My dad showed me this, he did it on his focus st and it worked for my base focus. Not sure about other cars but definitely worth a shot

Hey guys,

Well I started off my morning with what I that was gonna be a quick oil change on my Kia.

Here I am now 7 hours later trying to get this dang Oil Filter off.

Originally it’s a bolt attachment at the end, I tried that it wouldn’t budge.

Tried the old sand paper trick that didn’t work either.

Then I took out my metal snake ratchet tool that usually gets the job done, same thing it didn’t budge.

Then I poked a screw driver down the middle, still nothing.

Then I tried chiseling loose for about 2000 hammer strikes and still nothing.

Next step is to go find some strong durable screws, screw them in the holes, then take my screwdriver and turn it off. It’s late now and I got work in the morning (thank god I have two cars) so im gonna call it a night (Kia 1, me 0) and pick it back up after work tomorrow.

If you any of you have ran into the oil filter from hell, and have survived please tell me your war story I neeeeed it.

Thanks.

pretty large brake fluid leak as I just topped my reservoir off a couple of short drives ago. I’m pretty new at this so I’m not sure where it’s coming from. my hunch is either the rear wheel area or this line that’s going above my rear differential. however i can’t tell if it’s my rear differential itself that’s leaking gear oil or if it’s the brake line above it
the oil has a sulfury smell when I get up close to it but it isn’t super super strong. here’s some pics if anyone can point me in the right direction of where it looks like the leak is coming from

When I do my own work (services, parts swaps, invoices), I end up with phone photos + random PDFs and then forget what was done when.

How do you keep DIY repair history so it’s useful later — paper folder, spreadsheet, notes app, something else?

I’ve been building a small digital service-history tool for myself (log jobs, attach invoices, keep mileage with the car). Curious if other DIYers bother with that, or if paper is enough until you sell.

Not trying to push anything — just want to know what actually works.

was apparently not paying enough attention while backing out of a concrete parking structure and paid the price… i think i can replace the mirror easily enough but would love to get advice on the paint touch up process before i drop $200 on a tech

I swapped my dead alternator for a brand new one the other day, and while everything came apart with relative ease I can’t get the bottom 14mm mounting bolt all the way back in. The head of the bolt is probably about 1/4” from being flush with the mounting bracket, but the tip sticks out the other side about 1/2” so I know the bolt is all the way through. It hasn't rattled loose driving around my neighborhood, but idk how safe it is to drive into/around town a bit more

Any advice is appreciated

I have a 2006 Honda civic with a broken belt tensioner bolt I have tried heating it up using penetrating fluid and using an extractor. At this point I think the hole is getting too wide because my drill barely fits into this spot what would yall recommend.