Junkyard Engines

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Dan

When there’s a big problem with an engine so it needs to be replaced, usually the cheapest fix is to get an engine from a junkyard. However, you should always try to buy from a place that gives a warranty on the engine, because sometimes the engines they pull are not good.

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Double-Nutted Tie Rod

Posted on December 8, 2016 by Dan

Most suspension parts are held together by nut and bolt combinations, but there are a few that are just a nut on a stud, usually ball joints and outer tie rod ends. To make sure the nut can’t come loose, the stud has a hole through it for a cotter pin to go through. Some nuts also have a slot in them to make sure they can’t move at all.

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DIY Sway bar Link Repair

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Dan

Most cars have a sway bay in the front and rear. It ties the two sides of the suspension together to help control body roll during cornering. The sway bar is connected to the rest of the suspension by a link at each end with ball joints in them. The links are a part that fails more frequently than other suspension parts, but they’re not that expensive, so it’s not too big a deal.

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Blown-Out Spark Plug

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Dan

A Honda Element got hauled in on a tow truck one night. Big misfire, running horribly when we drove it into the shop. As I plugged in a scanner to read the codes, another tech started pulling the spark plugs, and before I even got the code for misfire in cylinder 2 he already found it.

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Good Engineering…For Once

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Dan

Talk to any mechanic and they can tell you about times it was hard to do a repair because the people who designed the car didn’t make it easy to get to a bolt or part. I’ve made a few posts about it myself.

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Thanksgiving 2016

Posted on November 24, 2016 by Dan

Last year I took a break from the usual post to mark Thanksgiving here in the US with a few things I’m thankful for. Instead of repeating everything from last year’s post, here’s a few to add on.

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Gravely Overloaded

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Dan

A Honda CR-V came in for some maintenance, and the rear end was sitting unusually low. Of course, we have to open up the back to see what’s loading it down so much.

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Wiring Harness Replacements

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Dan

For a non-mechanic, something like an engine replacement sounds like a big job. Usually those actually aren’t a bad time. What mechanics really dread are jobs that dig deep into other areas of the car.

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VTEC Stickers Do Not A Racecar Make

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Dan

It’s always kind of puzzling when you see a car that has stickers or emblems added on saying things like “turbo” or some other word that means it’s fast and fancy.  If they’re trying to impress people who know about cars, those are the exact people who will know that the sticker is a lie.

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Leaking Sunroof

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Dan

A customer came in with a wet rear seat. The immediate suspect was the sunroof. It’s not easily possible for a sunroof to be 100% watertight when it has to be able to tilt and slide, so there are drains that run from the four corners down into the wheel wells. After I couldn’t get it to leak myself, I lowered the rear part of the headliner enough to check that the rear drain tubes were connected and not clogged, and they were fine, so that meant looking deeper into things.

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