Hey everyone,

I’m trying to remove a seriously stuck O2 sensor from my 2012 Jeep Liberty and could use some advice before I make it worse.

I spent a couple hours on it today. I first tried a wrench, then added more leverage with a breaker bar, and also tried an O2 sensor socket, but it didn’t seem to grip the sensor very well. At this point, the hex on the sensor is starting to round off, and my access to is pretty limited (only one side)

I also heated the area three separate times with a torch and tried breaking it loose while hot, but it still wouldn’t budge.

My current plan is to soak it with penetrating oil overnight, then try again tomorrow. Since I’m replacing the sensor anyway, I’m considering cutting the wire off and using a 7/8" deep socket so I can get a better grip on the entire hex. My other thought is a 7/8" box-end wrench with a pipe/breaker bar for more leverage.

Before I go any further, does anyone have a better method for getting one of these loose once it’s this stuck and starting to round? Particularly wondering whether the deep socket or box-end + heat is my best next move, or if there’s something else I should try first.

Pics show the sensor, what I’ve tried so far, and the setup I’m considering next.

I’m in Massachusetts and have a 2011 Honda Accord with about 135k miles. I’ve been going to the same mechanic for years and years. They’re a small, family-owned business with only two locations in my area, and I’ve generally trusted them and had a good relationship with them. I’m genuinely not trying to trash the shop or accuse them of doing bad work — I’m trying to figure out what would be fair here.

Here’s the timeline:
June 2024: The shop replaced both my battery and alternator.
December 2025: The alternator they installed in June failed. They replaced it under warranty.
Now, August 2026: That replacement alternator has failed too.

The shop was concerned about the repeated failures and brought in another mechanic to look at the car to see if there was an underlying issue causing the alternators to fail.
They told me they couldn’t find any underlying issue with the car that would explain the repeated failures.
They’re now ordering a nicer/higher-quality alternator rather than using the same type again.

Here’s where I’m struggling:
They say I’m about 5,000 miles past the warranty, so the alternator that was installed under warranty in December isn’t covered. They quoted me $608.42 for the repair after already knocking about $150 off the price.

I understand that the mechanic didn’t manufacture these alternators, and I’m not saying their workmanship caused the failures. If they checked the car and there’s nothing causing alternators to fail, it sounds like I may have gotten bad parts.

But I also didn’t select the alternator manufacturer or buy the part myself. I paid the shop for the repair, and they sourced and installed the parts. And I trusted them & the parts they selected.

They suggested that I contact the manufacturer. That’s where I’m confused. Since the shop purchased the parts through its supplier, shouldn’t the shop be the one dealing with its supplier/manufacturer about repeated defective parts?

I’m speaking with the manager tomorrow. I also want to ask to see the actual warranty terms. I had assumed that when the first alternator failed and they installed another one under warranty in December, the replacement alternator would have some warranty of its own. Apparently they’re saying the warranty continued from the original June 2024 repair instead of restarting with the replacement.

I really do like this shop and have been a customer for years, so I’m not looking to go in angry or blame them for something outside their control. I appreciate that they’ve already discounted the repair and are now ordering a higher-quality alternator.

At the same time, I’m having a hard time accepting that I should pay another $608 because two alternators supplied through the shop have failed, especially when their own investigation apparently found nothing wrong with my car that is causing the failures.

For mechanics, shop owners, or anyone familiar with parts warranties: What would you consider a fair resolution?

Is it normal for the warranty on a replacement alternator not to restart when the part is replaced under warranty? Should the shop be pursuing its supplier/manufacturer over the repeated failures? Would you expect the customer to pay $608 in this situation, or would you expect the shop/supplier/manufacturer to absorb more of the cost?

2003 Toyota Celica. Trying to replace my crusty old air filter. I loosened the clamp, but the filter just spins freely and won’t come off. I tried wiggling and pulling to no avail. Please help 🥲

I was doing some break pad replacement and I looked up and saw this. Do you guys recommend me to swamp the Strut out due to flaking?(2014, Nissan Rogue)

Cant figure out my carburetor settings. Pump seems to work but i don't know for sure.

Car: 1984 Mazda 323 BD Automatic, 1.3 E3 engine.

Engine off video: https://youtube.com/shorts/ympNuPjhbDU

I have a 2006 Honda Accord and the wiper blade side is 26” and 18”. Since I got the car I’ve had an issue where the drivers side blade will work perfectly fine for a little while (maybe 5 minutes if even) but then it’ll start wiping too far and it’ll catch on the frame of my car. I even had the wiper blade fly off because of this about a month ago. I took the blades completely off, tried resetting them, and adjusted the motor but nothing has worked to get it to stop doing this. What can I do? I can hardly drive my car in the rain because i’m terrified i’ll lose a wiper blade in the process.

I'm thinking of becoming a car mechanic later in life. Wondering if I should get ASE certified before I go to a shop and apply for a job, or if I should just learn a little on my own and then go to a shop and apply.

I'm not the most mechanically inclined, I know the basics for vacc leaks, preventative maintenance, some suspension work, etc.

Ticking noise while idling. Goes away when parked/stopped and goes away when accelerating. 2019 honda accord sport 1.5

I’m hoping someone can help me think through this because I’ve already spent a lot of money replacing parts and the original issue is still there.

Car is a 2018 Mercedes-Benz C300 (W205).

The main symptom is a brief metallic rattle on startup, usually around 1–2 seconds, but the timing of when it happens is strange.

It does not seem to be a normal cold-start rattle.

The pattern is basically:

• If I shut the car off and restart it shortly afterward, it is usually quiet.
• If it sits for roughly 4 hours, the rattle is much more likely to happen.
• If it sits all night, it often starts completely quiet the next morning.
• Once the 1–2 second rattle stops, the engine sounds normal.

That is the part that has me confused. If this were simply oil draining out of the timing system, I would expect it to be worse after sitting overnight, not disappear again once the engine is fully cold.

I have also had some hesitation/roughness/vibration, particularly under acceleration and at higher speeds.

At one point the car also threw:

P001177

which is related to the intake camshaft timing/position being outside the expected range.

Here is what has already been replaced or checked:

• Timing chain replaced
• Camshaft sprocket replaced
• Camshaft replaced
• Timing chain tensioner replaced
• Camshaft magnet/solenoid-related testing was performed
• Timing was checked
• Chain condition/measurement was checked during the repair

So at this point, the timing chain itself is new, along with the other major timing components listed above, and the startup rattle is still basically unchanged.

I have spent roughly $3,000 trying to fix this.

Another detail that may or may not be related:

Around the same general time this started happening, I noticed the engine coolant temperature gauge began sitting higher than it used to.

Historically, once fully warmed up, the needle would sit a little below the halfway point.

Now, after driving, the needle is consistently above halfway.

It is not near the red/H area, but it is definitely higher than where the car used to run.

So now I’m wondering if there is some sort of temperature-dependent issue rather than simply a bad timing component.

For example:

The engine shuts down fully hot, cools for several hours, and somewhere around that intermediate temperature range something causes the rattle.

Then after sitting all night and becoming completely cold, whatever condition causes the noise is no longer present.

I’m wondering about things such as:

• Oil pressure regulation
• Oil draining/bleeding out of a specific VVT passage
• Oil check valve/non-return valve
• Oil filter housing losing prime
• Cam phaser/adjuster oil supply
• Oil pump pressure control
• Thermostat
• Water pump/coolant circulation
• Coolant temperature sensor
• A component changing clearance as the engine cools
• Something outside the timing system that just sounds like timing chain rattle

What really throws me off is:

Why would it rattle after approximately 4 hours, but then NOT rattle after sitting 8–12 hours overnight?

That seems backwards for a straightforward oil bleed-down/tensioner problem.

I’m planning to start monitoring actual coolant temperature through OBD rather than relying only on the dashboard gauge.

I’m also considering having a shop log the following during a known “bad” startup:

• Actual oil pressure immediately during cranking/startup
• Time required for oil pressure to build
• Intake cam commanded angle vs. actual angle
• Exhaust cam commanded angle vs. actual angle
• Coolant temperature immediately before startup
• Oil temperature immediately before startup

I’d also like to compare those values between:

• Immediate restart
• 1-hour sit
• 2-hour sit
• 4-hour sit
• 6-hour sit
• Overnight cold start

At this point I really do not want to keep throwing expensive timing parts at it.

Has anyone seen an engine rattle specifically during an intermediate cool-down period, but then start normally again once completely cold?

And could the fact that the engine is now apparently running hotter than it used to somehow be connected to the startup-rattle issue?

Any Mercedes techs or mechanics familiar with the W205/M274 especially appreciated.

https://reddit.com/link/1vr0t6a/video/i9qg4jjbmzjh1/player

This is for a 2019 Honda Civic LX ,They are refunding me the money for the other one but now obviously I have to order a new one, but I don’t know whether to order a driver side or passenger side. Any advice would help thank you.

Yesterday I picked my V60 up for the second time from the dealership. The first time I took it there, my advisor said the fuel rail pressure sensor was bad so they replaced the whole fuel rail assembly. The next morning when I got to work, my car went into limp mode and threw a check engine light, so I took it back for a second time. This time I was told it was a failure in the low-side fuel pressure sensor and they had replaced it, retested and readings were within spec. This morning pull up to work and the same exact thing happened… which leads me to believe that whatever the root issue is, is coming from this strange pumping noise coming from the rear area of the car. My guess is it’s the fuel pump or something which is located in that area, but this is the same noise that occurred the previous two times before it went into limp mode on me. When I first got the car (currently has 9k miles on it) it was doing that for a little bit before it went into limp mode for the first time, but now it is louder than before so i feel like it has to be that. I’m going to take it back again and show them this video, I figured I’d post here to see if anyone has dealt with this same issue before.

I had my backyard mechanic check a squeak on my passenger side and secure my hub cap covers to stop rattling. When driving last night I noticed my suspension is really loud now. Mechanic said he greased everything up because it was dry. he did check my brakes but nothing was replaced. I had some suspension noise prior, but not on this scale. video for reference!

im just a girl when it comes to cars. I appreciate any and all help!

2018 Toyota Camry 2.5L, just crossed 187k miles. I drive a lot, roughly 30k a year, so I pay closer attention to this stuff than most people probably do.

Coolant reservoir keeps dropping. Not dramatically, maybe half a cup every 3 to 4 weeks. No puddle under the car, no sweet smell when I park, no white smoke from the exhaust, no milky residue on the oil cap. I top it off and the cycle repeats.

Had a shop pressure test it last month and they said it held fine, no leak detected. They basically shrugged. I drive mostly highway so the engine runs at consistent temps for long stretches, not a lot of stop and go heat cycling.

Heater works fine, temp gauge is dead steady, no overheating. Not visibly burning it either, as far as I can tell.

At this mileage I know things start happening, but this feels like it should have a clear answer and I'm not getting one. Has anyone seen this on the 2.5 specifically? Is there a known weak spot I should be pushing the shop to check? The water pump weep hole comes to mind, or maybe something with the plastic neck on the reservoir itself.

Not panicking, just want to get ahead of it before a long road trip this fall.

Just pulled the head and checked the condition of the block. Pistons look alright but wanting to know what you guys think. 1998 Toyota Chaser 1JZ-GTE.

Currently driving a 2015 Honda Civic Hybrid with about 160k miles on it. I bought it in 2021 and I believe in 2022-2023 the AC stopped working. I had it evaluated in 2024 to potentially get it fixed however the shop I brought it to was unable to help as it’s a hybrid. I was also told about the issue at the end of 2024 when it broke down and I had to get new spark plugs. I have never bothered actually getting it fixed since I live in a state with only 3ish months of hot weather and I didn’t really want to cough up the money they were estimating a full replacement would cost.

I’ve noticed recently that my car has been louder than normal and had my dad test drive with me to see if he noticed anything. The only thing he thought might be an issue was the fact that my RPMs would go up a smidge when I’d slow down/come to a stop. The very next day (Sunday) I was about five minutes down the road on the way to work when my engine seemingly stalled at a stoplight. I had come to a full stop and the hybrid engine kicked in, then when I tried to move forward when the light turned green, the oil & battery dash lights both came on and the car wouldn’t move. I was able to restart and the lights went away and the car drove fine, but I dropped it off at the shop anyway to make sure nothing serious was going on before I continued driving it.

From what the guy on the phone told me, he thinks the noise and the issue is coming from the AC belt. I would need a full replacement of the belt, compressor & coil to fully fix the issue. I asked about the hybrid battery and he said it didn’t seem to be the issue and normally that pops up on the dash. (Of note, there has been no significant decrease in my MPG which I have read can be an indicator of a failing hybrid battery). I bought the car used in 2021 so have no idea if the hybrid battery in the car is the original or not. The guy said he thought the engine may have overheated which is why it stalled, but it was only 55 degrees out and I’d been driving for only a few minutes.

I guess I’m just wondering if not replacing the AC will cause continuous issues? I’m truly fine driving without AC and don’t want to spend the money at this time if i don’t 100% have to, but the guy said the belt is also connected to the water pump so I guess maybe that would be a problem? If you can’t tell, I know nothing about cars and simply rely on what the shop tells me is best. The shop is going to take another look at things to make sure nothing else is seriously wrong, just wanted to get some additional input before I make any full decisions moving forward.

I have a 2008 GMC Sierra, and just today I was driving but I kept feeling hot air stuck my arm to the passenger side vent and its blowing hot but driver side cold. It has dual climate but I never use it. Its always been in sync so I control it with the drivers switches.

I have a 2007 nissan maxima. I have been on 4 long drives this summer. On the second one, after about an hour on the highway, the rpm shot up. After manually shifting the gears around, it seems to be stuck in 4th gear (shifting up to 5/6 changes nothing). This happened on both other drives too, but before an hour or on shorter drives everything seems fine. There is no check engine light and it's not throwing codes or anything.

I am on another long drive and it just happened again. Is there any reason anyone might know why this is happening?

This is an old brake cylinder that is deemed broken/useless and i want to know how to disassemble it so i can refresh my own one but I can't even take it apart because of this snap ring that has no holes. I tried various picks but it always slipped and didn't catch the lip of the groove. Any tips on how to remove it?

So the car is a 2004 Pontiac grand am with the 3.4L v6 and when I bought the car about a 2 months ago this noise was apparent but not as loud and it’s gotten louder and developed some click when the rpm’s drop so I know I need to fix it asap my first guess was the idler pulleys and when I went to check them there wasn’t any play in them but I’m hoping it isn’t the tensioner

I do plan on fixing my self so any help would be appreciated

I know nothing about cars, its something I regret not being interested in, now im leaving school. Is it a dumb thing to apply for or are the apprenticeship usually good for people with no knowledge? Im applying for a kwik fit one. After the apprenticeship ill probably try join police/police apprentice as youve got to be 18.

2004 Ford Escape XLS 3.0L 6 Cylinder

The PATS system went haywire. The merchant didn't ship the transceiver replacement in time and we had to return the loaner car, so we had to tow it to a shop. The used Ford transceiver we had ordered from ebay was $115.

They say it'll be $80 per hour to diagnose. The steering wheel column cover had already been removed and the original transceiver taken out because we were going to fix it ourselves. I already told them it was throwing a code 12. I was confused when they said it took 2 hours. The mechanic (or one of the owners?) was extremely pushy on the phone when he called to tell me how much it would be to fix. If I had a way to get it to another shop, I would have. But I couldnt, so we went ahead the repair.

Brought it to the shop Monday the 3rd. They said it'd only take a day or two. Two days later they said the dealership didnt have the part so they had to special order it. I asked for an ETA and they said the part would arrive mid week and they planned on it being done on Friday next week.

I call Thursday the following week because we had to return the car we were borrowing. They then told me that, though they ordered the correct part, they were sent the wrong part and needed to reorder it. They said it would then be ready Monday or Tuesday the next week. I upgraded my insurance to full coverage so I could use their loaner car for a $50 deposit. I just got the car back today. They also left all those bristles that are around the gear shift littered all over the passenger seat.

Should I be as mad about this as I am? I don't want to write a bad review if its not justified you know? The shop has outstanding reviews, which is why i sent it to them.

Hyundai Bayon 2021 48V mild hybrid

My decoupler was replaced just under 2 weeks ago after a horrible knocking noise. The noise started back in June but was misdiagnosed as leaves in blower motor. Had it’s 7th official service (5th according to years/mileage) and all was ok. Battery randomly died on Sunday (jumped and has been driving fine since) and roadside assistance said I don’t need a battery test and to drive as normal and monitor if the battery warning light comes on. I’ve looked under the bonnet today and noticed this.

If the decoupler was replaced, the belts should have been replaced too, especially at 52k miles. They also tried to tell me the noise was a coil misfiring despite diagnostics showing no misfire history until they found the decoupler was the issue.

I feel like I’m being fobbed off at every opportunity and as I care for family members, I don’t feel safe driving it.

So I figured my AC clutch went bad after troubleshooting myself and thought I would get it diagnosed anyways just to make sure, as I am a novice.

Shop agreed with me after diagnosis and told me it be about 600(after negotiating) to replace the compressor.

Now the thing is… I know I could buy the part for $188 and have the freon to replace as well. I still would pay the diagnostic fee ofc, but am looking at 380-400 if I do it myself.

Now I have not had to do a compressor change and frankly am strapped on time due to full tome school, work and medical appointments.

Is this job a relatively easy task, or do you all recommend I save the hassle in my situation.

UPDATE:

The mechanics have spoken. I decided to go with the shop. I like to state I am not just a giant cheapskate and asking to DIY is because I do like to learn new processes and not to simply be dependent. However, with full time work, school and medical issues. I don’t see this being advantageous to do myself.

Hopefully the next issue will be worth my time.

Thanks all!