Quote:
Originally Posted by 1993CivicVX
So it's okay for other people who are not certified mechanics to work on their own cars or to work on my car, but it's not okay for a self made mechanic who's not certified to work on it? How does that make sense? Everyone keeps naysaying my mechanics--yet you guys encourage me to work on it myself as if I'm more competent than a mechanic! or to get advice from non-certified enthusiasts on the internet? I'm sorry, but that doesn't make sense. This guy is more experienced than me and he's fair. I'm not gonna take it to a "good" mechanic and pay through the nose. If someone on here does work on their car and they don't get it right the first time they don't say "jeez, I'm not even a mechanic! I better take it to a real certified mechanic before I wreck my car." No, you keep working at it till you get it right. As long as my friend isn't charging me twice to fix a problem that "should" have been fixed the first time, who am I to complain? He's not out to rip me off--he doesn't overcharge me--so instead of bashing him why don't you offer <b>constructive</b> help on why the alternator might be failing all the time?
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I never told
YOU to work on your car.
Some of the best mechanics I've dealt with never bothered with certifications - they started with a early 1950's they bought for 100 bucks and restored so they could drive it as their first car. They've kept up on the changing technologies, and are smart enough to realize that a trouble code is NOT the end all solution, and that everything is inter-related to some point.
I'm no pro - I work on my own cars when I have the time (which I don't have much of these days). I've rebuilt a few automatic transmissions, redone multiple suspensions, done some clutch jobs, done crank jobs, built drag cars, built a car (including the frame and suspension) from scratch, etc. - but I'll be damned if I'm going to call myself a mechanic.
If you keep using used alternators, they're going to keep failing, simple as that. Dew happens in the mornings in most of the world, or rain, mud, whatever - moisture occurs. Alternators have opening sin the casing to help dissipate heat - and if they are not ran, but instead sit for a while, the bearings internally will start to have rust forming on them. It might sound fine when you first pull it and bench test it, but it's going to fail in under 2 months, damn near like clock work. This isn't even counting problems with windings, voltage regulators, pigtails, etc.
If an alternator belt is installed too loose, the pulley will slip and the alternator will not have the proper output. If it is too tight, you can damage the bearings internally from thrust forces (even if the alternator is brand new). My buddy's old Nissan 240 wanted a 1/2 inch of slack on that belt - I haven't seen another car that wants thing that loose, but my point is that every vehicle's specs are different.
While you may think that the money is being paid out of the nose at a pro shop (at 80 bucks an hour, I'd almost agree with you, till you realize the costs involved in running a shop). Why not sit down and think about all the time you lost by having your vehicle go out of commission,
MULTIPLE times, his labor, cost of parts, etc. - I think you'll find that they're fairly close.
It's hard to find a good mechanic these days, as many people are parts changers, not mechanics. Whether or not somebody is certified doesn't mean anything to me - I've seen ASE certified techs tighten oil drain plugs with impacts because they won't put on a drain plug gasket. If the person knows how to fix the problem, and fixes it properly, that's all that matters. Like it or not, I'd be looking for a fresh pair of eyes on the problem, in many situations like this the 'mechanic' tends to overlook a simple problem and has the vehicle owner piss away a LOT of money trying to fix the problem.
My personal favorite example of this: less than a week before I quit on the 23rd, I had a customer come in wanting a mass air flow sensor for his 2002 Suzuki. We didn't offer one, but I wanted the customer to show me what he wanted, just to be sure we were on the same page. He popped his hood and I found that the throttle return spring was actually a door spring (uh...what?) He pointed out 5 different sensors his "mechanic" had told him to replace at the tune of $500 in parts and was ready to drop another $200 on this mass air flow sensor. The vacuum line going from the intake manifold to the brake booster had a slit in it. $1.20 and his problem was fixed. People loose sight of the trees when they're looking for the forest.
But he gave me free lunch again and fixed the light inside the car as well as the headlight housing which was broken and causing the left headlight to work intermittently.
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