Conspiracy theory: The fact they took the cluster out for no reason and 'broke' it makes me wonder if they already had a broken cluster from one of their own vehicles and just swapped the good one from the customers vehicle. Its not unheard of for shady mechanics to take good parts off customer vehicles.
This is why I service my vehicles myself. I don't trust any shops or dealerships with any of my cars. That is a very nice truck. I would love to have one like that. Those were some of the best built trucks ever made.
I hear you Eddie, but a lot of us are just not set up to take apart dashes and perform this kind of work. Mechanics are highly trained and skilled of course and RUclips videos are no replacement for formal training and experience.
@@roaddog7542 depends on the shop, a decent mechanic is worth decent money and customers always seem to want their cars fixed yesterday for a handshake and a slice of their wife’s nasty cake 😂😂😂
Whenever someone ask me who I always take my Acura to I tell them my mechanic's name, after they call him the first thing, they say is he is too expensive, and they always find someone cheaper, then complain about how the cheap mechanic, rip them off, by doing poor work, I tell them there is a reason why i used the same mechanic, for all my Acura's and Toyota over the last 10 plus years.
Many mechanics I’ve dealt with really don’t care if they break things on these older cars. But if it’s a new car or some sports car, they treat it SO carefully. I have found numerous things wrong over the years when my parents took their 98 CRV and 98 RAV4 to service. Missing clips, broken plastics, hacky repairs… I inherited the 98 CRV when I moved away and done all services to it and corrected most of the problems from the previous shops because “Oh, it’s just an old Honda, just duct tape it”. I’ll never let anyone service my vehicle unless I need new tires or an alignment.
An older fella who worked at the autozone in the small town I used to live in put 800k miles on his bricknose 5 speed 2wd F150. It ran perfect but he replaced it with a reman engine so he could sell that engine to his friend to put in a tractor
Shocked that anyone would even try another mechanic if they already have a relationship w/ Omega. Good mechanics are a gift and they make your life so much easier by giving you the piece of mind that everyone will be able to get where they need on time and safe. They also save you tons by extending the life of your gear. You find one, stick w/ them.
I run my own business repairing medical equipment. I remember telling this one customer I’m not the cheapest guy in town and I’m not the most expensive guy in town. He looked at me and said I don’t want the cheapest guy. that’s a smart customer
I also watch a couple of other auto repair RUclipsrs, and they are usually the ones to fix "the other shops" screw ups. They also hate having to take care of the problems that were created from the cheaper shop. Hats of to Eric O from South Main Auto and Rainman Ray, they can usually get things fixed the others couldn't!
You will need a cluster out of a 1994 or 1995 F-series truck so it will be plug and play. Others need to be rewired due to pinout differences. The PSOM may be swapped over to retain actual mileage.
That's exactly what I did,, in 1985 went on a hard target search for a used loaded F150 with a straight 6 and I found it,,, it was a 1982 with 40000 miles,,,, drove it to 1995 and 270000 miles and it still ran like a new truck... The most reliable THING I've ever owned in my life..
Nice truck! As a retired elementary school district classified employee, I can concur with Mrs. Wizard on the bidding process for school districts. As with this truck, often times those low bidders actually cost the schol district more $ in the long term.
Even if the shop accidentally broke a couple of tabs on the dash bezel, the responsible thing would be to replace the bezel, or at least use a soldering gun and JB weld to reattach the nibs. The way this shop treated this man is basically saying " Eff you!"
JB weld does not work on plastic, I speak from experience, I learned the hard way. Eventually the JB will release itself from the plastic, not so much for steel or aluminum, it will never come off, but plastic, forget it, never lasts.
@@quicksilver462 Sure. If you want my honest opinion, plastic cannot be repaired to " factory originality " strength. The correct repair is to use a virginal part, but if the plastic doesn't have too much stress put on it, you can weld it using a soldering gun and top it off with a glue ( doesn't have to be JB weld) . The main point is of course, these hacks ripped the bezel off, as if they never heard of hidden screws, then left it like that with no attempt at repair.
I work in my owm business in a totaly differnt field (Body-Piercing), but I completely feel you. I also have to constantly fix horrible work done by others. To a point , where I refuse it now. It's just frustrating and stealing my valuable time. Keep on with your quality work 😁!
We got a new F-250 in 1993 for our warehouse used for deliveries, I6, 2x4, standard bed. We put 2 tons fertilizer daily for deliveries in that truck for 250k miles over 5 years, never had a problem, all we had done was maintenance brakes, tires, ect. I am not a FERD guy by any means, but that was a darn good truck fer sure!
The owner should, if he used a credit card to pay the clown shop, call the credit card company and dispute the bill due to unseen damage when the truck was returned. I've done this and have won more than lost. Worth a try and it's easy to do. I'd STICK it to that shop!!!
So true. If the quote is too cheap, they are using substandard parts and labor shortcuts,costs much more in the long run. Pay for it to be completed once the correct way!
Great line about NASA; back when John Glenn went up in the Mercury Program the press asked how he felt about the risk/safety factor, he replied, "Not sure how I feel flying in something that went to the lowest bidder"
When you get a replacement (used) instrument cluster, get one with a tach. You might as well do a little upgrade while the wallet is open. All plug will plug in as it was wired for both options.
I'm so bummed my local mechanic just retired. He's a family friend, very honest, hard worker, always did a great job and took care of his customers and employees. Another guy bought his shop, apparently he owns a couple other shops, and I'm already hearing that he's kind of a sleazeball. I'm doing my own oil changes and whatnot now, definitely not looking forward to the next time I need a bigger job done.
I've watched dozens of your videos and this is one of my favorites. I admire the passion you show especially in this video. I've done clumsy work with my own things such as tug too hard on a plastic part and accidentally break it. But charging a customer despite such clumsy work is not forgivable. Also I work for a school district and I loved Mrs. Wizard's bit of rage at the 17:20 mark how about districts go for the cheapest cheapest cheapest.
I too have been the victim of my own stupidity by taking my car to someone who didn't know diddly squat about fixing the problem, but charging me an arm and a leg for me to find that out! SO, I've learned that being Penny Wise and Pound Foolish doesn't pay in the long run! I now have a mechanic that is close by, is very Tech Savy and has always been reasonable and spot on with his diagnosis of the problem! So now whenever the car has a problem, I just take it to him! And if he can't fix it, he directs me to someone who can!!! This relationship has now been going on for over 20 years!!! Love your videos!!!!
That happen to me also. A simple water pump replacement turn into replacing a water pump, hoses and radiator replacement. I sued and won a judgement. I sent out emails about it & his shop went out of business. Do not go to cheap shops you will pay double at least.
Mr. Wizard, I totally agree the Ford F-150 equipped with the 4.9 ltr inline 6 cylinder is probably one of the best engines ever made. I used to own a 1993 Ford F-150 with that particular engine. A very reliable engine for sure. It was equipped with timing gears, and you can't beat that.
Also beware of shops that will diagnose a specific issue, but will then present you with a laundry list of other so called "issues" and then proceed to hard sell you to have the shop repair all of the "issues" the shop found. They will present these "issues" as safety concerns that should be addressed immediately. They will proceed to tell you how badly your vehicle will perform if you do not accept their recommendations. When you find yourself inside a shop like this, simply ask for the keys to your vehicle, and get out as quickly as you can, never to return. Don't even try to reason with them, as their goal is to squeeze as much work as possible (the upcharge technique) out of you. Just stick to your gut reaction to the hard sell. Listen, used vehicles are going to have "issues". Go to a shop that will correctly prioritize repairs and will work with you, given your budget, on what needs to be done "right now", and what can be deferred (along with imparting the knowledge of the consequences of that deferral), and what are simply nice-to-have repairs, given the age and overall condition. As the owner of any car, you should keep a folder of all past repair invoices on the car so you have a history that you can look back on to figure out how much mileage is on your brakes, shocks, etc. Be proactive instead of reactive, when it comes to car repairs, battery replacement and tire replacement. When a shop tells you that your shocks need to be replaced, you can push back that the shocks only have 25,000 miles use on them!
Got my last set of tires at a Big O, they had a promo on Michelin. For the last 15 years I use a wheel and tire shop in Sacramento that is no bs always do fair deals and quick service. Just for the tire appointment at Big O they had my car for 4 hours and did a complementary safety check and said there was moisture on the steering rack it might be fluid if the steering rack goes it’s be real scary blah blah blah they can do it today for $2200 and also they recommend new shocks and struts because I’m at 90k blah blah they could do it today and have it ready by Monday morning …. Yeah no thanks
Borrowing out is often referred to as lending. You're not kidding. Everyone wants to borrow your truck if you have one. It's so annoying. Replacing it with an SUV solves that issue, although it's not as useful for some things.
Things are “that bad”. Born (65)and raised here in St.louis mo and I’ve all but given up on finding a mechanic like you. Seems like the good mechanics are on YT and not many of those and none that are close to me. Most here locally can change parts but could care less what caused the issue or even have the knowledge to figure it out. Wish you were closer. Love your channel.
And the problem is, they swap parts until they find the responsible part, but you pay for all the parts and labor of the ones they changed unnecessarily. So it's a win-win for these guys. I also notice that local shops in my area are quite busy with easy jobs, so they get lazy and prefer doing nothing else than oil changes, spark plug changes and other maintenance items.
People say I’m crazy for going to an independent shop to get my work done. “THEY CHARGE $85/HR!” They say. Yes but, a) only what needs to be repaired gets repaired. b) oil changed take about an hour, because, like the Wizard, they check everything and top up all fluids. c) we have a personal relationship where if I don’t have the money or can only pay half right away, but the rest later that can happen and I get the rest of the money to him ASAP (rarely happens, usually he tells me what needs to be addressed first and I save for it before I take it in). AND most important d) he pays his techs a fair and competitive wage, with benefits and appropriate time off. Not like a dealer charging $110 for a synthetic oil change and only paying the guy $15 to do it. It’s a local business and these folks put their money back in our community, not some corporate giant on Wall Street. As a local contractor I recommend his shop he recommends my company when customers ask. Great episode. Pride of workmanship is missing in several trades today. That’s where I see the problem.
$85/hour for someone honest who is in your corner is very reasonable. Too cheap actually! I like giving good small businesses my money. And they usually recommend my small business as well.
I remember taking a toyota pickup to my local mechanic back in the 90's. I had just bought it and the only issue was the horn wouldn't work. I came back a few hours later. The guy was napping in the seat and said he couldn't find the problem. He had managed to somehow blow the entire electrical system (gauges, interior lights, turn signals, etc all quit working) and wouldn't fess up to it. The next shop thought some part in the dash was the problem and it started smoking when they plugged it in. I finally had to take it to a dealer in the city to sort everything out.
Thanks for all you do Wizard. Integrity and tenacity are sorely lacking throughout the repair industry today. Not only did I learn a few tips and tricks to work on my own 92 OBS, I also reaffirmed my own preference for DIY. As an interior aficionado, I'm fully convinced that other shop must have employed a Tweaker.
It reminds me of the time my mom took her escape to get the shifter fix (it wouldn't shift to any gear- cable broke which the mechanic said)... Any who. It shifts but it doesn't click and lock to any gear. Makes matters worse, yesterday I noticed they literally ripped the air filter housing... That's a 100 dollar item I need to order directly from Ford. Really pissed me off, there's a reason I do my own work on my vehicles
My housekeeper always told me this saying growing up "los baratos salen caro" the cheap comes out expensive! This scenario is no exception! I've even learned myself overtime that if you don't know don't touch it! Learn before you touch it! Even if you think you know what you're doing but perhaps it's something you haven't done before. Always verify the proper procedure and removal techniques BEFORE you begin work so that you avoid getting into scenarios like this where you have multiple broken components.
I understand why the customer does not want to go back and complain. Until people start doing it, these garages will keep on turning out shoddy, substandard and possibly dangerous “ workmanship”.They will keep on making money, and people will keep on getting screwed, so if no one confronts the garage owner, then , sorry, don’t complain, the solution is in their hands.
Ofcourse this happens if customers just let them do it. Obviously the customer should demand refund and replacement parts for his, and other customers sake. This is the obvious way to reduce garages from stealing and breaking customers cars.
@@bishen67 It might be urban legend but, I heard a story of a shop in Long Beach, Ca. Because of his great location, he was in business for 30 years and not once did he ever fix something right.
Not just auto repair. Last year I hired a contractor to repair a chimney at a rental property. They knocked it down, damaging the window trim and driveway. They did hire another outfit to build a new chimney, repair the trim, and pour a new driveway slab, for no extra charge. But the tenant had to live with a boarded-up hole in her living room for a month!
I'm glad to hear you're getting this sorted out like you always do: the RIGHT way. Have you ever had a chat with Steve Lehto, the lemon law attorney in Michigan, about situations like this? It would be awesome content to see a collaboration between you and him, especially since matters like this have become more the norm rather than the exception anymore.
What a great truck from a simpler time, the way trucks SHOULD BE!!! All hail the 300 I6. It needs to come back!!! Thank you for being an honest shop, and just repair the problems right.
I agree but it wouldn’t be the same. That 300 I6 would never pass modern epa requirements as a new engine developed today. It would be far more complicated with high pressure direct injection and complex us regulated emissions crap
Obviously they made a huge mistake but what would you do if you needed them to repair everything I don't understand how he could walk out of there after paying him $900 I wouldn't have gave him a penny how would that play out if a customer didn't get what they asked for and due to their work broke even more stuff curious I never been through that luckily most of the things that break I can fix
I had a 1994 F150 with 300 inline 6 with stick and dual tanks. Absolutely loved that vehicle! I was hoping that you would do a video on this truck when I saw it in the background. Such an easy vehicle to work on for a shady tree as myself. It surprises me that any mechanic would have any issues working on this generation F150 with that engine / trans configuration.
I LOVE what the Car Wizard has to say about the 4.9 / 300 I6 engine! I had a '96 4x4 F150 with one, also with the M5OD manual transmission. I fixed the dash cluster broken mounting points with JB weld. I think I'd be leaving bad reviews on that other shop and sharing the story of their terrible service experience!! Glad the Car Wizard got involved.
We always called them window cranks when I grew up in Canada. My dad always called it "arm-strong power windows" and he preferred cars with such, Dad's theory was that with manual windows, you have the option of rolling them down if you ever accidentally drove into a body of water.
ive been hearing that for years, even when i lived 300 miles from any body of water. Like, its almost a joke excuse because they didnt want to PAY for electric windows, the 'in case i drive into a river' was just bs.
I had to fix a f150 that someone did the same thing to. It took about 2 weeks to gorilla glue all the pieces back together. That was 10 years ago & the gorilla glue has held up with no problems. I used the original type & i allowed it cure completely before installing
Wizard I have a 1992 F150 that I bought used in 2014. It had less than 47,000 original miles. I had to replace some items, front fuel tank assembly, rear fuel tank and pump, plug wires, cap/rotor, spark plugs and coil. A couple of years late the Tachometer went bonkers. Found out you could fix it by re-soldering all the area on the back that are brown, where it had lost its electric connection. I had to take the instrument bezel off to get the cluster out and I did by the book but the plastic was brittle. The screws that Ford used have groves on the back of the head that bites into the plastic. When you unscrew them it takes the plastic with it . The top pin connector broke also. I was going to buy a new bezel but the price was too high. I fixed the bezel by using JB Weld, Plastic Weld Repair Epoxy Putty. Put the putty in where it used screws, once it harden re drilled the holes and used the putty to reattached the top broken clips to the bezel. This worked out just great, I was able to fix the Tachometer and the instrument bezel all with a little bit of solder and some JB Weld, Plastic Weld for less than $10.00.
Don't lend out your vehicles or anything else. My motto is I don't borrow and I don't lend. If I need something I buy it or rent it or do without. If people don't want to be your friend for this even better.
I am currently an aircraft mechanic. I used to be an auto mechanic years ago. I stay current on newer cars and have all the tools to work on them. Several times a year, I have to do a diagnosis or diag and repair on cars that shops cannot fix for friends. Had this happened three times in the past year. One was for a vibration (bad carrier bearing, also replaced all 3 u-joints with 200K miles on them since we were in there). The shop replaced the rear wheelbearings and wanted to replace the front differential. The other was a hard start after filling with gas ($20 evap vent valve). Shop had replaced the fuel pump. Both of these took less than 5 minutes to troubleshoot. I fixed an old ladies car (friends mother). Shop quoted her $250 for a radiator overflow tank. One test drive and a chemical head gasket test later. I put in a $5 junkyard tank, $10 for a thermostat (overheating caused the overpressure to split the tank), and a $10 radiater cap just because. And 20 minutes of labor after the car cooled down, all issues fixed. With all the modern troubleshooting features, if it does not throw a code, diagnostics is a lost art.
Great video, Dave. A very valid point. Get ready to have your beard curl. I have a 1990 Volvo 240DL wagon, just like the red 93 you had in. On the highway there was a vibration. A bad vibration up to about 80 mph. Above that, nothing. Below that, take your foot off the gas and it almost went away. Took it to what is supposed to be a decent shop because it is large and could look at the car quickly. Get a phone call that they can't fix it because nobody knows about an old Volvo. The back axle is a Dana 30, so hardly exotic. The said the exhaust was touching the axle. Fine. Took it back to get the exhaust routed properly. Didn't believe that to be the issue because in 31 years of going there I have never had any issue. No change. Took it to the "Volvo specialist" shop here in town. Needed a new rear U Joint. Fine. Do it. Made sense as it was original to the car, and 33 years and 390,000 miles is a lot for a U Joint. Get the car back and the vibration is different. Annoying but not changing with the throttle. Took it back. Was told the driveshaft was damaged. Okay. Called a buddy with parts. He had a known good driveshaft. Put it in, problem solved. Then we looked at mine. Not warped, not bent. The new U Joint was missing the zirk fitting. Joint full of crud. Bad enough. Two of the retaining clips were not seating right. One fell out when the pliers touched it. The other was almost as bad. Keep in mind, this was not a discount shop. It was one of the most expensive shops in town. There was no question of going cheap as the car is a keeper. I plan to see a million miles on it. The issue is that there are no mechanics bring trained. Technicians are good for electronics but it takes a mechanic to fix the mechanical systems. My next car will have a carburetor because electronics are a pain when they get old.
Hello Car Wizard. I am a fan from your home state of Georgia , and this is exactly why I do my own maintenance and repair. I have a 90 model F150 with a very similar dash layout to that one. I’ve had it apart many times and I have yet to break anything, if I was the guy that owns that truck, I would be out for blood . Carry on with your good work.
One of the Mechanics in our town claims to be the cheapest, but since he charges double the book rate, And since he makes mistakes and has to redo the work he does, he’s the most expensive. The other so-called cheap shop in town told a neighbor that he needed a new head gasket, all the car needed was a radiator cap. That same shop dented my fender along with charging me $1100. The third shop in town quoted my son $150 for a part, which was only $35 at the dealer.
That sucks. A mechanic I used for 10 years drove my car in under another car on the hoist. Put a big gouge in the roof. When I came to collect it, it was strangely parked 50m from the usual spot. I saw the damage, and asked what happened. "A stone ?" was the reply. As I couldn't prove he'd done it ( he'd done it ), I never went back to him. 10 years of generous tips, and recommending him high and low, and he chose money over honesty.
I’ve got a similar model with an automatic, if your customer would be interested, a gauge cluster FROM THE SAME YEAR with a tachometer is plug-n-play. All the wiring is present and it’ll work perfectly. Might be a nice upgrade while the cluster is being replaced
Great video.... I have a 1983 E100 Shorty Van since new. It has the 4.9L 300 6 carbureated engine. Great engine, plenty peppy for me with strong low end torque. It only has 150,000 miles on it, but I love it. PS..... I also love my window cranks....never let me down..😊
thank you wizard for bringing this up i got royally screwed over recently i had my 08 jk wrangler at the shop i wanted a simple alignment done they wanted to replace everything and unload the parts cannon on it when i declined service they would call and say the brake pad broke or the brake caliper wont retract i smelled bs but it was one of those we cant let you take it now situations spent $700 on shit service and broke more than they fixed they lost /broke the front axle guides which turned into them damaging the axle seals i have spent the last few days un "f" ing all their shoddy work me as a diy guy can get the information to figure out the issues at hand its not a complicated job that unnamed shop will never see my business again
300 six, manual transmission, crank windows... With all the Toyota butt kissing lately it's nice to see a real truck on the channel again. These trucks do have occasional issues with the PSOM (programmable speedometer odometer module) the speedometer will read zero and the LCD display for the odometer will be blank, and if it's an automatic transmission truck it'll shift extremely hard. It's extremely likely the caveman who tore that gauge cluster out of the dash ruined the traces on it. They made these F150s from 92-96, but there is small differences in the PSOMs that make some years incompatible with others... 92 and 93 will interchange, 94 and 95 will interchange, 96 will only work with a 96. Side note: I noticed the cluster for this particular truck doesn't have a factory tach, a gauge cluster with a factory tachometer will swap right into this truck with no modifications at all, the mounting holes are the same and the wiring for the factory tach already exists in the plug that plugs into the non-tach cluster. I currently own 3 of these trucks, and I've owned probably 10 others over the past 2 decades. Couldn't imagine having to pay someone to work on one of them...
"That is a window knob" wait Mrs Wizard but I thought it was a crank! Lol! I love window cranks so much I found a 2016 model with window cranks, manual door locks, and the rare three pedal driver's side foot well.
Danielson is really a worthwhile fellow to be in Omega's team. Magic Mike as well. Wish I could have worked there, just to learn from people who know what they're doing. 👍
If you already have semi decent mechanical skills and willing to relocate. Car Wizzard might even give you a chance. Junior Mint quit the job around september/october last year and afaik they have never replaced him so they are still a mechanic down. its good to have a junior who can deal with the smaller tasks rather than tie up an experienced mechanic who can be dealing with bigger/more important tasks elsewhere.
@@willydavid What if i told you. That magic mike literally *STAYED AFTER HOURS.* Wrenched on cars and read service manuals a lot just so that he could *LEARN MORE* about the sort of cars that they were working on at Omega? Mike had some experience before working at Omega but he didnt have a whole lot and if you go back to the early videos when he first got introduced. He was always saying how it was a deep learning curve and he was constantly learning things while on the job. No its not a training center. But if a candidate possess the right attitude and acumen. Im willing to give them a shot and they can slowly level up with the business. Im not saying you have to have the place completely staffed by trainee's but having a juniors is a good thing and as they learn and gain more experience it will benefit the business as a whole. Danielson. On the other hand already had lots of experience as he had worked in exotic car dealerships and shops in Florida.
Some people should never attempt a repair in a shop or otherwise. Car Wizard, I absolutely agree with your frustration. You make movements like my son when he is angry with stupidity. All of your loyal viewers need to visit this bad shop and convince them to be better.
So true. Having a rugged 4x4 makes everyone want to borrow it from you for various reasons. "I wanna pull up my boat" or "I need to move the large freezer to the dump", or some other excuse. I have always told them off and denying this. I'd rather help them out myself if I had the time or they had to go and rent a moving van or something. I categorically refuse anyone except my very best friend to borrow my car. He was a very kind and trustworthy person and I miss him dearly. He could always pick up my car if he wanted it for some reason, like I could borrow his cars. Normally he dropped off his Mercedes 300 SEL for me to drive while he used the Patrol, and there was never a dent or a damage in it upon return. Usually he even filled up the tank for me.
However, plastic becomes brittle after so many years, it changes its structure. The sequence of steps during disassembly is very important. The order of removing the buckles is known.
This is where I agree with you. I don't have a shop but people constantly come back to me because they know they don't get jerked around and it gets fixed right. If you still need a cluster, I have one.
"The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of the lowest bid" Car Wizard keep up the great work, I need you where I live, you are the best!
You mentioned the "bullet proof" Ford In-Line 6 cylinder engine. The amazing thing about that motor is Ford had 50 years to screw it up and never succeeded. Now that's a miracle!
I use a great local shop for our MINI, they were recommended by a former coworker. Always nice to find a good mechanic who’s so close to you and treats you well.
Reminds me of a certain discount tire place I purchased wheels and tires from. On two occasions they've ordered wheels from their warehouse and at least one has a bent wheel lip where someone dropped the wheel in it's box into concrete and bent it and I wasted my time having to go back to have a replacement. They've also cross threaded a lug nut when I had a TPS sensor replaced which I had to take back to them while I was having my car serviced and tire rotation done. Before I started having my cars serviced at my car dealership I used to go to jiffy lube but I stopped going to that jiffy lube after one time I was having an oil and filter change and I heard the rookie start up my car before they refilled it with oil. Luckily another employee immediately caught that and had him turn the engine off before any damage could occur
These are the reasons i am skeptical to trust any mechanic shops I do everything my self only thing I've ever needed a shop for is wheel alignments and putting on new tires and taking old ones off the rims.
@@jebus914 Yes, I do have a 04 Honda CR-V which makes doing anything a breeze. But I had an Infiniti still did all the work pain in the ass let me tell you but worth it in the end.
When I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s my father did almost all the maintenance work on the family cars. He also did not trust repair shops and wanted to save money.
That 'shop' will not last. Customer satisfaction / dis satisfaction has an even greater impact in this social media world we live in. They will destroy their rep. and the shop will fail. Keep on doing your magic Wizard, you are appreciated.
Exactly what I was thinking. With the 2 original issues... where was the need for anyone to be inside the cab of the truck in the first place??? You would think that after they heard the first of the plastic piece "snap" and break that they would stop, but no... they broke a piece off everywhere there was a fastener, and then made no attempt whatsoever to fix it. This is why I fix my own vehicles.
I really wish I could find a shop like Omega in my area. I do a lot of my own work, but when I do take it to a shop it’s either because I don’t have the time, or the tools, or the space to do the work myself. Or it’s something that’s gotten so out of hand that I need a seasoned professional to get to the bottom of it and do it right. So I rarely take my car to a shop beyond new tires, alignments, and wheel balancing to try people out and get a feel for them. But all the ones I’ve gone to so far have left me questioning their true competence. No passion anymore, no veterans with repeated knowledge of the vehicle in question.
@@BaltimoreAndOhioRR Dude! That’s another thing! Right now for the past 5 years owning my car I’ve been battling a wobbly wheel situation! Car vibrates over 70mph only a few weeks after a tire balance, when the wheels I currently have on the back are on the front, my steering wheel walks back and forth at 30-40mph so I’ve stopped getting tire rotations altogether because no shop I’ve brought it to yet, no shop no dealership, none of them can find the issue! And this has persisted through a new set of tires. They say all the wheels stay true on the balancer, wheels don’t seem bent… but it follows one of my rear wheels! They cost too damn much to just replace them both.
Car Wizard, it was the old switch-a-roo on the instrument cluster. They stole his to sell or use themselves for someone who needed the exact very hard to find cluster. In exchange, he got their old faulty cluster. Shops, especially dealerships are mostly scam artist today. If you find an honest independent shop such as the Car Wizard's shop that's the one to stick with even if slightly higher shop rate. In the long run, the bill will always be cheaper knowing the shop owner didn't steal your parts or over charge you. Great Video, Wizard. PS There is one exception the Car Wizard can make to overcharging a customer, and that is his millionaire friend, Tyler Hoovie who drops a couple of million dollars a year just on cars alone. LOL. We all love Tyler Hoovie, an awesome and honest guy like the Car Wizard. BTW, does this comment qualify me for a 20% shop rate discount or better yet, a free car from either the Car Wizard or Hoovie's garage?
I'm surprised Mrs. Wizard did not bring up the vent windows. When she was saying about something we never see anymore I thought for sure she would bring the camera a few inches up and talk about the funky winglet windows. Literally the last automobile to have them. They were great for instantly defogging the windshield on my 94 F150.
@@stevepaige1636You get a writ of execution and threaten to take his tools unless he pays up. He will because his tools are worth more than $900 because he literally won't be able to work. Executing the judgement isn't the problem. Getting it is.
Unfortunately. I find news customers every week victims of those bad practices. Some of them are at the end complety squeezed financially and are not able to have their car repaired or to sue the garage in court. Very heartbreaking situations.
I have a small fleet of 94-96 f-series... All with the 300cid/ 5-speeds... They're great on gas, even with a trailer in tow... They have all the torque, especially in the granny gear(close ratio) but the wide ratio trannys do just fine as well...! I'll never use/ buy another kind of truck, or an automatic...!!! Thanks, keep up your awesomeness and go enjoy some nature today...
I hope that customer left a review everywhere the bad shop is listed online along with filing a chargeback for the $900 they stole. If not for their own sake, but to save others from getting ripped off
I have always said that you can buy a car (new or used) from anywhere but finding a mechanic you can trust is the first step before making that purchase. I drove Saab's for 35 consecutive years. Before purchasing the first one I found an independent Saab specialist in my hometown to service/repair my cars. I never had an issue with them and work was done correctly the first time, every time. They have been in business since 1956 and have quite a following of dedicated customers.
What can I say, Car Wizard; you have standards. Other shops either don't, or if you find one that does.... expect to pay obscene premiums out the nose for their work.
My cousin has that exact same year and model truck, except his is white. That thing is a TANK ! In the 10+ years he's had it, he's only replaced the AC compressor, front tank fuel pump, and an ignition switch outside of regular routine maintenance. It's the best built pickup truck I've ever been around.
Thankfully I wrench on my own cars. Obviously I sometimes need to take it to the shop as I do not own an AC machine, an alignment rack etc., but it is really a good feeling to know that my car is in good shape and I've done that myself. I don't even have any formal mechanic education, I'm just a hobby mechanic.
Canadian Tire is huge in Canada. I once took my front wheel drive car to them within less then one mile of driving from a muffler shop that had just replaced my entire exhaust system. Paper stickers were still on the muffler and other parts not yet even having turned brown from the heat. Anyway I took my car to Canadian Tire because of a rattle in the back end of the car. I wrote on the top of the work order DO NOT TOUCH EXHAUST ! Then I let them have the car for the day. I went off to work. They insisted they be able to call me . I told them nope I can not be called at work. So my somewhat senile mothers phone number was given . They would not look at my car without being able to call me even though all they were authorized to do was find out what the rattle was not fix it just tell me what was causing it. They put the car on the lift and some kid high school kid was given the job of figuring out what the rattle was from . He removed the entire brand new exhaust system . Tossed it in a huge pile of old parts out back and replaced every part of the exhaust . Turns out they had called my mother who lived in that city . I did not live there They claim they did not see the huge writing on the top of the work order . When I heard they replaced my exhaust system I was furious still am many years later. I went into the shop while the car was up on the lift took one look and saw the rear axel was broken in half . Pretty much banged my head on it when I walked under the car. I had to pay them for that work in order to get my car the hell out of there. Canadian Tire is the worst auto shop in the world . Never ever take a car there .
My family mechanic wouldn't work on my car when I was a teen. My parents and older brother, no problem. With me, he would say, get your manual out, "Here's what you need to do, call me if you run into trouble," and send me on my way. Best thing that happened to me. Had that car for 18 years. '65 Mustang, straight 6, 3 speed transmission.
Price is not always an indicator to what level of service you will receive. You can spend lots and get little in return. Asking around about a place or service and getting the feedback is better knowledge then what price would indicate.
I can't even count the vehicles I repaired over the years that came from another shop. Not only do you have to undo what the other shop screwed up in most cases you have to fix the original problem. The most common was the A604 Chrysler transmission that another shop rebuilt and then it still didn't shift. Original problem was a wiring issue causing the transmission to be in limp mode.
Wizard only has customer say so on the condition of the vehicle beforehand and what work was done by and by who. The plastic around the cluster may have been broken for a while. He can only testify as to what he did for the customer, and we assume it might match the work he asked the shop to do. Also the customer would probably be expected to at least approach the original shop for an opportunity to check the repair first.
Based on your other videos, if you say the 300 six is the most reliable, bulletproof engine of all time, I would consider that statement a fact. Nice old truck. Hard to find them anymore not rusted out. I had an 89 with the six and five speed. Bought it new. Drove it for several years but got the bug for a Mustang and traded it.
That is why I am scared to death of most shops. I respect your knowledge and most of all your honesty. I wish your shop was closer to where I live and I live in WA State and too far away. I usually do my own work because I do NOT trust most shops in my area. Problem is that I am getting up in years and just don't want to work on cars anymore. Best to you amd Mrs Wizard always
Conspiracy theory: The fact they took the cluster out for no reason and 'broke' it makes me wonder if they already had a broken cluster from one of their own vehicles and just swapped the good one from the customers vehicle. Its not unheard of for shady mechanics to take good parts off customer vehicles.
This is why I service my vehicles myself. I don't trust any shops or dealerships with any of my cars. That is a very nice truck. I would love to have one like that. Those were some of the best built trucks ever made.
I hear you Eddie, but a lot of us are just not set up to take apart dashes and perform this kind of work. Mechanics are highly trained and skilled of course and RUclips videos are no replacement for formal training and experience.
👍👍
@@barco581 well he did say HE services his vehicles, doesn't mean you or everyone else lol
Local shops want $120 an hour labor, markup the parts, and only go by book time. Plenty of reasons to avoid them if possible.
@@roaddog7542 depends on the shop, a decent mechanic is worth decent money and customers always seem to want their cars fixed yesterday for a handshake and a slice of their wife’s nasty cake 😂😂😂
This situation really ticked me off! I hope the customer takes this video and takes the shop to court for all this senseless damage.
Sad part is the shop will say it was already like that!!! There's not much proof!!!
Whenever someone ask me who I always take my Acura to I tell them my mechanic's name, after they call him the first thing, they say is he is too expensive, and they always find someone cheaper, then complain about how the cheap mechanic, rip them off, by doing poor work, I tell them there is a reason why i used the same mechanic, for all my Acura's and Toyota over the last 10 plus years.
@@patrickboyd3364 as the owner of two Acura’s, who do you use??
@@robertborne895 I would like to know too.
Many mechanics I’ve dealt with really don’t care if they break things on these older cars. But if it’s a new car or some sports car, they treat it SO carefully. I have found numerous things wrong over the years when my parents took their 98 CRV and 98 RAV4 to service. Missing clips, broken plastics, hacky repairs… I inherited the 98 CRV when I moved away and done all services to it and corrected most of the problems from the previous shops because “Oh, it’s just an old Honda, just duct tape it”. I’ll never let anyone service my vehicle unless I need new tires or an alignment.
You got that right wizard. That 4.9 inline 6 is a legend and best engine ever
Better than a pd130?
agreed 6 is the best I ever had. never had any issues. well outlasted the truck.
Agreed. And this is from the owner of a '91 F-150 with the 302 V8.
An older fella who worked at the autozone in the small town I used to live in put 800k miles on his bricknose 5 speed 2wd F150. It ran perfect but he replaced it with a reman engine so he could sell that engine to his friend to put in a tractor
Ford needs to make these again they are a million times more reliable then those eco boost engines
Shocked that anyone would even try another mechanic if they already have a relationship w/ Omega. Good mechanics are a gift and they make your life so much easier by giving you the piece of mind that everyone will be able to get where they need on time and safe. They also save you tons by extending the life of your gear. You find one, stick w/ them.
I suspect the Wizards turn around time might not be that great. Sometimes it's more convenient to go a bit closer to home for certain services.
Also consider, most shops only like working on one car per customer, At a time. At least out here in St.Louis
I run my own business repairing medical equipment. I remember telling this one customer I’m not the cheapest guy in town and I’m not the most expensive guy in town. He looked at me and said I don’t want the cheapest guy. that’s a smart customer
Middleman
A fun one... Do you want it done right or do you want me to do it?
Just because a customer pays more money it doesn't mean you get better work.
I also watch a couple of other auto repair RUclipsrs, and they are usually the ones to fix "the other shops" screw ups. They also hate having to take care of the problems that were created from the cheaper shop. Hats of to Eric O from South Main Auto and Rainman Ray, they can usually get things fixed the others couldn't!
I see a lot of South Main videos
the car care nut does this as well.
SMA rules
Three things in life we all need: A good doctor, a good lawyer, and an honest, capable mechnic.
Everything else is gravy.
A good dentist too, don't forget it!!!
You forgot the plumber.
@@1983dmd I second on that dentist.
I want a world where no one one needs lawyers.
And a good wife!
You will need a cluster out of a 1994 or 1995 F-series truck so it will be plug and play. Others need to be rewired due to pinout differences. The PSOM may be swapped over to retain actual mileage.
You're correct. However, it's the PSOM portion that is dead on this cluster.
That's exactly what I did,, in 1985 went on a hard target search for a used loaded F150 with a straight 6 and I found it,,, it was a 1982 with 40000 miles,,,, drove it to 1995 and 270000 miles and it still ran like a new truck...
The most reliable THING I've ever owned in my life..
Nice truck! As a retired elementary school district classified employee, I can concur with Mrs. Wizard on the bidding process for school districts. As with this truck, often times those low bidders actually cost the schol district more $ in the long term.
Even if the shop accidentally broke a couple of tabs on the dash bezel, the responsible thing would be to replace the bezel, or at least use a soldering gun and JB weld to reattach the nibs. The way this shop treated this man is basically saying " Eff you!"
JB weld does not work on plastic, I speak from experience, I learned the hard way. Eventually the JB will release itself from the plastic, not so much for steel or aluminum, it will never come off, but plastic, forget it, never lasts.
Would the repair of the damage be patching something?
@@mickeymomighty5660 I think super glue and baking soda might work, but have yet to try it .
@@quicksilver462 Sure. If you want my honest opinion, plastic cannot be repaired to " factory originality " strength. The correct repair is to use a virginal part, but if the plastic doesn't have too much stress put on it, you can weld it using a soldering gun and top it off with a glue ( doesn't have to be JB weld) . The main point is of course, these hacks ripped the bezel off, as if they never heard of hidden screws, then left it
like that with no attempt at repair.
@@quicksilver462 Maybe it's okay if a man glues on his car himself, but for a workshop to do repairs like that is a crime.
I work in my owm business in a totaly differnt field (Body-Piercing), but I completely feel you. I also have to constantly fix horrible work done by others. To a point , where I refuse it now. It's just frustrating and stealing my valuable time. Keep on with your quality work 😁!
I would take the bill back to the original shop and demand full payment. They really should refund their work in addition. I could not let this go.
FULLY AGREED Howard!!
Why take them the bill back, just do a credit card dispute
But , it is a 28 year old car with old plastic bits. Possibly some already broken.
Not every mounting point of the dash would be broke! And WTF does the gauge cluster have to do with the AC & coolant smell?
And what do you do if/when they tell you to take a hike?
We got a new F-250 in 1993 for our warehouse used for deliveries, I6, 2x4, standard bed. We put 2 tons fertilizer daily for deliveries in that truck for 250k miles over 5 years, never had a problem, all we had done was maintenance brakes, tires, ect. I am not a FERD guy by any means, but that was a darn good truck fer sure!
The owner should, if he used a credit card to pay the clown shop, call the credit card company and dispute the bill due to unseen damage when the truck was returned. I've done this and have won more than lost. Worth a try and it's easy to do. I'd STICK it to that shop!!!
So true. If the quote is too cheap, they are using substandard parts and labor shortcuts,costs much more in the long run. Pay for it to be completed once the correct way!
Great line about NASA; back when John Glenn went up in the Mercury Program the press asked how he felt about the risk/safety factor, he replied, "Not sure how I feel flying in something that went to the lowest bidder"
When you get a replacement (used) instrument cluster, get one with a tach. You might as well do a little upgrade while the wallet is open. All plug will plug in as it was wired for both options.
I'm so bummed my local mechanic just retired. He's a family friend, very honest, hard worker, always did a great job and took care of his customers and employees. Another guy bought his shop, apparently he owns a couple other shops, and I'm already hearing that he's kind of a sleazeball. I'm doing my own oil changes and whatnot now, definitely not looking forward to the next time I need a bigger job done.
I've watched dozens of your videos and this is one of my favorites. I admire the passion you show especially in this video.
I've done clumsy work with my own things such as tug too hard on a plastic part and accidentally break it. But charging a customer despite such clumsy work is not forgivable.
Also I work for a school district and I loved Mrs. Wizard's bit of rage at the 17:20 mark how about districts go for the cheapest cheapest cheapest.
Mrs. Wizard's "rage" was real special & adds spice to this well-done expose.
Lot of Texas vehicles showing up at your shop, that says a lot that folks are willing to go that far to have you work on them.
That so many Texas vehicles made it Kansas is a testimony to the longevity of Texas sourced vehicles.
I too have been the victim of my own stupidity by taking my car to someone who didn't know diddly squat about fixing the problem, but charging me an arm and a leg for me to find that out! SO, I've learned that being Penny Wise and Pound Foolish doesn't pay in the long run! I now have a mechanic that is close by, is very Tech Savy and has always been reasonable and spot on with his diagnosis of the problem! So now whenever the car has a problem, I just take it to him! And if he can't fix it, he directs me to someone who can!!! This relationship has now been going on for over 20 years!!! Love your videos!!!!
That happen to me also. A simple water pump replacement turn into replacing a water pump, hoses and radiator replacement. I sued and won a judgement. I sent out emails about it & his shop went out of business. Do not go to cheap shops you will pay double at least.
Mr. Wizard, I totally agree the Ford F-150 equipped with the 4.9 ltr inline 6 cylinder is probably one of the best engines ever made. I used to own a 1993 Ford F-150 with that particular engine. A very reliable engine for sure. It was equipped with timing gears, and you can't beat that.
Also beware of shops that will diagnose a specific issue, but will then present you with a laundry list of other so called "issues" and then proceed to hard sell you to have the shop repair all of the "issues" the shop found. They will present these "issues" as safety concerns that should be addressed immediately. They will proceed to tell you how badly your vehicle will perform if you do not accept their recommendations. When you find yourself inside a shop like this, simply ask for the keys to your vehicle, and get out as quickly as you can, never to return. Don't even try to reason with them, as their goal is to squeeze as much work as possible (the upcharge technique) out of you. Just stick to your gut reaction to the hard sell. Listen, used vehicles are going to have "issues". Go to a shop that will correctly prioritize repairs and will work with you, given your budget, on what needs to be done "right now", and what can be deferred (along with imparting the knowledge of the consequences of that deferral), and what are simply nice-to-have repairs, given the age and overall condition. As the owner of any car, you should keep a folder of all past repair invoices on the car so you have a history that you can look back on to figure out how much mileage is on your brakes, shocks, etc. Be proactive instead of reactive, when it comes to car repairs, battery replacement and tire replacement. When a shop tells you that your shocks need to be replaced, you can push back that the shocks only have 25,000 miles use on them!
i've learned that these are usually dealerships that try to add on all of the extras. They are a ripoff 95% of the time!
Got my last set of tires at a Big O, they had a promo on Michelin. For the last 15 years I use a wheel and tire shop in Sacramento that is no bs always do fair deals and quick service. Just for the tire appointment at Big O they had my car for 4 hours and did a complementary safety check and said there was moisture on the steering rack it might be fluid if the steering rack goes it’s be real scary blah blah blah they can do it today for $2200 and also they recommend new shocks and struts because I’m at 90k blah blah they could do it today and have it ready by Monday morning …. Yeah no thanks
Borrowing out is often referred to as lending. You're not kidding. Everyone wants to borrow your truck if you have one. It's so annoying. Replacing it with an SUV solves that issue, although it's not as useful for some things.
Things are “that bad”. Born (65)and raised here in St.louis mo and I’ve all but given up on finding a mechanic like you. Seems like the good mechanics are on YT and not many of those and none that are close to me. Most here locally can change parts but could care less what caused the issue or even have the knowledge to figure it out. Wish you were closer. Love your channel.
And the problem is, they swap parts until they find the responsible part, but you pay for all the parts and labor of the ones they changed unnecessarily. So it's a win-win for these guys. I also notice that local shops in my area are quite busy with easy jobs, so they get lazy and prefer doing nothing else than oil changes, spark plug changes and other maintenance items.
Had a great mechanic over in Belleville, but he unfortunately got into a motorcycle accident… he lived, but with limited function🙏🏼
People say I’m crazy for going to an independent shop to get my work done. “THEY CHARGE $85/HR!” They say. Yes but, a) only what needs to be repaired gets repaired. b) oil changed take about an hour, because, like the Wizard, they check everything and top up all fluids. c) we have a personal relationship where if I don’t have the money or can only pay half right away, but the rest later that can happen and I get the rest of the money to him ASAP (rarely happens, usually he tells me what needs to be addressed first and I save for it before I take it in). AND most important d) he pays his techs a fair and competitive wage, with benefits and appropriate time off. Not like a dealer charging $110 for a synthetic oil change and only paying the guy $15 to do it. It’s a local business and these folks put their money back in our community, not some corporate giant on Wall Street. As a local contractor I recommend his shop he recommends my company when customers ask. Great episode. Pride of workmanship is missing in several trades today. That’s where I see the problem.
$85/hour for someone honest who is in your corner is very reasonable. Too cheap actually!
I like giving good small businesses my money. And they usually recommend my small business as well.
Interesting that $85/HR is considered expensive. Where I live the cost is 2-3 times that if you go to the dealerships workshop.
I do my own oil change and most of the work on my cars
This is why I have a good mechanic like you Mr Wizard…. I pay a bit more but I know the work will be good.
I remember taking a toyota pickup to my local mechanic back in the 90's. I had just bought it and the only issue was the horn wouldn't work. I came back a few hours later. The guy was napping in the seat and said he couldn't find the problem. He had managed to somehow blow the entire electrical system (gauges, interior lights, turn signals, etc all quit working) and wouldn't fess up to it. The next shop thought some part in the dash was the problem and it started smoking when they plugged it in. I finally had to take it to a dealer in the city to sort everything out.
17:34-18:36 No muffler "Newton" strikes again. I love the healthy respectful humor of the channel. But most importantly the honesty
This is one of the most painful videos of yours that I've watched. But it's still fantastic, and I'm glad you made it.
Thanks for all you do Wizard.
Integrity and tenacity are sorely lacking throughout the repair industry today.
Not only did I learn a few tips and tricks to work on my own 92 OBS, I also reaffirmed my own preference for DIY.
As an interior aficionado, I'm fully convinced that other shop must have employed a Tweaker.
It reminds me of the time my mom took her escape to get the shifter fix (it wouldn't shift to any gear- cable broke which the mechanic said)... Any who. It shifts but it doesn't click and lock to any gear. Makes matters worse, yesterday I noticed they literally ripped the air filter housing... That's a 100 dollar item I need to order directly from Ford. Really pissed me off, there's a reason I do my own work on my vehicles
My housekeeper always told me this saying growing up "los baratos salen caro" the cheap comes out expensive! This scenario is no exception! I've even learned myself overtime that if you don't know don't touch it! Learn before you touch it! Even if you think you know what you're doing but perhaps it's something you haven't done before. Always verify the proper procedure and removal techniques BEFORE you begin work so that you avoid getting into scenarios like this where you have multiple broken components.
Such a shame that this type of scenario keeps happening. Heck it's happening more and more frequently here in the UK too.
I understand why the customer does not want to go back and complain. Until people start doing it, these garages will keep on turning out shoddy, substandard and possibly dangerous “ workmanship”.They will keep on making money, and people will keep on getting screwed, so if no one confronts the garage owner, then , sorry, don’t complain, the solution is in their hands.
Ofcourse this happens if customers just let them do it. Obviously the customer should demand refund and replacement parts for his, and other customers sake. This is the obvious way to reduce garages from stealing and breaking customers cars.
@@bishen67 It might be urban legend but, I heard a story of a shop in Long Beach, Ca. Because of his great location, he was in business for 30 years and not once did he ever fix something right.
Not just auto repair. Last year I hired a contractor to repair a chimney at a rental property. They knocked it down, damaging the window trim and driveway. They did hire another outfit to build a new chimney, repair the trim, and pour a new driveway slab, for no extra charge. But the tenant had to live with a boarded-up hole in her living room for a month!
I'm glad to hear you're getting this sorted out like you always do: the RIGHT way. Have you ever had a chat with Steve Lehto, the lemon law attorney in Michigan, about situations like this? It would be awesome content to see a collaboration between you and him, especially since matters like this have become more the norm rather than the exception anymore.
What a great truck from a simpler time, the way trucks SHOULD BE!!! All hail the 300 I6. It needs to come back!!! Thank you for being an honest shop, and just repair the problems right.
Hopefully they'll bring back single cab and long beds too.
I agree but it wouldn’t be the same. That 300 I6 would never pass modern epa requirements as a new engine developed today. It would be far more complicated with high pressure direct injection and complex us regulated emissions crap
Best 4x4 snowplow I ever owned, incredible traction i6, 5speed excellent on fuel and unkillable
Obviously they made a huge mistake but what would you do if you needed them to repair everything I don't understand how he could walk out of there after paying him $900 I wouldn't have gave him a penny how would that play out if a customer didn't get what they asked for and due to their work broke even more stuff curious I never been through that luckily most of the things that break I can fix
@@spc_inv modern block, turbo, yeah, it would be nice.
I had a 1994 F150 with 300 inline 6 with stick and dual tanks. Absolutely loved that vehicle! I was hoping that you would do a video on this truck when I saw it in the background. Such an easy vehicle to work on for a shady tree as myself. It surprises me that any mechanic would have any issues working on this generation F150 with that engine / trans configuration.
I LOVE what the Car Wizard has to say about the 4.9 / 300 I6 engine! I had a '96 4x4 F150 with one, also with the M5OD manual transmission. I fixed the dash cluster broken mounting points with JB weld. I think I'd be leaving bad reviews on that other shop and sharing the story of their terrible service experience!! Glad the Car Wizard got involved.
We always called them window cranks when I grew up in Canada. My dad always called it "arm-strong power windows" and he preferred cars with such, Dad's theory was that with manual windows, you have the option of rolling them down if you ever accidentally drove into a body of water.
ive been hearing that for years, even when i lived 300 miles from any body of water. Like, its almost a joke excuse because they didnt want to PAY for electric windows, the 'in case i drive into a river' was just bs.
I had to fix a f150 that someone did the same thing to. It took about 2 weeks to gorilla glue all the pieces back together. That was 10 years ago & the gorilla glue has held up with no problems. I used the original type & i allowed it cure completely before installing
Wizard I have a 1992 F150 that I bought used in 2014. It had less than 47,000 original miles. I had to replace some items, front fuel tank assembly, rear fuel tank and pump, plug wires, cap/rotor, spark plugs and coil. A couple of years late the Tachometer went bonkers. Found out you could fix it by re-soldering all the area on the back that are brown, where it had lost its electric connection. I had to take the instrument bezel off to get the cluster out and I did by the book but the plastic was brittle. The screws that Ford used have groves on the back of the head that bites into the plastic. When you unscrew them it takes the plastic with it . The top pin connector broke also. I was going to buy a new bezel but the price was too high. I fixed the bezel by using JB Weld, Plastic Weld Repair Epoxy Putty. Put the putty in where it used screws, once it harden re drilled the holes and used the putty to reattached the top broken clips to the bezel. This worked out just great, I was able to fix the Tachometer and the instrument bezel all with a little bit of solder and some JB Weld, Plastic Weld for less than $10.00.
That's a sharp looking '95, I'd be livid if someone did that to my '94 lightning.
Don't lend out your vehicles or anything else. My motto is I don't borrow and I don't lend. If I need something I buy it or rent it or do without. If people don't want to be your friend for this even better.
I am currently an aircraft mechanic. I used to be an auto mechanic years ago. I stay current on newer cars and have all the tools to work on them. Several times a year, I have to do a diagnosis or diag and repair on cars that shops cannot fix for friends. Had this happened three times in the past year. One was for a vibration (bad carrier bearing, also replaced all 3 u-joints with 200K miles on them since we were in there). The shop replaced the rear wheelbearings and wanted to replace the front differential. The other was a hard start after filling with gas ($20 evap vent valve). Shop had replaced the fuel pump. Both of these took less than 5 minutes to troubleshoot. I fixed an old ladies car (friends mother). Shop quoted her $250 for a radiator overflow tank. One test drive and a chemical head gasket test later. I put in a $5 junkyard tank, $10 for a thermostat (overheating caused the overpressure to split the tank), and a $10 radiater cap just because. And 20 minutes of labor after the car cooled down, all issues fixed. With all the modern troubleshooting features, if it does not throw a code, diagnostics is a lost art.
Great video, Dave. A very valid point. Get ready to have your beard curl. I have a 1990 Volvo 240DL wagon, just like the red 93 you had in. On the highway there was a vibration. A bad vibration up to about 80 mph. Above that, nothing. Below that, take your foot off the gas and it almost went away. Took it to what is supposed to be a decent shop because it is large and could look at the car quickly. Get a phone call that they can't fix it because nobody knows about an old Volvo. The back axle is a Dana 30, so hardly exotic. The said the exhaust was touching the axle. Fine. Took it back to get the exhaust routed properly. Didn't believe that to be the issue because in 31 years of going there I have never had any issue. No change. Took it to the "Volvo specialist" shop here in town. Needed a new rear U Joint. Fine. Do it. Made sense as it was original to the car, and 33 years and 390,000 miles is a lot for a U Joint. Get the car back and the vibration is different. Annoying but not changing with the throttle. Took it back. Was told the driveshaft was damaged. Okay. Called a buddy with parts. He had a known good driveshaft. Put it in, problem solved. Then we looked at mine. Not warped, not bent. The new U Joint was missing the zirk fitting. Joint full of crud. Bad enough. Two of the retaining clips were not seating right. One fell out when the pliers touched it. The other was almost as bad. Keep in mind, this was not a discount shop. It was one of the most expensive shops in town. There was no question of going cheap as the car is a keeper. I plan to see a million miles on it. The issue is that there are no mechanics bring trained. Technicians are good for electronics but it takes a mechanic to fix the mechanical systems. My next car will have a carburetor because electronics are a pain when they get old.
There are few real carburetor masters, they are retired.
Hello Car Wizard. I am a fan from your home state of Georgia , and this is exactly why I do my own maintenance and repair. I have a 90 model F150 with a very similar dash layout to that one. I’ve had it apart many times and I have yet to break anything, if I was the guy that owns that truck, I would be out for blood . Carry on with your good work.
One of the Mechanics in our town claims to be the cheapest, but since he charges double the book rate, And since he makes mistakes and has to redo the work he does, he’s the most expensive. The other so-called cheap shop in town told a neighbor that he needed a new head gasket, all the car needed was a radiator cap. That same shop dented my fender along with charging me $1100. The third shop in town quoted my son $150 for a part, which was only $35 at the dealer.
That sucks. A mechanic I used for 10 years drove my car in under another car on the hoist. Put a big gouge in the roof. When I came to collect it, it was strangely parked 50m from the usual spot. I saw the damage, and asked what happened. "A stone ?" was the reply. As I couldn't prove he'd done it ( he'd done it ), I never went back to him. 10 years of generous tips, and recommending him high and low, and he chose money over honesty.
I’ve got a similar model with an automatic, if your customer would be interested, a gauge cluster FROM THE SAME YEAR with a tachometer is plug-n-play. All the wiring is present and it’ll work perfectly. Might be a nice upgrade while the cluster is being replaced
I did that my mod on my '94 F-150, it was nice to have on an automatic, I dare say almost a requirement for a manual!
Great video....
I have a 1983 E100 Shorty Van since new. It has the 4.9L 300 6 carbureated engine. Great engine, plenty peppy for me with strong low end torque. It only has 150,000 miles on it, but I love it. PS..... I also love my window cranks....never let me down..😊
OK if you have long arms to wind down the passenger window.
@@Cheepchipsable No problem....just a reach away. They give me no grief...
thank you wizard for bringing this up
i got royally screwed over recently
i had my 08 jk wrangler at the shop i wanted a simple alignment done
they wanted to replace everything and unload the parts cannon on it
when i declined service they would call and say the brake pad broke or the brake caliper wont retract
i smelled bs but it was one of those we cant let you take it now situations spent $700 on shit service and broke more than they fixed they lost /broke the front axle guides which turned into them damaging the axle seals
i have spent the last few days un "f" ing all their shoddy work
me as a diy guy can get the information to figure out the issues at hand
its not a complicated job
that unnamed shop will never see my business again
What I want to know is how that other shop had the balls to actually charge him $900 for tearing up his truck.
I don't get why they don't get sued.
@@taunuslunatic404 the karma train is probably just getting warmed up and will get them
@@taunuslunatic404 $900 isn't that much money, lawyers fee's would be anywhere from $5000 to $10000.
Cause it costs ALOT to sue. Not like 3k like 10k
@@oveidasinclair982 $900 is likely below the threshold for small claims. No lawyer needed
300 six, manual transmission, crank windows... With all the Toyota butt kissing lately it's nice to see a real truck on the channel again.
These trucks do have occasional issues with the PSOM (programmable speedometer odometer module) the speedometer will read zero and the LCD display for the odometer will be blank, and if it's an automatic transmission truck it'll shift extremely hard. It's extremely likely the caveman who tore that gauge cluster out of the dash ruined the traces on it. They made these F150s from 92-96, but there is small differences in the PSOMs that make some years incompatible with others... 92 and 93 will interchange, 94 and 95 will interchange, 96 will only work with a 96.
Side note: I noticed the cluster for this particular truck doesn't have a factory tach, a gauge cluster with a factory tachometer will swap right into this truck with no modifications at all, the mounting holes are the same and the wiring for the factory tach already exists in the plug that plugs into the non-tach cluster.
I currently own 3 of these trucks, and I've owned probably 10 others over the past 2 decades. Couldn't imagine having to pay someone to work on one of them...
"That is a window knob" wait Mrs Wizard but I thought it was a crank! Lol! I love window cranks so much I found a 2016 model with window cranks, manual door locks, and the rare three pedal driver's side foot well.
Danielson is really a worthwhile fellow to be in Omega's team. Magic Mike as well. Wish I could have worked there, just to learn from people who know what they're doing. 👍
If you already have semi decent mechanical skills and willing to relocate. Car Wizzard might even give you a chance. Junior Mint quit the job around september/october last year and afaik they have never replaced him so they are still a mechanic down.
its good to have a junior who can deal with the smaller tasks rather than tie up an experienced mechanic who can be dealing with bigger/more important tasks elsewhere.
@@willydavid What if i told you.
That magic mike literally *STAYED AFTER HOURS.* Wrenched on cars and read service manuals a lot just so that he could *LEARN MORE* about the sort of cars that they were working on at Omega?
Mike had some experience before working at Omega but he didnt have a whole lot and if you go back to the early videos when he first got introduced. He was always saying how it was a deep learning curve and he was constantly learning things while on the job.
No its not a training center. But if a candidate possess the right attitude and acumen. Im willing to give them a shot and they can slowly level up with the business.
Im not saying you have to have the place completely staffed by trainee's but having a juniors is a good thing and as they learn and gain more experience it will benefit the business as a whole.
Danielson. On the other hand already had lots of experience as he had worked in exotic car dealerships and shops in Florida.
@@willydavid youre welcome
@@willydavid Me too. And she's right. If the young men are willing to learn, Omega's a good place to work yourself up at. ☺👍
Some people should never attempt a repair in a shop or otherwise.
Car Wizard, I absolutely agree with your frustration. You make movements like my son when he is angry with stupidity.
All of your loyal viewers need to visit this bad shop and convince them to be better.
Going for the cheapest option is the most expensive option. Thanks for the vid, Wizard!
So true. Having a rugged 4x4 makes everyone want to borrow it from you for various reasons. "I wanna pull up my boat" or "I need to move the large freezer to the dump", or some other excuse. I have always told them off and denying this. I'd rather help them out myself if I had the time or they had to go and rent a moving van or something. I categorically refuse anyone except my very best friend to borrow my car. He was a very kind and trustworthy person and I miss him dearly. He could always pick up my car if he wanted it for some reason, like I could borrow his cars. Normally he dropped off his Mercedes 300 SEL for me to drive while he used the Patrol, and there was never a dent or a damage in it upon return. Usually he even filled up the tank for me.
However, plastic becomes brittle after so many years, it changes its structure. The sequence of steps during disassembly is very important. The order of removing the buckles is known.
This is where I agree with you. I don't have a shop but people constantly come back to me because they know they don't get jerked around and it gets fixed right.
If you still need a cluster, I have one.
Hey Mr. Car Wizard. I have a couple clusters in storage and I’d be happy to send one to your shop!
"The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of the lowest bid" Car Wizard keep up the great work, I need you where I live, you are the best!
You mentioned the "bullet proof" Ford In-Line 6 cylinder engine. The amazing thing about that motor is Ford had 50 years to screw it up and never succeeded. Now that's a miracle!
A nice old school truck. Hand crank windows, wing windows, straight six and a manual transmission. Love it!
You should start a series called, "But Wait! There's More!"
I use a great local shop for our MINI, they were recommended by a former coworker. Always nice to find a good mechanic who’s so close to you and treats you well.
Reminds me of a certain discount tire place I purchased wheels and tires from. On two occasions they've ordered wheels from their warehouse and at least one has a bent wheel lip where someone dropped the wheel in it's box into concrete and bent it and I wasted my time having to go back to have a replacement. They've also cross threaded a lug nut when I had a TPS sensor replaced which I had to take back to them while I was having my car serviced and tire rotation done.
Before I started having my cars serviced at my car dealership I used to go to jiffy lube but I stopped going to that jiffy lube after one time I was having an oil and filter change and I heard the rookie start up my car before they refilled it with oil. Luckily another employee immediately caught that and had him turn the engine off before any damage could occur
I had a great, honest mechanic I used for 18 years before he retired. Fortunately I was able to find someone else and they have done me right so far.
These are the reasons i am skeptical to trust any mechanic shops I do everything my self only thing I've ever needed a shop for is wheel alignments and putting on new tires and taking old ones off the rims.
Exactly. It pays to suck it up and put in the dirty work.
@@jebus914 Yes, I do have a 04 Honda CR-V which makes doing anything a breeze. But I had an Infiniti still did all the work pain in the ass let me tell you but worth it in the end.
When I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s my father did almost all the maintenance work on the family cars. He also did not trust repair shops and wanted to save money.
And exhaust systems nope not on my back.
@@louisrauzi3872 I'm usually quite comfortable lying on the driveway. It's being bent over the fender wrestling with something that's hard on my back!
That 'shop' will not last. Customer satisfaction / dis satisfaction has an even greater impact in this social media world we live in. They will destroy their rep. and the shop will fail. Keep on doing your magic Wizard, you are appreciated.
It may be insane "in your shop" but it's normal in most shops that I know. They always "try" to fix one problem but create 2, 3, or 4..
Exactly what I was thinking. With the 2 original issues... where was the need for anyone to be inside the cab of the truck in the first place??? You would think that after they heard the first of the plastic piece "snap" and break that they would stop, but no... they broke a piece off everywhere there was a fastener, and then made no attempt whatsoever to fix it.
This is why I fix my own vehicles.
I really wish I could find a shop like Omega in my area. I do a lot of my own work, but when I do take it to a shop it’s either because I don’t have the time, or the tools, or the space to do the work myself. Or it’s something that’s gotten so out of hand that I need a seasoned professional to get to the bottom of it and do it right. So I rarely take my car to a shop beyond new tires, alignments, and wheel balancing to try people out and get a feel for them. But all the ones I’ve gone to so far have left me questioning their true competence. No passion anymore, no veterans with repeated knowledge of the vehicle in question.
I cant even find a shop anymore that can do a proper alignment, nor balance a wheel!
@@BaltimoreAndOhioRR Dude! That’s another thing! Right now for the past 5 years owning my car I’ve been battling a wobbly wheel situation! Car vibrates over 70mph only a few weeks after a tire balance, when the wheels I currently have on the back are on the front, my steering wheel walks back and forth at 30-40mph so I’ve stopped getting tire rotations altogether because no shop I’ve brought it to yet, no shop no dealership, none of them can find the issue! And this has persisted through a new set of tires. They say all the wheels stay true on the balancer, wheels don’t seem bent… but it follows one of my rear wheels! They cost too damn much to just replace them both.
Car Wizard, it was the old switch-a-roo on the instrument cluster. They stole his to sell or use themselves for someone who needed the exact very hard to find cluster. In exchange, he got their old faulty cluster. Shops, especially dealerships are mostly scam artist today. If you find an honest independent shop such as the Car Wizard's shop that's the one to stick with even if slightly higher shop rate. In the long run, the bill will always be cheaper knowing the shop owner didn't steal your parts or over charge you. Great Video, Wizard. PS There is one exception the Car Wizard can make to overcharging a customer, and that is his millionaire friend, Tyler Hoovie who drops a couple of million dollars a year just on cars alone. LOL. We all love Tyler Hoovie, an awesome and honest guy like the Car Wizard. BTW, does this comment qualify me for a 20% shop rate discount or better yet, a free car from either the Car Wizard or Hoovie's garage?
Wizard, you need to make a top 10 list of most reliable engines ever built (if you haven’t already made one)!
I'm surprised Mrs. Wizard did not bring up the vent windows. When she was saying about something we never see anymore I thought for sure she would bring the camera a few inches up and talk about the funky winglet windows. Literally the last automobile to have them. They were great for instantly defogging the windshield on my 94 F150.
I would file a law suit against that other shop for $900 plus court cost's.
@@stevepaige1636You get a writ of execution and threaten to take his tools unless he pays up. He will because his tools are worth more than $900 because he literally won't be able to work. Executing the judgement isn't the problem. Getting it is.
Thanks wizard ,there is not very many honest mechanic shop around these days thanks for all you do God bless your business.
Unfortunately. I find news customers every week victims of those bad practices. Some of them are at the end complety squeezed financially and are not able to have their car repaired or to sue the garage in court. Very heartbreaking situations.
Don't you send them to small claims court?
Even the fee for a "small" claim court is big money for people on those situations.
I have a small fleet of 94-96 f-series... All with the 300cid/ 5-speeds... They're great on gas, even with a trailer in tow... They have all the torque, especially in the granny gear(close ratio) but the wide ratio trannys do just fine as well...! I'll never use/ buy another kind of truck, or an automatic...!!! Thanks, keep up your awesomeness and go enjoy some nature today...
I hope that customer left a review everywhere the bad shop is listed online along with filing a chargeback for the $900 they stole. If not for their own sake, but to save others from getting ripped off
Plus destroying all other things.
Not only that, but I would tell EVERY SINGLE PERSON that would listen to me about how bad that shop serviced my vehicle.
I have always said that you can buy a car (new or used) from anywhere but finding a mechanic you can trust is the first step before making that purchase. I drove Saab's for 35 consecutive years. Before purchasing the first one I found an independent Saab specialist in my hometown to service/repair my cars. I never had an issue with them and work was done correctly the first time, every time. They have been in business since 1956 and have quite a following of dedicated customers.
A lot of the old 6bangers 1960s were tough
I wish people would take pride in their work these days. Thanks for doing the right thing David.
What can I say, Car Wizard; you have standards. Other shops either don't, or if you find one that does.... expect to pay obscene premiums out the nose for their work.
My cousin has that exact same year and model truck, except his is white. That thing is a TANK ! In the 10+ years he's had it, he's only replaced the AC compressor, front tank fuel pump, and an ignition switch outside of regular routine maintenance. It's the best built pickup truck I've ever been around.
What we have learned here is that Bruce Banner is a brilliant gamma-ray physicist, but he has no business trying to work on a 1990s Ford pickup.
Agree! That Ford inline six was unbelievable! I had one. Absolutely loved it!!!
Two rules of country living: don’t loan your truck, and don’t loan your chainsaw.
and your wife?????
Thankfully I wrench on my own cars. Obviously I sometimes need to take it to the shop as I do not own an AC machine, an alignment rack etc., but it is really a good feeling to know that my car is in good shape and I've done that myself. I don't even have any formal mechanic education, I'm just a hobby mechanic.
Canadian Tire is huge in Canada. I once took my front wheel drive car to them within less then one mile of driving from a muffler shop that had just replaced my entire exhaust system. Paper stickers were still on the muffler and other parts not yet even having turned brown from the heat. Anyway I took my car to Canadian Tire because of a rattle in the back end of the car. I wrote on the top of the work order DO NOT TOUCH EXHAUST ! Then I let them have the car for the day. I went off to work. They insisted they be able to call me . I told them nope I can not be called at work. So my somewhat senile mothers phone number was given . They would not look at my car without being able to call me even though all they were authorized to do was find out what the rattle was not fix it just tell me what was causing it. They put the car on the lift and some kid high school kid was given the job of figuring out what the rattle was from . He removed the entire brand new exhaust system . Tossed it in a huge pile of old parts out back and replaced every part of the exhaust . Turns out they had called my mother who lived in that city . I did not live there They claim they did not see the huge writing on the top of the work order . When I heard they replaced my exhaust system I was furious still am many years later. I went into the shop while the car was up on the lift took one look and saw the rear axel was broken in half . Pretty much banged my head on it when I walked under the car. I had to pay them for that work in order to get my car the hell out of there. Canadian Tire is the worst auto shop in the world . Never ever take a car there .
Sounds like a sitcom.
"It was a really important thing, so I gave my senile mother power to authorise stuff..."
My family mechanic wouldn't work on my car when I was a teen. My parents and older brother, no problem. With me, he would say, get your manual out, "Here's what you need to do, call me if you run into trouble," and send me on my way. Best thing that happened to me. Had that car for 18 years. '65 Mustang, straight 6, 3 speed transmission.
Price is not always an indicator to what level of service you will receive. You can spend lots and get little in return. Asking around about a place or service and getting the feedback is better knowledge then what price would indicate.
I can't even count the vehicles I repaired over the years that came from another shop. Not only do you have to undo what the other shop screwed up in most cases you have to fix the original problem. The most common was the A604 Chrysler transmission that another shop rebuilt and then it still didn't shift. Original problem was a wiring issue causing the transmission to be in limp mode.
Take that shop to small claims court. Wizard's video is "Exhibit A".
Wizard only has customer say so on the condition of the vehicle beforehand and what work was done by and by who. The plastic around the cluster may have been broken for a while.
He can only testify as to what he did for the customer, and we assume it might match the work he asked the shop to do.
Also the customer would probably be expected to at least approach the original shop for an opportunity to check the repair first.
Based on your other videos, if you say the 300 six is the most reliable, bulletproof engine of all time, I would consider that statement a fact. Nice old truck. Hard to find them anymore not rusted out. I had an 89 with the six and five speed. Bought it new. Drove it for several years but got the bug for a Mustang and traded it.
Wizard I have all the parts to fix that truck. I'll even throw in a new dome lamp.
We are a salvage yard in Minnesota so no sunbaked parts.
...just rust. 😏🤷♂️
@@tomtheplummer7322 No rust on a plastic bezel or gauge cluster though.
@@keithcurtis6671 or the dome light lense.
That is why I am scared to death of most shops. I respect your knowledge and most of all your honesty. I wish your shop was closer to where I live and I live in WA State and too far away. I usually do my own work because I do NOT trust most shops in my area. Problem is that I am getting up in years and just don't want to work on cars anymore. Best to you amd Mrs Wizard always