There are just some days I wish I didn't turn wrenches

[iamdub]

Yes, it is cracked. I took her out to her vehicle, should have said this earlier-thanks for keeping me on my toes @iamdub, and we popped the hood and I reached in and showed her the crack and I could easily catch it with my fingernail. I actually ticked a little chunk off of it. Not arcing to metal close to it yet. She is very inquisitive and was very interested and was a little mad at the dealer for not pointing out the corrosion at the battery and for the air filter cover not being completely attached. I showed her where a Toyota site, that sold oe Toyota parts, showed the ignition coils in the same pic as the spark plugs because it is a good idea to replace them as a pair. I have asked to buy this vehicle from her many times, it is in great shape, and she said she loves the vehicle and wants to take care of it for a long time and also save money at the same time. I told her I can help her do that. Big smiles.
All this work came from a faulty gas cap.

That's IS strange. They usually try to squeeze a customer for all they can. Those coils would've been an easy sale, especially considering the potential urgency such as where she'd be when that crack spreads and the internals corrode, killing the coil. The corroded battery cables, too. Oh well, she's in better hands and getting a far better deal now.

 

[OR VietVet]

@iamdub, she had the plugs done 20k ago, I will pull the plug(s) with a cracked coil and inspect. But, they should have recommended the ignition coils at the time of the plugs, for sure, unless they did not have them and did not want to recommend what they did not have and then tell her there would be labor to replace at a later date instead of at the time the plugs were replaced. She does not remember whether they recommended them at the time.

Thanks for kind words. I got in this business after my uncle showed me how to diagnose and turn wrenches, lots more rebuilding back then, and after my mom was being ripped off about a carb on a Datsun B210. There was always plenty of legit work out there. fair pricing is what I try to convey. I have no extra overhead. Just wear and tear on my body and I like to do it and stay active. So far, no comebacks and everyone is happy with results. They are even surprised when I call after a week to check how everything is going with the vehicle.

 

[OR VietVet]

1999 Corolla showed last night and I believe his CEL, for P0303 and P0304 had to do with how loose the plugs were in the seats. I always check the tension on other peoples plug replacement and I used a 3/8" extension and a 5/8" spark plug socket and 3 of the 4 plugs were loose enough that I did not need a ratchet to loosen them and spin the extension. Plus, he had plug wires crossing over each other instead of parallel to each other and I have seen that cause intermittent current flow problems in the wires. Found a very small vacuum leak at the intake as well, close to cylinder's 3 & 4. Nothing to fix because it is a beater car and needs to be used for 2 to 3 months before new vehicle. Oil leaks at pan, I tightened the pan bolts and at the valve cover and I tightened them. Did the oil change and called it good.

 

[OR VietVet]

The 2013 Acura RDX showed this evening and I drove him home and we both heard the hollow thud noise from the rear shocks. No problems at front struts. Got home and no fluid leaks on any of them. Mounts all tight. Looked at RA and all I could order from them was some cheapo FCS rear shocks for $33.79 each. That is all the had. They had KYB front struts but no KYB rear shocks. AZ would have to order from KYB themselves because no warehouses showed anything and neither did NAPA or O'Reilly's. I ventured in to Parts Geek and found a pair, they had 38 of them, of rear shocks for same price as AZ and the others. Ordered them. Looks pretty easy to install.

His daughter, that I did all that work to on her Lexus RX350, was at home and came out and hugged me because of the new rear liftgate struts that push the gate up without her having to lift it.

 

[OR VietVet]

On another note: I have raised my labor rate to $80 an hour and I now charge that rate when I am chasing parts. I still don't make any $ on the part itself except for my cleaners I keep in stock and dielectric grease and anti-seize and such. If I feel it is warranted, I add a little labor time for parts searches and me ordering in parts on my c/c and then reimbursing me. My girl was on me to do this. Between the American Legion and my neighborhood and their friends, I have a group of about 15-18 vehicles that I am servicing.

 

[OR VietVet]

Today, I have to spend time on one of the household vehicles. My girl's 1990 K2500 extended cab truck with 129,500 miles has a vibration that is more pronounced in the seat of the pants and can feel slightly in the floorboard, that comes on at 45 mph and continues till 55 mph. Cannot feel below 45 mph or above 55 mph. Feel it whether cruising and maintaining speed in that 10 mph window or when accelerating in that window and also when decelerating in that window. Has a 700R4 transmission and knowing that the O/D kicks in around 45 mph, I considered a transmission problem but I reached out to @NickTransmissions for his opinion and he does not think it is transmission related. I did check the transmission fluid and is very clean and full. Had a transmission flush approximately 8k miles ago, before I started living here with my girl, and I did a transmission fluid and filter change about 8 months ago.

I now think, and so does @NickTransmissions, that the problem is likely tires related. I will be getting it up on jack stands today and will inspect from front to back for anything obvious and will set the stands at the rear axle and under the lower control arms, so I can run it in the air and inspect the driveshaft. I will be swapping tires, front to rear, to see if they are the source of the vibes. I am leaning with the tires but still want to look under there while I have the time.

I am waiting for a right outside mirror for a 2020 Acura RDX, a set of ignition coils for a 2008 4Runner 4.0 and two rear shocks for a 2013 Acura RDX and when they show I have work to do. Unfortunately the owner of the 2020 RDX is in the hospital and turns out he is 87 and has congestive heart failure and only has use of about 25% of his heart. The 2013 RDX owner is the son in law and I asked him yesterday if they still want me to replace the mirror and he said definitely, YES, and that the owner will be out of hospital and want his vehicle fixed and if he passes, the family will keep his 2020 RDX.

I am still waiting to hear back from the 1985 F150 pickup truck owner about all the rust in the brake system but so far, crickets. This tends to happen from the VFW and American Legion guys. Sometimes they talk a big game but then have excuses for not following thru. His problem appears to be that he wants to fit in at the AL Post real bad and buys drinks for anyone in the bar. Very nice guy but he is an S.A.L. member and that is a "Son of American Legion" and not an active duty Post member and for some reason he feels like he has to buy drinks all the time to "fit in". He may be over extended because of that. Oh well, I know his GMC truck starter fixed that problem and the brake booster and master cylinder and carb work did fix his F150. His silence is not because of my workmanship for sure.

 

[NickTransmissions]

Great thread, @OR VietVet - Going to start reading it from page one later...Always interested to hear about vehicle repairs, what folks encounter and the kinds of problems that arise along with how the tech went about solving them.

 

[OR VietVet]

Great thread, @OR VietVet - Going to start reading it from page one later...Always interested to hear about vehicle repairs, what folks encounter and the kinds of problems that arise along with how the tech went about solving them.

So far, the most challenging fix was the carb repair on the F150. Old school work had me thinking and remembering past training on carbs and that memory bank was buried back there but I found it.

The next most challenging was the 98 Suzuki Sidekick. Did basic valve cover gasket and oil sender and a couple other things and then started and ran for about 2-3 seconds and died on the ramps. Could not get restarted. Turned out an untouched fuel pressure regulator diaphragm had decided to rupture internally when restarted vehicle. Took some time to figure out but did so and fixed it. Like I said in the post, you just never know when a part will fail. Owner is lucky did not fail out on the road miles away.

 

[Tahoe14]

Nick, I have already been there and started on page one, good read, enjoy.

 

[OR VietVet]

My inspection of my girl's 1990 K2500 started at 9 am. First thing I did was decide to swap front and rear tires and while taking off the lug nut at a left rear stud, it came off harder than the rest. Ran a die down it with silicone grease as a lube and then used a tap with grease for the lug nut. Is a through nut because has the center cap held on with the plastic spin on lug nut covers. Put it all back together and after cleaning up the one stud with a wire brush and adding a dap on anti seize to all 24 studs and installing all covers and caps, went on a road test. Seemed to change slightly but vibes are still there between 45 and now 60 mph and now it seems to actually smooth a little with light acceleration. I played with the throttle and came to a conclusion that problem may be mounts or driveline related. Got home and up in the air again. Motor and transmission/transfer case mounts are rock solid. Used a large flat blade screwdriver and torqued on the u-joints and found absolutely no play. Then spun the driveshaft at idle and slight accel and is true as can be, no impact marks and no weights missing. Every spring mount, suspension piece, steering piece and anything else that moves or holds something that moves, is tight and looks good. I believe it is gonna have to get worse before I can find the problem.

I am open to all insight to what this could be. I will likely go to sleep tonight thinking about it. I do that a lot.