2012 BMW 650i Convertible - Engine Replacement

A champagne colored 2012 BMW 650i convertible was towed into the shop. We knew the engine was blown. We discovered there was coolant filling the right-hand side of the throttle body. When we drained the oil, coolant came pouring from the oil pan, then oil followed. We dropped the oil pan and saw bits and chunks of metal in the pan. 

BMW engine looks to be intact...but we'll discover that it isn't

To remove the engine, we had to remove the front bumper and radiator support.

We know there is a catastrophic internal problem because the engine would not turn - it was locked. We had to remove the transmission to get to all the torque convertor bolts. 

This is what a 650i looks like with no front bumper, engine, and transmission. The design of this car is even more interesting when taken apart. 

Coming up, Part 2 - read just how catastrophic the engine failure is and see the new BMW engine!

2009 Volkswagen CC Sport - Transmission Cooler Leak

A 2009 Volkswagen CC Sport was brought into the shop for an oil leak coming from under the front of the car. The bottom of the car and inside the lower valance were covered in oil. Once we located the oil leak, we determined we had to replace the transmission cooler because this is where the oil was leaking from. We ordered a new transmission cooler and proceeded to replace it. This turned out to be a fairly complicated job because we had to remove the bumper and the upper radiator support to remove the transmission cooler. Once we removed all this, replacing the transmission cooler was not that complicated. All that had to be done next was to put everything back together again. You can't be cool if your transmission cooler is a leaker!

2009 Honda Civic DX - Starter Replacement

This 2009 Honda Civic DX was towed into AAS and the customer was reporting a "no start". When I got in the car and turned the key, the radio worked and all the lights in the car worked. Then, when I turned the key to start the car, nothing - silence. We did a complete electrical test of the ignition system and found that the starter was worn out. If the starter, the component that starts your car, doesn't work when you turn the key, then good luck starting your car. We removed and replaced the starter and the customer was happy to have his car back. Can't start your day if you can't start your car! 

2004 Mercury Mountaineer - Rear Brakes

This 2004 Mercury Mountaineer came in for a rear brake job and did it need it! The customer waited so long to get her rear brakes done that the brake pads were gone and she had metal to metal grinding on her rear rotor. The rear rotor looked as thin as a potato chip (see picture below). After inspecting the rear brakes, we determined she needed two brake rotors, new brake pads, and a new rear caliper. The rear caliper was needed because the piston on the caliper was pushed out too far and we were unable to get it to budge. 

Top photo: Left - old rotor, Right - new rotor

Bottom Left photo: Old rotor (top) is potato chip-thin; New rotor (bottom) is thicker

Bottom Right photo: This is what it looks like when you wear your brake pads down to the metal; you get metal-to-metal brakes. This causes part damage as you can see. 

This is what it looks like when the piston on the brake caliper fails to retract.

Old brake pads on the top, new brake pads on the bottom. Notice the difference in thickness.