There are just some days I wish I didn't turn wrenches

[OR VietVet]

So, after finishing the Equinox and I am sitting at my computer table to wait for her to pick up, I get a call from the daughter of our next door neighbor. Her mom, the neighbor, has a 2019 Corolla 1.8 and she needs a 30k maintenance. Oil change, air filter, cabin air filter, clean MAF and throttle bore and rotate tires. I already have it in my driveway for tomorrow.
While I am looking at the vehicle, her other daughter is there with her husband and a 2015 Nissan Altima S and he will need a 60k service soon but wants new headlight assemblies now. I looked them up at RA and ordered them. I then looked at a couple videos on the steps to get to them. they are buried. I watch the TRQ or A1 Parts videos, when I can, because they are more thorough. I am going to have to take the front bumper/grill off. Lots of steps but easily doable. especially for the 2-3 hours labor I guesstimated it to take.

He is ok with that.

Sitting on my ass and two jobs fall in my lap. I will be 72 on Tuesday. I sure wish I had my own shop, I really do.

 

[mountie]

So, after finishing the Equinox and I am sitting at my computer table to wait for her to pick up, I get a call from the daughter of our next door labor. Her mom, the neighbor, has a 2019 Corolla 1.8 and she needs a 30k maintenance. Oil change, air filter, cabin air filter, clean MAF and throttle bore and rotate tires. I already have it in my driveway for tomorrow.
While I am looking at the vehicle, her other daughter is there with her husband and a 2015 Nissan Altima S and he will need a 60k service soon but wants new headlight assemblies now. I looked them up at RA and ordered them. I then looked at a couple videos on the steps to get to them. they are buried. I watch the TRQ or A1 Parts videos, when I can, because they are more thorough. I am going to have to take the front bumper/grill off. Lots of steps but easily doable. especially for the 2-3 hours labor I guesstimated it to take.

He is ok with that.

Sitting on my ass and two jobs fall in my lap. I will be 72 on Tuesday. I sure wish I had my own shop, I really do.

I used to hang out in Coos Bay... I would share the $ for a shop, if I lived around there..... Primary reason... a lift !!

But, like you, I'm semi-retired... but having a ton of fun, working 2 days a week for a great guy, refurbishing rentals.. He owns 50 units.
Good exercise and good $$ cash..

 

[OR VietVet]

I used to hang out in Coos Bay... I would share the $ for a shop, if I lived around there..... Primary reason... a lift !!

But, like you, I'm semi-retired... but having a ton of fun, working 2 days a week for a great guy, refurbishing rentals.. He owns 50 units.
Good exercise and good $$ cash..

Coos Bay is a cool little town. I keep wishing for a shop but I do not want a retail like shop. I recently worked in my friends shop, in Junction City, and found out two things. First, I remember that some customers just piss me off and I like being able to tell them, at my home, that NO I will not work on your crap. Second, I found that standing under a lift on hard concrete for a long enough period of time, causes my arthritis in my right hip to flare up. When I lay under the vehicle, it is actually easier on me.

My girl has actually told me that if I can find a shop, 2 maybe 3 bays, with living quarters attached, she would move with me and then I could control what I work on instead of the retail, idiot posse, that shows up at the door. My working hours would be when I want, not 8 to 5.

 

[strutaeng]

Maybe look for a house that has a large workshop with a lift? That way you can still work from home, but you have a nice space to work on vehicles, at your own space?

And you won't be paying high overhead costs for leasing a commercial shop and dealing with idiot customers.

Or can you build something at your current house? A bare-bones garage construction shouldn't be too expensive, at least around here. Maybe construction is more expensive in the PNW?

 

[OR VietVet]

Pricey here in the PNW. Looking for at least a 2 bedroom home and a big enough 2 bay garage is $500k easy or mucho dinero rental. Plus, if do rent, the landlord has to be good with it. It is usually easier if I work on the landlord's vehicles. My current landlord is ok with it and is keeping me in mind if he finds the right home and will buy and rent to us or if one of his current homes opens up.

 

[mountie]

Coos Bay is a cool little town. I keep wishing for a shop but I do not want a retail like shop. I recently worked in my friends shop, in Junction City, and found out two things. First, I remember that some customers just piss me off and I like being able to tell them, at my home, that NO I will not work on your crap. Second, I found that standing under a lift on hard concrete for a long enough period of time, causes my arthritis in my right hip to flare up. When I lay under the vehicle, it is actually easier on me.

My girl has actually told me that if I can find a shop, 2 maybe 3 bays, with living quarters attached, she would move with me and then I could control what I work on instead of the retail, idiot posse, that shows up at the door. My working hours would be when I want, not 8 to 5.

When I lived in Southern California, ... I was spoiled.... I had a few friends with little shops, and performance / custom car shops, where they would allow me to 'borrow' their lifts on the weekends....

 

[OR VietVet]

I still have friends in the shops I worked at and ran but they are retail shops and lifts tied up at all times. There was a chance of doing a mixture of customer vehicles and personal and I set my own hours and work on what I want but that shop was in a sketchy part of town and I would not move my tools there.

 

[mountie]

I still have friends in the shops I worked at and ran but they are retail shops and lifts tied up at all times. There was a chance of doing a mixture of customer vehicles and personal and I set my own hours and work on what I want but that shop was in a sketchy part of town and I would not move my tools there.

I worked for a little while at a performance transmission shop, and after 5:00 I could hang around and use the lifts....
( '66 Dodge Coronet w/a new 427 Hemi - full performance undercarrige..... Chip Foose used the area for his first " Overhaul'n" shows in the evenings.... My old '88 GMC .. I loved cleaning / playing under it...

 

[89Suburban]

Coos Bay is a cool little town. I keep wishing for a shop but I do not want a retail like shop. I recently worked in my friends shop, in Junction City, and found out two things. First, I remember that some customers just piss me off and I like being able to tell them, at my home, that NO I will not work on your crap. Second, I found that standing under a lift on hard concrete for a long enough period of time, causes my arthritis in my right hip to flare up. When I lay under the vehicle, it is actually easier on me.

My girl has actually told me that if I can find a shop, 2 maybe 3 bays, with living quarters attached, she would move with me and then I could control what I work on instead of the retail, idiot posse, that shows up at the door. My working hours would be when I want, not 8 to 5.

Then you got insurance and permits and crap like that to deal with too though right? You get some nosey neighbor or township guy comin round if they see vehicle repairs stuff?

This one guy that recently quoted that engine job for me that I did not go with, he said he pays $800 a month rent for his shop. It has 2 lifts and enough room to fit 4-5 cars in it plus a little office and bathroom. Lucky bastard. I would grab that up in a heartbeat. Sucks. Got to know people. Most of the good deals aren't advertised. Hard to find.

 

[OR VietVet]

Me and my girl look daily for a shop like that. But.....I either need to live there or trust the neighborhood.

 

[OR VietVet]

Did the 2020, not a 2019, Corolla XLE this morning. Manufactured 01/2019 and I ASSUMRD was a 2019 Corolla. The different air filter size is what made me look again. The only things that did not cross over were the air and cabin filters. No biggee, quick trip to AZ and the same prices. Oil change, reset maintenance reminder light and put sticker on w/s, aired tires to 40 psi and the TPMS light went out and rotated, cleaned MAF and throttle bore and installed filters. Checked belt-Good. Wipers-Good. Close to the tire wear bar indicators. She plans to get tires in Spring and just drives around town. No trips. Brakes real thick and even wear. Brake fluid and coolant and P/S fluids all good.

Ship it.

 

[mountie]

Did the 2020, not a 2019, Corolla XLE this morning. Manufactured 01/2019 and I ASSUMRD was a 2019 Corolla. The different air filter size is what made me look again. The only things that did not cross over were the air and cabin filters. No biggee, quick trip to AZ and the same prices. Oil change, reset maintenance reminder light and put sticker on w/s, aired tires to 40 psi and the TPMS light went out and rotated, cleaned MAF and throttle bore and installed filters. Checked belt-Good. Wipers-Good. Close to the tire wear bar indicators. She plans to get tires in Spring and just drives around town. No trips. Brakes real thick and even wear. Brake fluid and coolant and P/S fluids all good.

Ship it.

This next year, I'll be diving into this '69 thing.... ( It's all there...... no real rust.... California car....

 

[OR VietVet]

Had ordered in headlight assemblies for next door neighbor son-in-law for a 2015 Altima S.

Got at it today. Replaced because the OE lights were fogged and scratched. PITA to get apart and back together. 3 hour labor job, start to finish. Pics:

 

[Jake707]

A few months back I helped my nephew get his "project" 2004 Honda Civic 2.0 running, what a nightmare that was with random electrical and fuel delivery issues. Last week I got a call it was was making a knocking noise so I go check it out annnnnnnnd he rod knocked it somehow haha. He asked me how we can fix it and I tried not to laugh to hard and just told him there is no "fix", the whole thing needs to be torn down for rebuild or replaced. No secret sauce or part swap is going to correct it and a new motor is more than the car is worth. While I dont want any part in a motor swap on that car, I couldnt leave family hanging if they decide to salvage the car.

My sister/brother in law arent the mechanical type and my nephew is at that "know it all" stage and somehow talked them into this project rice rocket as his first car that he would be able to learn to wrench on. So I knew these series of bad decisions would ultimately pull me in eventually haha, I just wish it was something I thought was cool/fun haha

 

[OR VietVet]

My closest relatives are in the KC, Mo. area. My youngest brother, 2 middle brothers are deceased, is very mechanically inclined and never calls for advice. He doesn't dare. He likes Fords. I would just tell him to get a Chevy. He works for Ford assembly plant in KC, so I guess he will just have to suffer with the Fords. My cousin Bev has a fairly new Tacoma and has not called about anything on it, yet.

I have American Legion friends and VFW friends. They know my rules and call when something is actually needed and typically follow my advice.

The busiest I am is from my neighborhood and their friends/relatives.

I am starting, this morning, on a 2015 Town & Country mini van with a P0740 transmission torque converter problem but when I add fluid and clear code, the CEL stays off. I am addressing the obvious transmission fluid leaks this morning, the transmission pan seal/gasket and the leaking cooler lines. The dealer gave him a quote of $980. He paid $190 for a 35 minute inspection for leaks. I had done a recent oil change and pointed out the fluid leaks. He said he would take to dealer for inspection. I said, "Ok, let me know what they find". He did. Me fee today will be around $950. LOL!

 

[homesick]

My closest relatives are in the KC, Mo. area. My youngest brother, 2 middle brothers are deceased, is very mechanically inclined and never calls for advice. He doesn't dare. He likes Fords. I would just tell him to get a Chevy. He works for Ford assembly plant in KC, so I guess he will just have to suffer with the Fords. My cousin Bev has a fairly new Tacoma and has not called about anything on it, yet.

I have American Legion friends and VFW friends. They know my rules and call when something is actually needed and typically follow my advice.

The busiest I am is from my neighborhood and their friends/relatives.

I am starting, this morning, on a 2015 Town & Country mini van with a P0740 transmission torque converter problem but when I add fluid and clear code, the CEL stays off. I am addressing the obvious transmission fluid leaks this morning, the transmission pan seal/gasket and the leaking cooler lines. The dealer gave him a quote of $980. He paid $190 for a 35 minute inspection for leaks. I had done a recent oil change and pointed out the fluid leaks. He said he would take to dealer for inspection. I said, "Ok, let me know what they find". He did. Me fee today will be around $950. LOL!

$30 saved is $30 in the bank.

joe

 

[OR VietVet]

$30 saved is $30 in the bank.

joe

No, he had a little over 4 hours labor and I beat the total quote of $980 by $400 even. All parts and fluids and labor and road test with scanner hooked up monitoring engine temp and he paid for the new transmission dipstick to check some of these no dipstick vehicles.

 

[OR VietVet]

So, I dropped the transmission pan, caught all the fluid, cleaned transmission pan mount surfaces on transmission and pan and cleaned the magnet and reinstalled,
replaced the filter, installed pan, went to the top and removed the upper radiator core support. Disconnected the transmission cooler on left side of radiator so it would flex out and give me room and wood blocked the grill forward for more room, cleaned the spring clip mount areas for the transmission cooling lines, used my disconnect tool for removing the lines from the spring clips at the transmission and cooler. Cleaned all up and lubed the tube ends for easy reinstall at the transmission and cooler. Reinstalled cooler to radiator and reinstalled upper radiator core support and bolted all back together. Put 4 quarts of transmission fluid in and checked level with my special dipstick and compared reading to graph for engine temp. Capped off the fill tube and road tested. Got to 208 degrees on my scanner and rechecked fluid level and added 1.5 quarts to bring up to full reading at that engine temp while running. Road test again and checked for leaks. All good.

 

[homesick]

No, he had a little over 4 hours labor and I beat the total quote of $980 by $400 even. All parts and fluids and labor and road test with scanner hooked up monitoring engine temp and he paid for the new transmission dipstick to check some of these no dipstick vehicles.

Now I'm confused. From your post...

"... The dealer gave him a quote of $980."
"... Me fee today will be around $950."

joe

 

[OR VietVet]

Now I'm confused. From your post...

"... The dealer gave him a quote of $980."
"... Me fee today will be around $950."

joe

I was bragging how much money I was gonna save him and threw out the $950 as a joke. Although, the two jobs I did in last 2 days, got in under the wire. I am raising my labor rate to an even "C" note as of the 1st.

I knew I was gonna save him some money but it turned out to be an even $400 savings. Very happy guy.