2004 Mercedes Benz E320 - Electrical Short

This 2004 Mercedes Benz E320 was towed into AAS directly from the Mercedes-Benz dealership because when the owner would drive the car more than 3 miles, a fuse would blow, and the car would turn off. The dealership was unable to locate the problem. The battery was dead when the sedan was brought to us, so we also replaced the battery with a brand new Bosch battery.

When we went to road test the car to diagnose the problem, the engine was skipping and running rough. We determined the number 6 ignition coil needed to be replaced (there are 6 ignition coils in this car). When we removed the worn out coil, we noticed it was melted on the underside . We found this very odd. After we replaced the number 6 ignition coil we road tested the car again. Within 5 minutes of driving the car, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. A small electrical fire broke out over the number 6 ignition coil and melted the connector and coil. We knew we had a big problem on our hands. When we further inspected the coil on the left side of the engine (driver's side) we noticed the number 5 coil was melted too. We had to replace the electrical coil plug to replace the one that burned up. We could have kept putting more fuses in, but the problem was an electrical short. 

We found the problem with skill, but also a good amount of luck. The picture below shows the frayed and broken wires in the wiring harness. Check out video on Instagram (@almostautoservice). Once we repaired the wires in the wiring harness, the car drove normally and will continue to run normally for miles and miles and miles. All the fuses in the world wouldn't have fixed this car. 

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. 

2005 Ford E350 Passenger Van - Rear Axle Assembly Replacement

This 2005 Ford E350 passenger van is one of our fleet customers'. We discovered the rear axle assembly (also known as the rear end) was worn out. This part was very difficult to find; I had to call at least six places to locate it. Here's why:

When replacing a rear axle assembly in a vehicle, you have to make sure the new gear ratio is the same as the old one. What I found with the 2005 E350 is that Ford made it with many different combinations of engine, transmission, and rear axle assembly. I had to find the correct rear axle assembly for this van's particular combination. We found the right one at a local used parts dealer after six plus tries. Now it's on the road. Picking up real live rear ends! 

2010 Dodge Challenger SE - Tune Up

This 2010 Dodge Challenger was brought in to AAS because of two issues. One was that the heat had stopped working. Two was that the engine was running rough (what mechanics refer to as "missing") with a 'Check Engine' light. The customer also asked us to give his Challenger a tune-up. We found the heater core was clogged, so we did a full coolant flush and unclogged the heater core. Now the heat works great! Nice and toasty! 

We diagnosed the 'Check Engine' light and discovered one of the cylinders had a bad ignition coil. The engine on the Dodge Challenger has an ignition coil pack for each cylinder. We replaced the faulty ignition coil first to make sure the engine ran smoothly again, cleared the check engine light, and re-programmed the engine computer. After this, we went on to do the tune-up, so we took out all six coils and replaced the spark plugs. When changing the spark plugs on the right-hand side of the engine (the passenger's side), you need to un-install the intake manifold to get to the spark plugs. When you take off the intake manifold, it is recommended to replace the intake manifold gasket to create a new seal because the old gasket will no longer seal. After that, we reinstalled all the coils including the new one and the car now runs smooth and purrs great. This is one hot kitten! 

2007 BMW 328i - Valve Cover Gasket Replacement

Customer towed his 2007 BMW 328i to AAS and informed us that smoke was coming from the hood while the engine was running. We ran the engine to operating temperature (about 180 degrees) to replicate the issue. Upon inspection, we found oil spilling onto the exhaust manifold because of a leaky valve cover gasket. We also noticed a secondary leak on the oil filter housing gasket. When we started to remove the valve cover gasket, we noticed 3 of the 6 spark plug ports were filled with oil. Once we removed the valve cover gasket, we saw the gasket was broken in several places. We also noticed there was sludge on the valve cover gasket and inside the head. When you have sludge like this it means that the owner (or past owner) hadn't kept up with the engine maintenance. The sludge and infrequent engine maintenance lead to a brittle valve cover gasket which then led to the gasket break and valve cover leak. 

Don't get sludged. Change your oil. 

Top: Brittle and broken valve cover gasket

Bottom Left: Spark plug ports filled with oil.

Bottom Right: Sludge in the valve cover. 

1999 Nissan Maxima - Radiator & Water Pump Replacement

Customer had his 1999 Nissan Maxima towed in to AAS. He told us smoke was coming from under the hood of his Maxima. We ran the engine to operating temperature (approximately 180 degrees). Radiators are constructed with seams and sometimes the seams can fail and leak, which is what we saw here. We replaced the radiator and ran the engine to operating temperature again and noticed a new leak coming from the front of the engine.

To find the source of the new leak, we had to remove the A/C compressor and A/C bracket. We discovered the water pump leaking. This is a common occurrence because once a new radiator is installed and the correct amount of pressure is restored, there is a tendency for new leaks to occur under the new, correct pressure. We called the customer and he gave us the green light to replace the water pump. No more leaky car. Be careful when its cold out. Systems can fail. 

New water pump (top), old, rusty, broken water pump (bottom left), radiator seam leak (bottom right).

2011 GMC Denali - Check Engine Light and Remote Start

Customer brought his 2011 GMC Denali in because of a check engine light and remote start had stopped working. The code we pulled diagnosed the issues as a catalytic converter problem. We didn't think the car needed a new catalytic convertor.

We noticed a very loud exhaust leak coming from the front catalytic converter connected at the Y-pipe. We disconnected the Y-pipe from the catalytic converter and noticed the gasket had disintegrated. We ordered a new gasket from GM and replaced it. We reprogrammed the computer and all was well. The remote start was a blown fuse. Now the owner can start the car from inside his house and let his car warm up before he goes to work. Good thing - cause it's freezing out. 

2005 Honda Odyssey - Engine and Transmission Mounts

The customer brought in their 2005 Honda Odyssey LX because of an engine vibration. We put the van up on the lift and checked the engine mounts. We noticed all 3 of the engine mounts and 2 of the transmission mounts were broken. We replaced all 5 mounts and the van ran smoothly. Our customer was relieved that was all that was wrong with the van. We are glad he brought his van in to us because who knows when that engine would have fallen out of the van!

2005 Honda odyssey // engine + Transmission mounts

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Radiator Replacement

This customer brought in his 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and said he had just replaced his upper radiator hose at another shop and still had a leak. He took it back to that shop and they disagreed, so he brought it to us.

We looked under the hood and could see antifreeze pooling in the plastic pan under the Jeep. We removed the plastic pan and were able to see a collection of corrosion at the bottom of the radiator.

As you can see in the pictures, there was corrosion in the bottom corner of the radiator. Once we found the leak, we ordered a new radiator and replaced it for the customer. It was a good thing we found it because it got extremely cold days after we repaired the leak. 

New Radiator

2008 Mercedes Benz CLS 550 - Full Brake Job

We did a full brake job for a 2008 Mercedes Benz CLS 550 - new brake pads and 4 new rotors for the font and back. The pads were worn and from the picture you can see the difference between the old brake pads and the new brake pads. The rotors were worn and scored and you can see the scoring a little in the pictures.  We recommend replacing the rotors. We added a personal touch by painting the new rotors black (they were gray) because the car is black. We sent this fine automobile out with brand new brakes and rotors. The customer will be able to stop whenever he needs to.