Mechanics: Tips and tricks you've learned

[Ilikeike]

The camera on the cell phone has been the best tool invention in my lifetime.
When doing maintenance jobs for the first time, I take lots of pictures.

 

[AldeanFan]

Don’t move anymore than you have to.
An older guy in a body shop taught me that.

Grab all the tools you’ll need before crawling under the car or climbing the ladder,
Don’t set things on the ground you’ll just have to bend down to pick them up.
Your body will thank you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Copymutt]

Ive probably outlived the usefulness of this one. Noise in the front when cornering can be as simple as hub cap flex chafing on the wheel. Nailed this on a 67 LeMans.

 

[seber]

For motorcycle riders. Handlebar grips can be lubed with contact cleaner.

 

[Ricky Joe]

Use dabs of grease to hold a gasket in place. When you do a job, clean everything around it. When a customer has a complaint, listen, but evaluate independently. Often it is something different than the customer thinks. Any electric problems can be traced to a bad ground. Check that before you replace anything. If it has fire, fuel, compression, and correct timing, it has to run. Your problem is one of those four, usually fire. Know the rules before you break them. When you fix something, also fix what caused it. Never trust another mechanic until you know him. Most of them are dishonest as hell. The rest are limited by their competence. Treat customers like you would like your mother to be treated. Fix the problem, not what the problem might be. Take responsibility for your mistakes. Your reputation is what you make it. Own at least seven torque wrenches, and use them. Plastigauge every bearing.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

Don't hesitate to decline a job request You view as a half-*** approach, impractical, or flat out dangerous. Some days are not Your day to play someone's hero.

 

[Gus_Mahn]

Make a living working on things that people making a living with. They will pay and pay to get it done correctly. Cars not so much.

Get some valve lapping compound. Put it on anything that you think will round off including, phillips screws, nuts and bolts, socket heads (Allen bolts). The grip will be greatly improved, and it will be less likely to round.

Crazy glue then on sprinkle baking soda is a great way to fix most modern plastic. It's very strong and bonds instantly.

If you ever have to file aluminum, put chalk on the file. It'll be less likely to pack up the file.

Use silicone sparingly and generally not under gaskets. It tends to make them want to squirt out during assembly. Mostly I just use a little on inside corners and at the parting line where two pieces meet on the gasket surface.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Volt drop testing/Ohms Law ( game changers)

Wiring diagrams (current flows top to bottom) and common terminal numbers 15/30/31/50

Big one here - learn electricity.

Unless your shop is drowning in grinding brakes and bad water pumps - you gotta know electrical. VERY quickly you will be the only person getting any sort of electricity related issue. Where I work, I'm slowly getting a monopoly on all the AC work, because no one can competently figure out why the compressor isn't turning on. "It's charged up, must need a compressor!" I loathe AC work, but despite the mountains of BS involved it pays decently.



If it is drowning in grinding brakes and bad water pumps, please give me a call, I'd like to work there. Screw that electrical BS.

 

[ZRX61]

When you're messing with points, put a radio nearby tuned between stations. It will click when the points open.

 

[MikeF2316]

Neatest trick I ever learned: When taking the head off an inline engine, you can usually leave the intake manifold in place. Just unbolt it from the head, you can move it 2" away with all hoses, wires, fuel injectors etc. still connected to it.

 

[georgiadave]

Remove the most difficult fasteners first. Let the part be supported by the easy fasteners until the end.

 

[Chuck122]

-When you round the head of a bolt, you can sometimes mushroom it by hammering on it and then beat the socket onto the mushroomed head. Works especially we on 12 points. Did that trick so many times on Jeep unit bearings.
Always keep a pen and paper. You can take notes, make sketches, use it as a visual aid when explaining something to a coworker etc.
You can usually use a part to cut the mating gasket. Just lay the material on the surface and use a hammer to cut it against the sharp edges. Obviously use soft taps to avoid damaging the parts.
Use a towel to take off oil filters by making a strap wrench with you hand

 

[engineer2]

Per a Chevy mechanic friend who beat flat rate on a head gasket recall in the 60's: drain coolant, remove valve covers, remove head bolts. Pry heads, intake and exhaust up enough to remove old head gaskets and slip in the new ones. Maybe a little RTV under the intake. Run all bolts in with an impact, put the coolant and install the valve covers, and you're done.

 

[HaiKarate]

Spit on the hose to lube it for an easier fit.

I learned this one watching stag movies back in the 70s!

 

[Kscardsfan]

Never put your fingers anywhere you wouldn’t put your pecker.

 

[Ricky Joe]

Per a Chevy mechanic friend who beat flat rate on a head gasket recall in the 60's: drain coolant, remove valve covers, remove head bolts. Pry heads, intake and exhaust up enough to remove old head gaskets and slip in the new ones. Maybe a little RTV under the intake. Run all bolts in with an impact, put the coolant and install the valve covers, and you're done.

Did he not know any better or just not care? He needed to get a job with a shovel somewhere. Would he accept that quality of work on his own stuff? With his food? From his doctor? These are the guys that need to be educated or eliminated from a profession requiring competence. In my opinion, he was no mechanic. My guess is that he had a lot of returns in his career, or cost the shop a lot of future business, if he carried that work ethic.

 

[Kwikasfaki]

NEVER trust the diagnosis of someone else. Find out what the complaint is and do your own, even if you have to do what they did and come to the same diagnosis.
There is the exception, if the customer or whoever is paying you says, do "this" and do it "this way", then if it backfires you can say, "I did as I was told".

 

[Ricky Joe]

Never force things together. If it doesn’t go easily, find out why. Make two to four long studs to slide a transmission on. If you don’t disturb the transmission you won’t have to pull the torque converter. Stuff rags in open holes. Don’t forget them. Check for leaks after every job. If you jump in water too deep don’t be afraid to stop and ask someone who does the job every day. Even tech manuals can be wrong. When all else fails, use common sense.

 

[ooba tooba]

I learned this one watching stag movies back in the 70s!

Ha! As soon as I finished typing that I wondered if someone might quote it

 

[ooba tooba]

There was a crankshaft positioning sensor I had to replace in my ‘95 Cherokee every couple of years. You needed 3 extensions and a universal joint wrapped in electrical tape to get to it. The only way to retrieve the bolt was to have a magnet inside the socket.

 

[milwaukeephil]

Don't maim youself stretching large springs.

 

[bonneyman]

Make a living working on things that people making a living with. They will pay and pay to get it done correctly. Cars not so much.

Get some valve lapping compound. Put it on anything that you think will round off including, phillips screws, nuts and bolts, socket heads (Allen bolts). The grip will be greatly improved, and it will be less likely to round.

Crazy glue then on sprinkle baking soda is a great way to fix most modern plastic. It's very strong and bonds instantly.

If you ever have to file aluminum, put chalk on the file. It'll be less likely to pack up the file.

Use silicone sparingly and generally not under gaskets. It tends to make them want to squirt out during assembly. Mostly I just use a little on inside corners and at the parting line where two pieces meet on the gasket surface.

Liking these tips!

 

[zmotorsports]

Kneeling pad. Trust me your knees with thank you as you age. Wish I would have used that one many, many years ago.

Do NOT poke holes in wires to do diagnostics. Invest in the proper tools such as backprobing connectors. This will save you a lot of headache down the road to prevent the ugly green corrosion issue and all of its related issues.

Use valve grinding compound or similar for stubborn phillips head screws BEFORE you round them out.

Don't be afraid to remove components when needing to gain access to others. I've seen people try to bend, move or force things out of the way only to break them and lose money replacing components that they didn't need to.

Understand the sequence of operation of a system when doing diagnostics. Know exactly what is supposed to happen and when. This is paramount in troubleshooting and planning the proper repair. I've seen too many jobs go south on people because they didn't understand how a system worked and ended up replacing the incorrect components.

Do NOT be a parts swapper. See comment above and do proper diagnostics knowing how the system works and what component actually failed rather than throwing a parts bomb at it.

Take care of your tools, know their limits and they will hold up and last. Common issue I've seen co-workers cause is damage to their geared wrenches. They were not designed nor intended to break large bolts loose with hundred plus ft/lbs. of torque being applied. Use a standard wrench, even if you have to double over with a box end of another to break a fastener loose then move to the geared wrench for removal. Your tools will thank you and will be there when you need them. Don't think just because a tool has a warranty that you can abuse them. Take care of your tools and they will take care of you.

Lastly, take pride in your work. Do the job properly and don't cut corners to save time. That usually costs more time and money in the long run and I've seen it ruin mechanics who were on the right path and then turned into just another hack like the others. Quality mechanics stand out, hacks just blend in with the others.

That is obviously not an all encompassing list but just what I could think of off the top of my head on short notice.

Best of luck. It is a hard career path but a very rewarding one with the right mindset.

 

[richfinn]

Couple of tricks I was taught a long long time ago (maybe not be as useful nowadays)

Block off the air intake on Diesel engines so you can crank easily on starter to bleed the fuel system or test rpm sensors without killing the battery or starter (no air intake means zero compression)

Use the "Rule of Nine" when setting valve clearances on inline four engines

Looking for head gasket leaking into water jacket? Remove water pump belt/remove spark plugs/fill cooling system to brim and crank engine, then replace plugs one at a time, when you find the leaking cylinder coolant will overflow

Want to see if a relay is energised or an alternator charges use a cheap compass for map reading and watch the needle deflection

Vacuum gauge and chart, "black art of diagnostics" for mechanical fault finding

I worked with some old WW2 mechanics when I was young and they were experts at diagnostics in a very different way to what we use today, I see people saying "things were easy back then" etc but the reality is humans are ingenious and these guys could literally make or fix anything with basic tools and a lot of knowledge, mostly they had gone through the RAF/REME training and they knew a lot of Physics and Engineering stuff that had to be applied practically

 

[richfinn]

Kneeling pad. Trust me your knees with thank you as you age. Wish I would have used that one many, many years ago.

Do NOT poke holes in wires to do diagnostics. Invest in the proper tools such as backprobing connectors. This will save you a lot of headache down the road to prevent the ugly green corrosion issue and all of its related issues.

Use valve grinding compound or similar for stubborn phillips head screws BEFORE you round them out.

Don't be afraid to remove components when needing to gain access to others. I've seen people try to bend, move or force things out of the way only to break them and lose money replacing components that they didn't need to.

Understand the sequence of operation of a system when doing diagnostics. Know exactly what is supposed to happen and when. This is paramount in troubleshooting and planning the proper repair. I've seen too many jobs go south on people because they didn't understand how a system worked and ended up replacing the incorrect components.

Do NOT be a parts swapper. See comment above and do proper diagnostics knowing how the system works and what component actually failed rather than throwing a parts bomb at it.

Take care of your tools, know their limits and they will hold up and last. Common issue I've seen co-workers cause is damage to their geared wrenches. They were not designed nor intended to break large bolts loose with hundred plus ft/lbs. of torque being applied. Use a standard wrench, even if you have to double over with a box end of another to break a fastener loose then move to the geared wrench for removal. Your tools will thank you and will be there when you need them. Don't think just because a tool has a warranty that you can abuse them. Take care of your tools and they will take care of you.

Lastly, take pride in your work. Do the job properly and don't cut corners to save time. That usually costs more time and money in the long run and I've seen it ruin mechanics who were on the right path and then turned into just another hack like the others. Quality mechanics stand out, hacks just blend in with the others.

That is obviously not an all encompassing list but just what I could think of off the top of my head on short notice.

Best of luck. It is a hard career path but a very rewarding one with the right mindset.

Old School stuff, but very sound advice

 

[leog]

Use the proper app torque after hand assembly and thread lube when called for upon reassembly.

 

[volaredon]

Work on the new junk for everyone else but buy something old and easier to deal with for yourself. Working on 2009-up Ford's all day as a fleet mechanic definitely makes me NOT want one. I currently own nothing newer than 2001.

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

Buy yourself a good set of thread chasers with a thread file set.
Buy the best tools you can AFFORD and upgrade as they break but are making you money.
A good set of drill bits (left hand) and bolt extractors
Torque fasteners that hold gaskets or things that can warp, everything else can get the hand torque method.
Buy a head lamp, they may look dorky but save much frustration
Put fasteners back on where they go and keep assemblies together as much as possible

 

[engineer2]

Did he not know any better or just not care?

One of the sharpest mechanic's I've ever known. The Chevy dealer was ******* them over on warranty work so he adjusted his techniques. No comebacks, SBC's are pretty forgiving. Remember, this was the 1960's. You wouldn't get away with that on today's engines.

 

[eyeball]

You can set the gap on your points using a dime. If you don't have a dime handy use 2 nickels.

I almost skimmed past that one. Funny...

 

[.45Cole]

Ultrasonic cleaner with high end detergent or acid detergent will clean about anything

IR 231 and some penetrant will get 99% of things apart, IR 261 and penetrant will get the other 1% apart

Line up bars, punches, chisels are a long lost problem solver, use a big hammer rather than a lot of small blows

Spend the money on a good tool and really take care of it, it will do the job well for years to come

Learn to read and troubleshoot fuel trims, wifi obdII readers and cell phone apps will make you a legend amoung friends with car troubles

Keep emery cloth handy

Just enough pressure and just fast enough and some oil will make a good drill bit last and cut faster

Make sure the teeth of a saw blade can breath and wood "chips" can be freed of the gullets

Drilling in wood, use fast speed and dip bit in water between holes or midway on a deep hole

always use glasses and use hearing protection when loud noises (if you have to raise your voice when speaking to others) always use a respirator with p100 when around dust, wire wheel, skinny wheel

sandblasters are awesome, as are oil lube, cast iron compressors

grease dowel pins on disc brakes

 

[Hawke]

If you are using a torque wrench, get it calibrated. Otherwise, all you have is an expensive handle that goes click.

 

[4miller1]

Allthread makes good alignment pins, like when you dont want to smear the sealant on a oil pan just cut a couple pieces of allthread thread them in a few turns and slip the oil pan on. Also works good for gaskets that dont want to stay in place.
Does anyone have a good electrical diagnostic technique I have a hard time finding shorts esp intermitent ones. I have learned to tye a string onto wires and hoses before i pull them out so I can pull them back where they belong ie firewalls, door panels.

 

[bwringer]

Look for ways to gain juuuuuust enough wiggle room to get something loose; sometimes you can save a lot of time by not removing ALL the stuff the manual tells you to remove.

Sometimes you can save yourself a lot of time and effort by only partially removing stuff that's in your way. Like, leave it hooked up so you don't have to recalibrate, or just loosen it enough to wiggle something else free, or remove all but one bolt so you can pivot it a little.

For example, the factory manual says step one of replacing the water pump on my van is to remove the engine. Uh, no. It's been well-proven that there's just enough wiggle room in the engine mounts to get it done in a few hours in the driveway.


Then again, sometimes it's much faster to just stop and remove the entire frammis that's preventing you from getting a ratchet on the flibbert.


And sometimes a little selective destruction will save you literally days of labor. For example, I was once facing the removal of an entire dash to get to the heater core. But after some contemplation, I found that by snipping a small plastic cross-brace behind the glovebox, I was done in less than an hour. The cross brace was entirely superfluous and hidden; I could have just cut the whole thing out, but I used a mending plate to put it back to one piece. I've also seen stuff like engine mounts where you can either hole saw an access port (and paint and plug it after, of course) or torch the mount in two and spend a day or two removing and replacing the engine.


The most important tip is that the FSM doesn't know all... pay close attention and keep your grip on reality. For example, a lot of factory motorcycle manuals have conversion errors in the torque specs, or just spec destructive levels of torque or chain tension for unknown reasons. Don't just blindly dial up 110 foot-pounds for that axle nut and yank, or it WILL strip.

 

[dffay]

When you are digging into an assembly to fix X, and you find yourself looking at a seal or an O-ring, bearing or a tensioner, etc., replace it now. Even if that wasn’t the initial intention or needful. It will never be easier to get to than it is right now.

 

[hilld]

You can set the gap on your points using a dime. If you don't have a dime handy use 2 nickels.

I would use 10 pennies instead. Copper is the winner here.

 

[jayemm]

Check out an internet forum(s) that is specific to the vehicle you are working on. Somebody may have posted repair procedures and instructions and other helpful info for that same job. I once had a Buick Regal and the regal.gs forum saved my *** more than once. It's nice when someone has posted pictures and step by step instructions. I mean like changing out lower intake manifold gaskets, multifunction switch inside steering column, soldering new resistors on instrument panel circuit board, changing front stabilizer bar without dropping subframe like factory manual stipulated and on and on.

Saved a lot of time and expense. That car is gone and have now learned a lot about my Mazda from the mazda247 forum.

 

[M635_Guy]

NEVER trust the diagnosis of someone else. Find out what the complaint is and do your own, even if you have to do what they did and come to the same diagnosis.
There is the exception, if the customer or whoever is paying you says, do "this" and do it "this way", then if it backfires you can say, "I did as I was told".

I'm not a tech, but that second part sounds like a bad idea. Even if it is in writing (which I'd require), it's not likely to go well for the tech/business when it backfires.

I've got a shop I've been with for a long time, and the few times I've presumed to know what the problem is and try to tell them what they should do, their answer is a firm-but-polite "Let us look at it and we'll let you know" and I'm often wrong. Most of the time the result is to my benefit, and I've long since trusted them to be the experts they are and not force them in a direction.

 

[ThePostman]

Yes, please let us check it out first, especially if the customer comes in with a demanding replace this attitude. I'll do some of that replace as you asked, if it jives with what we find, sometimes it's right. Then there are people out there that are mentally ill, my college education is in that, but I'd rather tear your càr apart ànd put it back together, and not talk about your horseshit.
My education and studies involving 1000s back then, are easily replicated, I just replicated, the stats didn't change, most àre sheep.
For example. Line A Line B, which is longer? Line B is clearly shorter than Line A. 7 people enter a room, 6 of 7 are in on it, which line is longer? Line B say my actors, the conform rate was 95%, most people are afraid to stand out despite something being clearly wrong.
Point, much of the population is dumb, and I can I tell if you are pseudo-intelluctual, you might drive a vw or some other european piece of garbage that's low end, and want to talk about it. Go away. Thank you gj, sorry for the vent. Otherwise I just moved to a new shop and love the crew after a paid audition làst week. I've learned a lot here, thanks to all. My new home, you can't see it, but there's a hunter revolution tire machine back there, holy hell is it not the greatest, I'm nothing getting younger, no mechanical bull riding anymore. And I found a yoda, for what I don't know

 

[ThePostman]

Chasis ear is a good investment