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tell a story about why you do your own mechnaical work, I will start

Started by Scot Minesinger, May 12, 2016, 10:48:21 PM

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Jay Friedman

I also read a repair manual cover to cover at a young age.  However, in my case it was the smaller 1955 Motor's Auto Repair Manual which my Dad gave me for my 15th birthday.  He was totally perplexed by my interest in cars but I guess he figured if he couldn't dissuade me he might as well let me enjoy it.  I still have the same grease-stained copy which has followed me around everywhere I've lived, though my daughter had to re-bind it a few years ago.
1949 Cadillac 6107 Club Coupe
1932 Ford V8 Phaeton (restored, not a rod).  Sold
Decatur, Georgia
CLC # 3210, since 1984
"If it won't work, get a bigger hammer."

Evan Wojtkiewicz

Let me just start by saying that I have no problem taking my Cad to a mechanic for some things… in the increasingly unlikely event that I find an honest one within reasonable distance. Apparently, such a person does not exist, so here I am.

For those of you who came here for a good story, I’ll try not to disappoint you. If there’s one instance that would or should turn me off of mechanics forever, it’d be when I had my control arm bushings replaced last year. I was pulling the Cadillac out of winter storage in a facility about an hour away from home. The rear wheel cylinders had decided to completely give up the ghost at some point during the winter, and I only had free towing coverage for five miles at the time. There was a shop right next door, and the facility manager (a board member of another classic car club) said they were pretty good. If you’re wondering, it was a chain muffler/repair place sharing a name with a mythological character.

Well, my control arm bushings were definitely shot; you could hear them a mile away as I limped it over. While I was having the wheel cylinders replaced, they said they could replace them for a reasonable sum and I said yes. Fast forward to autumn, and while driving around I heard the familiar clunk of a bad control arm again. This time it was accompanied by a horrible shuddering that shook the whole car.

Looking under the hood, I was horrified to see that one control arm had completely come apart and that the bushings had popped out of their sockets! The only thing keeping the bushing in the car was the brake line it had pushed up against.

It turned out that the mastermind who did the job had used an air chisel or a hammer to get the old bushings out and bent out the sockets to the extent that the new bushings couldn’t be properly seated. To remedy this, they soldered a few spots and called it a day. Apparently not even bothering to torque down the bolts.

It was resolved to my satisfaction with minimal resistance from them, so it turned out okay.
CLC 29623

1967 DeVille convertible

savemy67

Hello Evan,

That "repair" is pretty frightening.  Had a more drastic failure caused an accident with injury to you or others, any number of lawyers would have sued the shop for a substantial sum - and rightly so in this case.  The photos show small welds in an attempt to keep the bushing from moving.  Not only is that, as Tom Magliozzi would say - BOGUS - but the heat would have compromised the rubber in the bushing.  Rubber typically can only be vulcanized once.

One might think that since there was no harm, there was no foul.  You were made whole in the sense that the error was rectified.  If I were you, I may have reported the shop to the state attorney general, and or filed a suit in order to make sure the shop and the "mastermind" would do no further harm.

Respectfully submitted,
Christopher Winter
Christopher Winter
1967 Sedan DeVille hardtop

Evan Wojtkiewicz

Hey Chris,

Great point about the rubber being damaged from the heat of the weld. My uncle was in town to check it out and he said the same thing. He's a 40 year member of the Packard club and was able to tell the manager everything that was wrong with their job and why.

That's a great point about notifying the state attorney general. I'll have to look into that this week. I assume they probably gave that mechanic his walking papers and he's probably screwing up cars at another shop by now. I like to imagine he has an exciting new career in laxative testing.

I'd probably do more damage by writing a review on Yelp or Google Reviews.
CLC 29623

1967 DeVille convertible

Scot Minesinger

Evan,

Not only that, the new steel washer for the shock is too large and probably caused a whistle squeak at low speed - very annoying.  The original washer should be reused.

The bushings are supposed to be pressed out of the control arm, see attached picture.  The shop manual specifies the tool to make, which is bolted in place here in the picture.  I had media blasted the bushings so that any rust adhesion was gone and you could see what was going on.  Then the second picture are the components ready to be installed back on the 1970 Cadillac SDV.  No shop is going to do this kind of work shown in pictures, plus it is done right.
Fairfax Station, VA  22039 (Washington DC Sub)
1970 Cadillac DeVille Convertible
1970 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1970 four door Convertible w/Cadillac Warranty

Evan Wojtkiewicz

The shop wound up buying used control arms and having them powder coated. They had a machine shop press in the new bushings. They towed it to their shop and then to my (new) storage facility when done. I only drove the car a mile or two when I got it back, so I have yet to see how they work out.

If anybody here lives in the Macomb County area and would like to know what shop this is, PM me.
CLC 29623

1967 DeVille convertible

Jay Friedman

I've had people (mostly young) who are other wise fairly knowledgeable about cars express surprise if not amazement when I've told them I've made gaskets when I couldn't buy them.     
1949 Cadillac 6107 Club Coupe
1932 Ford V8 Phaeton (restored, not a rod).  Sold
Decatur, Georgia
CLC # 3210, since 1984
"If it won't work, get a bigger hammer."

Terry Wenger

After being interested in cars since year three, I was able to go to work at the local repair garage at 16. I worked there summers while attending college for a degree in Mechanical Engineering (The garage owner drove nothing but Cadillacs). So I learned all the mechanical skills there. I have done all the mechanical work on my cars since then. I no longer do it on modern computer controlled cars.

After graduation I watched someone paint the first car that I restored and figured I could do that myself, and I started painting and doing body work on my cars. As the years went on, I began polishing my parts for chroming, doing pinstriping and with the help of a sewing machine , upholstery work. The only thing I haven't done is seat rebuilding and upholstery.

These abilities have allowed me to restore a number of cars for myself and my sons. I still enjoy doing it.

Terry Wenger
Terry Wenger CLC #1800
tewv16@sbcglobal.net
1932 355B TSD
1939 7557
1940 60S
1941 60S
1947 6267 Conv.
1949 6207X Coupe
1963 60S

bcroe

Here is an early experience, guess I could contribute another one every month
for the rest of my life. 

My first car was a 62 air cooled (piece of junk) import.  The heater wasn't super
in the north, but it managed to keep the car comfortable.  Driving it 70 mph
seemed to burn the valves.  I worked nights but dropped it off at the dealer in
the next suburb after midnight.  I started running for the last train that would
get me home.  A cop stops me and asks me what is going on.  I got in and
said "Maybe you could kind of head for the train station?"  We concluded I
was legitimate and I caught the train. 

After the dealer did a valve job I noticed the heater wasn't doing much any
more, what is going on?  I got under the engine and looked at the shroud
pieces surrounding the cooling fins.  They were supposed to be overlapping,
but instead they were only approximately in position with big gaps.  I pulled
them together, drilled holes, and added sheet metal screws to keep them
overlapping.  The heater worked again. 

With the same players, I also had problems with the horn not working.  Seems
like instead of a sliding contact, there was just a wire up the column that got
some twisting, and it had broken off.  I expected the dealer to replace the wire,
but before long the horn didn't work again.  I got under there and saw the two
bare ends at the wire break.  The dealer had just put them adjacent and
wrapped a wire around them, but of course as soon as they got wet, contact
was lost.  I soldered the wires together.  Bruce Roe

gary griffin

My mechanical experience basically started with bicycles but at 16 I got a hold  of a 3 wheeled Cushman truckster that did had sat for years. I had Auto shop in schools but no confidence to rebuild that simple 4 H P single cylinder engine. In the next few years I would get a lot of practical experience with the pre war clunkers I could afford. I do  what I can now because I want it done right which I have trained myself to do.  Blending of years of curiosity and experience I am at the point I can do almost anything and smart enough to know what I can not or should not do myself. This forum is a great place to gather and share data
Gary Griffin

1940 LaSalle 5029 4 door convertible sedan
1942 Cadillac 6719 restoration almost complete?
1957 Cadillac 60-special (Needs a little TLC)
2013 Cadillac XTS daily driver

D.Yaros

At age 16 I undertook the major overhaul of the 265 c.i. V8 in my 1955 Chevy Bel Air.  A friend's grandfather let me use the pit in a barn on his farm.  That made the project a little easier.

New rings, new crank bearings, new lifters, heads reworked etc. 

Buttoned her all up with only one bolt left after all done?  Never figured out where it came from/was supposed to go back?

Car would not start by cranking.  Car would not start by pushing.  Despite all my efforts could not get engine to fire.

Took it to a trusted mechanic.  He popped the hood, took a look, switched two plug wires, turned the key and she fired right up!
Dave Yaros
CLC #25195
55 Coupe de Ville
92 Allante
62 Olds  

You will find me on the web @:
http://GDYNets.atwebpages.com  -Dave's Den
http://graylady.atwebpages.com -'55 CDV site
http://www.freewebs.com/jeandaveyaros  -Saved 62 (Oldsmobile) Web Site
The home of Car Collector Chronicles.  A  monthly GDYNets newsletter focusing on classic car collecting.
http://www.scribd.com/D_Yaros/

Maynard Krebs

I used to do whatever maintenance / repair jobs on my cars; but as I got older, I began doing less and less of them.

I still occasionally go to a general repair / front-end shop in my old home town.... even though I live 40 miles away now.

But nothing lasts forever.

Glen

I strayed from the Do It Yourself regimen this week and I got slapped back to reality really quick. 
When I got in the shower Sunday morning there was no hot water.  Checking the water heater, I found the pilot light was out.  I re-lit the pilot light and everything was good…for a while.  It turns out every time the main burner fires up it puts out the pilot light. 
Since I have no experience with gas appliances and I am not as much of a penny pincher as I was, I decided to call a repairman.  The water heater was purchased from a large chain store whose name is synonymous with Scorches.   So I called them. 

Tuesday morning the guy shows up early and ask me what the problem was.  I described what was happing.  He only looked at the label to get the model and serial numbers.  Then he got on his computer and said he needed to change the controller and burner assembly.  The only thing left would be the tank and plumbing.  He did not look at anything.  He did not test anything.  The parts would not be in for 10 days and the total cost would be $611. 
I could buy a new one for that price and I told him so.  He then gave me a coupon for 10% off.  I noticed that he put his technician number on the coupon.  So I assume he would get a commission on the sale of the new water heater.   

I poked around on the internet and found suggestion to fix the water heater.  One of the suggestions was to clean the intake screen.  I did not even know there was an intake screen.  It is just above the floor out of sight.  So I cleaned the screen and the water heater has been working just fine for four days. 
The technician is more of a salesman than a repairman.   

I will not be calling a Scorches technician again. 
And that is an example of why I do all my own work on everything. 
Glen Houlton CLC #727 
CLCMRC benefactor #104

bcroe

My 62 was driven at considerable speed, and largely at night.  In any case the generator
eventually went out.  I was busy with school + job and didn't know much about it, so the
nearby station repaired it.  One year and 38,000 miles later, the same thing happened. 
So he put in a rebuilt, but this time I had the bad generator returned to me.  Looking it
over, the problem was worn out brushes. 

Lessons learned: 
1. Some high stress parts have a predictable service life (very poor for generators);
2. This part could be easily & cheaply repaired; with a spare I could very quickly swap
it and keep the vehicle on the road;
3. If I swapped generators at 30,000 miles at my convenience, unexpected failures
would be greatly reduced. 

Decades later the Honda driver here had passed 200,000 miles.  We knew from a
previous Honda, the alternator could be expected to go out at 260,000, and the dealer
would would take a day to order a replacement.  I certainly didn't want any of that
happening when the car was somewhere between Chicago and the coast, so I ordered
a new Honda alternator.  "We never replace these unless they go out." the dealer
informed me.  "JUST INSTALL IT" I told them; they did. 

Much later, the Honda has 338,000 miles; it has had very little serious maintenance,
and is running pretty well.  By now the dealer knows that there is a car lift where the
Honda lives, and someone is keeping a close eye on it, including doing some lower
level work.  I know that HEIs wear out; one of mine quit at 180,000 miles.  I called up
Honda and ordered a new electronic distributor.  When it came in, I instructed that it
be installed.  "We never change these; we don't even want the job."  the dealer tells us. 
"How many miles are you going to drive it?".  The answer is, until the basic drive train
gives some problems.  JUST DO IT we said, thinking about the very high price we paid
them for the part. 

Afterwords the mechanic takes it for a test drive, and says "THIS CAR RUNS GREAT!". 
She drives it and says, "THIS CAR RUNS GREAT, LIKE NEW".  The service lady (who
didn't want the job) says "I GUESS THE OLD GUY KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT.". 

As the Honda approaches 400,000, we are thinking about replacing the alternator AGAIN. 
Bruce Roe

Scot Minesinger

Bruce,

It sure is sweet when us old guys teach the newer generation something.

Getting an addition on my house in 2006, and a faux masonry (with metal round flue) fireplace chimney is to be built about 20' height. The 27 year old foreman said he has to use 3/4" plywood on it because the masonry veneer will crack otherwise.  After he framed it, the company problem was obvious.  I told the guy, "You do not platform frame a chimney, it has to be balloon framed".  He did not know what that was and so I showed him and he did it.  He commented how incredibly strong it was.  No cracks ten years later.  We remain friends today.

I have dragged garage mechanics kicking and screaming to perform maintenance work they did not agree with.  My cars don't (so far, let's hope) break down, so I agree with the way you maintain your vehicles 100%.  Since I'm still working (self employed), a breakdown would be extremely costly.
Fairfax Station, VA  22039 (Washington DC Sub)
1970 Cadillac DeVille Convertible
1970 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1970 four door Convertible w/Cadillac Warranty

Scot Minesinger

Got another one.

Working on friends 1985 Olds 307 engine (used in RWD Broughams 1986-1990 or so) powered Buick Riviera, owner not mechanical and brought it to me after his former mechanic retired for a/c work and general check up.  After the a/c compressor was replaced the car overheated.  The car was rarely driven and not during hot weather because of no a/c.  Frankly, the engine was very smooth, but it had low power and the trans was always hunting and not shifting great (characteristic of the early OD trans anyway, or so I thought).  Here is what I found:

1.  Numerous vacuum hoses not replaced - the easy ones were.
2.  Diverter valve has a "T" vacuum connection that was melted and so the vacuum line going to it was leaking and the diverter valve was of course inactive, which killed the cat conv.
3.  Informed the owner that cat was plugged and he said it had been replaced, (but what killed it before was not).
4.  Replaced cat, diverter, and vacuum hoses and car still overheated, so since timing is impacted by vacuum leaks, was worried it may be too far advanced so checked it.
5.  Timing was off 22 degrees retarded.

Corrected timing and car of course had renewed power and trans worked much better.

As you may know there is quite a procedure to set the timing, and the ECM can compensate for timing to some extent.  Still really bad.

Just reinforces that I will be working on these old cars myself.
Fairfax Station, VA  22039 (Washington DC Sub)
1970 Cadillac DeVille Convertible
1970 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1970 four door Convertible w/Cadillac Warranty

bcroe

I have had PLENTY of issues with tire shops.  Some places I go it seems, there
are different people there each time I wear out a set.  That goes especially for the
guy actually changing the tire, who often seems to have just been hired. 
    Perhaps wheels were taken off a lot more often on my 62, with bias belts and brake
linings wearing out faster than later radial and discs.  Somewhere around 100,000
miles I noticed, the lug nuts were showing damage, and the holes were reamed out. 
I even experienced bending the tire wrench trying to loosen someone elses lugs. 
The cause I soon presumed, was the shop air impact wrench which was set for
entirely too much torque.  It also seemed more difficult with time, to get drums off. 
   Much later a tire was repaired and remounted on my 80.  Immediately I noticed a
shake, which was caused by the wheel wobbling.  Jacked up, I loosened the lugs. 
Then the proper tightening procedure was used, going around several times while
gradually increasing the torque.  The shake was gone, I can imagine what kind of
"tightening procedure" the shop had used. 
   So I stopped letting tire shops touch my car.  I took wheels off with my own air
impact wrench.  I took them in and had new tires put on.  Rear drums were pulled
for inspection.  I ground off that ridge at the outside where the shoes don't contact. 
Anti sieze was added at every point of metal to metal contact.  At the wheel and
lug nuts went back, I carefully tightened them in stages BY HAND.  All the above
problems went away.  Eventually some of my rims need sand blasting and paint,
but there is no mileage limit. 
Bruce Roe

bcroe

Another Honda story, currently approaching 400,000 miles and
just back from a 4 state tour. 

Some time ago it was at the dealer for another reason, when the front
brakes suddenly weren't just right.  The dealer immediately quoted
$1100 parts and labor to put on new rotors, pads, and calipers.  When
I got it on my lift, one of the front pads was seen to have gotten too
tight and crooked in the caliper.  I cleaned it up so everything could
properly adjust, and it was fine.  I have replaced 2 more sets of pads
since then, using the cheap pads that wear faster but cost me no labor
$ to install.  That, instead of the premium pads that last longer but
wear out my rotors much faster. 

The original rotors and calipers were fine, and still in service today. 

More recently I noticed some oil spots on the floor.  The dealer said the
oil pan was cracked, replacement was $250.  On close examination I
determined a pan bolt was missing and others near it were loose.  With
the bolt replaced and the others tightened, the leak has not returned. 
Bruce Roe

Scot Minesinger

One of my friends used to work repairing Toyotas as a dealer employed full time mechanic.  He had similar stories to yours about the Honda.  Many were dealer policies, where an alternator could easily be repaired, it was replaced and etc.  The worst was a mechanic he worked with not replacing the cotter pins in a suspension job (that keeps nuts from loosening), and the steering failed and the driver suffered an accident.  Fortunately the dealer took responsibility and no one was hurt. 

Of course he is honorable and would not intentionally mislead a customer, but he was not the service writer talking to customer.
Fairfax Station, VA  22039 (Washington DC Sub)
1970 Cadillac DeVille Convertible
1970 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1970 four door Convertible w/Cadillac Warranty

robert G. smits

Growing up on a farm in rural Iowa My sister and I attended a youth church meeting every Saturday.  After church I walked to my uncle's auto repair shop to watch him until closing time.  Tiring of my constant questions he gave me a one cylinder B&S engine with instruction to let him know when no moving or removable parts remained.  When i proudly completed the tear down he calmly instructed me to now put it all back together.  I repeated this process until I could do it blindforded.  At age 14 I installed a WD45 engine in dad's old Allis Chalmers.  At age 17 I replaced the engine in my 53 Olds with a 57 J-2 and coupled it with a early LaSalle floor shift.  Gosh I wish I had saved that transmission.  Bob Smits #2426
R. Smits, #2426
23 Cad 7P Touring
32 Cad 5P Coupe
38 Cad 90 Series
41 Cad 63 Series
58 Cad Eldo Barritz
The average man can take care of one Woman and two Cadillacs, Al Edmond AACA Past President