Mechanics Are Idiots

[MIK3]

Well the ones that serviced the car before I had it were anyway...

Well, it all started about a month ago. My car was slowly but surely leeking fluid. I couldn't figure out what the fluid was. It wasn't engine oil, it wasn't transmission fluid. So it was about time I find out what it was. I got under, and undid the three screws holding on a drip pan under my car, right behind my oil release nut. There was buildup on it and fluid. And then I look and see that my rack and pinion boot is covered in it. And then sure enough, I saw the problem. There was a hose that connected to the rack and pinion boot, I guess brake fluid or something flowed into the boot from that hose. It was totally disconnected. So I reattched it, and zip tied it on good. It seemed that BOTH of these hoses were completely loose on either side. I have a feeling mechanics purposley disconnected these to take advantage of my grandma. She owned the car before me. Now problem is fixed, and I am glad that I saved myself money and fixed my first leak of the car. Anyone ever had this happen to them?

[AccordEpicenter]

ive had the hose fall off on one of my cars before, did it fall off or was it purposely cut or ripped out?

[Neuspeed87lx]

well your not sure if it was the mechanics so dont call them idiots ...but if it was them than thats wrong ...im a mechanic and sometimes things are forgoten ....alot of times there is alot of things that are disconnected and just forgoten....thats why things are covered under warranty (how ever you spell that) for a certian amount of time after the job is done

[MIK3]

I think they were intentionally left off...there was quite a bit of build up on that drip pan... Both of them falling off is a little fishy...

I'm sure they knew that she'd come back if they told her in a month that her rack and pinion needed service. (Which infact they did tell her that, right before she handed the car over to me). I think they did it intentially. All of the evidence is there...but then again. The could of just forgotten about it. Oh, and for all you mechanics out there, don't mind the title...I figured it'd get more views then a thread entitled "Found My Leak"

[Neuspeed87lx]

lol thats true

[johndej]

yeah, my dad reminds us whenever we change our oil to put the drain nut back on cause some guy he knew forgot his once and drove off, thus killing the engine a few miles later. i can believe that someone forgot it cause if she took it to a shop on a busy day, then they prob have alot of things on their mind instead of a little old ladys car.

[Neuspeed87lx]

well something like that happeded today at the shop i work at ..... one of the mechanics thought he forgot to put oil in some ladies car. .... they called her house and left a message saying that we wanted to check her car for sometihng ... she came back and luckely there was oil in it .... sometimes things just get hecktic and we forget

[RobT5580]

I will say that there are a lot of hacks out there but there are surely some good mechanics out there but are hard to find and usually have 5 times more work than they can handly. I learned my lesson the hard way but this was before i wanted to try things myself and my other accord took a beating from it. I brought it in just to be checked over and i did the basic tune up but came back with a huge oil leak that never existed and took multiple times for the guy to stop it and it led all the way up to my transmission blowing when it was not leaking and was full when i left it at the shop. So i know for sure what was going on with my car because i did certain things to the car and everything the guy did was hacked. (missing oil pan bolts, timing cover bolts loose, left ground wire off, starter wire loose and fell of after a trip to my house not even a mile away)

All i can say is find someone good and stick to them only. I wont let anyone touch my car unless its for an allignment and i still would only use this guy i worked with at Audi. Even when i worked at Audi the only guys i would let touch my car are the two master mechanics one from audi (ranks 3rd in the country for audi) and the porsche mechanic and 2 other guys out of 20 mechanics 4 were good the rest were hacks. But like i said most of them have more work than they can handle and are hard to get them to work on your stuff. But i saw this first hand at a large dealership that is well known that owns 9 different car chains and i was at two of the high end shops i would hate to see how the others were.

[POS carb]

mechanics aren't idiots, some of them are the most ruthless of hustlers, they prey on women and old people!
but yea there are some that should never be allowed to touch a car.

[DBMaster]

The hose you are talking about is the "air transfer tube." It allows one rack boot to expand while the other compresses. If you have fluid in that hose (which mine did when I replace the boots) it means you have leaking seals in your rack. Pretty much means the rack is on its last legs, as mine was. I don't know that it really hurts to have the hose disconnected from the rack boots, actually.

Like I said, only AIR is supposed to go through that hose, not P/S fluid.
I don't know why a mechanic would have disconnected it in the first place. The only time you do that is when replacing either the boots or the rack.

[88 Accord DX]

mechanics are freakin smart. when it comes to scammin that is. im not sayin all are bad people im just saying its way too easy to screw people that dont know shit about cars over. hell i would do it too, with no remorse. im friends with alot of mechanics, hang out at their shops, see the shortcuts they take. ive seen mechanis tell people they had to order a new part for their car, charge them for it, go to the junkyard and buy the piece there for next to nothing, clean it up and install it. i even helped a guy install an A/C compressor that he bought for $95, he threw some freon in the car and charged the people $500. we did that in a couple of hours.

This world is a cruel place. It seems places we once thought were safe are now over run by evil. places like schools, malls, churches, McDonals, and even Disney Land. but amongst the dark evil shadow cast upon the world by greed there stands a lonely light shining like the brightest star in the sky. That man's name: Bam Margera.

So i say to you all:

Viva la Bam!!!

[MIK3]

Yeah. My racks are on their last legs. It's time for a replacement. Bleh. Means more money down the drain. But oh well, anything for the accord.

[njpeter]

every try to be a mechanic...at a dealership perhaps? or run your own place?

I had no problem charging people for what I knew..not what I did..fix that broken wire in five minutes?..I still want $150..consider having three of for other shops not in the know hacking around looking for a short..of course if you get towned..not thier problem. check the price of towing as of late?

Good tools are not cheap..when I was making 25k a year at a dealer, I had a toolchest with a value of over $5,000. I still cringe when I have to buy anything at sears..and I make a lot more money these days then I did then.

Shop labor of $100 an hour is common these days, insurance is a killer..and so are taxes. Let's not forget rent..and the costs of relaible help. ( people are not going into this trade these dyas..the papers are full of want ads for "A" class wrenches at all dealers in my town.

I still cringe at the thought of having to bring my car someplace..but I still don't do windshields.

If you use a meachnaic..be nice..when was the last time you slashed your hand on a sharp edge?

[goldadition]

yeah at my shop we can't even think of screwing somone out of their money. because we don't have time to do the same job twice. with only two of us working it's hard to keep up with the demand.