This illustrates the pitfalls of trying to troubleshoot long distance on the internet.
A decent mechanic with a stethoscope would have avoided that wild goose chase.
Sometimes you have to pay the piper and hire an expert to lay hands on.
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I think it’s about weening through the information and discerning what is correct, and confirming it from more than one source if you can. Everything I’ve done on my car, including removal of the engine and headgaskets has all been from information I obtained online. Some things did take me much longer learning/doing it the first time though ultimate I have prevailed every time. That’s why I’d recommend having a secondary vehicle available if you’re going to do a big project yourself in case you have a major issue or it takes a lot longer and you have to put it on hold/delay it. The only times I had to take it to an auto shop was to get the rear differential fill plug/bolt removed and to get a wheel bearing pressed, which I have a thread here on and was a fiasco.
I have long said that every household should have a backup car
Because there WILL be times when one of the cars will be out of action, for various reasons.
The backup can be old, ugly and not worth much. Just as long as it’s in good shape mechanically and is reasonably reliable
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Yeah, but we’re car guys. I have always had between two and five cars of my own since I was 19. Some people live in apartments or only have street parking and don’t have the space for extra cars.
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Asking a shop to do something that involves a compressor/condensor/whatever and then discovering there is a harmonic balancer issue could open up a real can of worms if the shop does anything related to the A/C system.
It could easily turn into a “Well, you’re the mechanic. You should have blah, blah…”.
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I would not buy a NEW compressor from Ebay, let alone a used one. I enjoy doing auto repairs, but I don’t enjoy doing them twice.
Good point. That’s why you pay for the diagnosis. They can then pin point the real problem or come back with we don’t know for sure but can try this if you want. Wouldn’t be the first time I paid for best guesses when we were all stumped. Sometimes works but sometimes not, but either way I paid the bill.
That’s an interesting article. Thanks.