This Is Why We Should Do The Repairs
Taken from the October 2019 digital edition of CARS Magazine (with permission). www.autoserviceworld.com
Do-it-yourselfers put everyone at risk. Leave your repairs to a professional!
Mike Devries of the Napa Autopro shop on Wharncliffe Road North in London, Ont. had a customer who finally gave up trying to repair the exhaust pipes on his mid-90s Chevy pickup truck. After exhausting a box of clamps, he finally asked for a new pipe!
Ed Dodich, service manager at ToyotaTown in London, Ont. found this attached to the positive battery terminal on one of his customers’ vehicles. It didn’t solve the customer’s electrical problems, despite the strong grip he had on the situation.
Yves Marceau sent in this pic of the undercarriage of a 2003 GMC Envoy that limped into his shop, Marceau Mécanique Auto in Saint-Damien-de-Buckland, Que. The owner of the vehicle had done all he could do to keep the exhaust system working! He finally turned to the pros!
If you want stiffer suspension, this is not the way to do it! Jacob Dennis at Murdoch Tire and Automotive in Port Colborne, Ont. found this under a 2001 Pontiac Montana van that the customer dropped off to have a repair done
to the rear heater lines.
Matthew Reitmeier of TravelCare Regina found this homemade heating system in a client’s vehicle. He managed to fix things so they wouldn’t have to keep a propane heater in the back seat anymore. The customer believed it was safe because they kept the back windows cracked open a little.
Mark Syvertsen, a tech at Nelson Chrysler Jeep in Nelson, B.C., found this interesting innovation on a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Someone had installed a bathtub plug on the engine air inlet tube while trying to diagnose a swirl actuator issue! The customer allowed him to set things right.
Technician Cliff Berg at Vanderkemp Sales and Service in Powell River, B.C., found a makeshift strap securing the fuel tank on a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. It was clear from the rust on the strap and clasp that it had been there for a few years!
Doug Gritner of Alexis Creek, B.C. found a unique solution to a battery connection issue on this 1997 Ford F350. The customer – a carpenter by trade – had solved a connection issue by driving a nail straight through, into the actual battery cell. Not surprisingly, that’s not in the manual!
The owner of this vehicle actually made his braking problems many times worse by covering his rotors with grease when the metal-on-metal grinding sound became unbearable. Tom Cox, a technician at J&J Automotive, in Kingston, Ont. said the brake pads had completely worn away.
This vehicle came to Applewood Hills Auto Service in Mississauga, Ont., with a noise complaint. When technician Jason Nand lifted the car, the source of the noise became pretty clear. Someone had used plastic ties to keep two muffler pipes in contact.