You are a pro ,, that is a huge advantage.
Timing belt job thread for anyone looking for a good read.
- Thread starter Brybo86
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I managed to read through that thread and I simply cannot believe how much that guy operated on hopes. It was “I hope” this will work or that, the timing marks seem off but “I hope” it will be OK. Wouldn’t even listen to some good advice given to him.
Also, what’s funny is he was adamant on doing the job in two days (that weekend), his wife needed the car, did not want to postpone until proper tools arrive and at the end he rushed, it took him 5 days and he has to repeat it all over again.
Talk about missing all of your goals.
Also, what’s funny is he was adamant on doing the job in two days (that weekend), his wife needed the car, did not want to postpone until proper tools arrive and at the end he rushed, it took him 5 days and he has to repeat it all over again.
Talk about missing all of your goals.
My family and friends think I'm a pretty good DIY mechanic and a couple of times I have been asked how I learned.
The truth is, I learned by fearlessly blundering through jobs the same as the guy in the original post. But I was a teenager and it was too long ago to liveblog the whole thing.
The truth is, I learned by fearlessly blundering through jobs the same as the guy in the original post. But I was a teenager and it was too long ago to liveblog the whole thing.
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I'm the opposite extreme, it took me 2 months to remove, have rebuilt, and reinstall my ABS/DSC hydro in the BMW. Some of it was the pump going back and forth and being repaired, because I reinstalled it literally the evening it came back. Now I remember, I did reinstall it, but I didn't bleed the system at that time. I wanted to see immediately if all the warnings went away (everything was lit including SRS with wipers on full blast, because I turned on the ignition with the pump out of the car), and they did. I dragged my feet and took another 2 weekends before I bled the system and drove the car again. A couple ways I justified in my head was it is a $4,200 job at the dealer, and it only cost $249 to repair the pump, plus another $200 or so for software and tools. The savings could justify me taking a long time
Along the lines of tools, I wouldn't do the job without a line wrench, a telescoping magnet, the BMW software and a laptop confirmed to be communicating with the car (the software is in German/PITA), a Motive. These I didn't have prior. Hope can't replace these items. And I can say it was a lot harder to reinstall the 6 brake lines, than it was to undo them.
If you don’t have time to do it right, then you certainly don’t have time to do it over.
Agreed. I think this is where things went wrong:
"I just went ahead and did it. Belt is on. Here is how I got the belt installed: instead of moving rear cam, I loosened timing belt tensioner pulley, then moved the crank a hair counterclockwise. I was able to get the belt over the rear cam. Next, I turned crank clockwise a tad, which gave me enough slack to route over the tensioner pulley. I pulled the pin and all looks well. The crank mark looks close enough. I got this trick from another YouTube video. I did not trust myself to move the rear cam. Moving on now and I hope I didn't screw anything up. The blind installation of the rear spark plugs was scary enough."
https://www.piloteers.org/threads/timing-belt-tips.178324/post-1787080
The marks were not dead-on so he did not have all of the slack on the tension side. As soon as he turned the crank, it probably jumped a tooth on the rear cam. If lined up properly, the belt just slips over the tensioner pulley with zero drama.
Yeah I think in turning the crank a bit clockwise he must have turned the front cam 1/2 tooth forward yet when he put he rear cam belt on it was 1/2 tooth to the left of timing mark.
1/2 + 1/2 = 1 whole tooth off.
I honestly felt bad for the guy.
Using 1/4 socket to break bolts loose..?
I was staring at my phone all weekend so I could try and help him out with issues/questions.
When he did post a question, he goes against the advice posted. And then a few hours later comes on to respond how he didn't follow advice but made up his own method and has been setback another day...
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I'm an engineer, I know better than these random grease monkey strangers from the internet!
It took me several years in the real world to figure out that a college degree means next to nothing and good old common sense is by far the most valuable thing in this world. Pair common sense with a good work ethic and I will show you someone that can do almost anything.
Remind me again why some folks do not do their own repairs.
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next to nothing, huh?
The question I always ask people, to keep them honest, is to ask them what they'd tell their kids. I found a buddy preached Dave Ramsey, told me if I don't pay cash for the new Trane HVAC, I don't deserve it. I told him gtfoh it's 0% equal payments, same price whether I do that or cash, and he said you don't get it if not with cash. Meanwhile he doesn't follow his own advice and cosigns a daughter's new AMEX at 20.
If it is a specialty college degree, then yeah it could carry some weight....but a "business degree" or "marketing degree" or any other general degree is simply an asterisk on your resume.
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I think everything should be a dialogue. For example, my buddy took his wife's Honda in for brakes. They did pads only. Brakes squealed with the new pads. Wife told him to take it back, they messed it up. He asked for my opinion, and I said well it only cost $300, right, so all they did was put new pads in with old rotors. If they had replaced the rotors and the pads, there would be no noise. He told his wife and wife said I don't know what I'm talking about as she has an engineering degree from MIT.
I think she knows an awful lot and she is the cream of the crop in engineering. But that doesn't mean she has practical experience with automotive braking. But she's inflexible in what she believes, so I didn't care to discuss anymore. I do have experience with groaning and squealing across multiple cars. New pads and new rotors = gone. Expensive solution, yes.
I feel sorry for your buddy. I just hope his education matches or exceeds hers, otherwise yikes
I wonder how many classes MIT offers specifically focused on the dynamics of automotive brakes?
I will take a Red Man chewing, no tooth havin, good ole boy with lots of practical experience over an MIT grad any day when it comes to automotive repair.
I will take a Red Man chewing, no tooth havin, good ole boy with lots of practical experience over an MIT grad any day when it comes to automotive repair.
$300 sounds like they resurfaced the rotors. It is possible that the finish was too rough or not properly cleaned after resurfacing, which is the driver of the noise. I have had issues from pad slaps, but surprisingly, noise has never been one of them.
In some cultures, engineers take pride in not using tools, and not even knowing how to use them. They will even grow their fingernails long as a sign that they don't use tools.
In my workplace they had to learn some practical stuff, not always willingly. One of our foreign-trained engineers didn't understand how electronic equipment was installed in a standard equipment rack. One of the technologists (a friend I helped with a timing belt about 10 years ago) took the engineer back to the lab, showed him the rack, and handed him a ratchet, some #10-32 bolts, and the appropriate socket.
The engineer reared back in horror, and asked how he was supposed to use this strange tool.
The linked thread (on the Honda Pilot site) has been updated - the rookie got an old mechanic friend to come over and help. The rear cam was off by a tooth or two, but they got it fixed. Runs well with no misfire codes.
I admire the fellow for having the guts to take it on.
I admire the fellow for having the guts to take it on.
You're not the only one who's made mistakes
But they're the only thing that you can truly call your own
On the subject of engineers and the real world... I’m an electrical engineer, but learned lots from my dad working on cars, home appliances, and things around the house. When I got to college and had to take the lab courses, I already knew my way around the hands-on stuff. It was somewhat mind boggling when most of my classmates were asking “Which end is which on this diode?” or not understanding why they couldn’t use 22 AWG wire to connect the 11 horsepower 240 volt motor to the mains. 
