What Happens When An Auto Mechanic Gets Stuck

Hey everyone.Today I want to talk about the strange things auto mechanics do to find issues with a car. This video is one of my all time favorite automotive sketches.


Thanks to Kids In The Hall for such a funny video!

In all reality this type of thing happens a lot. Granted we don’t paint a car to try and figure out why it doesn’t start. Mechanics do get stuck and sometimes “trying it now” is the only thing you can do.

What a mechanic does when they get stuck really defines what type of mechanic they really are. From my experience, there are only a few things that mechanics do when they get stuck.

  1. Whine
    This seems to be the most common thing to happen when a mechanic gets stuck. It is really easy to get caught up in “whine mode”. It gets you no where.
  2. Ask around until you find the answer you want
    This is what generally follows whining. This one drives me insane. I worked with a guy years ago. He was not a very good mechanic. That is not a huge deal. We can fix that with training. However it got to the point that no one would help him. If he got stuck, he would ask everyone in the shop what they thought he should do. He would ask until someone either helped him, or told him what he wanted to hear.
  3. Quit
    Thankfully this is something that does not happen that often. In fact I have only seen it happen 1 time. One of the guys in the shop was putting cam adjusters in a W8 Passat. I don’t remember the exact circumstance, but he just up and quit. In the middle of the job. That left one of the other team leaders in the shop to finish the job. Not cool!
  4. Try it now
    This is what seasoned mechanics do. When you are stuck on fixing a car, you have to do something. There is no possible way to fix a car by doing nothing. That could be anything from rechecking something you already checked. It could be whacking something with a hammer, and everything in between. Some times you are a luck auto mechanic, and sometimes you are not. But powering through the problems is really what makes a top level diagnostic mechanic.

Getting stuck on weird problems is part of the job. It will never go away, no matter how cars are built. It doesn’t matter what year, make or model. It does not have to be a VW to have crazy electrical issues.

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Automotive Safety And Security Features Or Just A Hassle

I am sitting my kitchen doing a little automotive research. I was looking at future car technology. There are some really cool things that we will see in the future. Kinda scary really. Well that got me thinking. For some reason I got to thinking about tire pressure monitor systems. Kinda strange right?

If you own a car newer than 2008, it must be equipped with a system that monitors the tire pressure called TPMS. It is a system that monitors the air pressure in your tires. It came about after the Ford and Firestone disasters in the late 1990s. I worked at Carmax at the time and selling Explorers was tough.

So that got me thinking about other safety and security type things. Take the wheel locks on most cars have. Do they really prevent wheel theft? Or is it just more of a hassle for the customer or the mechanic working on the car? Let’s look at some other things that fall into this category.

  • Radio Codes
    All VWs and many other brands have security lock out codes. You can not turn on the radio with out this secret code. I know that cars get broken into all the time. But do the secret codes prevent the actual theft? If my radio got stolen, I don’t really care what happens after that. Plus the codes are really easy to get. So to me, it is just more hassle for the customers.
  • Wheel locks
    I touched on it a little above. Wheel locks are the one we have the most issues. It’s either “I lost me wheel lock, can’t find my wheel lock, or YOU(meaning me) lost my wheel lock”.If a theft really wants your nice rims, they are going to get them. There are several tools to remove wheel locks with out the proper key. I won’t tell you how to do it, but it can be done. It is often more hassle for the cars owners than any thief. Heck I am sure most good thieves can take wheels off faster than I can.
  • Security bolts
    There are several bolts on a VW that are shear bolts. That means they have no way to loosen them. They must be drilled out cut off, or removed with an extractor.
    The most common components held in with shear bolts are ECMs and ignition switches. Again, I think a good thief can rip an ECM out way faster than I can. I guess when you don’t care about doing damage to a car, you can “tear out” parts faster.

So why do we have these things on our cars? Sometimes I think it is just to make my job harder. 🙂 My guess is that it keeps most of the rookie thieves at bay. Much like the locks on the doors of our cars. A simple brick will get around those locks 😉

What do you guys think? Are these so called “security systems” a good thing, or just more work for the owners?

I want to just take another minute to thank you all for being awesome. I really appriate all the likes, tweets and comments. It means so much to me that you would take a few minutes to interact with me and the rest of the community here. Your support is really one of the main things that keeps this site going!

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Volkswagen brake fluid service

Does My Car Really Need This Service ~ Brake Fluid

I get this question, all the time. If comes in several forms, but all boils down to to this,

Does my car really need this service?

Today I want to talk about Brake Fluid. It can often be over looked. Flushing it will not get your better gas mileage. It wont make your neighbor come over and ask if you just detailed the car. That does not mean that you can just pass on doing it.

Why would it need to be changed?
Like most fluids in your car, brake fluid has a service interval. If you drive a VW, it is every 2 or 3 years. Please consult your owners manual for the proper service interval.

Volkswagen brake fluid service

This is what your fluid should not look like!

The fluid in your brake system is vital to proper brake operation. The fluid in the system moves pistons which push the pad into the brake rotor. When that happens your car stops 🙂

If dirt or other contaminates get into the fluid, it can change the behavior of your cars braking. The biggest enemy to brake fluid is moisture. Brake fluid is hygroscopic. That means it absorbs and holds water. This is a good thing in a brake system. It will all but eliminate brake lines rusting from the inside.

There is another reason that moisture is bad in your brake lines. Water can boil. If the fluid in your brake fluid boils, it can engage the brakes, or change the way they behave. In the right climate that water can freeze too.

Phoenix Systems Brake Fluid Test Strips (100 / Tube) - PHOFASCAR-1-100

Brake fluid test strips

How do I check the fluid
Checking the brake fluid is pretty easy. All you have to do is open the reservoir and look inside. That will give you a basic idea of what the fluid looks like. That may not tell the entire story. You can not see how much moisture is in brake fluid.

Something like these brake test strips work really well. They are pretty expensive for most people. These come in at about $70. Since you can get your brake fluid serviced for ~$100-$120 it seems silly to spend $70 to test, then another $100+ to replace.

When I inspect brake fluid, I really focus on the color. New brake fluid is clear with a yellow tint. As it ages it turns green, then brown. If your brake fluid is brown you are in bad shape. When I checked the fluid in the Cabby, it was really thick and brown. Not a good thing. I have a feeling that it will take a lot of cleaning to get the lines right

How is the fluid replaced?
At work, we have a really great machine to flush brake fluid. The fluid in the reservoir gets vacuumed out. Then we ‘push’ clean brake fluid through the system. Each brake has a bleeder valve that we open and allow the fluid to flow. I let it flow out until the fluid coming out is clean, then just a little longer. You can also check out the post I wrote about Servicing Brake Fluid. It was my 2nd post on the site so it’s not great, but the information is spot on.

So do I really need it?
I would have to say yes on this service. This is one service that really can cause some safety issues, and costly repairs down the road. Check with your owners manual to see when your brake fluid is due for service. If you don’t have your book, call your local dealer and ask them. If you have never had your brake fluid serviced, get it serviced, or DIY.

From time to time, I give you guys some information that is really worth sharing. I think that this post in one. Every car has brake fluid, and all brake fluid needs to be serviced. Make sure that you get yours done when it needs it!


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No Post Again Today

Just a quick heads up everyone.

There will not be a post again today. I am hung up at work and couldn’t put the finishing touches on the post.

I know I know, no excuses right. 🙂

I will be back tomorrow with some Shop Shots, and there will be posts the rest of the week.

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Humble Mechanic Logo

Something A Little Different About Cars

I really wanted to do something different today. We get into some serious business about cars, car repairs, tools, auto mechanics an so on. So today I want to do something totally fun. Let’s play a little game.

Here is how this works. Oh, its only fun if everyone posts what they think in the comments.

Question 1
So You are designing a new car for James Bond. What defensive equipment would you put on the car? Oil slick, tack deployment, how would you keep Mr. Bond safe?

Question 2
What is best cartoon car? No rules here, as long as it was a cartoon. It can also be a truck or a van.

Question 3
If you could add any feature to your current car, what would you add? It can be something real, like Bluetooth, or something like that espresso machine like Suzuki’s commercial. HA!

Question 4
If you could drive ANY car in the world, real or imaginary, what would it be?

Question 5
What will the “green car” of the future be? Odds are it will not run on puppy kisses, and teddy bear dreams. What will the “green car of tomorrow” be powered by. Side note, I hope it is puppy kisses.

Bonus Question
What is the most embarrassing car you could drive? Again, real or imaginary, you better not say a 1988 Cabriolet that is covered in chalk!!!!

I present you with the questions, now it’s your turn to answer them. Go ahead and reach for the stars. Okay let’s see what y’all got!

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Snap on Auto Mechanic's wrench

Buying A Tool Kit, Or Piecing A Set Together

I was out shopping some tool storage things last week. I have also been looking for a basic tool kit I can buy for the house. Now that I have the Cabriolet, I do a fair amount of wrenching at my house. I don’t want to spend a lot of money, but I don’t want to buy junk either

Today I want to give you guys some advise on buying tools in a kit, or building your own set.

Buying A Set

You can make a really good arguments on both sides. Cost, storage, and needs all play into making this choice.

Pros

  • The cost per tool is cheaper.
    You will almost always get more tools for the money when you buy a complete set.
  • Its easy
    It is a grab and go solution, gotta like that.
  • Tool storage
    A lot of tool sets come with some type of storage setup. Generally that makes them very organized and portable.
  • They all will match
    This is just something to feed my tool O.C.D. 😉
  • You may get some tools you never thought you would need
    That 1/2in 3/8 drive extension may come in handy. It is something I would not buy separate.
  • They make great gifts (hint hint) 😀

Cons

  • You will get tools you might not need
    The first tool set I bought was a Craftsman kit. I don’t remember how many pieces came in the set. I do remember that about 1/4 of the tools were Allen wrenches. I didn’t need 50 Allen wrenches.
  • Most sets are not complete
    I have found that many sets are missing tools. The set I was looking at last week had no 16mm sockets. If you work on VWs that is something you need.
  • There are so many choices
    I get really overwhelmed when shopping for kits. Do I pick the one with 99 pieces, or the one with 104 pieces? This is about the time I give up shopping.
  • The storage might not be what you want
    Just because a tool set comes with storage, doesn’t mean it is a good one. It might not fit the space you have. It may not be the way you want your tools set up.

Build Your Own

Just like buying a complete set, building your own customer set has pros and cons. Consider these when thinking about building your own kit.

Pros

  • You can get exactly what you want
    No need to pay for the tools you don’t need
  • You can buy a little at a time
    Kits from the big boy tool companies are REALLY expensive. You can buy them bit by bit instead of shelling out the cash all at once.

Cons

  • Most likely you will spend more money
  • You will have to find your own tool storage
    Tool storage can be very expensive
  • It takes time
    Piecing a tool set together yourself will take time. If you are not in a hurry, no big deal.
  • You might get a mismatched set.
    This can be good or bad. Good you can get better tools for a job. For me, I don’t like to have tools not match. Sorry just a little OCD 😉

So what should you do? Well, like all good questions the answer is “It depends”. If I were starting with no tools, a kit would be perfect! Once you have the basics, you can add on from there.

 

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Don’t Wait On Repairing An Oil Leak

Shop Shots Automotive serivce pictures

This is a swollen seal on a coolant flange, caused by an oil leak

We have talked before about repairs you can wait on. Things that are not safety items or are not vital systems are the most common. There are a few repairs that seem like they can wait. But may have consistencies to waiting. Let’s take an oil leak for example.

Let me set the scene for you. A customer brings their car in for a service. During that service the tech finds the car has an oil leak coming from the valve cover. The customer did not see any oil leaking onto the ground. The customer declines the repair. A month later, the customer has their car towed in because it is over heating. On further inspection the car has leaked all the coolant out. Now the car has an issue with the coolant leak.

So what in the world happened? Well, the oil leaking from the valve cover leaked on to the plastic coolant flange. The oil causes the rubber gasket to swell. That makes for a heck of a coolant leak. Now the car has a coolant flange that needs to be replaced, on top of that oil leak.

Times like this is when having a great service advisor and mechanic team are vital. They can fully evaluate the leak. Mechanics can not predict the future. What we can do is tell what might happen if a repair is not made. Valve cover gaskets leaking on the coolant flanges is a really common example.

If you are not seeing oil leaking on the ground, or smelling oil burning doesn’t mean oil leaks are not serious. That is one of those repairs that can cost a lot more if put off too long.

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