I prepped it right, clay bar and all, but the coating left hazy streaks that wouldn't buff out. Did I mess up the prep or is old Honda paint just too far gone for ceramic to bond right?
Spent two hours diagnosing a no-start on a 2012 F-150 because that $30 gauge said I had 55 psi at the rail. Borrowed a Snap-On from the next bay and got 65 psi right on the money - how many of you guys have been burned by budget diagnostic tools?
He told me to stop using 5W-30 in my 2005 F-250 and switch to 15W-40, and after running it for 6 months I finally see why he was right, has anyone else had an old timer give you advice that actually worked better than what the manual says?
Was doing a timing chain replacement on a 2014 F-150 last week and the shop foreman walked over. Watched me torque the drain plug on the new oil pan and just goes 'you know those are supposed to be wet torque specs right?' I had been doing it dry this whole time. Never even thought about it, just grabbed my torque wrench and went. No wonder I had two pans crack on me back in 2019. Anyone else learn basic stuff way later than they should have?
Had a 2005 Ford F-150 come in with a weird misfire and my trusty MODIS just bricked on me mid-diagnosis. Battery was fully charged but the screen went black and started smoking a little. Anybody found a solid replacement that won't break the bank but still reads live data right?
I was always grabbing my full size 1/2 impact wrench for everything, including brake calipers. Last week I had a stuck bolt on a 2012 Ford Focus and just grabbed my stubby out of frustration. It actually zipped that bolt right off with no issue and I didn't have to contort my arm behind the wheel well. Has anyone else found they reach for the smaller tools way more than they expected after trying them once?
I used to just grab my regular drill for taking off caliper brackets, but after stripping two bolts on a 2015 Ford Focus last month I finally tried my Milwaukee impact driver. The difference was NIGHT and day honestly, it zipped those bolts off like butter in under 30 seconds each. My regular drill would chatter and struggle, especially on rusty hardware from up here in Michigan winters. Has anyone else found that impacts just make brake jobs way less frustrating, or do you guys stick with hand tools for control?
I was about 150 miles from home on I-40 when I stopped for gas. Popped the hood to check things over like I always do, and BOOM, a transmission cooler line just burst. Hot fluid sprayed EVERYWHERE, all over my hands and the pavement. I had to crawl under there with a pair of pliers and a piece of hose I found in my truck bed to bypass the cooler just to limp it home. Has anyone else had a random highway failure ruin their whole day like that?
I was at a shop outside Denver last month chasing a brake pull on a F-250. The customer said it only acted up after highway driving. Instead of pulling everything apart, I grabbed my laser thermometer and checked each drum after a test drive. Found the left rear was 80 degrees hotter than the right side, so I knew the adjuster was seized. Has anyone else found a quick temp check to catch problems before you dig in?
Three weeks ago at the old shop off 7th street, the fumes from that brake cleaner pooled low and caught a spark from a grinder across the aisle, and now I only use water-based degreasers on any transmission job - has anyone else had a close call with flammable solvents during a cooler flush?
I was bleeding brakes on a 2015 Civic last weekend and got a few drops of fluid on the fender. I wiped it off right away but next morning the paint was bubbled and peeled down to bare metal. Turns out brake fluid eats through clear coat faster than you'd think even if you wipe it fast. Now I always throw an old blanket over any painted surface near the master cylinder. Anybody else had paint damage from a simple brake job?
I was at Pull-A-Part in Phoenix last weekend and saw a guy pulling a complete EJ25 from a 2005 Outback with 180k miles on it. He swore rebuilding his original would cost more in machine shop time than just grabbing a used one and slapping it in. So what do you all think, is a fresh rebuild worth the extra money and downtime or are junkyard swaps the smarter play for daily drivers?
Was working on a 2012 Ford Focus last weekend. Rear caliper piston was seized solid. Tried the usual C clamp and screwdriver method, nothing. Kept tearing the rubber boot. Then I remembered a tip from an old coworker. Took a small flathead screwdriver and gently pried the outer edge of the boot lip just enough to let compressed air in. Hooked my blow gun to the bleeder valve with a rubber hose adapter. Popped right out with no boot damage. Anyone else got a clever way to free up stuck pistons without trashing the seals?
Used my impact gun on a set of aftermarket aluminum wheels last month and the lugs seized so bad I had to torch two of them off, so now I just hand-torque everything on aluminum and haven't had a single issue since.
Last Friday this guy in an old F-150 comes in with a rough idle. I quoted him 4 hours diag time at $110 an hour. He just nodded and said 'that's less than my shrink charges in 45 minutes.' Stuck with me. I've been undercharging for years out of fear people would balk. Any other mechanics out there dealing with imposter syndrome on rates?
Back in the late 90s at a shop in Cleveland, I spent a good 15 minutes on every tune-up fiddling with a timing light and vacuum gauge to get that sweet spot. Now I just plug in a scan tool and it tells me exactly where to set it. The change really hit around 2010 when domestic cars started moving to coil-on-plug systems. I miss the feel of getting it right by the engine sound, but I save about 10 minutes per job now. Has anyone else switched over to full digital diag for older cars too?
I started turning rotors in the 90s at a shop on Miller Road in Flint. Now it seems like nobody even owns a lathe anymore, they just slap new rotors on and send the old ones to scrap. I get that time is money, but I still think a properly cut rotor stops better and lasts longer than most of the cheap castings you get these days. Am I the only one who misses the old way, or have things really improved that much?
Been fighting this issue for about 6 months on SUVs and trucks at my shop in Portland. Turns out I was using too high of a torque setting with a 6-point socket instead of letting the gun's friction ring do the work. Anybody else run into this after switching from a regular ratchet?
I was sure it was the water pump. Had the telltale drip near the timing cover. Replaced it, refilled, still leaked. Turned out to be a hairline crack in the plastic end tank of the radiator that only showed up when the system was hot and under pressure. Wasted a whole Saturday afternoon because I didn't pressure test it first. Anybody else skip basic diagnostics and pay the price?
Was at a shop last week and heard a guy bragging about his $4,000 Snap-on scanner like it was a magic wand. Don't get me wrong, they're nice, but I still use my old Autel MaxiCOM from 2019 for 90% of diag work and it gets the job done. The expensive ones just add bells and whistles that most of us never touch on a daily basis. Anyone else feel like you can get by just fine with a midrange tool and good old fashioned troubleshooting?
An old mechanic at a shop in Salt Lake City saw me clicking my torque wrench past the setting and told me to always reset it to zero after use. I never thought about it before, but apparently leaving it under tension messes up the calibration over time. Anyone else had a torque wrench go bad from this?
He said he sees more engines fail from over-tightened air filter housings than from dirty filters. Said people crank em down and crack the plastic, letting grit in. Anybody else been guilty of this?
Bought the $20 pads from AutoZone last month. They wore down in 3 weeks and gouged my front rotors bad. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way?