Mobile Mechanic Service I discovered

"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
05/26/2020 at 12:48 • Filed to: None

A while ago, I did the routine valve lash adjustment on my Honda Fit.

Now here’s the problem... it was fine for a while, but now my Fit isn’t idling as smoothly as it should. I’m 99% sure it’s because I didn’t do it right and some of the valve lash screws are out of adjustment. And I think that because the other likely culprits like the spark plugs and the ignition coils have already been replaced.

When I was doing the valve lash adjustment, the screw on the right intake lifter on cyl #2 wasn’t playing nice either. It wasn’t holding the adjustment tightly.

I was thinking of taking my Fit to an independent mechanic and get them to redo the valve lash adjustment and fixing the issue with the valve lash adjustment screw on cyl #2.

In searching for one, I came across this service :

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So I put in a request describing what I need done and waiting to here back what they will quote me.

Anyone have any experience with this service or mobile mechanic services in general ?

DISCUSSION (9)

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
05/26/2020 at 12:58

My mom and step-dad ran a mobile mechanic outfit for many years. Does that qualify me to give advice?

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
05/26/2020 at 13:04

I had one come out and do a timing belt replacement on a Catera. Snapped after a cold start. No complaints. I provided the parts, he provided the labor, and the savings were substantial.

I did have to vet a couple of them before hiring one. The first guy wanted to take the car to his shop, which kind of negated the whole mobile mechanic bit. Then after further prodding it turned out he was more of a small engine repair guy and had no clue what he was even dealing with. Sent him on his way and talked to one or two more before settling on the one I went with.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
05/26/2020 at 13:05

More qualified than me.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
05/26/2020 at 13:07

What questions did you ask and/or what made you decide on settling on the given mechanic you went with?

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
05/26/2020 at 13:26

Was a few years ago but as I recall I just discussed what it was, what had happened, what needed to be done and kind of gauged their reaction. Probably chatted about their past experience a bit, but it’s been a while. It’ll probably be easier to find someone familiar with the Fit vs the Catera we were dealing with. Also made sure we had agreed on a set price in the event things went sideways and it ended up taking forever. Try not to get sucked into hourly rates if you can help it.

The first guy was gung-ho until he got here and saw it when it became really clear really quickly that he would be in over his head. At that point he was hemming and hawing and wanted to have it towed so he could, I don’t know, try to figure it all out at home. His lack of confidence quickly killed any confidence I had in him. The job should have only taken a couple of hours so sending it off for an indeterminate amount of time wasn’t ideal as we needed it on the road asap.

The guy who I ended up going with tore it all down then came to me saying “hey, these new parts are very different than the old ones, they might be wrong” but I told him there had been a revision and they should work. Short time later he had it together and running, despite having nothing to reference that I was aware of.

So I’d say if they seem too hesitant or concerned, skip them. Make sure they’ve done this particular type of job before, preferably on a Honda, but if they’re really experienced it shouldn’t matter too much if they’ve worked on your exact engine or not. Conversely if they seem overconfident or yeah yeah yeah you, worry they might not be as good as they think they are.

It’s a roll of the dice though. If they jack your engine up you may or may not have a lot of avenues for recourse without suing them, and even then there are no guarantees you’ll be made whole. Choose wisely.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja:
05/26/2020 at 15:58

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah.... I think whoever I hire, I’ll ask if they’ve ever adjusted valves on recent SOHC Hondas (either with the L-series or R-series engine) and get their thoughts on what do to about the problematic valve lash screw on cyl #2.

brianbrannon > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
05/27/2020 at 21:32

I had several fits with the intakes adjusted to the exhaust spec and vice vers

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > brianbrannon
05/27/2020 at 23:01

How did you discover the error? Any particular auto repair chains the culprits?

brianbrannon > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
05/30/2020 at 16:11

It was Honda dealer techs doing a recall wrong mostly