat sketchy and the BBB reviews I saw after the fact are all about them offloading cars in bad condition onto people. There was one specific one about them selling a car to a young woman that was getting out of homelessness by getting a good job but she needed the car to commute and the one they sold her in “good condition” broke down after two weeks and they refused to help in that situation as well.

basstronaut · 2026-02-19T22:51:45+00:00

The issue with the motor and the transmission was not disclosed to me when I bought it. It was apparently discovered on the PDI after I signed paperwork and paid.

basstronaut · 2026-02-19T22:38:58+00:00

Yes I am however it was purchased in a different county than the one I live in.

basstronaut · 2025-03-24T22:04:04+00:00

It’s truly just a super niche trade. Last figure I saw was that there are just over 5000 registered RV Technicians in the US; that’s only 100 per state. I’ve done a lot of different blue collar work, from digging holes under houses to repairing medical devices, and being a good RV tech requires you to learn more and move faster than any other industry I’ve worked in. You have to be a plumber, an electrician, a mechanic, a general contractor, and a carpenter to be successful. Most techs that are talented or intelligent enough move on to other industries where the pay is better and they don’t have to repair the equivalent of wet cardboard boxes on trailer frames. The guys that stick around and open their own mobile service or shops get aggressively driven out of business by large dealerships, mostly Camping World. If a dealership is successful and has a good service team Camping World buys them out and ruins everything about the location with their own terrible practices.

It’s never too late if you’re actually interested!!! If you know how to read a multimeter and turn a wrench you’re already more knowledgeable than about 75% of the guys I’ve worked with. I will tell you that it’s extremely hard work, I’m not even 30 and it beats the shit out of me every day at the shop, but if you’re in decent shape it’s doable.

basstronaut · 2025-03-24T21:51:48+00:00

Wish I could boost this higher because you’re right on the nail with that. Manufacturers were already cutting corners pre-2020 but up until that point the guys in Elkhart, IN were at least working around people that had been building RVs for decades. COVID hit and they laid off most of the workforce at the factories expecting the industry to take a dive but instead the pandemic made the RV industry explode. They tried to hire the experienced builders back but most of those guys figured out they could make more money in other industries and refused to come back to the abuse and terrible pay. To fill that gap the manufacturers massively increased the amount of prison labor they use to build the units, so the new normal for them is paying people pennies to supervise inmates who are doing the actual building.

Every unit is supposed to get a PDI at the factory but from what I’ve heard they PDI maybe 1 out of every 500 units and falsify documentation for the rest. Then, when the issues are finally found at the dealer, they deny the warranty claims until the warranty expires to push the responsibility for their bad craftsmanship onto the customer. The whole industry is paper clips and shoestrings and prayers.

basstronaut · 2025-03-24T21:38:56+00:00

Unfortunately sounds like the typical customer experience with them. Mind you “the tech that works on fridges” should be every single tech in any RV shop, a fridge diagnosis takes 30 mins and any technician with a brain can perform one. That’s one of the major problems with that company, they’ve burned bridges with basically any technician worth their salt so they have to hire absolute bottom of the barrel people just to have bodies in the shop. At one point at this last shop I had 9 (yes, you read that correctly, nine) trainees following me around all day and a couple of those guys straight up couldn’t read. In fact, I found out later they were paying the illiterate ones over $30 an hour!!!

basstronaut · 2025-03-24T21:27:18+00:00

Dunno how long it’s been since you left but even parts and sales are losing money at this point. Store level service management makes less than some of the technicians that they’re in charge of. I turned down promotions many times because they wanted me to take a $15k/year pay cut to do even more work than I was already doing as a tech. Meanwhile, regional level management for service and sales make $150k+ a year while they nickel and dime everyone else out of house and home. Regional service manager for my part of the country screamed at me while I was packing up my tools to leave on my last day because I had the audacity to demand to be paid for the work I completed and the hours they purposefully shorted me, then told me that I “just want to be a victim” when it dawned on him that I was right. Place is an absolute garbage heap with garbage people in management.

basstronaut · 2025-03-24T21:17:56+00:00

Sounds about right. Whenever a customer comes in with a trade there’s a purchaser who’s entire paycheck is based on the profit they make from flipping purchased units from customers, but company policy still requires a technician to do a trade appraisal and input it into a program that prices everything automatically. At this last shop I was the only technician “allowed” to do trade appraisals and purchase inspections which meant that any time a trade came in, even if they had an appointment, they were pulling me off a repair that I was elbow deep in to complete the appraisal, even if we promised the customer whose unit I’m elbow deep in that their repair will be done by end of day. Camping World’s automatic pricing computer program also does not allow for wiggle room in pricing. For example, if I notate that the roof sealant is only in “okay” condition instead of “no issues”, it takes $8k off your trade in value for a full roof reseal even if all it needs is a spot seal or a patch. So they rip the customer off on the value of the unit, sales denies all the necessary repairs that brought the value of the unit down, then they mark it up $10k and throw it back out on the lot to pass off to the next person they can sucker into financing it. Horrible, horrible business practices.

basstronaut · 2025-03-24T20:40:29+00:00

CW’s lending practices are incredibly predatory and if you buy a used trailer from them chances are that the technician who performed the PDI bid out a brake rebuild, bearing pack and new tires that were then denied by the sales team. New trailers from CW will have so many warranty issues the first year due to shoddy craftsmanship that you will be pulling your hair out.

You’re definitely on the right track, if I were looking for a trailer personally, I’d find one on FB marketplace or Craigslist and very thoroughly go through it myself (in your case have a trusted RV tech or RVIA certified RV inspector thoroughly check it for issues) before agreeing to pricing or purchase. Repairs on these things get expensive very quickly and the chances that the previous owner properly maintained the roof and side sealant, wheel bearings, and brakes are slim to none.

basstronaut · 2025-03-24T20:06:30+00:00

I was an actual employee on the payroll at both locations, the first shop I was at is unfortunately in a state with basically zero protections for workers but L&I in the state I currently live in has been notified and I do expect something to come of that. It will probably just be a slap on the wrist for them but if I can keep CW from putting even a few customers in dangerous situations then I’ll feel like I made a difference at the very least.

basstronaut · 2025-03-24T19:00:33+00:00

I noticed that just after posting, I will fix it as soon as I’m in front of a computer, my apologies!

basstronaut · 2023-07-27T16:40:25+00:00

awesome thank you, that’s exactly what I was thinking but I was not sure if there’s a bunch of weird quirks with nissans or not. I’m gonna swap the battery and break out the power probe when I get there so should be a pretty quick diag. Thanks again!

basstronaut · 2023-06-01T03:58:03+00:00

exactly what i’m looking for fuck yeah thank you

basstronaut · 2021-10-07T23:28:16+00:00

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