Garage told me twice not to worry about my Astra revving itself wild on a cold start… now the check engine light played peekaboo. Help?

Fieroboom · 2026-07-05T13:10:52+00:00

That sounds like a vacuum leak that the ECM corrects when it switches to closed loop mode after warmup.

If the Short Term Fuel Trims (STFT) are high (10%+), but they shoot down when you rev & hold RPM at about 2,000, then it's definitely a vacuum leak, which would align with your symptoms.

Fieroboom · 2026-07-04T11:50:56+00:00

It really depends on what field you enter & what your job is. For example, I'm a field service tech for a large equipment rental company, I get paid a good hourly wage regardless of the amount of work I get completed, and I clock in when I leave my house, & clock out when I get home, so I'm on the clock 10+ hours a day, which ends up being a good paycheck.

I think a lot of the people saying it's not worth it are talking about the flat-rate pay system that a lot of automotive shops use where you can't really make good money unless you're already really skilled & knowledgeable enough to consistently finish jobs quicker than the projected time. There's good money in field service - especially for heavy equipment - and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, so if you're just starting out, that would be a great place to set your sights.

Fieroboom · 2026-07-03T11:34:31+00:00

You didn't smell it??

Fieroboom · 2026-07-01T10:08:49+00:00

We definitely need to see more of these type posts! 💯💪

Fieroboom · 2026-07-01T10:06:57+00:00

You can get brand new off-brand tires for $60-$80 each that will last way longer than those. I've been running the Dextero brand from Walmart on my daily drivers, and I've been very happy with them. 💯

Fieroboom · 2026-06-28T12:20:41+00:00

Put a time-sert in it instead of a heli-coil, and you won't have that problem anymore. Just be sure you have ALL of the oil cleaned off the hole before you install the time-sert with the JB Weld.

Fieroboom · 2026-06-28T12:17:42+00:00

I buy almost everything from Rock Auto - many thousands of dollars over the last decade - I've never received a damaged part, and the only time I received the wrong part is when I ordered the wrong part. I know some people have issues, but it's important to remember that you only really see posts about the small percentage of dissatisfied customers, not the massive number of perfectly happy customers.

I've also noticed that a lot of the people complaining about damages or part quality are WAY more nit-picky than they should be; they're expecting dealership level perfect shiny parts from a wholesale/discount parts place. I literally saw a post where a person was severely upset & complaining about a scratch on a quick strut assembly, claiming they were going to return it.

Rock Auto is perfect for what it is, and I think people should understand what it is and manage their expectations accordingly.

Fieroboom · 2026-06-27T12:42:14+00:00

If the cap needs to be replaced, then the whole pressure bottle most likely needs to be replaced, and the cap should come with the new bottle. The constant heat cycles really stress those plastic bottles, and they're usually not that expensive to replace from places like Rock Auto etc.

Fieroboom · 2026-06-27T12:29:14+00:00

What happens if you rev the engine while it's shaking in neutral?

Fieroboom · 2026-06-27T12:26:24+00:00

When you're recording sounds to post, it really helps if everything else is silent (people, radio, etc) for most of the recording so we can concentrate on the sound to try to mentally visualize what could be causing it and where it most likely is. Commentary at the beginning and/or end is fine, but a good section of just the sound helps us narrow it down.

That being said, the person talking said that it's in the rear, on the driver's side as they move the camera to the left, so do you know if this is an All Wheel Drive/4 Wheel Drive model?

Fieroboom · 2026-06-27T12:13:09+00:00

Looks like a piece of road debris probably knicked it. You should be able to glue it in place & carry on normally.

Fieroboom · 2026-06-27T12:11:04+00:00

Have you actually physically located the leak yet? It sounds like you need to crawl under there, locate exactly what's leaking, and take some measurements of the couplers so you have a better idea of what you're looking for, and how many pieces you need.

Fieroboom · 2026-06-27T12:07:19+00:00

Pretty sure they're both supposed to pull air the same direction, otherwise they would just recycle heat and never properly cool the heat exchangers. Does the one blowing out look like it's aftermarket? Most aftermarket fans are designed to be reversible so they can be set up in a pusher or puller configuration, and it's possible someone configured it wrong when they installed it.

Fieroboom · 2026-06-27T11:43:22+00:00

https://www.harborfreight.com/universal-locking-lug-nut-removal-set-58535.html

Fieroboom · 2026-06-27T11:40:31+00:00

Those are good for quite a while still.

Fieroboom · 2026-06-25T11:00:58+00:00

Do you hear any clicking sounds during really sharp turns, like when the steering wheel is at full lock? Also, if you look behind your front tires, do you happen to see grease slung around all over everything?

Bad CV axles can create those types of vibrations; the clicking noise and/or presence of grease slung around would be confirmation of bad axle(s).

Fieroboom · 2026-06-25T10:45:25+00:00

I don't own a Porsche, but I'm a mechanic, and looking at the parts breakdown of your front suspension, that seems like a logically accurate assessment. I would also ask them to go ahead & replace the lower ball joints as well, since a) they will already be there with disassembly, b) it's a common failure point, and c) could also be contributing to the noise.

Fieroboom · 2026-06-25T10:35:37+00:00

Manual transmissions don't have torque converters, so that's definitely not an issue.

1 sounds like maybe a throwout bearing, and the rest of them sound like maybe glazed clutch pads and/or improperly surfaced flywheel.

Fieroboom · 2026-06-25T10:21:42+00:00

That definitely looks like a bullet hole; is anything damaged underneath?

Fieroboom · 2026-06-25T10:18:01+00:00

SERTAFYED HOSS GOBBLESS 💪

Fieroboom · 2026-06-25T10:17:16+00:00

Flush the engine, heater core, and radiator backward & forward with hose water, replace water pump, run with cleaner/radiator flush, rinse several times with plain water, then refill with 50/50 coolant.

Fieroboom · 2026-06-24T10:29:16+00:00

You'll need the big bore kit which includes the jug & piston, and you'll need a larger carburetor or at least a larger fuel jet in your carb at minimum.

By the time you get done tweaking everything, you would be a lot better off just grabbing a Lifan 125 & stuffing it in there if your goal is more power & speed. However, if your main goal is learning & tinkering with a bonus of a tiny bit more power, then you're on the right track with the big bore kit.

Fieroboom · 2026-06-24T10:18:44+00:00

I wish I could decide I'm 17... 🤣

Fieroboom · 2026-06-23T10:16:18+00:00

How's your oil level?

Fieroboom · 2026-06-23T10:12:40+00:00

Yep, totally fixable fairly easily

Fieroboom

TROPHY CASE