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A customer brought in a car one time for a clutch job and he was going to sit it out in the waiting room. When I went out back to get the car I saw a thumb sized hole in the middle of the driver’s door and it went clean through the inner door panel but not the center console.
After completing the job I had a chance to ask the car owner if someone had shot at the car and he said yes. He had gotten a friend (the guy who was accompanying him that day) to do a drive-by shooting on him one night with the intent of collecting a bunch of insurance money.
Apparently they were not on the same page about the caliber. The guy was thinking .22 and the friend used a .45 with the slug catching part of the guy’s left knee; with both laying it off to the cops as an anonymous shooter.
This left him with a permanent limp and having to use a walking cane.I was surprised he ‘fessed up to me about this. Maybe it was due to answering a couple of non-clutch related questions about his car.
A customer brought in a car one time for a clutch job and he was going to sit it out in the waiting room. When I went out back to get the car I saw a thumb sized hole in the middle of the driver’s door and it went clean through the inner door panel but not the center console.
After completing the job I had a chance to ask the car owner if someone had shot at the car and he said yes. He had gotten a friend (the guy who was accompanying him that day) to do a drive-by shooting on him one night with the intent of collecting a bunch of insurance money.
Apparently they were not on the same page about the caliber. The guy was thinking .22 and the friend used a .45 with the slug catching part of the guy’s left knee; with both laying it off to the cops as an anonymous shooter.
This left him with a permanent limp and having to use a walking cane.I was surprised he ‘fessed up to me about this. Maybe it was due to answering a couple of non-clutch related questions about his car.
You might consider checking the current draw on the blower motor. A worn and dragging blower is usually the cause of failed resistors, burnt connectors, and so on. Audibly, the blower may sound fine but it could be pulling a ton of amperage.
You might consider checking the current draw on the blower motor. A worn and dragging blower is usually the cause of failed resistors, burnt connectors, and so on. Audibly, the blower may sound fine but it could be pulling a ton of amperage.
Just my 2 cents, but I think one of the biggest causes of problems between a customer and the shop/mechanic is lack of communication or a car owner who has no mechanical knowledge being unable to comprehend what they are told. This is especially true at a car dealer where you have service writers who often do not have much, if any, more mechanical savvy than the customer.
Before wading into any repair try to get as much detail on the symptoms as possible. One common complaint is “Car won’t start”. Well, what does that mean? Starter motor turns the engine over but it won’t fire up, won’t crank at all, won’t click, etc, etc.
Try to reason a repair through before replacing anything. What I’ve often done is eat a bit of free time if that’s what it took to avoid guessing. That may be a bit distasteful working on flat rate with no guarantee but could prevent problems later on.
Always cover your bases with notes. A number of customers will have one repair done and blame everything currently wrong or that will go wrong in 2 years on the repair you just completed.
In theory, service managers and writers should head this kind of thing off before it ever gets to you but a lot of times that does not happen.Just my 2 cents, but I think one of the biggest causes of problems between a customer and the shop/mechanic is lack of communication or a car owner who has no mechanical knowledge being unable to comprehend what they are told. This is especially true at a car dealer where you have service writers who often do not have much, if any, more mechanical savvy than the customer.
Before wading into any repair try to get as much detail on the symptoms as possible. One common complaint is “Car won’t start”. Well, what does that mean? Starter motor turns the engine over but it won’t fire up, won’t crank at all, won’t click, etc, etc.
Try to reason a repair through before replacing anything. What I’ve often done is eat a bit of free time if that’s what it took to avoid guessing. That may be a bit distasteful working on flat rate with no guarantee but could prevent problems later on.
Always cover your bases with notes. A number of customers will have one repair done and blame everything currently wrong or that will go wrong in 2 years on the repair you just completed.
In theory, service managers and writers should head this kind of thing off before it ever gets to you but a lot of times that does not happen.You’re welcome, and your truck may go a lot longer. My late father in law had 2 businesses and used GMC and Chevy trucks all of the time. His sons carry on one of the businesses today and still use Chevy trucks.
They routinely put 300, 400, and even 500k miles on them and those trucks do take a beating while accumulating that mileage with trailer use, heavy loads, and tough environmental conditions being part of it.You’re welcome, and your truck may go a lot longer. My late father in law had 2 businesses and used GMC and Chevy trucks all of the time. His sons carry on one of the businesses today and still use Chevy trucks.
They routinely put 300, 400, and even 500k miles on them and those trucks do take a beating while accumulating that mileage with trailer use, heavy loads, and tough environmental conditions being part of it.A rock steady needle shows that there are no misfires, valve or valve spring problems, etc, etc and could be considered normal for the high miles that are on the engine.
A partially clogged exhaust or converter can also cause a lower than normal reading and this is also detectable with a vacuum gauge.
Blip the throttle suddenly and then let it snap back closed quickly.
The needle should drop to zero instantly when the throttle is opened.
If the needle is slow returning back to the 15-16″ of vacuum OR, if the needle drops back to say 18 or 19 before settling back on 15-16 that can point to an exhaust restriction of one degree or the other.A rock steady needle shows that there are no misfires, valve or valve spring problems, etc, etc and could be considered normal for the high miles that are on the engine.
A partially clogged exhaust or converter can also cause a lower than normal reading and this is also detectable with a vacuum gauge.
Blip the throttle suddenly and then let it snap back closed quickly.
The needle should drop to zero instantly when the throttle is opened.
If the needle is slow returning back to the 15-16″ of vacuum OR, if the needle drops back to say 18 or 19 before settling back on 15-16 that can point to an exhaust restriction of one degree or the other.Wow, I wasn’t expecting that! Guess that makes the car transform from fun to stupid fast fun. 🙂
Nice, nice, nice and then some.
Wow, I wasn’t expecting that! Guess that makes the car transform from fun to stupid fast fun. 🙂
Nice, nice, nice and then some.
What kind of car? That 12.7 volts you’re seeing is battery voltage only. A running engine with a good alternator should show 13 something to 14 something volts, all depending on RPMs, electrical load, and so on.
It’s a bit unclear to me what you mean by over 1V comment. Do you mean that you’re showing 13.7 volts?While this is not always foolproof, with the key in the RUN position (engine not running) touch the alternator pulley with the tip of a screwdriver. You should feel a magnetic attraction by the alternator pulley.
If you do not, you need to consider the possibilty of a fault in the circuit between the alternator and battery; maybe a blown fusible link, corroded junction terminal depending on car type, etc, etc.What kind of car? That 12.7 volts you’re seeing is battery voltage only. A running engine with a good alternator should show 13 something to 14 something volts, all depending on RPMs, electrical load, and so on.
It’s a bit unclear to me what you mean by over 1V comment. Do you mean that you’re showing 13.7 volts?While this is not always foolproof, with the key in the RUN position (engine not running) touch the alternator pulley with the tip of a screwdriver. You should feel a magnetic attraction by the alternator pulley.
If you do not, you need to consider the possibilty of a fault in the circuit between the alternator and battery; maybe a blown fusible link, corroded junction terminal depending on car type, etc, etc.Regarding SpawnedX’s comment about the lady who did not know her car needed oil changes, I got involved with a gentleman like that once while working as a shop foreman for a multi-line dealer.
We were extremely busy and this 2 year old, 25k miles Subaru was towed in with a “No Start” complaint. Figuring it might be an iffy problem I took it to keep it off of the regular mechanic’s backs and when hitting the key all I heard was a solid clunk sound.
Inspection showed the oil was filthy but full and the engine was seized up solid.Once on the rack I removed the drain plug and found the oil would not run out; not even one drop. With the pan removed I found the oil was just like cold tar and (seriously) the oil would not run out of the pan even with the pan turned upside down.
The crankshaft was purple from one end to the other due to oil starvation.
The customer stated that the oil in the car was the original factory oil that came in it and the oil had never been changed. He expected warranty to pay and when I told him no way he went ballistic and sicced corporate Subaru on us.Of course he did not tell Subaru the part about never changing the oil and Subaru dropped him once I filled them in.
A few weeks later I get called up front and had to talk to a lawyer that this guy had retained. Per the usual, the car owner did not tell the lawyer about failure to change the oil and the lawyer dropped him right after that phone call.The car owner eventually paid for an engine swap but was still cursing us the entire time.
His logic that it was not his fault was based on one thing: “No one told me I had to change the oil when I bought the car brand new so it’s still your fault”. *Sigh* 🙁Most customers are good but that handful like this can sure push one to the brink.