View Single Post
  #4  
Old November 20th 05, 10:58 PM posted to rec.autos.tech
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Is this statement true?


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.
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?

> 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........

> 4) Blower motor and radiator fan stopped working for unknown reason (still
> trying to diagnose this).


Perhaps a competent mechanic could help here...

> 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.

> 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")

> 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.

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. 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).

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...

Ads