Jeepers

Worked on a 1999 Jeep Wrangler 6 cylinder yesterday and it took 5 hours. I thought it would take about 4. So I was pretty close. We changed the exhaust manifold and that consisted of removing the intake manifold as well. It was definately a work out even with impact tools.

Good Year

It's been a good year for us. Not record breaking, but decent for a side business. I'd like to thank all of my patrons and wish you a Merry Christmas.

Back in Business

I have been working full time at AutoZone untill recently when I started school at Lincoln College of Technology to get training as an automotive technician. I resigned from AutoZone so now I can work on RAW Automotive again. Woo Hoo!

Company Truck

I love my truck, but it has let me down a lot. It's not the trucks fault, but it really is a bummer to be a mechanic, a shadetree, and have to get a tow. Embarrasing. So, we've decided to sell it. I've got $3500 in it and I'm looking for offers. It runs fine now except for an oil leak. Here's the skinny

The good,

new carb new tires (Hancooks)

new radiator (not installed)

new alternator w/belt

new distrubtor/wires/plugs/coil

new wiring harness, main, rear, engine, etc

original 1966 farm truck plates

original hubcaps

new front windshield and gasket (rust removed and primed black)

extra doors, hood, grill, fenders, carb, steering column

new water pump and hoses

new shocks (gabriel ultras)

new ultra white headlights

new exhaust and muffler

new battery and cables

The bad

It's in primer, but it needs to be stripped (previous owner just primed over everything without any prep)

there is rust in the usual places (rear cab corners, floor board, rocker panels, front lower fenders, rear fenders, but I have an extra set included)

rear main seal is leaking a bit

1990 GMC Vandura

This was an unfortunate car experiance. The customer brought this one to me with a knocking noise in the motor. It sounded like the lifters weren't getting oil so I dropped the pan and checked the oil pump. Sure enough, the pump was bad and there was metal covering the pan. It was too late to save this motor. The harmonic balancer was wobbling signaling that the bearings had been chewed up. The car wasn't really worth putting in a new motor so that was that. What a mess.

Plenty of work, but I'm thankful

I've had so many people that want me to work on their cars that I have actually had to tell them that I am booked and schedule them for the next week. I've also missed a few customers due to not being able to fit them in and that is a great disappointment. Especially because I don't hear from them again.

1994 Ford Explorer

The wheel bearings were worn out. NTB said they would not align the vehicle so I'm fixing them. There was still maybe a quarter inch play left, but without replacing the hub assembly and maybe even the spindle that was the best that could be done. I'm still waiting to hear if the alignment was able to be done somewhere else. I have personally not had much success with NTB and any of my vehicles.

First defective part replacement

Yesterday I replaced a door actuator that I had installed three months ago. The defective actuator actually seized up. I've never seen one do that before. It only took about an hour.

Busy, Busy and more Busy

I had a customer bring in a 1992 Chevrolet Astro Van that was smoking from the engine. I had him pop the hood and could hear that the bearings were going out in his a/c compressor. I had him turn on his air full blast and well, memories of sparklers in July filled my head. I told him I had found his problem. He was quoted $1200 at one shop and wanted to know what I would charge.

$410 in parts
$90 in labor

Sadly the sparkler machine is no more.

Hard to tell someone their car's not worth it

Today was the first experience we've have with telling someone their car isn't worth the repairs needed. It wasn't an easy call to make, but we think it was the right one.

1988 Toyota Land Cruiser

This was actually a pretty neat old truck, which needs some work, but still really neat.
Rear brake adjustment and removal of the parking brake cable

2 hours

2002 Ford Explorer

New front brakes and rotors

1 hours

1966 Chevrolet C10 Work Truck

New Tires, battery and cables, alternator, voltage regulator, several lug nuts and wheel studs, brake hose, water pump, radiator hoses, distributor and coil, spark plugs and wires, main wiring harness, secondary engine wiring harness, headlight switch, dimmer switch, hubcaps, headlights, ignition switch and alt belt. I think that has been everything so far.

When I say work truck I really mean work. I have no idea how many hours, but I know that it'll get more next week.

1998 Chrysler (Sedan)

Air shock removal and gas shock installation

2 hours

2002 Dodge Ram 1500

New radiator, new condenser fan, A/C recharge

3 hrs