What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done?

Warped rotors will cause steering shimmy but not brake pumping. I haven't seen many but I have seen some.

Reply to
Xeno
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And only a total fool buys everything on the net. I can generally buy off the shelf for close to the same price, with no hassle returns and I get to see-feel EXACTLY what I'm buying.

Can't even BUY Brembo for my daughter's car.

Not in the real world. On a large percentage of rotors doing it your way is totally impossible. And my way (the industry standard) I can measure warpage/runout ON THE CAR and know if it's a problem before taking ANYTHING apart beyond moving the rim.

Really crappy system - sorry.

I've worked on everything from a moskovitch to a Rolls, with Jags, Rovers, Toyotas, Fiats, Ladas, VWs, Nissans as well as just about every North American brand

I'm talking in general - not the limited vehicles of your experience.

\Measure in more than 2 places -

No I'm not. Seen it many times

Watch the needle move.

The internet doesn't show EVERYTHING. What you know comes from the web. What I know comes from tears in the trade (including teaching the trade)

That is totally dependent on how much warp. And what, other than "warp" will cause a rotor to develop "runout" if it is totally true when installed.

Ond I've dome them all at least once.

You have references I have experience.

Reality defies logic.

Only the stop-tech article is written by a pro (Can't open the raybestos link so it's useless)

The rest could be written by you - same level of cred. They are written by enthusiasts who have read articles.

They are correct in most of what they say - but real warpage DOES exist, because not all rotors are properly manufactured and stress relieved and heat treated - like the problem Toyota had in the early '80s, and many of the "crap" rotors in the aftermarket - as I have explained before. In the "ideal world" they would never warp. Also, not all rotors spend their life in "normal" conditions - other problems in the braking system, or abuse, can cause a lot more heat than normal driving - which is why the accurate stement is:

"Under normal operating conditions, properly manufactured and installed brake rotors very seldom actually WARP. Poor quality rotors can warp, as can rotors that are severely overheated due to abuse or certain braking system falures. When you experience brake pulsation, actual brake rotor warpage is UNLIKELY to be the problem - but stranger things HAVE happened. Uneven friction material transfer due to either poor intial bedding of the pads or improper use of the brakes is much more likely, and some brake pads are more prone to causing these issues due to their composition. In areas where winters are more severe and salt is used on the roads some pad compostions are more likely to cause problems - particularly the hard-spotting and pitting of rotors due to localized overheating caused by uneven friction material transfer. Many brake problems tend to be regional in nature for this reason. Rustout of cooling fins of a rotor, for instance, would be unheard-of in arizona or alabama, but fairly common in the northeat and the "rust belt".

NEVER say never and ALWAYS avoid always.

Reply to
clare

ANY mechanical damage fails the rotor on DOT test. Some smoth wear is allowed - but you NEVER install new pads on rotors that have an uneven friction surface because it is virtually impossible to properly bed the new pads to the uneven rotor withot localized overheating

At the price of rotors today even on your Bimmer, it just is not worth it. The pads cost more than the rotors on MOST vehicles today. No reputable shop will do it because comebacks are expensive - and real mechanics KNOW the comebacks will happen if they do something stupid like installing new pads on badly worn rotors.

Reply to
clare

One skinned knuckle is one too many!!!

Reply to
clare

You paid $90 to find that out. Consider it money well spent and move on with your life.

Reply to
clare

I keep mine around because I still occaisionaly work on the "old iron" for friends. a 1953 MG TD, a 1972 Fiat 500 with an 800 engine in it, a 1957 Isetta 350, and a couple Mopar muscle cars a couple friends own and have restored. - for starters.

Reply to
clare

Reply to
clare

Every car I've owned except for my Mark 1 Mini has "wind down" windows

- just because they are electric doesn't change the fact they are "wind down" and the window motors WILL run under water - at least once. The mini had "sliders"

Reply to
clare

Depends on the particular engine. Most belts are around 60K change interval, and many are not hard to do. Then you have vehicles with chains, a good design will go 2-300K with no real issues. The shitty designs fail around 50-60K and do more damage than just the valves if it drops into the lower sprocket on a stick that rolls a bit. GMs 3.6 and some others use a VERY light chain that stretches and breaks.

Reply to
Steve W.

Snipped for brevity

Corect

Depends what you drive and what plugs it needs. Waste spark engines basically require double platinum plugs (they fire in both polarities) and 5.4 Tritons use a very specific specialized plug.

You don't have to. It's true -

My mini and my bug were run wide open almost all the time.

and the final drive gearing can be identical between engines - and if not the little engine is reving a lot higher. Gearing cannot change the power output - only the road torque. You trade rpm for torque by gearing.

But if loaded - BIG difference.

Load that 2.4 liter PT cruiser with 4 adults and luggage for a 3 week road trip - then drive it throgh the laurentians and back through the appalachians and tell me it's not working like a sled dog.

How about pulling a house trailer up 4th of july pass in idaho - something like 13 miles of 5% grade - or up the Coquahala at Hope BC.

They make a bigger difference on my bicycle which I tool around town on - - -

Just some touchup where the tinted clearcoat pealed on the 02 Taurus

Nope

Nope - not since replacing the heads on the 88 New Yorker 3.0 liter Mitsoshitty engine

Paid my brother to replace the clutch when I bought the truck because I was busy earning money

Nope - I paid to have my Haks and Michelins installed for the truck, and the Tiger Paws on the Taurus. Bought the used snows on rims for the taurus (virtually new)

Last one I did on my own car was the '81 Tercel. Haven't had a belt that required replacement since

Most people will never require 1,3, or 4 - and very few will require #6 either since so many have gone back to chains

Only do it if theyenjoy it - rather climb that mountain in the time it would take to do the repair - and do what you do well and get paid well for - and use that money to pay the guy who does that job well. Thats what keeps the economy going.

The actual economics / benefits are often less than you think when all is said and done - - - Break off a bolt or a spark plug (thinking Triton 5.4 here) and the cost goes WAY higher than paying the guywho knows to do it right in the first place - - - - -

Reply to
clare

Nope. They cost almost as much back then when the dollar was worth a LOT more. Didn't have Chines tools pushing the price down, and the volume up.

Reply to
clare

Thankfully many customers felt differently when I was in the dealership - where I made sure the customers got good value for their money and their loyalty. There are things the dealer KNOWS about the car that the average mechanic may NEVER know - things to look for to prevent problems from ocurring. - like making sure the diff vent valves on RWD Toyotas are free every time the car is on the hoist - meaning you virtualkly NEVER need to replace axle bearings and seals - which will leak quickly if the vent sticks.

Some are - some are not. I had the highest customer retention of any Toyota dealer in Canada - usually well over 100% - which meant we regularly serviced more cars than we sold - even after they were out of warranty.

Not always true. I've found many parts are the same price or cheaper at the dealer than at the local jobber - and cheaper than buying from Rock Auto and payinf shipping and brokerage.

A good independent and a good dealer can both come in handy. My brother operated an independent shop for several decades (after working for several dealers and independents) while I worked for both dealers and insdependents

Reply to
clare

They only need to warrant it to the last converter and sensor.

Reply to
clare

As I posted earlier - a LOT.

Reply to
clare

It is high enogh to kill you if it hits you at the right point in the heart-beat and actually flows through the heart (depends where you get grounded) 100 miliamps can kill you as dead as 100 amps.

Reply to
clare

No, chains stretch - belts don't. Belt timing is more accurate and consistant. Belts are more efficient at transmitting power. Belts are much easier and cheaper to replace

It can be pretty much a wash

When a chain goes bad, it does more damage than a belt

A lot more hassle when a chain brakes.

Not necessarilly true

Correct - and the cain causes more damage and is more expensive to repair

Nope - an order of magnitude worse with a chain

Belts - 60- 100 thousand Km in the past - some last a lot longer but don't take the chance on an interference engine. an hour or 2 to change it, and mabee 50 bucks for the belt vs 6 hours plus the cost of tensioners and sprockets and chain (often over $200) for the chain

- which SHOULD last longer than 2 or 3 belts - but the average car will only have the belt changed 3 times in it's lifetime

Reply to
clare

Absoltely no biggy, on either count. I like FWD. I like RWD. in NORMAL driving, there is basically no difference - and the flat floor of a FWD is nice - and with the weight of the engine over the drive wheels traction is snow is MUCH superior to the traction of a rear wheel drive car with no extra weight in the rear - - -

I've had my say on belts

Reply to
clare

Pushrod can be gear or chain

Chevy pushrod engines often took out the plastic timing gears in under 100,000 km. Lots of timing chains on pushrod engines never made

100,00 miles.

The belt is just a maintenance item like plugs

Because in SO many ways they are better and they are not affected by lubrication issues.

You are wrong

Not necessarily

For many reasons which I have already given you.

Nope,

Not up here. and they make cars for world markets -

You can believe what you like - but my FWD cars get around in snow al LOT better than my old RWD cars. Try driving a new mustang or camaro in snow.

Reply to
clare

You are not drinking the coolade, but you are certainly falling for the bullshit.

Reply to
clare

Not for normal legal street driving

Reply to
clare

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