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Hey Eric,
I am not an automotive technician but I do love cars and work on my own cars as much as I can and have always been trying to get to the point where I can tear a car down and rebuild it myself. A few years ago I was watching some of your videos just because I like watching them and most of the time they help me repair my own cars and then I came across a car that I absolutely loved. A 1991 Toyota Supra Turbo. I used to have an 88′ Supra non turbo and fell in love with that car until the head gasket blew, common problem with those cars, and was stranded on the highway where it was towed and never seen again. Years later a friend of mine told me that his friend was selling the above mentioned Supra and it is exactly what I wanted, turbo, RWD, 5 speed, and targa top. When I bought the car the head gasket started going out and I was already going to replace it anyway because by then I read up on all of the problems the car had and was expecting to replace it anyway. I’ve never opened a motor before the furthest I have gone with a motor was removing the valve cover on a 1989 Honda Accord to change the valve cover gaskets. That was the first time I’ve ever removed the head off of a motor and I’ve never worked on anything bigger than a 4 cylinder. After 2 and a half long hard months of late nights, back breaking days, working from noon to early morning nonstop asking questions on forums, watching videos on how to remove this and that and replace parts, clean parts, etc. I fired her up and I literally yelled out at 10pm on a week night in utter joy that I fixed a car and it runs perfectly.
Ever since then the car has been nothing but reliable and I replaced the head gasket myself along with other parts and gaskets and seals and now the car is making more horsepower than it did stock and I daily drive it. Every time I am near the car I stare at it and a wave of pride and calmness consumes me and driving the car makes me smile every single time and that is not an exaggeration. I feel that cars take on personalities and become more than machines and this Supra is not nearly a machine to me it’s a part of me I took it in while it was broken and now it’s back stronger than ever and faster than before. My Supra is a result of pride in my work and it makes me joyful every time I just look at it. The car is still running strong today because of me and it’s the best feeling in the world. Thank you Eric for your videos they have been a TREMENDOUS help and I learn from every single video you have posted I just watch them even if they are about stuff I am not going to repair. There are not many mechanics out there that you get a sense that they take pride in their work most of the ones I have encountered just do the bare minimum or even fix the problem you were there for in the first place and create another so you keep coming back. Luckily they were not working on my Supra I only let one mechanic work on it because I know him and his work and he is like you Eric. He takes pride in his work. Thank you very much for your help and videos and keep on going man you are awesome. Stay Dirty.
I must say… The above is an awesome post for a first post….
I do believe that a car has a “spirit”…. I am not really a spiritual person, but after “rescuing” several cars… I do believe that there is something there….
The car has something of you in it, and you have something of the car in you….
I do name all my cars… usually after knowing something about it and after all the work is done….
IMHO some cars are masculine and some are feminine…. They have their own personalities…
One thing is sure… Some fight you, some love you… Some make it easy and some make it hard…. but after the work is done (and done right) that piece of machinery will respect you and take care of you…
JMHO….
-Karl
[quote=”Doat” post=99215]Hey Eric,
I am not an automotive technician but I do love cars and work on my own cars as much as I can and have always been trying to get to the point where I can tear a car down and rebuild it myself. A few years ago I was watching some of your videos just because I like watching them and most of the time they help me repair my own cars and then I came across a car that I absolutely loved. A 1991 Toyota Supra Turbo. I used to have an 88′ Supra non turbo and fell in love with that car until the head gasket blew, common problem with those cars, and was stranded on the highway where it was towed and never seen again. Years later a friend of mine told me that his friend was selling the above mentioned Supra and it is exactly what I wanted, turbo, RWD, 5 speed, and targa top. When I bought the car the head gasket started going out and I was already going to replace it anyway because by then I read up on all of the problems the car had and was expecting to replace it anyway. I’ve never opened a motor before the furthest I have gone with a motor was removing the valve cover on a 1989 Honda Accord to change the valve cover gaskets. That was the first time I’ve ever removed the head off of a motor and I’ve never worked on anything bigger than a 4 cylinder. After 2 and a half long hard months of late nights, back breaking days, working from noon to early morning nonstop asking questions on forums, watching videos on how to remove this and that and replace parts, clean parts, etc. I fired her up and I literally yelled out at 10pm on a week night in utter joy that I fixed a car and it runs perfectly.
Ever since then the car has been nothing but reliable and I replaced the head gasket myself along with other parts and gaskets and seals and now the car is making more horsepower than it did stock and I daily drive it. Every time I am near the car I stare at it and a wave of pride and calmness consumes me and driving the car makes me smile every single time and that is not an exaggeration. I feel that cars take on personalities and become more than machines and this Supra is not nearly a machine to me it’s a part of me I took it in while it was broken and now it’s back stronger than ever and faster than before. My Supra is a result of pride in my work and it makes me joyful every time I just look at it. The car is still running strong today because of me and it’s the best feeling in the world. Thank you Eric for your videos they have been a TREMENDOUS help and I learn from every single video you have posted I just watch them even if they are about stuff I am not going to repair. There are not many mechanics out there that you get a sense that they take pride in their work most of the ones I have encountered just do the bare minimum or even fix the problem you were there for in the first place and create another so you keep coming back. Luckily they were not working on my Supra I only let one mechanic work on it because I know him and his work and he is like you Eric. He takes pride in his work. Thank you very much for your help and videos and keep on going man you are awesome. Stay Dirty.[/quote]
some pride was taken into typing this, i have a connection with you in ways, i had a 2000 Buick Century Custom, i was but a fresh student at MCTI and while the car was still in my grandpas ownership it developed the dreaded lower intake manifold gasket leak, very involved process, in which my grandfather insisted i do the job, it was a learning experience and the only top end of that engine i had not removed was the heads! for the 3100 SFI you have too remove the pushrods too get to the gaskets! so the rockers and push rods where unbolted… when you get that deep into a car and work on it too that level it really does feel like its a part of you doesn’t it? you have gone deeper into that car than probably any other mechanic has and you put it all together and got it working again. Eric was not my inspiration at the time i guess if any Mechanic was my inspiration it was my instructor Bruce Britton… he taught me the same thing eric tries too teach us all, quality first, then comes speed, and i got that car together and it worked quite nicely until a lady hit it with a SUV and totaled her and that was it, a very sad day for me giving the keas up too her, 186,000 miles was her last oil change, i still remember that.
[quote=”Doat” post=99215]Hey Eric,
I am not an automotive technician but I do love cars and work on my own cars as much as I can and have always been trying to get to the point where I can tear a car down and rebuild it myself. A few years ago I was watching some of your videos just because I like watching them and most of the time they help me repair my own cars and then I came across a car that I absolutely loved. A 1991 Toyota Supra Turbo. I used to have an 88′ Supra non turbo and fell in love with that car until the head gasket blew, common problem with those cars, and was stranded on the highway where it was towed and never seen again. Years later a friend of mine told me that his friend was selling the above mentioned Supra and it is exactly what I wanted, turbo, RWD, 5 speed, and targa top. When I bought the car the head gasket started going out and I was already going to replace it anyway because by then I read up on all of the problems the car had and was expecting to replace it anyway. I’ve never opened a motor before the furthest I have gone with a motor was removing the valve cover on a 1989 Honda Accord to change the valve cover gaskets. That was the first time I’ve ever removed the head off of a motor and I’ve never worked on anything bigger than a 4 cylinder. After 2 and a half long hard months of late nights, back breaking days, working from noon to early morning nonstop asking questions on forums, watching videos on how to remove this and that and replace parts, clean parts, etc. I fired her up and I literally yelled out at 10pm on a week night in utter joy that I fixed a car and it runs perfectly.
Ever since then the car has been nothing but reliable and I replaced the head gasket myself along with other parts and gaskets and seals and now the car is making more horsepower than it did stock and I daily drive it. Every time I am near the car I stare at it and a wave of pride and calmness consumes me and driving the car makes me smile every single time and that is not an exaggeration. I feel that cars take on personalities and become more than machines and this Supra is not nearly a machine to me it’s a part of me I took it in while it was broken and now it’s back stronger than ever and faster than before. My Supra is a result of pride in my work and it makes me joyful every time I just look at it. The car is still running strong today because of me and it’s the best feeling in the world. Thank you Eric for your videos they have been a TREMENDOUS help and I learn from every single video you have posted I just watch them even if they are about stuff I am not going to repair. There are not many mechanics out there that you get a sense that they take pride in their work most of the ones I have encountered just do the bare minimum or even fix the problem you were there for in the first place and create another so you keep coming back. Luckily they were not working on my Supra I only let one mechanic work on it because I know him and his work and he is like you Eric. He takes pride in his work. Thank you very much for your help and videos and keep on going man you are awesome. Stay Dirty.[/quote]
Awesome post. I think it really sums up the feeling I was talking about in the video. Thanks very much for sharing your story and for your comments on my work. I really appreciate it. Stay dirty!
Thank you all for the kind words that’s just how I feel about cars and I love sharing my experience with my Supra everyone was telling me I made a bad decision buying it and putting all of this work into it but I always told them, I rather have this car than a new car that built like crap. New cars now days have cheap plastics and interiors that wear out in a few months also this car has something most cars don’t have. A crotch vent for the A/C. Best invention ever especially if you wear shorts. Cars today also are way too complicated if one thing goes wrong then it trips the warning for everything else like on my friend’s Lexus GS300 if the check engine light comes on it automatically disables the traction control, seems a bit dangerous to disable a safety feature but I assume it would help cause you to drive slowly or carefully. What I love about my car or cars from the 90s and such is that they are simple if something goes wrong it can be a few things that are easy to check and find or find a way to temporarily fix it to get it home.
once again felt the same way about my 2000 Buick Century custom, at the time it got totaled it was a 12 year old car… but i preferred it over my grandfathers brand new 2010 Buick Lucerne, the Buick Century was Luxury where it was necessary, seats where comfortable for long drives and gave you plenty of room too move and get comfortable for long road trips, steering was like butter, its 205/70R15 tires and wheels didn’t allow much of cornering performance like my Pontiac but it did ok, the 3100 SFI was not the most powerful option but it had enough grunt too have some fun…
Ironically my 2008 Pontiac grand prix is simpler yet, it has neither Traction control or ABS and the old buick had both, and there is just as much Metal on the series III 3800 as there was on the 3100 SFI of that vintage, but a lot more guts buy about 30 more HP stock, plus i dare say 20HP more with my modifications. the people who tell you a car isn’t worth fixing are usually the type of people who sell there car for a new one when there lease is up, there is sort of a point you realize you are in way to deep too fix the issue, but if the car has no other issues other than a head gasket, get the head gasket replaced! if the transmission goes out next and the car is solid and not rusted too bits get the trans overhauled.
That’s another thing my Supra is more comfortable than my mom’s 2007 Honda Accord, my brother’s 2001 Honda Prelude, and most other cars I’ve sat in. When you sit properly in my seats you are relaxed, comfortable, and secured with the adjustable side bolsters. I have driven the car around Houston multiple times even drove it to Galveston, TX, which is over an hour highway drive, and was not tired at all and had no aches or pains whatsoever. Seats now days seem to be hard and not quite as supportive unless you spend more money on a higher class car. The seats in my old Supra are fully adjustable and still operate very quickly even had some friends tell me “Wow this seat moves fast” when they were adjusting it. If you are not comfortable driving my car then you don’t have the seat setup properly hahaha.
You talked about having a broken clip or other minor damage that occurred while doing a repair. This happens to everyone and and should not be ignored by the shop or the technician.
This is what happened to me:
My lawyer said I had to pay a shop to fix my engine due to malicious mischief. When the truck was returned, the check engine light was on, the shop said to replace all the oxygen sensors, the codes indicated a lean condition on both banks. Fuel pressure was low and the regulator was leaking, replaced the regulator, that made the fuel pressure even lower and the truck ran like crap.The truck sat all winter and I replaced the SCPI Spider, one of the injectors blew out and there was a fountain of gas coming out of the harness connector. A couple of months goes by and I pulled the CPI spider again and replaced the faulty injector with a part from my old spider. The truck runs now and the CEL went out the first time it was driven.
After checking all the fluids, it was determined the transmission fluid was not even on the stick after driving the truck, I added a quart and its still low. No ATF was on my invoice after replacing the engine & radiator.
The engine oil was drained to remove wear metals from a reman engine. The oil plug was not tight. After draining the oil, I put the drain plug back in, it would not tighten up at all. The engine was rebuilt by a machine shop and the truck was given back to me with a stripped drain plug!
I did not have a good experience with this engine shop. They installed a crappy aftermarket distributor when the OEM part needed a new drive gear (a common failure). The oil plug was stripped requiring a repair. The automatic transmission very low and no sign of leakage where it was parked.
Its hard to take pride in your work when the boss is demanding production and the other issues from your ‘Flat Rate System’ video. I don’t blame the guy who did the install, the shop should have advised me the fuel system was faulty and not concealing the issue as “Not their Concern.”
[quote=”dollman0″ post=99962]You talked about having a broken clip or other minor damage that occurred while doing a repair. This happens to everyone and and should not be ignored by the shop or the technician.
This is what happened to me:
My lawyer said I had to pay a shop to fix my engine due to malicious mischief. When the truck was returned, the check engine light was on, the shop said to replace all the oxygen sensors, the codes indicated a lean condition on both banks. Fuel pressure was low and the regulator was leaking, replaced the regulator, that made the fuel pressure even lower and the truck ran like crap.The truck sat all winter and I replaced the SCPI Spider, one of the injectors blew out and there was a fountain of gas coming out of the harness connector. A couple of months goes by and I pulled the CPI spider again and replaced the faulty injector with a part from my old spider. The truck runs now and the CEL went out the first time it was driven.
After checking all the fluids, it was determined the transmission fluid was not even on the stick after driving the truck, I added a quart and its still low. No ATF was on my invoice after replacing the engine & radiator.
The engine oil was drained to remove wear metals from a reman engine. The oil plug was not tight. After draining the oil, I put the drain plug back in, it would not tighten up at all. The engine was rebuilt by a machine shop and the truck was given back to me with a stripped drain plug!
I did not have a good experience with this engine shop. They installed a crappy aftermarket distributor when the OEM part needed a new drive gear (a common failure). The oil plug was stripped requiring a repair. The automatic transmission very low and no sign of leakage where it was parked.
Its hard to take pride in your work when the boss is demanding production and the other issues from your ‘Flat Rate System’ video. I don’t blame the guy who did the install, the shop should have advised me the fuel system was faulty and not concealing the issue as “Not their Concern.”[/quote]
This is a bad situation no matter how you look at it. I don’t think it’s a situation of pride in someones work so much as negligence and bad business. Should never have happened that way. I honestly don’t see any excuse that would justify this. Let’s face it, major damage could have been caused. Sure, we’re all pressured to get things done, but the fact is that any good technician knows that if they don’t do it right the first time it will be back. Come backs cost money and time not to mention what it does to customer relations. If you don’t make the effort to do it right the first time and blame the fact that you didn’t have enough time, then you shouldn’t be in this business. Personally believe that’s an extremely poor excuse.
[quote=”dollman0″ post=99962]You talked about having a broken clip or other minor damage that occurred while doing a repair. This happens to everyone and and should not be ignored by the shop or the technician.
This is what happened to me:
My lawyer said I had to pay a shop to fix my engine due to malicious mischief. When the truck was returned, the check engine light was on, the shop said to replace all the oxygen sensors, the codes indicated a lean condition on both banks. Fuel pressure was low and the regulator was leaking, replaced the regulator, that made the fuel pressure even lower and the truck ran like crap.The truck sat all winter and I replaced the SCPI Spider, one of the injectors blew out and there was a fountain of gas coming out of the harness connector. A couple of months goes by and I pulled the CPI spider again and replaced the faulty injector with a part from my old spider. The truck runs now and the CEL went out the first time it was driven.
After checking all the fluids, it was determined the transmission fluid was not even on the stick after driving the truck, I added a quart and its still low. No ATF was on my invoice after replacing the engine & radiator.
The engine oil was drained to remove wear metals from a reman engine. The oil plug was not tight. After draining the oil, I put the drain plug back in, it would not tighten up at all. The engine was rebuilt by a machine shop and the truck was given back to me with a stripped drain plug!
I did not have a good experience with this engine shop. They installed a crappy aftermarket distributor when the OEM part needed a new drive gear (a common failure). The oil plug was stripped requiring a repair. The automatic transmission very low and no sign of leakage where it was parked.
Its hard to take pride in your work when the boss is demanding production and the other issues from your ‘Flat Rate System’ video. I don’t blame the guy who did the install, the shop should have advised me the fuel system was faulty and not concealing the issue as “Not their Concern.”[/quote]
sounds like too me mechanics need too learn that speed is a result of efficiency, i think the flat rate system is bad just because some jobs on a car just need too be done correctly. for example your brakes, i always do my brakes myself its a simple easy job, but when someone ells has brake work they need done on there car EXTRA care should be taken, no brakes on a car could cost someone there life, and i have heard of cases where vehicles full of kids have gotten in accidents with results where sadly lives where lost because the technician didn’t pay attention.
furthermore if someone strips the drain plug on my engine they are replacing the pan, end of story, and i don’t want too hear excuses, its just bad when you can’t do a simple job like a oil change when you are a technician and you strip oil pan threads because your impatient.
low fuel pressure could be a result of a weak pump buy the way which would cause a lean condition, i recommend plugging a fuel pressure testor in and observing your fuel pressure, if it builds up slowly or doesn’t come too full pressure this is indigitive of a bad fuel pump, also possibly a clogged fuel filter as well, so before replacing the pump replace the fuel filter, that’ts my two cents, and why these mechanics didn’t check fuel pressure makes me very sad, its a easy fricking thing to do!
I started to repair my car myself because I couldn’t find any shop satisfying me (Now I know several lol) I took more than an hour to change the oil because I want to make sure all the oil is drained out and check everything (and go to eat) Sure I can do it in 5 minutes, but that’s not me
I also do some simple repair or things I can do for my friends. and when they say they like my job, I do feel great
However, I have a friend who complained I took too much time for an oil change. He then went to a crappy shop to change his oil for 40 bucks. No filter change, mineral oil. Ha, his car has several problem now, and I don’t want to talk about it
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