What was the last thing your mechanic "guessed" was wrong with your car?

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Evian

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Noticed the word guessed? What in the world are they teaching these new mechanics? I took my 1978 Jeep CJ7 to my mechanic to fix a noise that I was hearing. It sounded like a piece of metal hitting something over and over again. It only made this noise while the Jeep was in gear. My mechanic told me that it was the waterpump. I replaced the waterpump ($250). The noise was still there. He then told me that it was the timing chain. Him and the other 4 mechanics in his shop agreed. He was sure now. I told him to replace it ($350). Guess what? The noise was still there. I took it to two other mechanics and each had their own vision of what it was. I am now down $600 and guess what the noise is still there. I have decided to live with the noise for now until I find a mechanic who knows not guesses what is wrong. How about you guys? Any similar experiences, how much has it cost you so far and what did it turn out to truly be? :F
 
i dont know. i can honestly say i have never been to a mechanic in my life. the only i have ever had done was wires changed on my t-bird because i came thru the nj tpke tolls and the car flipped out. all the lights on the dash came on. and i had it towed to the nearest ford dealer and they figured out that the wire loom broke and let 2 wires touch the manifold they melted and shorted. but othe than that never ever a mechanic. sometimes i wish i was dumb and rich instead smart and poor. that way i could keep my hands clean and my car running.
Eric
 
Hi Evian

I am a mechanic and I DON'T geuss, when I replace a part I know 100% that it is faulty.

Regards

Dereck
 
I'm also a mechanic, and either myself or my uncle (who is also a mechanic) work on my vehicles. I let him do stuff I either lack time, tooling, or experience to tackle. Things like tire changes, alignments and front end suspension stuff he does because he has the stuff for it. I'll also seek help on things needing specialty tools if thier use is volunteered.

Can you be more descriptive of the problem? Does it do this in gear when not moving, or only when moving? Speed dependant noise? Manual or auto? Could be a whole range of things from bad throwout bearing (manual only) to universal joints, rear, or maybe even something wierd like a bent rotor backing plate thats ticking on the front rotors. I've also seen things with bad transmission mounts that would allow the trans to torque enough that the driveshaft would rub on the body underneath. Even tho this place is lincoln/caddy specific someone might know or be able to point you in the right direction.
 
gadget73 said:
I'm also a mechanic, and either myself or my uncle (who is also a mechanic) work on my vehicles. I let him do stuff I either lack time, tooling, or experience to tackle. Things like tire changes, alignments and front end suspension stuff he does because he has the stuff for it. I'll also seek help on things needing specialty tools if thier use is volunteered.

Can you be more descriptive of the problem? Does it do this in gear when not moving, or only when moving? Speed dependant noise? Manual or auto? Could be a whole range of things from bad throwout bearing (manual only) to universal joints, rear, or maybe even something wierd like a bent rotor backing plate thats ticking on the front rotors. I've also seen things with bad transmission mounts that would allow the trans to torque enough that the driveshaft would rub on the body underneath. Even tho this place is lincoln/caddy specific someone might know or be able to point you in the right direction.
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My 95 cherokee was doing that and it was the flexplate some water got up there and in the winter when it was sitting in the barn it rusted and that in turn loosened it from the torq converter and made it rattel
 
Just proved everyone wrong yesterday with this one...

Car was idleing at 2500rpm, and shifting at abt 3000 rpm no matter how much gas i used. 5 mechanics told me i needed a rebuild. I did some research, because there was no way i was paying for a rebuild...and pulled the codes, replaced the Throttle Body Positioning Sensor, for $150 total, and problem solved. 1650-2200 down to 150, im happy.
 
Your "mechanic" said you would need a rebuild because it was idling at 2,500? You need to do these 2 things. Kick him in the nuts, and then get a new mechanic.
 
the onely shop my car has been to is my frends house and he is really good and loves a chalenge. he was a big help w/ my headders. ( he owns and does all the work on the 303 Taxi service)
 
94m5 said:
Your "mechanic" said you would need a rebuild because it was idling at 2,500? You need to do these 2 things. Kick him in the nuts, and then get a new mechanic.
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not just mine, but other shops...and they selectivly heard that my transmission was shifting eradicly.
 
thank god nothing recently... but i can tell ya what this one mechanic said what was wrong with my car. when i first bought my markVIII, the hazards did work at all... brought it over to the mechanic to do a full tune up and such rotate tires the whole nine yards. i told him about my problem with the hazards. he checked the turn signals worked fine, he then "guessed" it was a relay switch box or something like that. i was thinking multifunctional switch, maybe he was thinking. so he told me its about $500 for a brand new one. im like ahhhh. so i did some searching an bought some WD40, sprayed some into the hazard button, which was "gummy" as all hell. worked it a few times, and VOILA! works great, and STILL does. so i just saved about $500 on something i do not need. thanks mr. mechanic guy for almost screwing me over. but a BIG thanks for all you guys who submit do it yourself fixes for our cars, you guys are a HUGE help to me.
 
Came out to the car one chilly morning, and the car wouldnt start. cranked and cranked nothing. Checked battery, fuel pump, plugs, still wouldnt start. smelled like fuel coming out of the exhaust. no codes, no CE light. The car would turn but not catch. called my mechanic friend and told him what I did. He said it might be the timing chain. That when my heart dropped. got on ebay and started pricing out motors. I also called some local auto repair shops..." you have 70k mile quad cam and you think your timing chain is broken HA call the dealer and refi your house or get a new engine." My mechanic couldnt come over to the house but he got me in contact with another guy that is retired from ford service. he said he's worked on cop cars with 200k miles on clockk and next to no wear on the timing chain. take it over the dealer and tell them you want a full tune up because your car is flooded and tell them to change the plugs to a hotter gap. and dont take no for an answer" ooooooookay weird but okay.

got it flatbed'ed over to the dealer and they said. "no way its flooded, fuel injected cars dont flood without a serious reason. but we'll take a look at it.BTW we'll have to ship the car to another dealer that can time a 4 cammer, it might be under $2000" 1 hour later they call to say the car was ready and they got it running. and yes it was flooded!
 
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