Is buying a Tech 2 worth it?

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okfoz

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My pump has a lifetime warranty, it still works...
I feel like I hijacked the thread, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to know if a tech II could override it is all. I just ordered one, will see when it gets here what I can do with it.
 
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CountryBoy19

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My pump has a lifetime warranty, it still works...
I feel like I hijacked the thread, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to know if a tech II could override it is all. I just ordered one, will see when it gets here what I can do with it.
Just don't buy them all before I get wife approval, haha!!! No worries on the hijack. I'm also trying to "feel out" what I can do with it so the question had value to me.
 

okfoz

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One of the neat things a Tech 2 can do is, say your Oil Pressure gauge goes to Zero. This can be from 3 things,
1) Oil Pressure pump fails, which is bad, bad, but your engine would let you know with a lot of ticking.
2) Bad Sender
3) Bad Gauge
Of course it could be wiring to the gauge, but you can send a signal to the gauge to see if it is operating or not, then you know you are not just chasing a problem around.
It also checks parameters that most off the shelf scanners do not do, I suspect it will do OBD2 stuff on just about any car, but for $20 and a smart phone you can do that with the ELM327,
 

UrbanSuburban

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Sorry about the wrong direction of that answer countryboy, and thanks swath for setting the record straight. When you use either the GM manual or the Alldata diagnostic tests they specifically mention the tech2 tests and the menu items and what the counts should be on the PIDs. I did not know about the Chilton online so I cannot speak to it. I would assume it is the same as all companies license this info from GM beyond the basic OBD2 data that is mandated by American Law. Those are the ones that start with 0. Ford and FCA also have their own scan tools but they are different in that they make almost all information available without needing their specific scantool. Genisys and Snapon etc have to pay a big royalty to use this software from GM which is why most scantools are not bi directional and can only read certain modules. Ford just released an important procedure, its titled 'How to diagnose and fix a heated Tailgate' lol
 
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CountryBoy19

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I ordered mine today... don't have any shipping notice or tracking yet but I'm eagerly anticipating it... started having some issues with my DD (2000 Buick) that could use the assistance of such a tool... asked my wife right after venting my frustrations about the car issues and I didn't even have to convince her about how useful it would be!
 

Chubbs

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Ford just released an important procedure, its titled 'How to diagnose and fix a heated Tailgate' lol

LoL where did you come up with that?? You had my att when you mentioned Ford: the ABS module died on the wife's '08 Escape. I'm trying to figure out how to go about R&R on that since a replacement has to be synced with the host. No way I'm paying dealer or authorized tech costs for this repair... It would prob be around $1,000 or more. Thing is, you can't jut pull 1 off a recycler and stick it in your rig plug&play so you need a replacement module, the hardware, software, programming rights, plus the labor which is somewhat advanced procedure. Any scan tool would need both pass-through programming and ABS pulse to purge brake fluid. It's expensive either way.
 

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