I Was Just Threatened to Not Tell Anyone This

Summary

This video script serves as a guide to help viewers avoid common automotive repair scams. It covers how to identify when car struts and shocks genuinely need replacement, rather than being persuaded by dishonest mechanics. The narrator demonstrates how to check for worn struts by inspecting the rubber mounts and performing a simple test. They also discuss the importance of not falling for unnecessary brake jobs, front-end alignments, and the myth of 'lifetime' transmission fluids. The script concludes with a demonstration of a new air compressor, emphasizing the importance of using the right tools to avoid causing damage during routine maintenance.

Takeaways

• 🔧 Common car repair scams include overselling of struts and shocks, which don't necessarily need replacement unless severely worn out.
• 🚗 For lightweight cars like the Matrix, original struts can last a long time, and the 2007 model shown still had its original struts.
• 🔩 To check strut health, inspect the rubber mount for rips and wiggles; a simple push test can reveal if the rubber is compromised.
• 📸 A preventative measure against dishonest mechanics is to take pictures of dry struts to compare against any claims of oil leaks.
• 🛠️ Modern cars may not show obvious signs of worn struts like bouncing; instead, look for steering wheel shake at high speeds.
• 🔄 Even wear on tires can indicate that struts are functioning correctly, as uneven wear could suggest strut issues.
• 🧰 Mechanics often overstate the need for brake jobs, but a firm brake pedal and thick brake pads usually mean brakes are fine.
• 🛑 If brakes squeak, it's not always a sign of wear; high-quality, noise-free brake pads like Akebono can be a solution.
• ⚙️ Front end alignments are not always necessary; check for even tire wear and straight driving without pulls to assess the need.
• ⚖️ Use a torque wrench when reattaching wheels to avoid warping rotors or damaging bearings with excessive force.
• 🛑 Contrary to 'lifetime fluid' claims, transmission fluid should be changed every 30-40,000 miles to prevent premature wear.

Q & A

What is a common rip-off in car repairs that the speaker warns about?

A common rip-off is telling car owners they need new struts or shocks when they may not be necessary, especially if the car is lightweight and the struts have not worn out significantly.

How can you check if your car's strut mounts are in good condition?

You can check the strut mounts by looking at the top where the mount holds the strut together with bolts onto the car's frame. Ensure the rubber isn't ripped and that there is no excessive wiggling when pushing up and down.

What is a simple test to check the condition of struts from the bottom of the car?

A simple test is to use a jack to lift the car and observe if the strut mounts are falling down, which would indicate they are broken.

Why does the speaker not replace the dust shield despite it being ripped for over six years?

The speaker does not replace the dust shield because it requires taking the entire assembly off, which is not worth doing for something as minor as a dust shield that doesn't significantly affect the strut's performance.

What is the speaker's advice on dealing with mechanics who claim struts are leaking oil?

The speaker advises taking a picture of the dry struts before going to a garage. If the mechanic shows wet struts claiming they are leaking, they may have sprayed oil on them, indicating dishonesty.

How can you perform a dynamic test to check if your car needs new struts?

Perform a dynamic test by driving the car, especially at higher speeds, and noticing if the steering wheel shakes or rattles when hitting bumps. If it does, the struts might be worn out.

What is a sign that your tires may be unevenly worn, possibly indicating a strut issue?

If the tires are worn unevenly, with one side or the other cuffed, it could mean the struts are wearing out.

Why does the speaker suggest not being sold on the idea that you need brake jobs frequently?

The speaker suggests that brake jobs are often not needed as frequently as suggested. If the brake pedal is hard, the car doesn't shake at high speeds when braking, and the brake pads are still thick, they likely do not need replacement.

What is the speaker's opinion on the need for frequent front-end alignments?

The speaker believes front-end alignments are not often necessary unless there is uneven tire wear or the car pulls to one side while driving. They argue that many mechanics will try to sell unnecessary alignments.

Why does the speaker recommend changing transmission fluid even if it's labeled as 'lifetime'?

The speaker recommends changing transmission fluid because, despite being labeled as 'lifetime,' it can still get dirty and cause wear. They suggest doing so every 30,000 to 40,000 miles to extend the transmission's life beyond the typical warranty period.

Outlines

00:00

🔧 Car Repair Scams and DIY Tips

The speaker addresses common car repair scams, particularly focusing on the unnecessary replacement of car struts and shocks. They explain that while these parts do wear out over time, they often last longer than mechanics suggest, especially in lightweight cars. The speaker demonstrates how to check the condition of strut mounts and provides a simple test to determine if struts are worn out. They also discuss the importance of inspecting the struts for oil leakage and the potential for dishonest mechanics to fake leaks to sell unnecessary repairs. The speaker advises taking pictures of dry struts as evidence and advocates for checking these parts oneself to avoid being ripped off.

05:00

🛠 Avoiding Unnecessary Brake and Alignment Services

The speaker continues by discussing the frequency of being upsold on brake jobs and front end alignments. They explain that if the brake pedal feels solid and the car doesn't pull to one side while driving, an alignment is likely not needed. The speaker also emphasizes checking brake pad thickness and rotor condition before agreeing to brake service. They mention their preference for quiet, high-quality brake pads like the Echo Bono pads and suggest that cheaper, noisier alternatives are available for those who don't mind the noise. The speaker concludes this section by demonstrating the correct way to tighten lug nuts when reinstalling a wheel, using a torque wrench to avoid damaging the rotors.

10:01

🚗 The Myth of 'Lifetime' Transmission Fluid

In the final paragraph, the speaker dispels the myth that transmission fluid is a 'lifetime' fluid that never needs changing. They explain that while transmission fluid doesn't get as dirty as engine oil, it still accumulates dirt and needs periodic replacement to prevent excessive wear. The speaker argues against the idea of planned obsolescence and shares their practice of changing transmission fluid every 30,000 to 40,000 miles to extend the life of the transmission. They also touch upon the maintenance practices of dealerships and the potential for them to profit from selling transmissions or vehicles after the warranty period ends.

Keywords

💡Struts

Struts are a critical suspension component in vehicles, providing support and dampening movement. In the video, the speaker discusses how mechanics may falsely claim that struts need replacement when they might not, highlighting a common rip-off. The video emphasizes checking the strut mounts and the rubber condition to determine if they truly need replacement.

💡Shocks

Shocks, or shock absorbers, are part of a vehicle's suspension system that help smooth out bumps and maintain vehicle stability. The script mentions that, like struts, they are often falsely sold by repair shops. The video provides a method to check their condition by observing the rubber mount's integrity and the absence of excessive bouncing.

💡Rip-offs

Rip-offs refer to dishonest practices by repair shops where unnecessary services or parts are sold to customers. The video's theme revolves around identifying such practices, particularly in relation to vehicle suspension components like struts and shocks, and advising viewers on how to avoid being deceived.

💡Dust Shield

A dust shield is a protective cover that prevents dirt and debris from entering the suspension components. The video mentions that while a torn dust shield might not immediately necessitate replacement, it can be replaced during a strut job to maintain the integrity of the suspension system.

💡Leak

A leak in the context of the video refers to fluid escaping from the suspension components, which can be a sign of wear and tear. The speaker warns viewers against mechanics who might artificially induce a leak to sell unnecessary repairs, advising to take pictures as evidence before going to a garage.

💡Brake Pads

Brake pads are the components that clamp onto the rotor when the brakes are applied. The video discusses how they are often unnecessarily replaced, suggesting that viewers check the thickness and condition of the pads and rotors before agreeing to any brake work.

💡Rotors

Rotors are the discs that rotate with the wheels and are clamped by the brake pads to slow down the vehicle. The script advises viewers to check for rust and warping on the rotors, as superficial rust is common and not necessarily an indicator of the need for replacement.

💡Alignment

Alignment refers to the adjustment of a vehicle's suspension so that the wheels maintain proper angles relative to each other and the road. The video explains that alignment is not always necessary, contrary to what some mechanics might suggest, and viewers can check for uneven tire wear or vehicle pull as indicators.

💡Transmission Fluid

Transmission fluid is the lubricant used in vehicle transmissions. The video challenges the notion of 'lifetime' transmission fluids, explaining that while they may last longer than engine oil, they can still degrade over time and should be changed periodically to prevent transmission wear.

💡Tire Wear

Tire wear refers to the gradual wearing down of tires as they come into contact with the road. The video uses even tire wear as an indicator that the vehicle's suspension and alignment are likely in good condition, advising viewers to check the pattern of wear to assess the need for alignments or other suspension work.

Highlights

Common rip-offs in car repairs include unnecessary strut or shock replacements.

Struts and shocks can last a long time, especially on lightweight cars like the Matrix.

Original struts can last over a decade, as shown on a 2007 Matrix.

Check the condition of strut mounts and rubber to assess if struts need replacement.

Perform a simple test by jacking up the car to see if strut mounts are broken.

A dust shield's condition does not necessarily indicate the need for strut replacement.

Be cautious of mechanics using spray oil to fake strut leaks as a scam.

Perform a dynamic test by driving at high speeds to check for strut issues.

Even tire wear can indicate that struts are functioning properly.

Brake jobs are often recommended when not needed; check brake pad thickness and rotor condition.

Use high-quality brake pads like ACDelco or ceramic ones for noise reduction.

Front end alignments are not always necessary; check for even tire wear and straight driving.

Mechanics may use high torque tools improperly, potentially damaging rotors; use a torque wrench instead.

Transmission fluid should be changed periodically, despite claims of 'lifetime' fluids.

Avoid overpaying for unnecessary repairs by learning to check car parts yourself.

The video also includes a review of a new air compressor for car maintenance tasks.

Transcripts

rev up your engines

lately I've seen so many people being

ripped off by repair shots then I'm

going to show you some really common

rip-offs and how you can avoid them now

one of the most common rip-offs is

telling you you need struts or shocks in

your car now sure they wear out over

time but they have to be pretty far gone

for you to actually need new ones and

guys are always trying to sell you them

the style with a lightweight car like

this Matrix they don't weigh much so

they can last a really really long time

this is an 07 still got the original

ones on now they do wear out but here's

how you can figure it out yourself the

strut mounts are on the top the strut

mount holds are struck together bolts

onto the frame of the car there this

rubber isn't ripped and when we push it

up and down you can see the rubber isn't

wiggling up and down

if it was broken yeah then you'd see the

rubble moving you'd have to replace at

least the mount and here's a simple test

that you can check from the bottom you

just get a jack another jacket up if you

see these falling down it means they're

broken that way but as you can see

we're jacking it up in the air

the wheels are now off the ground broken

off and falling and no they're still

silent that one for that one and as we

go to the other side

we'll check this one out check it out

it's bone dry too now this car's so old

you can see the dust shield here has

ripped and fallen off it's coming apart

it's just a dust shield as you can well

imagine it really doesn't do much of

anything because this one's been ripped

for over six years and the dust hasn't

gotten and ruined the seal so it's

leaking so it's not leaking now the

reason that I didn't put another dust

shield on is this I would have to take

the entire assembly off I would have to

take the strut mount and the spring off

put a new dust shield on put it back

together again which I am not going to

do for something as stupid as a dust

shield now on the other hand if I was

doing a strut job I saw this is ripped I

would buy a strut and I would buy a lost

Shield rubber boot that goes over the

top now it's not a perfect seal anyways

it just sits there so it's not all that

important but if you're going to do the

job you might as well do it right it

doesn't need struts I'm not going to do

it but eventually when I do wear on

start leaking yeah I'll get a new strut

and I will get a new rubber boot to keep

the dust off now one of the main reasons

I'm showing you how to check it is

because of this a crooked mechanic can

have a little bit of spray oil you can

spray oil on here and then say Oh look

look it's leaking it's leaking well

before you go to any garage just take a

picture of the struts right and you see

they're dry then if they say look

they're leaking and they show you

they're wet they're Crooks who sprayed

it on don't deal with them and report

them to the Better Business bro I've

seen people do this for ages and ages so

just check it yourself it's so easy to

do now this car rides fine so I know

there's nothing wrong with the struts

right if you have a really really old

car and it's worn it'll bounce up and

down it'll bounce up and down then you

know the struts are worn you can push on

the car it'll bounce up and down this

doesn't bounce at all there's nothing

wrong with them right but today's cars

the more modern ones they might not

necessarily bounce up and down on them

that much but this is what will happen

when they're actually warm driving down

the road and the steering wheel will be

fine single 50 60 miles an hour but then

when you hit bumps it'll start shaking

and rattling and when you get to a

smoother out it'll smooth out again

that's a dynamic test you can do

yourself but you always do have to also

make sure that your car is structurally

sound because it may not be the struts

if it does that at high speeds and

starts bouncing around it can be

something in the front end so you can

always do this test three and nine

o'clock pull on it

if it wobbles you probably got a bad tie

rod and then 12 o'clock and six o'clock

if you pull on it could be a ball joint

or something's worn but if it's straight

like this and it's not wobbling at all

and you do start to lose control when

you hit bumps in the highway you're

going to need new struts and also look

at your tires these are evenly worn

there's the same wear the whole way

across if it's all cuffed on one side or

the other that could mean that your

struts are wearing out too you notice

this little dot here okay that's a tire

plug I

years ago no no

break

and break rotors people tell you you

need a brake job way more than you often

do it's so simple and for this I'm using

this cool little new air compressor I

got it's small and it's oil free but

we're going to see how it works because

it does have two cylinders so it can

pump pretty fast so take off the chair

and talk about brakes here

we'll just pull off the wheel until that

little compressor works

so far so good

it works so good it didn't even have to

turn itself on that little air tank was

enough to take off the wheel I gotta say

it's a little tank but it took off one

wheel without even running itself guys

are forever's trying to sell brake jobs

if your brake pedal does not sink if

it's nice and hard and when you're on

the highway going say 65 70 and you hit

the brake hard the steering wheel

doesn't shake and you look at the brake

pads and they're still pretty thick

right if they get thinner than like a

dime yeah it's time to change them but

even then it can still go eight ten

thousand miles or more but you might as

well change the map but it doesn't shake

at high speeds and when you look at the

rotors

they look fine like this they always get

superficial rust but up north a lot of

times you'll see the inside will be all

rotten away from the salt on the road if

it is all rotten away yeah you want to

change the rotors but if they're solid

and they don't shake on the highway you

don't need pads you don't need anything

people are forever trying to sell you

stuff to say oh look your brakes are

making noise a lot of brakes will squeal

every now and then and if you look at

them and they're still thick they're not

leaking they work fine you can just

ignore it now these don't squeak at all

because I use those ACA Bono pads I like

the echo Bono pads they don't make any

noise at all but let's say your car look

like this and it squeaked and it drove

you nuts you could just replace your

brake pads with the acabono AK ebono

Japanese made pads and then they won't

make any noise it's a noise bothers you

that's why if you care about noise buy

quality brake pads or quieter like a

bonus Ceramics are extremely quiet they

don't make any noise now if you don't

care about noise you go to AutoZone you

can buy the cheapest pads actually

they're often harder and that will

actually last longer the only thing is

they're so hard they make a lot of noise

a lot of people don't like noise but if

you're the type of person you don't care

about noise you turn the radio up you go

by the 19 pads at AutoZone they'll work

perfectly fine it's just that they'll

probably make a lot of noise it drives

most people crazy so don't be sold a lot

of crap because somebody's trying to

make money off you and of course another

thing related to this is guys always

trying to sell your front end alignments

this Matrix has never had a front end

alignment it's an 07 the tires wear

evenly it goes down the highway straight

it doesn't pull one way or another it's

not something you really need all that

often your tires are unevenly where this

is evenly worn they're all tires but

they still got tread left on them it's

all worn out unevenly yeah you probably

need an alignment if you're driving down

the road and the car pulls to one side

or the other not realize streets drain

and whatever way they drain your car is

going to go a little bit that way like

if they drain to the right you let go to

the wheel will go a little bit to the

right if it drains to the left it'll go

a little bit way to the left but if

you're going down a flat road and it

pulls one way or another you're going to

need an alignment in most cases you know

unless you've got a flat tire it's going

to pull that side or you got a problem

in the front end and I already showed

you how to check that see if it's got

play if you have no play when you jack

it up it doesn't pull the tires are

wearing even you do not need a front and

alignment and guys you're just going to

try to sell you that all the time that's

a game that mechanics play not gonna put

the tire back on but here's another

reason you will learn how to do stuff

yourself because a lot of guys you use

one of these impact wrenches to put it

back on all right it's fine to take it

off you're just taking it off but if you

use something like that that puts out as

much a thousand foot pounds of torque

you can end up warping the rotor wearing

and bearing inside and everything so

what you want to do is you want to get a

torque wrench and in this case 77 foot

pounds or so then we'll carefully put

the wheel back on so we don't warp

anything

all right if you line them up

and then first you just want to put some

on finger tight

now that's on finger tight we'll put the

Jack down with the emergency brake on

I know you all tighten them until they

click

okay that one's done

and you do a cross ball padding one side

can cross through the other

back over the other side

and then down to the left and there's

another trick if you got nice Wheels

like this these Center hubs get a little

silicone clear sealer on the little lips

you can see where it sits on

put a little clear silicon sealer on

a few of these lips because then

it won't fall off later on if you hit a

big bump they get old they can get a

little bit touched so when you snap them

on line them up like this

now it's snapped in place and it won't

fall off now I'm going to switch gears

and warn you about maintenance item that

they tell you you don't need anymore and

that is while your transmission has

lifetime fluids in it you don't need to

change it ever now sure transmission oil

doesn't get as dirty as engine oil

because then jaw is in the engine it's

burning gasoline impurities getting you

got to change it every 5 000 miles or so

if you use pure synthetic oil but

transmission fluid will eventually get

dirty dirt is friction it will wear your

transmission out so why do they say it's

a lifetime fluid well they mean that the

fluid is good for the lifetime of the

transmission but of course ask them what

the warranty of the transmission

probably 50 60 000 miles right I mean my

old Celica is a 94. it's got 240 000

miles on it it still shifts fine because

I changed the fluid every 30 40 000

miles the dealerships would just love it

if your transmission went out after the

warranty period was over then they could

sell you thousands and thousands of

dollars of work or a remanufactured

transmission for thousands and thousands

of dollars or say oh yeah just buy

another car you need another car right

planned obsolescence at its best now the

old-fashioned transmission is like in

this Matrix are really trying to plug

you could drop the pan and clean it if

you wanted but you could change the

drain plug and then just add the fluid

and the dipstick off

so that closes the case on how not to

get ripped off by dishonest chops hey

they've got overhead they've got to pay

insurance they have to Mint money in

order to keep themselves going and make

a hefty profit guys are always trying

them they will probably continue add

infinitum trying to rip people off and I

do have to say

so far I'm pretty impressed let's run

this impact a little while to see how

long it'll run before it starts pumping

again

thank you

okay that goes and really for an air

compressor it's pretty quiet and the

design is all made out of plastic or

contortional a lot quieter than metal

the only thing I'm worried about is will

it hold up over time so I'm going to use

the heck out of this thing so how long

you last now we'll wait till it shuts

off

and it's shut off there it goes

so if you never want to miss another one

of my new car repair videos remember to

ring that Bell

please

[Music]

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