# DIY vehicle fixes



## Hawkdog (Oct 26, 2012)

Just changed the motor that runs the windshield wiper fluid in my 89 toyota pickup yesterday.
Wow so easy! 20 bucks for the pump, 2 bolts and one screw.

I recommend to anyone to do a little research on the net before they just take their vehicle into the shop.
Some things are super easy to fix.

I also installed 2 new rear shocks last night, one had rusted in two - wasn't even attached so had to be down.
Cost me 30 bucks for each shock.


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

It's great isn't it.

I haven't taken a vehicle to a shop in about four years, except for flat tire repairs.

The savings of doing stuff on your own are pretty amazing and it gets addictive, I find myself getting more ambitious the more I do. I've done shocks, brakes, abs pump, water pump, thermostat, spark plugs, replaced interior parts, paint and body work, and a bunch more. Not to mention the regular maintenance (oil & filter, transmission service, coolant flush, new battery, air filter).

Looking to change a CV joint soon. Hardest part looks to be removal of the old one.


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## jamesbe (May 8, 2010)

Depends on the vehicle really.

On my S2000 I did everything, clutch, transmission change, suspension, brakes you name it I did it. I could probably rebuild one from scratch.

But on my truck, I've done brakes, suspension and a few other things but everything is so heavy and so big and hard to get to I bring it in. But I usually check to see what it is first before I do bring it in and if it's an easy job I do it. A 30 minute shop job can sometimes take 2 hours at home because of limitations like no lift so it's not worth the struggle sometimes for the $50 savings.


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## Jim9guitars (May 5, 2012)

Wheel bearings are surprisingly easy these days. I was quoted upwards of $1200.00 which motivated me to research it a little. Turns out I could buy the new bearings for about $60.00 each and because there was one very large socket required that most people don't own the store allowed customers to buy the socket and return it for a full refund within 7 days, total cost came in under $300.00. I've also changed a water pump(most retailers will give a $5.00 or $10.00 rebate for the old pump if you bring it in within a certain time limit of buying the new/rebuilt one) and repaired punctured tires with a $7.00 kit that does 5 punctures and takes about as long as it takes to pull the tire off, spend about 2 minutes fixing the puncture, and put the tire back on. The hardest part of replacing the water pump was getting the serpentine belt on, and even that wasn't as bad as I was fearing it to be.


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## Hawkdog (Oct 26, 2012)

ya, its amazing what you can do if you have a bit of time and so some research. there are lots of forums on the net where you can ask questions.
I am lucky to have a couple of buddies that are very knowledgeable and are willing to help out.


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## Maxpower (Oct 29, 2012)

*Possible leaking head fix*

Here is a good diy fix that surprised me when it actually worked and that may work for someone else if they ever have a leaking head, which in my case had the symptom of very large amounts of steam exiting the tail pipe, and they do not want to sell the car for parts, pay a mechanic large sums of money to rip the heads off and fix it or spend many hours fixing it themselves. 

What worked for me was to buy a block sealer which contained sodium silicate and then I drained out the water that had antifreeze in it and poured in straight water, let it heat up for about half an hour and then added in the sodium silicate mixture. From what I have read once the sodium silicate reaches the leak, which if it's leaking into the exhaust is going to be a hot-spot, the sodium silicate crystallizes and seals it up and should dissipate the heat fast enough that it doesn't reach that temp again.

My car ran fine for about 4 years after I did that, and was still running when I parked it and drove something else, and instead of junking the car or getting a really large mechanic bill all it took was about $25 and a half hour of standing around waiting for the water to heat up. I would be really surprised if that would work when water is leaking into the oil but at that point in time I don't think there really is that much to lose anyway so it's worth a shot, especially considering the negligible cost and time it takes.


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## Barwelle (Feb 23, 2011)

Hawkdog said:


> I recommend to anyone to do a little research on the net before they just take their vehicle into the shop.
> Some things are super easy to fix.


Absolutely. The fuel door on Civics (at least my generation) has to be opened with a lever in the cabin. One day it quit working - seems part of the cable assembly between the lever and the door rusts out or breaks after a while. The shop would have charged me at least $160 to replace the whole assembly. Instead, after about 1 hour of researching, ordering a part online for less than $20, and 20 mins of farting around in the cabin, it was good to go. It was ingenious too... the part was just a little plastic clip that holds two parts together so that it still works, instead of having to take apart a whole bunch of trim and whatnot to replace the cable. 

The only downside was that I had to wait for the part to be mailed out... so I suppose there was more time involved because I had to fiddle around in the trunk to open the fuel door in order to fuel up.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

My trusty Honda failed inspection because the DRL's stopped working.. The bulbs were fine so I went to the shop and they quoted something ridiculous for a new Honda chipboard. I googled it and turns out it was a common issue, and easily fixed with $20 soldering iron and a few screw drivers. I google all those little characteristics cars have now and there are a lot of good homemade solutions.

I'm pretty annoyed right now that whenever I change so much as my own tires, I have to have a dealer plug in a special computer. Luckily I found a nice mechanic who does it since I order parts through him, but there's no reason I can't do it with a smartphone or laptop really. I prefer to do all the basic stuff now even for the sake of it not being so rushed. You pay them for a full 1 hr job but if they finish it in 20 mins, bonus for them..


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## jamesbe (May 8, 2010)

Mechanics make a killing now. My neighbour told me it was great, he makes 16 hours of pay in 6-7 hours if he plans his jobs correctly!


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Fixing your own car is a good way to save money. Many small jobs can be done at home in the garage or driveway. 

After doing this for 40 years may I offer a couple of tips?

Buy a good repair manual. Parts stores sell them specific to your car, but the best one is from the car dealer, the one their mechanics use. You can order them from the dealer but they are expensive like over $100. The parts store ones are smaller and less detailed but only $20 or $30.

The public library has repair books if you don't want to spend the money. Check out the book or photocopy the pages you need, that way you don't worry about getting their book greasy.

Second tip, today's cars will run an amazing long time with minimal upkeep as long as you follow the manufacturer's maintenance schedule. Read your owner's manual and go by that. You may be amazed to find you only need to change the oil half as often or less, as what the oil change place says.

One tip that saved me a bundle was in my 1996 Dodge Caravan owner's manual. It said, change the alternator brushes at 150,000 KM. Sure enough, at 180,000 KM the alternator light came on. I bought new brushes for $14 and installed them in 1/2 hour without taking the alternator off. If I had not read the book I would have been stuck for a new alternator at $320 plus labor.

I know people who follow their owners manual to the letter and have driven 300,000 or 400,000 KM with no major repairs. They even have their brake fluid changed (look in the book). When they need a brake job it's $40 for a set of pads not $700 for pads, rotors and calipers.

So, dig the owners manual out of the glove box and read the section on maintenance, it is only 2 or 3 pages. And get a repair manual. Good luck.


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## Hawkdog (Oct 26, 2012)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> Fixing your own car is a good way to save money. Many small jobs can be done at home in the garage or driveway.
> 
> After doing this for 40 years may I offer a couple of tips?
> 
> ...


great post! So true about oil changes, the yota manual says every 8000km, but the dealership suggest 6000km, money grab.


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## nathan79 (Feb 21, 2011)

Oil change intervals depend a lot on the specific driver. There is no one schedule for everyone. 

5000 km is the average recommendation for a typical driver who drives 20,000 km a year, but if you do a lot of highway driving, you could easily go 8000 km or more between changes. But if your driving is mostly short trips in the city, you'd might be advised to change it after as little as 3000 km.

Personally, I prefer to use a three month schedule regardless of distance travelled. That's assuming daily driving. A casual driver who drives a couple times a week could probably stretch that interval to six months.

This is assuming conventional oil. Synthetic would stretch those intervals, but I don't have any experience with it.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

nathan79 said:


> Oil change intervals depend a lot on the specific driver. There is no one schedule for everyone.


This.

Only by performing an oil analysis and determining when metals begin to appear in your engine oil (hence breakdown of lubrication properties of the oil) can one truely know their own interval.

I believe Hondas' now incorporate sensors that automatically tell drivers when the service must be done, and the limits can easily exceed 10k.

In fact, sometimes I use 12,000 km change intervals using a synthetic will ZERO adverse effect. But mileage is not the only consideration, time is another. Oil will get dirty even if you aren't driving long distances if you keep it in the car long enough.


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## OptsyEagle (Nov 29, 2009)

After my car goes off its 3 year powertrain warranty and I decide to keep it for a while I usually buy a Hanes manual for the model I own. These manuals can be obtained for your car at Canadian Tire for about $29 and they walk you through just about any service you need. I find this manual, along with a couple of questions to Gurus at some auto repair forums (just like CMF but instead of it fixing your money problems, the contributors fix your car problems. Awesome) and most fixes are DIY'able.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Oil change recommendations also vary by car manufacturer, by model, and by year. For some models they recommend one grade, a different grade for others, some need synthetic, some conventional oil. Diesels require completely different oil , and oil change intervals.

This is why I say consult your owner's manual and go by that.

You can't go by the oil change place, your garage mechanic or even the dealer. There are too many different motors with different requirements these days.

Maybe back when every car had a cast iron, OHV V8 you could use the "one size fits all" approach but not today.

I agree that oil analysis is the only way to be sure. But when the analysis costs as much as an oil change, you might as well just change the oil.

If you drive a diesel truck that costs $250 to change the oil and filter it may pay you to have an analysis done but not for the average driver.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> I agree that oil analysis is the only way to be sure. But when the analysis costs as much as an oil change, you might as well just change the oil.


You only need to do this once. Once you determine the amount of where your car engine undergoes with your style of driving, then it could mean half the number of oil changes per year, saving a very significant amount of money in the long term.


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## cutchemist42 (Oct 15, 2012)

Yep, owning the repair manual is crucial. All BMW and Audi/VWs have great manuals made by Bentley Publishing.

As an example of overcharging, I was quoted $300 labour to install a windshield for my 80s BMW. Another set of hands to help carry the windshield, soapy water, a screwdriver, and an hour later my wind-shield was installed......

Last piece of advice is find a relevant message board. I know for my BMW, bimmerforums.com is great. Most makes have great online communities with sub-forums usually for specific models.


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## hboy43 (May 10, 2009)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> They even have their brake fluid changed (look in the book). When they need a brake job it's $40 for a set of pads not $700 for pads, rotors and calipers.


How does brake fluid condition dominate as a wear mechanism (as implied in your comment above) over breaking wear, corrosion, and poor adjustment for pads, rotors, and calipers?

hboy43


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## Jim9guitars (May 5, 2012)

OptsyEagle said:


> After my car goes off its 3 year powertrain warranty and I decide to keep it for a while I usually buy a Hanes manual for the model I own. These manuals can be obtained for your car at Canadian Tire for about $29 and they walk you through just about any service you need. I find this manual, along with a couple of questions to Gurus at some auto repair forums (just like CMF but instead of it fixing your money problems, the contributors fix your car problems. Awesome) and most fixes are DIY'able.


 Exactly, and I haven't been to a Part Source store for a couple of years but they used to offer pretty good advice along with printouts with useful info for what you are intending to do yourself.


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## sprocket1200 (Aug 21, 2009)

agree with the manuals and trying the diy route. search google, youtube, etc. it has all been done before. bmw's realoem.com has part numbers and exploded diagrams. most series use the 2.5 or 3.0L engines which are nearly identical. sooo easy to fix. 

as for oil changes, we do 10,000kms on all ours with filters, except for newer bmw which we follow the computer for over 20,000kms. the jeep grand cherokee we use a larger oil filter and change filters every second change. synthetic only as it is cheap if you look for sales or purchase in the usa (walmart).

and please stop with the wreck the engine stuff. our kms are 355,000, 234,000, and 195,000. run strong and long!!


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

hboy43 said:


> How does brake fluid condition dominate as a wear mechanism (as implied in your comment above) over breaking wear, corrosion, and poor adjustment for pads, rotors, and calipers?
> 
> hboy43


I'm glad you asked this question. It gives me the chance to expand on an important subject. Hope this does not bore anybody to death.
1) Brake fluid is hygroscopic, that is it absorbs moisture. It also gets contaminated by wear particles in the system. By changing the fluid every 2 or 3 years you avoid contamination and corrosion and internal wear. This prevents leaks and rusty or stuck calipers.

2) If you change brake pads before the brakes start squealing, and before the pads are worn down to the metal, the rotors or discs do not get scored.

3) If your mechanic changes the pads and the fluid he can also lubricate the sliders or pins.

By doing all this your brakes will not leak, freeze up, or squeal. The rotors and calipers will not need to be replaced. When you need brake pads, brake pads will be all you need. Brake pads cost $35 to $75 a set. Usually you only need the front ones, the rear ones will need replaced every second time.

If you are like the typical motorist who never thinks of his brakes until they start squealing, the brakes pull to the side, and the light comes on you will need new rotors, new calipers and new pads. By not servicing the brakes you save $100 or $200 but end up with a repair bill of $700 $1000 or more. Plus you run the risk of driving around on sketchy brakes.


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## Snuff_the_Rooster (Oct 26, 2012)

A lot of cars - maybe not your specifically, have rotors that cost $40 a piece plus or minus $10. Doing a brake job without replacing or at least refinishing rotors is backyard hack talk as new pads not happiest with typical condition of rotors after a couple of years of wear. Ontario roads for those that apply, is murder on rotors anyway so they're likely to be worn/scored/rotted to hell and if GM even warped, haha-GM jab, all of which will require replace/refinish for proper job. Refinish if you can, the expensive rotors, all else just toss and replace.

Why be a hack? We have enough of that going on in stock market, haha, and they cost themselves a lot more than full brake job at inflated prices, haha


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## Chad (Jan 30, 2011)

I agree lots of $ can be saved just by a little research and a quality owners manual. Rotors should be changed only when the surface is damaged scoring pited etc and no longer smooth and can't be saved by turning. Also when they they wear past their manufactures limits. Easy to check a rotor's thickness with a caliper. It was interesting about the discussion of oil changes, my car is a Jetta TDI (diesel) and here in Canada they recommend the oil change every 8,000 km in the states the exact same car is every 16,000 km. I would say you can save at least 75% or more if you are confident to maintain your vehicle by yourself instead of taking it to the "stealership" For example I changed 4 struts for a friend on a Nissan Maxima for $600 in parts after she was quoted over $2,000 from Kal tire. The money you can save will be more than enough for the tools you will need and you will not have to worry about being ripped of by some shady mechanic trust me I know. I am a licenced mechanic by trade.


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## Snuff_the_Rooster (Oct 26, 2012)

Chad said:


> ...taking it to the "stealership" For example I changed 4 struts for a friend on a Nissan Maxima for $600 in parts after she was quoted over $2,000 from Kal tire. The money you can save will be more than enough for the tools you will need and you will not have to worry about being ripped of by some shady mechanic trust me I know. I am a licenced mechanic by trade.


An honest assessment of the cost to do said job from an honest mechanic would include the crazy idea that dealership has to eat too. Why would any sane individual NOT expect to pay more at garage than backyard guy?

I'm not defending dealership but stop being so short sighted "licenced mechanic", and explain to readers that $600 is likely close to cost of parts. Do shop analysis if you ever had to in your life and you would see from any shop it would cost at least $1200 plus taxes (at least) for typical shop with overhead.

You wanna do jobs for nothing that is your prerogative but stop being business illiterate because others chose to run business doing same for a living and not have fools call them crooks.

jeez, get some business sense?


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## Chad (Jan 30, 2011)

Dont know what your problem is, may be you own your own shop?. I understand shops have overhead and need to cover costs and to make a profit but the point I was trying to make was average people can save a substantial amount maintaining their own vehicles ie *buying the parts doing it themselves*. The other point I want to get across was shaddy business tactics are rampant in this industry, not all of them mind you. From my experience dealerships are the biggest crooks around. I have enough business sense to know that running a shop requires too much overhead, too many fixed costs and not an attractive venture in my opinion. I did mention that $600 was the cost of parts by the way.


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## Snuff_the_Rooster (Oct 26, 2012)

good then make that point and not that shop are crooks because they cost more than you. really? who would have thought it so.

My accountant use turbo tax and input numbers like monkey can but I pay him for a bit more than that and I don't call him a crook because I can buy turbo tax for $19.99 and input numbers on my own if I want to waste my time.

If you want to get down to shoddy business practices how about we start with white-collar guys I know who do same, get paid way more for way less work (my lawyer, my banker?, b.o.d.'s) and then after you deal with them via your 7/8 open end wrench to head, only then we get to blue-collar stiffs busting a-$-$ for nothing his whole life..

Sound like a deal?


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## Chad (Jan 30, 2011)

Never said they were all crooks.


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## Snuff_the_Rooster (Oct 26, 2012)

your implication was crooks because they charge 2000 vs your 600. only after I call your nonsense do you all of a sudden find costs involved with running a business.

Nice choice of words coming from you given your showing thus far in conversation. You want me to toss down second shovel for you in that hole you digging?


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## Chad (Jan 30, 2011)

Heres a quote for you:

"Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference." 

Mark Twain.


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## Snuff_the_Rooster (Oct 26, 2012)

they tell just fine, haha bu-bye.


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## Guigz (Oct 28, 2010)

Snuff_the_Rooster said:


> good then make that point and not that shop are crooks because they cost more than you. really? who would have thought it so.
> 
> My accountant use turbo tax and input numbers like monkey can but I pay him for a bit more than that and I don't call him a crook because I can buy turbo tax for $19.99 and input numbers on my own if I want to waste my time.


Did you pay your accountant 500$ for the service? No, you did not because there is another guy around the corner that will do it for way less.

The problem with mechanics is that there is price fixing and insufficient competition and the general public is not informed enough to be able to argue with the mechanic. 

To give you an example, I recently went to a tire shop to get tires put on my rims. When I got there, the mechanic tried to convince me that the tires that I had purchased (at another shop) were not "strong enough" to support the weight of the vehicle and would be dangerous to put on. I had checked my facts before ordering the tires, of course, and both the speed and load rating of the tires were over that recommended for my car. To further ridicule the mechanic, he pointed to the speed rating (T, i.e., 190KM/H) instead of the load rating (the number on the sidewall) to argue his point. He is a freaking tire mechanic and has no clue that the letter is the speed rating and the number the load rating??! Gimme a break! Anyway, I never went there again....


Although it is not a fix, per say, I do recommend changing your own tires yourself. For a minimal investment (less than 100$ and 4 steel rims) you can save the cost of having your tires changed every 6 months. For me it also saves time as it takes less than even driving to the nearest garage (20 minutes) nevermind the 60 minutes wait time at the garage and the 20 minutes drive back....


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## thundershock (Nov 22, 2012)

It really comes down to if you are lazy or not to do DIY fixes for your car.
If you do then it's great, you save a lot of money on labour and learn a thing or two about proper car maintenance since you will probably be driving your whole life anyways.

But if you don't have the time/tools/equipment/etc, then definitely shop around. You'd be amazed what say five different shops would quote you for something like timing belt replacement. I've had quotes from 400-2200 just for a Honda Civic. I know the saying that you get what you pay for but even a simple googling can save you a lot of money on quotes.

I think most people go to dealerships instead because the local shops are often thought of as crooks (not saying dealerships are or are not) and yes I have had experience with local shops ripping me off on things. I understand the overhead and fixed costs of running a business but you can't tell me there's a 500 dollar difference for job A when the another shop down the street can do the same job.


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## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I had shopped around for vehicle repairs and found a body shop in Richmond Hill that was a value leader. Whenever the teenage boys had another oops, I would get an estimate from that shop and then dutifully drive over to Markham to get the other two. They were always 20% higher.


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## chriswh86 (Nov 23, 2012)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> Fixing your own car is a good way to save money. Many small jobs can be done at home in the garage or driveway.
> 
> After doing this for 40 years may I offer a couple of tips?
> 
> ...


Nailed it. I just bought 3 ford repair manuals for my 09 ford sport trac. They are HUGE books, the 3 together are about 6-8" high. Anyways, for the $100 i spent on them (they are the books ford mech's use) you can basically save that $100 on your first oil change!! I plan to get a hanes manual as well as more content to read. Having manuals over your stock manual is a good idea. Check with your dealer ship and try to find out what book the dealer mechanics use, then check ebay. I got my books barely used, which saved a lot of money even with shipping from the US.

C,


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## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

Retired mechanic but I take my vehicles in for oil changes for the convenience. Last oil change they told me my vehicle needed front brakes and presented me with a 4 figure estimate for pads, rotors, calipers. I asked why rotors, as they have never even been machined and there was no warpage so they could easily resurface them. Also, why would I need new calipers ? They fobbed me off and one had a bit of a red face when I told them I used to do this for a living and owned a repair shop. Needless to say, bought new pads and hardware and did the job in my driveway in an hour. You have to find a mechanic/shop you can trust. There are many honest ones out there. I was sitting in a dealership waiting on an oil change and had a dealer tell me the wife's vehicle was unsafe and the brakes were down to nothing and it needed pads and rotors "right now" I asked to see as it was on the hoist. Lol, there was over 30% left. Mind you, that was the same dealer that had told me my air ride suspension compressor and controller had to be replaced as it kept kicking on randomly and draining the battery. I had asked them to check the manual accessory switch in the trunk as it didn't always work. I asked them to humor me and unplug the switch while it was on the hoist and let me get back to them before ordering. The problem went away so I ordered a switch and fixed it myself and saved about $1600. Then there's the noisy wheel bearing/hub I wanted replaced while I was on vacation. I had to literally spell it out to the mechanic why it was the opposite side to the one he wanted to replace due to loading when cornering. Some are good, some are not so good.


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## OptsyEagle (Nov 29, 2009)

I think quite a few of the dealerships put their mechanics on commission or bonus, as part of their pay packages, that increase as the revenue generated by that mechanic increases. The interesting coincidence with this pay structure is that customer cars tend to need significantly more immediate repairs then the cars serviced by mechanics receiving salary only. 

Weird coincidence don't you think?


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Mechanic said:


> Then there's the noisy wheel bearing/hub I wanted replaced while I was on vacation. I had to literally spell it out to the mechanic why it was the opposite side to the one he wanted to replace due to loading when cornering. Some are good, some are not so good.


Even though this thread is 8 years old I guess it still applies today. 

Not sure I understand the hub bearing issue, easily detemined by the noise and/or movement in the hub (if really bad). I usually replace both sides if one fails anyways. 

Yes, some shops are good, some are bad. I hear more bad stories from dealerships and big chain shops than local ones but either way you still have to be careful.


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

OptsyEagle said:


> I think quite a few of the dealerships put their mechanics on commission or bonus, as part of their pay packages, that increase as the revenue generated by that mechanic increases. The interesting coincidence with this pay structure is that customer cars tend to need significantly more immediate repairs then the cars serviced by mechanics receiving salary only.
> 
> Weird coincidence don't you think?


my brother is a mechanic for a large foreign manufacturer. He doesn’t work on salary. He gets paid for the work he performs. Each “job” has a set time for completion as determined by the manufacturer. In reality, some jobs take less than the recommended time, some jobs take longer. The mechanic will identify work that needs to be done and relays that to the service advisor, who then “brakes” the news to you. I believe he’s honest. The biggest push back he gets is on preventive maintenance which may be slightly outside the manufacturers recommendation. This is done when there is a known issue which can be prevented or made less severe with some upfront corrections/service (as per my example below).

I’ve only ever purchased cars from this same manufacturer. It gives me peace of mind on what to look after and what things can be ignored. Ie, my model suffers suffers from premature rear caliber seizing. The manufacturer will warranty them if, and only if, you religiously stuck with brake fluid changes. I‘ve never changed brake fluid on any other car, other than my current one.


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

I do most of my own car work and have done for many years. Three of the cars are older Euros, and they don't see the dealer. However, for some jobs I get help from a local shop or from a friend who has a hoist. I have done brakes more times than I can remember.

Should rotors/disks be changed? I almost always change them. In theory, if the surface is smooth with no pits or scoring you can possibly do two pad changes per set of rotors. But only if you check the rotor thickness vs the manufacturer's specification. Because of the rusty ridge that develops around the periphery, you need a measuring tool that can measure despite that. If the surface is scored or pitted, just throw them out. It is not usually cost effective to machine rotors these days. On newer cars, the rotors are often thin due to weight saving and may not be able to be resurfaced anyway.

There is one other problem of re-using rotors, When you install new pads, you have to bed them in. This must be done by exactly following the pad manufacturer's instructions (many shops don't). Instructions vary by pad brand. This process transfers pad material to the rotors surface. It also changes the composition of the rotor surface. Sometimes, you may see an imprint of the pad shape on the rotor in one or more places. This takes place when you park car when brakes and rotors are hot. Those imprints have a different compostion and can cause judder when braking even when you install new pads and bed them. If you see those imprints, you should change the rotors. Resurfacing may not help.

Anyway enough. This isn't a car forum! I keep forgetting


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## like_to_retire (Oct 9, 2016)

I use to always do my own car work until I got old and lazy.

Sure, you can resurface rotors, but those were the old days when they made them out of a decent thickness of metal, but today if you resurface a rotor it just warps. Easier to just replace them.

ltr


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## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

Don't know how I ended up in this old thread, lol. Hub brg assy can be bad without having looseness or play but will be noisy when loaded as per going round a bend


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