Misfires are probably one of the more common engine problems. They can be caused by a variety of problems, often something to do with the spark plug. Usually an engine can run okay with a minor misfire, but if it’s bad enough, it can actually lead to catalytic converter failure, which is an expensive repair. Usually the check engine light will flash if there’s a misfire this bad.
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-Dan
Several years ago, I bought a ball joint separator tool from Harbor Freight. It was the best $20 I’ve ever spent there. I don’t use it that frequently, but it works great. It’s finally failed on me, but not so badly that I can’t keep using it.
A customer had their Honda Civic towed into the shop with a bit of a problem. They said that they had run over a deer carcass and now their gas tank was falling out. The car wouldn’t run, so it got pushed into the shop and put up on a lift.
New blog posts every Monday and Thursday, plus pictures throughout the week on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
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-Dan
A Honda CR-V was in the shop, and one of the customer’s complaints was that the two rear speakers didn’t work, and the left front had a lot of static and distortion. After confirming that the speakers weren’t working, the next thing to do was check the speakers themselves. I took off the door panels and when I went to disconnect the speakers, I found the problem.
Today is a throwback to a post from 2 years ago, in January 2018.
Sometimes I wonder if people compete to bring in the worst condition car to get recalls done. This one was impressive.
Timing belts need to be replaced at regular intervals to prevent them from wearing out and failing. At my Honda dealership, we recommend replacing them at 100,000 miles. We also replace the water pump, and often replace the tensioner. Over time, the belt tensioner could start to fail, and if the belt is allowed to go too slack, it can jump timing and damage the engine.
New blog posts every Monday and Thursday, plus pictures throughout the week on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Watch Mechanical Malarkey on YouTube!
Mechanical Malarkey T-shirts, hats, and stickers are available to order!
-Dan
A Honda Odyssey came in to the shop for diagnosis of the “check parking sensor system” message displayed in gauge cluster. It was given to me to figure out, and my first thought was maybe one of the sensors in the bumper had gone bad, or maybe something to do with the wiring, but it was actually much simpler.
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