If you would like to have verified flair added we will need a pic that has your reddit name on a piece of paper with your shop in the background or work truck if mobile repair.

*Reposting this so that I can add the picture*

2022 Kia Sorento

I took my car to the Kia dealership a few months ago to get an oil change. The wait time was a few hours but they always take forever so I just took advantage of the time and read.

They bring my car around, I pay, the day goes on.
Fast forward to yesterday, I take my car to a local shop because I do not have the time to wait at the dealership. They tell me that my drain plug has silicone around it and they’ll have to pump my old oil out.

I call the dealership and speak with the service manager and he kept telling me it’s tape. I argued that it’s in fact caulking, not tape and it’s all over the plug. He claims that it’s a quality check marker and it’s used to make sure there’s no leaks or anything.

I’m no mechanic but isn’t that what the gaskets for??

I wasn’t having it and told him that this is the first time I’ve ever seen this and it looks like his crew was trying to hide something on my vehicle.

He offered to have be come by and he said he’ll check it out, no charge but is this normal. Do dealerships or mechanics in general use silicone to seal drain plugs for quality checks?

I also want to know what kind of questions I should be asking him when I take it back to them.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Maybe a stupid question but i never had my battery die before

Hi all,

The brake pedal on my 2010 Ford Escape has a far travel distance before the brakes engage.

One day when driving, the brakes were working normally, then all of a sudden, the brake pedal needed to be pushed to the floor for the car to brake.

I brought the car to the mechanic, and the master solenoid was replaced, the ABS pump and module was replaced, and the brakes have been bled about 5 times. When I picked the car up, the brake pedal still had a long travel distance before the car was able to brake. I called the mechanic, and he said it could be because they front brake pads are so worn (rear brakes are drum brakes). I replaced the brake pads, but this didn't seem to make any difference.

Does anyone have any insight on how I could diagnose this further? My next steps would be checking the drum brakes to see if they need to be adjusted/replaced, and ensuring the new ABS pump was bled properly at the mechanic.

Thank you!

2012 Mazda CX-9 with 102k miles wouldn’t start this morning around 7AM. It was pretty cold, so the first thought was that it might be the battery. The dashboard lights come on, but when the key is turned, the power seems to drop and the engine won’t start.

I checked the battery terminals and even disconnected the battery, but they’re clean with no green corrosion and the issue is still there. I tried again about two hours later when it was a little warmer, but got the same result. Any ideas what could be causing this?

Hey everyone,

I have a 2010 Subaru Outback 2.5i that needs its front catalytic converter replaced. My mechanic quoted me around $900 for parts and labor, and I believe roughly half of that is labor.

I'm located in Massachusetts, near Boston, and I'm trying to find a more affordable option.

I've seen aftermarket catalytic converters online for around $250–$450

A few questions:

• Is $900 a reasonable quote for this repair or am I being ripped off?
• Has anyone purchased an aftermarket catalytic converter online? Any brands or websites you'd recommend?
• Does anyone know a reliable exhaust shop in Massachusetts that installs customer-supplied parts?
• Are there specific emissions requirements in Massachusetts I should be aware of when purchasing a replacement?

I'm not looking to bypass emissions requirements. Just trying to get the car repaired properly without overspending.

Any recommendations or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

My car doesn’t get any power at all from the battery (brand new). I have a 2006 Honda Civic and I’m pretty sure the recommended CCA is 435 and my new battery is 500. It started fine when I first installed it but it wouldn’t start the next day and now the car only starts when jumped. I took a multimeter to the battery and it only read 0.07. So is this as simple as charging the battery or could it be something else entirely?

I recently changed the swirl flaps on my volvo v70 d5 2005

When removing the fuel pipes from the injectors the second one was particularly stiff and the adapter bolt slightly rotated (I stupidly didn't stabilise when removing the cap), it eventually came off

When I've put everything back, the second injector is slightly leaking fuel, at the bottom point where the adapter meets the injector - see pictures

Im not sure whether I need to:

\- tighten the adapter more into the injector to tighten the seal back to where it was (although im worried about over doing it),

\-replace the washer that sits between the adapter and the injector its a 10mm external ringwith a slightly raised lip, 5mm internal - although I cant seem to find where id buy one from?

\-or ive damaged the thread of the adapter or where it screws into the injector and I just need to take the plunge and buy a new injector (or use ptfe tape around the thread??)

Really keen for any advice

Just wondered if anyone had any experience of this code and what they might of done or what had come of it, says it’s particulate filter missing or detoriated and I’m getting it back in soon but just wondered if anyone had any experience of this and what my best options are?

honda dc2 vtir engine b18c2

really rough idling and car was shaking heaps when i put in neutral coming to a red light, then it stalled itself out. had to revv hard just to get it moving from first gear. check the spark plugs they were all cooked… replaced them, clean fuel injectors smehow there was oil on the tip… also used mutimeter on the wiring came out fine. issue still remains w fast ticking noise and rough idling. also little drops of smth comes out the tail pipe and it smells so sour. help me pls is it looking like i need to replace the whole motor 😪

I have an 08 Toyota Highlander hybrid with check engine light on and code p1420. Maybe charcoal canister. Anyone have experience with replacing and potential repair cost? It has 250k on it and wonder if it’s time to throw in the towel… gonna need timing belt, water pump, front bearing and axel done soon too.

I’m working on a 2011 Toyota Camry LE 2.5 and am having an issue getting the radiator fans to come on under normal conditions. This all began when the car started over heating. So I replaced the following: Thermostat, coolant temp sensor, and all relays (fan #1, 2, and 3). I also topped off the coolant in the radiator after replacing those parts. The car now seems to stay right around 190 when at idle for the first 30 or so minutes. But eventually the temp gauge will creep up and the radiator fans never turn on. I know the fans work though because they do run when I have the temp sensor wire unhooked. Just not it when it is connected. I have tried a total of 3 sensors (the original, a Duralast from AutoZone, and a more expensive brand from O Reilly). I also used an OBD2 scanner and found a code for temp sensor high voltage P0118 and cleared this after installing the new sensor. I’m at a loss as to where to go from here to make the rad fans work as expected. Any help is appreciated.

Edit: I should also mention that the radiator fans never turn on when the AC is on. I read multiple sources saying that turning the AC on high should make them turn on.

I was driving my car on the highway and my dashboard lit up and car stalled. Towed it to a mechanic and this is what they discovered : a yankee candle air freshner lodged in my throttle body.

Multiple mechanics have said they have never seen this before . Has anyone ever seen this before ??

Ive got a 2001 f350 7.3L with 33k miles in near mint condition but it has low power ( nearly a full minute to reach 60mph) Person i bought it from said its been sitting for 16years. Im in the the process of diagnosing the issue. I hear diesel ages really well, does this look like bad diesel?

Hello,

I drive a 2001 ford ranger XLT with the 2.3L 4-cylinder engine and a manual transmission.

The other day, when I pulled the dipstick, it came out low, so I wiped it and it came out dry. I added oil to no avail, and even did a complete oil change with 4 quarts of new oil. It still came up dry after the oil change, even though the oil pressure gauge read normal. Even after some driving, it’s still dry, and lowkey scares me for an upcoming 7 hour drive home from Uni. What could cause this? I’m pretty sure it’s the right dipstick, and oil pressure has remained steady on the gauge since.

TL;DR: dry dipstick after full change despite fine oil pressure

136,000 miles on my 2005 Subaru Legacy Outback wagon. Very difficult to diagnose this issue. I just replaced CV axles and flushed ATF fluid. Not sure if this is related? Started as a highway speed noise intermittent. Now it’s whining all the time over 25ish mph. Coming from my transmission tunnel area while I drive. Can a carrier bearing howl this high pitched?

I have a 2009 Ford Explorer that I just bought new wheels and tires for (from a large retail tire chain). My wife picked up the vehicle, and 2 of the new hub caps (for both rear wheels) were not installed. When I had a look, I could see that the threaded part of the axle shaft appears to be sitting proud and won't allow the cap to fit/be seated.

This seems more than a simple annoyance, and likely something that should be installed? I can't imagine that exposing the axle nut and threads to road salt with no protection is a good idea. Is this something I should bring up? Any other recommendations on how to fix it if they say there's nothing they can do? I was thinking that maybe shaving off the unthreaded nub off the end of the axle shaft might give me the required clearance, but I suspected that the countersunk hole on the end of the shaft is probably there for a reason...

TIA!

I drive a 2012 Silverado 5.3 with 320,000 km on it. Sitting at long red lights in gear , under load at idle can't be good for it. So i keep the brake pressed like I normally would and just bumb the gear selector into neutral. I change the oil every 5000 but it's still only a matter of time before something in he valvetrain let's go.

Let's hear if you think this is a bad idea

So I have a 2016 Ram 1500 Big Horn that I use as a work truck, a few weeks ago in Jersey we got hit with the worst flooding we’ve seen since Hurricane Sandy and I unfortunately got stuck driving through it. I filed a claim with the insurance just to be safe than sorry down the road, they totaled it but my mechanic doesn’t seem to think there’s any bad water damage. He threw around the idea of me buying it back but I want to see what everyone thinks, would it be worth it? It has 200,000 miles on it, runs relatively fine but it does have a hemi tick. I’m assuming I’d have to try and get a salvage title and everything so I’m not sure it’s worth it.

If I were to buy it back it would just be a work truck until the wheels fall off

Hello all, can't believe I'm posting here.. I'm a heavy diesel mechanic for the US Federal Government and I am working on a personal vehicle and have run into an issue.

I have a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria with an open diff. I replaced all my rotors, pads, and my parking brakes because the parking brake pads were non existent and what was left of them just fell off when I went to look over my car before deciding to do the brakes. When I finished everything up, I took her for a long test drive and noticed a noise coming from my driver's rear wheel (rear left). I raised the rear end off the ground, went to adjust the parking brake thinking it was rubbing, and when I put it back together, I went to spin the wheel and it was tough to spin. I also decided to start the car with the rear end off the ground and put it into gear and see if I heard anything. Well, the rear left wheel wouldn't move until I accelerated a bit. The rear right wheel started spinning as soon as I put it into gear. So, I thought maybe the caliper is sticking. It feels right and like I can't seem to get it to release. I was in a time crunch because of work and life stuff. So, I got a new caliper from the parts store and a new brake hose. Got everything put together, bled the brakes. Great. The problem still persists. Still fighting to spin the wheel until I push through the acceleration, it still has a noise. Has me thinking the axle shaft bearing is seizing up until I accelerate and power through it but I replaced those with the shafts a year ago. So, I'm reluctant to accept that.

Any advice or knowledge about these situations or a direction I can start looking in would be greatly appreciated! I haven't had a ton of time to dig down and focus on it and I don't want to keep shooting the parts cannon at it. Thank you!

Replacing the water pump on my 2012 Hyundai Accent 1.6L. One mounting bolt - the top one - came partway out, then got very tight and snapped. All the other bolts came out easily by hand after loosening.

The pump is now off, but the broken threaded section is recessed in the engine-side casting. Nothing sticks out to grip. I haven’t drilled it or tried an extractor. Photos show the broken bolt and its location.

What would you try first? Is a guided left-hand drill/extractor realistic with this access, or is this a job for someone experienced in extraction?

This is a budget commuter I’m hoping to keep another year or two, so I’m trying to avoid turning one broken bolt into a much more expensive repair.

Car: 2004 Lexus LS 430, 3UZ-FE engine

My starter has been failing recently. It was cranking fine, but making a grinding noise for a fraction of a second at the moment of engine start. I assume the pinion was not retracting properly.

Now my car will not start and the engine is stuck. Battery and relay ruled out. With the serpentine belt slackened, the crankshaft pulley will not turn clockwise.

I recently changed the timing belt. I had a scare when the camshaft jumped, possibly some light piston-valve contact. However, in this subreddit and elsewhere online, I was advised that the chance of serious damage was low. I moved forward and the car ran fine. No codes, no weird noises.

On my last drive, there was no unusual sound from the engine that I noticed (although I often play loud music). Oil level is perfect, temp was never high.

Is there a chance that my starter pinion is somehow stuck in the flex plate and preventing the engine from turning? Or more likely a true internal seize related to the timing belt job? 😭

Was doing a brake job and bought one of those abrasive pads that are advertised for being safe and effective on cleaning wheel hubs.

Now while my wheel hub is smooth to the touch, it looks kinda scratched up from the pad? Did I push too hard or its superficial?

Also can I use these cleaning pads every time I change brakes since it was so much faster than a wire brush or is it really only for very bad cases?

2004 ford mustang

Any recommendations for what tool I need to get these fork clamp bolts out? They're Torx T45 torqued to 20NM.

I have a T45 socket but it's too big to get in there with the rachet attached. The biggest gap available is about 2 CM.

I'm thinking maybe a 1/4 inch T45 bit with a bit ratchet maybe? Or a T45 L key - although not sure I'll be able to shift them with something like that.

Any ideas / recommendations?