"Comboverfish" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Julie P. wrote:
>> A professional mechanic once posted in another forum that if your car is
>> well maintained by a competent mechanic who maintains his education, it
>> should NEVER break down without warning, leaving you stranded.
>>
>> Is this statement true?
>
> Never? Almost never is more accurate, and it depends on the car. A
> pit crew couldn't keep some models running reliably.
>
>> 2) Alternator died (I had warnings, but thought it was just the battery.
>> PepBoys mechanic failed to check alternator when I replaced battery a few
>> days earlier)
>
> Keyword he Pep Boys
> Almost anyone who has ever owned a 90's GM could describe the charging
> warning light that comes on a day before the battery goes dead.

Never happened with me. One day, the battery was just near dead.

> Everyone in the business knows that series of alternator is a piece of
> crap. How could anyone have missed this if the alternator was actually
> bad at the time you brought it to the "shop"? Are you sure you didn't
> just ask for a battery and their parts counter guy installed it for
> free as a courtesy?
>

No, I had to pay them for the install, and they installed the wrong battery.
So I took it back the next day, and went to Wal-Mart instead. This was in
the 90's, before I did my own maintenance.

>> 3) Belt tensioner gave way (due to my failure to realize this was a
>> minatainable component over the years)
>
> Not really, replace it if it binds or throws the belt off. Otherwise,
> keep it until it begins to fail. Otherwise you are replacing a good
> part on a maintenance schedule; if you did that with every part on the
> car........

Yes, I failed as my belt deflection was too much, yet I assumed that tension
was supposed to be automatic and could not be maintained. Little did I know
this was a sign of a failing tensioner. Now my belt is nice and tight.

>
>> 4) Blower motor and radiator fan stopped working for unknown reason
>> (still
>> trying to diagnose this).
>
> Perhaps a competent mechanic could help here...
>

I do all of my own maintenace, and want to learn to diagnose this myself. I
am almost there. I just have to find the short now.

>> 5) Total loss of engine oil, due to mechanic claiming my Fram filter I
>> provided him for an oil change was faulty. I actually think he didn't put
>> it
>> on right. I now do my own oil changes and have never had a problem with a
>> leak or Fram filter.
>
> Providing parts for a mechanic/shop is a good sign that the
> mechanic/shop is too desperate (incompetent) to refuse.
>

This was a Chevy dealer. At the time, I only used Fram oil filters, as I
thought they were the best, even better than a GM one.

>> 6) Starter died (I had thought it was my loose battery terminals all this
>> time)
>>
>> 7) Starter #2 died. I had warnings. Hammering on it got it to start.
>
> Were starter one or starter two shimmed properly (as in actually
> properly, not "I think so")
>

I don't know. I know I did have to pay for new shims.

>> 8) Starter bolt cracked, thereby cracking and dislodging starter. Cheap
>> chain discount auto part/service store said it was my fault (VIP Discount
>> Auto in New England). Strange, both of their lifetime warranty piece of
>> crap
>> starters broke off the bolts since they shook so violently when starting
>> the
>> car. One time they had to pull the engine in order to have a machine shop
>> drill out the bolt! Cost them over $500, and they tried to make me pay.
>> But
>> since going to an AC Delco starter, never a problem, and it always starts
>> quietly!
>
> Sounds like an improperly shimmed starter to me, or wrong bolt torque.
> If they were new aftermarket starters, I could see the hollowed out
> nose housing cracking from inferior material build. If they were
> remans, their nose housings were probably reused Delco pieces that
> could withstand anything short of improper installation.
>

They were remans with lifetime warranty. thanks for telling me about this. I
will have to be careful with this should my starter ever fail. Plus the two
that broke were no-name pieces of junk.

> If you want to learn how to maintain all aspects of your car, then
> that's great. Accept the growing pains that come with... when
> backyard mechanics run into a problem, very frequently it's not the
> part that is at fault.

True. I have done a lot of different jobs over the years, so I am proud of
that. It just takes me more time. I am thinking of taking courses in
Automotive Technology at a local community college after I save some more
money.

Also know who is a competent mechanic and who
> isn't. Pep Boys doesn't pay enough to employ competent mechanics, so
> you won't see too many there (unless they're just in the store to buy
> oil for their own car).
>

Yes, I learned the hard way.

> Toyota MDT in MO
>
> P.S. All starter comments based on the educated guess that the 2.2 and
> 3.1 use the old early 90's SD shimmed starter. I'm positive they do...
>

Right, they use shims.

Julie