The "Ask a Mechanic" Thread

[Kosher Ham]

7 hours ago, d0ublestr0ker0ll said:

So an ice storm came through and the little spot of chipped paint on my hood became almost the entire hood stripped of paint.  Slabs of my car's paint were tumbling down the parking lot.

 

Turns out, this coat of paint was done over top of another coat of different-colored paint.  So I'm thinking about stripping the entire car of this top coat that's already pealing off, but it's proving to be a very slow task.  Any tips on how to loosen this top coat up a little bit?

 

6 hours ago, Springfield said:

I got nothing.

 

6 hours ago, twa said:

pressure washer?

another ice storm?

 

1 hour ago, twa said:

a gallon of gas and a match might work.

 

And here I was thinking of a sandblaster or some spray cans of paint. 

 

Seriously, try ...buying a new hood and keep it moving. Time Vs. Money. 

Do you have comp insurance ? Claim vandalism. 

[twa]

17 minutes ago, Kosher Ham said:

 

 

 

 

And here I was thinking of a sandblaster or some spray cans of paint. 

 

 

 

soda or plastic media blasting is the thing now, sand has health concerns...who knew?

[Malapropismic Depository]

This isn't actually a call for help, or even a question. Just a nice story.

Several years ago, my cruise control stopped working completely. I took it in for an estimate. Can't remember the

exact name of the part, but some kind of control panel and/or sensor, was said needed replacement. The estimated cost I recall

somewhere between $600-800.

I put it off, due to more important repairs needed at the time.

So, several years later, for no apparent reason, just out of nowhere it started working again. I hadn't replaced that

part, or anything else that seemed remotely related to the problem, so there was no logical explanation why it

suddenly started working again, and continues to work.

So, it's nice to have a car that repairs itself.

Now, I'm holding out hope, that it repairs itself with the leaky exhaust manifold (before it burns a valve as a result),

and repairs its own tie-rods and control arms on the front end too, that I'm told need replacement.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

On 1/4/2017 at 9:16 PM, Kosher Ham said:

 

 

 

 

And here I was thinking of a sandblaster or some spray cans of paint. 

 

Seriously, try ...buying a new hood and keep it moving. Time Vs. Money. 

Do you have comp insurance ? Claim vandalism. 

 

It's naturally pealing off.  I'm helping the process a bit by brushing and picking away the loosest paint.  Took a half an hour the other night and placed/pealed tape around the border of white/grey.  Worked less than I hoped for.  Hood of the car is 95% grey now.

 

More spots are showing up, so I plan to continue the process with the entire car.  It'll look like a cow for a while.

 

And move like one.

 

Nah, I love my car.

 

 

[Kosher Ham]

Paint does not PEEL naturally these days...especially off cars. 

That is a lack of maintenance. 

If you loved it you would take care of it. 

 

Think about it this way...if I don't take care of my business, and the person I expect to take care of it doesn't...who does ? 

 

 

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

9 minutes ago, Kosher Ham said:

Paint does not PEEL naturally these days...especially off cars. 

That is a lack of maintenance. 

If you loved it you would take care of it. 

 

Think about it this way...if I don't take care of my business, and the person I expect to take care of it doesn't...who does ? 

 

 

 

What?!

 

It's paint.  On top of another coat of paint.  I'm simply returning it to its original color.

 

It's not a big deal.

[Kosher Ham]

It's called WAX. 

Tough love. Love your vehicle, and it will love you as well. 

The work is worth it in the long run. 

 

Same reason beautiful women use some type of lotion daily. With a car it's only every few months. 

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

A paint job is not going to make the car perform better, unless you're suggesting it has some sort of "look good feel good" consciousness.  Which is just stupid.

 

I put thousands of dollars in to the car to make it perform better, fixed two busted windows.

 

If I wanted to keep the white paint on there, I'd get a paint job and take care of it, yes.

 

I WANT IT OFF. 

Edited February 2, 2017 by d0ublestr0ker0ll

[Malapropismic Depository]

What is the approximate likelihood of getting a burned valve, as the result of driving with an exhaust manifold leak ?

And does the risk go much higher, if you go on a long trip, totaling about 1500 miles, considering the constant high speed/high heat to the engine ?

[Malapropismic Depository]

Wow, my question got completely bumped off the first page, in no time, due to all the political threads !

[twa]

8 hours ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

What is the approximate likelihood of getting a burned valve, as the result of driving with an exhaust manifold leak ?

And does the risk go much higher, if you go on a long trip, totaling about 1500 miles, considering the constant high speed/high heat to the engine ?

 

Not likely unless it is a huge hole,the length of the trip doesn't matter, cold air entering the chamber and warping the valves when you stop is the hazard.

if it is just a crack damage is unlikely,

they do make epoxy you can put on it for temporary repair if you can reach it.

 

 

[Malapropismic Depository]

31 minutes ago, twa said:

 

Not likely unless it is a huge hole,the length of the trip doesn't matter, cold air entering the chamber and warping the valves when you stop is the hazard.

if it is just a crack damage is unlikely,

they do make epoxy you can put on it for temporary repair if you can reach it.

 

 

 

Greatly appreciated and much obliged

[Springfield]

9 hours ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

What is the approximate likelihood of getting a burned valve, as the result of driving with an exhaust manifold leak ?

And does the risk go much higher, if you go on a long trip, totaling about 1500 miles, considering the constant high speed/high heat to the engine ?

 

Agree with twa.  Not likely at all.

[twa]

The smell and noise though .....and think of the mechanics kids needing fed and such.

 

 

I got your back Springy. 

[Malapropismic Depository]

Ha. I will support a mechanic's family, as soon as I return from this trip.

[sportjunkie07]

2012 subaru forester with about 117k miles. It was bought new and maintained on time at the subaru dealership.

 

The car broke down a few weeks ago. We took it to the dealership and after a week and a half of taking the engine apart to determine the problem, they said that a bolt had broken internally, affecting the timing belt, and causing some engine damage. After a total of 3 weeks, we got the subaru back. 

 

The next day the car broke down and the analysis is that a full transmission replacement is necessary. We have 3k left to pay on the car and it'll cost over 6k just to get it going again. 

 

I think it's a reasonable expectation that a car bought new and maintained properly should last more than five years and I feel that the dealership is at fault here, either through their repairs or just a sub standard product.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 21, 2017 by sportjunkie07

[Elessar78]

damn. that sucks. what are they saying? Are they claiming no fault? Contact manufacturer? I think it's time to escalate this issue. 

[sportjunkie07]

1 minute ago, Elessar78 said:

damn. that sucks. what are they saying? Are they claiming no fault? Contact manufacturer? I think it's time to escalate this issue. 

They are saying that the transmission failire is a seperate coincidental failure from the previous timing belt issue.

 

Frankly, I'd be embarrassed if I were a mechanic and I'd had some young lady's car for 3 weeks and it appeared in the shop right after I fixed it. 

 

[Elessar78]

8 minutes ago, sportjunkie07 said:

They are saying that the transmission failire is a seperate coincidental failure from the previous timing belt issue.

 

Frankly, I'd be embarrassed if I were a mechanic and I'd had some young lady's car for 3 weeks and it appeared in the shop right after I fixed it. 

 

yeah, seriously. 

 

****, it could totally be coincidental but I worry it was a misdiagnosis. 

[skinsmarydu]

Btw, shout-out to Springy...the reset trick you told me about for my key-bob totally worked!  Hubby didn't believe me, then I got the big HAHA on him.

Thanks.

[twa]

6 hours ago, sportjunkie07 said:

 

 

I think it's a reasonable expectation that a car bought new and maintained properly should last more than five years and I feel that the dealership is at fault here, either through their repairs or just a sub standard product.

 

 

 

 

 

I certainly think so,though it is probably not related.

You can only fix what is problematic. 

[skinfan2k]

my dealer is asking me for 650 to do my spark plugs.  How easy is it also to replace tramission  and rear differential fluid?

[sportjunkie07]

2 hours ago, twa said:

 

I certainly think so,though it is probably not related.

You can only fix what is problematic. 

Just very strange that the transmission completely fails as soon as I get it back from the dealer after extensive engine work. subaru transmissions are usually rock solid. 

 

Anyways, we had to go up the ladder a bit. After haggling with the gm, he spoke to a supervisor and now they are replacing the transmission essentially for free. They honored the extended warranty we had purchased (we had croses the mileage but not year barrier). Some very good business practice there and it is appreciated. 

 

This is the subaru near the Scarsdale exit fyi.

Edited March 21, 2017 by sportjunkie07

[Springfield]

25 minutes ago, sportjunkie07 said:

Just very strange that the transmission completely fails as soon as I get it back from the dealer after extensive engine work. subaru transmissions are usually rock solid. 

 

Anyways, we had to go up the ladder a bit. After haggling with the gm, he spoke to a supervisor and now they are replacing the transmission essentially for free. They honored the extended warranty we had purchased (we had croses the mileage but not year barrier). Some very good business practice there and it is appreciated. 

 

This is the subaru near the Scarsdale exit fyi.

 

Well it looks like you got it resolved to your satisfaction.  I have a couple of questions though.

 

Is it a 4 or 6 cylinder Forrester?

What is the exact symptom of the transmission failure?

Has the transmission fluid been recently flushed?

2 hours ago, skinfan2k said:

my dealer is asking me for 650 to do my spark plugs.  How easy is it also to replace tramission  and rear differential fluid?

 

Without knowing what kind of car, it's hard to say.  Either way it's a dirty procedure that will surely make a mess if you do it on your own.

[skinfan2k]

5 hours ago, Springfield said:

 

Well it looks like you got it resolved to your satisfaction.  I have a couple of questions though.

 

Is it a 4 or 6 cylinder Forrester?

What is the exact symptom of the transmission failure?

Has the transmission fluid been recently flushed?

 

Without knowing what kind of car, it's hard to say.  Either way it's a dirty procedure that will surely make a mess if you do it on your own.

i have a 2009 lexus is250 6 cylinder