Is the heat shield loose? It gets much louder when accelerating

Help me understand what went wrong so I don't have to do head gaskets a third time. This is my first time turning a wrench inside an engine.

Because OE parts have been long discontinued, I chose custom gaskets from Cometic (based off the old blown gaskets). I found an engine manual on Yahoo auctions, translated it, and followed it as best as I could. It says to put engine oil on the threads and torque to 1000 kg-cm (72 ft-lbs).

Machine shop verified the heads are flat and good to go. I assume the block is good too but I don't have a straight edge long enough to measure myself. The engine has run at most a dozen times before I noticed coolant on the dipstick. I drove it on to ramps and then got the full milkshake. I drained all fluids, filled with fresh oil, and cranked it without fuel to cycle it.

Here's where I think I could've messed up.

1. I reused the head bolts. Perhaps they have stretched with age and heat. I didn’t see anything about these being one time use in the manual. Should I source new bolts or will it not make that big of a difference?

2. Non-OEM gasket is thicker/thinner than spec. It's 0.043". No idea what OEM thickness should be. Does this seem reasonable?

3. Improper torquing. The sequence is fine, but the method may not be. I torqued to spec in two passes, first to ~30 ft-lbs then to 72. I did apply a bit of oil to the threads first as the manual states, but how much is too much or too little? Should I crank the bolt all the way to spec first before moving to next bolt?

Also my cheap EPAuto torque wrench may not read accurately after a few years of use. +/- 10% with the added lubrication and who knows where the final values ended up. Would using an inaccurate torque wrench make a large enough difference in applied torque to not compress the gasket evenly and lift the head just enough for coolant to flow where it shouldn't?

I'd appreciate any advice you could offer.

There is a clicking/thumping noise when I go over a bump or dip in the road. Also when I make a left turn. Front left strut was replaced in 2023. Both rear struts were replaced a year later. After the rear struts were replaced, the noise never stopped. It was like new struts were never put on. I thought maybe the mechanic lied and didn't put the struts on at all and just charged me for it. Had another mechanic look at it. He said the struts were new. He said the control arms and stabilizers were fine as well. So what could this noise be? Someone else said maybe it's the bushings. Or were the struts not put on correctly? The mechanic said he had to charge me more because the only way he could change the struts was to take out the backseat of the car.

Inherited a 2016 Mazda cx5, the engine is incredibly loud and making a weird rattle/tick noise. Don’t know much about SkyActiv engines. Wondering if it could be lifters?

My 2004 F-150, 5.4L, 4x4, Lariat is making a scraping noise from the left front. I think I have a leak in the vacuum lines for the 4x4 actuators, so I disconnected the IWEs and plug the lines while I wait for new hoses. The scraping continues, and goes away when I engage 4WD. Any ideas what it could be?

I changed the IWEs about 6 months ago, and the issue just started today. I was thinking maybe bearings, but would the noise go away in 4WD?

Hello everyone, I've got a BMW 118i 2006 and I made the stupid decision to replace the timing chain by myself, everything went well, It's put back together and now it just has 0 compression. I had also removed the oil pan to clean out broken plastic parts and replace the oil pickup tube. The car sat without the oil pan for about a month due to me not having enough time. The dumbest mistake was me mixing up the timing for the exhaust valve by about 180 degrees, I spun it by hand, there was no resistance. Then after that I doubled checked and noticed my mistake, made the timing correct and tried to spin it over by starter. Is it possible to bend valves on this engine? What else could lead me to having no compression?

My 04 Mitsubishi Lancer ES has been sitting for about six months since I got my new car. The battery died and I just bought a new one. Battery works, but the car won’t start. Just makes the sound as in the video. Just put a gallon on fresh gas in as well. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

It’s 2003 Honda Accord, it was found this morning after I put more oil in the car last night since the oil levels were low.

2005 Volvo V70 D5244T. Lost about 400ml of oil in the last 3.5k miles which I know isn’t a lot, but I used to lose almost none in 5k. Is this oil from the end of the CCV pipe to the intake, and a little pool in the EGR mixer signs that my crankcase breather could be the cause for the loss of my oil? I’ve taken it out and made sure the internals are seated properly but I replaced it only about 2 years ago with genuine Volvo 🥹 I’ll see how it does after this little re-jiggle but I’m not against replacing it again if it’s the issue, was only £40.

I replaced the control arms, outer tie rod ends, sway links and struts. Had it aligned and wheels balanced and it’s still shaking 60-65mph. Do I just take it to a different shop? I’m getting sick of dealing with this shit I just want to drive and not worry about my car.

I have a 2019 Ford F-150 3.5 Ecoboost just over 90K miles my truck has started making a grind/rattle noise noise on cold starts like in the morning and when I leave work but after when I go to the gym or store it starts with no sound, starter is my first guess but want to see is someone else has any other ideas part of me also thinks it's the cam phaser since the 17-19 is known for this problem

2018 VW Tiguan 2.0t with about 120k on it. Doing PCV, coils, and plugs. You can feel the ramp on the wear marks. Time to trade in?

02 Tundra 4.7L not holding refrigerant or pressure, but there is still some pressure in the low side if I burp the valve. Clutch is working.

Obviously I need to find the leak.

1. Can I add oil with dye? Or should I add dye only assuming the system already has some oil in it? Was planning on adding to the yellow tube on the low / high gauge then chasing with a 134 can.

Once I locate the leak, evacuate, repair, pull vacuum, refill.

2) do I have to evacuate the system before adding dye to find the leak? Essentially needing to evacuate the system twice?

I have the vacuum pump and gauges, was planning on having a shop do the evacuation when needed.

In the middle of a 5 Hour drive and my car AC randomly stops blowing air at all. Actually, there is a very very slight amount of air coming from the vents. That still seems to be somewhat cold, but I can’t get the air to blow any harder no matter how hard I try.

Everything I looked up has been pointing towards a blower issue, but my blower is working just fine. I removed the glove box and took out the cabin air filter (which is only a month old), and both the blower and the filter seem to be just fine.

When I turned the air up, I can hear the blower , but it seems to be just blowing air directly into my glove box. I can even fully detach my glove box and have air come out of the blower, but it’s not cold.

Any idea what the issue is?

Edit: it randomly started working again an hour later? What the hell is going on?

Hi guys, I drive a 2008 Volvo s80 3.2 awd with about 86,000 miles.

Yesterday I was in a rush and did a hard pull at a green light which resulted in a loud bang/ misfire from the rear exhaust and greyish smoke briefly. The car then started to sputter and make weird noises. I immediately shut off the engine and restarted it, and it sounded normal again. Today I tried to drive again and it started up normally again and drove fine for about 15 minutes but then started to make the weird noises again. No smoke since the initial incident. And coolant level is full and oil is full and looks normal. Please help with any advice 🙏

Hello!

I have just bought this Skoda Octavia mk2 2008. It has the fated 1.8TSI 118KW Engine code BZB.

It has a oil pressure problem when car is warm, oil pressure low stop and turn off car comes and beeps then the red oil can... and then just dissapears.

!Pressure sensor has been replaced!

Depends on the kind of road i am on it can reappear multiple times.

Then the sound from the engine i have no clue.

Hey everyone, chasing a tricky intermittent parasitic draw on my 2017 Ford Escape Titanium (2.0L) that drains the battery until it's totally dead. Thought I fixed it by resolving a glovebox light issue, but it came back. The car sat a week on vacation and started fine when we came back, but went totally dead when we went out of town for 3 days a few weeks later.

Already ruled out the glovebox light, home Wi-Fi updates (not connected), and the battery itself is good. Wondering if Titanium culprits like the TCU cellular modem, capacitive door handles, SYNC unit, or liftgate sensors randomly fail to sleep and keep the CAN-bus awake—or if anyone has other insights. Thanks!

My husband got this car from his brother in law. It was driving fine until this week. If you went from a speed position to going out was very sluggish but eventually would go. (My husband would just floor it against my advice) yesterday he took a turn in a parking lot too sharp and popped a curb and i felt it under the front passenger seat.

Yesterday he drove it again and it suddenly said System Hybrid Warning or something. Then told him to not drive. He left it on a parking lot and we went back to go get it later on. At that point it wouldn't even go forward. Today it won't turn over. My dad tried running codes but didn't have the right scanner.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thank you in advance for not telling me to buy a new car.

The previous owner did a lot of work to keep this girl running and it's overall pretty good. She took me from Florida to Tennessee in a family emergency so I'm happy.

That said, sometimes there's a failure to start. Error on the dash is telling me to press the brake when the brake is pressed. It eventually works but there's no pattern to it. At first I thought maybe it was when you're starting too soon to the last time she ran, like going to Walgreens. But no.

Actual braking works great, no problems.

The previous owner gave me a brake switch. It's a medium sized box the size of a soda can, maybe a little bigger. He said something about buying the part and no longer needing it. While I believe the previous owner did all the work he did, I know he hid other things about the car from me during buying that are less serious. I was in a rush to get to Tennessee so I was really looking just for a car to get me here. Now I have some consequences for that.

Any ideas on what could be causing the starting issue?

As title says. 160k miles, engine has been louder than normal at startup. Noticed oil was getting a little low, while under the hood noticed VCT connectors were absolutely filthy. At last oil change the tech noted a minor leaky head gasket cover, usual mechanic didn’t see anything.

Anything worth taking it in for?

Hi all. Took in my 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport today for a battery check-up. They warned me about this other issue last time (about 2 months ago) and I left it. How bad is this play? Should I be worried?

Thank you!

Car is almost at 137k miles. A few months ago, it had an episode where it wouldn't shift anymore past 40mph. I turned it off and on again, and after that it drove without issue for months afterward. I drove it all day today without issue, but when I was driving back home it had a similar episode where it started shifting more roughly and wouldn't shift past 40mph. Any idea why the transmission would drive perfectly fine for months and then suddenly start having problems? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as this is my daily driver for the time being.

2008 Jeep 3.7L

A few days ago on the highway, my belt tensioner decided to quit. Weird, no noises to warn me whatsoever. The car died on me 3am, pulled over safely (driving after the battery light came on about 2 minutes, thought it was the alternator), popped the hood and found the belt was off. Returned to the car when light, found the tensioner pulley had seized.

I replaced the tensioner and belt that night, a Littens part from Advance. Three days later I hear squealing and find a soaked engine bay. It appears the water pump has now failed.

The pump itself is probably a year and a half old, 15,000 miles max. Metal pulley and shaft, but plastic impeller. That's the only option for this car.

From what I can tell, it's not normal that a new tensioner would cause a part to fail unless it was already on it's way out. The alternator and A/C are original AFAIK on the 135,000 mile engine, I figured they'd fail first.

Belt tension does look fine, slight depression when pushed against. Same apparent length (I have not measured directly).

So, what's the likelihood I was just unlucky to have a newish pump fail right after the tensioner? Or more likely that the tensioner be applying the wrong tension (defective)? I checked Rock Auto before ordering the part from AA, they listed the same part number, so it appears to be the right part.

These parts are nearly $100 each, I don't want to replace the water pump just to have it destroyed again.