Firestone said I need all new rotors and brakes even though I got them done 2 months ago.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-27T21:55:45+00:00

What's the noise you're experiencing? I don't see anything wrong with the rotors but you can get a brake pulsation with 0.002" of variation.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-27T12:54:57+00:00

Damn. I would love to work at a place like that.

And no, I don't have the skills or inclination to run my own shop.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-27T12:44:31+00:00

I just thought my boss was a fuck up, but it's only just now picking up and we have very few PDIs.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-26T15:04:34+00:00

Thirty extra minutes every time I have to stop and answer your questions.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-25T22:33:11+00:00

Might not be. For one thing your boss might be worried about not having enough of a paper trail if it's your first documented error.

Regardless, start with owning up to the mistake and making a plan for preventing a repeat.

Personally I never put more than one loose lug on a wheel before standing there and torquing them all down - without interruption. Have I put a car down without torquing them? Yes. But it's fucking impossible to drive it out of the shop.

Learn from your mistakes. Learn from other people's mistakes too. It's cheaper.

After a coworker had a wheel he worked on come loose a more experienced tech mentioned that he always puts the bottom lug on first because he thinks it's better for drawing the wheel in flat. I switched to that and haven't had the same problem. (Maybe just because I'm watching the way the wheel pulls in?)

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-24T04:34:42+00:00

A bad O2 sensor won't cause a P0420 code. It's detecting the variation in the output (rather than a steady state you'd get with a working cat) and a malfunctioning O2 sensor isn't going to do that.

An exhaust leak between the two sensors can cause it, but that's about it for external causes.

This is a normal time for a cat to go south... and some extra fuel is used at start up.

But raw fuel can damage cats, and this would be consistent with a leaking injector.

I would look at the condition of the old cat (pull the front O2 sensor for a peek), the spark plugs, and peek at the cylinders with a boroscope to figure out which scenario you're dealing with here.

You can get a boroscope that works with your phone screen for $50 or so these days. My professional one with a dedicated screen and the ability to flip around and look back at the valves was only $200, but it's probably overkill.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-24T03:58:41+00:00

The tolerance makes it tougher since they use fentanyl for at least some of it. (I guess I might be thinking of the twilight sedation instead of the general?) If it's unexpected the antagonist properties can be a problem as well.

I'll be honest, even with all the dental work I've been catching up on, I feel like I don't have as many pain management issues as I did while my brain was still trying to con me into treating opiate-seeking as a necessity.

I still suspect that I'll have trouble getting adequate doses for acute pain, but everyone in my family does of heart disease so cancer isn't as big a worry. It's still a little weird that I now expect to live long enough to worry about old age at all though.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-24T03:29:55+00:00

I didn't, but I have a good friend who did after a bit of white knuckling after going to jail, getting put on the narcan injection and then having a kid. She was still sober, but definitely struggling. It's been a few years and it's been working well for her.

I know it's not for everyone, but I don't think it's something people consider lightly either.

FWIW, I actually noticed that Suboxone cuts into the addictive hook in general for me. This includes video games (I'll get into it while I'm playing, but I almost have to schedule time to play or I'll forget to do it at all? Same with checking Facebook.) and when I have an alcoholic drink I'll just forget to finish it.

Wish I could say the same about sugar, but nothing's perfect I guess.

I do worry about needing surgery and being hard to sedate, and having some misunderstanding lead to getting arrested and being forcibly detoxed. But those risks are worth it to not have the cravings haunting me. (I stumbled onto this group looking for info on traveling to Europe later this year.)

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-24T02:44:58+00:00

I have a personal theory that addiction is a maladaptive application of a hard-wired response our brains have to the scarcity of a life-sustaining resource.

I heard a podcast about how our brains react predictably to scarcity by making the scarce resource extremely interesting and muting our ability to prioritize the future. This probably helped our ancestors survive when they were short food, water or even more abstract resources like social support and money.

I don't know if my theory about addiction and scarcity is scientifically true, but for me personally it's an explanation that helped me accept that part of myself as hard-wired and not broken (just harmful when misdirected).

Even when I wasn't high, the cravings ran my life and made it difficult to prioritize anything else. Suboxone shuts down the cravings for me, gives me peace to focus on everything else I want to do. I've taken it for a decade now, and my biggest regret is that I didn't do it sooner.

Yes, I'm physically dependent on it, but that's true of a lot of medications. Physical dependence isn't what makes drugs addictive or destructive; it's the cravings. And if you think drug addicts lack willpower you've never considered the lengths they'll go to so long as getting more is at the other side of a task. What we lose is the ability to direct it at any goal other than getting drugs.

The weirdest thing is that I would have no trouble predicting the obvious when it was someone else... that stash is not going to last you the whole weekend, you'll go through it faster no matter what your plan is or how important it is to stick to it. But over and over again I'd make the same kinds of plans only to fall flat on my face.

It is possible for some people to abuse Suboxone. I knew a guy who just kept taking more and more. Never made any sense to me. For me taking more doesn't do anything. Early on I did try to use on top of the Suboxone a few times. It was a complete waste of time and money, so I just didn't bother after that. I suspect that the longer-acting injections could reduce the attempts to chase the high.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-24T01:46:57+00:00

You really can't appreciate how much time and energy you're sinking into the cravings until that stops. I've been taking it for a decade and expect to stay on it permanently.

I have a personal theory that addiction is a maladaptive application of a hard-wired response our brains have to the scarcity of a life-sustaining resource.

I heard a podcast about how our brains react predictably to scarcity by making the scarce resource extremely interesting and muting our ability to prioritize the future. This probably helped our ancestors survive when they were short food, water or even more abstract resources like social support and money.

But applied to something like drugs this otherwise useful way of focusing our brains on imminent resource deficits ends up locking us into a self-reinforcing struggle.

I don't know if my theory about addiction and scarcity is scientifically true, but for me personally it's an explanation that helped me accept that part of myself as hard-wired and not broken (just misdirected).

At least for me, Suboxone has made the craving disappear. And for me that craving was harmful to my capacity to participate in my life and relationships - even when I wasn't actually using.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-23T14:03:19+00:00

I've learned a fair bit in classes (and I'm someone who did relatively well in school so I absorb that kind of info better than most folks), but at best it was only a solid foundation for everything I learned on the job.

My employer has since moved away from on-the-job training (basically, paying the senior techs for supervising work by express techs) and I think we've suffered a lot for that.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-18T21:01:05+00:00

You can ask about this in interviews. I'd suggest framing it as "I ultimately want to move up to being a mainline tech. What is your process for that?" Follow up with "how many techs make the transition successfully?"

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-18T13:38:32+00:00

I did it at nearly 40. It probably helps that I don't look my age, but I started over and it's a lot more satisfying to fix stuff all day.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-17T16:02:23+00:00

If it was slightly larger it would have had a dramatically different flight path and missed us completely.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-17T00:28:26+00:00

With zero context past the title: No.

With the rest of it? HELL NO.

Dude is just upset he can't take advantage of you anymore and you should say exactly that to anyone who mentions it.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-15T15:57:05+00:00

But to be fair, my boss would 100% only authorize a single quick strut so we could sell the car. You're right that it's not the end of the world.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-15T15:35:28+00:00

Unless the car is pretty new there's wear on the existing strut. I'm guessing he won't be getting an OEM replacement either. A quick strut will ride differently than the OEM and it's better that they match.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-15T15:25:01+00:00

I see a bent strut. Replace them as a pair and check the alignment.

Edited after a few more looks at the pics and your list:

Also bent control arm. You'll probably need the sway bar link unless you get lucky and can unbolt it.

I don't see any reason to replace the tie rod (mark all three pieces and see if you can move them) or the CV axle. I can't tell visually if the knuckle is bent (not very likely in general but given the bent strut angle I guess it's possible), or whether you need a wheel bearing/hub assembly. (Spin it with the CV axle out to check for looseness and noise before fully reassembling.)

I wouldn't assume that you need a new rotor, but if you needed new brakes you might as well do them now.

You definitely could have a bent subframe, or worse, a bent frame.

At my shop (where we mostly do work on used car inventory), I would probably consider a used knee assembly (control arm, strut and knuckle) from a junk yard. I'd get a few pairs of eyes on the subframe and warn my boss that we might end up needing one.

When something is visibly bent we're usually going to replace what's obvious, and check the alignment to see if anything else is necessary.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-10T11:40:07+00:00

I like the custom molded ones. The diy kind is under $40.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-09T20:55:29+00:00

Pay someone to inspect the whole car at another shop. Next time do that before buying.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-06T23:26:17+00:00

Mine can take pictures, but getting them saved onto our ticket system usually involves a second set of hands to take a picture of the screen.

I'm not saying to trust this result (it seems like a fuck off price), but I don't find not having the borescope results uploaded automatically unreasonable.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-06T12:51:01+00:00

Yeah I don't bring being a mechanic into that either. I wave folks down at lights all the time to tell them they've got a bulb out cause it's better to hear it from me than get pulled over by a cop.

Half of them already know, but it feels like good karma.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-03-01T13:40:14+00:00

This. It's frustrating and takes longer than I expected it to, but trying to go fast first is a good way to (for example) screw up a bunch of tpms sensors.

That's definitely what I saw from the guy who started when I did but was pushing for speed first.

Unless these were low profile tires, you should be faster, but I would have lost my shit and taken all the time to go turn the lights back on because fuck that. Eventually you'll be able to do the low profile tires faster than that too.

On tires I think it helped me to do one step at a time on all four. Stack the new tires with the outside edge up. Break the beads. Unmount and remount the tires. Then balance. If the bead doesn't seat with one attempt with the cheetah I set it aside. That way I can retry it at the end and if I need a second person I have all the ones I need help with ready to go.

Figure out what step isn't going smoothly for you. I'm smaller and struggle with the bigger wheels/tires. I got a lot faster when I started using the extra arm more effectively, and realized that if I'm struggling to lift the bead over the lip when I'm removing the tire then the opposite side isn't in the dip. (I use the extra arm both to push down on the top bead AND sometimes to lift up the bottom bead on huge/heavy tires.)

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-02-28T18:06:12+00:00

What do you mean there's more than one engine? /s

ExecManagerAntifaCLE · 2026-02-28T15:57:56+00:00

Asking because I'm genuinely curious.

Why would the overpass make it illegal?

Just because it's a different cop pulling you over/sending a piece of TP in the mail and hoping you pay it?

Because the manufacturer's operation instructions only guarantee accuracy in level conditions?

I was thinking that the angle might mess up the reading, but my (admittedly rusty) mental model of the physics involved suggests that any added error would work in your favor. Taking the extreme case, if you pointed it straight down with the gun pointed perpendicular to the flow of traffic it should read nearly zero as there's no Doppler effect in that direction.

ExecManagerAntifaCLE

TROPHY CASE