2001LS8Sport
Dedicated LVC Member
Perhaps "hosed" was too strong a word and I apologize if I offended you. But you are like most folks...you are at the mercy of the technician. There are some outstanding techs around. They are familiar with how the different systems operate and they can "see" the big pictue in their mind before they ever start work on a car. They understand how pinpoint tests work and they have the knowledge and equipment to use them. These guys are worth their weight in gold...and they are usually compensated occordingly. Electrical diagnostics ain't cheap if it's good!! However, there are also a few techs out there who just don't have a clue and are nothing more than parts swappers. These are the ones that give a dealership a bad reputation, put a sour taste in the consumer's mouth, and cost him and the dealership a ton of money unnecessarily. I would take the time to swap the PCM back and see for sure which type of tech you got...because I suspect the latter. I mean really...a clutch coil is NOT hard to test. You check for apply voltage when it's supposed to be there and you can apply battery voltage to see if it engages. That's about it!