c/auto-mechanics

Tossed $120 on a valve cover gasket kit from Amazon that leaked within a week

Installed it on a 2010 Honda Civic for a customer last Thursday in Dallas, and by Monday they were back with oil dripping on the exhaust. Has anyone else had bad luck with cheap gasket kits from online stores?

3 comments

singh.harper•2d ago

Took me 10 years to admit I was torquing head bolts wrong

I was working on a 5.3 Chevy in my driveway last Saturday and snapped a head bolt at 55 ft-lbs. Figured it was a bad bolt at first. Then I remembered the torque specs call for three stages with oiled threads, not just cranking it dry in one go. Replaced the bolt, did it right, and the heads sealed perfect. Anyone else skip steps for years before a failure made them read the manual?

3 comments

stella_scott96•5d ago

Can we talk about people who use impact guns on oil drain plugs?

I had a Civic come in last Tuesday where the last shop literally welded the plug on because they stripped it so bad. It took me 45 minutes with a chisel to get it off. Why do some guys think torque specs are just suggestions? A drain plug needs like 30 ft-lbs max not your full ugga dugga. Has anyone else had to deal with this kinda damage from over tightening?

3 comments

phoenix_martin40•5d ago

That brake job in Tucson that nearly got me fired

Last month I was doing a pad slap on a 2014 Civic in Tucson and everything seemed fine. I didn't clean the caliper slides good enough and the inner pad seized up on the test drive. Customer came back screaming about a dragging brake and smoke pouring out. Now I pull every caliper bracket and wire brush the slides with brake cleaner every single time before reassembly. Any of you guys had a quick job turn into a nightmare like that?

3 comments

wader71•5d ago

Hot take: I actually don't think dealer scanners are a rip-off anymore

Had a 2018 Ford Transit van come in last Thursday with a check engine light. My $400 Autel scanner couldn't even talk to the ABS module. Borrowed my buddy's Snap-on Verus Pro and it found a bad wheel speed sensor in 10 minutes. I used to think spending $5k on a factory tool was stupid, but after wasting 3 hours guessing on that van I get it now. Has anyone else had a cheap scanner leave you hanging on a modern vehicle?

3 comments

nathankim•8d ago

I finally stopped using impact guns on lug nuts after that tire shop incident

Everyone at my shop swears by impacts for everything. But after a 2018 Ford F-150 came in with stripped studs from my own gun, I changed my mind. I was at Andy's Tire & Auto in Cleveland when the guy showed me how much torque my old Ingersoll Rand was actually putting out. It was reading 175 ft-lbs on a spec of 100. Now I hand torque wheels on every car. Took me an extra 10 minutes per job but zero comebacks in 6 months. Anyone else ditch the impact for wheels?

3 comments

troyknight•9d ago

A job in Austin taught me to always check the ground strap first

I was chasing a no-start on a 2015 F-150 at a shop in Austin last spring, swapped out the starter and battery before I noticed the ground strap was corroded to nothing. The owner walked over and said "son, you gotta start simple" while pointing at a $12 part. How do you train yourself to fight the urge to jump to the hard stuff first?

3 comments

keith274•11d ago

Spent $800 on a used scan tool for my shop, but now I wonder if I should have gone with the $1500 new one

I picked up a used Snap-on scanner off a retiring mechanic last spring for $800. Figured it was a good deal since the new ones run over $5000 from the truck. But lately it's been acting up on some newer cars, not reading codes right on a 2023 Ford I had in last Tuesday. Now a buddy of mine says I should have just bought that $1500 Autel tablet new with warranty. The used one did save me money for a while, but now I'm not sure if the hassle is worth it. Has anyone else had good or bad luck buying used diagnostic gear instead of new?

4 comments

aaron880•12d ago

Swapped to a 1/2 inch impact wrench for rusty bolts under a 2004 F-150 last weekend

After snapping three breaker bars on a stuck control arm bolt, I tried a $130 earthquake gun from harbor freight and it zipped that thing off in 2 seconds, has anyone else found a cheap impact that actually holds up to daily rust belt work?

3 comments

nina_hall48•15d ago

Appreciation post: The old timer who saved me from a seized engine

Three years ago I was working out of a garage in Cleveland, trying to diagnose a Chevy Silverado that kept overheating. I was ready to pull the water pump and timing chain, but Ray, a 70 year old mechanic who retired 5 years back, walked over and told me to check the radiator cap first. Sure enough, it was a bad seal letting pressure bleed off, cost me $12 instead of $800 in parts and labor. I see so many guys jump to the BIG fixes without checking the simple stuff first. Has anyone else had a pro take two minutes to save you from a monster job?

3 comments

susan81•15d ago

That old timer at the Ford dealership in Phoenix taught me more about torque specs in 5 minutes than I learned in 2 years of school

He just pointed at my wrench and said 'tight is tight, but spec is safe' while showing me how a 10% overtorque on a head bolt can warp the whole block, and I've carried that quote with me ever since, anyone else have a short interaction like that stick with them?

4 comments

lucast81•16d ago

Just realized two very different ways to handle a seized caliper bracket bolt

I had a 2002 Camry in the shop last Thursday. The left rear caliper bracket bolt was completely frozen, seized up like it hadn't been touched in 15 years. I spent 45 minutes with a breaker bar and penetrating oil, finally got it loose but almost stripped the head. Then my coworker Dave walks over, grabs his induction heater, and has it out in 3 minutes flat with no fuss. Now I'm wondering which method is better for the long run: the brute force approach that risks damaging things or spending money on a tool that might only get used once a month. Has anyone else debated this and settled on one way?

3 comments

williamhenderson•16d ago

That time my shop foreman told me to stop chasing electrical gremlins with a test light

My foreman Dave said I was wasting time using a test light on a 2015 F-150 no-start and that I needed to grab a multimeter instead. I ignored him for two hours probing wires and getting nowhere, then finally used the multimeter and found a bad ground in 10 minutes. Has anyone else had to eat crow on a tool you swore was good enough?

3 comments

charles836•22d ago

Why I stopped using remanufactured starters on older Fords

Had a 2000 F-350 come in with a no-start last week. Customer wanted me to throw a reman starter from O'Reilly at it for $80. I told him I'd only put a Motorcraft unit in for $220. He went with the cheap one and it died after 12 cranks. Now I'm doing the job again for free labor and ordering the good part anyway. Anyone else find reman electrical parts just aren't worth the headache?

3 comments

theas28•22d ago

Found a rusted brake line on a 2002 F-150 last Tuesday during a routine oil change

I was doing a simple oil change for a regular customer down at my shop in Austin when I spotted a clump of bubbling rust near the rear passenger wheel well. Turned out the brake line was almost completely rotted through, which would have failed on the highway within a week. Anyone else double-checking brake lines on older trucks more often now?

3 comments

stella_scott96•23d ago

That customer who kept calling me a wizard

Had a guy come into my shop last Tuesday with a 2005 Honda Civic that wouldn't start. Turned out it was just a corroded ground wire on the battery terminal, took me maybe 10 minutes to fix. He watched me the whole time and when I was done he shook my hand and said "you're like a car wizard or something." Has anyone else had customers act like basic diagnostics are some kind of magic?

3 comments

jenny_lane12•24d ago

Debate: dropping $800 on a used scan tool vs. borrowing one from a buddy

I spent $800 on a used Autel last year and it's saved my butt on three jobs already, but my coworker says he's fine just borrowing his neighbor's reader for free. Has anyone else here ponied up for their own tool and regretted it or felt it was worth every penny?

3 comments

charlies37•26d ago

Twenty years of turning bolts, and I just learned I was doing oil filters wrong

I've been changing oil on my own cars since I was 16, plus all the customer cars at the shop where I used to work. It wasn't until last month that a younger mechanic pointed out I was tightening the filter by hand until it stopped, then giving it another quarter turn. Turns out that extra turn was overtightening it, causing a slow leak on a 2012 Honda Civic I did last week. He showed me the spec in the manual says just hand tight until the gasket contacts, then no extra turn. I had to ask around and three other old-timers admitted they did the same thing for years. Has anyone else had a simple habit they never questioned until someone corrected them?

3 comments

iris_schmidt•26d ago

PSA: The day I found 3 seized calipers on one car

Last Tuesday I had a 2012 Escape come in for a brake noise, and I ended up finding all four calipers locked up solid. The pads were welded to the rotors on the rear, took me an extra 2 hours just to get them off. Anybody else seeing a spike in rusty caliper issues with older Fords?

3 comments

robert_ross95•26d ago

Worst Monday in 10 years - snapped a timing chain on a 5.4 Triton

Last Monday I was replacing a water pump on a 2010 F-150 and the customer insisted I also check his timing chain rattle. I told him it was a HUGE job but he said go ahead. 3 hours in I snapped the timing chain tensioner bolt and the whole thing came apart. Had to tell the guy his engine was toast. He tried to blame me but my shop foreman backed me up. Anyone else had a job that just went completely sideways like that?

3 comments

the_claire•28d ago

That 2012 F-150 came back 3 years later with the same evap code I fixed

Had a guy roll in last month with a P0456 code on the same truck I replaced the purge valve on back in 2019. Turns out the new part had a hairline crack in the plastic housing from day one, just took three years to show up. Anyone else run into new parts failing slow like that?

3 comments

henryt18•28d ago

Had a day last week where every single job went wrong

I do mostly brake jobs and oil changes at a shop in Phoenix, and last Thursday I had three cars in a row with seized caliper bolts. Took me almost 7 hours to finish what should have been a 4 hour morning. Has anyone else had a day where the universe just seemed against you on the simplest stuff?

3 comments

wilson.olivia•28d ago

Just lost $200 on a transmission flush that caused more problems

Took my 2010 Honda Accord to a chain shop for a transmission flush at 120k miles. Three days later the tranny started slipping between 2nd and 3rd gear. Found out later those flushes can dislodge built-up sludge and wreck old seals if the fluid wasn't changed regularly. Shop won't refund me or fix it. Anyone else had a flush backfire on an older car?

3 comments

logan_wood•1mo ago

That guy at the shop swore by using brake cleaner on O2 sensors, what a mess

Old timer at my shop in Austin told me to spray brake cleaner directly on an O2 sensor to clean it. Said he'd done it for years. I tried it on a 2015 F-150 last Tuesday and the sensor went dead within 10 minutes. Cost the customer $120 for a new one plus my labor to redo it. Anyone else had bad advice like this ruin a job?

3 comments

avery_flores•1mo ago

Worst day in the shop since I started at Mavis in Rochester

Last Tuesday I had a 2014 Ford Escape come in for a simple oil change and ended up fighting a stripped drain plug for 45 minutes. The kid before me must have used an impact on it, threads were totally gone. Then right after that a lady comes in screaming her brakes were grinding since Buffalo and I find the caliper pins welded shut with rust. Three jobs turned into an 8 hour nightmare. Anyone else have weeks where the universe just decides to test your patience?

3 comments