DIY auto repair

[Poosalosomous]

Just after Christmas, my 7 year-old Camry had a slight meltdown. The check engine light came on overnight and it was super sluggish that day when shifting gears. Fearing a transmission problem, we took it to Auto Zone to analyze and it showed that the problem was with the knock sensor that would cost about $150. DH was feeling fairly confident after doing the brakes in the fall, so he thought he would take this upon himself, despite the need to take half the engine apart to get to the part in the first place.

DH gets to work dismantling the engine only to find a ginormous mouse nest, which needs to be cleaned out. When he finally gets to the part to be replaced, he finds that the actual problem is that the horrid little rodents have chewed through a wire in a wiring harness and that this now needs to be replaced. After consulting with Auto Zone, we learn that the part is not available to the public and will likely be quoted around $1000 by a dealer, plus the cost of a tow now that the car is undrivable.

Well, this just won't do. DH decides that he will simply repair the wire. Off to Home Depot for supplies. He splices the wire together and fits it back in place and the next day he puts the car back together (with no spare parts left over, thank goodness) and the car is as spry as ever.

Out of curiosity, DH calls the dealer for a quote and they estimated $789 including 5 hours of labor. Final talley 10 hours of labor and $0.48 (after return of the unneeded part). DH was feeling quite manly.

[OmahaSteph]

That's freaking awesome! I don't think I'd be that brave. Was just commenting this morning that I need to replace my windshield wiper blades and ashamed that I don't know how to do it. BUT! Google and YouTube to the rescue! Not nearly as badass as splicing a wire and taking apart an engine, but a baby step.

Congrats to you both :)

[Forcus]

Awesome! I too had a recent critter problem. A bunny crawled in my '13 Focus' engine bay and ate the wiring harness for the high pressure fuel pump, emissions purge valve, and the horn. Couple hours and some new connectors, back on the road.

The bunny hopped away real smugly.

[Le Barbu]

Your story remembered me my DIY A/C repair on my 2006 Civic. The shop quoted for a new compressor and 600$ after refiled the gaz (unsuccefull for solving the problem). I finally replaced the A/C clutch myself for another used one I paid 20$ and did it in about 4 hours because it's located in a tigth place. You talk about feeling manly!

[MilesTeg]

Sounds similar to the issue I fixed a while back with the blend door actuator (part that controls hot/cold air mix for heater/AC). Cheap ass plastic part. Quoted $1100 from a stealership to replace (on a 12 year old car, hah). The part itself is $35 from Autozone. So I bought the part and put a Saturday into fixing it (most of the day, as I had to take a considerable amount of finish parts out like part of the dash and console). Only tools necessary were screwdrivers and an end socket (plus extension).

In my case, this is what's known as a "we don't want your business unless you are dumb enough to accept this wildly insane quote" quote. ;)

[JAYSLOL]

Unfortunately I had an opposite experience before Christmas, just a few days before leaving the southern interior of British Columbia for the coast the traction control/ABS light came on in my 06 Hyundai.  I put the car up on blocks and took the front wheels off and as I suspected, the gear attached to one of the front cv shafts that the abs sensor reads was rusted and broken.  Now I would have tried ordering just the gear online if there was enough time, but the only places near by only had replacement cv shafts, which cost at least $175.  To make matters worse, when I took the wheels off, I noticed that one of the front struts was completely shot.  That's another $500 for replacing the pair just in parts.  I would do all the work, but I don't have a shop, and there was 6" of snow on the ground and negative temperatures.  I also don't have a spring compressor for strut replacement.  I also would need to get the car wheels aligned after that kind of work.  All of these I would have found a way to work around if I wasn't leaving in a couple days for a trip that took me over the "highway through hell" (see TV show by same name) in mid dec with my wife and baby in a car with no working abs or tc.  So I pretty much had to eat the expense and have a shop do the work. 

Lesson learned though, I will from now on do pre-trip vehicle checks at least 2 weeks in advance.  I will be doing brakes myself in the spring and whatever else comes up from now on

[Poosalosomous]

These are great stories that will serve as inspiration for future repairs. DH likes to tinker with things, so I'm lucky to have bumbled into him once upon a time. I am more like OmahaSteph. Pre-You Tube, I recall replacing my wiper blades and believe they ended up backwards. :)

JAYSLOL - Sorry about your luck. DH is fairly anal about car maintenance prior to road trips to the point that he self details the car too - even if we're driving to the beach and are sure to dirty it up again.

[JAYSLOL]

These are great stories that will serve as inspiration for future repairs. DH likes to tinker with things, so I'm lucky to have bumbled into him once upon a time. I am more like OmahaSteph. Pre-You Tube, I recall replacing my wiper blades and believe they ended up backwards. :)

JAYSLOL - Sorry about your luck. DH is fairly anal about car maintenance prior to road trips to the point that he self details the car too - even if we're driving to the beach and are sure to dirty it up again.

Yeah, it was unfortunate, but thankfully I now know i need to be more active in spotting small problems before they turn into bigger ones

[Arktinkerer]

That's freaking awesome! I don't think I'd be that brave. Was just commenting this morning that I need to replace my windshield wiper blades and ashamed that I don't know how to do it. BUT! Google and YouTube to the rescue! Not nearly as badass as splicing a wire and taking apart an engine, but a baby step.

Congrats to you both :)

Several of the auto part stores here will install the wipers as part of purchase.  Also, they will test batteries/charging systems in the car (and I'm pretty sure one will install batteries for you.)  They will also read your OBDII and tell you what the test code means.  Several have "loaner tools" where you essentially buy the tools and then return them.  While these are usually rather specialized tools, I have been known to use them for non-automotive projects and repairs.  Yeah, I like auto parts stores!

[Well Respected Man]

This looks like a good thread to bump for general auto repair badassity.

I brought our 09 Tiguan to the VW stealership to check out a problem with the heater fan only working on the highest setting. They quoted over $600 to replace the blower motor resistor and the motor itself. They also wanted another $200 to replace a fog light (which still works, but the mounting is kind of broken). Finally, they claimed that the timing chain cover is leaking oil, and wanted another $200 for that. They charged me $175 for an oil change plus this crack discovery of serious problems.

I bought the resistor pack for about $20, and waited for a warm day to install it. Of course it fixed the problem. The old one was cracked in a couple of places. We'll see if the motor will need to be replaced, but I think it will not require the 2 hours of shop labor that their price would suggest.

Unfortunately, our other car is my wife's, and is also a VW, so it will be difficult to avoid this stealership in the future.

[Le Barbu]

This looks like a good thread to bump for general auto repair badassity.

I brought our 09 Tiguan to the VW stealership to check out a problem with the heater fan only working on the highest setting. They quoted over $600 to replace the blower motor resistor and the motor itself. They also wanted another $200 to replace a fog light (which still works, but the mounting is kind of broken). Finally, they claimed that the timing chain cover is leaking oil, and wanted another $200 for that. They charged me $175 for an oil change plus this crack discovery of serious problems.

I bought the resistor pack for about $20, and waited for a warm day to install it. Of course it fixed the problem. The old one was cracked in a couple of places. We'll see if the motor will need to be replaced, but I think it will not require the 2 hours of shop labor that their price would suggest.

Unfortunately, our other car is my wife's, and is also a VW, so it will be difficult to avoid this stealership in the future.

Good job!

Why would you have to go? Because it's not "your" car?

I avoid stealership the most I can (in some rare occasions, some parts are same price but more convenient to get there (or only available there) and it's 1 mile from home and I bike to get my parts!

Staying away from stealership is a keystone on the FI path!

[JAYSLOL]

This looks like a good thread to bump for general auto repair badassity.

+1

Update, got those brakes done, saved over $500 doing them myself.  Will be doing as much DIY maintenance as possible from now on.

[pjhalifax]

Might as well share my own upcoming project in case it offers some motivation. Coming up on the 100k mile service for my car and I'm looking at changing out spark plugs, serpentine belt, cabin air filter, oil/filter change, and transmission fluid drain/fill. Dealer wants $700 (!) for all of that, local independent shop $500, and I can get all the stuff (plus a tool I need) for $200.

I've always liked doing this stuff so it turns into a fun weekend project. I started with basic oil changes about 10 years ago and slowly added to my tools and capabilities (YouTubers are a great help -- I like earlier Eric the Car Guy videos if you're looking for somewhere to start). I mention that because when I first started out guys at work were asking me why I bothered when oil change places can be pretty cheap...my goal was always to build up a skill and tool set project-by-project so I could save more down the line. You can usually fit a tool or set of tools into a project budget and still come out saving money over dealer or indie shop prices.

Plus, I like knowing what's going into or coming off of my car, and who's responsible!

[Plugra]

Sounds similar to the issue I fixed a while back with the blend door actuator (part that controls hot/cold air mix for heater/AC). Cheap ass plastic part. Quoted $1100 from a stealership to replace (on a 12 year old car, hah). The part itself is $35 from Autozone. So I bought the part and put a Saturday into fixing it (most of the day, as I had to take a considerable amount of finish parts out like part of the dash and console). Only tools necessary were screwdrivers and an end socket (plus extension).

Two days ago I did this repair myself on the 10-year old minivan, for the price of the replacement part ($100). I got the instructions via YouTube. We are truly living in the golden age of DIY.

One person online said the dealer had quoted him $400 for the repair, but $1100 is just breathtaking.  It took me an hour lying on my back under the dashboard. (Most of that time was spent trying to find the third screw in the back.) But I had no idea I was saving the price of a plane ticket to Europe.  Just incredible.

[RurallyFrugal]

This looks like a good thread to bump for general auto repair badassity.

I brought our 09 Tiguan to the VW stealership to check out a problem with the heater fan only working on the highest setting. They quoted over $600 to replace the blower motor resistor and the motor itself. They also wanted another $200 to replace a fog light (which still works, but the mounting is kind of broken). Finally, they claimed that the timing chain cover is leaking oil, and wanted another $200 for that. They charged me $175 for an oil change plus this crack discovery of serious problems.

I bought the resistor pack for about $20, and waited for a warm day to install it. Of course it fixed the problem. The old one was cracked in a couple of places. We'll see if the motor will need to be replaced, but I think it will not require the 2 hours of shop labor that their price would suggest.

Unfortunately, our other car is my wife's, and is also a VW, so it will be difficult to avoid this stealership in the future.

This is a common problem on many cars. Nearly all fans are wired to go wide open when it receives power. To turn it down, it requires a resistor. Eventually, these burn out. I've replaced one on every vehicle I own. Fortunately it's a quick easy fix with a cheap part. Remember that when you're negotiating your next used car, if that's a problem it has when you test drive it. Pointing that problem out to sellers has saved me over $1000 off of asking prices for <$100 in parts and less than an hours work.

[pjhalifax]

Apologies if there's a better place for this, but it seems like a good spot to mention a Mobil rebate that just started up again: https://mobiloil.com/en/promotion/mobil-promotions/up-to-15-dollars-off-with-mobil-1-and-mobil-super

$12 off of 5 qts, or $15 off 5 qts. and a filter. You can get a 5 qt. jug at Walmart for $25-30 or so. Last time I got my rebate check in about 2-3 weeks.

[Debts_of_Despair]

Apologies if there's a better place for this, but it seems like a good spot to mention a Mobil rebate that just started up again: https://mobiloil.com/en/promotion/mobil-promotions/up-to-15-dollars-off-with-mobil-1-and-mobil-super

$12 off of 5 qts, or $15 off 5 qts. and a filter. You can get a 5 qt. jug at Walmart for $25-30 or so. Last time I got my rebate check in about 2-3 weeks.

You can usually combine those rebates with deals at AAP or AZ.  Makes it VERY cheap for an awesome product.

[Syonyk]

Yeah.  You can save a lot doing repairs yourself.

It was about the only way I could afford to keep a car on the road for quite a few years.  I wasn't going to take it into a shop - they look at it, and it totals it!