Denny's Repair Service

Denny's Repair Service I repair automobiles, lawn equipment, electronics, bicycles, and appliances.

I repkaced the head gaskets on this 2018 Chrysler Pacifica 3.6L Pentastar engine and it’s a lot of busy work! This is a...
06/29/2025

I repkaced the head gaskets on this 2018 Chrysler Pacifica 3.6L Pentastar engine and it’s a lot of busy work! This is a V6 with dual overhead camshafts, which requires a complete engine disassembly to access the head bolts and remove the heads. The lower exhaust and oil pan have to be removed in order to get the timing cover off, and then the timing chains can come off, then the camshafts, and finally the heads. This is why it’s a $3000 job!

You can see that this a great time to replace the timing chains, spark plugs, water pump, serpentine belt, and pulleys since they all have to come off anyway. I thoroughly cleaned and inspected all the parts before the engine went back together, replaced all of the maintenance items listed above, and delivered this engine good as new at 152,000 miles.

Well, we successfully changed out a cylinder head on a Detroit Diesel 60 engine on my stepdad's semi. We've been throug...
12/05/2024

Well, we successfully changed out a cylinder head on a Detroit Diesel 60 engine on my stepdad's semi. We've been through two defective heads that ended up being internally cracked and the diesel shop that did the work insisted that they can only install OEM remanufactured cylinder heads instead of a brand new aftermarket head that we requested. Unfortunately, they weren't willing to warranty their labor and would only offer another remanufactured part for the small installation fee of $7,000. No thanks!

We installed a brand new cylinder head, and along the way found several examples of terrible workmanship from the last time this truck shop replaced the head, and we cleaned up their mess. I can't believe that we have to fix our own semis to ensure that they get done correctly, but that's how it is. The quality out there can be terrible and people desperately need mechanics they can trust.

Reach out to me if you ever need a second opinion on something that sounds questionable.

Last week I finished a huge project rebuilding a 6.4L V8 Hemi engine on a 2018 Dodge Ram that came to me with a steady ...
12/03/2024

Last week I finished a huge project rebuilding a 6.4L V8 Hemi engine on a 2018 Dodge Ram that came to me with a steady #8 cylinder misfire accompanied by a ticking noise and low compression, and then fixing a failed ABS/ESC system fault. I trouble shot the misfire problem down to a seized lifter roller that ground down its camshaft lobe and sent metal debris throughout the engine and subsequently destroyed the main engine bearings. The engine was hours away from being a catastrophic failure, but I was able to salvage all of the major engine parts and replace the lifters, bearings, piston rings, timing chain and sprockets, camshaft, and all gaskets and seals. I installed an upgraded oil pump that will do a better job of lubricating the lifters during long periods of engine idling, which is the probable cause for the seized roller. I found a bad ABS motor and replaced it to get the ABS/ESC system working again. This is one happy couple to have their truck running perfectly, better than new, for under $10K. See the slideshow for details.

It's been a busy winter and I haven't been doing a good job of posting repair projects. Today's story is a good custome...
06/03/2024

It's been a busy winter and I haven't been doing a good job of posting repair projects. Today's story is a good customer of mine that was quoted $2600 for just one replacement hydrostatic hydraulic pump. He was unable to move the left wheel after that side's pump started leaking heavily and quit working altogether on his trusty Toro zero turn mower. He came to me asking if I could take on a mower, and although it's not my main area of experience, a machine is a machine. I recommended that we just purchase a couple hundred dollars worth of parts to rebuild the bad pump, and then we agreed to rebuild the good pump too while we're at it since it is at the same point in its life cycle. I'm halfway through the job and have found the smoking gun on the left pump failure, and now I'm awaiting replacement parts. This whole job will probably end up around $1200 for 2 rebuilt hydraulic pumps and a totally flushed hydraulic system, including all of the rebuild components and 10 hours of labor. This is a huge savings for my customer and a nice chunk of change to me for my effort and expertise. Below are highlights and details of my findings.

10/14/2023

Tip for when to schedule a brake job.

Today I did my first headlight restoration and I’m happy with the results! I was pretty skeptical and thought it was a ...
06/11/2023

Today I did my first headlight restoration and I’m happy with the results! I was pretty skeptical and thought it was a gimmick at first, but figured I’d give it a shot on my vehicle since I’ve had multiple customers request this. It takes an hour to get them both done the right way. You can see me taking the picture in the reflection of the headlight 😀

I just finished a big repair job on a 2010 Honda CR-V that had a "crank but no start" issue with a P0341 code and check ...
06/04/2023

I just finished a big repair job on a 2010 Honda CR-V that had a "crank but no start" issue with a P0341 code and check engine light indicated for "camshaft out of phase". I began troubleshooting by verifying good fuel pressure, spark, and injector action, so it was pretty clear that the engine had no compression. I pulled the valve cover to check the timing marks and discovered that the crankshaft was about 70-80 degrees in advance of its TDC position with the camshafts positioned at TDC. After pulling the timing cover I observed the timing chain tensioner was at its max extended position and the timing chain had stretched beyond what the tensioner could account for, which allowed the crankshaft sprocket to jump several teeth. This resulted in no compression in the engine and therefore no ignition of the air/fuel mixture, so it would crank but not fire.

With the crankshaft that far out of phase in an interference engine, it is possible that the valves contacted the pistons. I looked down each spark plug hole with an inspection camera and unfortunately observed shiny valve witness marks on each piston. The safest course of action was to pull the cylinder head and do a full teardown and inspection of the valves to make sure nothing got bent. I did not discover any bent valves, so I reassembled the head with new valve seals and lapped each valve into place. I cleaned all of the parts and put the engine back together with new gaskets, timing chain, tensioner, chain guides, VVT solenoid and intake cam phaser. The engine fired right up when I attempted to start it and the test drive went great. See photos for highlights of the repair.

I earned myself another happy customer!

Just finished repairing a classic Peavey CS-800 power amplifier from circa 1980. It came to me with a dead short that w...
04/21/2023

Just finished repairing a classic Peavey CS-800 power amplifier from circa 1980. It came to me with a dead short that was blowing the fuse when the power switch was turned on. It has two independent channels of inputs and outputs (Ch. A and Ch. B). After hunting down the schematic from the internet I was able to troubleshoot the problem to 7 of the 12 output transistors on Ch. A being shorted out. They are pretty pricy, but I replaced all 12 of them as a matched set with an updated (and hopefully stronger) part.

I don't work on amplifiers often enough to be fast at it, nor do I love working around the high voltages that these put out (115 VAC input and 80V DC output), so I move slow and methodically working on this kind of stuff and I can usually find the problem if I have a schematic available.

Nice to have another victory!

Here's what I've been up to lately. I bought a cheap 2007 Saturn Aura off Craigslist that "runs great, just needs some ...
12/08/2022

Here's what I've been up to lately. I bought a cheap 2007 Saturn Aura off Craigslist that "runs great, just needs some transmission work", but when I tore into it I discovered that it had several problems: a major oil leak out the front of the engine, a transmission totally shot, a power steering leak, and all engine mounts, brakes, and one CV axle worn out. It did come with brand new tires at least. I'm completely restoring this car to like new condition in my free time - I'll either sell it for cost + labor, or keep it in the family as a daily driver. Here are some pictures of my progress.

I have fixed a lot of stuff since my last post, but this was one of the most interesting things I've ever worked on - an...
08/13/2022

I have fixed a lot of stuff since my last post, but this was one of the most interesting things I've ever worked on - an 1896 Edison Phonograph that could no longer generate enough mechanical power to play a record. I stripped it completely down to individual gears, cleaned and polished the whole drivetrain, took apart the spring motor (containing 40' of coiled spring steel) and cleaned/repacked it with fresh grease, and then put it all back together. After some fine tuning, it is running quite literally like a well-oiled machine. Fascinating device, I hope you enjoy the pictures and videos!

This $4000 Brother Innovis 1500D sewing machine got fried during a power surge and would no longer turn on. See the sli...
06/24/2022

This $4000 Brother Innovis 1500D sewing machine got fried during a power surge and would no longer turn on. See the slide show for details on my findings and the repair process. I returned it to my customer in perfect working condition for just $200 worth of parts and labor. Another happy customer!

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Elkhorn, NE
68022

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+14024157511

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