Humble Mechanic – Page 21 – Humble Mechanic

Holiday Tool Buying Guide

With the holiday season in full swing, I though it would be fun to give some advice on buying tools for the tool junkie on your list. Shopping for tools can be overwhelming to say the least. I know a lot about hand tools, and a fair amount about other tools. I still get lost in the sea of wrenches, hammers and drills. I can only imagine how someone with little or no tool knowledge feels.

Who are you buying for?
Before you hit the stores have some basics in mind. You must know who you are buying for. That will get you in to the right aisle of the tool store. Try and break it down in to one of these categories.

The Automotive Enthusiast
This can be the person that loves doing their own maintenance. Or maybe does it to save some money. Hand tools are king when working on cars. Things like ratchets, sockets, wrenches make great gifts
The Wood Worker
If you are buying for someone that works with wood, think saws and chisels.
The Electronics Junkie
This is the person that builds and repairs electronics.
The DIY Home Owner
This is the category that most folks fall into. Head to your local home improvement store, and pick an aisle. DIY tools for the house is just about everything. Drills, saws, ratchets hammers, shovels, the list goes on and on.

How to pick the perfect tool

Now that you know who you are buying for, it’s time to get shopping. There is a saying “buy it nice, or buy it twice”. This applies to to tools as much as anything. Buying good quality tools is a must.

No matter what tool you are buying, there are some brands that really stand out. If power tools are on your list, I prefer Dewalt and Makita. I have an impact driver from Makita that I use more than any other tool in my tool box. I like it so much I got a second one to keep at the house. They may cost a little more, but they are well worth it.

If you are shopping for hand tools, a few names stand out. Craftsman, Stanley, Snap-on, Matco and more. When buying hand tools, make sure the tools have lifetime warranty. Even the best quality tools break. You want to make sure your are buying a tool with some piece of mind.

The key to any tool purchase is you get what you pay for. If you buy that really cheap set from the dollar store, expect to get what you pay for.

Tools to avoid as gifts

I love getting tools as gifts. It shows that someone really knows what I love. There are tools that would not be great to give as gifts. Here are the tools that you might want to avoid

As Seen On TV
This time of year the gimmicky tools are everywhere. If a tool claims it can do 75 things, plus make your breakfast, odds are it can’t do much of anything. I have tried many different things that were “as seen on TV” type tools. Few of them do the job they promise.
The big tool set
Be careful when thinking about a big tool set. A 150 piece tool set may only contain 75 tools that most people would use. Tool kits can be a good buy, just be very cautious. Look at the number of bits and Allen wrenches, that generally dominates the total tool count.
Highly specialized tools
Leave this one to the tool fan. I would not expect my wife to buy me a special VW tool. That is too much pressure on the gift giver. Many times specialty tools are too specific to the user.
The novelty tool
The flashier it is, the worse it generally is. If a company has to put flames or flowers on a tool, they may be adding flair to compensate for poor quality.

The win win tools as gifts

If you can’t pick that perfect tool to buy as a gift, these tools make great gifts.

Flashlights
There is no such thing as too many flashlights. My personal favorite is the Streamlight Stylus Pro. You can pick it up for around $20. I own about 7. It is the light I use in the shop all day. I also keep one in every car, and have a couple of backups at work.
Tape measures
This is another tool that you can’t have enough of. I generally use 2 when I do projects. Even with that I still find myself looking for the tape measure.
Locking Pliers
Most folks call these Vise-Grips. That is a brand, not a tool. Just like making a Xerox. It’s okay though, I call locking pliers Vise-Grips too. There are so many uses for locking pliers. You can use them as pliers or as an extra set of hands. They are also great for removing stripped bolts.
Clamps
Clamps are a lot like vise grips, too many uses to list. Everything from holding a project together while the glue dries, or resetting a brake caliper piston.
Multi-Tool
I know that I said tool sets may not be a great gift. But all-in-one multi-tools make great gifts. There are some awesome brands out there. I prefer Leatherman. I have owned quite a few of them, and they were all fantastic. You also can never go wrong with the original Swiss Army Tool
Pocket Knife
Many tool fans carry pocket knives. Pocket knives are great gifts. You can use them for cutting tape on boxes. In a pinch, they can be used as a screwdriver. I would not recommend doing that as a first choice.
Zip Ties
It’s does not matter what tool fan you are buying for. Zip ties are a must for anyone that drives a car, owns a house, or has a tool box. They might be as versatile as duct tape
How To Books
If you have someone that new to tools or projects, consider a “How-To” book. Whether you want to repair your car, or rewire your house, “How-To” books belong on every bookshelf.

You can also consider anything that can help maintain tools. A knife sharpening kit is a perfect example. You can also never go wrong with batteries. If all else fails a gift card is a sure fire fall back. I hope that you are all able to find the perfect tool for that tool fan on your list.

December 14, 2012/4 Comments/by Charles

Humble Mechanic

The Rising Cost Of Owning A Car

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that you all had a fantastic weekend. Before we get into talking about the cost of owning a car, I want to fill you in on a few things.

As you all know by now, my wife and I were planning on moving. Prepping our house to put up for sale has consumed all of our time for about a month. That is the reason that posts have not been consistent, and I have not been on Facebook,or Twitter much. After a total of 40 hours on the market, we were under contract. We really didn’t see that coming. Now we are in the process of finding a new home.

What does that mean for you guys? It means that we will have more things to talk about. One of the big things we are looking for is a workshop. Or a place to build a work shop. So I can show you all how to set up a garage. Think about things like finishing the floor, building storage and organization. It will be awesome.

The bad thing is, the Luv A Dub is on hold for a little while. The move it self will be eating up plenty of time. This move will also mean shifting our budgeting a little. So the money set aside for the Cabby will be going towards the move. Don’t worry it is just a setback. We will be back working on her in no time.

Let’s talk about the cost of owning a car. I stumbled on to this infographic yesterday. They break down some of the costs of owning a car. The more important thing they talk about is the rising cost of owning a car.

Source:The Rising Cost of Car Ownership

I don’t think that I would have a hard time convincing anyone that owning a car is expensive. I do think that some things are a little misleading. Take an oil change for example. I remember when I first started driving, an oil change was $19.95. Today we charge about $65 for an oil change. On the surface that seems like like the cost of service tripled. What we don’t think about is we are not changing our oil every 3,000 miles. We are changing the oil every 5,000-10,000 miles.

On the other side, let’s talk about fuel. MPG is up on most all cars. The issue is MPG is not up as much as the rise in fuel price. Sure you get 30% better fuel mileage, but you are paying 300% more for fuel.(those are not exact numbers, just examples)

December 10, 2012/2 Comments/by Charles

Humble Mechanic

Does My Car Really Need This Service ~ Serpentine Belt

Hey everyone, happy Monday. Before we get rolling I want to thank all of you that entered the contest. Congratulations are in order for Larry and for Mathew. Larry’s name was picked (at random) from the comments. He won the VW car wash kit. Mathew won the Snap-on gift pack. His name, (actually his twitter handle) was picked at random. Thanks again to everyone that entered. We will have more fun stuff like this soon.

Today I want to keep rolling on our “Does my car really need this service?”. We are talking about Serpentine belts. What it does. Why it’s important, and how do you know if you need to replace yours.

What is a Serpentine belt
This is the belt on your car that drives the accessories. In order to technically be a serpentine belt, it must drive multiple accessories. Things like:

Power steering pump
Alternator
Air conditioning compressor
Water pump
Super charger 🙂
Smog pump(this is an emissions control on older cars.

Those are some of the things that can be driven by a serpentine belt. Well, I guess those are more like necessities by today’s standards.

The serpentine belt can also be called a ribbed belt, Vee-belt, or a multi belt. The are kept tight by a tensioner. It can be be tensioned automatically, or have the tension manually set. They may also use pulleys that simply route the belt properly.

Strands of a broken serpentine belt stuck in the timing belt

Why is it important?
The serp belt has a pretty serious job. With out it your car will will have a dead battery, and may even over heat. Plus we all love our a/c, at least if you live in the south.

A broken serpentine belt can surely lead to you being stranded. At best your battery will be dead. At worst, you can have issues with engine damage. It it rare for a serpentine belt to break in a way that causes engine damage, but it can happen.

This car had a serp belt that broke. It did not leave the owner stranded, but it did cause an issue with the timing belt. When the belt broke, strands of belt got pushed into the timing belt. That cause the car to be slightly out of time. The customer brought his car in for a “hard to start” concern.

How do you know you need to replace it?

This belt needed to be replaced due to cracking

Many times a worn serpentine belt can be easily seen. If you can see the belt while it is on the car, you may only see a small section of belt. The good thing is, you see it at the most stressed point, rapped around a pulley. That will allow you to see cracking of the belt easier.

Luckily serpentine belts only fail in a few ways:

They break completely. Be careful about only replacing the belt. There may be a pulley that has failed causing the belt to break.
Cracking, this is the most common way to know your belt is due for replacement.
Noisy, sometimes a belt that is making noise just needs to be replaced.
Contamination. This is from other issues with the car. If a water pump leaks coolant, or there is oil leaking on the belt, it is best to replace it. Contaminates can penetrate the belt and cause failure.

So, do I really need this service?
This one is not an easy YES/NO question. Do you need a properly functioning belt, YES. Do you have to replace it right now, probably not.

This is a part that I highly recommend you ask your mechanic to show you. If it looks like it is full of cracks, or is soaked in oil/coolant, replace it. If the belt looks okay, and your mechanic can not show you the issue, it may be fine to wait.

One quick tip. If you want to replace your own serpentine belt, I say go for it. If I don’t know the car very well, I like to draw the pulleys. Then draw a line simulating the belt. That way you don’t have to remember how the belt is routed.

December 3, 2012/19 Comments/by Charles

Humble Mechanic

There Is No Such Thing As A Perfect Mechanic

Happy Tuesday everyone. I hope that your wallets are recovering from the weekend of shopping. I didn’t partake in any Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales. It is just not my thing. Today I want to talk a little about being an auto mechanic. This actually goes far beyond just fixing cars. It applies to almost any job, in any field.

Here is the wheel I damaged

Yesterday I was pulling a car into the shop. It was a 2011 Jetta Sport Wagon with about 20,000 miles on it. As I pulled into my bay, I nicked the rim on the edge of my lift. As I am sitting in the car I kept thinking, “It will be fine, it will be fine, it will be fine”. I got out and checked the rim. It was not fine. I gouged the crap out of it. The feeling of messing up a customer’s car is not a good one.

I called the service manager over to check it out. He looked at the wheel, looked and me then said “I am guessing that just happened? Well, you know what you need to do”. I got with my service advisor and let her know what I did. She gave the customer another car to drive so that we could fix his wheel. Thankfully the customer was pretty cool about it. I don’t think he was thrilled, but he understood.

Why did I just tell you all this story? I told you this for a few reasons.

We ALL make mistakes
It does not matter if you are the best or the worst at your job. Everyone makes mistakes, messes up, and does things wrong. You are not perfect, none of us are. The best of the best have off games.
Accountability mean everything
I could have easily sent that car out the door with the rim scratched. Maybe the customer would have never seen it. But think of how mad he would be when he noticed it. It’s like when you were a kid. Your parents asked you a question that they knew the answer to, and you lied to them. Then they ask you if you are SURE, that was the truth. I would rather just admit to the mistake. It may hurt, but at least that customer know I would not lie to them.
I want that to be normal
I want there to be no question on what is right. I am not a hero or anything because I fessed up to a mistake. That is just the right thing to do. I want the guys that I work with to have the same attitude. Mechanics(and everyone else) need to take accountability for themselves, and the work they do. If we all did that, there would be much less negative stereotyping in every industry

I hope that we can all learn something from this. I learned that I need to pull my head out of my butt and pay closer attention to things. Luckily that is easy to do. I hope that you all take to heart what I have said today. Don’t make excuses about why a mistake is not your fault. Own it, then do what you need to do, and make it right!

One last thing. There will be a special volume of Shop Shots tomorrow. It will be volume 40. For that I will be doing some fun stuff. Be sure to stay tuned. The best way to do that is to subscribe for email updates. It is the best way to be sure you never miss out on what is going on here!

November 27, 2012/8 Comments/by Charles

Humble Mechanic

Some Of The Crazy Things I Have Seen Working On Cars

Hey everyone, happy Monday! I just want to tell you that I missed you guys last week. We have been full throttle on house work. It is crazy. I am glad to get back to the site, it’s much more fun and painting and power washings.

There are generally two questions that I get from folks.

How do I know I am not getting ripped off.
We have talk about this one before. Many times.
What are some of the strangest things you have seen as an auto mechanic?

Well, today I want to talk about a few stranger things I have ran into working on cars.

The Devil Touareg
When I first started with VW, the Touareg was brand new. It had a fair about of issues early on.On top of that, none of the guys in the shop wanted to work on them. I had heard the horror stories of guys spending days and days trying to fix issues, all to find out nothing was wrong.

A Touareg had been towed to the shop for a dead battery. I replaced the battery, test drove it, checked the car over, then sent it out the door. A few days later it got towed back in for a dead battery. The strange thing was, it started fine when it got to the shop.

As I started to diagnose it, things got weirder and weirder. Some times the alarm would go off for no reason, even while driving. The lights would randomly flash on and off. It got to the point I could not drive the car at all.

I spent the next two weeks working with VW. Replacing modules, swapping modules, and so on. I was starting to think that I would never fix this car. VW finally sent out the regional tech manager to help me out. After 2 days of checks we found the problem. The module that controls the drivers seat had failed. It was bringing down the entire communication bus on the car.

How did we find it? Well, we just unplugged everything until things started working. On a Touareg, that is no easy task. That is about as bad of a butt kicking as I have gotten.

The Mickey Mouse Ball
I am glad that this didn’t happen to me.(make sure you learn from other people’s mistakes too) A customer brought her Beetle in for a noise/vibration concern. The tech working on it drove it to verify her issue. At about 45mph the car would make a crazy noise and shake violently. I rode in the car, it was awful.

After going round and round with the car, the tech replaced the transmission. After replacing the transmission, the tech test drove the car. The car did the exact same thing. A few more days of test drives and hair pulling, we had no answer.

It turns out, the air was hitting the antenna ball just right. This caused the the antenna to pull up on the roof slightly cause air turbulence causing a noise/vibration. Good thing the car was under warranty.

If have a roll your back windows down, and leave your front windows up you can recreate the noise. It is an obnoxious noise.

It Lost Points Cuz It Had A Hot WHeel On It
This is one of my wife’s favorite stories. Also, does anyone know who said that?(hint, it was not she 🙂 ) I was doing maintenance on a customer’s car. It was a 1.8t B5.5 Passat, similar to mine. When I replace the air filter in that car, I like to take the entire air box out and clean it. That gets all the dirt out, plus it’s easier to get the filter back in .

When I took the box out, something strange fell on the ground. I looked down and there was a Hot WHeels toy car on the floor. Yep some how, there was a toy car in the air box of the car.

How the heck does that get there? Was a kid playing under the hood? Did it bounce up off the road? How does that happen?

Well, that wraps it up for today. If you guys dig posts like this, I will try and do more. I need to get a note book and write this stuff down. I am sure there are plenty more stories that I have.

November 26, 2012/4 Comments/by Charles

Humble Mechanic

Thanksgiving Week at Humble Mechanic

Happy Monday everyone. I hope that you all had a great weekend. This year more than most, Thanksgiving really snuck up on me. I could not figure out why every commercial on the radio was talking about holiday week. Then it hit me that Thanksgiving is THURSDAY! Where the heck did that come from?

I wanted to let you guys know that there will be no posted this week. I appreciate the heck out of all of you. I feel like I need to tell you all when I take some time off. This week my time will be filled with getting our house ready to put on the market. One of my least favorite things.

All the work, cleaning, little projects and tasks make me crazy. Plus I am not a fan of strangers romping through my house. The huge plus is we are looking for a smaller house, with more land. That means a bigger shop for me 🙂 🙂

I will still be around on Facebook, Twitter, and the rest. You can also comment on any post, or just contact me. I will be back in action next week with some great stuff. We will have a special volume of Shop Shots, on Wednesday. Plus since I will be taking some time off, I think it’s only fair to give some stuff away. 😉

November 19, 2012/2 Comments/by Charles

Humble Mechanic

What Would You Want Your Mechanic To Do?

Hey everyone. Today I want to tell you a story, then ask the question “If you were a mechanic, how would you handle it”. Like so many things, there is somewhat of a grey area when recommending services to customers. Here is the story

A customer came in for a 50,000 mile service. It is a pretty basic service. We normally change the engine oil, and filter. We perform a wheel balance and rotation, and do a full visual inspection.

When the service advisor checks a car in, the also check the tread depth on the tires. These tires are right at the wear bars. That means they need to be replaced.

Balancing the tires will do nothing for the car. It will not prolong the life of the tires or improve the ride quality. The tires are just plain worn out. The customer does not want to buy new tires at this time.

As a service department, we have a few different options that we can do with this car. We can

Perform the service as the customer needed, or was told he needed
Say we performed the service, but do not rotate and balance the tires.
Off the customer a (very) slight discount to perform the service minus the rotate and balance
Tell the customer to just do and oil change. We do a 27 point inspection on all the cars we look at.

Now that you know the story, and have the options listed out, I will ask the question “What would you want your mechanic to do?”. I personally would prefer the customer perform an oil change only. In my mind there is no point in paying for an unneeded service. That includes the rotate and balance of those tires.

Please let me know what you would do. Am I nuts for un-selling work? Remember that most mechanics get paid on Flat rate. If you are not sure how flat rate works see “How Auto Mechanics get paid“. I really want to know what you guys think.

November 15, 2012/6 Comments/by Charles