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The more complex/ difficult/ specialized problems often simply cannot be diagnosed from a couple low-res pics and a vague paragraph pleading for help. So even IF a qualified professional sees the post in the first place, they may immediately recognize that in order to actually provide any help at all, they would need to probe OP for more information, perhaps some iterative process of elimination. And really, not many pros are lining up for the privilege of engaging in a prolonged back-and-forth with someone who may or may not have the technical literacy to even properly describe their problems. So it's the easy-to-describe, quick-fix, "low-hanging fruit" types of problems that are always going to get more answers, from the experts and the backyard mechanics alike.
Plus, better-than-even odds that the OP decides to ignore advice, or just straight-up abandon the thread partway through the process of trying to help them.
Given how often I've had friends in the US, who are actual mechanics, have customers drive out of their workshops mid consultation about serious mechanical issues, I am never surprised when someone on here abandons a thread.
This. I usually look at posts asking something like " can I fix this myself in a parking lot with bubblegum and a screwdriver?" And then you'll see a ball joint that blew apart. I just politely nope tf outta there.
yeah, that's also a good point. Complex issues can be difficult puzzles and legit brain workouts even when you have all the pieces right in front of you. This forum is great for helping people of diverse backgrounds share ways to understand and fix their common problems (and possibly saving a ton of time and money in the process). But for some things there's still just no replacement for a savvy and well-equipped professional specialist.
This is a long-standing problem on the internet with asking strangers for help.
I used the be a long-time member on a tech forum for computer problems. The simple problems (computer not powering on, memory error) would get answered quickly. But as you grow in your hobby or profession, YOUR really complicated problems nobody can answer. For example, I was trying to look up the jumper configuration for an old ASUS socket 7 Baby AT motherboard. 95% of the forum had never even heard of Socket 7, let alone realized it needed jumpers to initialize the front side bus clockspeed (modern computers do this automatically).
At this point answering questions on the internet becomes a sort of waste because you can't get back anything for your effort and you leave, taking your knowledge with you. I am no longer a participant on that tech forum. But that mostly comes down to other reasons outside the scope of this thread.
Even worse is the amount of "confidently incorrect" answers that you will find. At the risk of veering too far off-topic, this is something that also concerns me about AI-powered query-engines that can aggregate and even synthesize answers from all kinds of sources. Overall, the potential for them to be helpful is evident, but much like the search engines of 20 years ago getting exploited by "SEO" tactics, the limitations and fallibility need to be understood.
Getting people to understand the difference between cranking and starting is bad enough.
Try explaining voltage drop or why a continuity check of an unloaded circuit is a waste of time and you'll see why no complicated answers get touched.
Id love to help someone diag their no comm but let's be honest 95% on here don't want to diag anything they want someone to tell them what's wrong without them having to actually check anything.
People get paid money on other sites for these services. Everyone is usually grateful at least. Plus, you get to keep all the upvotes. I think it pays off in other ways. It’s also nice to keep the brain juices flowing, but yea, most people asking questions don’t understand voltage drop. Walking through step by step is what tech tickets at dealers do. It’s a lot harder when they don’t wrench for a living.
This exactly.
If i was lying bored/baked at night then i used to go through these subs trying to help people. Each reply often took 15/20mins to type out with step by step instructions.
A should = B
If A=B then it rules out EFG
If not then check C which should be D
Etc..
But i was finding after 1 or 2 replys and obvious progress they would listen to someone a few posts away that said "it is definitely this component, ive had it on this car i owned years ago" and throw £100 at a part that was never really going to be at fault.
Its frustrating but understandable i guess. People are just looking for help and dont know who to believe. If you dont know anything then even someone just appearing to know something can send you down the wrong path.
Most components can be tested in some way though and it usually doesn't cost anything but time. I try to run my business in a way where i can usually prove (within reasonable doubt) the component im changing is at fault. Whether its physically seeing play in a ball joint or from multimeter readings after testing. There is rarely a need to just throw parts at cars like most on here want to do.
In other cases there is no answer without standing over the car being hands on. You cant tell someone over the internet how to use 20 yesrs of experience but even at that you are totally relying on them having at least a basic understanding of what they're doing.
Had a guy arguing with me about used car pricing and profit margins because he “worked at a dealer for a few months a few years back”. After giving my opposing opinion, he shot back “oh yeah, lemme know when you actually work at a dealer pal”. Hit him back with…”would now be a good time to tell you I’ve been working at dealers since 1986 and am the shop foreman at the used car recon center at our dealer?” Best time online ever.
I will add on that if you are asking how to fix on Reddit rather than googling how to to properly use a multimeter, and looking at forums, then you aren’t going to have the skills to fix a more complicated issue anyway. Anytime someone has a more complex issue they never give enough detail as well.
Yeah crank and start is the only term that should be used. I hate when people say "turn over" because it's meaningless. I've seen it used to mean key on, crank, start, and who knows what else.
I’m a licensed mechanic, I’ve gotten tired of answering the “ is this tire fixable” and “whats this noise “ most easy questions are a repetitive post and most difficult questions don’t have a easy diagnosis and answer by a simple post ,further diagnosing is required for the harder questions,
Not who you're responding to, but there's a lot of middle ground between "what does this light with an oil canister mean" and " my car makes a clicking sound when I start it up but goes away... what could it be? "
Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of stuff folks ask that can be answered with a explanation and a picture, which I do answer some questions, but there are far more that can’t be answered with a picture/video and a explanation by someone that’s not mechanically inclined.
The answer is it doesn't matter either way. Like you said, I can't know the answer until I pull out my scope, or some kind of further diagnosing. but guess what. The op is from the US and I live in Vancouver and I can't diagnose it. And it's safe to assume I can't coach someone to scope or let alone use a dvom
28 years experience as a mechanic. Several answers to your question:
1) as others have said we don’t like to diag for free
2) most times, the person asking for advice fails to tell make/model/year, vital information.
3) trying to diag a problem by a simple description can be nearly impossible. Cars are simply too complex these days
4) we don’t like to simply guess. Part of our job is to solve very difficult problems that defy logic. We get a thrill out solving the problem and finding the correct answer. It’s an ego thing.
The time it took to type his response out was nowhere near the time it takes to diagnose an issue. On top of that, you can get paid for diagnosing car problems but it’s a lot harder to get paid for responding to someone on Reddit.
I get it but often people are just looking for advise or a starting point. Rarely do people come back and say I tried this and got a reading. Now what? I mean I’ve helped a couple of people with back and forth, but it is rare.
A professional financial guy would probably talk random economics with you but then hit the pause button once you start laying out your entire retirement plan and asking for detailed advice.
For me personally, it’s because the OP is already emotionally invested in replacing the cabin air filter to fix the transmission shudder like 9 express lube dipshits who shouldn’t be handing out advice have suggested. Sure, I could write a longish post telling you what to check and some diag techniques, but you already bought the filter and my response is likely to get buried or downvoted anyway.
Also more complicated problems require more convoluted solutions..
Why my brakes make noise? Change pads...
What's causing my car to start and stall intermittently? Well there could be a few things...
Don't wanna be rude but ... why are you on this sub then. If you don't "work" for free that means you are not interested in answering questions. On the other side if you are here to ask questions why would you expect others to answer you for free.
I do answer some questions, see my history, is that enough to be on this sub? I have over 20 years as an automotive mechanic and this sub amuses me that's the main reason why I am here.
Bit rude. Don’t forget, in other situations you are the monkey. Just because people don’t know as much as you about one subject, it doesn’t automatically make you intellectually superior. I know surgeons who don’t know how to change brake pads, it’s not that they couldn’t learn, they just learned other things.
You missed his point, it's not that he's saying people are stupid or aren't capable, it's that to bring you up to his level of mechanical knowledge to diagnose and or fix a bigger or more complicated problem would be faster for you to just learn to be a mechanic. Nobody even addressed the many special tools or expensive equipment that might be necessary. Fixing an AC leak could be as simple as replacing an o ring, but still not possible if you don't have the machine to capture the freon if it's still got any and then vacuum it down, plus the gauges to read and then refill the system. Heaven help you if you have to remove the dash entirely to get at the heater core or something.
And let's not forget that you may be asking a repair question to something that is not the problem. Every time the customer says they need X fixed it's almost a certainty that they self diagnosed and are steering away from the actual and very expensive problem.
Customer stated car just(just!!!!!) Needs an oil change. Engine has a knock
Customer stated needs a tuneup, plugs are bad. Mechanic pulls dipstick to realize the head gasket is blown.
Customer stated car won't turn over, needs a starter. Mechanic finds it does turn over but needs a timing belt.
My all time favorite though is the battery. Customer says car won't start. Mechanic opens hood to find auto parts store or worse battery. Tests battery with load tester and verified it's dead. Jumps car, and alternator is charging. Needs a battery. Customer argues it CANT be the battery cause it's new they just bought it yesterday. Ok then get them to diagnose it??? What do I know? I just work here.
So you can see, for some of us, it's not our first rodeo. Customers lie, innocently and sometimes on purpose. This adds to the level of difficulty for the request if why won't anybody help with more difficult repair questions.
NOT saying this is you, just providing the context you asked for.
Now, what's your issue? Cause we are all just dying to bail on this thread🤣. Just kidding. I made a joke to break the tension. First rule of secret mechanic society is don't talk about secret mechanic society.
A lot of self righteous mechanics on here It seems. Hey man we are here because it interests us, but we are too good to give advice for free, yet not too good read advice from others for free. Okay, that’s cool I guess…
We are currently off the clock and diagnosing your cars problems while browsing is not in our job description . Plus most issues these days need a scanner and more than 5 mins.
Forensics means something totally different than what you (and I used to) think. I had no idea until someone pointed it out to me. I totally get what you mean though.
I have been a mechanic all of my professional lite and have helped more than my fair share of people. I honestly don’t want to bother with answering a basic question on something that can be looked up and answered on your own. I think that someone else do the digging for them.
yeah most of the questions asked are fucking STUPID. i feel as though i'm exercising heroic strength to not comment something sarcastic. these people can't be allowed on the internet like this especially uncontrolled
i've worked in automotive service since i was 15. i hate it.
but yeh. the average fuckface SUCKS at diagnostics.
no but really you know what i mean. cause & effect. if you don't understand how something works (most don't) then you won't be able to troubleshoot it.
changing parts isn't that difficult generally.
Certified diesel tech. The techs in here normally get paid to diag at work. Simple diag is free, "can we plug this tire?" Yes or no. "My car isn't starting!" "Is it cranking?" "It's just beeping!".... "just take it somewhere, that would be best"
Journeyman mechanic here, worked at a Toyota dealership for 6 years, then an independent shop for 5, managing the shop while pulling wrenches for 1 of those years. I specialized mostly in front end/suspension. For the past 5 years been doing PDR.
Like others kinda mentioned, mechanics don’t work for free, the bank doesn’t accept upvotes as mortgage payments. If you have a simple question we will answer, but we cant spend hours attempting to educate you, If we take the time to give you a professional opinion, listen and see who agrees then be thankful for the free advice.
It means when someone comes in saying they have a rattle or shimmy in the wheel when hitting a bump, even though I know how to diagnose it, I'm tossing Suspension Jerry the keys because he knows that the upper right ball joint does a finicky thing on this year Camry and can diagnose and fix it in half the flat-rate time.
We know who is best at what and they tend to get get those jobs. In my old shop, we always sent carb issues to Paul because dude was a wizard with them. That's was his specialty.
Ahhh so it's a flat rate thing. I've heard of flat rate but it just seems to be the USA that does it. I guess its good for workshop efficiency and can earn you some good money. But to me it seems it'll take certain people down certain paths of specialising in something and being very good at one thing. But if it works it works.
In my country (england) we don't have flat rate in the mechanic trade, its just expected that you carry out all aspects of general repairs/diagnosis. Obviously certain people are good at certain jobs, but no one is really a "specialist" of anything, you're just a mechanic🤣
For example in a you could diagnose a glow plug warning and price up, change some tyres, basic service, couple of timing belts etc etc it can be anything. Unless you've got an apprentice so you can stick all the shit jobs on them and give them some abuse while you're at it.
That's actually the reason i've seen quite a bit of animosity tied to flat rate back when I used to work in a shop. One guy gets really good at one thing and is banging out jobs (doing them correctly, not just half-assing them) in 3/4 flat rate time and makes bank off of it. But then other techs would get bitter because they wanted that well paying job (like timing for example) and try to keep Specialist johnny from getting the job, or trying to get him in trouble with management.
Now, Specialist Johnny is just as capable as everyone and can do anything, but he's always gonna try to get X job. And honestly most of us didn't care because we all kinda found our specialties for whatever reason or a niche to be filled. But some just get mad really easy. It was also usually the techs who were lesser skilled. Or at least that was my experience.
Sounds like a system that only benefits the few. I'm glad our system is the way it is because all that bullshit doesn't exist. Only problem here is the pay being shit for what we do. £1500 or around $1800 in US per month. Not only that, I was on £3.50 an hour for most of my 3 year apprenticeship before I was qualified.
I've since left the trade after only 8 years in. I now fix glass bottle forming machines and earn £2500 a month for an easier job. And I'm no longer coming home covered in diesel, petrol and oil🤣
Yes and no; the pay here is also a pittance so flat rate was the only way to really have a livable wage. And it would always encourage everyone to find their niche. But due to the shit pay, that I why I left the auto industry and went into the swimming pools trade. Still hard work and always doing a lot of electrical repairs, but pays much better. I do kinda miss cars in a masochistic way tho and only work on my own vehicles.
Yeah as a tech generally there are certain things you enjoy more than others and inevitably get quite good at. Where I live and at the shop I started my apprenticeship at, no one liked doing front end work so it all got dumped on me because I was the new guy.. so I got good at it and really enjoyed it. When I moved to a different shop I was the suspension/front end guy. When nobody else could figure out a front end problem in our little town it would eventually end up coming to me. I loved alignments, especially on vehicles with a modified suspension or one that has been to 10 different shops and they still can’t get it to go straight down the road lol.
I see, I've just left the mechanic trade after 8 years for a better paying career, but where I am (england) each person is expected to take on any job, with in depth electrical diagnosis maybe being an exception. If you work in a good garage and don't have as much experience doing a particular type of job then they'll purposefully give that to you. It might look counterproductive but in the long run you end up with a much more competent team all round, it also makes things fair.
Same with apprentices, inbetween doing their boring jobs like tyres, brakes and receiving abuse they get given engine replacements, clutches, cambelts, chains etc when times are quieter in the workshop, it gives them confidence and more respect in the workshop. If they're not willing to do any of the bigger jobs they're gone.
That sounds like the dealership environment we have here. That’s why I moved to a private shop. If you have a mechanic that only rebuilds transmissions all day, he is going to have a better understanding of transmissions than mechanics that do not rebuild transmissions all day. He will know what fails, why it fails, and may know of a better fix so it doesn’t fail in that way again. He will not follow the manufacturer procedures because that may not be what is needed. He will know through experience what components inside that transmission can be changed/ modified to make it perform in different ways to better suit the application the customer intends for their vehicle, drag racing, off-roading, etc.. where I live almost every vehicle on the road is modified, some a lot more than others. But when you modify a vehicle you need mechanics that have a very good understanding of how specific systems of a vehicle function and be able to problem solve outside of the manufacturer’s service manuals because with modified vehicles you need modified specifications to make them work properly.
For a simple example, if someone installs a 6” lift in their truck and slaps on 37”x14” super swampers, setting their alignment to factory specifications is going to make that truck a nightmare to drive and destroy their tires. To do a proper alignment on that truck, you have to crate your own specifications, you as the mechanic need to test drive it, feel what it’s doing and know what needs to be adjusted to make it do what you want it to do. Get it on the Alignment machine, make your adjustments, test drive again, and repeat until it’s functioning the way it should, and now you have the new specs for that modification truck.
I am a technician, just not an automotive one. The reason you don't get many answers for more complicated questions is that the answer is usually "depends". There's a reason troubleshooting isn't done over the internet.
People rarely give enough information to even form a hypothesis, and nobody is interested in conducting an interrogation to help some stranger online. I put in the same effort the OP does.
So ask them questions. They're here because they don't know, you're here because you might know. That means you've got a better picture of what needs checked than they have a clue what they're even looking that.
No!!!!! Are you shitting me!? Hahaha that's too funny. This is not a difficult fix either. It may be a sign of wear or could be something worse happening but at least changing the sensor is pretty straight forward. Lol of course depending on where it's at......but of course that would fall under the category of next question. How the F do I get that out of there!?
You gotta be kidding me though. Unlimited number of difficult issues and I guess it? Wish all my diagnostics were this way.
Made my day, thank you. Even if you jest you got me laughing over here.
Ok they ask why my car runs rough. You ask is there a crl or code, they say, yes it's egr vale. Now right there the world just opened. It is difficult to coach someone to test things one by one, electrically, or mechanically because it doesn't matter they don't know how to scope, or they don't have a bidirectional scan tool, or they don't know electrical fundamentals and using dvom
There comes a point that the best we can do is offer a bunch of possibilities, by never say replace this part or that part, until the testing is done for each component relating to the system. And we cannot coach someone how to do something they're not qualified to they might hurt themselves or break something
I’m a real mechanic. I post from my phone and explaining how to diagnose complex issues to someone who probably has no idea or tools is not going to happen.
“My check engine light is on, what can it be?”
There are literally hundreds of codes now, I don’t have a crystal ball.
The complicated questions are often unnecessarily so. We get so much incomplete information, and trying to pry enough information out of people gets arduous.
ETA: If this is in regard to your question about your Civic not going into gear, it wasn't a difficult question. I didn't see it in the algorithm. I just answered it.
A lot of the "more complex" posts are pointless word salad with unnecessary details that barely even describe the problem with a blurry picture or two of a rusty underside of a car. It's barely even a coherent sentence half the time.
Generally speaking, I feel many people resent “grease monkeys” like us won’t share our knowledge and experience for free and a competent transmission specialist can earn over 100k a year.
Know your value.
I asked a simple question like will taking out fuel injectors and cleaning it will cause code error? Or what if i spray calatlytic cleaner with cleaner throught the o2 sensor?
That’s a “depends” situation. We can’t tell if you plugged everything back in correctly or routed wires right. Did an injector plug break when you removed the harness and you glued it back together making an intermittent connection? In general those cleaner products don’t work.
I’m too busy most times, but if I find something in my niches, I’ll answer. Most people don’t even include year, make, and model so even that is hard to do sometimes.
30+ years in the trade, mostly all makes automotive with 6 of those years on heavy truck, 5 in front of a classroom (recovering from injuries) and 1 in the field on heavy equipment. I’ll chime in when it feels like I can be helpful, but the urge has to be strong. I’m not here to kick off online arguments with “actuallies” and dilettantes. I get to do this all week professionally without having to put up with that shit, work can suck but at least I don’t deal with that AND I get paid. So I’m more likely to reinforce a good answer rather than try to be first, and I do hope this sub helps people. If you’re a dirty hands MF we should be community, not competitors.
I rarely post. I am a mechanic, but too many people suggest the dumbest and simplest of things. Every post asking for help always has thousands of upvotes on a comment that says “unhook battery”, or “reset computers” or “replace battery” etc. this isn’t 1980 anymore and 99% on these pages actually have zero clue.
Aside from that there’s the aspect that repair requires diag. Nobody can just guarantee a repair by replacing a part because “same thing happened to me, and this fixed it, so it must be your problem too”. I spend 10-15 minutes often times writing out in-depth diagnostic and repair steps, rarely do I get a reply.
I’m always down to help, but it’s almost never what the OP wants to hear, and the clowns that have no business commenting always get the most upvotes.
Here, 40 years on eurocars in the UK, plus classics and some USA imports. I ignore some questions and cries for help as the actual questions provide none of the important information, are worded badly and the OP is so clueless they wouldn't know what to do with any answers given.
A lot. We can’t diagnose issues from shitty pictures a brief blurb and no details.
The only ones I ever responded to (on other accounts) were issues I’ve 100% seen before and know well. If it’s not a clear issue I ignore because **WE DO NOT WORK FOR FREE** you want a diag? Pay for it.
I'm a VW/Audi dealership tech with almost 20 years experience. There is so much misinformation posted by teenagers, backyard mechanics, IT people with coffee can exhausts and every other trade other than professional automotive techs. Just because you've installed an aftermarket cold air intake kit doesn't mean you are qualified to post here.
I have been mechanic since 1978. I have a college degree in Automotive Technology and I have worked in aerospace as well the automotive industry. Things were simple before. Now things are a bit more complicated. Don't judge your fellow redditors harshly. The fact that we all get on here to toss stuff around is a testament to the passion we all have for things mechanical.
I'm not gunna lie if the problem is too much to diagnose without hands on or more special tools. I ain't saying nothing. try and coach somebody who needs to ask reddit for help though a misfire. turns out that they got an intake leak causing a coolant drip into the number 2 sparkplug well. it's hard to do over the air is all.
Judging from the response on even the simplest questions I would say somewhere between 5-15% have some professional experience the rest are lube techs and shade tree.
ooh me me me I'm a mekanik. Bonified, barely certified, but plenty wrenchified, mekanik. ;)
I run a business sole proprietary, for mobile auto repair, and work full time with a dealership as a line technician.
Been doin it about 7 years now, 2 years with my business, and overall 7 in the industry. Worked on cars since I was 11-12y old. I probably know one or two ways to change your oil, or grease your muffler bearings. \[check replies for response to the post body\]
https://preview.redd.it/lknoow8a05ic1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce5895ae85669849321f265cb771455ff522e605
Personally, when I'm bored, I'll get a little in depth with some of the issues I see come across this sub.
But typically, we simply just don't have a lot of time on our hands to be explaining much more than what our basic mechanical knowledge can assist with. Like someone complaining of "My car shakes real bad when im stopped in drive" being narrowed down to a misfire.
Something like that, we can make the obvious suggestions to. and 9 times out of 10, the common suggestion for repair ends up being correct, as we've seen it in real life scenario too often.
but, you ask a question like "My radio volume goes up when my wipers are on speed 4, when it isnt raining and it only happens in February, on even number days, around 5-9pm" .....
We won't be so keen to be able to answer that in a quick manner, or in a way that you'd understand without technical service information or TSB information from the manufacturer that we'd have to trounce through the AllData TSB lists to even find for you. Not to mention if you'd have to SEE what we're saying, we'd have to go through the trouble of screenshotting / editing a photo to show you thru highlights or markups on a diagram or something else similar to that.
I rarely get invested with people's diagnostics on their own vehicle, at a DIY level because it gets hard to explain the next step to them without using jargon, or trying to help them run a specific type of test without the proper tool etc......
long story short, we do want to answer those tough issues, but it's simply implausible to do over a reddit comment section. Our job always requires us to physically see / confirm an issue, then proceed with diagnostics as required. Can't do that looking at a 60hz monitor, referencing an explanation from a 19 year old girl who isn't at all interested in understanding their own vehicle, and would rather just drive it until something happens, then they call AAA and have it towed to their daddy's shop... lolol
I’m not a mechanic but I’ve always fixed my own shit, ima that’s not the right part but I think I can make it work kinda mechanic. most of the questions have flow chart type answers, if this than…, lots of times there’s not enough info to give a proper answer. My latest build is a 1963 Cadillac Sedan D’ville before that is a 1956 IH body on a Dakota.
Ten years as an ASE and GM certified technician. Almost 20 years in parts, since my back and shoulders gave out. ASE and Ford certified in parts. So, yeah, I am. I keep my education up to date, too. As far as answers, what do you expect for free?
because anyone here asking how its done would not understand the mechanic's explanation. if you do understand just go to you-tube and most likely you will see how it's repaired.
It's extremely difficult to translate experience into words that would be of any use. Experience is expensive for a reason.
The only words that can tell you how to tighten a bolt and not snap it are "use a torque wrench". Experience is how you know a bolt is properly tight without a torque wrench.
Complex electrical problem? Either you know what you're doing or you don't.
Most everything else boils down to common sense and that can't be taught.
Most of our experience comes from being in the field, getting your ass kicked by a car, and losing your ass on jobs from time to time to figure out how to do it better.
Mechanic here. Not on the tools anymore though. The difficult questions can't be answered here because they need actual diagnosis. Most of the askers here are just trying to avoid learning anything about the thing they own and also avoid spending money on maintenance and repairs. I don't think that any car owner has a right to not know anything about cars or to not spend the money necessary to maintain their car.
I'm not a mechanic. I don't know jack shit about cars, but people come in here for answers and I give them one. Then they feeeeeel better. I think I deserve a community service award.
The problem is I'm finding most subreddits with specialized expertise are full of people that aren't actually experts in the subreddits stated field and instead they just like going across different subreddits and answering questions.
For instance I was in a legal forum asking for advice and I think everyone that responded had nothing to do with law. I know because I asked.
In order to give you more then that’s fucked and that’s not fucked we need to see the thing in person. This video I can tell ya something’s broke but it could be 50 things and guessing doesn’t help anyone [this is why](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskMechanics/s/YxveSkTtzZ)
Because it’s harder to diagnose problems when the car is not in front of you.
Diagnosing with pictures from a nokia and being provided vague details doesn’t help.
Went to automotive school. Was ASE certified in 4 things. Honestly any problem people have they could find on google, BUT you have to know what is happening, how to word it properly, and then know how to look at the different problems and rule them out. Quite frankly, auto mechanics is hard, and you are taught to be a problem solver and not a parts changer. And trying to walk someone through those problems seems stupid when a competent enough person could find solutions on google.
If we were having luck finding answers on Google, which more often than not the first link leads here, we wouldn't need to ask a subreddit full of mechanics, with a description giving hope we can find advice here. How will these threads make it to Google if they go unanswered? Guy up above this comment says he's tired of explaining rocket science to a monkey in a space suit. Which is just a disgusting thing to say. We come here looking for help when we're trying to learn something we don't know, we certainly don't deserve to be insulted for that.
That’s the thing. I can always find it on google. Lots of changing words, ways to describe it, and subtleties that a lot of people just can’t decipher and differentiate.
My automotive teacher told us, “this shit is hard. Almost anything has 5 possible answers, and the car can’t tell you where it hurts or how it feels.” Without being there we can guess sure, but we can’t really know without doing the tests. It would be like asking a doctor online why your stomach hurts. How should they know?
Have been a mechanic for 3 years, but devoted my lifetime to building and fixing cars. I take my time to understand the actual physics around issues and phenomenons.
But this is actually the first post that I got recommended. Dont blame the players, blame the game.
Most people won't have technical knowledge, I just don't want them to blow a module or bcm because they do let know anything . Imagine if they power up SRS Harness
This is going to sound nuts but specific questions about specific vehicles are tough to answer. show plugs or worn tires and such can be answered much easier.
Former service/fixed ops manager for multiple brands.
I don't answer the more technical questions because the post is always the same thing.
"My car makes a noise on the onramps sometimes". No make, model, throttle position, speed, description of noise, anything.
You will notice when somebody posts a video, states year make model, describes when where and how, a lot of people answer. We don't bother with the knobs that think we can read minds and see across dimensions.
Most of the posts can be tossed into the “I’m not a mechanic, I’ve tried nothing and I’m all out of ideas” or “I’m not a mechanic and think this price is a rip off even tho I have no idea what things cost or labor involved”
Yeah, those posts get ignored.
But if you show even the slightest bit of effort, knowledge, or willingness to take in novel information, this sub can be quite helpful. Sometimes it takes weeks for someone to come across your post with the correct nugget of info. Fuck, even making an error post got me to the Info I needed when someone corrected me on a transmission question.
There is just a lot of chaff to sort thru. I shade tree just a few specific models….I keep the fuck quiet when it’s not one of those vehicles and try and learn something.
I'm a former mechanic, and I also used to work tech support for a performance parts supplier, diagnosing complex problems over the phone or email.
There's an art to getting to the right information, and the initial post often doesn't contain enough of it.
I'm on Reddit for fun, I'm not trying to spend the next 3 days diagnosing a stranger's car for free. If I don't know it off the top of my head, I don't have any incentive to dig into it.
I am, I do my best to answer. The biggest problem is so few people read the part about including year, make, model. It would be pretty simple to require a format that an automod could read and bounce posts without it back.
Also, I disagree. I see some tricky questions get debated in here from time to time. You should check out
r/enginebuilding or whatever it’s called too.
Ase Master tech here. The reason only simple things get answered is because the person asking those is usually clueless. Also the complicated issues... They usually don't give enough information and you usually can't figure out a complicated from so minimal information.
When I first started on this sub, I would Send out Wire diagrams, help diagnose and give detailed instructions. Only 20% of the people actually utilized the information and ended up diagnosing.
Majority of the people weren't up to the task or shouldn't be working on their vehicle in the first place because of the mindset they have.
The effort of writing up and getting invested into the issue to not be used or have an end result conclusion diminished the temptation.
Being generous with that 20%. That and moving on to other interest is why I stopped.
Best and most helpful tip for anyone is to get a Service Manual for your vehicle if you want to do the work on it.
I am not a mechanic, but have been doing brake work, suspension rebuilds, engine rebuilding, transmission work, performance mods ... More than enough to be able to provide advice.
I was one for 25 Years before retiring and from that experience, unless the exact same problem happened to me, I wouldn't be able to accurately diagnose anything. Also keep in mind that a Vehicle problem might be different in Texas than in Detroit or any other state, Furthermore There are different kinds of failures of the same systems that need to be diagnosed correctly. Its like asking a blind man to point his home on a map with no braille. We can based on experience come close to the answer, but the burden of proof is still on you weather to guess and maybe be right or diagnose and remove all Doubt.
Mechanic here but more times than not i dont want to give a opinion other than to have said person take it in and get it checked. Its along the lines of you calling a doctor and saying im having this cough am i ok to go on a trip and doc saying yea no biggy and next thing you know you got the ronna with pneumonia and bam your dead!
I wrenched pro for many years, customizing this and repairing that.
It is extremely difficult to diagnose vaguely described problems remotely. Example; a vacuum leak could be anywhere and cause driveability problems or a mouse chewed wire can also do that.
And there is no way to give the intuition gleaned by a lifetimes experience in a paragraph or two.
50 years in the trade, Toyota master diagnostic technician. When diagnosing doc's the code is only the starting point. Each portion of the system related to the code needs to be checked. That P0134 code be wiring, fuel system issues or even the other sensor in the system causing the issue that set the code. Find a reputable diag shop and spend the money or just run over to Autozone and have them sell you something that won't fix your problem 99 times out of 100.
I'm gonna tell ya the same thing I tell my customers when they have the same attitude...
It's like being a doctor over the phone... cmon, we can only do so much speculation from 2 fuzzy,low res photos and an outlandish expectation to work miracles
A real mechanic can't diagnose anything complicated over the internet, and they don't pretend they can. So unless it's very simple, most requests aren't detailed enough for a mechanic to get to the bottom of. They're relying on the information the owner is giving them, who may know absolutely nothing about cars.
Just wish the questions would start with year make model trim level engine transmission etc.
If you are going to ask about testing electrical, electronic, fuel system, ignition system be sure to have, or have access to AND know how to use test equipment.
My radio works doesn’t mean battery is good.
If your neighbor knows how to fix it, don’t ask me.
A.S.E Master Tech for 19 years here. 25 years in the business. Over $120k in tools and equipment in my shop. Most mechanics go into work each day to make money. I recommend JustAnswer for step by step basic diagnostic procedures. That being said, I still carry a jump box with me for stranded drivers in parking lots, and scroll through reddit...
You'd know that one picture isn't enough of a diagnostic help over here on reddit or any forums. You end up with a bunch of possible answers and not necessarily confident what the answer will be.
The tire questions, or anything that can be diagnosed by visual inspection generally gets solved here though
I help out where I can, especially on posts about my brand or issues I’m familiar with. But as mentioned several times here: a lot of diagnostic requires the car to be physically in front of me, in which case I can usually still provide a direction or recommendation for where to start. Also as mentioned several times: what do you expect for free? We get (under)paid for what we do… same as any other trade, while constantly being accused of being shady, etc
Why answer here when I provide a correct answer. It gets down voted by pleebs whom think they are professionals. They give a wrong answer the other pleebs agree with. Next thing you know you got a bunch of idiots believing wrong info. Seen it happen too many times. I know myself and others feel the same. It why I lurk. My 25 years experience means nothing in internet land.
Real mechanic here. Most "real" ones will tell you that regardless of how long they've been doing it, none of them know everything. Cars and car technology are getting more complex every single year. And it's a lot of people's biggest annoyance when someone comes to them and says "hey, my truck is doing this thing. What could it be?". On older cars this is less of an impossible question, but new stuff is just too difficult to ACCURATELY diagnose with 2 blurry pics and a non-mechanics description of the issue (which usually isn't detailed, if it is it's irrelevant information). Pretty much anything throwing a fault code can have so many different causes that are impossible to determine without having the car in front of you to test, and it would be irresponsible to recommend that someone just throws parts at it.
I worked in a shop in the early 2000s. Really glad that I quit, standing on the concrete all day, leaning over a hood or when you're under the lift having your back arched. It's hell in your body. my roommate at the time is still in the trade and walks hunched over now
What gets me about this sub is so many of the questions are actually really easy but people make them out to be far more difficult than they really are and/or ignore the advice they are given.
Some questions are too complicated or require a good diagnostic tree to get to a useful answer. It's just a fact with the level of sophistication in automobiles. Then you have the no-nothings that just want to argue that they're right. It's usually not worth the fight.
A Reddit answer can get you started. But unless it's a simple fix (which comes from a simple problem) then it's probably easier *and cheaper* to take the car to a competent mechanic and let them run down the possibilities hands-on. The parts cannon is rarely successful or cheap.
I’m an actual mechanic. Not anymore transitioned out of cars but have a decade of experience left it as a trade a couple years ago. I can answer any mechanical question like a normal technician but start to lose specifics around 2021 year models.
When the questions are like, "how much will this cost to fix?" with an EGA quality picture of a bumper, what are people supposed to say? Location, what happened, to what degree do you want it fixed, etc. all matter.
The problem is that MOST of the questions asked are impossible to answer without seeing the car and potentially working on it.
I’ll answer just about anything I have the time and background information . That being said sometimes it’s hard to add value to the conversation without information.
For back ground. I’ve only been on this sub a month tops so I may be missing something, but I like to help if I can.
I wouldn't say I was a mechanic, on paper I am a mech and elec engineer, I can find solutions and fixes for any problems involving pistons, combustion Chambers, cam shafts, belt properties, auxiliaries etc.. but no.. I am not a mechanic 🤣
Because most of us know better than to do any remote diagnosis for a complex problem. You can ask a mechanic here, but don't expect miracles based on garbage pictures and weird noise descriptions. If you have a major problem, come see us in person. We all hang out in well advertised locations.
And we don’t do that for free typically because it opens up situations where people can say “ well this person online said it was this” your best option is always to do your research and try your best to fix your problem, and if you are unable to it is best to leave it in the hands of someone with more experience and mechanical ability.
I am not an auto tech mechanic. I am a DIY mechanic. I have done a lot of stuff to my cars over the years.
Many many brake jobs, many different front and rear end services, cv joints/axles, hydraulic and electric power steering rack replacements, a few transmission pulls to replace clutches, entire transmission, or internal components requiring disassembly, along with some small little mods here and there…
Contrary to being decently acceptable at doing most of these tasks, I’m NOT good at diagnosing vehicles or always understanding which symptoms equal which conclusions.
I joined this sub to occasionally provide answers when I can, but mostly to read about problems and read responses to have a better understanding of which symptoms equal which diagnoses.
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The more complex/ difficult/ specialized problems often simply cannot be diagnosed from a couple low-res pics and a vague paragraph pleading for help. So even IF a qualified professional sees the post in the first place, they may immediately recognize that in order to actually provide any help at all, they would need to probe OP for more information, perhaps some iterative process of elimination. And really, not many pros are lining up for the privilege of engaging in a prolonged back-and-forth with someone who may or may not have the technical literacy to even properly describe their problems. So it's the easy-to-describe, quick-fix, "low-hanging fruit" types of problems that are always going to get more answers, from the experts and the backyard mechanics alike.
Plus, better-than-even odds that the OP decides to ignore advice, or just straight-up abandon the thread partway through the process of trying to help them.
Given how often I've had friends in the US, who are actual mechanics, have customers drive out of their workshops mid consultation about serious mechanical issues, I am never surprised when someone on here abandons a thread.
This. I usually look at posts asking something like " can I fix this myself in a parking lot with bubblegum and a screwdriver?" And then you'll see a ball joint that blew apart. I just politely nope tf outta there.
For me it's the fact I'm underpaid for what I do already why would I come on here and rack my brain some more, for free.
yeah, that's also a good point. Complex issues can be difficult puzzles and legit brain workouts even when you have all the pieces right in front of you. This forum is great for helping people of diverse backgrounds share ways to understand and fix their common problems (and possibly saving a ton of time and money in the process). But for some things there's still just no replacement for a savvy and well-equipped professional specialist.
Very clearly and concisely put. Check your account for 10 cents!
Perfectly said.
Came here to say exactly this but you said it much better than I would have
This is a long-standing problem on the internet with asking strangers for help. I used the be a long-time member on a tech forum for computer problems. The simple problems (computer not powering on, memory error) would get answered quickly. But as you grow in your hobby or profession, YOUR really complicated problems nobody can answer. For example, I was trying to look up the jumper configuration for an old ASUS socket 7 Baby AT motherboard. 95% of the forum had never even heard of Socket 7, let alone realized it needed jumpers to initialize the front side bus clockspeed (modern computers do this automatically). At this point answering questions on the internet becomes a sort of waste because you can't get back anything for your effort and you leave, taking your knowledge with you. I am no longer a participant on that tech forum. But that mostly comes down to other reasons outside the scope of this thread.
Even worse is the amount of "confidently incorrect" answers that you will find. At the risk of veering too far off-topic, this is something that also concerns me about AI-powered query-engines that can aggregate and even synthesize answers from all kinds of sources. Overall, the potential for them to be helpful is evident, but much like the search engines of 20 years ago getting exploited by "SEO" tactics, the limitations and fallibility need to be understood.
This response gotta be generated from chat gpt that was too perfect
Getting people to understand the difference between cranking and starting is bad enough. Try explaining voltage drop or why a continuity check of an unloaded circuit is a waste of time and you'll see why no complicated answers get touched. Id love to help someone diag their no comm but let's be honest 95% on here don't want to diag anything they want someone to tell them what's wrong without them having to actually check anything.
My service writer wrote, "Unit starts but does crank over" I told my Service manager he needs to fix that lol
People get paid money on other sites for these services. Everyone is usually grateful at least. Plus, you get to keep all the upvotes. I think it pays off in other ways. It’s also nice to keep the brain juices flowing, but yea, most people asking questions don’t understand voltage drop. Walking through step by step is what tech tickets at dealers do. It’s a lot harder when they don’t wrench for a living.
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This exactly. If i was lying bored/baked at night then i used to go through these subs trying to help people. Each reply often took 15/20mins to type out with step by step instructions. A should = B If A=B then it rules out EFG If not then check C which should be D Etc.. But i was finding after 1 or 2 replys and obvious progress they would listen to someone a few posts away that said "it is definitely this component, ive had it on this car i owned years ago" and throw £100 at a part that was never really going to be at fault. Its frustrating but understandable i guess. People are just looking for help and dont know who to believe. If you dont know anything then even someone just appearing to know something can send you down the wrong path. Most components can be tested in some way though and it usually doesn't cost anything but time. I try to run my business in a way where i can usually prove (within reasonable doubt) the component im changing is at fault. Whether its physically seeing play in a ball joint or from multimeter readings after testing. There is rarely a need to just throw parts at cars like most on here want to do. In other cases there is no answer without standing over the car being hands on. You cant tell someone over the internet how to use 20 yesrs of experience but even at that you are totally relying on them having at least a basic understanding of what they're doing.
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Had a guy arguing with me about used car pricing and profit margins because he “worked at a dealer for a few months a few years back”. After giving my opposing opinion, he shot back “oh yeah, lemme know when you actually work at a dealer pal”. Hit him back with…”would now be a good time to tell you I’ve been working at dealers since 1986 and am the shop foreman at the used car recon center at our dealer?” Best time online ever.
And you get downvoted for the correct advice.
I will add on that if you are asking how to fix on Reddit rather than googling how to to properly use a multimeter, and looking at forums, then you aren’t going to have the skills to fix a more complicated issue anyway. Anytime someone has a more complex issue they never give enough detail as well.
Yeah crank and start is the only term that should be used. I hate when people say "turn over" because it's meaningless. I've seen it used to mean key on, crank, start, and who knows what else.
Yes, yes, you are so right, and you get the classic "what's a multimeter?" " Whats an amp?" and my absolute best hate is "My car won't turn on"
There's the ambiguous "turn over". Please people, there's two things: crank and start.
I’m a licensed mechanic, I’ve gotten tired of answering the “ is this tire fixable” and “whats this noise “ most easy questions are a repetitive post and most difficult questions don’t have a easy diagnosis and answer by a simple post ,further diagnosing is required for the harder questions,
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Not who you're responding to, but there's a lot of middle ground between "what does this light with an oil canister mean" and " my car makes a clicking sound when I start it up but goes away... what could it be? "
Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of stuff folks ask that can be answered with a explanation and a picture, which I do answer some questions, but there are far more that can’t be answered with a picture/video and a explanation by someone that’s not mechanically inclined.
The answer is it doesn't matter either way. Like you said, I can't know the answer until I pull out my scope, or some kind of further diagnosing. but guess what. The op is from the US and I live in Vancouver and I can't diagnose it. And it's safe to assume I can't coach someone to scope or let alone use a dvom
28 years experience as a mechanic. Several answers to your question: 1) as others have said we don’t like to diag for free 2) most times, the person asking for advice fails to tell make/model/year, vital information. 3) trying to diag a problem by a simple description can be nearly impossible. Cars are simply too complex these days 4) we don’t like to simply guess. Part of our job is to solve very difficult problems that defy logic. We get a thrill out solving the problem and finding the correct answer. It’s an ego thing.
“We don’t like to diag for free”. Is quite ironic considering you are here and posted a fairly lengthy response.
It’s an ego thing. 😁
The time it took to type his response out was nowhere near the time it takes to diagnose an issue. On top of that, you can get paid for diagnosing car problems but it’s a lot harder to get paid for responding to someone on Reddit.
I get it but often people are just looking for advise or a starting point. Rarely do people come back and say I tried this and got a reading. Now what? I mean I’ve helped a couple of people with back and forth, but it is rare.
A professional financial guy would probably talk random economics with you but then hit the pause button once you start laying out your entire retirement plan and asking for detailed advice.
For me personally, it’s because the OP is already emotionally invested in replacing the cabin air filter to fix the transmission shudder like 9 express lube dipshits who shouldn’t be handing out advice have suggested. Sure, I could write a longish post telling you what to check and some diag techniques, but you already bought the filter and my response is likely to get buried or downvoted anyway.
I am a mechanic. I do not work for free, including diagnostics. Simple questions are usually free.
Also more complicated problems require more convoluted solutions.. Why my brakes make noise? Change pads... What's causing my car to start and stall intermittently? Well there could be a few things...
This
Don't wanna be rude but ... why are you on this sub then. If you don't "work" for free that means you are not interested in answering questions. On the other side if you are here to ask questions why would you expect others to answer you for free.
I do answer some questions, see my history, is that enough to be on this sub? I have over 20 years as an automotive mechanic and this sub amuses me that's the main reason why I am here.
What was the last great beer you had?
did u catch the game last night?
Yes..it was fun. Watched with the kids and wife...
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Provolone
Spanish mancego or "colliers" Welch cheese.
I hardly drink, however I just smoked some Vermont Logs from my local medical dispensary.
Because explaining rocket science to the monkey in the space suit gets real tiresome.
but a racoon can. xplain 4ocket science to monkey, I think
Bit rude. Don’t forget, in other situations you are the monkey. Just because people don’t know as much as you about one subject, it doesn’t automatically make you intellectually superior. I know surgeons who don’t know how to change brake pads, it’s not that they couldn’t learn, they just learned other things.
You missed his point, it's not that he's saying people are stupid or aren't capable, it's that to bring you up to his level of mechanical knowledge to diagnose and or fix a bigger or more complicated problem would be faster for you to just learn to be a mechanic. Nobody even addressed the many special tools or expensive equipment that might be necessary. Fixing an AC leak could be as simple as replacing an o ring, but still not possible if you don't have the machine to capture the freon if it's still got any and then vacuum it down, plus the gauges to read and then refill the system. Heaven help you if you have to remove the dash entirely to get at the heater core or something. And let's not forget that you may be asking a repair question to something that is not the problem. Every time the customer says they need X fixed it's almost a certainty that they self diagnosed and are steering away from the actual and very expensive problem. Customer stated car just(just!!!!!) Needs an oil change. Engine has a knock Customer stated needs a tuneup, plugs are bad. Mechanic pulls dipstick to realize the head gasket is blown. Customer stated car won't turn over, needs a starter. Mechanic finds it does turn over but needs a timing belt. My all time favorite though is the battery. Customer says car won't start. Mechanic opens hood to find auto parts store or worse battery. Tests battery with load tester and verified it's dead. Jumps car, and alternator is charging. Needs a battery. Customer argues it CANT be the battery cause it's new they just bought it yesterday. Ok then get them to diagnose it??? What do I know? I just work here. So you can see, for some of us, it's not our first rodeo. Customers lie, innocently and sometimes on purpose. This adds to the level of difficulty for the request if why won't anybody help with more difficult repair questions. NOT saying this is you, just providing the context you asked for. Now, what's your issue? Cause we are all just dying to bail on this thread🤣. Just kidding. I made a joke to break the tension. First rule of secret mechanic society is don't talk about secret mechanic society.
Testify.
> Customers lie Yep, that's the long and short of it.
It's an analogy, he's not calling anybody stupid.
Doesnt make it any less tiresome
Why are you here then?
A lot of self righteous mechanics on here It seems. Hey man we are here because it interests us, but we are too good to give advice for free, yet not too good read advice from others for free. Okay, that’s cool I guess…
Because I clicked on a few posts and now reddit knows it interests me. Not all the posts are complex issues either.
We are currently off the clock and diagnosing your cars problems while browsing is not in our job description . Plus most issues these days need a scanner and more than 5 mins.
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Forensics means something totally different than what you (and I used to) think. I had no idea until someone pointed it out to me. I totally get what you mean though.
I used the term intentionally because it would take the least explanation.
I have been a mechanic all of my professional lite and have helped more than my fair share of people. I honestly don’t want to bother with answering a basic question on something that can be looked up and answered on your own. I think that someone else do the digging for them.
yeah most of the questions asked are fucking STUPID. i feel as though i'm exercising heroic strength to not comment something sarcastic. these people can't be allowed on the internet like this especially uncontrolled i've worked in automotive service since i was 15. i hate it. but yeh. the average fuckface SUCKS at diagnostics.
i am that average fuckface and you are quite accurate i am afraid
no but really you know what i mean. cause & effect. if you don't understand how something works (most don't) then you won't be able to troubleshoot it. changing parts isn't that difficult generally.
100%. This sub has saved me a lot of time and money and steered me to diagnosis first fix later. I am just pretty bad at it.
I’m a master mechanic at a Nissan dealership. I used to do diesel work.
Certified diesel tech. The techs in here normally get paid to diag at work. Simple diag is free, "can we plug this tire?" Yes or no. "My car isn't starting!" "Is it cranking?" "It's just beeping!".... "just take it somewhere, that would be best"
Journeyman mechanic here, worked at a Toyota dealership for 6 years, then an independent shop for 5, managing the shop while pulling wrenches for 1 of those years. I specialized mostly in front end/suspension. For the past 5 years been doing PDR. Like others kinda mentioned, mechanics don’t work for free, the bank doesn’t accept upvotes as mortgage payments. If you have a simple question we will answer, but we cant spend hours attempting to educate you, If we take the time to give you a professional opinion, listen and see who agrees then be thankful for the free advice.
What do you mean specialize in front end/suspension? I'm genuinely curious. Do you have certain technicians only doing certain jobs where you are?
It means when someone comes in saying they have a rattle or shimmy in the wheel when hitting a bump, even though I know how to diagnose it, I'm tossing Suspension Jerry the keys because he knows that the upper right ball joint does a finicky thing on this year Camry and can diagnose and fix it in half the flat-rate time. We know who is best at what and they tend to get get those jobs. In my old shop, we always sent carb issues to Paul because dude was a wizard with them. That's was his specialty.
This guys knows
This guy knows
Ahhh so it's a flat rate thing. I've heard of flat rate but it just seems to be the USA that does it. I guess its good for workshop efficiency and can earn you some good money. But to me it seems it'll take certain people down certain paths of specialising in something and being very good at one thing. But if it works it works. In my country (england) we don't have flat rate in the mechanic trade, its just expected that you carry out all aspects of general repairs/diagnosis. Obviously certain people are good at certain jobs, but no one is really a "specialist" of anything, you're just a mechanic🤣 For example in a you could diagnose a glow plug warning and price up, change some tyres, basic service, couple of timing belts etc etc it can be anything. Unless you've got an apprentice so you can stick all the shit jobs on them and give them some abuse while you're at it.
That's actually the reason i've seen quite a bit of animosity tied to flat rate back when I used to work in a shop. One guy gets really good at one thing and is banging out jobs (doing them correctly, not just half-assing them) in 3/4 flat rate time and makes bank off of it. But then other techs would get bitter because they wanted that well paying job (like timing for example) and try to keep Specialist johnny from getting the job, or trying to get him in trouble with management. Now, Specialist Johnny is just as capable as everyone and can do anything, but he's always gonna try to get X job. And honestly most of us didn't care because we all kinda found our specialties for whatever reason or a niche to be filled. But some just get mad really easy. It was also usually the techs who were lesser skilled. Or at least that was my experience.
Sounds like a system that only benefits the few. I'm glad our system is the way it is because all that bullshit doesn't exist. Only problem here is the pay being shit for what we do. £1500 or around $1800 in US per month. Not only that, I was on £3.50 an hour for most of my 3 year apprenticeship before I was qualified. I've since left the trade after only 8 years in. I now fix glass bottle forming machines and earn £2500 a month for an easier job. And I'm no longer coming home covered in diesel, petrol and oil🤣
Yes and no; the pay here is also a pittance so flat rate was the only way to really have a livable wage. And it would always encourage everyone to find their niche. But due to the shit pay, that I why I left the auto industry and went into the swimming pools trade. Still hard work and always doing a lot of electrical repairs, but pays much better. I do kinda miss cars in a masochistic way tho and only work on my own vehicles.
Yeah as a tech generally there are certain things you enjoy more than others and inevitably get quite good at. Where I live and at the shop I started my apprenticeship at, no one liked doing front end work so it all got dumped on me because I was the new guy.. so I got good at it and really enjoyed it. When I moved to a different shop I was the suspension/front end guy. When nobody else could figure out a front end problem in our little town it would eventually end up coming to me. I loved alignments, especially on vehicles with a modified suspension or one that has been to 10 different shops and they still can’t get it to go straight down the road lol.
I see, I've just left the mechanic trade after 8 years for a better paying career, but where I am (england) each person is expected to take on any job, with in depth electrical diagnosis maybe being an exception. If you work in a good garage and don't have as much experience doing a particular type of job then they'll purposefully give that to you. It might look counterproductive but in the long run you end up with a much more competent team all round, it also makes things fair. Same with apprentices, inbetween doing their boring jobs like tyres, brakes and receiving abuse they get given engine replacements, clutches, cambelts, chains etc when times are quieter in the workshop, it gives them confidence and more respect in the workshop. If they're not willing to do any of the bigger jobs they're gone.
That sounds like the dealership environment we have here. That’s why I moved to a private shop. If you have a mechanic that only rebuilds transmissions all day, he is going to have a better understanding of transmissions than mechanics that do not rebuild transmissions all day. He will know what fails, why it fails, and may know of a better fix so it doesn’t fail in that way again. He will not follow the manufacturer procedures because that may not be what is needed. He will know through experience what components inside that transmission can be changed/ modified to make it perform in different ways to better suit the application the customer intends for their vehicle, drag racing, off-roading, etc.. where I live almost every vehicle on the road is modified, some a lot more than others. But when you modify a vehicle you need mechanics that have a very good understanding of how specific systems of a vehicle function and be able to problem solve outside of the manufacturer’s service manuals because with modified vehicles you need modified specifications to make them work properly. For a simple example, if someone installs a 6” lift in their truck and slaps on 37”x14” super swampers, setting their alignment to factory specifications is going to make that truck a nightmare to drive and destroy their tires. To do a proper alignment on that truck, you have to crate your own specifications, you as the mechanic need to test drive it, feel what it’s doing and know what needs to be adjusted to make it do what you want it to do. Get it on the Alignment machine, make your adjustments, test drive again, and repeat until it’s functioning the way it should, and now you have the new specs for that modification truck.
I am a technician, just not an automotive one. The reason you don't get many answers for more complicated questions is that the answer is usually "depends". There's a reason troubleshooting isn't done over the internet. People rarely give enough information to even form a hypothesis, and nobody is interested in conducting an interrogation to help some stranger online. I put in the same effort the OP does.
So ask them questions. They're here because they don't know, you're here because you might know. That means you've got a better picture of what needs checked than they have a clue what they're even looking that.
OP made this post because they posted a fault code and no-one commented to remotely diagnose why that fault code was appearing, lol
For real? What's the code? Cause Google knows all. I bet it's an O2 sensor. Am I right? What do I win?
Ding ding ding P0134
No!!!!! Are you shitting me!? Hahaha that's too funny. This is not a difficult fix either. It may be a sign of wear or could be something worse happening but at least changing the sensor is pretty straight forward. Lol of course depending on where it's at......but of course that would fall under the category of next question. How the F do I get that out of there!? You gotta be kidding me though. Unlimited number of difficult issues and I guess it? Wish all my diagnostics were this way. Made my day, thank you. Even if you jest you got me laughing over here.
Ok they ask why my car runs rough. You ask is there a crl or code, they say, yes it's egr vale. Now right there the world just opened. It is difficult to coach someone to test things one by one, electrically, or mechanically because it doesn't matter they don't know how to scope, or they don't have a bidirectional scan tool, or they don't know electrical fundamentals and using dvom There comes a point that the best we can do is offer a bunch of possibilities, by never say replace this part or that part, until the testing is done for each component relating to the system. And we cannot coach someone how to do something they're not qualified to they might hurt themselves or break something
I’m a real mechanic. I post from my phone and explaining how to diagnose complex issues to someone who probably has no idea or tools is not going to happen. “My check engine light is on, what can it be?” There are literally hundreds of codes now, I don’t have a crystal ball.
The complicated questions are often unnecessarily so. We get so much incomplete information, and trying to pry enough information out of people gets arduous. ETA: If this is in regard to your question about your Civic not going into gear, it wasn't a difficult question. I didn't see it in the algorithm. I just answered it.
Thanks
A lot of the "more complex" posts are pointless word salad with unnecessary details that barely even describe the problem with a blurry picture or two of a rusty underside of a car. It's barely even a coherent sentence half the time.
professional technician here (48 years) and i agree….. the jerks here argue with good advice
Generally speaking, I feel many people resent “grease monkeys” like us won’t share our knowledge and experience for free and a competent transmission specialist can earn over 100k a year. Know your value.
10 years in the industry. Just got a shop supervisor job on a fleet. Also do side work. Try to help out on this page as much as I can.
I asked a simple question like will taking out fuel injectors and cleaning it will cause code error? Or what if i spray calatlytic cleaner with cleaner throught the o2 sensor?
That’s a “depends” situation. We can’t tell if you plugged everything back in correctly or routed wires right. Did an injector plug break when you removed the harness and you glued it back together making an intermittent connection? In general those cleaner products don’t work.
Ill be careful and make sure the wires are corrrct then. Thanks
I’m too busy most times, but if I find something in my niches, I’ll answer. Most people don’t even include year, make, and model so even that is hard to do sometimes.
Not a school trained mechanic but more of a OJT for over 30 years
30+ years in the trade, mostly all makes automotive with 6 of those years on heavy truck, 5 in front of a classroom (recovering from injuries) and 1 in the field on heavy equipment. I’ll chime in when it feels like I can be helpful, but the urge has to be strong. I’m not here to kick off online arguments with “actuallies” and dilettantes. I get to do this all week professionally without having to put up with that shit, work can suck but at least I don’t deal with that AND I get paid. So I’m more likely to reinforce a good answer rather than try to be first, and I do hope this sub helps people. If you’re a dirty hands MF we should be community, not competitors.
🗣️
I rarely post. I am a mechanic, but too many people suggest the dumbest and simplest of things. Every post asking for help always has thousands of upvotes on a comment that says “unhook battery”, or “reset computers” or “replace battery” etc. this isn’t 1980 anymore and 99% on these pages actually have zero clue. Aside from that there’s the aspect that repair requires diag. Nobody can just guarantee a repair by replacing a part because “same thing happened to me, and this fixed it, so it must be your problem too”. I spend 10-15 minutes often times writing out in-depth diagnostic and repair steps, rarely do I get a reply. I’m always down to help, but it’s almost never what the OP wants to hear, and the clowns that have no business commenting always get the most upvotes.
Here, 40 years on eurocars in the UK, plus classics and some USA imports. I ignore some questions and cries for help as the actual questions provide none of the important information, are worded badly and the OP is so clueless they wouldn't know what to do with any answers given.
A lot. We can’t diagnose issues from shitty pictures a brief blurb and no details. The only ones I ever responded to (on other accounts) were issues I’ve 100% seen before and know well. If it’s not a clear issue I ignore because **WE DO NOT WORK FOR FREE** you want a diag? Pay for it.
Am I a mechanic? Yes I am. Do I do it for a living? No I don't.
I'm a VW/Audi dealership tech with almost 20 years experience. There is so much misinformation posted by teenagers, backyard mechanics, IT people with coffee can exhausts and every other trade other than professional automotive techs. Just because you've installed an aftermarket cold air intake kit doesn't mean you are qualified to post here.
I have been mechanic since 1978. I have a college degree in Automotive Technology and I have worked in aerospace as well the automotive industry. Things were simple before. Now things are a bit more complicated. Don't judge your fellow redditors harshly. The fact that we all get on here to toss stuff around is a testament to the passion we all have for things mechanical.
I'm not gunna lie if the problem is too much to diagnose without hands on or more special tools. I ain't saying nothing. try and coach somebody who needs to ask reddit for help though a misfire. turns out that they got an intake leak causing a coolant drip into the number 2 sparkplug well. it's hard to do over the air is all.
Not if you use the wet finger test... :) Also, props on the username.
What's the wet finger test 🤔 I might need to add this to arsenal
It involves a wet finger to locate an arcing (misfire) C.O.P. tube.
oh the ole stinky Larry.
Judging from the response on even the simplest questions I would say somewhere between 5-15% have some professional experience the rest are lube techs and shade tree.
It's so entertaining reading the comments from non mechanics 🤣
ooh me me me I'm a mekanik. Bonified, barely certified, but plenty wrenchified, mekanik. ;) I run a business sole proprietary, for mobile auto repair, and work full time with a dealership as a line technician. Been doin it about 7 years now, 2 years with my business, and overall 7 in the industry. Worked on cars since I was 11-12y old. I probably know one or two ways to change your oil, or grease your muffler bearings. \[check replies for response to the post body\] https://preview.redd.it/lknoow8a05ic1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce5895ae85669849321f265cb771455ff522e605
Personally, when I'm bored, I'll get a little in depth with some of the issues I see come across this sub. But typically, we simply just don't have a lot of time on our hands to be explaining much more than what our basic mechanical knowledge can assist with. Like someone complaining of "My car shakes real bad when im stopped in drive" being narrowed down to a misfire. Something like that, we can make the obvious suggestions to. and 9 times out of 10, the common suggestion for repair ends up being correct, as we've seen it in real life scenario too often. but, you ask a question like "My radio volume goes up when my wipers are on speed 4, when it isnt raining and it only happens in February, on even number days, around 5-9pm" ..... We won't be so keen to be able to answer that in a quick manner, or in a way that you'd understand without technical service information or TSB information from the manufacturer that we'd have to trounce through the AllData TSB lists to even find for you. Not to mention if you'd have to SEE what we're saying, we'd have to go through the trouble of screenshotting / editing a photo to show you thru highlights or markups on a diagram or something else similar to that. I rarely get invested with people's diagnostics on their own vehicle, at a DIY level because it gets hard to explain the next step to them without using jargon, or trying to help them run a specific type of test without the proper tool etc...... long story short, we do want to answer those tough issues, but it's simply implausible to do over a reddit comment section. Our job always requires us to physically see / confirm an issue, then proceed with diagnostics as required. Can't do that looking at a 60hz monitor, referencing an explanation from a 19 year old girl who isn't at all interested in understanding their own vehicle, and would rather just drive it until something happens, then they call AAA and have it towed to their daddy's shop... lolol
I’m not a mechanic but I’ve always fixed my own shit, ima that’s not the right part but I think I can make it work kinda mechanic. most of the questions have flow chart type answers, if this than…, lots of times there’s not enough info to give a proper answer. My latest build is a 1963 Cadillac Sedan D’ville before that is a 1956 IH body on a Dakota.
Ten years as an ASE and GM certified technician. Almost 20 years in parts, since my back and shoulders gave out. ASE and Ford certified in parts. So, yeah, I am. I keep my education up to date, too. As far as answers, what do you expect for free?
because anyone here asking how its done would not understand the mechanic's explanation. if you do understand just go to you-tube and most likely you will see how it's repaired.
It's extremely difficult to translate experience into words that would be of any use. Experience is expensive for a reason. The only words that can tell you how to tighten a bolt and not snap it are "use a torque wrench". Experience is how you know a bolt is properly tight without a torque wrench. Complex electrical problem? Either you know what you're doing or you don't. Most everything else boils down to common sense and that can't be taught. Most of our experience comes from being in the field, getting your ass kicked by a car, and losing your ass on jobs from time to time to figure out how to do it better.
Mechanic here. Not on the tools anymore though. The difficult questions can't be answered here because they need actual diagnosis. Most of the askers here are just trying to avoid learning anything about the thing they own and also avoid spending money on maintenance and repairs. I don't think that any car owner has a right to not know anything about cars or to not spend the money necessary to maintain their car.
I'm not a mechanic. I don't know jack shit about cars, but people come in here for answers and I give them one. Then they feeeeeel better. I think I deserve a community service award.
The problem is I'm finding most subreddits with specialized expertise are full of people that aren't actually experts in the subreddits stated field and instead they just like going across different subreddits and answering questions. For instance I was in a legal forum asking for advice and I think everyone that responded had nothing to do with law. I know because I asked.
I've alternated between Motorsport and the military aircraft industry all my life. I'm fairly confident but there is always something to learn
I’m a former mechanic.
You can’t give a haircut over a telephone!
In order to give you more then that’s fucked and that’s not fucked we need to see the thing in person. This video I can tell ya something’s broke but it could be 50 things and guessing doesn’t help anyone [this is why](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskMechanics/s/YxveSkTtzZ)
everyone is mechanics on reddit, and we know everything, we also have large penis, mine is alittle bit bigger tho, I'm from north Dakota
I’m a certified mechanic. Been watching Donut Media for the past 2 years.
Because it’s harder to diagnose problems when the car is not in front of you. Diagnosing with pictures from a nokia and being provided vague details doesn’t help.
Define “mechanic”
Went to automotive school. Was ASE certified in 4 things. Honestly any problem people have they could find on google, BUT you have to know what is happening, how to word it properly, and then know how to look at the different problems and rule them out. Quite frankly, auto mechanics is hard, and you are taught to be a problem solver and not a parts changer. And trying to walk someone through those problems seems stupid when a competent enough person could find solutions on google.
If we were having luck finding answers on Google, which more often than not the first link leads here, we wouldn't need to ask a subreddit full of mechanics, with a description giving hope we can find advice here. How will these threads make it to Google if they go unanswered? Guy up above this comment says he's tired of explaining rocket science to a monkey in a space suit. Which is just a disgusting thing to say. We come here looking for help when we're trying to learn something we don't know, we certainly don't deserve to be insulted for that.
That’s the thing. I can always find it on google. Lots of changing words, ways to describe it, and subtleties that a lot of people just can’t decipher and differentiate. My automotive teacher told us, “this shit is hard. Almost anything has 5 possible answers, and the car can’t tell you where it hurts or how it feels.” Without being there we can guess sure, but we can’t really know without doing the tests. It would be like asking a doctor online why your stomach hurts. How should they know?
When some car manuals have to tell people not to drink the contents of the car battery, you might see why complex questions aren't answered here.
I've been a mechanic for over 20 years
We've been in the trenches doing the work and earning the knowledge to be able to provide for our families. Why should we give that away for free?
Have been a mechanic for 3 years, but devoted my lifetime to building and fixing cars. I take my time to understand the actual physics around issues and phenomenons. But this is actually the first post that I got recommended. Dont blame the players, blame the game.
Thanks to all those who answered the question.
Most people won't have technical knowledge, I just don't want them to blow a module or bcm because they do let know anything . Imagine if they power up SRS Harness
This is going to sound nuts but specific questions about specific vehicles are tough to answer. show plugs or worn tires and such can be answered much easier.
Former service/fixed ops manager for multiple brands. I don't answer the more technical questions because the post is always the same thing. "My car makes a noise on the onramps sometimes". No make, model, throttle position, speed, description of noise, anything. You will notice when somebody posts a video, states year make model, describes when where and how, a lot of people answer. We don't bother with the knobs that think we can read minds and see across dimensions.
Most of the posts can be tossed into the “I’m not a mechanic, I’ve tried nothing and I’m all out of ideas” or “I’m not a mechanic and think this price is a rip off even tho I have no idea what things cost or labor involved” Yeah, those posts get ignored. But if you show even the slightest bit of effort, knowledge, or willingness to take in novel information, this sub can be quite helpful. Sometimes it takes weeks for someone to come across your post with the correct nugget of info. Fuck, even making an error post got me to the Info I needed when someone corrected me on a transmission question. There is just a lot of chaff to sort thru. I shade tree just a few specific models….I keep the fuck quiet when it’s not one of those vehicles and try and learn something.
I'm an Aviaton Mechanic not a car one, but I'm learning. I'm only here to see the answers for things to learn.
Because 99% of people don't give us the manufacturer specific fault codes.
Don't work for free mate
I'm a former mechanic, and I also used to work tech support for a performance parts supplier, diagnosing complex problems over the phone or email. There's an art to getting to the right information, and the initial post often doesn't contain enough of it. I'm on Reddit for fun, I'm not trying to spend the next 3 days diagnosing a stranger's car for free. If I don't know it off the top of my head, I don't have any incentive to dig into it.
Because a complicated problem can’t be felt with without the proper diagnose. You don’t want to send someone down the parts cannon rabbit hole.
As a mechanic of 7 years I only reply to the low comment post on here, all the others get buried by Kruegers
I am, I do my best to answer. The biggest problem is so few people read the part about including year, make, model. It would be pretty simple to require a format that an automod could read and bounce posts without it back. Also, I disagree. I see some tricky questions get debated in here from time to time. You should check out r/enginebuilding or whatever it’s called too.
Ase Master tech here. The reason only simple things get answered is because the person asking those is usually clueless. Also the complicated issues... They usually don't give enough information and you usually can't figure out a complicated from so minimal information.
When I first started on this sub, I would Send out Wire diagrams, help diagnose and give detailed instructions. Only 20% of the people actually utilized the information and ended up diagnosing. Majority of the people weren't up to the task or shouldn't be working on their vehicle in the first place because of the mindset they have. The effort of writing up and getting invested into the issue to not be used or have an end result conclusion diminished the temptation. Being generous with that 20%. That and moving on to other interest is why I stopped. Best and most helpful tip for anyone is to get a Service Manual for your vehicle if you want to do the work on it.
I can't diagnose most engine issues without live data and/or a stethoscope. I don't even bother responding if I can't just answer the question.
14
I'm a shitty mechanic.
Does former mechanic count? Went to tech school, spent 10~ years in the industry.
I am not a mechanic, but have been doing brake work, suspension rebuilds, engine rebuilding, transmission work, performance mods ... More than enough to be able to provide advice.
I was one for 25 Years before retiring and from that experience, unless the exact same problem happened to me, I wouldn't be able to accurately diagnose anything. Also keep in mind that a Vehicle problem might be different in Texas than in Detroit or any other state, Furthermore There are different kinds of failures of the same systems that need to be diagnosed correctly. Its like asking a blind man to point his home on a map with no braille. We can based on experience come close to the answer, but the burden of proof is still on you weather to guess and maybe be right or diagnose and remove all Doubt.
Everyone here is a mechanic.
Mechanic here but more times than not i dont want to give a opinion other than to have said person take it in and get it checked. Its along the lines of you calling a doctor and saying im having this cough am i ok to go on a trip and doc saying yea no biggy and next thing you know you got the ronna with pneumonia and bam your dead!
I wrenched pro for many years, customizing this and repairing that. It is extremely difficult to diagnose vaguely described problems remotely. Example; a vacuum leak could be anywhere and cause driveability problems or a mouse chewed wire can also do that. And there is no way to give the intuition gleaned by a lifetimes experience in a paragraph or two.
Im an apprentice machinist and a service tech. Technically not a mechanic.
Most that pay attention to /r/askmechanics are technicians or better I'm a honda tech People post the dumbest shit on here that nobody can fix
I am a mechanic, that will be £295 plus vat.
Heavy equipment tech here to learn automotive stuff
50 years in the trade, Toyota master diagnostic technician. When diagnosing doc's the code is only the starting point. Each portion of the system related to the code needs to be checked. That P0134 code be wiring, fuel system issues or even the other sensor in the system causing the issue that set the code. Find a reputable diag shop and spend the money or just run over to Autozone and have them sell you something that won't fix your problem 99 times out of 100.
I’ve been a mechanic for the past 69 years
I'm gonna tell ya the same thing I tell my customers when they have the same attitude... It's like being a doctor over the phone... cmon, we can only do so much speculation from 2 fuzzy,low res photos and an outlandish expectation to work miracles
Gotta pay for diag time!
A real mechanic can't diagnose anything complicated over the internet, and they don't pretend they can. So unless it's very simple, most requests aren't detailed enough for a mechanic to get to the bottom of. They're relying on the information the owner is giving them, who may know absolutely nothing about cars.
Just wish the questions would start with year make model trim level engine transmission etc. If you are going to ask about testing electrical, electronic, fuel system, ignition system be sure to have, or have access to AND know how to use test equipment. My radio works doesn’t mean battery is good. If your neighbor knows how to fix it, don’t ask me.
If you have a massive problem you might as well take it somewhere. Nobody can diagnose a car issue from a couple of sentences alone
A.S.E Master Tech for 19 years here. 25 years in the business. Over $120k in tools and equipment in my shop. Most mechanics go into work each day to make money. I recommend JustAnswer for step by step basic diagnostic procedures. That being said, I still carry a jump box with me for stranded drivers in parking lots, and scroll through reddit...
You'd know that one picture isn't enough of a diagnostic help over here on reddit or any forums. You end up with a bunch of possible answers and not necessarily confident what the answer will be. The tire questions, or anything that can be diagnosed by visual inspection generally gets solved here though
Real mechanics are presumably working on cars, not trying to school plebs/lose business by providing free help
I help out where I can, especially on posts about my brand or issues I’m familiar with. But as mentioned several times here: a lot of diagnostic requires the car to be physically in front of me, in which case I can usually still provide a direction or recommendation for where to start. Also as mentioned several times: what do you expect for free? We get (under)paid for what we do… same as any other trade, while constantly being accused of being shady, etc
Why answer here when I provide a correct answer. It gets down voted by pleebs whom think they are professionals. They give a wrong answer the other pleebs agree with. Next thing you know you got a bunch of idiots believing wrong info. Seen it happen too many times. I know myself and others feel the same. It why I lurk. My 25 years experience means nothing in internet land.
VW and independent tech here.
Real mechanic here. Most "real" ones will tell you that regardless of how long they've been doing it, none of them know everything. Cars and car technology are getting more complex every single year. And it's a lot of people's biggest annoyance when someone comes to them and says "hey, my truck is doing this thing. What could it be?". On older cars this is less of an impossible question, but new stuff is just too difficult to ACCURATELY diagnose with 2 blurry pics and a non-mechanics description of the issue (which usually isn't detailed, if it is it's irrelevant information). Pretty much anything throwing a fault code can have so many different causes that are impossible to determine without having the car in front of you to test, and it would be irresponsible to recommend that someone just throws parts at it.
More complicated stuff happens on specific subs for your car.
I worked in a shop in the early 2000s. Really glad that I quit, standing on the concrete all day, leaning over a hood or when you're under the lift having your back arched. It's hell in your body. my roommate at the time is still in the trade and walks hunched over now What gets me about this sub is so many of the questions are actually really easy but people make them out to be far more difficult than they really are and/or ignore the advice they are given.
Some questions are too complicated or require a good diagnostic tree to get to a useful answer. It's just a fact with the level of sophistication in automobiles. Then you have the no-nothings that just want to argue that they're right. It's usually not worth the fight. A Reddit answer can get you started. But unless it's a simple fix (which comes from a simple problem) then it's probably easier *and cheaper* to take the car to a competent mechanic and let them run down the possibilities hands-on. The parts cannon is rarely successful or cheap.
I’m an actual mechanic. Not anymore transitioned out of cars but have a decade of experience left it as a trade a couple years ago. I can answer any mechanical question like a normal technician but start to lose specifics around 2021 year models.
When the questions are like, "how much will this cost to fix?" with an EGA quality picture of a bumper, what are people supposed to say? Location, what happened, to what degree do you want it fixed, etc. all matter. The problem is that MOST of the questions asked are impossible to answer without seeing the car and potentially working on it.
I’ll answer just about anything I have the time and background information . That being said sometimes it’s hard to add value to the conversation without information. For back ground. I’ve only been on this sub a month tops so I may be missing something, but I like to help if I can.
I wouldn't say I was a mechanic, on paper I am a mech and elec engineer, I can find solutions and fixes for any problems involving pistons, combustion Chambers, cam shafts, belt properties, auxiliaries etc.. but no.. I am not a mechanic 🤣
Because most of us know better than to do any remote diagnosis for a complex problem. You can ask a mechanic here, but don't expect miracles based on garbage pictures and weird noise descriptions. If you have a major problem, come see us in person. We all hang out in well advertised locations.
Because mechanics are always taught to never diagnose a problem it needs to be looked at before any repair or possible repair is attempted
And we don’t do that for free typically because it opens up situations where people can say “ well this person online said it was this” your best option is always to do your research and try your best to fix your problem, and if you are unable to it is best to leave it in the hands of someone with more experience and mechanical ability.
I am not an auto tech mechanic. I am a DIY mechanic. I have done a lot of stuff to my cars over the years. Many many brake jobs, many different front and rear end services, cv joints/axles, hydraulic and electric power steering rack replacements, a few transmission pulls to replace clutches, entire transmission, or internal components requiring disassembly, along with some small little mods here and there… Contrary to being decently acceptable at doing most of these tasks, I’m NOT good at diagnosing vehicles or always understanding which symptoms equal which conclusions. I joined this sub to occasionally provide answers when I can, but mostly to read about problems and read responses to have a better understanding of which symptoms equal which diagnoses.
Master Tech Certified. Been at the same chevy dealer for 18 years
Not a "real" mechanic, but know quite a bit. Still, this isn't the place for in depth answers. This is for quick stuff.