The owner used a 'universal' green coolant instead of the Dex-Cool it called for, and the mixing caused a sludge that clogged the heater core and cost him over $800 to fix, so has anyone else seen this happen faster than expected with the wrong mix?
I was helping a friend on the side of Route 9 near Albany, just a simple flat. It was pouring, and my cheap plastic flashlight died. I had to use my phone light while kneeling in a puddle. One guy at our shop says we should always carry a proper waterproof light and knee pads for these calls, even if it seems extra. Another thinks it's overkill for a simple tire change. What's your minimum kit for a wet weather roadside assist?
He said 'try it before you round it off' and it worked on a 2008 Silverado. Anyone got a better method for seized valves?
I was rushing a head gasket job on a 2007 Civic and thought I could just go by feel. He warned me last year, but I didn't listen and ended up with a warped head after about 500 miles. Do you think this rule applies to all aluminum engine work, or was I just unlucky?
I was doing a heater core on a 2018 F-150 last week, which means pulling the whole dash. With my old manual ratchet, that job took me about 3 hours just to get the dash out. This time, I used my new M12 ratchet on the low torque setting, and I had the whole thing on the bench in under 90 minutes. The tight spots behind the steering column were way easier. Anyone else have a go-to tool for dash pulls that saves you a ton of time?
He said 'you'll warp a rotor if you just zip them on' and I finally saw it happen on a customer's Ford last week when their brakes shook. How many of you actually torque wheels to spec every time?
They lead me on wild goose chases. It's frustrating when the fix is something simple.
I mean, idk maybe it's just me but their quick fixes never hold up. Saw three cars back in a week with the same coolant leak.
Tbh, I heard that using the wrong antifreeze can gel up and block the whole cooling system if it gets too chilly.
I just picked this up from a guy at the junkyard! It's way faster than hooking up a scanner for simple checks.
Everyone in the shop laughs when I say I start with a multimeter instead of the scanner for weird electrical stuff. Had this minivan last week with lights flickering and no codes showing up on the scan tool. I spent an hour just following the harness from the alternator back, kind of a tangent but it made me think about how messy factory routing can be. Turned out there was a pinched wire behind the engine mount that was barely making contact. Fixed it with some tape and a new connector, cost the customer almost nothing. So yeah, I get that scanners are cool, but they won't catch everything. Sometimes you gotta just get your hands dirty and trace it the old way.
Every time I pull into my own driveway, the guy across the street waves me over to listen to some new sound his truck is making. I'm not running a free consultation service out of my garage, and a quick listen doesn't replace putting it on a lift. When did it become okay to treat a mechanic's knowledge like a party trick for anyone with a car problem?
I fought against tech for a long time, thinking it made mechanics lazy. Seeing how FAST it finds issues changed my whole view.
Cleaning the ground connection fixed the flickering light.
A customer's older sedan came in with a cracked manifold, and every bolt was rusted tight. I used heat and penetrating oil for hours on Saturday just to loosen a few. By Sunday night, I was still extracting the last one with a drill. Why do people think complex fixes can be done in a snap when rust and age don't care about your schedule?