c/auto-mechanics

Can we talk about torque wrenches for lug nuts?

I used to always go by feel after 15 years in shops, but after a wheel came loose on a customer's F-150 in Dallas last spring, I switched to clicking every single lug to spec. Who else thinks the old school method is overrated now?

3 comments

annas87•3d ago

Had a customer yell at me for 10 minutes about their "broken" transmission yesterday

I work at a shop in Portland and this guy comes in fuming, says his car won't shift right and it must be a full rebuild. I popped the hood and noticed his battery terminals were caked with corrosion. Cleaned them up, tested the battery, and sure enough it was at 10.2 volts. A weak battery can mess with the transmission control module on these newer cars and make it act like it's slipping. He was ready to drop $3,500 on a rebuild when all it needed was a $20 battery terminal cleaning and a $130 battery. Has anyone else dealt with customers jumping to the worst possible conclusion before checking the simple stuff first?

2 comments

nancy475•18d ago

Swapped out a standard impact socket for a deep well on a rusty suspension bolt yesterday in the shop and it made a 10 minute job take 2 minutes instead.

The extra length gave me way better access without needing a swivel adapter and the bolt came out clean, has anyone else noticed a big difference with deep well sockets on stuck hardware?

2 comments

the_fiona•20d ago

Discovered a trick for stuck oil filters that saved me hours last week

Had a 2015 Honda Civic come into my shop last Wednesday with an oil filter that was seized on tight. I tried all the usual wrenches and straps but nothing would budge it. Finally remembered an old trick from a guy I worked with 3 years ago: drive a long screwdriver straight through the filter body and use it as a lever. Came right off in about 30 seconds. Has anyone else found a weird hack that works better than the proper tools?

2 comments

terry_jones•23d ago

Spent 4 hours chasing a misfire on a 2014 Ford Focus, turned out to be a bad ground strap I overlooked three times.

Has anyone else spent way too long on a simple issue like that, or am I the only one who skips checking grounds first?

2 comments

chen.casey•25d ago

Shoutout to the old timer who showed me how to bleed brakes without a vacuum pump

I used to spend 20 minutes wrestling with my old Mityvac trying to get air out of brake lines on a rusty 2002 F-150. Kept getting bubbles no matter what. Last month at a shop in Tucson this guy in his 60s sees me cussing, walks over and tells me to ditch the pump, just pump the pedal by hand and crack the bleeder with a buddy. Did it his way on a '95 Civic and got a solid pedal in 3 minutes flat. Why did nobody teach me this in school? Any of you guys still use the old school two person method over the fancy tools?

3 comments

caleb262•27d ago

Overheard a customer say 'any oil is fine' and had to bite my tongue

I was at a quick lube place in El Paso last Thursday picking up some filters, and this guy tells the counter kid he just uses whatever cheap 5W-30 is on sale because 'oil is oil, it all gets dirty anyway'. Took everything I had not to jump in and explain how wrong that is for modern engines, especially with turbo chargers that need proper viscosity and additives. I get that people don't wanna spend extra, but skimping on oil spec is a fast way to kill a motor. Anyone else run into folks who think oil brands are all the same?

2 comments

perry.evan•27d ago

I finally stopped fighting with a clutch job and tried a new trick

Stopped by a transmission shop in Portland last Tuesday while waiting for parts and watched a guy use a pilot tool I'd never seen, just a simple plastic alignment rod with a tapered end. Took him maybe 10 minutes to get the disc centered and the trans stabbed in. I've been doing it with a screwdriver and a prayer for 6 years, this thing cost like 15 bucks. Anyone else found a random tool that saved you hours on a job you hate?

2 comments

william_henderson•28d ago

Rant: Thought lifetime alignment plans were a scam, now I'm not so sure

I was dead set against those lifetime alignment deals for years, figured they just hook you with the low price then find ways to back out. Then a customer came in last month with a 2015 F-150 that had the sheet from a chain store showing 14 alignments over 9 years for the one flat fee... has anyone else seen these actually pay off for the customer long term?

3 comments

adams.spencer•1mo ago

Talking to a diesel tech about engine braking changed my whole view

Old guy at the parts counter last Tuesday was ranting about jake brakes in pickups. Said most guys don't realize you're just wearing out your valve train for no gain under 45 mph. He showed me his own truck had 380k miles on original valves because he only used it downhill loaded. Honestly never thought about it that deep. Been paying way more attention to my braking habits since then. Anyone else get a random tip from a grizzled tech that stuck with you?

3 comments

willow114•1mo ago

That cheap vacuum bleeder almost cost me a brake job on a 2017 F-150

I picked up one of those cheap handheld vacuum bleeders from the parts store for $25. Figured it would save time doing a brake flush on my buddy's truck. Got all the way to the rear passenger side and the thing started sucking air from the handle seal. Ended up with a spongy pedal and had to rebleed the whole system by hand. Took me an extra hour and a half of pumping and holding. The cheap tool actually introduced air into the lines instead of pulling it out. Has anyone else had a vacuum bleeder fail mid job like that or am I the only one who fell for the low price?

2 comments

averywilliams•1mo ago

Trying that fancy ultrasonic cleaner on an old carburetor

Picked up a cheap ultrasonic cleaner from Harbor Freight last month, threw a crusty 2-barrel Rochester from a '78 Chevy in there. Ran it for 3 cycles and it dissolved gunk I thought was permanent, but it also vibrated a tiny passage plug loose that I didn't even know was there. Has anyone else had hidden parts fall apart after a good cleaning?

3 comments

kaid59•1mo ago

Had to pick between a used Snap-On scanner and a new Autel, went with the Autel

The Snap-On was $800 on Craigslist but the guy couldn't tell me how many updates it had left. I got the Autel for $650 new and it already paid for itself diagnosing a dodgy ABS module on a 2018 Silverado last Tuesday. Anyone else trust mid-tier scanners over the premium stuff?

2 comments

morganhill•1mo ago

The day I tried a cordless ratchet on a timing belt job changed my mind on battery tools

I've been a die-hard air tools guy for years. Last month I had a 2010 Ford Fusion timing belt job in my bay at the station, and my compressor went down mid-morning. My buddy handed me his Milwaukee cordless ratchet and said just try it. I got the water pump bolts out and the belt routed in half the time I usually take with air. The access was way easier without the hose getting tangled on the engine mounts. But I still wonder if the battery life holds up on a full day of heavy work like pulling a transmission. Has anyone else switched over and regretted it on the long jobs?

3 comments

nancyw97•1mo ago

Just realized my torque wrench has been off by 10% for months

Tightened down caliper bolts on a customer's 2018 F-150 last Tuesday and the thing snapped at 95 ft-lbs instead of 110, so I checked my old Craftman and it was way out of spec - has anyone else had luck with the click-type vs beam-style for daily shop use?

3 comments

faith684•1mo ago

Vent: Customer told me his engine noise was just 'normal Chevy sounds'

Had a guy roll into my shop in Denver last Tuesday with a 2014 Silverado that sounded like a coffee can full of rocks. I popped the hood and right away I could hear the lifters ticking hard, like really bad. He insisted it was fine because his buddy had the same truck and they all sound like that. I showed him the metal flakes in the oil and he still argued with me for ten minutes. Finally I told him to take it somewhere else if he didn't trust my diagnosis. He drove off and I got a call two days later from a tow truck driver saying the engine seized on I-70. Has anyone else had a customer swear their truck is fine when it's clearly about to blow?

3 comments

simonh74•1mo ago

Shoutout to the old guy who told me to use a heat gun on that seized caliper bolt

My buddy at the shop said to just hit it with more penetrant and a bigger breaker bar, but after two cans and a snapped socket, I gave the heat a shot. Honestly, it came loose in about 30 seconds with a cheap harbor freight gun and saved the bracket. What's your go-to method for frozen hardware on brake jobs?

3 comments

gavin_hill27•1mo ago

I thought those fuel system cleaners were just snake oil

Had a customer with a rough idle on their 2012 Civic, nothing else worked. A guy at the parts counter in Knoxville said to try a specific brand, Berryman B-12. I was ready to pull the injectors. Poured a can in the tank, drove it for a week, and the idle smoothed right out. I still don't push them on everyone, but for certain old carbon buildup issues, they actually work. What specific jobs have you guys seen where a cleaner actually fixed the problem?

3 comments

seanlee•1mo ago

Back in the day I'd just guess at torque specs, now I look them up every time

I used to think I could feel out lug nut torque by the sound of the impact, especially on older cars. Last year, I warped a rotor on a customer's Civic because I over-tightened them. Since then, I grab the manual or my phone app for every single job, no matter how simple. It adds maybe a minute but saves a ton of headache. Anyone else make that switch after a specific mess-up?

3 comments

derek994•1mo ago

Had to choose between a cheap scan tool and a real one for a persistent misfire

Honestly, I was working on a 2015 Civic with a P0304 code and my basic reader just said 'misfire cylinder 4', so I had to decide between buying a $40 generic OBD2 scanner or renting a proper bi-directional unit from the parts store for $75 a day. Tbh, I went with the rental and it let me run a relative compression test and kill the injector, which showed a bad coil pack right away instead of guessing. Has anyone else found a decent mid-level scan tool that can do more than just read codes without costing a grand?

3 comments

caleb_ross12•1mo ago

Serious question, did you know the average car has over 30,000 parts?

I read that in an old trade magazine at the shop and it just blew my mind. How many of those do you think you've actually replaced?

3 comments

dakotawood•1mo ago

Working on a farm truck in Nebraska last month showed me something about old diesel injectors

The owner said it had a rough idle for years, and three shops told him it was just 'character'. I pulled the injectors and found the pintle caps were completely gone on two of them, just metal dust in the ports. I had a set of rebuilt Bosch units in my truck, swapped them in, and it idled smooth as glass. How often do you guys see that kind of wear being missed because the engine still runs?

3 comments

cooper.phoenix•1mo ago

Watched a guy use a $20 digital inspection camera versus a $200 one on the same engine.

The cheap one's screen washed out completely under the hood light, but the pricier unit showed every carbon track on the plug. Which mid-range camera actually holds up in real shop light?

3 comments

samjohnson•1mo ago

Tbh, a customer at our shop in Denver last month insisted his rough idle was from bad gas, but it turned out to be a cracked PCV hose I found after checking the vacuum lines with a smoke machine.

Honestly, I've seen that hose fail a bunch on those older Ford trucks, but his was split in a spot you couldn't see without pulling the whole assembly, so has anyone else found a quicker way to check for those hidden vacuum leaks on the 5.4L Triton?

3 comments

max415•1mo ago

Vent: I was convinced a 3-ton floor jack was overkill for my home garage until I tried to lift the front end of my F-250 to replace a brake rotor.

My old 2-ton jack struggled and started to weep fluid halfway up, so I bought a Pittsburgh 3-ton from Harbor Freight for $180 and it lifted the truck like it was nothing, making the job way safer and faster.

3 comments