johndeerebones

HOLY CRAP!!! You just worded 100% of my reason for career change....

Not only does the general population think we are all the same, the head ducks do too.

ezone

Wow. That was like 6 months ago now.

I guess I didn't realize that was posted to this thread LOL


Seems like far too many professions employ 3/4 worthless mouth breathers, the other 1/4 are the ones that get things done. (Natural selection isn't working!)

I'm lucky enough to be in a shop where about 2/3 of us are actually smart enough to fix the cars AND care enough to do it as right as we can.




For your reading pleasure:

"Six percent of Americans believe in unicorns. Twenty four percent believe dinosaurs and man hung out together. Eighteen percent believe the sun revolves around the Earth. Nearly 30% believe cloud computing involves actual clouds"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-m...58023605527143

n33t

they havent called today nor yesterday so hopefully it'll be done sometime on friday because i really hate driving a rav4 - ugh; im short and to steer sometimes i like to use my kneecaps and over all just not comfortable in a car high off the ground.. at least not the driver in one. theyre prolly joy riding in my car.

also i wanted to ask; my 6disc cd changer.. not sure if youre familiar but its honda stock when im listening to any cd on any number it'll play for a little bit then it just turns off - now if i change the disc to a different number it will work again but im not trying to play disc dj either lol given its better then feeding the cd player each time it goes out i can push a diferent button but its a annoying.. i'll enjoy a song and it just stops and i feel like i was just howling for a short second by myself. then i gotta change the band i was listening to.. but the radio works fine along with everything else.. sounds like a shortage

my car is falling apaaart! if that is the case any recommendations on a cd changer? preferably a multiple disc changer or easy aux for ipod/iphone - im too spoiled to have anything with 1 disc..

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto..._2768176_n.jpg was my 1st totalled car - drunk driver ran a red light.. i walked away from that with only a cracked sternum and a fractured right wrist.. and 3 days in the hospital.. suckling the morphine.. saved by the seatbelt that left me with a seat belt bruise for a while.. before that car i had a kia rio (which would have not saved me in that accident worst car i ever had/owned.. paid it off and gave it to my sister who then sold it later on) then i ended up with that car in the pic.. when my settlement came my parents argued that i should look for a newer car; and to me newer is not always better.. so i drove 4 hours to get the one i have now in my profile pic somewhere and im in love with the body style on the 05s ~ so trying to at least keep my babes around for a long time which is why i ask so many retarded questions.. (my life story)

but yeah i wasnt arguing how many oil changes i was looking for a solid answer ;x hehe so with the 20% is still crucial to the engine so im more likely to do 2 oil changes; i drive in the city mostly.. but want to plan a vegas trip i need to fix the hiccups first and wanna make sure its road ready.. but yeah im going to assume the 08 civic you were working on, they only count the quarts of the engine size not the actual excess tubes it needs to travel down before it can actually fill the engine.. (is my assumption or visual of where the 20% went)

well thats nice to know about the oil change.. my maintenance light usually gives me a warning it'll blink longer then it does for the intial start up so i kinda can guage that its oil change time.. then when it stays on solid i take it in cuz the light is annoying and i feel like my car is just screaming at me anyway..though i will admit i do not check the oil, dipstick.
reasons why:
its easy to find but not easy to put back in
i never bring a rag or keep one and im not using my shirt
i wouldnt know whats good oil vs bad oil
i dont know how far along the stick the oil needs to be at

^----all of which to why i never check it.. mark them as excuses but theyre pretty valid if youre not a mechanic ;x hehe JUST SAYIN!

okay maybe not real techS but at least theres 1 real one here.. so -s (subtracting the s in techs) feel better now?

***moving along....

and now for my acronyms:

TBH, IDGAF, SMH, WTF, EAD, DIAF! :P lol i know some too

and you werent touching that one or just not his thumb? bahaha

and i see, coolant, yeah that was my initial issue when i took the car in the guys changing my oil said i was leaking coolant and they could smell it - and i saw the remains of the crusties on the inside from when it dried out. but i never saw any puddles leak down, only puddles that people kept pestering my about was just water coming from the car but i just thought it was cuz of the airconditioner it was still a bit warm then in october.. but if youre looking for what kinda color my 'antifreeze' was; green and i saw that cuz i popped the radatior cap off to see if it was bone dry like it was before and the crap ended up spraying on me i guess i didnt let the car cool down enough im not sure but it was like a soda was shaken up - at that point i just hurried up and popped the cap back on.. then i started to worry if the pressure inside the radiator would eventually make my whle car explode.. lol mental images of my car popping like a balloon..

and now you talk about automatic transmission i need to write this down and ask the guys at the shop how all the other fluids are running.. but the guys at the vavoline oil place usually tell me what needs to be done im so much of a "yeah okay lets do that" i forget half the time if its been done or if i decided to wait and the fact i smoke pot doesnt help my memory either but whatever.. fuqqit

the temp gauge; i'd be screwed without that thing.. but i also thought it kinda played a huge factor in the car as far as everything is running normal... i guess i psyched myself on where i could have *thought* the needle was when all my heating issues came about.. cuz how you explain it is right where its been before it gets a wild hair up its gasket and decides to shoot to hell.. i just thought my car ran a bit on the cooler side; not so much near the middle at all..

also i was wondering, if this headgasket maybe the reason my car tries to swing to the right? it was doing that and i thought maybe the alignment is off but it wasnt bad - i cant remember if i saw that here when someone was asking if the car steers funny but yes; it does.. and blown headgasket does that also leave a film on your windshield? luckily i do most of my driving at night so i hardly got to see it but when i did; it was like i had spilled at some point oil and didnt clean it up all the way.. someone else was saying maybe the heatercore, but i never had my passenger side wet at all.. though i did notice that often at times when the cars needle went to HOT - the heater did stop working and was spitting cold air out.. but if i turned it off and waited a few minutes turned the heater back on it would work.. but like i said i drive short distances so usually tinker around with the car settings(defrost, cold, heat, cycle air inside those buttons) just to get where i need to go before my car ends up on the news being blazed and im inside cooking like a smore.

well then im certainly glad that engine light never comes on lol now you'll forever have me paranoid that in the event it does come on someday its a bigger problem that jesus couldnt even **** out.. my kia rio that light always came on; and ever since i got the car brand new; it always had a f'n 02 censor problem.. clear after the warranty expired i had problems with that part; sometimes they'd tell me it needed to be snapped back in, sometimes they'd have to replace it.. never ever again.. but then when the sorento came out with the push 2start i almost thought about giving them another try.. bahaha f that.. i had to remind myself its a lazy gadget that if really i wanted it i could install on my car.. but during the months its hot here in san diego i just wish my car had that button, let it start up and cool the car off before stepping out in the heat..

now before i write a novel TOO LONG DIDNT READ!

~sincerely
the chatty one.

n33t

worthless mouth breathers.. LOL im stealing that..

ezone

It's actually "knuckle dragging mouth breathers".

Also see: mirror foggers. As in that's the only qualification needed to get a job there. A warm body to fill a space.

--------------

On lunch break, can't write a novel now.

n33t

well just an update - i called them 12:30pst and the guy on the phone said "yeah we wont have it ready until tuesday" which made me boil because unless i called; they just gonna keep my car.. the ****?
ugh, he said that the part they had wasnt the right part and that they havent recieve the part so thats why tuesday..

whats up with mechanic places that dont call people.. understandably theres a job to be done.. but there should also be a job to let the owner of the car know so i can make arrangements or ask my parents for their car longer..

uggggh thankfully my mom doesnt care, but i do.. i miss my car its not the same driving a rav4.. i cut someone off today and i didnt even feel justified..

ezone lunchbreak lurker.. lol ;o

ezone

In dash changer or trunk mounted changer?

Not sure what to tell you.....If it came to the dealers shop, it would get removed from the car and sent out for repair. Either to a local repair (We have a guy in town here that repairs ONLY factory audio stuff, specializes in GM but does almost any factory brand) or one of the places that the factory uses, such as United Radio (google it?).

If it is an Alpine unit, I think you may be able to send it in yourself. I know that can be done with their OE navigation units, I'm assuming they accept audio equipment the same way.

Probably cheaper to rip it all out and go with aftermarket.

Erm, that didn't draw much of a visual picture in MY head, but it's something like that. An oil change drains the oil pan at the bottom of the engine, but there is more oil up in the top half of the engine (the cylinder head) that just sits still after the engine is shut off.....it doesn't completely drain down to the bottom.
Lame excuses.
It's part of responsible car ownership.
Learn it, live it, love it.
I bet the owners manual has plenty of info about how and when to check your oil.

You may save the expense of having to buy another engine, by buying a mere couple quarts of oil when it is needed.

Have you ever seen the commercials that said "You can pay me now, or you can pay me later." ??


As the car ages and the engine gets more and more miles on it, the oil consumption rate increases.
You just had some overheating events, and that can also cause an increase in oil consumption.

Example: A quart per 1000 miles is an acceptable amount of oil consumption (not ideal, but still acceptable), but the engine only holds 3.5 quarts. If you haven't been checking and adding as needed, you will get to pay the "stupid tax" when the engine blows up from running out of oil.

This exact scenario happened to my little sisters Dodge Caravan. 5 quarts of oil, 5000 miles on the oil change, and it uses about a quart every 1000 miles.
"Why does the red GRAVY BOAT LIGHT stay on?"
(I guess it really does look like a gravy boat.)
There was only about a half quart of oil left in it by the time it got to me.

Stupid tax.

She has now learned to check her oil.

I don't care how loud you type, it's still just excuses.
You own the machine, you should learn and practice some basic care of it.
(Nothing personal here, I tell this same stuff to my GF all the time. She refuses to open the hood of her car...and it was using a quart of oil every 500 miles.)

As much as I make my living from this and depend on others that can't fix their cars themselves to pay my wages, I really do hate seeing people cause themselves major expense that could have been easily avoided....if only they.....learned.....
I didn't feel bad in the first place.
You need to add ESAD and DILLIGAF.
I could toss out a slew of automotive related acronyms if you want.

The liquid in the radiator is sometimes called "water" too, even though it is supposed to be antifreeze.
The cooling system is pressurized. Normal.
Heating a closed container causes pressure to rise (basic laws of Physics). The radiator cap vents pressure into the reservoir when the pressure reaches about 15 PSI, and limits max pressure to that same 15 PSI.
It can still retain some pressure even when cooled off.
Squeezing the rubber radiator hoses should give you some indication of whether or not there is a bunch of pressure in the system.

Change fluid every 30k.

Those places only have one interest. Profit. They don't give a flying F about you or your car. (As a general rule.)

Also a lame excuse.

I've made some pretty damn impressive accomplishments in my life while....... Umm....
Boy, have I got some stories. All true.


Nope.
Find the radio channel that has Rush Limbaugh.
That should make the car go Left.


LOL.
Some evaluation is in order, inspections of the tires and the suspension. A quick test drive can tell a professional quite a bit of info that just can't be typed here.

1) Do the tires match? Front tires need to be exactly the same.
Brands,
tread patterns,
tread depth,
tire pressures all even.

Swap the front tires side to side, then test drive it....Did the pull change to the other side? (This would indicate the pull is caused by a tire problem.)

2) Suspension issues....
"Tight" front end, no loose components?

When did this pulling start?
Curb or pothole damage?
Bent parts??
Is it alignable?
Inside or outside?

Depends.

The heater core is about in the center of the dash (not the passengers side). If there is a liquid leak, it SHOULD go out the drain through the firewall, same as where the water drips when the AC operates.

I've never actually seen one of those cores leak, so I'm not certain it actually will drain there.

If it only leaks enough to cause steam from hot antifreeze, then yes that could cause a greasy film on the inside of the windshield.

There are an awful lot of Physics involved in explaining this. Suffice to say, the heat quits when there is a big air bubble in the heater instead of liquid.
Meh.
No big deal for someone qualified and capable.
Again, sounds like you had the wrong people working on it.
Seek out the ones that can FIX things.
I LOL'd.
I usually expect it to take about 3 days if all goes well. A week if not.
Day one: it gets in the shop, diagnosed, estimated, approved. This could take time.
Once it gets approved by the customer, then work starts: It comes back in, gets taken apart, inspected, and parts get ordered.
Then the head goes to the machine shop if necessary. They do what they do and send it back to me.
Then it gets reassembled, usually this is the 3rd day if all went well.
If not, then you get mad because you just don't understand what all is involved LOL.

In the meantime, the shop STILL had the daily workload that has to get done. Everyone thinks their car should get top priority.

There's a weekend in there too.
We don't work on weekends, and the Honda parts delivery semi doesn't run on Mondays. So your parts that got ordered Friday afternoon after the cutoff time for Saturday delivery just got moved to Tuesday about 11AM delivery. Then the shop has to clear out enough for the same guy that took it apart to have time to put it all back together.

In the meantime, the shop STILL had the daily workload that has to get done. Everyone thinks their car should get top priority.
That's a management problem. ALL problems are management problems.

Actually, the adviser that you saw when you took the car in and signed the work order is the one that is supposed to keep you informed.
Like every industry on the planet, there are many that are worthless, and there are a few decent ones.

Hmmm. That sounds familiar.
Just give the "You're #1!" sign as you go by.
I actually do work. I don't get paid to sit on the net.
I sure didn't have time to type all this out at lunch. I barely had time to READ your post. LOL

/blog-o-matic
//not proofread

adam Tallent

I accidently over filled my oil in my 05 Honda Civic, then drove about 2 miles home. Now, it has white smoke coming from the exhaust. What kind of damage could this cause?

ezone

HOW MUCH overfilled?

Get under the car, pull the oil drain plug out, drain out the excess oil. I'd use the quart bottles and a funnel as a sort of measure.


Get the oil to the proper level, then go drive it and see what happens.




Make sure the radiator hasn't gone low too. Make sure the smoke you saw wasn't coolant. (It would have smelled sickeningly sweet.)