Humble Mechanic – Page 14 – Humble Mechanic

Overall Humble Mechanic Update

Hi everyone. Today I want to give you all an update about what has been going on with the Cabby, with the blog, and things here in general. It has been a busy busy spring. Even though the blog updates have been low, the work level has been really high.

At the shop
Things at the shop are almost always interesting. Remember a while back we had hired 3 new guys. A guy right out of school, a guy with some general experience, and a Mercedes Benz master tech. The MB tech got put on my team. Well a few weeks ago he called in sick. Then the next day, just didn’t show up. I had a feeling that he was going to quite, but didn’t really expect it to happen like that.

We had also hired an experienced VW service advisor. Well, his wife took a job out of state, so he just up and quite too. Just when we think things are on the right track at the dealer, we lose 2 guys. This is just part of the business.

There is a down side for me. It puts me behind on much of the shop duties I have. I had to bring our scan tools home just to have time to up date them. It also means that most nights I am working late. That also puts me behind on my stuff at home.

Cabby Update
Most of what I am doing now with the cabby is little things. The interior is most of the way back together. I completely removed the top and the rear windows. I must say that I am thrilled with how it looks I have a few ideas to give it a more finished look.

The next part of the project is getting the stereo worked out. I hooked up the radio that was installed in the car. Only 1 speaker works. That doesn’t cut it for any car, but it’s pointless in a convertible. The challenge is building a great sound system, but having it very stealth.

Tools
I posted a few weeks ago about breaking a bunch of tools in one day. Among the broken tools was the tool I use most often, my Makita impact driver. After a bunch of back and forth with a repair place, and Matkita, I have a replacement gun on the way. They stepped it up big time and took care of it.

I also purchased a 1/2 impact wrench from Kobalt. I will have a full review soon. I want to get some more time with it first. I will say that I like it, and it has a ton of power. I don’t think it would replace an air impact.

I have also picked up a few other tools, an engine compression gauge, and a TDI timing kit. I also picked up a few things to try my hand at fiberglass work. This is something I have never done, but I think it is a great skill to have.

I have also been planning my garage remodel. Once electrical is done, it’s game time. You guys do not want to miss how cool this will be.

Homestead
I don’t talk much about our homestead much here. It has little to do with cars. If you guys are in interested in that, I can talk about it more. Or you can check out NChomesteading.com. My wife does the updating there.

Spring time is full throttle here. We have planted 10 trees this past weekend. I also transplanted about 20 hop cuttings. Last year I had some success, but the percentage was low. This year I am doing more cuttings and should get better results. We also picked up a really awesome apple tree. This tree has 5 different apple varieties on it. How cool is it to have 1 tree that produces 5 different apples.

I had also taken a few hop rhizomes out on to the property and did some wild planting. I went to see them last night and found they are doing awesome! They are bigger than the ones close to the house.

April 9, 2014/10 Comments/by Charles

Humble Mechanic

Why I Never Throw VW Parts Away

This is the brace I installed from Euro-wise. I HIGHLY recommend this!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that you all had a great weekend. One quick thing before we get into why I never throw away parts. I have been having email issues lately. Not sure what the deal is, but the folks at HostGator are working on it. If you have emailed me in the last few days, and not heard back, please resend it. I forwarded my email to another email. Sorry for any troubles.

Alright, like the title says, I never throw away parts. Even things that I don’t think I will ever need. Something happened Saturday that validated my crazy hording of VW parts. I sometimes think that I will clean house and get rid of things. Sadly I don’t think it will ever happen. On that note, if you need any VW parts let me know 😉

On Saturday I drove the Cabby Luv-A-Dub to work. My plan was to install a front brace, and remove the convertible top. The shop was pretty busy all day, so got a late start. The install of the brace was a little more work than I wanted to do. I had to remove the front engine mount and move some wiring out of the way. It was one of those jobs you think will be quick, but doesn’t really work out that way.

The excitement didn’t really start until I was finishing up the job. With the brace installed, I wanted to start the Cabby up to let it warm up a little. I hit the key and got crank crank crank crank crank, but no start. Dang, let’s try it again, crank crank crank crank, no start. It was clear at this point that something was not right. When ever this type of thing happens, step 1 is recheck your work.

I did a quick visual inspection of the brace and the area I was working in. Nothing stood out as an issue. I did have the power junction disconnected, but that could not be the issue. I could also hear the fuel pump running when I was trying to start the car. At this point I am starting to get annoyed. I just wanted to go drive!

I grabbed my laptop to check for fault codes. I have to say, having OBD2 in the Cabby is pretty awesome. Sadly, it was no help. I had fault codes stored, but that was due to several sensors that I didn’t use with the swap. In diagnosing a no start concern, this is the time to pick a path and go. You only NEED 3 things for a engine to run

Compression new this was good. I drove the car in the shop. Plus you can usually hear when an engine has really low/no compression
Fuel
I knew the pump was running, but not sure about the engine getting fuel. This would have been a good next step.
Spark
This would have also been a good check.
ECMI know I said you only need 3 things, but the ECM is vital. It controls spark and fuel, and it wont give you that if it doesn’t see what it wants to see.

Before I started taking fuel lines off, and checking for spark, I decided to go back over my work one more time. I raised the car up and did another visual inspection. DANG IT, didn’t see anything. After seeing nothing again, I did one of my top secret diagnostic techniques.

Mess with stuff until you find something.

I started giving all the wiring harnesses a tug. I barely touched the harness for the crankshaft position sensor when I heard a beeping and buzzing. YES, now we are on the right path, it was also lucky that I left the ignition on 😉 Now that I had something to go on, it was time to fix it.

I disconnected the sensor, checked the pins and connection. They were all good. I found that if I touched the harness on the sensor side, that beeping and buzzing would start again. I tweaked the harness so that the beep was constant.Side note, I am still not sure what was beeping. With the harness tweaked, the car would start.

I LOVE how the cabby looks with the top removed

The harness for the crankshaft sensor is sealed. That means it should not be repaired, but replaced. I dug through a box of parts I set a side to bring home. Wouldn’t ya know, there was a replacement crankshaft sensor! I replaced the sensor, and BOOM she fired right up.

So the moral of the story is, cars break. It is never a bad idea to have a few extra parts laying around. I am that guy in the shop that everyone comes to when they need a part. Having this sensor saved me over $100 and my wife from having to come pick me up at work. I am happy to be a lucky auto mechanic.

March 24, 2014/13 Comments/by Charles

Humble Mechanic

Finding a New Mechanic and Mechanic Advisor Review

Hi everybody. Today I want to talk about finding a new mechanic. The folks over at MechanicAdvisor.com contacted me and asked me to check out their site. It is a place for folks to find a local repair shop, and read reviews. Think of Yelp, built specifically for repair shops.

I thought we have talked about ways to find a new mechanic before. But, after must research, I was wrong. That or I am bad at using the search feature on my own site LOL.

If you move to a new town, buy a new car, or maybe your mechanic retires, finding a new mechanic can be tough. Here are a tips to help you find a new mechanic.

Ask your friends
This can be a good start. If a trusted friend trusts their mechanic, give them a shot. I personally never recommend anyone to a friend unless I 100% trust them and their service. I would still recommend being cautious. Also be sure to let the mechanic know who referred you. I get a good amount of referrals that I have no idea where they came from.

Ask the internet
Sites like MechanicAdvisor,Yelp, and forums “CAN” be a good resource. If a site has the ability to review the company, take the review for what it is. One persons opinion about their experience. There are multiple angles at play here.

Is the shop really good/bad
What was the issue? Was someone mad they had to spend money, or did they get bad service?
Did an employee do the review? (it happens)
Was it a review on a specific mechanic? Odds are it was not.

Every shop has some techs that are better than others. But even great techs have bad days. All I am stressing here is take reviews for what they are. And remember the term “internet muscles” 😉

Ask a fellow driver
This might be the single BEST way to find a new mechanic. If you drive a VW, ask another VW driver who services their car. If they have a person they love, they will tell you. On the flip side, if they have had a bad experience, get ready for a download.

This is actually a fun thing to do even if you don’t need a new mechanic. Most folks have a strong opinion either way when it comes to getting their car serviced.

One more piece of advice. Ask for a specific person, not just the place. It is like going to your favorite restaurant, and being seated with a server you don’t relate to.

How did you find your mechanic? Was it just luck of the draw?

MechanicAdvisor review
This is a site to find a mechanic. It is a clean and well designed site. It allows you to search by brand and location. Like I do with all my reviews, here are the Pros and Con

Pros

Nice clean design
the blog and Q&A section has TONS of great information
It is not just for cars, they have mechanics for boats and motorcycles too
Coupons for local shops.
The reviews are better than Yelp

Cons

most shops have few reviews
Some shop info is not up to date

Those cons are VERY minor. I did a local search for VW shops. It came up with one that has been closed for a while. Just to compare, I did the same search on Yelp. It listed the same shop. So I don’t really think it’s an issue with Mechanic Advisor. Overall I think it is a great resource for finding a mechanic.

March 10, 2014/8 Comments/by Charles

Humble Mechanic

Friday Giveaway

Well folks we are just about wrapped up with giveaway week. Today’s giveaway is something to bring the life back to the black trim on your car. This kit will bring the trim that turned grey back to a nice shiny black.

This kit from Solution Finish has everything you need to restore that dingy black trim on your car. The 1oz bottle is enough to do 3 cars.

How to play
So far we have talked about 1st cars, car stories, and spy cars. Today post your favorite all time car. It doesn’t have to be one you have owned. It can be any car. Tell us all about the car, and why you love it. It is that simple!

March 7, 2014/9 Comments/by Charles

Humble Mechanic

Thrusday Giveaway

We are one day closer to the weekend! That means we are one day closer to the end of giveaway week 🙁 I hope that you are all enjoying this week. I know that I am having a BLAST.

Okay, yesterday’s giveaway was a bust. It confirmed my suspension that most folks don’t like to call and talk of the phone. It’s okay, I will hang on to the wrench rack for another time. I will also leave the hotline up for anyone that does like to call in questions.

Let’s get to Thursday’s giveaway.

This set is probably my favorite. A Snap-on shirt, a freaking awesome magnetic tray, a VW water bottle, and the ultra rare Humble Mechanic sticker.

Here is how to play:

Post a comment in the comments section
Tell me what feature you would add to your car if it was a spy car (Think James Bond or Archer)
Give some details about what it would do
Make sure you put a good email address in when you comment(only I see that btw)
I am going to let my wife pick her favorite.

That’s all you gotta do.

Also don’t forget to enter the GRAND PRIZE giveaway for $150 worth of Tool Lodge tool organizer. That giveaway is on Facebook. For those of you not on FB, just contact me and I will help you enter. I don’t love doing FB giveaways, but it was the easiest way to do it.

Good luck everyone!

March 6, 2014/14 Comments/by Charles

Humble Mechanic

Wednesday Giveaway

Well everyone, we are halfway though the week, and halfway through giveaway week. Before I show you what today’s giveaway is, I want to remind everyone to enter the grand prize for $150 worth of Tool Lodge tool organizers. All you have to do is post a picture of your messiest tool box draw. That picture goes on the post pinned to the top of the Facebook page.

The folks at Sort-A-Tool hooked me up with a wrench rack to give away to you guys. This is an AWESOME wrench rack. I did a review a while back, you can check it out at Sort-A-Tool review.

Here is how to play today. Use the call line and call in a question. You can use the box on the right side of the site, or use this link to Send me a voice message. Call in and ask me a question about cars, tools, car repair, DIY, finding a good mechanic, and so on. I will randomly pick a winner from the callers.

I want to use these calls to do an “on air” answer show. You all have great questions, so let’s have them. Based on call volume, today may be your best chance to win.. 😉

Good luck! Be sure to enter for the grand prize, and stay tuned for Thursday and Friday’s giveaways.

March 5, 2014/2 Comments/by Charles

Humble Mechanic

Tuesday Giveaway

Yesterday’s giveaway was HUGE! I have emailed the winner and will announce who it is, when I hear back.

I have got a few emails asking why I am doing these giveaways. There are a bunch of reasons. First, I like giving things away. I think it is fun. Working with folks and their cars can be tough. So doing ultra fun giveaway breaks that up. It is also a good to get to know you all. That is why I am asking you to post things. I have such sentimental attachment to my first car. So I want to hear about your first car. It is things like that that make all the work I do worth it.

Okay, enough about all that. Let’s get to Tuesday’s giveaway!

Today we more Snap-on goodies! This is a Snap-on T shirt, socks, a drink koozie, and a VW key chain. As you can tell, I am a Snap-on fan 😉

HOW TO WIN
Yesterday I asked what your first car was. Today, post your funniest car related story(keep it clean kids 😉 ) in the comments section. Here is my funny car story

When I worked at Carmax, I would drive the toll road everyday. There was a spot on the toll road my radar detector would always go off. Same spot every day. The spot was about 500ft from my exit.

One morning my girlfriend (wife now) and I were heading to breakfast. We were heading down the stretch of tollway I drove everyday. My radar detector went off. She told me to slow down. I said, “don’t worry, this thing always goes off here”. About 2 seconds after I said that, I seen the blue lights flashing. I got pulled for going about 10 over the speed limit.

I pretty much got what was coming. Okay, post your funniest car related story in the comments. Just like yesterday, I will use a random number generator to pick a winner.

Grand Prize
Be sure to submit your messiest tool box drawer on the Facebook page. There is a post pinned post with all the submissions The most likes wins. The key to getting likes on your picture is sharing that post. If you are not on Facebook contact me.

March 4, 2014/17 Comments/by Charles