-1 for backyard mechanics

[Mgderf]

That's not a fair statement, especially since I AM one!
Still, if you're going to do a job, professional or not, it should be done properly.

I recently purchased a used S10 pickup.
It's a beater, and I knew it came with high mileage, but it ran good and the price was right.

The seller told me they had just put a new battery in it, but now I believe they were wrong to think it needed one.
My "new" truck recently developed a problem starting.
One time it would start right up. The next time you turned the key it would just "click".

I thought it was a starter problem, but before I spent money on a new starter I decided to take a look for myself.
Had to jack the truck up just to be able to get under it, then needed a very bright light to see, but I found the problem.

At some point, I don't know when or why, someone had stripped all of the insulation from the hot wire leading to the solenoid and replaced with a metal-backed tape! The nut was also backed off to the point it was ready to fall off of the stud.

I had to pull the starter to give room to replace the missing insulation.
I used a piece of vacuum tubing slit down the side.
Used electrical tape to secure and remounted the starter.

Starts first time, every time now.
Dad always told me, if you're going to do something once, do it so you don't need to do it twice!

Rant over

 

[cmann250]

You’re going through the process called “removing the previous owners’ finger prints”. One of the joys of used vehicle ownership.


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[GLOCKMAN23C]

That's not a backyard mechanic...that's a hack. I loathe hacks, backyard and "professional" alike.

 

[jkaetz]

Sounds like the same guys that finished my basement. The new ductwork they ran is taped together with a mile of duck tape. I'll likely have to pull but if the curling down someday to do it properly and verify that they haven't starved the first floor of CFM.

 

[Dead Duck]

You’re going through the process called “removing the previous owners’ finger prints”. One of the joys of used vehicle ownership.

You are so right.
Unfortunately some vehicles just need to burn to the ground to completely remove those finger prints.

I've had cars where every single thing I touched was screwed up/covered up by the previous owner and now needed replaced. Well I didn't need a calculator to figure it was too costly to repair.

Cut my losses and movin on.
(something I should have done with my girlfriend long before I married her)

 

[hopper68]

Compression fittings on brake lines, brake lines hammered shut for leaking wheel cylinders, bondo 1 inch thick over shiny paint, paint over duct tape, 65 mustang doors on a 67 mustang, and the list goes on. Even better when someone brags about doing these things then offers to work on your vehicle.

 

[SmileDocHill]

I once had a mechanic that owns his own place and does it for a living replace the shocks and ball joints on my van. He ran the break line in a location that allowed it to get hit by the springs and sheared off. Towed it back in, fixed it, and apparently he didn't agree with my diagnosis of why the line broke because he put a new line on with the same problem! It broke within a day and different shop confirmed my diagnosis and fixed it.

 

[Dead Duck]

I once had a mechanic that owns his own place and does it for a living replace the shocks and ball joints on my van. He ran the break line in a location that allowed it to get hit by the springs and sheared off. Towed it back in, fixed it, and apparently he didn't agree with my diagnosis of why the line broke because he put a new line on with the same problem! It broke within a day and different shop confirmed my diagnosis and fixed it.

Hey now..
At least the guy was consistent.

 

[halfmileharry]

I bought a nice Ford truck in 2015 and noticed a small drip on the driver's side rear wheel.
Brake Line had rusted through and the clown I bought it from had bent the line double and used a Vice-Grip to seal off the drip. Not a big deal but he'd broke the brake line off at the wheel cylinder and instead of fixing it right he repaired it to his level of expertise.
it cost me about $20 to fix it and less than an hour's work.
My anger came from having to get grime under my fingernails. I don't like getting dirty.
On the up side I got another nice pair of Vice-Grips (real deal-not generic Chicom crap) with the square jaws. Handy suckers.

 

[femurphy77]

Just changed the starter on the GF's Civic, saved her about $600 and it was done correctly. +1 for backyard mechanics.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

I can do (or could in the past) most things. I'm crippled up quite a bit these days, so I limit myself to the "easy" stuff, like rebuilding a CJ7 from the frame up. It's a bare frame now in the garage. They are simple, and there isn't a lot of bending over, or electronics, and confusing diagnostics. Plus it's not a daily driver, so no hurry.

On my daily driver, (an '03 Marauder) I just do maint items like brakes, oil changes... Too much bending over engine compartment and reaching, and too many wires and hoses. It's down now needing the engine replaced, but I'll have it done, by another (younger) local backyard mechanic, who is a full time diesel mechanic.

 

[churchmouse]

I know some really tremendous driveway mechanics. They no longer do much outside friends and family as we are in the same deal. We do all of our own work unless it involves a muffler. We hate exhaust work.
We will be tracking down a Refrigerant leak in the van this week. Aux. unit in the rear so a lot of lines to chase. Most likely the compressor seal....
They hide the compressor passenger side up in and away from accessibility.

 

[farmerdan]

I have a pretty nice shop but I agree with churchmouse, I hate exhaust systems, I just finished ball joints and tie rods on the wifes Tahoe and I'm getting to the point health wise that I'm afraid before long I might have to actually pay someone to work on my stuff. I really hate letting other people work on my stuff. Getting old stinks. Dan

 

[churchmouse]

I have a pretty nice shop but I agree with churchmouse, I hate exhaust systems, I just finished ball joints and tie rods on the wifes Tahoe and I'm getting to the point health wise that I'm afraid before long I might have to actually pay someone to work on my stuff. I really hate letting other people work on my stuff. Getting old stinks. Dan

We are blessed to know a few good shops that we take our rigs to.
Last year the brake lines on my 04 GMC rusted out. I looked at the work and decided "Oh Hell No" and had it taken to a friends shop. That was a nightmare we were not prepared to get into. I replaces the 2 metal lines on the rear axle 2 years ago but the serious failure was where all the lines come into the anti-loc located inside the frame under the driver. What a nightmare.

 

[farmerdan]

Yeah the good old anti lock computer system. I too don't like messing those. The junction box or whatever it's called is a nightmare.

 

[Herr Vogel]

I feel your pain. Let us revel in the kinship of mutual suffering.
Pretty much every car I've ever owned has been more cleaning up after the last guy's "fixes" than anything else. Worst is that most of it wasn't done by Bubba Hackwrench, but but by "professional" mechanics doing the cheapest, laziest, quickest job possible just to get it out of the shop. Will spare you the wall of text outlining every gory detail.
The moral of the story is: Do it yourself. It's the only way you can ensure the job gets done right.

 

[hopper68]

I feel your pain. Let us revel in the kinship of mutual suffering.
Pretty much every car I've ever owned has been more cleaning up after the last guy's "fixes" than anything else. Worst is that most of it wasn't done by Bubba Hackwrench, but but by "professional" mechanics doing the cheapest, laziest, quickest job possible just to get it out of the shop. Will spare you the wall of text outlining every gory detail.
The moral of the story is: Do it yourself. It's the only way you can ensure the job gets done right.

I have found a lot of times when a shop has cobbled something together it was because the customer asked for a cheap fix to hold over until they can afford to fix it right. The correct thing to do is to refuse to do anything but fix it correctly but the shop does not want to lose any business.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

The moral of the story is: Do it yourself. It's the only way you can ensure the job gets done right.

That assumes a certain level of competency.

Once upon a time in a land far far away, I had a heater core leak in my '87 Dodge Ram. I'd swapped heater cores in GM trucks before and figured it'd be just as easy. Lulz, no. You have to take the dash apart, disconnect the AC lines so you need the equipment to drain the refrigerant and put it back in, plus you have to disconnect a bunch of little vaccum servos that control the HVAC flow. Taking it to someone who knew what they were doing and had the right equipment was the only way it had a chance of being done right...

I also don't mess with electricity. I know 100% I've overpaid to have my porch lights fixed when they kept blowing the bulbs, but I didn't electrocute myself or burn my house down having someone who knew what they were doing fix it. I had CM run gas lines for me when I was 90% sure I could do it myself because that meant there was a 10% chance I thought I might blow the house up.

Kudos to you guys who can do it all, I'm definitely not one of you.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

That assumes a certain level of competency.

Once upon a time in a land far far away, I had a heater core leak in my '87 Dodge Ram. I'd swapped heater cores in GM trucks before and figured it'd be just as easy. Lulz, no. You have to take the dash apart, disconnect the AC lines so you need the equipment to drain the refrigerant and put it back in, plus you have to disconnect a bunch of little vaccum servos that control the HVAC flow. Taking it to someone who knew what they were doing and had the right equipment was the only way it had a chance of being done right...

I also don't mess with electricity. I know 100% I've overpaid to have my porch lights fixed when they kept blowing the bulbs, but I didn't electrocute myself or burn my house down having someone who knew what they were doing fix it. I had CM run gas lines for me when I was 90% sure I could do it myself because that meant there was a 10% chance I thought I might blow the house up.

Kudos to you guys who can do it all, I'm definitely not one of you.

I'm much the same. I am also not very patient. Simple stuff, yeah I'll do it myself, but if I have to remove 10 parts to get to the one part that needs to be replaced? Nope, ain't happening.

 

[thunderchicken]

I feel your pain. Let us revel in the kinship of mutual suffering.
Pretty much every car I've ever owned has been more cleaning up after the last guy's "fixes" than anything else. Worst is that most of it wasn't done by Bubba Hackwrench, but but by "professional" mechanics doing the cheapest, laziest, quickest job possible just to get it out of the shop. Will spare you the wall of text outlining every gory detail.
The moral of the story is: Do it yourself. It's the only way you can ensure the job gets done right.

Keep in mind, just because a guy works in a "professional shop" doesn't mean the guy doing the work is a professional. Like any job, you gotta start somewhere and often even with formal training early on some skills are a bit shakey...especially if it goes beyond basic skills. In those cases the shop is assuming the risk, so hold their feet to the fire & make them fix it right.