I like doing things right. That means that I want to use tools the right way. I don’t like using cheater bars on wrenches, though once in a while I will if there’s no other way to get enough torque. There’s also that trick with linking two combination wrenches. I don’t like that, and one of my teachers did that and it put little dents in my wrenches.
One day my dad’s 2001 Honda Civic wouldn’t start. Turn the key, dash lights up, engine doesn’t turn over. Now as a beginning mechanic my diagnosis skills aren’t too great, and I’d had a couple minor failures, but I’ll always try.
My sister’s 2003 Subaru Forester had developed an extreme vibration when braking. I’d never felt worse, the entire car would shake. I took it to work on my day off to change the front brakes, and when taking the old rotors off, something unusual happened.
The rotor did not stand up to my force. Usually rotors are rusted to the hub, which means hitting them with a hammer, but instead of coming off when I hit it, this one just fell to pieces.
Let’s talk organization. I’m a pretty organized person when I take the time. I like to know where everything is.
Some people have toolboxes that look like this. I really have no idea how they can work. How can you find anything you need in less than five minutes? Continue reading
Saw this on my way home from work one day and had to snap a picture. If your tailgate hinges break, just go to the local hardware store! I’m guessing by the Snap-on and Mac Tools stickers on the window that he’s spent all his money on tools and not his truck.
-Dan
Something I check frequently when I start working on a car is the cabin air filter. As you might guess, it filters the air you breath inside the car, as part of the heating and air conditioning system. Sometimes the filter’s pretty clean, other times it’s dirty enough to replace. Then there are those that should’ve been replaced long ago.
Just a little dirty.
Usually when we tell the customer that the filter is dirty, they’ll replace it. Sometimes I emphasize the extreme dirtiness of the filter. Continue reading
Photo by Hannah Kathleen Photography
Hello everybody, my name is Dan. I’m a mechanic.
I graduated in April 2015 from Toyota’s T-TEN program at my local community college, and since May 2014 I’ve been working at a Toyota dealership. I started out in the express maintenance group, and when I finished school I was moved up to a nomad position, moving to whatever bay was open and filling in for people that were on vacation, or taking whatever extra work I could get. In August 2015 a vacancy opened up on a team and I got to move into a bay permanently, and after a while move to flat rate pay.
This is where I’m at now.
My bay, my box.
Mechanical Malarkey is where you’ll find posts and pictures from me about interesting things that I encounter while working on cars. I will be posting here at least once a week, on Thursdays, with possibility for more posts as interesting or unusual things happen at work. Be sure to subscribe if you don’t want to miss anything!
-Dan
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