Vehicle Maintenace General

BatterHomes&Gardens

BatterHomes&Gardens

JIM NORTON IS GAY.
kiwifarms.net
Joined
Aug 1, 2023
Without too much power leveling I've been professionally repairing other peoples shit since 9/11. From apprentice to business owner I have done it all. I specialize in repairing Euro Trash but have worked on a everything. Keep in mind I am American, I know American Euro Trash, all you true and honest Euro Trash drivers are on your own.

What car should you buy?

General rule of thumb, anything before 2013. They still have that reliable old tech in them with a lot less of the smog and fancy shit the new cars have. Lets take Direct Injection for example. It's pretty fucking cool, makes a ton of horse power, great MPG. Unreliable. I have made a small fortune replacing VW/Audi DI fuel injectors. Jaguars DI injectors suck. BMWs DI injectors suck. Almost like they're all made from the same place. Hmm. Also, there is no telemetry data being sent back to the manufactures about your driving habits. I'm a big privacy person, keep your data yours. Don't give big corporations your data, ever.

What car brands are good?
The usual suspects are Toyota and Honda. I would say Toyota has an edge on Honda just because Toyota sells their parts at a fair price, Honda thinks their shit is gold plated. Both fine vehicles.

Kia/Hyundai I am torn on. I've done quite a few motors on these cars but that is a known issue that people are still getting their engines replaced for free. Kia owned up to their mistake and are still trying to make it right. If it wasn't for the engine issues Kia/Hyundai would be above Toyota and Honda for me. They rarely break down and when they do, the engine is bad.

Ford and Chevy make great trucks. Both the diesel and gas have their own issues, but overall solid trucks. I drive a Ford truck myself. Dodge gas trucks are trash tier. I don't work on many diesel Dodge trucks but guys love them.

What car brands should I not buy?
Unless your upper class, I would never recommend anyone buying a European vehicle. Oil changes are around $200 for all newer (2018+) European cars.

Never, under any circumstances buy a BMW. I bought my first house doing oil filter housings on E46s. The entire BMW brand is shit. Their cliental is either fuck boys, high school kids or terminally online forum users.

Mercedes makes nice, reliable cars. They have more weird issues than what I feel is acceptable but if you can afford the payment on a new Benz, you should be able to afford the repairs too.

Volkswagen is hit or miss. Higher end VWs are garbage, (Volkswagen Phaeton & Volkswagen Touareg) stay the fuck away. Same goes for Audi. Golf, Jetta, Tiguan, A3, A4 all great cars. I've own a few VWs in my life and currently own a newer one.

What services should I pay for and what services can I do myself?

DONT DO
  • AC Service - Unless your car takes R12 you need to put the correct amount in the AC system. The R134a recharge kits they sell at the parts house do not work. Pay for it, you'll be money ahead.
  • Brake fluid flush - if you in a non rust area this is not as important. Once every 5 years is good if you're in the desert south west. If you salt the roads, if it rains a lot, if you back your boat into the lake... flush your brake fluid every 2 years.
  • Daig - 08 and newer cars take a huge leap forward in tech. The ability to shade tree diag is much more difficult. I am strong advocate against guessing and just replacing parts. If you wanna DIY it, buy the service manual. If not, just let a pro diag it and you can replace it. You'll pay him for his time but you didn't waist money on parts.
  • Speaking of PARTS - Do not buy any parts of Amazon. We've gotten so many fake parts brought to us, even in a Honda box and its clearly Chyina garbage. Get the part from the dealer. Most dealerships these days give nation wide warranty on parts. Keep your receipt and you can get it repaired anywhere you are.
DO DO
  • Oil Changes - Buy a torque wrench and a service manual. Torque the oil filter down if it's a cartridge style. If it's a spin on, its 1/2 to 1 turn after the gasket touches the sealing surface, not 3 turns.
  • Brakes EXECPT FOR ELECTRIC PARKING BRAKE - You need a scan tool to retract the parking brake motor. Go pay a professional. Front are easy, clean all your bolts and parts you're reusing with a brush and brake cleaner. TORQUE EVERYTHING DOWN from your service manual you bought, remember?
  • Spark Plugs - If you feel confident in your mechanical skills, hell ya go for it. Most cars have some type of cover that needs to be removed, some cars have an intake manifold that needs to be removed. Some cars have 16 spark plugs. It gets weird. TORQUE THEM DOWN.

I kind of wanted to make this thread as more of a open discussion of general automotive repair. What tools do you guys like? What products do you use all the time? Shit like that. This thread is not the place for custom racecar stuff.

I just bought this exact set of Williams screw drivers. They are the screw driver maker for Snap On. They've got the old Snap On screw driver handles on them from the 80s and 90s. I've been using them daily for about 6 weeks now. They're great. A++ would buy again.

OTC makes great tools. If you need a special tool for engine timing, brakes, whatever... these guys make a high quality affordable version of the OEM tool.

EDIT: I am open to helping people diag stuff. Post in the thread or DM me and I'll see what I can do to help. I have a family, kids and a job. Please be patient, autism.
 
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Best purchase I've ever made. Early 90's Isuzu pickup. Picked mine up for 700 bucks few years back. If my dumb ass can change a starter and distributor out on one, anyone with two functioning hands can. Obviously not a powerful offroad vehicle and not great for inclement weather (2wd and worse rear wheel drive) but great for haulin feed and building materials to and fro. Can definitely recommend as an easy maintenance beater.
 
Also wanted to add how to find a good local mechanic.

Don't go to a dealership. There is one or two competent human beings in every dealership. They're usually running the show. Everyone out in the shop and behind the service counter are just counting the minutes till 5 oclock. They really don't care if your car is repaired correctly.

Look on Google Maps, NOT YELP, for a mechanic that specializes in your brand vehicle. If you can't find someone who works on your brand, find someone who works on those types of cars. If there is no independent Toyota shop around you find an import shop. The jack of all trades shops are the master of none.

Steverambo said:
Best purchase I've ever made. Early 90's Isuzu pickup. Picked mine up for 700 bucks few years back. If my dumb ass can change a starter and distributor out on one, anyone with two functioning hands can. Obviously not a powerful offroad vehicle and not great for inclement weather (2wd and worse rear wheel drive) but great for haulin feed and building materials to and fro. Can definitely recommend as an easy maintenance beater.
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But you know what? That jap crap will run forever upside in the ocean. Solid truck and easy to work on.
 
If you own an older car that has a good forum following I highly recommend downloading the whole forum using HTTracker. We're far past the sunset era for car forums. And eventually that information will disappear. For example I have the entriety of VWdiesel.net downloaded alongside the relevant vehicle sections of VWvortex for mk1-4 vw's as I can parts exchange between platforms. Which leads into my other section.

An example. I needed a new transmission for my 82' VW rabbit diesel as mine got stuck in 3rd and killed the syncros. I found a 97' 02K transmission from a junked euro caddy that was in a rear end collision. Using my downloaded info I found an attachment listing the gear ratios for every manual trans from the beginning of time to 2007. The model I found happened to have a lower final drive ratio for 5th that should increase my MPG. Once I had said transmission I had to mount it to my vehicle. Thankfully VW never changed the castings for the bell housing. They just never completed the furnishings to mount it to mine. All I had to do was drill, tap and die. And it bolted right up.

When looking for a vehicle that you can keep running for decades. Get autistic about it. Pour yourself into it as a point of pride. Find a vehicle that has parts compatibility over a long period of production. I can use parts for Volkswagens made from 75' to 05' and some special cases after that. Aftermarket support is great as well. But alas you'll be fighting to find quality replacements. Keep your old OEM parts and reman them. They're generally of a higher quality than what is manufactured today. It's not terribly difficult to reman a manual steering rack for example. Or to rebuild a master cylinder or slave cylinder for a drum brake and you'll save money on it too.

The better you know your machine the less anxiety you'll feel when something goes wrong. And know when parts are degrading. And I guarantee you'll have pride over your work knowing your hands keeps the wheels turning.

If you really want a low stakes vehicle to learn mechanics on. Buy a shitty motorcycle from a crackhead and start repairing it.
 
BatterHomes&Gardens said:
Daig - 08 and newer cars take a huge leap forward in tech. The ability to shade tree diag is much more difficult. I am strong advocate against guessing and just replacing parts. If you wanna DIY it, buy the service manual. If not, just let a pro diag it and you can replace it. You'll pay him for his time but you didn't waist money on parts.
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The leap in tech also means that modern-ish cars also log so much data that it makes basic diagnostics a cinch, as long as you can access it. A basic bitch OBDII dongle won't do much but if you can gain access to the inner workings for a fair price then it's absolutely worth setting it up. Personal anecdote: I got the whole Christmas tree about everything brake and ESP related, so I set up the manufacturer diagnostics software on my laptop ("free") and got an interface cable from China ($30) and pulled up live data, it was just a busted wheel speed sensor and a new OEM piece was $40. Good luck getting anyone to even boot up the scan tool for that price.
 
A quick word on CVTs. What is a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission)? It's an alternative to the standard automatic transmission which uses differently sized gears to obtain different torque ratios, typically about 4-6 main driving gears plus a reversing gear. A CVT on the other hand uses a rubber/metal belt that slides up and down two cones. One cone is an input shaft and the other cone is an output shaft that goes to the wheels.

CVTs do have some advantages over the standard automatic transmission such as having a smooth, albeit not exciting ride. They also can be more fuel efficient in some cars (4 cylinder engine commuter vehicles typically).

CVTs however are becoming the default and are in the majority of new cars smaller than a pickup truck or large SUV. Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chevy, etc. all have CVT models.

"Why are you writing at length about this?" Because CVTs have significant downsides, particularly in reliability.
  • Performance. CVTs are extremely laggy and take a signifiant amount of time to respond to the throttle (gas pedal).
  • MANDATORY Maintenance. All CVTs need regular fluid changes. Car dealerships will tell you they don't and owner's manuals will be extremely vague. A CVT that doesn't have its fluids and filters changed at least every 60,000 miles will begin to have problems, problems that are borderline impossible to fix and eventually lead to total transmission failure. The average automatic transmission usually has a fluid change interval of 100,000 to 150,000 miles and even then that's more of a suggestion. There are cars, typically Toyotas, with 400,000 miles on them with their original transmissions and transmission fluids.
  • Repairability. When CVTs fail, they are rarely fixable. If a belt snaps, the entire transmission is basically destroyed as the transmission becomes blended from the shrapnel.

CVT FAQs
"I want to buy a used car with a CVT"
Ideally don't, CVT fluid changes are annoying and costly. If you do, find the CVT fluid dipstick, often labled "A/T". The usual color for CVT fluid is green or sometimes red. If the fluid is brown you need to change it soon. If the fluid is black, the transmission is more than likely already on its way out and has not been serviced.

"If I have to get a CVT car, which ones should I avoid?"
  • Nissan. They use Jatco CVTs and are rough with them. They also don't bother cooling the CVT so they wear down quicker. Can last for a long time if you take care of them.
  • Any American brand. If you're looking for a cheap reliable car, just don't fuck with American or German cars. Trust me. There are some exceptions to this but all the old reliable American cars are being bought up.
  • Korean brands. Kias come out of the factory fucked up. Hyundais are slightly better and some models arguably can be just as reliable as a Toyota. I might just be incredibly racist.
  • Mitsubishi, kinda. They also use the same Jatco CVTs as Nissan, but they usually program the engine to be more gentle on them. Mitsubishi however was more or less bought-up by Nissan recently so starting in a year or two all Mitsubishi cars will be made with Nissan engines and transmissions
"Who makes good CVT cars?"
  • Toyota. Even the great JDM giants have been taking the CVT pill, it's sad. They started introducing CVTs to their cheaper non-hybrid models like the Corolla and Corolla Cross SUV. Toyota however is pretty reliable and sources good CVTs. Some Toyota CVTs use an actual first gear for their CVTs to reduce the torque stress on a CVT while also making them feel less laggy and shitty.
  • Honda. Not much to say but their CVTs are also reliable and seem pretty abuse tolerant. I've seen many Honda CRVs that are extremely abused and neglected running to 200,000-300,000 miles.
"Uhh what is a transmission or why is it needed?"
Put simply it's a device that adjusts the torque ratio between your car's engine and wheels. A high gear makes the wheels spin very fast but without much strength behind them. A low gear spins the wheels very slowly but with a lot of strength. To get a car moving from parked you need a lot of force, so a low gear. Higher gears are used as the car builds speed. Gasoline engines have diminishing returns the higher they rev, so keeping them in a ratio where they don't have to work much to move the car is ideal and saves fuel. The engine is also connected to the wheels through the transmission, so if in a lower gear a car can only go so fast before it causes the engine itself to spin too fast.

"I have a hybrid car and it says it has an eCVT, is this the same?"
Typically no, hybrids often say they have a "CVT" but what they really mean is that they have a very simple gearbox, or none at all. Do your homework on the term eCVT is extremely nebulous and can mean almost anything a manufacturer wants. For example the Toyota Prius has a CVT and it is a very reliable "transmission", but what it really is - is just a simple mechanical linkage between the engine and an electric motor/generator.

"I need to a CVT fluid change, should I do it at home or at a dealership?"
Ideally you should go to a dealership as transmission fluid changes are a lot more risky. Engine oil changes have significantly more leeway if you over or under fill the engine. Also in the event that something goes wrong, you may be able to hold the dealership by the balls. CVT transmission fluid is also extremely expensive and your average CVT has several filters inside it. You likely won't save much money doing it yourself. The average cost of a CVT fluid change should be around $250-$350.


Edit: Accidentally submitted post before I was done writing it. Woopsies
Edit 2: Did it again, god dammit.
Edit 3 (Feb 21, 2025): Corrected some cars I wrongly said had CVTs (Rav4 does not)
 
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I currently own a few vehicles, but I think my choice if the shit hit the fan would be an older 4-banger diesel I've got.

No turbo, no electronic injection, no ECU, timing is fully gear-driven, glow system is a simple relay, simple hand pump to re-prime after you change the filter. It's stupid simple and easy to work on - probably a good choice for the apocalypse if you can get fuel.

It's slower than molasses though.

I have to put brakes on my truck this weekend. Don't feel like it these days, but I feel like paying a shop even less.
 
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A Chevy C/k-10/20/30 from the 80's is a seriously God tier motor vehicle. You can still find some for very reasonable prices and the aftermarket for parts is enormous. You can basically build a completely new one on your own if you were inclined with updated suspension on a chassis built from scratch. This goes for F150's as well. I have 40 years on the same engine. Long beds are the shit for transporting material, or if you got a cap you could sleep in it. The MPG is kinda shit, but you got two tanks!
 
One of these days I need to get an old car. I feel like the mid-90s into the mid-2000s is when many cars had the perfect balance of the advantages of relative mechanical simplicity, and computers that did just enough to make the cars more reliable.

I have a 2014 VW Jetta TDI, and while it's been generally pretty reliable mechanically @ 160k miles, but it's check engine light is always on for some stupid electronic sensor or emissions control issue. The check engine light has been on for the last 30,000 miles or so with a P2002 - Diesel Particulate Filter Efficiency Below Threshold code. Isn't hurting anything, and I don't care if I'm car is a pollution machine, so whatever... I'm ignoring it.

On top of that, the car is a major pain in the ass to do basic maintenance to. I didn't even know what the fuck a triple square was before buying this car.

I kind of long for the old 96 Civic I used to have. Almost never broke, and if it did it was cheap and easy to repair.
 
I could be a big help in this thread, I worked in the industry a little while. I have access to a major service data subscription, if anyone needs a wiring diagram or information, let me know.

Once of the weirdest cars I worked on was an old OBD1 Ford van that would turn off a bank of injectors and make the engine almost stall. The input signals, powers and grounds all looked fine so I threw a pcm at it. When that didn't fix it, I went a little crazy and started looking through all the live data, I found that the the speedometer was periodically sending a signal that the car was going 120+ mph when the car was only going like 10 mph. The pcm was basically rev-limiting when it didn't need to.

126mph.jpg



If you ever wondered how crazy diagnostics on todays cars can get, this video is a good example. This car was stalling and had many parts thrown at it, it was about to get a very expensive wiring harness put on it. The issue ended up being that the energy from the ignition coils was back feeding into the crank position sensor and making it shut off. The fix was just cleaning up a ground and putting copper anti-seize on the plugs. Bernie is the god of diagnostics, that 8 channel scope he had custom made is unbelievable.

 
The Cheese Aisle said:
I’ve always wanted a Jeep Wrangler for fun but I’ve heard mixed things on reliability
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They have annoying little issues but are mostly ok. They are one of the few things left in the USA you can still order with a manual transmision.
They are easy to work on, parts are cheap. And they are super common so used parts will be around forever.
2014+ JK is ok.
2013 and older pentastar had lifter issues. The 3.8 was ok but a dog.
JL stay away from the new turbo 4's and 3.0 until they are proven. The old 3.6 pentastar is very mature now and they put them in everything from minivans, to RAMS, to chargers.
Older wranglers rust is a big issue. You have to put it up on a lift and feel the top of the frame from front to back for rust. Any cheap, older wrangler is super suspect. Look it over REAL good.
I would love to find an unmolested, not rusty YJ but they are non-existant here in the rust belt.
 
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Poop Denier said:
MANDATORY Maintenance. All CVTs need regular fluid changes. Car dealerships will tell you they don't and owner's manuals will be extremely vague. A CVT that doesn't have its fluids and filters changed at least every 60,000 miles will begin to have problems, problems that are borderline impossible to fix and eventually lead to total transmission failure. The average automatic transmission usually has a fluid change interval of 100,000 to 150,000 miles and even then that's more of a suggestion. There are cars, typically Toyotas, with 400,000 miles on them with their original transmissions and transmission fluids.
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In the case of Nissans, since their CVTs can fail even before the 60k mark, people have said to change the CVT fluid every 30k miles, to try to prevent that. And even that may not be enough to prevent it from grenading itself.

Also, Subaru CVTs have had questionable reliability on them. They had to extend the warranty on some of the CVTs, and the Ascent's CVT on the first years were noticeably bad, in terms of failures.
 
BatterHomes&Gardens said:
DONT DO
  • AC Service
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>damn AC stopped working
>can't figure out how to fill it with the right refrigerant
>better take it to the shop
>guy fixes on the cheap for my arm, leg, huskydoodle mix and a bite of my liver
>its a small bite more of a nibble
>actually its the compressor
>$19234759286 dollars to repair it
>frick
>im fricked
>shoulda moved to canadia eh
 
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Get a fumoto (or knockoff) valve for oil changes, the less friction between you and doing the oil change, the less likely you are to habitually roll a couple hundred miles over whatever interval you want for your oil change.

Paying for oil changes is retarded, the shit the cheap places put in your car is likely stepped on shit, the dosh the reputable places want for an oil change is way more than you should spend.
Plus having a connection and understanding for what condition your vehicle is in starts with getting under it for 10 minutes every Xk miles.

I was gonna suggest to use https://badgerlink.dpi.wi.gov/resou...field_user_group_tid=All&field_vendor_tid=All for your dealer manuals for free
But it looks like the Wisconsin library patched that exploit (it was fucking amazing) if anyone has another way to get dealer manuals for free LMK
 
KateHikes14 said:
Get a fumoto (or knockoff) valve for oil changes, the less friction between you and doing the oil change, the less likely you are to habitually roll a couple hundred miles over whatever interval you want for your oil change.
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If the oil plug on your car is at or below anything protecting it, don't get one of these.
Well, you can, but you may well be replacing the oil pan when you hit something you otherwise would have cleared.
 
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