If you would like to have verified flair added we will need a pic that has your reddit name on a piece of paper with your shop in the background or work truck if mobile repair.

*Reposting this so that I can add the picture*

2022 Kia Sorento

I took my car to the Kia dealership a few months ago to get an oil change. The wait time was a few hours but they always take forever so I just took advantage of the time and read.

They bring my car around, I pay, the day goes on.
Fast forward to yesterday, I take my car to a local shop because I do not have the time to wait at the dealership. They tell me that my drain plug has silicone around it and they’ll have to pump my old oil out.

I call the dealership and speak with the service manager and he kept telling me it’s tape. I argued that it’s in fact caulking, not tape and it’s all over the plug. He claims that it’s a quality check marker and it’s used to make sure there’s no leaks or anything.

I’m no mechanic but isn’t that what the gaskets for??

I wasn’t having it and told him that this is the first time I’ve ever seen this and it looks like his crew was trying to hide something on my vehicle.

He offered to have be come by and he said he’ll check it out, no charge but is this normal. Do dealerships or mechanics in general use silicone to seal drain plugs for quality checks?

I also want to know what kind of questions I should be asking him when I take it back to them.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hello,

I drive a 2001 ford ranger XLT with the 2.3L 4-cylinder engine and a manual transmission.

The other day, when I pulled the dipstick, it came out low, so I wiped it and it came out dry. I added oil to no avail, and even did a complete oil change with 4 quarts of new oil. It still came up dry after the oil change, even though the oil pressure gauge read normal. Even after some driving, it’s still dry, and lowkey scares me for an upcoming 7 hour drive home from Uni. What could cause this? I’m pretty sure it’s the right dipstick, and oil pressure has remained steady on the gauge since.

TL;DR: dry dipstick after full change despite fine oil pressure

Ive got a 2001 f350 7.3L with 33k miles in near mint condition but it has low power ( nearly a full minute to reach 60mph) Person i bought it from said its been sitting for 16years. Im in the the process of diagnosing the issue. I hear diesel ages really well, does this look like bad diesel?

I was driving my car on the highway and my dashboard lit up and car stalled. Towed it to a mechanic and this is what they discovered : a yankee candle air freshner lodged in my throttle body.

Multiple mechanics have said they have never seen this before . Has anyone ever seen this before ??

I recently changed the swirl flaps on my volvo v70 d5 2005

When removing the fuel pipes from the injectors the second one was particularly stiff and the adapter bolt slightly rotated (I stupidly didn't stabilise when removing the cap), it eventually came off

When I've put everything back, the second injector is slightly leaking fuel, at the bottom point where the adapter meets the injector - see pictures

Im not sure whether I need to:

\- tighten the adapter more into the injector to tighten the seal back to where it was (although im worried about over doing it),

\-replace the washer that sits between the adapter and the injector its a 10mm external ringwith a slightly raised lip, 5mm internal - although I cant seem to find where id buy one from?

\-or ive damaged the thread of the adapter or where it screws into the injector and I just need to take the plunge and buy a new injector (or use ptfe tape around the thread??)

Really keen for any advice

136,000 miles on my 2005 Subaru Legacy Outback wagon. Very difficult to diagnose this issue. I just replaced CV axles and flushed ATF fluid. Not sure if this is related? Started as a highway speed noise intermittent. Now it’s whining all the time over 25ish mph. Coming from my transmission tunnel area while I drive. Can a carrier bearing howl this high pitched?

I have a 2009 Ford Explorer that I just bought new wheels and tires for (from a large retail tire chain). My wife picked up the vehicle, and 2 of the new hub caps (for both rear wheels) were not installed. When I had a look, I could see that the threaded part of the axle shaft appears to be sitting proud and won't allow the cap to fit/be seated.

This seems more than a simple annoyance, and likely something that should be installed? I can't imagine that exposing the axle nut and threads to road salt with no protection is a good idea. Is this something I should bring up? Any other recommendations on how to fix it if they say there's nothing they can do? I was thinking that maybe shaving off the unthreaded nub off the end of the axle shaft might give me the required clearance, but I suspected that the countersunk hole on the end of the shaft is probably there for a reason...

TIA!

So I have a 2016 Ram 1500 Big Horn that I use as a work truck, a few weeks ago in Jersey we got hit with the worst flooding we’ve seen since Hurricane Sandy and I unfortunately got stuck driving through it. I filed a claim with the insurance just to be safe than sorry down the road, they totaled it but my mechanic doesn’t seem to think there’s any bad water damage. He threw around the idea of me buying it back but I want to see what everyone thinks, would it be worth it? It has 200,000 miles on it, runs relatively fine but it does have a hemi tick. I’m assuming I’d have to try and get a salvage title and everything so I’m not sure it’s worth it.

If I were to buy it back it would just be a work truck until the wheels fall off

Hello all, can't believe I'm posting here.. I'm a heavy diesel mechanic for the US Federal Government and I am working on a personal vehicle and have run into an issue.

I have a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria with an open diff. I replaced all my rotors, pads, and my parking brakes because the parking brake pads were non existent and what was left of them just fell off when I went to look over my car before deciding to do the brakes. When I finished everything up, I took her for a long test drive and noticed a noise coming from my driver's rear wheel (rear left). I raised the rear end off the ground, went to adjust the parking brake thinking it was rubbing, and when I put it back together, I went to spin the wheel and it was tough to spin. I also decided to start the car with the rear end off the ground and put it into gear and see if I heard anything. Well, the rear left wheel wouldn't move until I accelerated a bit. The rear right wheel started spinning as soon as I put it into gear. So, I thought maybe the caliper is sticking. It feels right and like I can't seem to get it to release. I was in a time crunch because of work and life stuff. So, I got a new caliper from the parts store and a new brake hose. Got everything put together, bled the brakes. Great. The problem still persists. Still fighting to spin the wheel until I push through the acceleration, it still has a noise. Has me thinking the axle shaft bearing is seizing up until I accelerate and power through it but I replaced those with the shafts a year ago. So, I'm reluctant to accept that.

Any advice or knowledge about these situations or a direction I can start looking in would be greatly appreciated! I haven't had a ton of time to dig down and focus on it and I don't want to keep shooting the parts cannon at it. Thank you!

Replacing the water pump on my 2012 Hyundai Accent 1.6L. One mounting bolt - the top one - came partway out, then got very tight and snapped. All the other bolts came out easily by hand after loosening.

The pump is now off, but the broken threaded section is recessed in the engine-side casting. Nothing sticks out to grip. I haven’t drilled it or tried an extractor. Photos show the broken bolt and its location.

What would you try first? Is a guided left-hand drill/extractor realistic with this access, or is this a job for someone experienced in extraction?

This is a budget commuter I’m hoping to keep another year or two, so I’m trying to avoid turning one broken bolt into a much more expensive repair.

Car: 2004 Lexus LS 430, 3UZ-FE engine

My starter has been failing recently. It was cranking fine, but making a grinding noise for a fraction of a second at the moment of engine start. I assume the pinion was not retracting properly.

Now my car will not start and the engine is stuck. Battery and relay ruled out. With the serpentine belt slackened, the crankshaft pulley will not turn clockwise.

I recently changed the timing belt. I had a scare when the camshaft jumped, possibly some light piston-valve contact. However, in this subreddit and elsewhere online, I was advised that the chance of serious damage was low. I moved forward and the car ran fine. No codes, no weird noises.

On my last drive, there was no unusual sound from the engine that I noticed (although I often play loud music). Oil level is perfect, temp was never high.

Is there a chance that my starter pinion is somehow stuck in the flex plate and preventing the engine from turning? Or more likely a true internal seize related to the timing belt job? 😭

Any recommendations for what tool I need to get these fork clamp bolts out? They're Torx T45 torqued to 20NM.

I have a T45 socket but it's too big to get in there with the rachet attached. The biggest gap available is about 2 CM.

I'm thinking maybe a 1/4 inch T45 bit with a bit ratchet maybe? Or a T45 L key - although not sure I'll be able to shift them with something like that.

Any ideas / recommendations?

I already drained my oil and removed the oil filter on my 2019 Silverado 1500 5.3eco. The new oil filter doesn’t fit (the sales rep said the correct one I had had was wrong and gave me a different one). Is it safe to reuse my old oil filter? It has around 5-7 thousand miles on it and is a k&n rated for 20000 miles

I have a 2019 Mustang GT 5.0 with 27k miles. I took the car to Ford because white smoke would come out the hood sometimes during driving. Ford diagnosed a leaking driver’s-side valve cover gasket that was dripping oil onto the exhaust and causing white smoke. I replaced the gasket myself using OEM parts and Ford’s factory procedures and torque specs.

After the repair, I let the engine idle for about 3 minutes. There was no smoke initially, but it gradually increased as the exhaust heated up, so I shut it off.
I inspected the new gasket area afterward and couldn’t find any fresh oil or leaks. I used a borescope to inspect the exhaust and found quite a bit of oil residue (photos attached). The car had been intermittently smoking for about two weeks before the repair, and I never cleaned the exhaust, just right around the valve cover.

Do you guys think this is just residual oil burning off? Would you recommend cleaning the exhaust as much as possible and trying another startup? Or should I investigate further before running it again? Curious if anyone with a Gen 3 Coyote has dealt with this.

(Pictures attached are the exhaust starting at the bottom leading up to the exhaust manifold right below the valve cover)

I drive a 2001 Ford Expedition XLT 4.6 V8 with 164,000 miles. I’ve been fixing it up, but u can’t seem to figure out this issue. When I’m idling in drive, sometimes I get this small surge in idle where I’ll start at 650 RPM, then it’ll drop to 590 and shoot up to 700 and then level back at 650. It only happens when idling in drive. I’ve replaced the IAC and TPS with Motorcraft ones. I’ve replaced a couple vacuum lines that were old and cracked as well as all PCV rubber elbows and put a new OEM PCV valve in. I’ve cleaned the throttle body and actually had the whole intake manifold changed out (old one had a small crack).

I’m not getting any engine codes either. I’m kind of at a loss. I’ve checked the battery and alternator as well and they seem to be fine. Could it be a subtle misfire? I noticed the previous owner had put lots of different brand ignition coils in. I have changed all the spark plugs already but not the coil packs.

I have a 2005 Corolla with 200k miles that I got last year. I runs great and has no problems. I don’t plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. Is it worth $600 to change the coolant, transmission, and brake fluid? I doubt it’s ever been done. I just don’t wanna spend the money it realistically it’ll die in a year.

Hello!

Found out today from my mechanic that I need my struts replaced ASAP, they're currently leaking hydraulic fluid slowly. He also mentioned it would be good for me to get my shocks replaced while I'm at it. Being that I don't have the knowledge or skills (yet) to do it myself, I'm happy to have him do it for me.

I was looking to pick a few brains on here regarding how important OEM vs aftermarket parts are for this type of fix, and if anyone out there has any solid recommendations for brands/shops to snag the parts from? He quoted me $660 for the struts, and $400 for the shocks (parts + installation). Is it worth the time/saved money to snag the parts myself and just be charged for labor or is he cutting a pretty decent deal at that price?

Thanks!!

[2022 Honda Accord Sport 1.5T Automatic ~57k Miles]

Went out to my car and saw this sticking out… my neighbors are building on their house so maybe something from their stuff they got in to build with ? Anyways does it seem low? I’m pretty sure i have insurance for these torees 🤒 it looks driveable right ? Thanks 😊

My truck has become really difficult to turn, but sporadically will turn just fine. I suspect the power steering pump, but can anything else affect steering wheel effort?

I'd like to rule out anything else before replacing the pump

uneven and too weak handbrake power, especially on the right side (112 daN on left side, 15 daN on right side measured at MOT.). I'm in Germany. much road salt. what's probably wrong and how to fix? I'm a beginner. I can't find any YouTube videos specifically for my car/engine. I've done oil changes and replaced exhaust parts but never touched brakes yet. I have jack stands and basic tools and have a location where I can get under the car in a pit. whats likely wrong and how to go about DIY this?

2025 Kia carnival FWD - my tires are at: FD 4.5, FP 4, RD 8, RP 7

Is it reasonable to buy two new tires and put them in the front, since the fronts wear substantially faster? Then get on a regular rotation to ensure they wear evenly?

2007 MERCEDES E CLASS AWD
5.5L DOHC ELECTRONIC FI

Parts x2 WHEEL HUB BEARING ASSY $265.98 each
Labor $594.00 😳

I will look line to see if I can find a compatible part that’s cheaper than $265.98 but the labor concerns me… should I go to another mechanic?

Location: San Antonio, TX

Thanks folks!

2005 Buick Lacrosse CXL , column shifter

Can someone identify what piece is broken here? The aluminum piece that holds the shifter is cracked in multiple places