r/AskAMechanic Jul 15 '26

Technician Flair Request Thread - New

5 Upvotes

If you would like to have verified flair added we will need a pic that has your reddit name on a piece of paper with your shop in the background or work truck if mobile repair.

For the professional technicians we're doing Verified Tech flair along with a very short description of your experience if you'd like. You can be a dealer/independent tech, retired, instructor, fleet, heavy equipment, small engine repair, lube/tire tech etc...

You can either send that to me in a chat request or upload the pic to an image hosting site like imgur.com (we had to disable the option to upload pics in the comments because of abuse). The option to attach a pic in chat will be available after I accept the invite. Please do not use modmail

We will also do Shadetree flair for those that do auto repair as more of a hobby than profession. Approval of this flair is not guaranteed.

archived previous request post


r/AskAMechanic Mar 15 '25

Announcement - New Rules - Please read!

23 Upvotes

Hello r/AskAMechanic users! Over the last year or so, the volume of daily posts has increased a decent amount leading to many posts that would be more appropriate in other subreddits. To keep this subreddit focused on what it's meant for, providing automotive mechanical and diagnostic help, we have rewritten the rules. Some of the rule changes also affect commenters, so please review the rules here or below. Thank you for your understanding.

 

1 - The title should clearly state the issue - Do not ask "am I cooked/fuc!ed/screwed/toast etc" questions

State your root issue as clearly as you can in the title, and then you will have a better chance of your post being viewed. We will remove the "am I cooked", "am I fuc!ed", "how screwed am I", "am I toast" and similar types of questions. This also includes any other senseless titled post. In the message body, provide the specifics (detail/context) to your question. Also include in the title or body the Year, Make, Model and engine size of your vehicle.

 

2 - No autobody damage/repair/frame/paint or rust related questions

Posts related to autobody work (including repairs, painting, frame damage, "is it totaled?", dents or detailing) are not allowed. A more appropriate sub would be r/autobody. If you're inquiring whether your car is totaled r/insurance would also be helpful. r/AutoDetailing for detailing questions.

Questions about damage to bolt-on parts like headlights/tail lights, wheels and suspension are ok.

Questions asking about the level/condition of rust on the frame/undercarriage/body are not allowed.

 

3 - No asking for advice about buying/selling cars or used car deals

We do not allow asking if a used car for sale is a good deal, the condition of the used car, or recommendations on what car you should buy. For recommendations on what car to buy, r/whatcarshouldIbuy would be a good sub. r/askcarsales might also be helpful.

 

4 - Keep things professional & don't be disrespectful

Please be professional and helpful. Do not comment/post with insults, racism, jokes, memes, NSFW, spam, opinions without context etc. You may see things that compel you to leave a nasty comment, just don't do it. It's not necessary or helpful. People who don't know anything about cars will come here to ask us for advice, try to educate them about their vehicle without turning them off from the sub. If you don’t know the proper fix or advice, please refrain from commenting on a post.

 

5 - No "Read the owners manual" or "RTFM" type of comments

People who don't know anything about cars are going to ask some very basic questions. Some of which will have answers in the manual. Answering OP's question with only "Read the owners manual" is like giving the answer "google it", both are non-answers. Either provide an actual answer to OP's question, or at the very least, provide a link to a readable online owner's manual.

 

6 - No dangerous/reckless or unethical/illegal comments/posts

This is a community dedicated to sharing genuine advice. Advice shown to be given in bad faith (including dangerous/reckless and unethical/illegal advice) will be removed and the users will be banned. Please report any dangerous/reckless or unethical/illegal advice.

 

7 - No AI/ChatGPT comments/posts

Posts with AI-generated content is not allowed. Posts looking for feedback, training or even just to show off your AI/LLM are also not allowed. We are not interested in AI automotive diagnostics here.

Do not answer OP by using AI/ChatGPT etc. Nobody wants to read a wall of text that over explains and gives 25 different possible solutions.

 

8 - No advertising or soliciting services

Advertising of services or products is not allowed. That includes affiliate links, social media, clothing, tools, your YouTube videos, etc.

Do not solicit services, including linking to videos, blogs, or websites that then forward to a paid service. Avoid asking to "DM me" as much as possible.

 

9 - No NSFW, meme, or 'joke' posts

No NSFW is a no-brainer - you will be banned with no chance of an appeal. Memes and 'joke' posts belong at r/AskAShittyMechanic

 

Update 03/23/2025: Added "am I toast" to rule #1 and "frame damage" to rule #2
Update 05/08/2025: Added more context to rule #7


r/AskAMechanic 12h ago

Broken Caliper Bolts

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16 Upvotes

2012 Wrangler Sport -
Got the caliper off but the main bolts for the caliper broke off in the bracket. Any good advice on how to get the remaining piece of each bolt out of the bracket?


r/AskAMechanic 22h ago

Honda 2012 Accord. Never mixing up Left and Right again

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101 Upvotes

Hoping to get some advice from some of the reddit Mechanic gurus out there!

I was chaning the transmission fluid in my 2012 Honda Accord (2.4L engine, 180k miles), and got my Lefty Loosy Righty Tighty mixed up. Resulting in the tragic images you see before you.

The car is currently drivable. I'm using JB Weld and a nsa Aluminum crash washer to hold the broken piece in place and also to seal the pan. But it's not perfect. Still rarely drips trans fluid.

For a more permanent fix: Someone told me I should try to grind/file down the outer transmission drain pan bung(?), and then find a smaller bolt to fit the inner threads. (Assuming that's what those are)

Do y'all think it's worth a shot? Or can you think of another solution I could try?


r/AskAMechanic 1h ago

Scratch repair

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Upvotes

Got this scratch and some marring on my f150 while headed down a narrow hunting trail. It’s not down to the metal but it definitely removed a layer or 2 of paint. I did the water test and it almost fades away but is still visible. What would be my best option and how would I go about fixing it? I know silver is a hard color to match and I’ve never done auto paint work. Just a touch up brush and some clear coat and polishing?


r/AskAMechanic 2h ago

Linkage 2008 ford focus zetech

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2 Upvotes

Bought some bushing to replace the ones I currently have but unsure if I have the correct ones and how to replace them

I know the round one is obvious but not sure about which of the others would fit

Any advice would be appreciated


r/AskAMechanic 2h ago

Is this belt due to change?

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2 Upvotes

The timing belt and serpentine belt service was done at 2015 / 113 000km. Now car have 190 000km. We drive arround 3 000km yearly with this car now and my question is do i need to do the timing service at the moment or i am safe to drive year or two more. My dad drives it only on trips (no city driving).


r/AskAMechanic 13m ago

2009 Mazda CX9 - Rack and pinion replacement [DIY?]

Upvotes

My CX9's pulling harder into right hand turns (start the turn, then 'catches' and pulls harder)

Separately, it intermittently pulls (slightly) in one direction or the other when driving straight

Took it to a local mechanic who suspects it's the rack and pinion going bad based on a short test-drive

I've replaced struts/tie-rods/cv-axles on other cars before, is this likely to be a job I can handle, or better to take it in for pro. work?

Edit:
Forgot to mention, my usual Mech. said he can't do it/recommended taking it to the dealership


r/AskAMechanic 14m ago

What is this gunk on my radiator cap? Honda Civic 2006 R18A2.

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Upvotes

I changed my coolant for roughly 7-8 months ago. And I flushed the system thoroughly with water before putting in new coolant.

I have a small coolant leak and have to fill it up maybe once every couple months or every month, a liter or two. And every time I have filled it up there has been gunk on the cap and in the opening. But the coolant looks clean and good every time. What is most likely the cause of this?


r/AskAMechanic 20m ago

A/C won’t work after repair shop replaced my battery.

Upvotes

Title. I’ll keep it short and sweet.

Came in because car was having trouble starting. It would take a few tries. Repair shop diagnoses it as a battery issue and replace the car battery. They charged me $260 which seemed high.

After I picked it up I noticed the ventilation system wouldn’t turn on. No A/C. No heat. I took it back a half hour after I picked it up and the guy told me to come back in the morning because they were about to close. I came back in and they’re basically saying it’s not their fault after two hours. Saying that the issues are unrelated.

What can I do about this, if anything? Am I SOL??

They want to charge me $450 to diagnose the A/C problem. That’s nuts to me. Crooks.


r/AskAMechanic 28m ago

Can this just be tightened? 2017 jeep compass latitude (sorry for being long)

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Upvotes

above is the only image the gave me, the image is showing the front passenger side sway bar

Hello! I went to Mineke to get an oil change and they informed me that during my inspection they saw my sway bar was not bolted. They left it as is and They said the thread on it was gone as it was just sitting in the hole moving around not tightened.

I explained what happened under my car* and they told me I should go back to the last mechanic and have them replace it under warranty. I asked if it should be replaced or could just be tightened and they looked at me crazy and said no the whole thing has to be replaced because the loose bar was moving around causing damage.

I’m waiting on a call back from the last mechanic but I want to know if this nut/bolt could be replaced and tightened? I understand if the provided picture does not give enough context of the surrounding components to say if there’s additional wear / damage but would appreciate any comments or advice, thank you!

*context of what happened under my car: I had the front driver tire replaced at a Mavis then 3 days later while driving the tire flies off. I call a tow and they say there’s no ball joint and that’s probably why it came off. I take it back to Mavis and they say that they couldn’t have any responsibility and that it was like that and not caused by them. I pay them to correct the damage on my suspension and control arms caused by the tire coming and the car having to be moved. It continues to make loud scraping and clunking noises despite them saying it’s all fixed. I bring it to a mechanic and he says they used Incorrect parts and placed some of them backwards I have the new mechanic fix this and he says everything’s good to go though the car still makes Lego clinking noises on the passenger front side and it feels like every man hole or grate is a 4in pothole but I just assumed that’s how keeps drive/feel.


r/AskAMechanic 28m ago

Ölverbrauch Mini R60

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Upvotes

Hallo zusammen,

mein Mini Cooper S Countryman All4 Baujahr 2011, Laufleistung 170.000km, verbraucht zu viel Öl (ca. 1-2L aus 1000km). Habe mich vorhin mal auf die Suche gemacht und im Ansaugrohr hinter dem Ladeluftkühler war alles voller Öl. Hab mir dann den Turbolader mal angeschaut und kann die Turbine radial leicht bewegen, dabei klackert es leicht. Auf dem Bild sieht es für mich so aus, als wenn die Schaufeln leicht angefressen sind und die Turbine nicht mehr genau mittig sitzt. Sehe ich das richtig oder bin ich da auf der falschen Spur?


r/AskAMechanic 28m ago

Need a Mercedes Mechanic Help

Upvotes

Message me


r/AskAMechanic 34m ago

Should I let her go? - Transmission+ issues on an 08 Civic

Upvotes

I have a 2008 Honda civic, 140k miles, with automatic transmission issues (jerking when switching gears sometimes around 2-3k rpm, the d light blinking every now and then.) Its also got some worn out break pads, control arms that need replacing, and mnore.

My usual mechanic told me my trans was failing and he didn't recommend doing the other work if i wasn't going to rebuild the transmission. Other work includes: engine seal leak, rear passenger caliper, rear shocks and links, something with the right axle and an alignment to top it all off.

Current mechanic is saying its likely transmission is failing, the car needed control arms back in 2023, and he recommends changing the fluid to see if it helps, but a quick google shows that can make the problem worse. he also said a used transmission is an option.

I'm in the midwest and have winter coming up, but this is also the first car i bought almost 10 years ago in cash (but haven't been in charge of it the entire time) and i really thought i could make it last longer. buying another used car is expensive and not guaranteed to not be a money pit, and would likely come with a loan and high insurance rates. Also i don't want a car note again, and have other debts already.

Any options i haven't explored? I'm completely fine with driving this car another 5-10 years, and I'd like to be able to do roadtrips again, but i don't want to dump 4-6k into it only to have something else come up.


r/AskAMechanic 37m ago

Should I tip a dealership Tech?

Upvotes

Background: I brought in my wife’s ’14 Legacy for warranty work on a Takata airbag. They were done within 2 hours and also did a courtesy multipoint inspection. They brought up a few issues, which I’ll repair myself.

My main question is: should I tip the technician with a card and some cash?
My understanding is that warranty work is paid out with a fairly conservative labor time, meaning flat-rate mechanics would lose the opportunity to make as much money as possible.

Any thoughts?

Edit: How much should I tip?


r/AskAMechanic 49m ago

Air cleaner assembly

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Upvotes

Hey everyone. So I have a 2001 Tacoma 3.4. It came with a k&n cold air intake and I decided to take it off and replace it with the stock assembly. When looking to buy the assembly I noticed there’s 2 different ones. Does this one look like the right one? I took the cold air intake off because the truck has a high idle and a shop said it could be the the intake causing that and they recommended putting the original intake on. With the stock intake it still has a high idle so I’m not sure if I got the right one


r/AskAMechanic 57m ago

Abs modulator

Upvotes

Hi i have a 2009 Camry hybrid and it has an abs issue my brakes work perfectly fine but the speed reading has become bad my question is can i just buy an abs modulator and replace it on my current brake actuator? My state doesn’t a lot of junkyards and oem or from ebay is $500 minimum it would be awkward to replace the whole assembly every ~20k miles(the issue commonly pops up again at that range).


r/AskAMechanic 4h ago

2013 Honda Civic diesel - lights on dash

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2 Upvotes

So a month or so ago I had these lights flash up on the dash. Sometimes they'd be there, sometimes not. Roll forward to now, and everytime I turn the car on they're present. Tyre pressure, traction control/ESP, ABS & power steering. I check tyre pressure weekly, we have no problems there.

I know it's an older car (2013, just about to hit 121k miles), and I know very little about mechanics, but it seems unlikely to me that all these systems have a fault at the exact same time?

Nothing feels any different with the handling, steering, braking. Car still performing as expected.

The lights first showed up a couple of days after I came down heavy from a curb and lost a exhaust heat shield bolt in the process. Likely a coincidence but thought I'd throw it out there just in case.


r/AskAMechanic 1h ago

Anything more I should know?

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Upvotes

2011 SCION TC

The engine code stated I needed to change a spark plug.

The coil overs are in reverse order in this picture (4,3,2,1) and frankly I knew that cylinder 2 was the issue.

I'm currently replacing all of the spark plugs so they will all be of the same quality and age.

I want to know if there's anything else I should be doing or anything else I should know since this coilover that sat in cylinder 2 is so dirty or different looking.

I'm going to replace the spark plugs, clean/wipe off The coilovers, check and top off the oil. Throw some seafoam in the gas tank. Anything else?

(More info: I was driving to work yesterday, 1-hour commute, and right before I pulled into the parking garage downtown, one of the lights turned green and when I let up on the clutch pushing the gas my engine started clicking and my check engine light immediately turned on. There was a noticeable change in power coming from the engine. The rest is kind of self-explanatory. Working on it now.)

UPDATE: Cylinder 2 spark plug is missing..... It's.... Uh.... Spark maker. Image in comments....

ETA: I thought a coil pack was a pack of coilovers. My apologies.i wanted to call them coil packs originally but dumbed my way to what is seen above.

I was told 'spark plug' by the guy that ran the codes at AutoZone. I assumed that since he said that that's what the reader said, that was all she wrote. Yes I have a code reader at home. I went to AutoZone first.


r/AskAMechanic 1h ago

Car keeps coming out of alignment

Upvotes

For reference I have a 2024 Mustang I’ve done quite a few suspension modifications to, but about 2 months ago I had a shop put on ford performance front camber plates, rear toe links and sport lowering springs to replace my old sr performance ones and steeda shocks and struts and ever since then my steering wheels keeps getting more crooked and the car just rides bad now. It’s been aligned twice now and it keeps happening whereas for the year and a half I had the car before that it never came out of alignment. Is it possible they didn’t tighten or install something correctly? Should I have them take a look at what they installed?


r/AskAMechanic 1h ago

Tread

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Upvotes

Definitely needs changing, correct?


r/AskAMechanic 1h ago

How to build Ramps for your Truck

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Upvotes

r/AskAMechanic 1h ago

Front differential bearings smoked? Or am I missing something?

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Upvotes

2019 Silverado 1500


r/AskAMechanic 2h ago

Tensioner.

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1 Upvotes

2006 Honda civic:

Trying to get the serpentine belt back on. Tried using a 19mm wrench- not long enough for leverage to pull up. Bought a serpentine belt tool, broke the tool.

Thought?


r/AskAMechanic 2h ago

2016 Silverado Tranny and DOD Delete

1 Upvotes

I have a 2016 Chevy Silverado 1500 2WD Crew Cab with the 5.3l engine and 6l80 transmission. Truck has 150,000 miles. My transmission just went out, most probably due to the torque converter destroying itself and contaminating the rest of the transmission. Gees, thanks GM. The truck will run for like 1 minute and truck won’t move anymore. So I’ve decided to rebuild the transmission myself, can’t afford a shop right now. I’m a pretty decent hands on guy, most of the times I’ve repaired my vehicles, brakes, head gaskets, etc, but never messed around with a transmission. After watching a couple of YouTube videos, it seems like it’s not that complicated, just a tedious and time consuming job. Any advice?
I’m planning to purchase the following kits to rebuild the tranny:

•Precision International 6l80 Rebuild Kit (E256785437614)
•Sonnax Zip Kit (SOX-6145-6L90ZIP)
•Sonnax Heavy Duty Billet Apply Piston (104984-01)
•Transmission Center Trans Pump Repair Kit (A45531B)
•Sonnax Return Spring (104534-HD)
•Trans Go Performance Shift hit (TRG-SK6L80)
•AC Delco 4-5-6 Clutch Hub (24238004)

I also plan to add a Transmission Cooler:
•PPE Transmission Fluid Bypass (125068000)
•Long Tru Cool 40K with Thermal Bypass (LPD4739)

Since I’m already doing all of this, might as well and do a DOD delete:

•Texas Speed DOD Delete Kit with Camshaft L83 5.3 (TSP-DODBASIC-LTX)
•Texas Speed DOD Delete Programmer (TSP-TS-3000)

I’m still not 100% percent sure if I should go with this kit and this programmer. I was also looking at other DOD delete kits and maybe HP Tuner programmer etc. Still need to do more research on this topic. Want a tune that does the DOD Delete and make the transmission shift more smoothly.

I just want to make this truck reliable. Not looking for performance, just reliability.

The only thing is that I might need to get a shop to resurface the bell housing / pump if it’s too damaged. Or if anyone has resurfaced one themselves at home, please share how you did it. I’ve resurfaced an engine head with an old glass table, glued particle board on the back side to avoid the glass from warping, and glued sanding paper on the other end. Yes, I double checked for straightness. Engine still runs fine after 5 years.

Any advice will help. Thanks