Vehicle Mechanic

Vehicle Mechanic Fix Your Own Vehicle.

Rodent chewed holes in my air filter box – is a DIY fix possible? 🐭🔧I took my 2022 Corolla Hatchback in for its schedule...
06/12/2026

Rodent chewed holes in my air filter box – is a DIY fix possible? 🐭🔧
I took my 2022 Corolla Hatchback in for its scheduled service, and the dealership told me that a rodent (or something similar) had chewed holes in the air filter housing.
They quoted nearly $1000 to replace it, but they weren't pushing me to do it immediately.
Before I start calling around for other estimates, I'm wondering if there's a temporary or DIY solution. Could the holes be safely sealed with something like duct tape, plastic epoxy, or another repair method, or does the entire housing really need to be replaced?
Has anyone dealt with this before? I'd appreciate any advice.

06/12/2026

Major oil leak - did I just destroy my engine? 😬🛢️.1998 Nissan Pathfinder XE
The vehicle had been leaking fluid for a while, but I was told it was likely refrigerant. Unfortunately, I recently discovered it was actually engine oil.
While driving, I suddenly heard a loud clanking noise, followed by a huge cloud of smoke. I immediately pulled over, shut the engine off, and called for a tow truck.
When I looked underneath the vehicle, I found oil everywhere.
I'm really hoping this is something like an oil pan gasket failure and not a blown engine. The truck was shut off as soon as the noise and smoke started, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Based on these symptoms, what would you be checking first? Does this sound like a catastrophic engine failure, or is there still a chance the engine survived?

Why does my oil look like this? 🤔🛢️2006 VW Golf Mk5 1.9 TDI (105hp)I noticed something unusual about the oil and I'm try...
06/12/2026

Why does my oil look like this? 🤔🛢️
2006 VW Golf Mk5 1.9 TDI (105hp)
I noticed something unusual about the oil and I'm trying to figure out whether it's normal or a sign of a problem.
The oil on the dipstick looks completely normal, and the last oil change was about 7,000 km ago.
The car is mostly used for short trips, and the coolant level hasn't dropped at all.

My son tried to do an oil change, and now the drain plug just spins freely. 😬🔧Now it won't tighten, won't come out. Any ...
06/12/2026

My son tried to do an oil change, and now the drain plug just spins freely. 😬🔧Now it won't tighten, won't come out. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Driving with a cracked tie rod boot — how bad of an idea is it? 🤔🔧I have a 2000 model with about 150k miles, and I've no...
06/11/2026

Driving with a cracked tie rod boot — how bad of an idea is it? 🤔🔧
I have a 2000 model with about 150k miles, and I've noticed one of the tie rod boots is cracked. I'm planning to inspect everything more thoroughly and replace the tie rod ends next week, followed by an alignment.
Lately I've been feeling a clunk through the steering wheel, which is what made me start looking into it. Other than that, there's no wandering, dead spots in the steering, or noticeable vibrations.
I haven't had a chance to jack the car up and check for play yet.
Most of my commute is freeway driving. Assuming the tie rod itself isn't excessively loose, would you feel comfortable driving it for another week, or is this something that shouldn't wait?
Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

Piece broke off into a coolant hose while replacing my alternator... now what? 😬🔧I was replacing the alternator on my 20...
06/11/2026

Piece broke off into a coolant hose while replacing my alternator... now what? 😬🔧
I was replacing the alternator on my 2009 Toyota Corolla because I'd heard it was a pretty straightforward job.
The alternator was stuck, so I was carefully trying to pry it loose. Unfortunately, I didn't realize I was putting pressure on a nearby plastic fitting, and it snapped off, with part of it breaking off inside the coolant hose.
Can anyone tell me what this part is called and what my options are for fixing it? Am I looking at replacing the entire fitting, the hose, or something more involved?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Customer complaint: "No power. Pretty sure it lost compression."Started checking things over and the fuel supply line ha...
06/11/2026

Customer complaint: "No power. Pretty sure it lost compression."
Started checking things over and the fuel supply line had something to say about that... 😅🔧

How do you properly torque bolts in tight spaces where a torque wrench won't fit? 🔧🤔I'm working on my brakes and ran int...
06/11/2026

How do you properly torque bolts in tight spaces where a torque wrench won't fit? 🔧🤔
I'm working on my brakes and ran into a problem. I can probably use a crowfoot on the caliper slide pin bolt, but for the caliper bracket bolt there's very little room to work with.
There's a bar/pole right in the way, and I can't remember if it prevented me from getting a torque wrench on it the last time.
How do professional mechanics handle situations like this? Do you use special adapters, different torque wrenches, remove surrounding components, or just go by feel?

06/11/2026

Hemi 5.7L cooling system question – what should I expect? 🤔🔧
I have a 2015 Charger R/T with 138k miles. The water pump was replaced around 97k miles, and it's been running fine ever since.
A few weeks ago, I noticed a stain on the engine that appears to be coming from the hose connected to the water pump. Every couple of weeks, I'd also see a small amount of steam from under the hood shortly after startup, but it would disappear quickly.
The main reason I finally brought it to a shop was because the coolant had turned brown and looked sludgy. I didn't want to keep driving it and risk a major failure.
The shop told me they suspect someone added stop-leak to the cooling system at some point, which may explain the brown coolant. They also said that when they opened the radiator drain, nothing came out, which definitely got my attention.
Oddly enough, the car has never overheated. I've been monitoring coolant temps and they usually stay between 190°F and 210°F, which I thought was normal.
Based on these photos and symptoms, what do you think I'm likely to hear when the shop calls back? Is this something that can potentially be fixed with a thorough cooling system flush and clearing a blockage, or am I probably looking at replacing major components like the radiator, water pump, thermostat, or other parts?
The shop has a good reputation, and my friend's dad works there and has been sending me photo updates throughout the inspection. For once, I actually feel like I'm dealing with people I can trust.
Curious what everyone thinks.

Piece of a latex glove ended up in my turbocharger... how screwed am I? 😬Long story short, I was smoke testing the car a...
06/11/2026

Piece of a latex glove ended up in my turbocharger... how screwed am I? 😬
Long story short, I was smoke testing the car and used a latex glove to cover the turbo inlet. After about 6 hours of working on the car, I needed to move it about 15 feet while it was still partially disassembled.
I completely forgot the glove was still on there. When I started the engine, the glove got sucked in and popped. The car only ran for about 20 seconds, but there was a hole torn in the glove afterward.
I inspected the turbo with a borescope and confirmed that part of the glove made it inside. Unfortunately, the angle of the inlet makes it nearly impossible to grab with normal tools.
What would you do in this situation? Is there any way to retrieve it without pulling everything apart?

Address

New York, NY

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Vehicle Mechanic posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category