Techs on Social Media

[Expendable]

I enjoy Diagnose Dan, but wish he put out more content.

 

[LouC]

I first worked on cars in high school and my dad had a 72 super beetle and this book. With both, I learned to tackle oil changes, spark plugs, points, etc. I got a similar book when I bought a used 78 Rabbit.

I recall laying on my back adjusting the mechanical valve lifters with oil from the pushrod tube leaking on my shirt. Good times lol.

 

[zzyzzx]

I watch a lot of automotive repair on YouTube, probably like most people here. One thing that's also good about them is the comments...

The bad part is that I have to watch them on my phone as I can only watch them on the TV when the GF isn't around.

 

[ls1mike]

I watch a few, but having owned a few TBI and smog error carbed cars. Give me an LS or the wife's 2.0 turbo. Like 3 vacuum lines and plenty of space to work.

 

[IndyOiler]

Another vote for Car Wizard.

I also enjoy TE Videos, he’s a former Honda tech so most of his video catalogue is from the Honda shop but he’s recently left the dealership and is in the process of breaking out on his own. Latest vids have been around equipping and setting up his shop in his garage.

 

[ls1mike]

I watch a few, but having owned a few TBI and smog error carbed cars. Give me an LS or the wife's 2.0 turbo. Like 3 vacuum lines and plenty of space to work.

And I use error purposefully. I hoped someone would catch it.

 

[HemiBenny]

This guy is hard to watch. Just give this “Easy rear brake job” a watch and see how many things you can spot. (Especially on assembly.)

 

[Max Thrust]

Our families fleet is all Toyota, so I watch the Car Care Nut for Toyota education.
I watch Just Rolled In for entertainment.

 

[TomYoung]

Another vote for Car Wizard.

I also enjoy TE Videos, he’s a former Honda tech so most of his video catalogue is from the Honda shop but he’s recently left the dealership and is in the process of breaking out on his own. Latest vids have been around equipping and setting up his shop in his garage.

TE Videos is excellent. This tech is fast, organized and efficient. His camera skills are great, and he will have you watching basic oil changes all day long. As good as his work are his antics, wrench flipping, human torque wrench, and silky verbal nonsense. He could work on my cars anytime. Also, he is honest about Honda’s 1.5t “garboage approach” engine. Simba!!!

 

[Max Thrust]

This guy is hard to watch. Just give this “Easy rear brake job” a watch and see how many things you can spot. (Especially on assembly.)

That guy is a hack.

 

[Zee09]

Glad to know someone else has a rattle trap honda.....

 

[97prizm]

You all follow any techs (dealer or independent) on social? I guess it tends to be more dealer techs, but my goodness they seem so young and dumb now.

I used to be a real tech, both dealer and independent, now work for a fleet. I try to follow various techs online to keep up with the real world and know what’s going on with newer cars. I don’t get any training or insight like that anymore.

A Toyota guy I follow just posted a video of asking all his fellow techs what’s the worst job they’ve done and why. They were all young, and every job that kicked their butts was ridiculous. If I remember right, they were complaining about a transmission replacement on a truck, an axle seal, a short block, etc etc. I couldn’t believe that these jobs bothered them so much and that they couldn’t beat warranty times…they flat out admitted that they basically took double or triple the times!

I follow a Honda guy or two as well. While they seem to do good work, they can only “diagnose” these things because they see it all the time. Lean code? Spray brake cleaner right exactly here to find this pinhole in a hose buried under the intake that you’d never know about. Turbo boost code? Replace the turbo. But on a side job, I’ll simply adjust the waste gate rod to take out the slack and it’ll be fine too…through the shop it’s getting a turbo recommended though…the adjustment isn’t even an option.

In my personal experience with my local Honda, I had thought relatively highly of the “shop foreman” as he helped me sort through a lot of noises with our new odyssey. He dismissed me showing him the noises at first, but after 3 or so visits finally found me to be right. But now with noise that has returned I’m being passed off to another “shop foreman” as the one I’ve dealt with is at a loss. The guy hasn’t even made any attempts yet besides lubricating the strut bump stops. Hasn’t disconnected the swaybar, hooked up chassis ears, nothing. He has been on test drives and heard the noise, admits it’s abnormal, but says nothing is obviously wrong either.

Quality of techs these days is rough

My sister has the small Lincoln suv. It had a boost issue and was throwing a cel. The Lincoln dealership instantly came back with a "bad turbo " to the tune of 5 grand in parts and labor. It ended up being a hose and clamp from what I remember. I couldn't believe that either the Lincoln dealership was that dishonest or the tech was that inept at a diagnosis. If your lamp doesn't work check to see if it's plugged in first.

 

[tiger862]

I learned to late in life how to beat the time safely. I did Cadillac dashes in under 3 hours and at the end I could do 3 a day, The Camry had sludge problems and I could pull engine quicker than the guys could remove heads. Lots of examples of experience. I now have a cage in my back due to engine work done the hard way,

 

[D60]

I learned to late in life how to beat the time safely. I did Cadillac dashes in under 3 hours and at the end I could do 3 a day, The Camry had sludge problems and I could pull engine quicker than the guys could remove heads. Lots of examples of experience. I now have a cage in my back due to engine work done the hard way,

That's kind of cool in a dealership where you might see the same thing day in and day out.

Every time I do a cool fix I think it'd be great if those vehicles could just line up at my shop for the same thing. After all, the first time maybe took me six hours but the second time will be three and by the fifth I'll be down to an hour.

But alas, as an indy this rarely happens unless you choose to specialize in just Volvo or just BMW, etc. Typically need a larger urban area for that and I don't know if I'd enjoy only working on one make....maybe?

 

[QwikKota]

What are chassis ears??

 

[willbur]

I think it's the environment the tech's work in - devised by "efficiency experts" that are demanding repair times that are impossible to meet unless you take shortcuts and risk damage to the vehicle.

I don't know of any techs that clean vehicle's engines before they open them up; there is no time given for cleanliness. If you are lucky, they might use an air hose to blow off debris, but probably not.

Today's vehicles don't have the room under the hood older cars had because of aerodynamic design and minimization so everything is harder to reach without taking off three other things.

Anyway, there is a reason the field is hurting for people. It's a horrible job and the pay rate is stacked against you.

I follow several YT channels, and they all say pretty much the same thing. Rainman Ray's, South Main Auto, Royalty Auto, etc. All of these guys own their shops and don't run "book" rate jobs as a race, just for pricing. If the job runs longer, they go with it.

Dealer techs nowadays, IMO, are getting screwed over pretty bad. From my personal experience, every time I take my car in for warranty service it comes back with something broken by the tech and dirty inside with greasy fingerprints on the steering wheel. They don't even have time to take care of the little details that matter for customer satisfaction because their supervisor will berate them - I've seen it happen with my own eyes more than once.

No way I would do that job and suffer like that.

They leave it smelling really really bad too!

 

[97K15004WD]

Yeah, I got my car back once and the seat was disgusting, covered in dirt and grease. And my car smelled like horrible body odor, like no bath for a week kind of smell. Seat was all the way back, oh, and the seat springs were broken from the weight of the tech. Unreal..

The dealership made it right, but why did I have to do it? The tech was in such a hurry to put the car in the "finished" line and move onto the next job. And no qc to follow-up to confirm that the car was "clean" so there you have it.

I don't blame the tech (personal hygiene aside), it really is the system and it is horrible. It pushes them to skip steps and take "shortcuts".