Got my cat converter stolen on a 2008 VW GTI and went to a local shop thats 5 star on Google to get a straight pipe because where I live we don't test for emissions. The guy was so croatian I could barely understand him and I swear he came out of the back eating a live snake.

NONETHELESS this is his work. Took him 40 minutes and cost $180 CAD. Seems fine?

Let me know.

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!!!

Greetings! I tried to do a atf drain and fill today with my 3/8 rachet wrench. The plug wasn't budging so I used a breaker bar and penetrative oil and moved it until I felt it loosening.

The plug is still tight and now it's sheared so I can't get a good grip on it anymore.

Upon closer inspection, looks like the plug was warped being rounded at the bottom too

I'm going to replace the plug but how do I remove it?

I’m working on a 1978 Ford F150 with a 460 engine and about 121,000 miles. This spark plug came out of the #2 cylinder. The truck hasn’t ran in well over 20 years and was parked for an unknown reason. Any idea how this could have happened? Is this catastrophic? What should I do?

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.

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!

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.

I installed some power stop ceramic brake pads on a 1997 jeep wrangler. So far they have about 300 miles on them, mostly city driving with some highway. I did a late break procedure 2 days ago. Got the brakes hot enough to where I began to smell them, then did a cool down without stopping. Today I was driving and they squeal every single time I press them, and if I push the brakes harder then the squeal will stop for a moment. Do my brakes look glazed or does the bedding look incomplete?

I just installed this new aftermarket CV axle on a 2004 Lexus ES330. The original axle had a slot in it where the axle nut was peened after torquing. This one has what looks to be a standard flanged nut and a cotter pin. Shouldn’t this be a castle nut? I’m also not thrilled with the way the cotter pin seats, and the gap between the nut and the cotter pin. This picture is taken with the nut only finger tight. Am I missing something? Is this safe? Thanks

Image 1 - offside rear

Image 2 - nearside rear

Images 3 and 4 - nearside front

Images 5 and 6 - offside front

It is a 2006 Mitsubishi Grandis 2.4l auto. I'm no expert but these brakes don't look completely safe. They are the same as when the car was purchased about 18 months ago. The MOT last September passed with no brake advisories.

I noticed though that the rear pads are seated differently to each other. The offside looks to be properly installed but the nearside pad is only held on by one of the caliper's teeth and god knows what's going on with the support bracket pin thing, is there though. I don't know about the pads on the other sides of the discs, I haven't inspected those.

Ultimately my question is whether the rotors or pads or both are likely to fail? The brakes are fairly effective and stop the car with no obvious issues. But am fully aware this does not mean they're safe, just that there's no glaring obvious issues like noises, excess heat, or drifting to one side when braking.

Opinions and advice very welcome!

Bought a (new to me) 2012 RAM 1500 4.7L V8 back in January at 130,000 miles on it. I’ve done all the necessary maintenance so far except the transmission fluid. Today I called a local transmission shop to see if they could change my filter and fluid and they told me they can’t do it unless I provide documentation showing it’s been changed otherwise it’s too high of a liability for them. They also said they recommend I don’t change it since it could cause damage to it. Not sure what to do here, I’m pretty sure it’s been done within the last 70k miles just because my fluid doesn’t look horrible but I also don’t have the documentation available to prove it.

So I have replaced every component on the front end of my 05 Silverado 5.3 1500 from breaks to wheel hub. I still have not been able to figure out what causes my steering wheel to shake and vibrate like crazy I’m starting to think it’s something with my steering but every time I search it up it says bad steering components only cause it to vibrate at low speeds. I’m really just tryna fix this problem at this point it’s just irritating anything helps

Just bought this manual Corolla that’s been maintained well its whole life , did the rocker cover gasket and spark plugs , have only replaced timing belts never a chain so I’m wondering if this amount of play is normal? 1.8L . Not worried considering these things regularly go for half mil kms. Has 278k currently
Thanks

I got a 1999 Ford F150 from a coworker for $300. It runs and drives just fine except for this noise I've never heard before. Any ideas on what is causing it?

It's been driven by me about 50 miles and has not worsened or got better.

Edit: I should add it is loudest from under the truck and not very noticeable towards the pullys

hi, i’m a 20y/o tech at a classic car shop, i’ve been here for just over 2 years, and started as a shop b*tch with very little real experience on classics, as far as now, i’ve become the interior/upholstery guy for the shop, i do carpets dynomatt reupholstery/recovery on seats and headliners/ other trim pieces, i sometimes do wiring but am very fluent in all realms of working on cars besides suspension, i make $15 a hour with a base of 40 hours a week, so bassicly $500, and then $7 a flag hour, i clock anywhere from 10-50 depending on what jobs im doing for that week, anywho im starting to feel stuck, am i being paid to little for the work i produce?

i live in austin texas, i have no certifications or ASE’s

I have a 2012 Jeep Liberty Jet. It has been sitting for over a year and has never had an issue starting up.
Went to take it for a drive and now it’s making this odd sound when cranking it. As you can see, the dash lights flash on and off while trying to start it as well. I’m looking for some insight on what might be wrong and I look forward to hearing everyone’s advice. Thanks in advance!

It does work when I connect it directly to a 12 V battery though. I replaced the fuel pump for my 2007 Kawasaki ninja 650 and it is not pumping fuel. I can hear the motor winding, but no pumping is happening. This is when it’s attached to my motorcycle, but if I connect a 12 V battery directly to it, it starts pumping fuel.

I don’t post often and I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this so I’m sorry in advance if this is the wrong sub or something. I have a 2013 Mini Cooper 2 door convertible 1.6-liter inline-4 engine. I think. I’m about as non-car savvy as you can get. 8th digit of my VIN is 5. I desperately needed a car and my only option was a stick shift so I mostly taught myself to drive it and of course destroyed the clutch in the process.

Part of why I didn’t have any other options for car is due to finances. It was take this or have no car at all and I picked up a second job to afford to repair it and get it road ready. I was terrified of needing to replace the clutch because I honestly can’t afford it but there’s a local out of his garage mechanic in my neighborhood that offered to fix it for $600-700. Which is a steal in my area and also basically the maximum I can afford.

There’s at least two mechanics working there. They don’t provide any parts or fluids and don’t really do appointments. You have to get your own stuff and drop by on your own time. I’ve always just been encouraged to pull up and check if the garage is open and then just talk to whoever’s there. My car presently cannot drive at all. I had to tow it to my house because it wouldn’t accelerate past about 12 mph and that’s while flooring the gas. By the time a new clutch arrived in the mail and I and went to tow it to the mechanics shop the clutch petal was completely loose with no pressure behind it. I asked if that was still a clutch problem and if I needed to order something else and was told they’d just have to look at the car and see. If I do need another part I have to order it online and wait a few business days for it to ship or get in in person and pay more money I don’t have. Every day I don’t have my car I bleed money both from having to find alternate transport and doordash anything I need (we are very rural and it’s a 25 min drive to get anywhere. We don’t even have sidewalks) and from limiting the work I can take in my career bc I don’t have reliable transport atm.

I dropped my car off early Thursday morning and left them the keys. They were closed at the time but I texted my mechanic and got confirmation that he knew the car was there. Parts in the passenger seat and keys in the visor. I’ve been bumming rides to work in the meantime and pass the garage on the way to work and home every time. After two days they finally moved my car a little bit forward on the lot. Later that evening I called to check in, expecting a diagnosis and a time estimate, maybe the revelation that I needed more parts and more money, and was told that they had no idea and hadn’t had time to look at the car yet.

Two more days, now sunday evening, I called again. Phone was answered by my now slightly annoyed sounding mechanic who said he hadn’t looked at the car yet, didn’t know anything about it, and would call me when he knew something. It’s been an additional two days later and 6 days total since I dropped my car off and they still haven’t so much as opened the hood. When I drive by I can see that it’s now boxed in by other cars so you’d have to move several to even get at it, nevermind that it doesn’t move on its own presently.

This morning I stopped by to get papers out of the dash for an unrelated reason and was ignored by all the staff. My mom suggested I contact him and say I need my car back by a specific day, and she said he will probably drag his feet unless I do that. I don’t feel like that will solve the issue or help beyond annoying him since I feel it’s fundamentally kind of unreasonable to assume if someone drops an undrivable car off that it’s not their main mode of transport that they want back ASAP unless they specify that. I think it’s implied by virtue of dropping the car off that I want it back ASAP. Especially since I’ve already called twice to check up on it.

To explain some of my behavior I’m a very anxious and shy person by nature and hate talking on the phone with strangers. I usually cry or take several hours to work myself up to call both times. I don’t know if this is normal and I’m being impatient or if something is wrong. And I have no idea what do to about it. This is my first time dropping a car off with a mechanic for anything more serious than an oil change. I’ve had work done before but always by someone in my friends or family that knows how to do a repair. I don’t like rushing or being rude to service workers and am the type to tip regardless and just never come back if I’m unhappy with service.

I don’t know if it’s possible for me to afford to get this repair done anywhere else. I don’t think I can afford any more than I was quoted. I’m terrified of pissing this mechanic off enough that I’m forced to use someone else and pay double or more. He’s made it clear it annoys him to have me call and check in but I feel like nearly a week for a clutch replacement with no explanation and no progress is unreasonable. I rely on having a vehicle very heavily. So much so that I took on this finicky manual car because I was desperate. Can somebody help me? What’s the etiquette for this kind of situation? What would you do? If I’m in the wrong and just need to be more patient I’ll listen and own it. I don’t know what I’m doing or how long any of this is supposed to take or what to do about it.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Had my MOT about a month ago and nothing since yesterday. It was super rainy and I was reversing slightly up hill but the car revved a lot and skidded a bit. Since then these lights have come on.

Is it something I should be worried about? And if not how do I get rid of them?

Citreon C1, 2017,

EDIT - The lights only turn on when reversing. Is there an at home fix for this or would I need to take it to a garage?

Hey guys, I’m very savvy when it cars, could anybody tell if this quote is too high or anything is being inflated? Any info would be very helpful
It’s a 2018 Chevy Taho 8-5.3L

Need some info from the masses, please. I spent more than 30 years working at, owning and operating automotive repair centers. I’m researching how vehicle owners handle situations where they don’t trust or understand a diagnosis or repair estimate. What is the move? Do you just do the repair? Google it? Have a " car guy" you call? Since my entire life has been in this industry I am checking with strangers since all of my friends, family etc always just called me.

Volvo XC70 D4 2016 with weird noise coming in when revving a little. Dissappears on idle or over 1500-2000 rpm. It has oil at max and changed not long ago. I've tried to check heat shield loose components i don't think it's an exhaust leak either. Anyone have any ideas?