Ask a Mechanic.

I figure some people out there have questions. That and I've never seen anybody else that works on cars here on the forums, so I will try it out.

Feel like you're getting ripped off when you go take your car in to the shop? Want to know if that part will fit up? Is your car broken?

Ask away. If I don't know, I'll try and find the answer for you.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

It's really different in different areas. On the East coast, I hear it's all unionized, and such. But most mechanics are payed on flat rate, which is basically a commision on labor hours performed.

Average flat rate is around 22 dollars an hour.
I make 18. I flag around 30 hours a week. I'm still at a rough start, however.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

http://www.integritychrysler.com/Service-Staff.aspx

That's me, behind Santa Claus.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by *AkirA*

So what do you do there?

Oh, and does it fuck your car up if you put premium in it instead of regular unleaded like the book that comes with it suggests?

Anything I'm capable of, really.

Putting in the wrong grade fuel won't necessarily harm anything. Depends on what you're driving, I guess. Some cars ignition and fuel systems are designed for lower or higher grade fuels, so you might see an impact on fuel mileage or engine performance. It also might help determine how well your car runs when you start hitting the high six digit mileage on your odometer.

Originally Posted by Relic

So, are new German cars, especially Volkswagens, as shitty as my dad (who works on everything from boring Mitsubishis to twin-turbo 911s) says they are?

And have you ever thrown a bolt in the door panel of a particularly annoying customer?

Only German cars I work on are Crossfires and Sprinters. I personally think they're pretty shitty. Sure, they're nice when they're new, but people don't drive as much over there, so cars just don't last as long, imo.

Not on purpose.

Originally Posted by Alice

Do you guys take one look at a woman who comes into a mechanic shop alone, determine by the way she looks whether or not she'll be easily scammed, and try to get her to replace shit that doesn't need to be replaced? Because it seems like you do.

Not really. We have service advisors who deal with the customers, so I generally don't deal with them. I suppose they might do it sometimes, but where I work, we don't sell you unnecessary repairs (unless it was a bad diagnosis). They might try to oversell you on flushes and fluid exchanges and other services and shit. Generally, though, it's got nothing to do with whether or not your a woman.

But it might be different at other places, particularly independent shops.

As far as taking a part to somebody to have them inspect it AFTER it's been taken off the car, that isn't always going to tell you. Say...you have a slow leak from a water pump. In order to test it, you have to have it fitted up to the car and then pressurize the cooling system. Replacing the part takes several hours, so this isn't that great of an idea. When they try and sell you a service, and you're oh so skeptical, ask them (the manager) to show you on the car where the problem is.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

How dirty are your hands by the time you leave the workplace?
What is your speciality in reparations? Do you even have any?
What is your favorite thing to fix on a car?
Whats the hardest?
Whats the easiest?

Depends on how often I put on/changed my gloves. Also depends on in I did interior or underhood work. Usually nothing I can't get off with some hard scrubbing at the end of the day.

No specialty, really. =\ I am ASE certified in Steering and Suspension, Brakes, and Air Conditioning and Heating, however. Though that doesn't really MEAN anything except that I can take a test.

Umm...favorite repair? I'd say brake jobs. Brake jobs are $$$.

Hardest? Fuck, the power steering pumps on some of these care are bullshit to get to.

Easiest? Depends on the car, really.

Quote:

I drive a 98' Dodge Dakota, 5 Speed Manual. 3/4 of the time I let the clutch out to go into first gear, it kicks it out of first, and I have to put the clutch in, and obviously try to re-engage. This is horrible at stoplights/stop signs when people are behind you.

My car does that in reverse. Just make sure it's in gear all the way. Transmission may be worn out, too, depending on how badly it's been driven. How many people did you teach to drive in that thing? =p

Originally Posted by Legato

One of the things I was told never to do is say you have a problem and then specify which part you think is messed up. They will replace that part, charge you for it, send you on your way, and most likely you'll be back in a week :|

When you take your car in, they will do one of two things. "Customer request" in which case, they will only do what you asked them to, maybe try to sell you some other repairs or services. That or they will diagnose it for you, then try and sell you the actual repair. If they misdiagnose, sell you the repair, and it doesn't fix it, then you have the right to take it back and have them fix it for free...or perhaps a refund.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Murdercrow

I drive a '95 Honda Civic EX with about 130-140k miles on it. I've got a few questions:

About what MPG should it get? I've been getting ~25 MPG, and I think that I might need to replace the spark plugs/air filter (I tried to take them out to observe them, but the air filter's casing was more or less stuck on because of rusted/broken bolts and the spark plugs wouldn't come out without a LOT more elbow grease than I was comfortable applying).

My question is this: Are my brakes going bad, or is it just moisture?

Depends how well you've maintained it? Does it drive fine, or drive like a hunk of shit?

From a 1.6 liter, I'd expect at least 30 mpg, myself. Also depends on what kind of driving you do. Delivering pizzas is more city traffic, I'd assume. But still. The engine could just be wearing out as it ages.

Have you been servicing it regularly? Changed all the fluids within the last couple of years? Tune up? Hondas also are one of the few cars where you still have to adjust valve timing. If you haven't had that done in the last couple of years, then you need to do a tune-up. Spark plugs, wires, distrubutor, dis. cap, and valve adjustment. Maybe an air filter too? Is your alignment good? Are your tires inflated to spec and have good tread? Are you using cheap fuel or what? There's lots of things that could affect it.

As far as your brakes, if your car stops fine without any grinding sound, which would be very apparent, then it's just brake noise. Caused by vibrations between the materials as they've worn. If it's when cornering, and only a momentary squeak, then the rear drum brakes may need to be lubed and re-adjusted.

Quote:

I keep telling him that he's going to get more money by just selling it for part but he wants to fix it up. SHould he fix it or sell it for parts?

Here's the deal. Civics are dirt cheap. A wrecked Civic ain't worth shit. He won't have the time or motivation to sell individual parts off the car. A junkyard won't give you much more than a couple of hundred for it. You'd be lucky to get a buyer to pay any more than the same amount for it.

A simple answer to your question, though: If he even attempts to get a quality repair with quality parts and body work, then he'll probably be paying more than the car is worth.

Double Post:

Originally Posted by Echo

Quick question for ya Zeph:

My car's been having problems with the brakes.

Car off, pump up the brake pedal. It should get real firm and rock hard. Now press it down and hold it there. It shouldn't budge. Does it sink to the floor? If it does, you need to take it to a shop and point that out to them.
As far as chugging, that won't be your brakes. That's an engine concern, most likely. Sounds like the fuel is being cut off.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Murdercrow

As for fuel, I use 87 rated fuel, from ARCO. I'll also keep in mind what you said about the brakes.

I suggest Chevron, Texaco, or Shell.

Originally Posted by riceonfriday

I remember reading somewhere about degreasing my engine. Do you recommend this (my car is a fairly new, 2005 Accord LX) and if so, how/when should I go about this?

Yeah, it helps to keep your car clean, and buildup from eating away at it. Also, if your car is dirty, then it is hard to tell when some parts are going bad, leaking, or out of place.

Go to a local self-serve car wash. They will probably have a selector to pump out some degreaser from their spray guns. If not, just buy a bottle and soak your engine in it.
Thing is, make sure your engine is running when you spray it. If it's hot and you blast it with cold water...that's not good, eh?

If you're really serious, and want to get most of the underside as well, there are certain drive-through carwashes that accomodate that.

When? Anytime you wash your car, I guess. That itself should be done somewhat regularly, just like routine maintenance.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Furby

Couldn't it also be a problem with the line to the brake cylinder? I mean, it could be that brake fluids line not providing enough, couldn't it?

Sounds a bit farfetched. I haven't ever heard of chugging being caused by sticking brakes. Either they stick, or they don't. They won't make the car jump.

Quote:

Do you happen to know what the general problem with Dodge Caravans are between the years 1996 and 1999? This also includes the Plymouth version of the Dodge Caravan.

Well, they generally always have leaky transmissions. Also, the power steering reservoirs commonly get clogged. Other than that, I can't think of anything off-hand that is outside of normal part failure.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by FLEX

I was outside replacing the spark plugs in my Volvo 760 when I ended up stripping out the threads in the spark plug hole. Is there any way I can rethread it myself without having to send it to the shop?

Haha. You just got fucking OWNED. If you're lucky, no metal fell into the cylinders, which most likely didn't happen. Anyhow, you may be able to rethread it depending on how bad you fucked it up. But you don't want any metal falling into the cylinders. That'll make your day that much worse. Best bet is to remove the cylinder head and rethread it off of the engine. There may be a better alternative, but I've never encountered the event.

Good luck, buddy.

Quote:

I just got a 2001 Automatic Hyundai Accent GL used 2 months ago that has about 67K miles. While city driving it drives fine but a few weeks after I got it I noticed it starts acting up when I drive at about or over 70 mph on the freeway. It starts jerking when decelerating. And then when I get off the freeway to a red light, the car revs up higher than normal (like ~1.5 RPM). While at the red light I'll put it into Park to see what the hell is goin on and it'll start revving to like 3 RPM. When I start city driving after the freeway it'll sometimes continue acting strange (once it started to rev really high before it would switch gears) and sometimes it'll start acting ok again. By the time I turn the car off and come back a few hours later it'll be fine again. Any idea what this car is doing? It's like Herby revving on it's own. Thanks in advance.

We have a computer flash for some of our cars, where they would run rough or unpredictably after prolonged freeway driving.
I'm not a drivability technician, normally, so knowing anything off the top of my head isn't going to happen. I'd like to hook up a scanner to it and look at what the computer and sensors are seeing.

Perhaps the timing belt is worn and loose, which will put the camshaft and crankshaft out of sync, and confuse the computer, which will try to compensate for itself by overrevving the engine. That's a pricey service though, so you'd want somebody to look at it to make sure there isn't any other problems first.

Quote:

It's about time for me to do a timing belt/water pump change (103k miles. car sat for 3 years in San Diego...runs great though). The local Honda dealership does the timing belt, walter pump, all drive belts, changes fluids and a tuneup for $617. Does this sound about right? If not, you wanna come down and help me with a timing belt/water pump? haha

That sounds like a pretty good fucking deal. Make sure they adjust those fucking valves, though. I sure as hell know I wouldn't do that job for that cheap. And for anybody else, most engines that have timing BELTS also run the water pump off of those belts. The pump may not be leaking or need to be changed, but since you've already disassembled everything to get to it, it's usually a good idea to just pay for the extra parts and not have to worry about it in the future.

Quote:

a Nissan Titan or some kind of pickup

and recommendations?

I hear that they have some brake and chassis issues, since Nissan is fairly new at the full size truck thing. I'd personally go with a Toyota, if you want a foreign truck. And if you're looking for a bigger American truck...just don't buy a Chevy, please.

How ya doing, buddy?