This is scary - no experience needed at quick lube
- Thread starter Chris142
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saw a stack of late-models waiting in line at my local Valvoline shop. If you get the spidey-sense drive on by or hand it off to a known mechanic. or DIY. No one is forced to pay someone to change their fluids. Not yet anyway. I rather like it,(changing my own) my rides break the bad news to me the only way they know how, non-verbally, no BS, no pumping, no threats. Just the facts.
I suppose people have to start somewhere, but things are different today compared to when I started doing oil changes back in the late '60s. Oil pans were steel and had drain plugs that were nearly impossible to cross thread or strip. Today's aluminum oil pans are not so forgiving. My first job at a Texaco service station was a time for celebration (age 17). I'm not so sure these kinds of jobs are viewed the same way today. Now days people get four year degrees to become a barista, but most can't even change a flat tire.
Scott
Scott
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Nick1994
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I mean, you have to start somewhere. And I don't expect someone to be a UTI grad with $60k in student loans to be getting a California mechanics job making $16.50 an hour. Needs to be entry level.
But I also would never take my car to a Valvoline or similar lube shop anyways.
But I also would never take my car to a Valvoline or similar lube shop anyways.
4WD
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Been a supervisor for decades … but had one of the most interesting chats with a contractor manager just a year ago. Asked him if they were hiring from a certain vocational school … said not anymore … seldom worked out.
They went back to hiring shop helpers. If they showed to be reliable, honest, worked hard, and were learning … They’d get promoted and sent to a company training center. After that = apprentice with a senior operator …
They went back to hiring shop helpers. If they showed to be reliable, honest, worked hard, and were learning … They’d get promoted and sent to a company training center. After that = apprentice with a senior operator …
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Aluminum? try plastic as with many late model VW's.
And that's if you can FIND it, with all the aero panels on cars these days.
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Aluminum? try plastic as with many late model VW's.
And that's if you can FIND it, with all the aero panels on cars these days.
My thoughts as well.
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
ROV
4WD
$50 site donor 2025
Yes, and years ago many full service stations were run and/or owned by a mechanic who taught the newbies many things … and looked over the shoulder often …
Hm, interesting. I applied for one years ago for a second job and was told I wasn't qualified.
I can accidentally drain the wrong fluid, overtighten drain plugs and forget to put oil in with the best of them!
I can accidentally drain the wrong fluid, overtighten drain plugs and forget to put oil in with the best of them!
I drained some oil out of my friend's daughter's Accura (fancy Civic) yesterday evening. (She was out driving with friends, and the temperature gauge started rising beyond the halfway mark. One of her friends suggested that it might be low on oil, and they had trouble reading it on the dipstick, so they added a litre or so. It turned out that the oil was now way over - it had been very clean, and was hard to see.)
That's all to say that when I went under the car to drain the excess oil, I noticed that the oil drain plug was clearly designated on the oil pan.
Given that Hondas are "backwards" compared to most other FWD cars (i.e. with the transmission on the the R (passenger) side and the belt-driven accessories on the L (driver's) side), I bet a few techs have drained the transmission instead of the sump, and vice versa.
And the overheating? The coolant was low in the rad, even though there appeared to be some in the reservoir. It looks like coolant is not being sucked from the reservoir into the rad when the rad level is low. But it's not my car, and I've got enough other stuff happening in my life.
Having grown up rurally, I was a very mechanical kid. To put myself through college, I started working in a Farm and Fleet exhaust/tire shop.
In getting to know my coworkers, one was a guy who never touched a car before working there. He was actually one of the better mechanics, but never had the chance to know that until he started working there.
Needles can occasionally be found in the haystack.
In getting to know my coworkers, one was a guy who never touched a car before working there. He was actually one of the better mechanics, but never had the chance to know that until he started working there.
Needles can occasionally be found in the haystack.
Did you add some water to the rad ?
People need to start somewhere. Wrenching my own cars was part of the reason I was hired to help manufacture a parenteral (sterile for IV use) pharmaceutical in early development stages. That has blossomed into a great career for me in other areas within the pharmaceutical industry.
Putting it in the rad is better than putting it in the gas tank.
Yup, but $16/hr in California is basically $8/hr here.
Funny how people expect a well performed oil change done by someone with years of experience, but want it for as cheap as possible. Experience costs money.
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