c/auto-mechanics

Fluid extractor vs draining from the plug on a BMW...

I finally gave up and bought one of those pneumatic fluid extractors last week. Been fighting with skid plates and those stupid plastic drain plugs on German cars for years. Pulled the oil out of a 2013 328i through the dipstick tube in about 3 minutes flat. No mess, no busted knuckles, no replacing a $12 drain plug that strips out. It felt wrong at first not dropping the pan but honestly it gets every bit as much out. Has anyone else switched over to these or do you still think dropping the plug is the only real way?

2 comments

calebw50•12h ago

The Tuesday where a Chevy Cruze tried to kill me 3 times

Last week I had one of those days where you wonder if the cars are actually out to get you. Started with a 2014 Cruze that had a coolant leak I tracked back to the water outlet, took me 2 hours just to get the intake manifold off because someone previously snapped a bolt and didn't tell anyone. Then I dropped a 10mm socket into the oil pan opening and had to fish it out with one of those extendable magnets, which took another 20 minutes. Right after that I went to bleed the cooling system and the bleeder screw snapped clean off in my hand. I just stood there staring at the engine bay for a solid minute. Has anyone else had a specific model that just seems to fight you every step of the way?

2 comments

matthewh28•16h ago

Tried cleaning my MAF sensor with brake cleaner instead of the proper stuff...

Sprayed it down on a 2005 Civic last Friday and the car ran rougher than before for about 20 miles before throwing a check engine light. Learned the hard way that brake cleaner leaves a residue that messes with the sensor film has anyone else wrecked a MAF by using the wrong cleaner?

2 comments

the_fiona•2d ago

Blew $60 on a cheap timing light from Harbor Freight

It flickered like crazy on an old Chevy 350 and I couldn't set the timing right, anyone else ditch the cheap stuff for a better one?

2 comments

abby_henderson•3d ago

Had a day last week where every single bolt came off without a fight

I was working on a 2002 F-150 in my garage here in Phoenix that had been sitting for 3 years, expecting the usual rusted mess. Every bolt on the lower control arms and sway bar links spun right off with just a breaker bar and some PB Blaster, no heat or cheater pipe needed. Has anyone else ever had a job just fall together like that, or is my luck about to run out soon?

2 comments

the_dakota•4d ago

Had a week where every third car that rolled in had a dead battery from a 2010-2014 Ford Focus

Five cars on Tuesday alone, all with that same parasitic drain issue from the glove box switch, and the last guy swore up and down it was a demon until I popped the fuse box and showed him the TSB on my phone, anyone else ever get a run of the exact same problem like that?

2 comments

christopher_flores46•19d ago

Unpopular opinion: I think timing chains are actually better than belts in most engines

Everyone in this sub seems to love timing belts these days, but after swapping a belt on my buddy's 2017 Honda last month, I'm just not sold. The belt broke at 95,000 miles and bent half the valves, cost him $2,400 to fix. I've got a 2004 Ford with a timing chain at 210,000 miles that still runs quiet and never had an issue. Sure chains are heavier and noisier sometimes, but do you really trust a rubber belt to hold up past 100k?

2 comments

dixon.amy•19d ago

Stopped at a junkyard in Nashville and found a 1987 Volvo with a note taped to the steering wheel

I was down in Nashville last month picking up a used alternator for a customer's Civic (that's a whole other story). While I was walking through their import section, I spotted this beat-up old Volvo 240 that looked like it had been through a tornado. Somebody had taped a handwritten note to the steering wheel that said 'Engine runs fine, car just hates me.' I laughed out loud right there in the mud. I popped the hood just out of curiosity and found the timing belt was snapped in half, which I thought was pretty funny given the note. Plus the radio was still in the dash with a tape stuck halfway out, like it gave up mid-song. Has anyone else ever come across a car that just seemed to have a personality or attitude like that?

2 comments

the_joel•20d ago

Showerthought: I miss when cars didn't need a computer just to change the oil

I was working on an '89 F-150 last week and it hit me how simple things used to be. That truck had a mechanical fuel pump and a distributor you could actually set with a feeler gauge. My buddy brought in a 2021 Civic the same day and I spent 45 minutes just trying to find the oil reset procedure in the menu. Three years ago I would have laughed at someone saying a car could brick itself over a bad battery sensor. Now I'm the guy telling new techs to always check for software updates before diag. Anyone else feel like we lost something when cars got smarter than us?

3 comments

thomas105•21d ago

Rant: Guy at the parts counter tried to tell me I didn't need a torque wrench

I was at NAPA in Phoenix last Tuesday picking up brake pads for a 2012 F-150. This older mechanic, maybe 60 years old, starts lecturing me about how torque wrenches are a waste of time on lug nuts. He said he's been doing it by feel for 40 years and never had a problem. I just nodded but inside I was fuming. Next day I see a wheel come off a semi on the highway, and I always wonder if it was some guy like him. Has anyone else had a parts counter know-it-all give you terrible advice?

2 comments

martin.vera•22d ago

That one tip from an old timer about impact gun oil saved me $300 yesterday

Old guy at the parts counter told me to actually oil my impact gun every morning before first use. I always ignored it. Yesterday my air impact seized up halfway through pulling lug nuts on a F-250. Had to hand-break all 32 nuts with a breaker bar in the rain. Took me an extra 2 hours. New gun is $300 minimum. Now I oil it religiously. Anyone else learn a simple maintenance habit the hard way?

2 comments

jordancoleman•26d ago

Had a chat with an old diesel mechanic about torque specs and it blew my mind

Guy told me he never uses a torque wrench on head bolts because he learned on 1970s Cummins engines where you just feel it, and after he rebuilt a 6BT in 4 hours with no leaks I started wondering how much of modern spec stuff is actually necessary.

2 comments

taylor82•26d ago

Watching a guy at a diner fix his own car with a butter knife got me thinking

I was at a diner outside Tulsa last Tuesday and saw a dude pop his hood, pull out a butter knife from his pocket, and adjust something on his carburetor. He had it running in under 5 minutes. Made me realize I’ve been overcomplicating my toolbox with all these specialty tools. Has anyone else found a random household item that actually works better than the real tool for certain jobs?

2 comments

rowan_butler93•1mo ago

The valve cover gasket mistake that cost me a Saturday

I keep seeing guys throw silicone gasket maker on valve covers like it's caulk for a bathtub, but then they wonder why it leaks after 6 months. Had a buddy in Phoenix last year do that on a 4.0 Jeep and I spent 4 hours scraping his mess off with a razor blade. Has anyone else noticed how often people skip the torque specs on those little 10mm bolts?

2 comments

kai_bennett•1mo ago

Old timer told me to warm up my diesel for 10 minutes every time

Guy at a shop in Phoenix said I had to let my 7.3 idle for a full 10 minutes before driving, even in summer. Did that for about 6 months until my buddy who's a fleet mechanic laughed at me. He said modern diesels don't need that unless it's below freezing, and I was just wasting fuel and glazing the cylinders. Has anyone else gotten bad advice from older mechanics that messed up their routine?

2 comments

christopher_flores46•1mo ago

Spent 6 hours chasing a phantom misfire on a 2014 F-150 with the 3.5 EcoBoost

It turned out to be a tiny crack in the plastic charge air cooler pipe that only leaked under full boost, and my smoke machine test didn't show it. Has anyone else found a better way to find these hidden boost leaks without just throwing parts at it?

3 comments

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martinez.anna•1mo ago

I picked the $80 timing light over the $40 one for a 2005 Civic

Had to do a timing belt on a customer's Civic last week and the old light died. The parts store had a basic one for $40 and a digital one with an advance knob for $80. I went with the pricier one because the knob lets you set advance without a helper reading the marks. Got the job done in under two hours instead of the usual three, and the timing was spot on. Honestly, the extra $40 paid for itself in saved time on that single job. Anyone have a favorite timing tool that saves you a headache?

2 comments

the_max•1mo ago

Pro tip: I spent a whole year using the wrong size socket on a common engine mount bolt.

I was doing a motor mount on a 2012 Civic, and for the life of me I couldn't get the last bolt to break free, even with a breaker bar. My apprentice finally walked over, looked at my 17mm socket, and just said, 'Boss, that's a 16.' I'd been hammering the wrong tool on it for twenty minutes. How many other simple things have you guys been doing wrong without knowing?

2 comments

aaron677•1mo ago

My old boss told me to never trust a scanner for misfire codes

He said, 'A scanner will point you at the coil, but the real problem is usually a bad ground wire.' I argued with him for a week on a Chevy Silverado with a P0304. I swapped the coil, then the plug, and it still misfired. Finally checked the ground strap from the engine to the frame, and it was completely rusted through. Replaced it for about $15 and the truck ran perfect. Anyone have a good method for checking grounds fast on a lift?

2 comments

the_riley•1mo ago

A stuck bolt on a Ford in Phoenix taught me a new trick

I was working on a 2014 Ford F-150 in Phoenix last summer, trying to get a seized caliper bracket bolt out. It was about 110 degrees in the shop and I was getting nowhere with my impact. My mentor, an old timer named Carl, walked over and told me to stop. He grabbed my propane torch, heated the bolt head for maybe 30 seconds, and then immediately sprayed it with a can of brake cleaner from the parts store. The quick cooling made it contract. He said, 'The shock is what breaks it free, not just the heat.' I tried it and the bolt came right out. I've used that heat-and-quick-cool method a dozen times since on exhaust and suspension parts. Has anyone else found a different spray works better than brake cleaner for this?

2 comments

jamiebailey•1mo ago

Rant: My shop tried a cheap scan tool from a flea market versus my old Launch unit

We had a 2018 Ford F-150 with a weird transmission code that the cheap tool just said 'P0700' and stopped. My Launch X431 from three years ago gave the actual Ford-specific code and live data, which pointed right to a bad solenoid pack. The cheap one wasted an hour and almost made us throw parts at it. Anyone else have a go-to scanner they trust for deep diag?

3 comments

fiona_sullivan29•1mo ago

Looked at my work log and realized I've done over 500 brake jobs

I was cleaning out my toolbox and found my old paper log from my first shop job. I started adding them up out of curiosity. It's been 12 years, and the number hit 527. That's just brake pads and rotors, not counting full caliper swaps or bigger jobs. It's wild to think about all those cars, from little Civics to heavy trucks, all stopping because of work I did. Makes me feel old, but also kind of proud in a weird way. Has anyone else ever tallied up a specific repair they've done a crazy number of times?

3 comments

ericp67•1mo ago

Had a 2016 F-150 come in with a seized brake caliper pin yesterday

It was the driver's side rear. The customer said they heard a grinding noise for about a week. Took me over an hour just to get the pin out, had to heat it and use a slide hammer. What's your go-to method for a really stuck caliper pin that won't budge?

3 comments

walker.jana•1mo ago

That week where every car had the same weird electrical gremlin

Last month, I had three different cars roll in, a 2015 Civic, a 2018 Escape, and a 2012 Silverado, all with the same exact symptom: the radio and dome lights would cut out randomly but the car would run fine. Took me a full day on the first one before I finally traced it to a corroded ground strap behind the dash on all of them. It was one of those weird patterns that makes you start looking for a common thread right away. Has anyone else seen a specific, odd failure pop up on multiple makes in a short time?

3 comments

dixon.amy•1mo ago

Am I the only one who thinks the 'right to repair' fight is missing a huge point about parts?

I was reading a report from a trade group last week, and it said something that really got me. It claimed that for a common 2020 model sedan, over 60% of the parts flagged as 'needing dealer programming' after a simple swap can actually be coded with a $400 scan tool and some patience. The report was from a shop in Tampa that tested it on a bunch of cars. Everyone gets mad about the software locks, and I get that, but I think we're giving up too easy on the hardware side. I've seen guys in my own shop order a whole new module because the computer said it needed 'initialization', when the old one just needed the security code cleared. We're letting the scare tactics win. It makes me wonder how many perfectly good parts get tossed because the info on how to reset them is buried. Has anyone else found a specific part or job where the 'required' dealer step was totally optional?

3 comments