Shop Shots Volume 44 Insider Pictures of Automotive Service
After a crazy long delay, we are BACK in action. It has been a long time, but still shorter than the hockey lock out. We are jumping right in today with Shop Shots! The pictures that show some of the crazy things mechanics see. If you want to see more automotive pictures, just click Shop Shots in the light blue bar at the top of the page. That will take you back to all the previous pictures.
There are times that I have to make repairs based on a gut feeling. Being right on a gut feeling is awesome. Then everyone once in a while, that gut feeling can be 100% confirmed. It’s a perfect world. You are looking at an air pipe on a TDI Jetta. The customer was complaining about an oil leak.
Finding oil leaks can be a pretty tricky. Many times it involves fixing things you know are leaking, cleaning the area, and rechecking for leaks. This leak was tricky too. It was leaking oil from an air pipe. I removed the pipe and found this pinched seal.
All mechanics make mistakes. Sometimes we make mistakes that are just plain stupid(and hilarious). Mistakes happen for a number of reasons. This mistake is due to rushing, then not doing a quality check after a repair.
The tech replaced the rear brakes on the VW. When he replaced the pads, he didn’t install the shim properly. It was installed on the outside of the of the caliper. As the wheel turned, the shim hit the wheel. Lucky for us this was an internal car. We were able to fix the issue before a customer drove it.
I post pictures of TDI fuel issues from time to time. I don’t want you all to think we have nothing but issues with the TDI. We have very few issues with them. The issues that we do have tend to be expensive. This time the failure was not due to a bad HPFP(high pressure fuel pump). This was due to bad fuel. Generally water in diesel fuel makes for a bad day. It causes rust to build up in the fuel system. It can also lead to other organics to grow in the fuel.
That raps up another round of Shop Shots! I am glad to be back and posting stuff for you guys. Thanks for sticking with us. There will probably be a few more interruptions, but that will be minimal.
Quick house update
I posted a picture of the new garage on Facebook yesterday. I will give you guys the full update on the house. We did all the normal home inspections on Monday. Everything came back good. There are a few things that need to be repaired. Nothing major(like poisoned water) but a few minor repairs. I also found the spot where my toolbox will be going. 🙂
I do plan on doing some improvements asap.
- Some type of floor treatment. Not sure if I want to epoxy or tiles. What do you guys think?
- The lower part of the wall with corrugated steal sheets. Think wainscoting
- A shelf around the entire garage at about chair rail height. You know, for beverages.
- Drywall the rest of the way up the walls. If things get really fun, I would LOVE to do wood on the top half of the walls.
What do you guys think? Throw me some suggestions on the garage. I will take all I can get.
That is a nice looking garage.
When I buy a house in the near future, I’m turning all the garage walls into white boards, so I can scribble torque specs or crazy ideas while I work. There are companies that make paint to do that.
@Chris,
That is an AWESOME idea! I could do that chalk paint, it would match the Cabby HA!
That’s perfect for a wall-to-wall workbench and tool cabinet!
Perhaps a small lift too? 😉
@Mathew
I have researching different lifts. A 2 post will be a tight fit. I think a mid-height lift may be the way to go. It will lift the car about 4ft off the ground. It will be better than no lift and save a ton of space. Plus most are portable.
I would LOVE to have some sort of lift in the garage.
A four-post lift would be killer, but sometimes you just need it a few feet off the ground.
Good luck!
I like the looks of the garage clean slate to work with. My 2¢ – the top half I would place the white plastic board ( like what you find in
A rest room) it’s easy to clean and white really reflects light
We’ve seen some pretty crazy things in our shop as well. Like the look of your new garage, too!
Love all the videos and info.
I have a 1997 Eurovan based Rialta motorhome. I am having problems with an over pressurized fuel tank on hot days and long driving. No codes n80 valve working evap system seems fine cannister and lines appear fine as well. There are other people as well with this problem on different year models. I have even gone so far as to insulate the bottom and sides of fuel tank which seemed to help some. I really need some help finding a fix for this.
No idea if this is the right place to post here or where I should post.