Sounds like gears rubbing or something. Maybe a chain or belt? Sounds like it’s coming from the front of the engine and it goes up and down in pitch with throttle.

For context, I recently got some water in the intake, but not enough to hydrolock. Changed MAF. Idles fine.

Thanks!

EDIT: I think the sound is coming from one of the belt pulleys. Upper left one?

Edit edit: I’m pretty sure it’s the alternator now. Will follow up.

My car does not always start, and the code says this was the issue. The connection to the battery is pristine and silver AF. So I wanted to take this thing off and look at the connections to see if it needed to be replaced or if there is another issue.

But I can't look for corrosion or replace it if I cannot get it off.

The things seem fused together. And I do not know what to do to safely get them separated.

I bought a used Forester, from a mechanic shop with a verbal warranty for 2 years. Covers engine and transmission. Transmission has to be replaced, and I'm being told it's not covered.

He initially thought it was something attached (not sure what) and that leaks weren't covered. But now that he's dropped the transmission, he's saying it's leaking out of I think a crack in the transmission case. And since the internal parts didn't break warranty doesn't apply.

Am I being fucked over? I don't see how the entire transmission replacement isn't covered under a transmission warranty. USA

Bought this car second hand, they apparently put iridium spark plugs in, but i want to know if I should be concerned with the buildup and rusty appearance it's developed. For all I know this spark plug could be from 10 years ago.

Do I need to replace the plugs, and is that actually rust? Does this mean I have an issue with my head gasket?

Edit: Thanks guys! I'll be ordering some new plugs soon.

This broke on the drive home today (2000 Sprinter 208) and dumped all the water out of the system.

I bypassed it with an old sparkplug socket I had. This now means the heater core is always getting water circulating through it.

Does this matter? I live in a hot country so I never have the cabin heater on so it's not like I'm missing out on owt...

Hey all, my wife's 2009 Corolla has been taking a few turns to start. There's misfires in every cylinder, and the engine shudders.

It was running fine when we got it around a year ago, and the problem slowly came about. I've replaced every ignition coil and spark plug, and they're all firing fine. Then I thought it was oil getting into the spark plug wells, so I attached a straw to a shop vac and stuck it in each one (not much came out), then replaced the valve cover gasket.

It seems to be a fuel issue, but my fuel pump seems fine. I was thinking maybe it's sensors, but I'm really lost and I have got to keep this vehicle running! Any advice would be welcome.

I just got my first car and I was thinking I should probably get a dash cam since it has to stay in the driveway, but I feel out of my depth. I don't have a lot of money so I'm hoping for one that is at most around AU$100. I also think covering both front and rear would be best, but obviously will take advice on that regard. Are there any specific ones you would recommend? I feel completely out of my depth. Also, I'm located in Australia if that makes a difference.

2019 VW Atlas SEL

Alignment has been off since I bought the car used. Dealership had to replace the steering rack for something unrelated and I told them to make sure the alignment is right. It was not. Maybe in their machine it is, but the wheel was not centered when driving straight. I looked at the live data in OBDEleven and there was an offset for mechanical center and straight line (see screenshots).

I adjusted the tie rods of each wheel equally so it would drive straight when steering wheel centered and ran the steering angle sensor basic setting in OBDEleven. I now notice that the dynamic lane assist (the alternate setting to stay in middle of lane) always veers to the right first and then centers. Also, the sensor offset is still there.

Is there something else I need to do to get rid of the offset? Something with ABS control unit?

EDIT: some additional live data

Anybody know anything about 90's vacuum controlled EGR systems? I've got one of those goofy little Japanese import trucks, and finding info about how it's supposed to work is a nightmare.

There's a pretty good vacuum leak out of the top of the vacuum amplifier/signal doodad. Kinda UFO shaped deal between the vacuum advance, intake manifold and the canister.

Any ideas on diagnosis, or ways I can figure out what's doing what would be helpful.

Hiya It happened recently that when I turn on the ignition all the electronic systems warning lights goes off. LKAS, ABS, ACC, VS, EP etc but the car runs all right apart from the obvious - the electronic support systems not working. The errors stay on during the driving.

I surmised that its not each individual system failed on its own, it must some sort bad connection maybe?

I already checked the battery (ignition off, switching on and idling) and is perfectly healthy.

I tried unplugging the battery for about 30min - didn't do a thing.

I'm getting an OBD scanner tomorrow so i will post here what it comes back with.

In the meantime - any ideas?

Thank you!

Hello mechanics!

I've got some coils and spark plugs that need replacing (Along with likely needing to send my ECM in for a repair). I've verified that they're the likely culprit of many of my issues with my local mechanic, but wanted to verify with more internet experts on what to buy.

From what I understand, Motorcraft is the recommended OEM, and I've no problem spending the money if that is the right direction, but I wanted to see if any of these "Premium" alternatives on RockAuto would be a good or better choice, such as the Hitachi with "Magnetic Shield for EMI Protection" (A common cause for ECM damage in this make/model apparently).

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I have a 2012 Nissan versa which uses a CVT. I am close to hitting 100k miles and just had my transmission serviced. I'm not having any problems with the transmission, but just wanted to do routine maintenance on my car. When I was at the shop, the guy kept telling me how unreliable CVTs are and I'm lucky I got 100k miles out of it. He also made it sound like it could totally fail at any point in the near future. So I'm just curious how long do CVTs last? He said they typically fail around 70k miles. If they truly don't last much longer than 100k miles then maybe I should look into getting a new car while mine is still working. I tried looking it up online but I don't trust the AI content.

Thanks!

This thing has been driving us nuts! We're slowly but systematically replacing basically every relevant part suggested by the various codes it's thrown over the past few years, but it still acts up, totally randomly.

So far, we've replaced all the plugs, plug wires, coil packs, fuel pump, and crankshaft position sensor. I also briefly replaced the throttle position sensor, to which I didn't notice any difference either, but my roommate (the owner) thought that seemed to somehow make it worse so he had me put the old one back in. We do still have the new one though, and after what it did yesterday, I might put the new one back in soon. More on what it did yesterday a little later.

Still on the menu of other parts to check/replace are the mass airflow sensor, oxygen sensor, EGR valve, and camshaft position sensor (this model does have that sensor right?)

Anyways, what it did yesterday threw us both for a loop. While parked at the gas station and idling, he pressed the accelerator pedal, and literally nothing happened, engine RPM didn't change a single bit, even when he put the pedal to the floor it simply stayed at idle.

I wondered what the hell the computer was even thinking at that moment, like did the ECM just totally glitch out then or what? So I had him shut it down, wait about 20 seconds or so, and crank it back up. And sure enough it started responding to the accelerator again, as it has been for the past few years anyways.

I'm sure that it's at least partly related to the emissions control system, as the exhaust definitely smells like it's not burning all the gas (note that there's thankfully no visible emissions, just a notable odor), but why the hell would there be a random one-off where the vehicle wouldn't even respond to the accelerator at all until shutting it down and restarting it?

We'd go ahead and jump all in and replace all the other parts I mentioned, but ya know .. $$$ .. so we're tackling things as he can afford them and as we narrow down and correct obvious issues such as a few cracked vacuum lines that I've already replaced now.

Anyways, if you've read this far, thanks for your attention to this issue. If anyone has any suggestions or advice to help us find the issue and save our sanity, we're all ears! And thanks in advance.

Also, a bonus link for fellow mechanics: https://charm.li/

Operation CHARM - The Collection of High-quality Auto Repair Manuals spans many makes and models from 1982 through 2013

It's a 4-cyl I4 petrol engine ('95 Mazda 626) with a ticking noise that matches with revs. I've had it for a while and it seems to be getting louder as time goes on. It doesn't go away even after longer drives.

The workshop I've used previously haven't highlighted it when I had the car in for an inspection, but after a recent incident it seems like they're rather incompetent unfortunately so I'd like some advice on this!

Thanks :)

#update x1

Spoke to the shop again and fished a bit for info. Guy at the desk re-confirmed that the gaiter was busted when I went there, and got rather apologetic when I pointed out that it wasn't.

They claim that they did notice the lifter tick but said that "it's common for older cars but you don't need to worry about it, and it's a lot of work to fix it", hence why they didn't point it out.

I'll probably postpone looking into this fully until after the road trip.

I changed my brake pads and realized at the end I may have swapped the inner and outer pads on the rear tires. I’m not 100% sure but I think the piston in one of the tires is pressing against the black pins like the top pad in the picture.

Should I correct this immediately or can I get by until my next change?

I drive a 2014 GMC Savanah cargo van for work. It has a handy backup camera display built into the rearview mirror. However the camera is only on when the truck is in reverse. Seeing as how this is a cargo van with a solid wall directly behind the seats, the rearview mirror is useless for anything besides that backup camera display and checking my hair. I figure if I could get it to leave the backup camera on whenever the truck is on then I could also see whatever is directly behing me when just driving normally far more effectively than I can with just the side mirrors.

Is there any way to just keep the backup camera on whenenever the truck is on? Is there any reason why doing so would be a bad idea?

I'm trying to diagnose a p0125 code on my 99 corolla. Toyota forums seem to say Toyota didn't follow standards on this code and it is likely also the O2 sensor, can anyone confirm if this is the case?

I'm getting no other codes, and it will run for about 30 minutes before triggering again. Last time it triggered I saw exhaust smoke on the way home, which went away as soon as I reset the code. after clearing the code the exhaust while clear does seem to be rich smelling. Engine seems to run fine, I'm not noticing any performance issues, not signs of dipping oil/coolant amounts. coolant gauge is operating and hitting the halfway point normally.

I can't think of anything else but the O2 sensor but I expected rougher performance and don't really want to spend $125 on a part if I don't have to.

Car was running fine, parked for a week or so and now dies immediately after start (doesn't stop like it's low on fuel, stops like if I were to turn the ignition to off). No amount of throttle changes this behavior. I did some Internet research and found that disconnecting the MAF sensor might lead me to the cause if it runs after disconnect. Exact same behavior when disconnected. While in the engine bay I found that if I disconnected the Boost Pressure Solenoid, it started up and ran (idle was a little high, but seems to run okay). The fact it's running when that solenoid is disconnected leads me to believe it's not (at least entirely) a fuel delivery issue. Would you expect that the solenoid itself is the issue, or does that lead you to expect it's some other issue.

Some background history that MIGHT be helpful. Radiator cracked sometime last year (saw low coolant light and stopped before engine got hot), finally got it replaced in Jan or Feb. Took for a test drive and was running fine, then stalled on us right as we left the neighborhood. (Threw a fuel delivery code, but only once, and I didn't take a pic. Didn't show in history or active codes) Would not start. If it did start, would die shortly after (felt and seemed like fuel delivery issues, with a sputter stop). Let it sit a few minutes, and then was able to drive it home without issue. Have since driven it far and at freeway speeds without issues.

Car shows 2 engine codes, will provide images in comments.

P0140 P0141

Stored codes P0036 P0140 P0141

None of these are NEW codes, it was running "fine" with them.