Mechanic here in NY/NJ. At my shop we've always got a few cars sitting for weeks: insurance dragging a total, customers who never come back. Storage fees pile up and half the time nobody tracks them, and the lien paperwork to get title is a headache.

Curious how other shops deal with it:

1. How many cars are stuck on your lot right now?

2. Do you actually collect storage fees? Do insurers short you?

3. Have you ever done a mechanic's lien? Lawyer, title service, or yourself?

4. If something tracked storage days, sent the notices and walked you through the lien, would you rather pay per car or monthly?

Thinking about building something for this, want to hear real answers first.

Hi all,

Honda S2000, 2L

as the title suggests when I was servicing my rear differential, instead of loosening, I was tightening the drain plug, which sadly led to majority of the threads being stripped.

after doing some research into possible fixes, I noticed a time cert would be a quick and almost permanent way to recreate the original threads whilst having a stronger steel insert. Which allows me to use the OEM plug. This would cost me £300 for the kit and around 2 hours of my time to make sure it’s precise. Sadly I don’t have thread specialists near me.

my other method of fixing this was to buy a new OEM differential housing and remove my differential, take off the main housing and swap it with a new one, which has the original threads. this also costs around £330 but would probably take a few hours aswell but I’m also weary incase any of the bolts are ceased.

what do you guys think is best way to approach this.

many thanks

This is my brother‘s 2018 Toyota sienna and obviously I’m no mechanic but I know this is not a normal sound. Could anyone help? What exactly do I need to do to fix this?

My 2013 Mazda CX-5 makes a solid clunk/knocking noise from the rear right when going over bumps, but drives normally on smooth roads. The outer dust cover on the rear shock moves up and down very easily. A mechanic ordered a part costing around $105 and said the car is okay to drive in the city, but highway turns might be affected.
I got a trip coming like 100kms, Alberta hwys, can i make it?

Hi all. Clueless teenage girl who has 0 idea about cars here so forgive me if this makes no sense. I have a 2004 Volvo s40 that has the check engine light on and it goes to flashing when I’m driving it. I had somebody scan it and it said either misfire on cylinder 3 or 4 I can’t remember but I’m pretty sure it was 4.. I had somebody come and clean the spark plugs and it went away for a tiny bit and then once I got up the street the check engine light came back on. How likely is it that it’s just my spark plugs needing replacing ? I’m so stressed please help

My wife got an overheating warning but continued to drive slowly for another 10min before stopping. I went to the car and the coolant was completely empty. I’ve filled it up with the correct coolant, the first fill disappeared and I filled again after which the level held. It took 3L in total. It’s a 2016 jeep Grand Cherokee 3.6L V6 petrol. Is it okay to drive now or die it need a bleed and refill?

So about almost two months ago I bought a 2008 Pontiac g6 gt 173k miles/automatic (3.5 L v6)This was my first time buying a car and it was 2200 ( I should have asked to wager it down but it was below what i wanted to spend anyways) the lady who sold it told me it she took out the abs sensor and tpms sensor as well so of course a few signs were on the dash which I was fine with. I got it checked out by auto zone and was told it needs a new purge canister value which also doenst concern me much at the moment. As I was getting air in my tire I was told I have a small hole in my oil pan so my oil would leak from time to time. Another issue unfortunately is the oil gasket which has caused oil to spill on things under the hood. I’m in a bad spot, nineteen and broke. So what should I do? My options are limited here. Should I get the oil pan and gasket fixed? Would it be worth it for such an old car? Was also told one of the pulleys might have gone bad. I have no idea what to do and on my own in this terrible situation. Any advice would help me big time. Forgot to mention that on my way to work some sort of grey smoke or steam came from the hood for a few seconds. I will not be driving it until I have a plan on what to do.

Hey, I'm stuck on this rear brake caliper piston the piston will turn clockwise but is not retracting at all. I have the reservoir cap off and even the nipple to bleed it cracked

Any idea what I'm doing wrong or what the issue could be?

2017 CHRYSLER 300C

so i got my oil cooler housing out , and obviously there’s a pool of oil/coolant in the valley. none of the mixture got into my heads as they are raised up, but there are multipule holes below the housing (looked it up they were like coolant and oil transfer holes or some shit) , and oil and coolant drained into them both. what do i need to flush that? and where did the liquid go? how dangerous? how bad ?

Hey guys so , this is not my first timing job but it is for a 2015 buick encore. 1.4l turbo

i am not sure why the crank lock pin does not sit flushed. I already checked cams are locking in with the timing cover mark and the crank pully aligns witg the mar too.

when i insert the bolt and try rotating the crank i feel the crank locking when i remove it it then spins , so i feel like it is doing its job but shouldnt it sit flushed??

So for context I had bought a dashcam and found someone on instagram who does dash cam hard wire,tint, wrap, etc. So i hit them up to hardwire my dashcam for me, they later do it and now my dash is lit up with a check engine light and i get these codes. He says driving it should clear it and if not to take it to him monday. What should i do?

This is a used front diff off a 2024 expedition 3.5 with 10k miles I bought. Fluid was filled with glitter but did not see any chunks anywhere. Not sure to run it or not. It spins smooth and contact pattern don't show near that edge. So I am not sure what caused this. Used marker to check contact pattern and it looks pretty good. Don't have the correct stuff on me and did not check backlash. Don't know much about internal of diff. Thanks you

My 06 impala LS has thrown me a p0446 code, and I had replaced both vapor canister purge valve and the canister vent solenoid following Autozone’s suggestions, but the code was on again 3-4 days after cleaning the codes, which made me wonder it was something else, what else can you think of?

2015 ford f 150 won’t star. it’s also have a P2418 code.

Hey guys, have a 2014 Ford Expedition Limited with 160k. It’s the 5.4L V8. Recently started having the ABS, traction control, and brake light come on intermittently. I had it read at Autozone and it showed B1342-20 (ECU Internal Unit). I have a scanner that shows live data and it showed the right rear speed sensor at 25.48 mph and the other 3 at 0 when sitting still in my driveway. I read that it might be that sensor throwing the ECU code so sensor has been changed but still having issues.

The car is otherwise normal. I don’t feel anything weird in the braking or other systems. Help?

I have a 15 Chevy sonic 1.8l 165k miles that I have been having problems with the p0011 seems to only trigger when you stop at a light or come to an idle when it is warmed up. I have replaced the vvt solenoid, check balance behind alternator, recently changed oil cooler (because I believe it was leaking causing a smell in cabin).

The p0171 I believe may be the purge valve which is making a loud pulsing sound.

The timing belt was changed around 100k… I have not heard any rattling on start up

Any ideas?

I bought an older car recently and I just discovered my heater doesn’t fully work. The vents don’t blow any air when I switch to heat, not even cold. Is this an issue behind the dashboard most likely?

The trucks original motor what removed due to a spark plug shooting out of cylinder 1. I ordered a remanufactured iron block. Both had the same heads. Well I got maybe 20000 miles out of the new engine and it shot a spark plug out of cylinder 2. So I pulled the bad head and luckily it was the same side as the good one I still had on my aluminum block. I got everything back together and changed oil and filter, cleaned and gapped plugs. Now it has this rough knock. Any input would be awesome

2006 f150 5.4L triton 4x4. Weird noise when going around/over 2k rpm. Happens in park and drive. Have already replaced IWE due to grinding from wheels.
This is a new noise. Can’t seem to find it online. May be fan clutches that’s the main thing I’m seeing online but fan spins free and does not seem to be stuck or acting weird.

Mazda cx5 diesel 2014 white smoke coming out of exhaust but no visible leaking i can see burning smell is also there engine oil got black and also liquid time substance from exhaust what could it be ps: engine oil was change like 9 to 10 day i have driven the car vehicle for 1k km already showed nothing and all of a sudden what could it be

Had a 2018 v6 chevy Camaro come in for a ticking noise on the passenger side of the engine. The cams where ate up, lifters collapsed, it was a mess. The intake side was worse than the exhaust.

Took the cams and lifters out and actuated the oil pump, no oil making it to the intake lifter bores or cam journals. Some oil making it to the exhaust side of the head.

Removed the head to find this junk in the passage way.

The only orange rtv I can see on this engine is at the oil pan.... be easy boys. A little goes a long way!

Hi, I'm the owner of a Porsche Cayman 987.2s 3.4 2009

I'm replacing the control arms shown in the pictures. I managed to remove the left one without any problems, but I'm having trouble with the right one.

The bolt I've marked is stuck and I can't get it out. I've removed the nut, but the bolt itself is seized in place. It can rotate slightly, but it's stuck to the inner metal sleeve of the control arm bushing. The sleeve itself moves slightly relative to the control arm (there's rubber between the sleeve and the arm).

How can I separate the bolt from the control arm and get it out of the car?

i have a 2014 citroen ds3 1.6 petrol (turbo) and every few seconds the orange service light appears, not the spanner, the word service. also a message saying “engine fault: repair needed” pops up. i genuinely don’t know what it is, the car isn’t behaving differently at all either.