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Is this statement true?



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 20th 05, 09:07 PM posted to rec.autos.tech
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Default Is this statement true?

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?

I think back to the last eight times I have completely broken down:

1) Brake line burst (cause: my failure to replace very rusty line for years)

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)

3) Belt tensioner gave way (due to my failure to realize this was a
minatainable component over the years)

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

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.

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.

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!

So, as you can see, all of the above breakdowns, with the exception of the
radiator fan and blower motor above (#4) have had have been due to my own
failures, at least in part. So that statement the mechanic made above does
make sense, for th emost part.

Julie


  #2  
Old November 20th 05, 09:37 PM posted to rec.autos.tech
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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?


IMO, perfection is unattainable.
You could get close though. Look at commercial passenger jets.
They rarely go bad.
Just change everything every few months.
Engine, trans, body, driver, etc.
  #3  
Old November 20th 05, 10:38 PM posted to rec.autos.tech
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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?


Depends on your definition of well-maintained. Airplane engines periodically
get rebuilt at a certain interval, whether they need it or not, because the
consequences of failure are severe. This is, however, extremely expensive.

I remember riding the bus in the Phillipines.... each round trip from Manila
to Baguio, they'd drop the engine, take it apart, and check it. Labour was
very cheap and parts were very expensive.

It also depends on your definition of "without warning." I can list five...
no, six things on my daily driver that are giving some symptoms of possible
impending failure, and I should probably do something about them. But none
are really high on the list.

It's all a cost vs. risk breakdown. What are you willing to pay for each
given increment in reliability?
--scott
>
>IMO, perfection is unattainable.
>You could get close though. Look at commercial passenger jets.
>They rarely go bad.
>Just change everything every few months.
>Engine, trans, body, driver, etc.



--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
  #4  
Old November 20th 05, 11:40 PM posted to rec.autos.tech
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Default Is this statement true?

"Scott Dorsey" > wrote in message
...
> 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?

>
> Depends on your definition of well-maintained. Airplane engines
> periodically
> get rebuilt at a certain interval, whether they need it or not, because
> the
> consequences of failure are severe. This is, however, extremely
> expensive.
>
> I remember riding the bus in the Phillipines.... each round trip from
> Manila
> to Baguio, they'd drop the engine, take it apart, and check it. Labour
> was
> very cheap and parts were very expensive.
>


I assume you mean "air bus" and not a regular bus?

> It also depends on your definition of "without warning." I can list
> five...
> no, six things on my daily driver that are giving some symptoms of
> possible
> impending failure, and I should probably do something about them. But
> none
> are really high on the list.
>
> It's all a cost vs. risk breakdown. What are you willing to pay for each
> given increment in reliability?


Thanks, I agree. It's just with me, I do my own maintenance, and sometimes
this can take a while, as there is a learning curve. So I am trying to be
more cautious, especially as my car ages. I have not seen a mechanic in
almost 6 years now, except to balance my tires and have them mounted. I even
pull my own wheels before I hand them to them.


  #5  
Old November 21st 05, 02:13 AM posted to rec.autos.tech
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Posts: n/a
Default Is this statement true?

Julie P. > wrote:
>"Scott Dorsey" > wrote in message
...
>>
>> I remember riding the bus in the Phillipines.... each round trip from
>> Manila
>> to Baguio, they'd drop the engine, take it apart, and check it. Labour
>> was
>> very cheap and parts were very expensive.
>>

>
>I assume you mean "air bus" and not a regular bus?


No, it was a Mercedes diesel bus. Somewhat swankier than a schoolbus
but not as fancy as the Grumman Flxible city busses in Honolulu. Cheap
labor changes and weak currency changes the way you look at maintenance.

Here, folks have a tendency to replace things if they could potentially
cause a problem, because the parts are cheap and the labor is expensive.
When you have the thing apart, you might as well replace anything else
related.

In third-world countries, mechanics carefully razor-blade gaskets so
they can reuse them. I've seen folks resurfacing distributor rotors
with a small torch, just adding a little more metal onto the contact
and grinding it down. A couple hours work in order to save a two
dollar part, because those couple hours cost less than the part.

>Thanks, I agree. It's just with me, I do my own maintenance, and sometimes
>this can take a while, as there is a learning curve. So I am trying to be
>more cautious, especially as my car ages. I have not seen a mechanic in
>almost 6 years now, except to balance my tires and have them mounted. I even
>pull my own wheels before I hand them to them.


Some of the most interesting people I have met, and surely the most
exciting ones, were people I met while broken down by the side of the
road. I almost miss owning the 1954 Moto-Guzzi. It didn't run worth
a damn, but it made any trip into an exciting adventure.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
  #6  
Old November 21st 05, 03:36 AM posted to rec.autos.tech
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Posts: n/a
Default Is this statement true?


"Scott Dorsey" > wrote in message
...
> Julie P. > wrote:
>>"Scott Dorsey" > wrote in message
...
>>>
>>> I remember riding the bus in the Phillipines.... each round trip from
>>> Manila
>>> to Baguio, they'd drop the engine, take it apart, and check it. Labour
>>> was
>>> very cheap and parts were very expensive.
>>>

>>
>>I assume you mean "air bus" and not a regular bus?

>
> No, it was a Mercedes diesel bus. Somewhat swankier than a schoolbus
> but not as fancy as the Grumman Flxible city busses in Honolulu. Cheap
> labor changes and weak currency changes the way you look at maintenance.
>
> Here, folks have a tendency to replace things if they could potentially
> cause a problem, because the parts are cheap and the labor is expensive.
> When you have the thing apart, you might as well replace anything else
> related.
>
> In third-world countries, mechanics carefully razor-blade gaskets so
> they can reuse them. I've seen folks resurfacing distributor rotors
> with a small torch, just adding a little more metal onto the contact
> and grinding it down. A couple hours work in order to save a two
> dollar part, because those couple hours cost less than the part.
>


But you said they dropped the engine in the Philippines every round trip,
which would be insane, even though labor is cheap. Why drop it at so often?
Maybe every 10,000 miles or so would be better. Labor is cheap, but they
still have to pay for it.

Julie


  #7  
Old November 24th 05, 03:09 AM posted to rec.autos.tech
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Posts: n/a
Default Is this statement true?

Scott Dorsey wrote:

> I remember riding the bus in the Phillipines.... each round trip from
> Manila to Baguio, they'd drop the engine, take it apart, and check
> it. Labour was very cheap and parts were very expensive.


You must be joking! I lived in the Philippines from 1960 to
1977 and rode on many buses from Manila out to the provinces.
I don't remember anyone either needing to do this or doing this
type of maintenance. I do remember the cooling systems being
so leaky that the drivers had to stop at almost every river we
crossed to "top up" the rad....but certainly engine overhauls were
not the order of the day after every round trip.

Even in the Philippines....an engine will last longer then that.

Ian


  #8  
Old November 24th 05, 03:58 AM posted to rec.autos.tech
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Posts: n/a
Default Is this statement true?


"shiden_kai" > wrote in message
news:Rh9hf.587328$oW2.582352@pd7tw1no...
> Scott Dorsey wrote:
>
>> I remember riding the bus in the Phillipines.... each round trip from
>> Manila to Baguio, they'd drop the engine, take it apart, and check
>> it. Labour was very cheap and parts were very expensive.

>
> You must be joking! I lived in the Philippines from 1960 to
> 1977 and rode on many buses from Manila out to the provinces.
> I don't remember anyone either needing to do this or doing this
> type of maintenance. I do remember the cooling systems being
> so leaky that the drivers had to stop at almost every river we
> crossed to "top up" the rad....but certainly engine overhauls were
> not the order of the day after every round trip.
>
> Even in the Philippines....an engine will last longer then that.
>
> Ian
>

LOL! As far as I know top fuel dragsters are the only vehicles which are
torn down after every trip.
Bob


  #9  
Old November 20th 05, 10:58 PM posted to rec.autos.tech
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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...

  #10  
Old November 20th 05, 11:50 PM posted to rec.autos.tech
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Is this statement true?


"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


 




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