So called mechanics

[91 Turbo Mitsu]

Hey everyone just wanted to vent a nd maybe here others horror stories. I have been an ase certified mechanic for ten years and I have seen some serious cob jobs before but my little gst takes the cake. I blew the motor recently and am in the process of changing it out. When I went to remove the tranny the bell housing bolts were so loose my 6 year old could have removed them. The bolt in the back down by the motor mount( 10mm I think) was hogged out to like 14mm and it was a stud with a nut on it and the stud was bent. What a mess. When I finally got it out I looked closer and realized that when whoever did it they got it crooked as h$$$. basically the case is shot because I also realized they stripped the two bolt holes for the tranny mount as well. had like 4 threads holding them. Its a wonder the little car didnt fall apart driving down the road. What a mess to fix.I guess where I am going with this is to all the so called newbies out there who are starting to work on cars for the first time and have no clue, if you have a problem ask for help and I am sure one of our fine members here can get you on the right track as to how to fix a problem the right way and not the wrong way. Dont cut corners and try to cob something because it will come back to bite you. As for me personally if a member on here had a problem and was within a couple of hours from me I would gladly drive to them to give them a hand because we all have to stick together and kill the Hondas. Thanks for letting me vent a little everyone and if you have a horror story tell me about it. Travis

 

[psi4mymitsu]

Well said I think if there was more people that are as willing to help like you hack jobs would be few and far between.People on here are cool about helping with questions but its rare someone offers to help in person nice attitude I like that.

 

[leet]

It's all about common sense. A lacking trait these days, it would seem.

 

[i1nk83]

yes I agree with the poster, and Leet as well. I have come to the conclusion that the general public is, well, retarded.

 

[tsimom]

Some of the youth of today lack the patience that comes growing up. They are in too much of a hurry to get it done. But also lack the money to pay someone else to do it for them. I have been on both ends of that.

 

[FORMONTOYA]

Well...........I can tell a story that came from an un-named shop in my area. My wife had a car that would not hold a fuse for the rear tail-lights which was somehow combined with the instrument cluster (previous owner) during a stereo "rip-out" before we purchased it. For various reasons I didn't have time to mess with it so my wife took it to this shop down the road to get fixed. They called that evening to say it was ready and we went to go pick it up and everything worked as it was supposed to. We arrived just before closing time and they charged us $20.

I should have known then that they did a half-a$$ job but........as we were leaving we didn't even make it 200 yards out of the parking lot when the tail lights went out (I was behind her). Since it was close to the house and they were closing as we left, we just went home. The next morning I decided to do some trouble shooting on my own and of course the first thing I checked was the fuse.......they just put a 30 amp fuse in a 15 amp slot and "called it good". Needless to say I didn't take it back and just wrote it off as a $20 education. Fortunately it didn't burn up any wires, and shortly after that I had enough time to fix it correctly myself........just a couple of wires crossed during the previous owner pulling his stereo out.

What made this horrible is that this happened from a shop, not an individual.

 

[Jagyr_97gsx]

I bought my car a year ago with a blown motor. When I got the new one in I put on a new Greddy BOV. The car would just fall on its face at 7 psi. My friends helped me put in the motor, but they new less about a turbo system than I did here in farm truck superswamper land. So we decided to have the local Mitsu dealer look at it. A simple boost leak test would have found the problem (I know this now) but they said my BOV was bad. "Well they are professionals" I thought, so I bought a crappy Ebay ripp off. They said it fixed the problem a little bit, but the turbo was blown. heh, RIGHT!! ....To make a long story short the new 16g didn't fix it either. It wasn't till I took apart the intercooler assembly to check for leaks that I found out all I had was a $2 broken hose clamp. ....."The more you know"....., it's a bi*** learning the hard way.

 

[JayRolla]

Just remember the "person" is very smart. Put them together and you get "People". "People" are just stupid and crazy.

 

[91 Turbo Mitsu]

Well said by everyone and as I stated and was serious if a member is within 2 hours of me and needs hands on help all they have to do is ask. And as for fuse stories I had a guy who brought his truck in because it kept blowing the headlight fuse when he put it in. Instead of bringing it in to us right away he kept putting in bigger fuses till it stopped blowing. Well low and behold he melted the entire harness through the dash into the engine compartment. He learned an expensive lesson that day and the guy was in his 40s.As for dealerships some are a joke. I have a new car and the dealer didnt know at the time I was a mechanic and tried to sell me a 4 wheel brake job for $900.00 because my brakes wer down to less than 10%. When I got home I measured the pads front and rear and found out they were at least 50%. Let me tell you that dealer got an ear full that day.It is awesome how helpfull everyone is on this sight and that is what sets us apart from the rest of the animals out there.

 

[Splitpi]

My horror story is with a body shop.

My car was vandalized with a cracked window and "keyed" the length of the driver side. I brought it in to a very reputable shop here in Cedar Rapids (even asked my insurance company (State Farm) if they would recommend them). I get the car back a week later and the paint looks great, however the window rattles, trim peices on the door are broken, there is that door weather sealant goo all over the interior, rocker panels don't have bolts in them...etc. So I take the car back and they said they would fix.

They clean the interior, rebolt the parts and agree to replace the trim peices. Window still rattles (never rattled before they installed the glass) and I tell them to relook at it. Next morning I drop car off again for the window and they call and said its old parts and they cannot fix it. I'm like Ok? And I pick up the car.

Two days later my roommate backs into my car (on the same side I just repainted) by accident. So roomie agrees to pay for the work. I take it back to the same shop (either I am a glutton for punishment or I felt they deserved another chance... I am not sure). It takes me a week or so to decide waht to do and allow my roommate to get the money together. During that time I tear apart the door looking for that window rattle. Low and behold they didn't assemble it correctly and there is a plastic spacer that stop the metal from chattering against the rails. So I drop the car off and show them a pick from the service manual of the peice that is missing and tell them to fix the window and repair the damage.

I get the car back and the paint looks decent, but the window doesn't fit in the groove and pops out when closing it. It was a vacation weekend and I wanted the car back for a road trip. I hand wash the car (can't use wax on fresh paint) and notice the paint is coming off and from being sprayed too dry, also during disassembly they dropped one of the rocker panels and chipped it. So that monday I take it back. They agree to fix it and the window. I get it back two days later. They just wet sanded the paint, and you can still see pin holes in the paint. I tell them to repaint it and they agree.... and to fix the window. A 5 days later (including weekend) I get the car back and the paint looks great. Window still pops out. I take the car back the next day with the service manual instructions for adjusting the window. I get the car back, it opens and closes just fine and stays correct. I use the window controls to raise and lower it and it pops out of track. So I tell them to fix it... they are getting pretty peived with me. Next day I get the car back and window works correctly finally.

A few days later I notice rocker panels aren't bolted on, stuff isn't assembled correctly... etc... but I am so tired of dealing with them I just do it myself. But my question is just how difficult is it to assemble a car and realize you have more parts left over than when you started... that perhaps you didn't do the job correctkly?

The only benefit was that since I was spending nearly 3k at the shop in one month period for bodywork I talked them into painting my front fascia as shown to the left for just the cost of paint. Plus, I never lost my cool and started yelling at them, I remained calm and told them what I wanted and remained firm. So I didn't burn bridges (though I will never grace their door steps again... not even to purchase a car from their dealership lot). So despite all my hassle, I did get something good out of it.

 

[beating4g63s]

you guys have some bad luck, but 91 turbo mitsu I live way further then 2 hours, but I'll pm you if I have problems,

 

[vintagemuscle]

Since were talking about blowing fuses, here is a story.
There was a guy coming home from a hunting trip and he blew one of the fuses in his car and didn't have one to replace it with. It was an old truck and had the glass capsule (i forget what they are called) style fuses in it. Well, he replaced the fuse with a .22 caliber bullet and it fixed the problem. On the way home the bullet went off and shot him in the leg! Talk about an idiot.

This story was told to me by my auto tech teacher awhile back and I can't confirm if it is totally accurate.

 

[91 Turbo Mitsu]

Lets see. Splitpi my wife picks on me by saying you arent a good mechanic unless you have parts left over. HAHAHA
Beat4g63 pm me if you need help. Have been helping a member lately from Kansas I think
vintagemuscle that story was on mythbusters.

As to the original story sometimes you are better fixing it yourself because you know it is done right. I hate taking my wifes car to the dealer(under warranty)