c/auto-mechanics

29

rowan849•1d ago

Hit 1,000 brake jobs last Tuesday and my hands still smell like grease

I was just counting up jobs in my shop's book and realized I crossed 1,000 brake jobs last week. That's a lot of calipers, rotors, and pads. I remember my first brake job on a 1998 Civic, took me three hours and I still messed up the bleeding. Now I can do a full set on a F-150 in under 45 minutes. The funny part is I still grab the wrong size socket sometimes and have to walk back across the shop. Has anyone else hit a weird number like that and felt old all of a sudden?

17

dakota479•2d ago

Unpopular opinion: 100k mile tune-ups are a scam on modern cars

I hit 100,000 miles on my 2015 F-150 last week and the dealer wanted $1,200 for their "major tune-up package." Spark plugs, belt, fluid flushes, the whole deal. I told them no and just did the oil and checked the belts myself. Everything looked fine. My buddy says he follows the book no matter what. Another mechanic at the shop says most of that stuff is outdated for modern engines. Who's right? Do you actually do full tune-ups at 100k or just fix what breaks?

10

cora562•3d ago

Unpopular take on that fuel system cleaner everyone swears by

Tried a bottle of Techron in my 2012 F-150 last week and it actually made my rough idle worse, not better. Am I the only one who thinks these additives do more harm than good on higher mileage engines?

8

cora562•4d ago

Hit 50 engine swaps this morning without keeping count and it snuck up on me

Pulled a tired 4.6 out of an old F-150 for a customer in Wichita and after I got the new one bolted in, I realized that was my 50th swap which just felt weird since I never thought I'd do that many when I started.

14

cameron318•20d ago

Found a weird trick for stuck brake caliper pins

Had a 2012 Ford F-150 in the shop last month where both rear caliper pins were seized solid. Tried heat, PB Blaster, the whole deal and nothing budged. Ended up grabbing a cheap propane torch and heating the bracket right around the pin for about 90 seconds, then hit the pin with a cold wet rag. The quick temperature change broke them loose and I had both pins out in under 10 minutes. Anyone else tried that method or got a better way to deal with stuck pins?

31

elliot_allen65•22d ago

I went with a used Snap-On scan tool over a new Autel last month...

Everyone told me I was crazy for buying a 5-year-old Snap-On Modis Edge instead of a brand new Autel MaxiSys for the same $1500. But the Snap-On has never let me down on a single Ford or GM job at my shop in Tulsa, and I can still get updates for it. Has anyone else stuck with older Snap-On gear and found it works better than the new budget stuff?

12

hayes.elliot•23d ago

Had an alternator die on me in a strip mall parking lot last Tuesday

I was finishing up a grocery run at the Food Lion on Broad Street when my dash lights started flickering... then the radio cut out, then the engine just died. No warning, no weird noises beforehand. I popped the hood and checked the battery terminals first, but they were clean. Ended up having to get a jump start from a guy in a pickup, drove straight to my shop, and found the alternator was only putting out 11 volts. Has anyone else had one fail that suddenly with zero squealing or warning signs beforehand?

1

betty144•23d ago

Had a brake line blow out on me in a customer's driveway last Thursday

I was bleeding the rear brakes on a 2012 F-150 and the line just snapped near the ABS module. Rust had eaten through it in a spot I couldn't see with a quick glance. I learned to always check the hard lines over the axle on these trucks before doing any brake work. Has anyone else run into hidden rust spots on late models?

16

dylan_anderson•23d ago

Hit 200 brake jobs in 3 years and noticed an annoying pattern

Most of them were on Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas. The rear calipers always seize up if people skip the fluid flushes. Had a 2018 Civic come in last month with a completely frozen slide pin. Customer said they never changed the brake fluid. 60k miles and the caliper was toast. Anyone else see this mostly on certain makes?

24

kim.dylan•25d ago

Is it better to torque cylinder heads to spec cold or hot on a warm engine rebuild?

I always followed the manual and torqued cold on a Ford 302 last month, but then a senior tech told me he torques hot to account for expansion and I had to redo all my work after checking his way and finding 15 ft-lbs of difference - which camp are you in and what's your evidence?

3

rowangonzalez•26d ago

Spent 45 minutes chasing a no-start on a 2012 Focus yesterday because the previous guy put the crank sensor in backwards

The plug goes in one way only but the bracket lets you bolt it in flipped around so the sensor face points at nothing and your scope will look perfect because the wiring is fine, has anyone else seen this on the 2.0L engines?

24

victor_butler50•27d ago

Picked up a trick from a mobile mechanic in Phoenix last month

He showed me how to use a brake hose clamp to keep fluid from dripping when swapping calipers, saved me a huge mess on a 2012 F-150. Has anyone else used this on rusty lines without damaging them?

8

nelson.gavin•27d ago

Swapped my Snap-On scan tool for an Autel and honestly not sure I regret it

I had a Snap-On Modis Edge for about 5 years and finally traded it for an Autel MS906 Pro last month after a buddy kept raving about it. The Snap-On was solid but the software updates cost me around $800 a year. The Autel does more for less upfront and the bi-directional controls seem faster. Anyone else make a similar switch and stick with it or go back after a few months?

19

lily89•28d ago

Shoutout to the old diesel mechanic who showed me how to prime injectors with a spray bottle

I was stuck on a 6.0 Powerstroke in my shop in Tulsa, couldn't get it to fire after a fuel filter swap. This guy walked over, grabbed a $2 spray bottle full of diesel, and hit the inlet while I cranked it. Has anyone else had a random stranger save them hours with a simple trick like that?

0

thea_carter•1mo ago

Shoutout to the old guy at Jiffy Lube who saved me from ruining my transmission

I was dead set on doing a full transmission flush on my 2005 Honda Accord last weekend. Had the pump rented and everything. But this grizzled mechanic at the local shop saw me loading up and walked over. He pointed out that high mileage automatics can actually get damaged by a power flush because it dislodges crud that's holding things together. We talked for like 20 minutes about his 30 years of experience. So I just did a simple drain and fill instead. Cost me like 40 bucks and 2 hours of my day. Anyone else had an old timer talk them out of a bad idea?

4

scott.grace•1mo ago

That $400 scan tool that promised the world (and lied)

Picked up one of those mid-range Autel scanners last month, thinking it would be my golden ticket for diagnosing weird electrical gremlins. Cost me $380 and it couldn't even read the ABS module on a 2013 Ford Focus, kept saying "communication error." Had to borrow my buddy's $2000 Snap-on just to find a bad wheel speed sensor I could have spotted with a multimeter for way cheaper. Anyone else get burned by a scan tool that just didn't deliver on the specs?

21

faith12•1mo ago

Old timer swore by ATF and acetone as penetrating oil, I laughed. Then I tried it.

My neighbor, a guy who's been turning wrenches since the 70s, told me to mix automatic transmission fluid with acetone for rusted bolts. I figured he was full of it (you know, old guy stuff) and kept using my $12 spray can. Finally tried his mix on a seized exhaust manifold bolt on a 2002 F-150 last Saturday, and it broke loose in under 10 minutes. The bolt came out clean, no snapped studs. So now I'm torn: is this magic actually better than the store-bought stuff, or did I just get lucky? Anyone else actually test this side by side on something nasty?

15

avery_fox93•1mo ago

Customer told me I was ripping him off, then watched me fix his alternator for an hour

Guy pulls up Saturday morning, says his battery light came on. I test it, tell him alternator is shot, quote him $380 for a reman unit plus labor. He goes off, says he can get a part for $150 at AutoZone and I'm just trying to make a fast buck. I told him fine, go get the part and I'll put it on for free. He comes back an hour later with a Duralast, I pop the hood and spend the next 45 minutes breaking loose a seized tensioner bolt, dealing with a stripped bracket, and bleeding from a knuckle scrape. He watched the whole thing. When I fired it up and the light went out he didn't say much, just handed me $40 and left. Has anyone else had a customer totally change their tune after seeing how the work actually goes?

26

rowanj21•1mo ago

Hit 100,000 miles on my personal truck and the odometer stopped working that same day

I've been working on cars for about 8 years now, and I always joke that hitting 100,000 miles is like a car's midlife crisis. Well last Wednesday I was driving my old F-150 to a job and saw the odometer tick right over to 100,000. I literally did a little cheer in the cab. Then like 10 minutes later I look down and the odometer is just blank. Not blinking, not stuck, just dead. I pulled over and tapped the dash and nothing. I had to use my phone's GPS to figure out how many miles I drove home. It's like the truck knew it hit that milestone and decided it was done counting. Has anyone else had a weird coincidence like this right at a big number?

18

the_mia•1mo ago

Just logged my 5,000th flat tire repair on the shop computer

It's a weird milestone that snuck up on me. I've been at this shop in Tacoma for eight years, and the system counts every patch and plug. That's a lot of nails, screws, and mystery punctures. Anyone else have a random shop stat that just makes you shake your head?

13

the_willow•1mo ago

A customer told me my torque wrench clicks were too quiet to hear over shop noise, so I started using a paint marker on the dial.

This guy came in for a timing belt job on his Civic. When I was done, he asked to see the wrench I used. He pointed at it and said, 'With the air compressor and radio going, I couldn't hear that click from over there. You sure you felt it?' I was, but it got me thinking. Now I put a tiny dot of bright orange paint at the setting on the dial. I watch for it to line up as I pull. It's a visual backup. Anyone else have a simple trick for dealing with a loud shop?

18

sethp26•1mo ago

I mean, I used to think those cheap universal O2 sensor sockets were fine, but after fighting one for 45 minutes on a Ford Escape, I just bought the specific $32 Lisle tool.

The universal one kept slipping and rounding the sensor's hex. The Lisle one has the exact cutout for the wiring harness and a proper swivel. It took maybe two minutes. Why do I always learn this the hard way? What's your 'just buy the right tool' moment that saved your sanity?

22

sandra_black•1mo ago

Just realized I was overcomplicating brake jobs after a shop in Dallas showed me their trick

They had me watch them do a full brake service on a Ford F-150 in under an hour using just a basic pry bar and a C-clamp. I was using three different specialty tools and taking twice as long. Who else has a simple trick that saved them a ton of time?

19

fiona_webb•1mo ago

Appreciation post: I was wrong about using a torque stick for lug nuts on my personal truck

My buddy in Phoenix convinced me to just use a torque wrench, and after checking, I found the stick had been under-torquing them by about 15 foot-pounds for months. Anyone else have a go-to method they swear by for this?

4

beth_sanchez47•1mo ago

My old impact wrench gave up the ghost in the middle of a big brake job

So I was working on a 2012 F-150 yesterday, doing a full brake rotor and pad swap on all four corners (you know, the fun stuff). I was about halfway through, had the front passenger side caliper bracket bolts off, and went to zip off the rear ones. My trusty Milwaukee 2767, the one I've had for like five years, just made this sad little clicking noise and quit. No smoke, no smell, just dead. I had to finish the job with a breaker bar and a lot of elbow grease, which added a solid hour to the whole thing. I'm pretty sure the motor brushes finally wore out, but I haven't cracked it open yet to confirm. Has anyone had luck rebuilding these, or is it just better to bite the bullet and get a new one at this point? I'm kind of attached to this old workhorse.