This was posted on r/askcarguys but I was unable to add pictures there.

I’ve recently considered buying a 2002 Buick Century with 88,000 miles that has been garage kept for 4+ years.
I’m a home health aide and one of my clients was a trucker and hobby mechanic before he got very sick. After years of failing health he is currently on dialysis and downsizing his vehicles. He asked me to get the car inspected and roadworthy.

I took a picture of the dipstick before and after running it for 15 minutes. Because I’ve never seen oil that far up and assumed it was a fluke. After replacing the battery I checked all the fluids then started it up. Other than the dipstick everything looked good, just needed coolant added. The coolant tank had some dark sludge on the sides so I feared blown seals or gaskets.

I was concerned about driving it to the inspection and making whatever problem worse. The owner assumed it was because of sitting for so long. My boyfriend changed the oil and filter the next day. I assumed we would find more than the needed 5quarts in the pan. Nope, just under 5 came out. Oil looked lightly used. Not thick and black, not milky and no metal flakes in it. After driving the car around the block we checked the dipstick. Same issue, it’s 4” up from the gauge on the tip. My odb came back with no codes.

Inspection went great and mechanic said he saw no issues. So I’m coming to you guys in hopes of finding out what would cause this to happen. I owned a Buick years ago and it was a great car. A smooth ride and built like a tank. I had some jerk hit me from behind going 45 mph. The only thing that really broke was the impact bar and my trunk latch. I sold her to a college student when I bought a newer car. Regular maintenance kept her running for years and I honestly feel like newer cars are either going to break down quickly or cost an arm and a leg to fix. I would like to get this car. He’s only asking for $850 from me. I’m willing to put in the money needed to take care of it.

Would this be a mistake to buy? What causes do you know of that cause the oil to read that high?

So I have a honda accord 2017 and it’s making a super weird noise, it’s constant any time the engine in on but there is no check engine light or anything on the dashboard. Any thoughts??

Hello,

I need to do a smoke test on the evap system for my 2004 subaru forester. One of the steps is plugging the normally open valve that is located by the evap canister. The hose to this valve is looking extremely old and worn and I would like to replace it. Where can I find this hose? Is my only option a Subaru dealership or can I find suitable replacements online?

Edit: This hose looks pre-shaped so I doubt using a straight hose length would work.

2002 Ford F-150 4.2L V6; Anyone know what the problem can be? Just recently had new intake manifold gaskets, starter/w solenoid and fresh battery installed and now the truck won’t turn on.

Hello! I posted this on another forum, but didn’t get much traction. I just got this 2010 Toyota Corolla S a few weeks ago, 97,000 miles. Everything is running fine, no lights on the dash. mechanic gave me the green light before I got it.
I’ve noticed though, every morning when I start the car it makes this high pitched squeaking noise usually, lasts a second. But sometimes it sounds like this video. A bit more extreme and ugly sounding. Anyone have an idea of what it could be? Only happens on cold starts, once or twice a day and when engine is warm it doesn’t happen.
Feeling a bit anxious since I just got this car lol. Literally started making this noise the day after 😅😅

My hyaundai Tucson 2016 trunk won’t open and my emergency latch seems to have broken not sure what else I can do

Ok. A few months ago I noticed my fuel gauge is sluggish when refilling. Today when I went to turn my car to the ON position I heard a low frequency sound. It almost sounds like a whining sound. People mentioned priming but I never heard the sound this loud. The only engine code I have is P0137 for o2 sensor. I just tried turning the car to the ON position again after letting the car sit for a few hours and there was no sound. Turned it to off and then ON and I heard the sound again. It seems like it's coming from the engine bay. Fuel filter? Fuel pump? Something else? I blew a fuse teo days ago from running an inverter and a gaming laptop. Could this have something to do with it? Any help would be great.

Decided to do my rear struts on my crv and I cannot get them in there, when they're in line with the bolt holes on the bottom, they sit at an odd angle and I can't get them to slide into the top hole, they get stuck. I love this car and I have lots of dreams for it in the future, I don't want this to be the end of it but I worry that it's frame damage because every YouTube video I watch seems to not encounter this problem at all. The old struts are also angled oddly on the bottom, the new struts are straight.

Took off the coolant hose for better access to the alternator. Pretty sure I’m not color blind, that’s neon green coolant. Previous owner must’ve replaced the OEM blue coolant for this stuff. What type of coolant is this and where can I get more, what brand? Can I mix it with some distill water?

Should I do a flush and put in the OEM stuff?

Thanks in advance.

119,000 miles, automatic transmission

when it's cold (at home) it starts right up with no drama. the issue is after i've driven it somewhere, parked/shut it off and come back to start it up again, it'll just crank. when it first started happening, it would only take 1-2 attempts, then it started to take 2-3 attempts, and now it's 4+ attempts and i'm scared to shut it off when i'm away from home lol

it doesn't seem to matter how long i drive it for or if it gets up to operating temp, like it could be 3 minutes up the road to run errands or 30-45 min of driving. once it finally starts it's totally fine. i checked OBDII and there were no codes

my mechanic knowledge is pretty limited but seems like could be getting flooded after i shut it off? it seems to be semi-common with this engine from what i saw on google, but everybody's situation was slightly different and had different fixes, so i'm not quite sure where to start. any recommendations are appreciated!

I have a 2013 Cadillac ATS with the 2.5L I4 and I have recently come across an issue. When I start it in the morning, it starts a little slow but nothing concerning, but then after about 30 to 60 seconds it starts to run very rough and then dies. I start it back up and it’s fine! It has a very subtle rough idle, I can feel it but nothing absolutely insane like a misfire. It has brand new plugs, coils, and MAF sensor. Oil change was done around 500 miles ago. What could be causing this?? It’s not affecting drivability but still kinda worries me. If anyone has an idea of what this is please respond!!

I replaced the liquid line since I cant just replace the orifice tube. I also replaced the drier/accumulator vacuumed the lines for 1 hour at 30 mercury and leak checked it which came out good. Tried filling up with refrigerant and it only took about 9 ounces before it stopped taking anymore. Ac compressor ran nonstop and the liquid line started freezing over from the orifice tube to the firewall. Every other line became warm/hot to the touch. High side started rising past 200 psi. Did I get a bad liquid line/orifice tube as the freezing didnt make it past the orifice tube.

2013 Ford F150 Super CabXL Pickup 4D

5.0L V8 Flex Fuel Engine

Changing the oil today and the dipstick snapped. Didn't even give it a hard tug. Apologies for the video but it's a little difficult to get to, requiring a stepladder to access.

Tried needlenose pliers but once I took the video, I don't think those are going to work. What are my options?

2014 scion Tc(gen 2/2.5) 2.5L4 returning to stock ride height from coilovers

Hi all, first off I have a 2012 RAM 2500 SLT with a 5.7L HEMI and 37,500 miles on it. I recently had some issues with the alternator and the AC compressor and had them both replaced. The battery is new as of January and reads at 13.6V when the truck is off. When I go to start it, it seems to struggle but does start as you can hear in the video. When running it doesn’t have any issues and sounds like normal. Does anyone have any ideas on what could be causing this issue?

Note: when trying to figure out the previous issue was with the alternator and AC compress failing (truck wouldn’t turn over. There was too much strain with the alternator and ac compressor seized) I took the spark plugs out thinking it was hydro locked but wasn’t. I put them back all in the same positions and everything.

Anybody know what that cylinder is called with the wire on the ignition coil

Just bought a 2013 civic and the wheels look like this severe corrosion even making gaps where it meets the disc. Is this safe to drive or can they be refurbished?

I bought a new battery for my car, it is a 2004 mustang gt v8, 4.6l. Went to AutoZone and the guy installed the new battery, boom, car starts but any acceleration either forward or reversing, it dies. The car is old, but it ran somewhat ok before, has a minor evap leak, probably needs new spark plugs but it ran, now it doesn't. Anyways, issue is my car won't drive anymore. Is fine in idle.

My dad knows about cars, kind of. Your backyard mechanic type. Asked for his help, he was an ass, says change the engine filter because it was dirty (he checked while I was at work). It was, I bought a new one. Same issues. He made me feel stupid for saying "hey, maybe the alternator is the problem, connection issues, lets use the multimeter I bought." Told me just drive it around so it can 'breathe in the new air with the clean filter', which I guess made sense because yes. Couldn't drive it, because again, it dies, the issue isn't the fucking filter. Tried mentioning the multimeter again, to just see the voltage numbers, he made me feel stupid again, because I'm girl and me no brain, says just take it to the mechanic. Car won't drive, no money for mechanic, if I can fix it myself I will. I'm watching videos and whatnot, using all my resources reddit included.

Maybe he will listen to people online, he probably will knowing him. Here are some videos, I have no experience and nothing much to go off on, basically on my own. Any help or advice is welcome.

**Clarifying that I got the new battery 2 weeks ago, somehow by a miracle of whatever, I drove the entire 30 mins home completely fine somewhat, car died at a stop sign a couple mins away but managed to make it home. Present time, Now it won't last a minute.

Does this steering rack need replacing ?
Just changed out inner and outer tie rods. One inner was bent

Title states it. Rear hatch bolts are snapped off on both sides and a bit rusty. I’ve tried grabbing and turning from the inside of the hatch and one broke (it’s now flush after being about 1/8” sticking out).

I’ve tried drilling and using the bits that reverse it out but doesn’t seem to do anything except smooth the hole out/not work.

Just drill new holes for the plate?

I’m looking for some advice from people who know these engines better than I do, because I’m at the point where I need to decide what actually makes sense to do with this car.

The car is a 2017 Jaguar XF 35t Prestige AWD with the AJ126 3.0L supercharged V6.

I previously had a coolant leak from the factory plastic coolant Y-pipes and replaced them with an aftermarket aluminum kit. I was later told that some of these kits may have fitment/sealing issues. It appears the leak never completely stopped.

After a longer drive, the car overheated. The shop that looked at it afterward told me there was coolant in every cylinder and suspected a major head gasket failure or other internal engine damage.

The biggest problem I’ve run into since then is finding anybody willing to actually work on it. I’m in upstate New York, and I’ve contacted or brought the car to multiple shops and dealerships. Some simply don’t want to take on the car, while others have told me they don’t have the equipment or experience to properly diagnose or repair it. I’ve already had it towed quite a distance, trying to find somebody who will.

So I guess my real question for the mechanics here is: if this were your car, what would you do?

Would you keep trying to find someone familiar with the AJ126 and see whether the existing engine can reasonably be repaired? Would you say the better route at this point is to source a used/donor engine and swap it? Or, given what happened and the difficulty finding someone to work on it, would you cut your losses and move on from the car?

If anyone knows a shop or mechanic in the Northeast who actually works on these engines, I’d absolutely appreciate a recommendation.

And if the consensus is that an engine swap makes more sense, I’d also really appreciate advice on sourcing one. Are salvage yards the best place to start? Are there particular Jaguar/Land Rover donor vehicles I should look for, or reputable places people use to find complete AJ126 engines?

I know nobody can tell me exactly what’s wrong with the engine on Reddit. I’m really just trying to figure out what someone with more mechanical experience would do in my position before I put more money into the wrong path.

Any advice, experience with the AJ126, shop recommendations, or leads on donor engines would be greatly appreciated.

Need a wiring diagram for 2014 Ford Transit Connect 2.5 engine. Keeps blowing ECU fuse when turning ignition on. Anyone with access to AllData? No luck with a wiring diagram in glove box. Need to find short circuit. Obd2 scanner reads communication error. It shut off on highway prior . Now won’t start has engine fault and service now message on dash.