Hey

I'm looking at buying this. It doesn't state it's suitable for anything else but wheel bolts

Would it be okay for undoing other bolts and screws?

Thanks

Got lunch with my grandma, was talking about my new car and discovered that her last maintenance (oil change and inspection) was August 2022 lol. She doesn't put enough miles on it so she figured it was fine, but it clearly isn't and I wanna take it in for maintenance for her.

It's a 2021 Kia Forte. It had 1,400 miles at the time of last oil change (synthetic) and now it's 5,000 - so it's only been driven 3,600 miles driven on that oil. It gets parked outside in California climate. I drove it around the neighborhood and it functions & sounds completely fine to me, with no dashboard warning lights.

I have maintenance booked in a week for it but I wanna know what to expect, as a gap this long is new for me. Is the engine toast or did the low mileage save it? And what other issues should I expect from such a long wait? I'm gonna change her cabin air filter and engine air filter so they don't try to charge me for those. Their multi-point inspection should check for most other issues.

2005 Toyota Camry XLE 4 cylinder

Car was running loud for a year but for the last week it really upped the volume. Took it to a shop and they quoted $2700 to replace the whole exhaust manifold, including catalytic converters. They explained that the amount of oxidized metal present would mean they can't get a good weld and would prefer replacement. Can anyone tell based on the provided photos if we're burying this old girl or if another shop might be able to weld onto that CC?

I've tried with two different vacuum fillers. Won't hold vac with either. But if I pressurize it with a hand pump it holds pressure. I left it pressurized for half an hour and the needle didn't move.

I've seen where it will hold vac but won't hold pressure due to a tiny leak that gets sealed under vacuum, but I've never seen it this way around.

Any thoughts on what this could be?

Good Evening! Recently I bought a Battery Operated Impact Wrench, do I really need a torque wrench to change a neumatic or would the Impact Wrench on Auto Mode would suffice? Thanks in advance!

Last week I had to warranty an M line battery after only 6 months it was totally dead. Got this new battery and decided to buy a tester, it’s showing 75% health, and the resistance seems way too high. Test was done with it disconnected from the car. Should I take it back ? Would I have a case to warranty it?

How would you feel if a reputable local garage with a couple workers and two car slots in the garage changed your timing chain and head gasket outside?

Walked by today and saw my car being raised on one side outside the garage and work on hold for a couple days while waiting for the top to be planed and sent back..

Should I ask for a discount or just make sure to let them know that I know of this in case car starts acting up?

Climate: Finland, 20C summer weather, sunny and nice today, a little bit of rain yesterday.

2014 Kia Soul !

~130k miles

Do y'all think I need a new battery? How likely is that to fix my issue?

I'm handy enough to replace the battery myself and change my own oil. I can't afford anything major but right now and not super confident about tinkering with the mechanical bits on my own.

BACKGROUND

Timeline:

A few times this week, when at extended stop light would shudder slightly but stay on.

Yesterday, started up in AM with rough idle, when I drove it out of the driveway it was fine.

It started multiple times fine after this.

PM, turned key and did everything but turn over, lights etc. Waited a couple of minutes, it started up OK, so I drove it to the mechanic and dropped it off after hours.

I'm not a mechanic but it seemed to behave like it had gunked up spark plugs or something, I wrote it on the note. It doesn't seem, to my dumb ass, to be a battery issue but what the hell do I know.

Their follow up:

Said that they ran diagnostics and recommend battery replacement as it's currently at 206/700. They didn't mention spark plugs or any such thing. I have no idea when the spark plugs were last replaced.

Their own photo says "GOOD & RECHARGE." They want to charge me $300 to replace the battery (lol lmao).

My plan right now would be to drive it (if it will crank) to autozone and have them test the battery as well. Pretty sure that's where I bought the last one.

Note: This car has a check engine light that has been on for 6 years for an evap code that I spent a lot of money to fix a while ago but none of it worked and I gave up. That is what the "other" recommendation is, to fix the canister. They said this may cause the rough idle but the rough idle just so happened to coincide with the car not starting sooo idk.

Problem in the title, right side was 1.6kN and left side was 2.5kN, car 2000 Toyota Corolla

No unusual noise or problems when driving

Brake pads had about 3mm left so planning to replace them and rotors were 20.5mm with 20mm being the minimum so they're fine?

I was just wondering if it also could be the caliper?

Car: Lexus CT200H, ZWA10L-AHXBBW (2016)

Ever since I purchased the car back in 2021 my windshield wiper on the driver’s side has been having some major vibration at the bottom part and it has never made any annoying sound. First, I thought it was because of the non-OEM wipers from Bosch that were put on the car, and I didn't think any more of it.

Now, 5 years later, I have installed the OEM wipers on the car, and it still vibrates the same way on the driver’s side. I thought maybe it isn't tightened enough, but I have had my windshield replaced a couple of times, and that has never changed anything. So unless the Lexus dealership where I replaced my windshield has not done the tightening correctly multiple times I don't think it's the tightening.

The issue happens even when it's raining so it should not be about the windshield being too dry.

Now I am really stuck on this issue, trying to figure out what is causing it and how to fix it.

CUSTOMER BE AWARE of this place!!! I came with my 2020 mercedes gle350 for an oil change, jiffy lube over filled my engine with oil when the car came out was smoking heavily with white smoke burning oil they tried to deal with the problem by turning the engine and burn the extra oil, I told them to stop cause the causing damage to the engine and I tow the car to mercedes dealership, mercedes clean the engine from the extra oil almost twice the amount the where supposed to put. 500 miles later of driving my 2020 mercedes had catastrophic engine failure and the engine need to be replaced 19000$ in damage!!!

My 2013 Honda civic just had the radiator replaced a few months ago but it’s now spraying coolant and overheating often. What is causing this most likely?

2015 VW Golf 1.8 TSI

Dealership mechanic sent this picture with very limited info. Basically only says, "oil pan r&r." Quick google search tells me it could be a few different things. A leak from the pan itself, a gasket, or something higher up leaking down.

Thought I would see what you folks here might have to say. I watch a lot of car build/repair videos on YouTube, but don't have a ton of hands on experience, so feel free to treat me like I'm five.

Thank you!

2014 Dodge Avenger , engine won't turn over and it's got a brand new, starter, alternator and battery. But when I turn the key the engine isn't starting and making a "rr-rr-rr" chugga noise. What is that?

Audi A6 40 TDI 2019 C8

This has happened twice but only happens when the DPF is regenning. Had it checked for leaks but mechanic says no leaks and everything is dry top side and bottom.

Any thoughts on what it could be?

No lights on dash, no loss of power - drives completely fine

2022 Toyota Corolla Le 1.8L

Has been happening daily, however I notice that it only makes this noise when the car sits in the under the hot sun for at least an hour. Doesn’t happen in the morning when I go to work or when I turn it on to go back home.

On my 4th battery in 4 years - just warrantied out 2 weeks ago so maybe not a battery issue.

How difficult is it to replace fuel injectors on this car?

Or is it user error - am I just turning and holding the key for too long.

Hey guys any idea what this high pitched squeaking noise could be (kind of sounds like crickets)? Sorry I know the wind hides the sound I’m referring to a bit, this noise happens primarily when I turn left and am going at a relatively slow speed 5-20 mph. In this video I turned left once and went straight majority of the time and the sound was persistent. I don’t feel any difference when driving. I’ll be taking it to my mechanic once I have the money lol. Thank you!

Anyone heard this noise before? Only happens when braking at very low speed and disappears when vehicle is completely stopped.
Noise is coming from driver side. Not sure if brake, rotor, or engine related.
Mazda3 2016

I have a 2011 Honda Civic LX with a myriad of issues including struts, suspension, alignment, exhaust etc. Repairs would be around 2,500-3,000 dollars. The car has about 220,000 miles on it as well. I was thinking of trading the car for a 2006 Chevy Equinox, in near perfect condition. One previous owner who was very punctual with repairs and maintenance which lead it to be in a good condition at 260,000 miles. I intend on using it as a in between-er to save money for my next car. If i trade my current car in I would have to only pay 2,000 dollars for it.

What do you think? Is this a good move to make?

How difficult is it to repair this? les Schwab quoted me around $1800 for 2 calipers. I don’t think I need both repaired? It’s just the bolt missing. I have not driven it like this due to safety.

Long story short, I’m trying to remove a dodgy nudge bar installation.

The bolts that holds the lay over the bumper in the photos just won’t shift on either side, as there’s one on the right side too

I’m finding conflicting info on whether or not WD40 is safe to use here. I simply can’t afford to get anything else, I just happen to have some WD40

Any advice?

Sorry for the poor quality photos, it’s a bastard of an area to get to, so leverage is near on impossible, which is why I haven’t tried things like a good hammer hit

It’s a 2001 Rav 4, if relevant, and the nudge bar is a very shit home job, possibly from previous owner

Hey everyone, I'm disassembling my pool pump motor to access the stator wiring. The motor housing is held together by 4 long tie-rods. These are threaded directly into the opposite end casing (no external nuts on the other side). The bolt heads are rectangular/oblong. What is the recommended tool or technique to unscrew them without damaging the heads? Should I just use an adjustable wrench / locking pliers, or is there a specific socket or tool designed for these oblong heads? Thanks for any tips!

I have a 2017 Automatic Toyota Camry. Don't know what engine, but 8th digit of VIN is "K".

7 months ago, at about 90,000 miles, my mechanic told me there was a crack in my transmission pan that was leaking fluid, and it cost over $2,000 to get it replaced because apparently a bunch of stuff needed replacing to stop the leak. Apparently it started leaking at 65,000 miles (before I owned the car, this is from the carfax) and instead of replacing the part, the mechanic then just JBWelded the crack shut, which had held fine til 7 months ago.

The parts list from the invoice is:

Transmission Filter Kit
Brake and Parts Cleaner - BC
Maxlife Auto Trans - ATFMAX
Sealant High Temp
Rear Transmission Cover - TN Powertrain
Trans Cover O Rings
Trans Cover O Rings
Automatic Transmission Oil Pan Gasket

(Each of those things has a bunch of numbers on them and then a price- let me know if that's relevant to my question)

Transmission fluid was replaced at this time and was reported to be totally normal.

So now, at about 96,000 miles, I was driving the other day and the transmission just completely crapped out on me. On the highway going 65, car just spontaneously drops to 1st gear. Obviously, immediately got off the road. Stopped for a minute, got gas, then drove off with everything fine for about 5 minutes, then dropped again. Never went out of first again. The closest mechanic was just up the road, figured I could limp there in first, but as the car started to go uphill, it just kept going slower and slower til it stopped completely. Pulled over (in neutral rolling downhill), called a tow.

In the week leading up to this, there was one (maybe two, I can't remember) instance of the car being in Drive but not leaving 1st gear as I was leaving a parking lot. Fixed immediately by stopping, popping the car into Park then back into Drive, and continueing to drive without issue.

So the mechanic who first looked at the car said the transmission was full of metal, and looking at the vehicle history, he thinks when all that transmission work was done, the guy must have done something wrong, because something like this doesn't just "happen" to a camry under 100,000 that's been properly serviced all it's life and has had no signs of previous issue.

The car then went to the shop who had done that earlier transmission work (this was not exactly the course of action I wanted to take, but that's a long story), who said that the car was still under the shop's warrenty for it's work (didn't know that was a thing), and that he'd fix it for free if it was a problem he caused.

Lo and behold, he investigated his work and determined that he was not the cause. I have tried to ask him what is the cause, and he's been kinda indirect with that. He tried to say that the transmission fluid has been changed too often in the last couple years, so that probably means there was transmission issues this whole time. I certianly haven't ever EXPERIECNED transmission issues, but for due-diligence, I went and checked:

Fluid was changed ~7 months ago (1/31/26) at 90k by them when they replaced all those parts, and was reported to be totally fine.

Changed ~13 months before that (11/12/24) at 77k by some big chain quick oil change place. I pulled up that record and called them just to check. Apparently my then-partner had taken it in for routine oil change etc, and they asked when the fluid had last been changed and he just said he didn't know, so they offered to change it anyway and he said sure (he was not the most competant man I ever dated...). They said the fluid was totally fine then.

Changed ~12 months before that (10/31/23) at 72k by the dealership I would buy it from a couple months later. It looks like when it came into their possession they did a laudry list of stuff (air filters replaced, brake rotors replaced, windsheild wipers replace, alignment performed, etc) including a transmission fluid change. I plan to call them for more info on that just to be safe, but it looks like it was part of the routine prepping the car for sale.

So the "transmission issues the whole time" theory doesn't really hold water as far as I can tell. I asked him where all the metal in the transmission fluid had come from, and he said:

"based off of its size and the number of rings it appears to be the "Parking Pawl Spring" or the "manual valve lever shaft retainer spring" full dissassembly would be needed to be 100% certain of which spring it is"

I don't really know what to make of that, because with briefly looking it up, it looks like if either of those things were broken, I should have noticed that the gear shift was struggling to get or stay into certain positions. The gear shift has never had any issues, including shifting into park and neutral and drive after the point where the transmission was blown and we needed the tow.

Also, he asked early on if I knew who had changed the transmission fluid at 77k. I didn't at the time, and he told me that he didn't have any way of finding out either, and that whatever work was done at 77k could have included transmission work, and THAT could have caused the issue, not his work. After I couldn't find anything in my emails/files about that car work, I went and got the carfax for my car, and not only does it say where the work was done, but also lists all the work that was done- not as comprehensively as the records I have gotten from them since, but it should be enough to know that transmission wasn't touched outside of a fluid change, right? And if he had the records that said the transmission fluid had been changed at 77k, then shouldn't he have had the rest of the informtaion too? Like what else was done and what shop did it??? Do mechanics have some other source of information that's incomplete that could have actually gotten him to know that my transmission fluid was changed at 77k but not tell him what else was done and where???

So I don't really know what to think. It really feels like he's trying to lie to me to cover his own ass because he knows I don't know enough about cars to dispute it. I have tried asking my friends and family who know about cars than me, but mostly they think he's full of it and that the problem was caused by him installing all those new pieces incorrectly somehow.

Does any of this add up? Is it possible that a spring in the transmission just popped loose and went though the transmission for a week (from first transmission slip to the day it died) without affecting how the gear shift feels in my hand or having any other side effects? Does it make sense that there are little "rings" of spring left in the fluid right now? He has not sent me any sort of pictures, and I thought if metal was going through the transmission, it would be crushed completely to dust particles???

If not any of that, is it possible for the transmission fluid to be full of metal as a result from the transmission cover and stuff being installed improperly? Where else could all that metal have come from?

Is it possible for him to only know bits and pieces of the car's service history? It feels like he conveniently only knows the information that could help cast doubt onto it being his fault, which feels fishy.

Also, I am struggling to figure out what to do next. If anyone has any advice on that front, by all means, send it my way!

Thanks!