r/AskMechanics

I’ve been a main line tech since I was 18, I’m 24 now and can confidently say I’m in it purely for the love of the game at this point. I’ve bounced around independents but I’m currently at a dealer and I take on all the heavy line, bullshit that nobody else wants to do, stuff that’s hard to make time on, etc. because I’m experienced and confident enough to still make decent money doing it. I’m currently saving to open up my own shop soon but can definitely feel my body wearing and tightening up, so I’d like to stay limber so I can keep doing what I enjoy. Thanks in advance.

I have a 2010 Ford Focus SES with the manual transmission. It has 101k miles on it. The engine stalls after 30 to 60 minutes of driving when it's +85 F outside. It won't start again until the engine has completely cooled off, but will continue to stall so long as the ambient air temperature is elevated. I usually have to wait until the sun goes down before I can limp it home. The coolant temps are normal when this occurs. The engine stalls even under load while driving down the highway.

I can drive this car normally through most of the year, but need to park it during the summer months. I've been dealing with this problem since 2017 and no one I've taken it to (including a Ford dealership) could root cause it. I've replaced spark plugs, air filters, cleaned the throttle body, replaced the purge valve, cleaned the MAF sensor and the problem persists. The car has an aftermarket K&N cold air intake, but is otherwise stock. It came from Denver Colorado and the previous owner supposedly had it tuned, but I don't have any documents to confirm this. I live a lot closer to sea level, so maybe a high-altitude tune is the culprit? I haven't been able to get a scanner on it in the moment and don't know if it's throwing any codes yet.

Any insights are appreciated!

[2011 Hyundai i10, 108k miles, manual]

Last night my car broke down on the motorway. Was driving along and it suddenly turned off as if it stalled at 70mph, dashboard lit up with all the stuff that would show up if you'd just turned the battery on.

I tried turning it back on but the starter motor would only click once and the electrics would half-dim instead of fully turning off. So, obviously I had to wait on the side of the motorway with my hazards on as it was quite dark already. After about 10-15 minutes the lights slowly faded off.

After a whole adventure with my breakdown cover, we managed to get the car to a local garage. I rang up in the morning and asked them to have a look. Eventually they rang me and said that (paraphrasing of course):

- The lights of the car had been left on so the battery was flat (duh) so they'd put a new one in.

- The spark plugs were missing/broken so they'd fitted new ones.

- The missing/broken spark plugs had destroyed the engine block itself and so I would need a whole new engine block.

All in all, i was told it'd be ~£110 for the labour and spark plugs that they'd put in (which obviously did not fix the problem).

They then told me that it was probably not worth getting a new engine block (which is true given the age of the car) and if I wanted to scrap it as they have a guy around the corner. I was quoted ~£80 (immediately, by the person calling) for the scrap value even though most places online are saying ~£150 average.

So now I'm just very confused, I've spoken to quite a few people and they all seem confused at the "spark plug destroying the engine" thing (possibly due to me explaining it badly I'm unsure) and are outright telling me they are scamming me by saying they'd give £80 for the scrap value.

Given what details I was given, do you think:

- It makes sense in terms of what has supposedly happened to the engine?

- If they actually are allowed to just put spark plugs in without telling me, then charge me despite it not fixing anything?

- is it worth getting a second opinion that could save me scrapping the car?

- Or should I just accept that it's gone and cut my losses with getting some money back?

I own a 2000 Honda Civic LX manual with 169k miles. I need a new AC compressor, but I'm looking for input about what to get. I could get a Denso unit, which comes with a 1 year warranty, or I could get an Import Direct unit from O'Reillys, which comes with a lifetime warranty. I understand the Denso unit is better quality and should last longer overall, but the lifetime warranty on the Import Direct unit is enticing. Any thoughts or input is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

I just put windshield fluid in the def tank of my dad's car so I'm kind of just wondering what kind of hell on earth I'm in for when he gets back. It is a 2018 Mercedes sprinter van, Yes I turned off the car.

Edit: I have a little under 4k in savings, is this something I could conceivably cover if it comes to that?

Edit 2: I put ball park estimate between 1/6 and 1/5 of a milk jug worth in before realizing and the car was on while I was putting it in