Hello, just bought a opel Astra f 1995, and it needed a head gasket replacement, doing to low compression on cylinders 4 and a lot of smoke.

Turns out it was the gasket was blown between the water chamber and the cylinder.

The head was sent to machining but the block wasn’t removed from the car.

I’m doing the machining of the block by hand, with a machined block of steel to hold the sandpaper and I’m checking for the warping and flatness with another steel machined ruler.

As of today the surface between the cylinder and the water chamber has less than 0.05 mm of deviation and the water chamber to the outside has less than 0.15 mm of deviation. Started as less than 0.15 mm and less than 0,25 mm.

I bought a mls steel gasket and copper spray gasket. What’s your opinion on that, should I stop here, or do I need to go through it all (I’m tired boss).

Any comment is welcome.

do you know how I can get a broken AUX plug tip out of my car stereo? The metal part snapped off inside the AUX port and is stuck all the way in. I can't get it out. Do you know how I could remove it without damaging the stereo?

A new option for the dreaded Pentastar repair. Anyone using these? Should be a better part than the Dorman if it’s using Fel-Pro seals?

I was changing the Ac compressor on my 2011 Toyota corolla. Managed to get the compressor off but snapped one of the mounting bolts in half and it’s stuck. My uncle tried to weld a nut on the tip but didn’t do a great job. This job has turned into a nightmare. I just want my car back on the road. Any suggestions? I’m assuming I’d run into issues if I decide to saw it off and use 3 bolts instead of 4. Please help.

the cheaper the better i am poor but something that still reads all the codes. doesnt necessarily need to be able to reset or log them

My dream was to study mechanical engineering but unfortunately I couldn't but if I wanted to learn by my own is there any advice you can give me to start on my own

2011 Toyota tundra 5.7 these are both rear rotors. I already ordered replacements and pads. But didn’t know if this was indicative of a caliper problem or something else? TIA

everything in my car was fine up until i was driving home and felt like my car was shaking harder than its supposed to. Especially when it was in idle, took it to get an engine light check at auto-zone and this is the only thing that appeared. Already ordered new spark plugs and new ignition coils, but I’m anxious and just am curious and wondering if someone thinks it could be something else? I drive a 2019 Kia Optima S. Any help is gladly appreciated thank you!

Obviously not for the oil change but I noticed mild whirring, not when braking but when just driving along.
So I asked them to check it out. It’s the dealership. They told me I need new calipers, caliper hoses, and rear brakes. Grand total is 2750… is it fair to take my car and get a second opinion?

My 2015 Lexus IS300H hybrid battery is starting to die (a little bit after the 11 years mark...)...
I got the first code (P0A80) a few months ago, my dealer told me that I will probably need to replace it soon, but as it was the first time they just cleared it.

It came back a couple months later, this time I cleared it using an OBD2 scanner.

Finally it comes back every couple days, so I decided to go with a replacement : thing is my appointment is in a little bit more than 2 weeks, because they just ordered the battery...

Am I still able to drive the car until then (only low distances obviously), as I need it for work ?

The car still drives fine with no issues, except it's relying solely on the engine and doesn't use any hybrid assistance or electric driving.

I am thinking about either continue clearing the codes, but I'm not sure it's a good idea.
Otherwise I could just drive it with the codes on, relying only on the engine in the meantime.

Do you think any of those ideas could cause further issues (except the horrible MPG) ?

Would you have any recommendations ?

Thanks a lot!

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?

Ok so I am coming on here because I have a problem. My Knock Retard is going up to an 8.5 under about 50% throttle; I cannot figure out why. I drive a 2019 Accord 2.0T. It was on a off the shelf Ktuner tune, then I noticed the Knock Value so I set it back to stock, any ideas on what it could be, I doubt its the tune because I set it back to factory calibration and the Knock Retard still went up. Spark plugs look fine but look to be running a bit hot. Any input is appreciated

I'm trying to identify the ticking/rattling noise from this 1.2 kappa engine in my 2019 I20 CVT 33000kms. AC is off. There also seems to be an oil spot on the plastic tray in the bottom. Do not know if both are related.

Help, RPMs are bouncy for ~10s after cold starts, doesn't seem to happen every time (say 4/10 starts). I can smell the gasoline in the cabin initially and the smell disappears soon after the bouncing stops. The car runs fine afterwards and no issues when starting if the engine is warm. Any ideas?

Seat Ibiza 2012 1.2L SJ6 69hp petrol

This video is of my 2012 Corolla. The vehicle has around 88k miles. Video was taken in the morning with it being around 42 degrees outside. It has happened once before maybe a year ago. After 30 min of trying in 1 minute intervals it finally kicked on.

My 1996 explorer with v8 and 4r55e transmission is giving me hell. First, it would only go forward with no neutral at all and no overdrive or reverse. Then I replaced the valve body gaskets and i think it still went forward in every gear but I dont remember if it would roll in neutral, still no reverse. Then I bought a whole valve body off ebay that claimed to have the seperator plate with bonded gaskets but when i got it it only had the bottom bonded gasket so I had to use a normal top gasket. And it came with all new solenoids. Well now every gear goes forward but still rolls in neutral. Im not sure if i remember exactly how it changed, but after messing with valve body everytime the car acted different.

Also, when removing the old valve body, we busted the head off a bolt so we welded a new on to remove it. But when doing that we got a tiny bit of slag from the weld on the upper part of the valve body that is part of the tranny. I sanded it pretty smooth so i dont think thats a problem. Also, one bolt that holds the shifter fork on but is also a mounting bolt for the valve body is a little stripped and wont torque all the way to the reccomended setting. But it is on the edge of the valve body so i feel like that wouldnt give me all these problems.

I made sure the rooster tail thing was engaged with the shift plunger thing correctly. Can someone tell me if this is a valve body issue and my transmission isnt shot? Or give me a direction to go to get this on the road? Id hate to junk it over a valve body problem.

Hit a pothole NYC. 2023 cx9. Inner tie rod snapped.
I am unable to unbolt it. Tried the inner tie rod removal tool from auto zone but it didn’t work. Also tried a pipe wrench, since the space is limited under the car, it didn’t work either.
Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks!