JJ's Mobile Garage

07/14/2026

This right here is why when you car is having some kind of electrical issue I always say it could be a mouse ate a wire. I come across it often, those plastic covers that are on top of your engine are prime homes for mice. They also love to eat vacuum hoses, air filters, all the insulation they can find on your car. I've even seen them make a nest in someone's exhaust and cause the vehicle to not run until it built up so much pressure it blew it out, they said the car had only sat for a few days. If your vehicle is going to sit for a long period of time I would definitely think about adding some kind of mouse deterant all over it.

06/25/2026

Every now and then I come across a "quick job" that just keeps getting worse the further I go.
I was called out to do some programming to finish a install of a transmission part that someone else had done themselves; not something most people do. Upon inspection I realized something mechanical was wrong, I suspected either a faulty part or faulty install, definitely a faulty install. The main issue being that they didn't connect the the shift lever linkage correctly, therefore the transmission could not be shifted into gear and on top of that, I found damage to the transmission pan, a rounded off bolt on the pan, stripped out torx head bolts, stripped aluminum threads in the transmission in a few different locations; Sometimes its just not worth it, and can cost you significantly more in the long run. So, if your not sure what/ how to fix it; please call your local mechanic.

06/05/2026

Just making an announcement for all my customers that I do oil changes for. There is a oil shortage happening and as of today my cost of oil has risen dramatically, I buy my oil in bulk to help keep my cost down but as I run out of my old stock there will be a price increase, I don't have an exact figure yet, the price that I buy it at could fluctuate based supply and demand. For oil changes I've always tried to be competitive with my price with the other shops, I don't know what prices they will have or what brands they use. My price will be the price that I have to have to remain in business. In the past I've had some people tell me about a shops oil change price and it was almost free, but then for a part replacement cost they had they were like 3x my price. I won't do any job at less than cost, its not sustainable. Going forward you might ask me for a current oil change price and I will get you a quote. As always I appreciate all my customers and look forward to doing business with you.

On another note in the past I use to do jobs in Kansas city, raytown, Grandview, and independence areas, I do not service those areas anymore. It's for a multitude of reasons, big ones being cost and time, cost of my fuel bill has doubled, the time it takes me to get to those places hasn't been logistically feasible for a while. My business has grown more locally and i don't have the time to travel that far away. For my past customers in those areas im sorry I always appreciated your business, but currently im not able to get to those areas.

03/31/2026

People always ask if I know how to fix whatever it is that they are having an issue with. Honestly depending on what it is, I don't even know until I show up. It could be a easy fix like a burned wire or it could be something catastrophic like an entire engine is blown up. What I do know is how engines work and how to test things until I come up with a solution. It's not always easy, quick, but im always determined to find the solution. This tractor had a no start issue way out in the back of some acreage.

03/25/2026

Weird things I see, the copper washers failed at the bottom of these diesel injectors and allowed combustion gasses to escape and melt the plastic all around the injectors. The engine had a beauty cover on it and it actually melted a huge portion of it around the injectors. The before picture is actually after I spent a considerable amount of time peeling melted plastic from around the injectors just to get to them. Im not real big on engines having the covers on them, they typically don't have a real purpose that im aware of, I see a lot of mice make nest under them and eat vacuum lines and wiring, in this instance it muffled the sound and the customer couldn't hear that the engine was having a issue.

01/31/2026

Heater core jobs are always tough and not cheap. I hear of people cutting their hvac boxes trying to fix it themselves, i do not recommend this because you don't know exactly what is in the box. This customer accidentally put a hole in the heater core which then leaked coolant inside the vehicle with them, then with the hole in the side of the box I had to replace everything. To do this job properly on this vehicle not only did the dash have to come out but the front seats and center console (3rd picture) thats why this job is so expensive its very time consuming. Because the box needed replaced i tried to source a new one but they were all discontinued, fortunately I was able to find one in a junkyard but I had to still spend quite a few hours cutting the box out of the dash literally (4th picture). With the additional parts and labor of removing a second box it can definitely add some significant cost to a already expensive job.

01/23/2026

01/08/2026

Sometimes the perfect tool makes all the difference. People are saying all the time "that it didn't take very long", this is a prime example, this tool saved me hours today and potentially more parts for the customer. I have some tools that make jobs way easier but they cost a lot of money. In order to make my quality quick repairs I have to charge more to be able to afford those tools