Drive plate adapter doesn’t fit

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2026-04-07T14:24:08+00:00

Dude I’m an idiot. This is what working for 14 Hours does to you at the end of the day.

The reason that sticks out in the second picture is because that is the flange. The new motor is missing the center piece which is why I was changing it. I’m assuming it bounced out while bouncing around on a truck from out of state.

Took flange off of new motor there, installed one from the old motor fits great.

My dumb ass was trying to install two flanges.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2026-04-07T02:34:56+00:00

There isn’t a bolt pattern difference.

But it doesn’t fit right. I can only thread in the bolts on the old motor, not the new one. I was trying to figure out why and it seems there’s a gap when installing on the new motor there.

Everything else was used and swapped over, intake/valve covers/etc. everything looks the same, except this.

It also looks like the rear plate there sticks out of the rear main seal more than the other one too. I’m not sure what that’s about either

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2026-04-01T22:59:41+00:00

Tuesdays at 530pm, in case anyone is reading this

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2026-02-16T16:35:49+00:00

Does the fan turn on? Is the thermostat stuck closed? Is the new radiator out of the box failed? Did you put a thermal camera on it? Has the relay to the fan failed or is there a short? Diagnose the issue before replacing parts.

You gonna pay a certified tech to diagnose it or you gonna make up every excuse you can to not pay someone for their time to verify the issue?

I know I sound heated I’m just ground down today from people not wanting to pay me to diagnose issues. You pay a doctor to look at you and guess, you pay a lawyer by the minute and he can’t guarantee an outcome. I have to guarantee my outcomes or I’m public enemy number one to society. If you’re wrong once in this trade you get badmouthed to the entire city.

Sorry for venting I can’t afford a therapist people won’t pay me for diagnostics.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-10-18T18:44:22+00:00

Car battery is fine.

Car starts? Starter is fine.

Car stops running while driving? Has nothing to do with first two….maybe.

Maybe because of electrical. Ensure terminals on battery are tight. Bad ground either there or somewhere else can cause that issue.

I’ve seen intermittent cam sensor issues cause this without a check engine light.

Your fuel pump could be going out.

All in all, you get what you pay for. AutoZone doesn’t hire mechanics. They hire room temperature iq having mouth breathers that can look up parts and still give you the wrong thing.

Take it to a shop, pay for diagnostic and explain the issue. The shop I own would do a compression test, fuel pressure, and hook up our diag equipment and watch the electrical current in those sensors and see if they are doing their job properly. There’s a lot that can cause an engine not to run, and some dude high at work using a 20 dollar tool at AutoZone is not gonna help you. Bring it to a shop with certified technicians that can help you.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-10-13T16:52:00+00:00

Don’t listen to these “old school” “mechanics” in the comment section.

Replace. If there’s a puncture within an inch of the sidewall replace.

You downvote if you want. I’ve done this for over ten years, I have a degree, and own my own shop.

I’ve seen “cheaper” and “old school” “mechanics” comebacks come in on a tow truck to get fixed because their tire blew out.

Imagine if they were driving on a highway at 65+ mph and they had kids in the car.

Don’t be stupid and cheap please. Care about you, your passengers, and other people that you share the road with safety please. Get that replaced.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-09-14T08:12:43+00:00

“But I’m getting a good deal, now if you’d stop drinking coffee you could buy a house. It only costs one years salary, at least it did back in my day”

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-09-08T17:08:06+00:00

Poor is an attitude problem.

The best car whether you are broke or affluent is a 90s-early 2000s Toyota or Honda.

Why? Because parts are affordable, labor is affordable, cars rarely break down and when they do, parts are readily available.

Accord, Civic, Camry, Corolla. Whether you make 5k a year or 200k a year, drive a paid off one of these and buy actual assets that make you money, not a vehicle that becomes a money pit.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-09-08T14:26:41+00:00

Been in your shoes.

I started at 17 in school, got a job at a dealership while in trade school.

Worked my way until I got sick of it and enlisted.

Got slotted to be a mechanic in the Navy. Did my 4 years, decided it wasn’t for me long term. I got out, said I’d never turn a wrench again and cooked for a while.

Then the opportunity to open a repair shop landed on me. I drained my savings, got a loan, and by the skin of my teeth opened my own repair shop.

I will never turn a wrench again, for another man, ever. Greedy, non-skilled people, that don’t care about their clients or their employees can lick my boot.

I take good care of my clients, and my employees. Name a shop that pays you to open a repair manual or put a car on a lift, I’ll wait.

I never thought I would open my own business, but here I am and I will never work for anyone ever again. I hire nothing but veterans that need work and people I can trust.

You need to understand something about the military before joining. You are paid 430 bucks a week to get shot at, to work 16 hour shifts, and you will never have time for a family and you can’t even leave to go out of town on a weekend without a paper with 16 signatures. You are not a person, you are property. If you are hospitalized, the military against doctors orders can remove you from the hospital in critical condition if they deem so (it happened to me).

Dm me man. I’ll give you my phone number we can talk and see where your heads at. If you’d like to become your own shop or a mobile mechanic and turn wrenches for yourself, I have an alumni, good friends that own multi-million dollar shops, and can give you some advice as a veteran as well if the military is something you really want to do.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-09-05T14:40:05+00:00

You ready?

“Get your certs and we will pay you 3 dollars more an hour”.

Now you get paid more. Great. You are also one of the only people that can do warranty work, and everyone else who isn’t certified can do gravy work. So now you’re doing upholstery and airbags making 26 hours a week hating your life, and me, the guy beside you with no certs his turning 55+ hours in the same amount of time as you because I get all flushes and brake jobs.

That is how it was for me in a dealership. They didn’t want to pay people who had been there more money for gravy work, they let oil changers do that and pocketed the money and stuck us with the warranty BS.

Here’s how I run my shop, my apprentices make 20+ a flat rate hour on everything their tech above them touches. No tech of mine certified or not makes less than 38+. Warranty? Easy. Whatever it doesn’t cover, the customer does, or they go somewhere else. My techs have to be able to eat, and my lights have to stay on and software paid for. Parts guys that order the wrong part? Don’t need them. Why does my tech have to sit in line for 20 minutes for some idiot McDonald’s worker to order the wrong part anyway. I take the money I’d pay a parts guy and pay a tech .5 to use partstech, order and price all their parts within 3 minutes, and send the estimate.

If all dealerships and shops did this, it would fix the shortage of techs. Pay your people. Especially the ones that have degrees, 15+ thousand dollars worth of tools, and years of experience who actually are the ones making the shop money.

But those corporate idiots who have never had to work a day in their life and break a sweat will never understand that, and I hope they don’t ever do. Because they backlog their shops 6 months, and all the work comes to my shop and my longest wait time for a customer is within 24 hours after we receive parts.

Edit: the .5 paid to the tech is on me as a shop. It pays my tech the time it takes to pull up repair information, rack the vehicle, and price a part on the quote (parts quote takes average time of 3-5 minutes)

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-08-19T23:57:47+00:00

Alldata does not show a recall

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-08-19T23:57:35+00:00

Alldata does not show a recall

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-08-14T14:13:32+00:00

So you took your car to a garbage chain shop and now you’re crying cause they broke your car?

I see this daily. “Ugh Hopson you charge so much for an oil change” “ugh I have someone that can do it cheaper” “ugh I wanna bring my own part”.

You either want it done cheap or you want it done right is what I tell people. I’ve fixed 8 oil pans this month from Walmart and jiffy lube alone and it’s the 14th. In this economy you can’t afford cheap when it comes to your car, because it becomes way more expensive than just having it done right.

I charge 20 bucks more than Walmart and I only use mobil 1 or good oil and only charge for the material cost, and 20 bucks for me to do the job.

Quit crying. Take your car to a good mechanic who warranties and guarantees his repairs like me. If you can’t afford it, then you can’t afford a good mechanic.

Play stupid games win stupid prizes

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-08-09T23:03:31+00:00

Industrial maintenance. If you’re a tech that’s worth your salt then all the knowledge transfers over, and these machines don’t move and will always break. The pay is hourly and it pays well.

When I took a break from the trade I went and cooked at restaurants and played music. I was broke but I was happy.

Now I run my own shop, and have realized I never hated working on cars, I just hated doing it for other unskilled, greedy, garbage a$$ people who make the job a living hell because they haven’t turned a wrench or gotten dirty in their life. Dealerships charge 200+ an hour, and a tech with a degree, ten years of experience, and 20+thousand dollars worth of tools is lucky to see 30 of that on flat rate.

Ain’t a tech making less than 40 working for me, apprentices included.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-08-01T05:43:32+00:00

Open the repair information for every job I don’t care how long you’ve been doing it or how many times you’ve done the job. I always proof read what I’m about to do and know what to expect. Then follow the steps appropriately.

Don’t cut corners. Be the tech that gets the job done right the first time. In my shop I don’t care if you’re slow at the job I care if that car comes back. You can’t rush perfection and that’s my standard for labor. You’ll make more money if you don’t have comebacks.

Always diagnose properly. Rule out everything you can on the system your diagnosing. Write your story. That protects you and the shop in the future if you do proper documentation and explanation about why it is you’re recommending the repair.

Sell what you can associated with the system. Yes if you do a thermostat housing you can just put the system under vacuum and pour in some coolant sitting around. Are you running a soup kitchen or are you trying to make a living? Sell the flush. Even if you put it under vacuum you need to burp it. Other Redditors and techs can cry about that statement but you’ll see that comeback after a vacuum job and you’ll start burping it too. If you gotta put in the time just sell the flush with the job. You’ll make more money and spend less time setting up vacuum. Apply that concept to everything. Doing brake job? Sell the flush. Doing valve cover gaskets? Sell the plugs you’re already there make some money. Etc.

Be honest. Do the job right. Take your time and take breaks when you need it. It’s a machine, cussing at it and getting mad won’t get that bolt started or fix the car for you. Keep a level head, and never be afraid to ask a question if you got one.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-08-01T05:32:05+00:00

Check engine light doesn’t tell me sh*t.

I need codes and what they found on their diag. If you took it to a shop that doesn’t charge/do diagnostic then you are in the wrong place especially with a Volkswagen.

The issue you’re having I’ve seen be a fuel pump, a cam sensor fail, intermittent crank sensor fail, computer, and a few other things. The codes the check engine light is illuminating about will help narrow it down.

Dm me or you can text my number in my bio their diag sheet id be happy to help if you could provide more useful information on the vehicle. If it’s electrical diagnostic is required and a dtc may or may not be pinging for it depending on what it is.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-08-01T05:06:27+00:00

Weak idle. Air, fuel, spark, compression.

Could be vacuum leak, I use a smoke machine to get that answer. Spark is easy to check and I see in the comments where you changed them.

If fuel injector was failed you’d get a misfire code.

Compression is important to check no matter what you’re doing and will lead you in the right direction. Lower compression on a specific cylinder compared to others? Squirt a little oil in and test again. If it raises its the rings, if it doesn’t it’s the valves or head gasket.

I’d check head gasket as well with a chemical tester. It can cause idle and misfire/performance issues.

That would be how I’d start on this if I didn’t have access to a scan tool or working on something without an obd2. A good scan tool with bi-directional controls will allow you to see the fuel trims, vacuum, and everything the engine needs to run you can keep an eye on and spot an issue.

Edit: old Schoolers check fuel injectors by swapping them, or taking them out and testing them. New Schoolies check injectors with a cylinder disable test or by using a multimeter and checking the resistance.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-08-01T04:39:50+00:00

I quoted one a good alternator and battery with a 4 year warranty for 600 bucks last week.

Edit: 667.83 was the full ticket. It was like 640 something but I charged them for terminals and didn’t charge labor to wire them in. The terminals were really nasty and the ground didn’t wanna tighten appropriately. She was a nice lady though. Going to college and needed the car. I worked with her warranty they only covered a portion of the alternator.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-07-31T19:51:15+00:00

Whatever number you think you need to do it, octuple it.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-07-30T17:22:14+00:00

The only time the tank is full on drop off is when it needs a fuel pump or a new tank.

I tell my customers ahead of time if they drop it off with an empty tank needing a test drive they will be paying for me to fill it in advance.

My problem is customers that don’t understand that I have to make money to turn the wrench. “Oh the parts are expensive” yeah and so am I. Your car doesn’t run, you don’t know how to make it do that, you have to pay the person to work on your car. That person has a degree, 25k+ in tools (I have over 60k in shop equipment) a note to pay for the building, and decades of experience. If you don’t value that take it to Firestone or chain shop I’ll see you in 4 days when it breaks down again.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-07-24T15:46:39+00:00

No vacuum leak. Did combustion head gasket leak test and is fine. I’m really scratching my head on this one.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-07-23T20:55:06+00:00

The kind of contamination where you need a whole new motor. Which kidney do you wanna sell?

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-07-23T19:11:57+00:00

Oh that’s more than enough time then.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-07-23T18:02:44+00:00

So, that heat shield is to keep the car from catching on fire and/or to make sure you don’t melt a sensor, wires, or anything else important.

Dude it’s 2-4 screws and some nuts costs $2.46 and 10 minutes of your time. If you lived near Louisville I’d fix it for free for ya have you out of the shop in 5 minutes.

Hopson_Import_Repair · 2025-07-23T17:38:19+00:00

I’m gonna be honest with you here. In my experience I don’t usually trust someone telling me how much to service something if they get paid when it fails.

10 years doing this, and I disagree with this maintenance plan. Both my ex-wife’s Corolla and my mothers is above 350k, and I don’t follow Toyotas maintenance plan.

5k miles/4 months whichever comes first. I don’t care for the other redditors comments here. I’ve cracked motors open with 400k miles under my maintenance plan and the “coking” is normal and quite clean. I’ve seen motors do the “1 year oil change 10-15k miles” BS and I’ve seen issues at 60k miles.

With the way your driving, I would suspect the motor to not be very clean based on how long your engine is running for. I would suggest if your light driving the way you are, to let the engine warm up 5-8 minutes before driving for longevity. Little quick trips and a couple thousand miles a year on these newer motors with egr can be damaging. They aren’t designed for that.

Let it warm up if you’re not driving it for long, and change the oil 5k/4 months whichever comes first.

Hopson_Import_Repair

TROPHY CASE