Big B's Auto Service

05/25/2026

Today isn’t just a holiday for some of us.
It’s names, faces, voices, memories, and moments that never really leave.

I served in the United States Marine Corps, and like many veterans, I’ve seen things overseas that changed me forever. Some of the men I laughed with, trained with, suffered with, and called brothers never made it home. Others came home carrying battles nobody else could see.

Memorial Day can be beautiful, but it can also be heavy.

While a lot of people are grilling, relaxing, and celebrating freedom, some veterans are quietly replaying memories they wish they could forget. Some are missing people they loved. Some are fighting battles in silence.

If that’s you today, I just want you to know something:

You are not weak for struggling.
You are not alone.
And you do not have to carry it by yourself.

I may run an automotive shop now, and life may look normal on the outside, but I’ll always carry the experiences, losses, and lessons from my time in the Marines with me. Some things never leave you. But one thing I learned is that brotherhood matters — and sometimes just talking to somebody who understands can make a difference.

So today, remember the ones who never made it home.
Check on your veteran friends.
Reach out to the quiet ones.
And if anybody out there is struggling today — my inbox is open.

Semper Fi to my brothers overseas, those still with us, and those watching over us.
You are never forgotten. 🇺🇸

— Brandon
Big B’s Auto Service LLC

05/17/2026

🧪🔥 This is the science behind what we do BEFORE Woolwax.

But first, let’s make something very clear…

We do not just spray rust converter over a crusty frame and call it good.

Before we ever get to this step, we spend hours needling, scraping, grinding, and cleaning the frame to remove as much rust and scale as physically possible. The goal is always to get back down to clean base metal wherever we can.

Rust converter is not a shortcut.

It is the final chemical treatment for the rust that cannot realistically be removed without cutting metal out. We try to convert as little rust as possible because the cleaner the metal is, the better the protection process is.

Rust is not just “dirty metal.” Rust is iron oxide — metal that has chemically reacted with oxygen and moisture. The problem is, rust is porous and unstable, so if you just spray over it, moisture and salt can stay trapped underneath and continue attacking the steel.

That’s where Eastwood Rust Converter comes in.

At a molecular level, the converter reacts with the remaining iron oxide. The active chemistry bonds with the rust and converts it into a much more stable black layer called iron tannate / ferric tannate, along with a polymeric coating that helps lock everything down.

So we’re not just hiding rust.

We’re mechanically removing as much as possible, chemically stabilizing what remains, and then sealing it with our top-of-the-line Woolwax products so salt, moisture, and Midwest weather have a much harder time getting back to the metal.

Anybody can spray something and make it look black for a picture.

We clean it.
We scrape it.
We needle it.
We grind it.
We convert what’s left.
Then we protect it. 🔥

That’s the Big B’s difference.

05/17/2026

🚨 2005 Kia Sorento 3.5L V6 — misfire handled 🚨

This one came in needing spark plug wires, and let me tell you… whoever decided to put these wires where they did definitely wasn’t thinking about the mechanic working on it later. 😂

This 3.5L uses a 3-coil ignition setup where the coils sit on one bank, fire the plugs underneath them, and then plug wires run over to the other side of the engine for the paired cylinders.

Sounds simple, right?

Nope. Not even close.

To get proper access, the upper intake has to come off, and of course it’s a two-piece upper intake setup with wiring, hoses, brackets, and everything else fighting you the whole way.

One of those jobs that looks easy until you’re actually in it:

🔧 Misfire concern
🔧 Spark plug wires buried
🔧 Upper intake removal required
🔧 Tight access
🔧 Wiring and hoses everywhere
🔧 Way more frustrating than it needed to be

But at the end of the day, we got her squared away.

New plug wires installed, misfire taken care of, vehicle running better, and the customer is happy.

Another one in the bag at Big B’s Auto Service LLC. 🔥

05/17/2026

🚨 2014 GMC Sierra Denali 6.2L — this one got interesting 🚨

Quick correction before everyone starts yelling at me in the comments 😂

In the video, I accidentally said the valve was “closed.” What I meant was the lifter/valvetrain was NOT acting correctly at all. The lifter appeared to be stuck solid/pumped up and was not bleeding down or moving like it should.

Basically, when a hydraulic lifter gets stuck like this, it can hold the valve from operating properly — and if that valve can’t seat and seal correctly, that cylinder loses compression. That creates a dead hole, misfire, rough running, and a whole lot of headache.

This wasn’t a “guess and throw parts at it” situation either.

We went through the diagnostic process:

🔧 Checked compression
🔧 Checked cylinder leak down
🔧 Verified spark
🔧 Checked for vacuum leaks
🔧 Ruled out the basic stuff first
🔧 Then pulled the valve cover to actually see what was happening

And this video shows exactly what we found.

The lifter was not doing anything. You couldn’t push it down. It was hard, stuck, and the valve movement was not right.

On these GM 6.2L AFM engines, lifter failure is a very real thing. When the lifter fails, it can create compression issues, misfires, ticking, poor running, and if ignored long enough, it can take the camshaft with it.

This one is getting lifters and head gaskets, and we’ll be showing you guys the step-by-step process as we tear into it and get it repaired the right way.

This is why diagnostics matter.

A misfire is not always “just plugs and coils.” Sometimes you have to dig deeper and actually prove what’s happening mechanically.

Stay tuned — this Denali is getting opened up, fixed properly, and brought back to life. 🔥

Big B’s Auto Service LLC
Geneseo, IL

05/17/2026

🚨 2007 Cadillac STS Northstar in the shop 🚨

This one came in for valve cover gaskets, a coil, and spark plug tube seals.

And let me just say… if you know, you know. These Northstar valve cover gaskets are absolutely miserable. 😂

This is one of those jobs where the repair sounds simple on paper:

“Just replace the valve cover gaskets.”

Then reality kicks in…

🔧 Wiring in the way
🔧 Connectors buried everywhere
🔧 Tight access
🔧 Fragile plastic
🔧 Oil leaking down where it shouldn’t
🔧 Spark plug tube seals that need addressed
🔧 And about 47 moments where you stop and wonder why engineers hate mechanics so much

Valve cover gaskets are what keep engine oil sealed inside the top of the engine. When they start leaking, oil can run down the engine, create burning oil smells, make a mess, and when the tube seals leak, oil can get down into the spark plug wells and cause coil or misfire issues.

We didn’t take a ton of pictures on this one because, honestly, most of the time was spent moving wiring out of the way, fighting for access, and questioning life choices. 😂

But we got it handled.

New valve cover gaskets, coil, and tube seals installed on this Northstar Cadillac, and another one cleaned up and back together.

Some jobs are quick. Some jobs test your patience.

This was definitely the second one. 🔥

Big B’s Auto Service LLC
Geneseo, IL

05/17/2026

🚨 WILD ONE TODAY — 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.6L 🚨

Yes, another 3.6L Pentastar oil cooler housing assembly… something most of my customers have probably seen me post a million times by now.

But this one had a twist. 👀

This oil leak had been going on for so long that the valley was full of oil, and somehow it had been missed everywhere else it had been. Eventually, that oil made its way into the oil pressure sensor connector and started causing what’s called oil wicking.

Basically, oil can travel through the wiring harness by capillary action — almost like a candle wick pulling wax. Once oil gets into a connector, it can slowly creep through the wires and start creating electrical issues far away from where the leak actually started.

That’s the part a lot of people don’t realize:

⚠️ An oil leak isn’t always “just an oil leak.”
⚠️ It can turn into an electrical problem.
⚠️ It can contaminate connectors.
⚠️ It can travel through the wiring harness.
⚠️ And if it gets bad enough, it can get expensive fast.

Thankfully on this one, we caught it before it got too crazy. The oil had only traveled about 40 inches into the wiring harness, and we were able to clean the affected connectors and wiring with electronics cleaner instead of needing to replace additional components or a harness.

Oil cooler housing assembly replaced, connectors cleaned, wiring inspected, and this Jeep is back in good shape. 🔧🔥

This is why proper diagnostics matter. Sometimes the weird stuff is hiding right underneath a common repair.

Big B’s Auto Service LLC
Geneseo, IL

05/17/2026

🔥🚨 STOP SCROLLING… this one is a unicorn. 🚨🔥

1994 Toyota SR5 — and I’m not exaggerating when I say this might be one of the cleanest bodies I’ve ever seen on one of these.

The body on this thing is absolutely gorgeous. For being a ’94, it honestly looks unreal. You just don’t see them like this anymore.

Now… the frame definitely needs some love. And that’s exactly where Big B’s comes in. 💪

This one is getting the FULL Woolwax treatment:
✅ Frame cleaned up
✅ Rust addressed properly
✅ Hard-to-reach areas protected
✅ Inside frame rails coated
✅ Seams, crossmembers, rockers, and problem areas covered
✅ Finished off with Woolwax — the king of undercoating

We don’t just spray over rust and call it good. We take the time to prep it, treat it, and protect it the right way.

This Toyota is 100% worth saving, and we’re going to document the whole process from start to finish.

📸 Before photos now… finished photos coming soon.

Stay tuned — this one is going to turn out nasty. 🔥

Big B’s Auto Service LLC
780 South Chicago St, Building 4
Geneseo, IL
By appointment / drop-off only

05/17/2026

Another Woolwax job completed at Big B’s Auto Service LLC 🔥

We got this one cleaned up, treated, and protected the right way. Woolwax is a lanolin-based, non-rubberized undercoating that creeps into seams, frame rails, rockers, doors, crossmembers, and all the areas that usually take the worst beating from Midwest salt and weather.

We don’t just spray over rust and call it good. We prep it, treat it, and protect it.

Another one protected and ready for the road. 💪

Big B’s Auto Service LLC
780 South Chicago St, Building 4
Geneseo, IL
By appointment / drop-off only

05/13/2026