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Has come to my attention that too many are "jumping" to diagnostic conclusions when posters explain symptoms. Unless one has seen/or all variables have been checked and posted-- an accurate diagnosis is not possible.
Example- overheating. It sounds and could very well be that a headgasket is blown or also blown. But did anyone here check for leaks, be it from hose clamps, pinholes in hoses, gaskets, seals, operation of thermostat, water pump, blocked radiator/ heater core. where the coolant is going (external/internal/oil/exhaust/). Was it properly bled.? Did any do checks for exhaust gas in cooling system? coolant in exhaust gas? in oil?
NO?
then let's try not to mislead! This is nothing more than an "educated crapshoot"....It shouldn't be about "who guessed the right answer"
Comments or opinions should be for educational purpose only.

There are too many posts like this: where someone will blatantly claim "It's this ! or it's That, that needs replacing. Why play with someone elses money? I think a better phrase would be "it may be this, or it's most probably a "............." but further checks and diagnosis may be required.

Nothing wrong with asking for opinions beforehand. But take any Forum Diagnosis with a grain of salt. And never assume that this is your problem.

My suggestion is to either ask for what to check and post info and hopefully a member with the proper knowledge or previous experience can guide you in self diagnosis and maybe repair...or you bring your vehicle to a reputable service center and post a complete estimate as to what they have diagnosed/said. It should be in writing if they are professional. At that point; comment on the forum to see if other members have had similar experiences /repairs.
You go in to a service center asking for a specific repair and chances are they will do it even if your car doesn't need it. Don't tell them what is wrong (don't self diagnose). That is part and the most important part of a good Technicians (formerly called a mechanic) job. and they are only liable for the accuracy of their own diagnosis.

 
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Good post. I know I'm relatively new here, but I have found this is a common thing around the internet -- the "guess and check" diagnosis or the "this is what I replaced when I had something similar." On other forums, I've tried to post "this is what I've replaced in a similar situation, and this is what I did to determine the part x was bad." Too often as backyard mechanics, we don't appreciate that 80% of the battle in many cases is the diagnosis. We spend so much energy in "how to replace" and never really learn "how to determine what to replace." An internet forum like this is going to be most useful if we use it to help teach each other how to diagnose the problems we come across.

 
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We can only do so much with what we have to work with, an sometimes getting the information we need is like pulling teeth. If I was able to physically see the car and see the symptoms first hand, diagnosis would be so much easier.

Personally, I hate going to mechanics. As an ex-Navy nuclear power plant mechanic, I know first hand that complacency can easily kick it after a while, to the point where you overlook a small detail that can end semi-catastrophically. At least if I mess up, I can blame no one else but myself. And before anyone poses the "not everyone is mechanically inclined" bit, everyone has to start somewhere. I started working on cara when I got my civic, scared to do anything for fear of messing up. One day, I said screw it and dove right in, and found that it's easier to do things right than it seemed, it's a matter of getting over that "ima **** it up" mentality.

We're all a member of this forum to learn as a community. Learn from others' mistakes and experiences. Take the good and remember the bad. When I try and help someone fix their car, I have tem start from the cheapest/free-est method, and work their way up. Worst case scenario: they learned how to do something on their car that they haven't done before.

 
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I will break my 2 week strike just for this
yup, agree on what you say.
hard part is when we get a "crappy" description of the issue, not a single indication of what they tried to do, no pics at all, etc, etc... I am sorry to them, but i don't read minds...

yer correct, but if they not mechanically inclined, they should try to take car to a shop and quote a job first - if sounds fishy, they should come here iand ask. not just jump here and say: I hit a curb - what could be broken?!?.

and since you mentioned head gasket, when i post a link to it, i usually ask if they ran down the list posted in there - any new info have been added in there if they come by. It was created because there were simply... too many asking for the reservoir filling up.

 
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Sub or surface?

 
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I my experience the sounds your car makes can really tell you A LOT, so LISTEN. when asking for help in diagnosis. give us an EXAMPLE of WHAT you HEAR, and WHEN you HEAR it along with any GAUGES that may light up. also, knowing what has and hasn't been done to the car recently can be a huge help in figuring out what she's doing.

is there a forum section dedicated to diagnosis ?? if so are there admins on patrol (that know what to look for)

 
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Surface. Stationed on the Stennis before I got out in 09

 
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usually the subforum we're in (Mechanical Problems/Vehicle Issues and Fix-it Forum) is where people post up problems, but sometimes people choose to post it up in engine, suspension, etc, whatever part is related, then we allow it.

We also have a fairly proactive moderator staff, myself included, that try and help people with issues. Of course, other members are more than welcome to provide input for online diagnosis of problems.

 
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Thanks, good to know.

 
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Was suppose to be ET RO who failed power school on the 12th week (ack board). Went Sub and become an ESM tech, most closely related to an EW for surface side rating. Stationed on USS Santa Fe before getting out in 03 after 9 years.

 
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not everyone here is a mechanic, and i dont think members would expect to get free info from a board of actual mechanics who have nothing better to do than respond to problem posts on a forum for free. but many of us do have years and years of experience working on these cars and have seen first hand inside and out what types of problems there are. i have met professional mechanics who know much less than i do and some that know much more. i guess i could say the same thing about going to a shop. take everything they say with a grain of salt and never believe they know exactly what is wrong with your car. how could they, when there are thousands of parts on a car and they are expected to pick out the one or two that are causing the problem.