'08 Ford F150 - $ Light On, Other Issues And Eric O Loses His Mind At The End 🤬

In this video I fix a customer's 2008 Ford F150 that has the money light on with a transmission range sensor problem, he said the speed control stopped working and also wanted the blower motor fixed so it will work on speeds 1 and 2 again. I try to keep my cool with crappy parts, but I go PG13 pretty quick....
-Enjoy!
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[@beaverc2884]

Eric, just in case nobody has said this in a while. Thank you for everything you go through to bring us these videos. 😊

[@jw4620]

Yeppers!

[@endall6783]

Agreed !!

[@glenjohnshoy7956]

Nobody is held accountable anymore. Not just quality control in autoparts but, throughout society. Great video 👍

[@normmuelleman2570]

OMG! I say this about folks at my employer ALL THE TIME! The lack of accountability in daily business is HORRIBLE!!

[@athletikonaol]

A Big problem is.... it's ALL coming from China.

[@johnridley1038]

These Manufactures are making so much money, that they dont care about failiures, All they care about is keeping the factory busy and lowering the cost of manufacture and distribution.

[@dunebasher1971]

The guy currently in the White House is proof that nobody is held accountable any more. He was *going* to be held accountable, but managed to avoid it by getting elected, and now he's going to break everything to ensure that rich people like him are definitely never, ever going to be held accountable ever again.

[@HandyC]

Because we have the hurty feelings brigade in charge now. Gonna be a complete shit show until they have retired I think,

[@MrScrubs236]

i would pay thousands just to hear this man rant about the car industry.

[@DannyLeech-s2d]

Shops in AZ my sister's fox body have crooks that broke part's and put part's on that weren't needed they just kept charging she trusted them so i know what Eric is talking about

[@ronallen6578]

I'm taking deposits for that show. Kindly send me $500 to guarantee your ticket. Trust me, the venue will sell out quickly. Date yet to be decided. 😂😂😂

[@allanandrowey5219]

Agreed.

[@dmaderi]

Me too! He’s the Dave Ramsey of the auto world.

[@MrScrubs236]

@@ronallen6578 send me the link 🙏

[@bkon4675]

I do my own work. Not a mechanic. Eric, i learn a lot watching your channel. You are appreciated !!

[@FirstLast-tw1qf]

Me too

[@wadepatton2433]

Spending time with Eric is just like hanging with my pro-mechanic buddies BITD, at their shops after customer hours. You know doing "racecar" stuff and eliminating beers, and ranting on parts, people, problem cars... I only pay for things like alignment work and tire mounting. I do all the rest-always have.

[@HondaFan1989]

I’ve been a parts guy for a while and I gotta say within the last couple years I’ve been noticing the parts quality control has hit complete rock bottom with things like parts that are completely boxed wrong, obviously manufactured wrong or even just straight up cores that are spray painted and thrown back in a box (looking at you cardone). It’s a real sad state of affairs and the suppliers will not stand behind their crap whatsoever. The problem with the labor claims specifically is that if we did supplier claims to get the full amount of labor for the customer no one would ever get paid because I have never seen a supplier labor claim get approved EVER. They always give some BS excuse about installer error and deny it. The half your labor rate claims almost always come out of the store as a consolation to get you at least something even though we didn’t make the shit. Keep your chin up Eric, we’re all dealing with the same crap. Love the videos keep it up!

[@ph00z00]

looks like not only is china making the crap, but the prc/ccp has taken senior/ceo ownership of the companies operating in the US as well.

[@stanleygreen1527]

Had a car sit for 2 years because of chinesium

[@emylrmm]

it's all about inept corporate "leadership" and a symptom of the Peter Principle at work.

[@tetedur377]

I've been out of the repair business for over 25 years now. I'll tell you, we called NAPA "CRAPA" back in the day, and it wasn't because it was a cute twist on their name. Okay, maybe just a little bit. But I was done with CRAPA the day a customer came back to the shop after failing the performance part of the California SMOG inspection, with the same exact EGR valve that I could have bought, marked up and sold to the customer for a modest profit (it's called "cost-plus markup"). I told the customer "Look, I'll install it and retest your car, but if the part is bad (and back then, there was a good chance of that), you'll have to pay to have it removed and replaced." Install the part, verified it worked, ran the test, and he left all happy. I was not. I went down to the CRAPA store and ripped the manager a new one, and I'm like "WTF, dude?" He was just so blase about it, even though it was Corporate's call, that I just said "I've been doing business with you guys for over 10 years. No more." And I never did. For the next 10 years, I'd use anyone's parts but NAPA's.

[@zcvyvyan]

@@tetedur377 I guess it never occurred to you that all the parts are the same but are in different colored boxes? What exactly did you hope to gain by yelling at the store manager? Did you want them to go in the back and manufacture you a new part? It's guys like you that make good parts guys leave the industry because they refuse to deal with the crap anymore.

[@joeheck146]

I am an Electrical Engineer. I worked for a company in the mid 80s that produced a new, very expensive inspection machine for the aerospace industry. I told the owner of the company that a process being used in production could be made better so we had fewer failures and gave the customer a better product. His response was, to paraphrase: We do not want to make the best product possible, we want to make the worst product possible that will still sell. THIS WAS HIS ATTITUDE IN THE 80s!! I did not last long at that company...

[@BainRacing134]

It's been around longer than that. Years ago I talked to an old engineer who did transmission parts for GM. "If it matches the print, it goes to service. If not, production." That's going back to the 60s... That worked OK when stuff was mechanical and you knew it was going to wear anyway. Out of tolerance electronics don't work very long and none of the manufacturers/rebuilders have learned their ways. Signed, current owner of a 2007 Chevy...

[@05c50]

Eric, I truly feel for you. After 40 years in the auto repair business, I have become that "Grouchy old, get off my lawn guy". The poor quality of parts (OEM and aftermarket) helped to convince me that it was time to walk away from the repair business. The cost of doing a job the second time for free is one thing, but my reputation meant a lot to me and I got tired of trying to convince customers that so many new parts are poor quality and quite often fail.

[@LesReeves]

Yeah it makes you look bad because they think you are the stupid one who can not replace a simple part.I am retired but still work on my own vehicles & still get crap parts now & again I just wear it but still get pissed.

[@tetedur377]

Well, and we're old enough to remember when parts houses would stand behind their parts. They would not only bring you a new part, but pick up the defective part, AND pay for the extra labor. Those days are long gone.

[@aussiefirestorm]

You are not alone there mate.

[@howardrobinson2680]

I hear you, OEM as well as aftermark parts have a bad failure rate right out of the box. However, Not all OEMs are equivalent when it comes to the new vehicles they produce. My question is are the parts you buy directly from Honda and Toyota as likely to be as bad as the truly _aftermarket_ parts? I very much like your show Eric I really do.

[@wilbilt]

I am now that grouchy old guy as well. I have been out of the business for 25 years and have $100K in tools. Now I only work on my own stuff. Period.

[@ssboot5663]

The bolt through the oil filter is a HILLARIOUS story! (now, years later) Thanks for the videos!

[@lugnutgmc]

Feel your pain. Spent 3 hours today diagnosing a bad brand new 4wd solenoid on a John Deere Tractor. Questioned myself for the entire 3 hrs. Everytime I plugged it in, it would blow a fuse. I figured it must be in the wiring. The tractor had a bunch of mouse chewed wires that I had repaired already. I eventually bench tested it with a fuse protected circuit. I got brave enough to put a 30 amp fuse in the circuit, when it only should be 10 amp. Even that blew. I then tried the old solenoid to see what it would do, It had been blowing the fuse as well. And it worked fine, clicked on and off. I think I may have "unstuck" it with a power probe during initial testing. Old solenoid had 7 ohm of resistance, new one had .2. Now I get the fun job of trying to get the dealer to take back a $300 electrical part. Made in the USA, genuine John Deere part. Crazy.

[@Failure_Is_An_Option]

It happens. Throwing 30 amps at it though... you own it. No such thing as a free education. So pull your big girl panties up and buy another, and resistance check it at counter. Then don't do stupid again.

[@chekelley6861]

I try to only use quality Chinese made parts these days.

[@dddevildogg]

I remember some parts stamped made in USA- no periods at all ...... Right,there is a city named Usa on the Japanese island of Kyushu, founded in 1967, but it was named for the shrine and village of Usa, which had been on the site for well over a thousand years.

[@crisprtalk6963]

Well, made in USA in many instances doesn't mean jack anymore.

[@beezul]

@@crisprtalk6963 Yup. Made in the USA nowadays means the box the thing came in. Not the actual thing. Or, made in Malaysia under American licensing. Means squat. Had a multi-function switch fail on my '03 PT Cruiser, (I know, gimme a break, wife likes it) so bought a new one from NAPA. Dorman branded. It was bad right out of the box, didn't work at all. Ended up buying a used one from the wreckers out of a PT, worked perfectly.

[@scf1776]

Here's a thought Eric. Just for the hell of it, you should place a call into lets say NAPA (not a sponsor) and make a complaint like you did, and then the following week you have one of your other helpers call in to make a complaint about the same issue or part and see if you both get the same answer of "you're the first we have had to complain about this". Record the calls if you can. Next call would be to the corporate office. On another note, my wife and I love your videos.

[@Wayne-p7n]

Call trump he can fix everything

[@calvinculpalt]

A lot of people learn from you Eric. I credit you with a lot of knowledge I've gained and I've been doing this for 20 years as of this year. We appreciate it.

[@endangeredgnome5337]

The rant deserved a thumbs up and a comment.

[@JonathanDeaux]

A long time ago, I stumbled across Eric's channel, when he says "Welcome to the South Main Auto Channel" I mis-heard "Welcome to the Self Made Auto Channel",,,, I still hear that every single time!

[@michaelmiller4716]

That's what I thought he always said!

[@CowboyTrucking61]

Me to.

[@guns-gas-diesel]

And I thought it was only me, lol.

[@adamsimms524]

That’s what the captions always read while I’m putting my ear buds in

[@AC-gu7rg]

Unless I'm going Def I'm 52 but I definitely heard hey there veiwers and welcome back to the South Main Auto channel ! I mean my wife tells me all the time I have selective hearing ! Which comes in handy when I'm at work ! And I work for an auto parts store !

[@allenm00]

I worked for 2 OEM automotive suppliers over 15 years as a manufacturing engineer. I can tell you that a single bad part to the customer (from a warranty issue) causes so much work and money to figure out how it happened and how to prevent it from happening again. I left that world 6 years ago and have been enjoying my life so much more!

[@johnwsimpson3153]

I wonder if that is still the case, since more parts originate overseas now than was the case over six years ago…

[@allenm00]

@johnwsimpson3153 it certainly doesn't sound like it is the same.

[@michaeldoe4805]

Nowadays only action taken seems to be is putting the part in a new box with shrink wrap and send it out again...

[@davidgrisco1939]

Yep, my career started as a manufacturing engineer, then Quality Program Manager, then Technical Operations Senior Staff. Now retired. I hung up my Six-Sigma Black Belt.

[@allenm00]

@@davidgrisco1939 thanks for the resume

[@ejwxb2561]

excellent video - we are all tired of the Chinisum crap being passed off as OEM...and not just in automotive parts. Appreciate your brutal honesty Sir. Thanks for taking us along!

[@adamtrombino106]

That's been a huge problem for yrs, especially for Motorcraft. FORDTECHMAKEYOULOCO has a great yt vid on knock off 'Motorcraft' spark plugs that are made in china and are not OEM specked. His trained eye can see the difference but boy it was subtle. Functionally they set all kinds of misfire codes, even if by the seat of the pants, the vehicle 'runs good'.

[@pplusbthrust]

Even the Chinese are implementing DEI and they are hiring unqualified young emigrant American kids.

[@mikeam3871]

It’s become dangerous. I had brake rotors that were supposedly OEM, but were Chinese knock offs that darn near melted after two weeks of normal town driving. Pedal was jacking my leg up and down when I braked and the rotors were blue. Took em back and Napa straight out told me they had a problem, that I wasn’t the first to return with rotors that weren’t heat treated or had been milled out of some low hardness alloy. Stopping is kind of important and it made me wonder how many cars on the road are running on this crap.

[@mbazzy123]

I had a NAPA rear brake caliper on my GMC 2500HD that had been powder coated at the factory with a bit too much thickness., Well It took me 5 hours of installing and removing that caliper as the lower bracket was just barley layng on the hat of the rear rotor just barely scraping it. For the life of me I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong. Well I finally smartened up and bought one at CarQuest and it fit perfectly. One stupid imperfection cost me an entire afternoon of complete frustration. They all suck. I was so mad as it was a Sunday at 4PM making a mad dash to Car Quest as our NAPA is closed on Sunday.. I did this in my driveway and my neighbors were very inquisitive as to why couldn't I do a brake job in a few hours I told them to go away. Great video really appreciate the time you put into your videos. I have learned very much from you !

[@peterhodgkins6985]

That turn signal simulation on the first test drive was quite good! lol

[@SouthMainAuto]

I thought it was a good impression too 😂

[@tommyhawks856]

It was an excellent impersonation of a turn signal. I am almost certain that it was of a 1976 Buick LeSabre.

[@frugalprepper]

The whole parts system is in a race to the bottom. I get a lot of things from the junk yard. Wells is still pretty good on the stuff that they make, but nobody local carries them, so... In a shop that isn't going to work.

[@mikemiller3565]

Documenting everything is important in all maintenance. “Pale ink is better than the best memory”

[@privateer0561]

That's from genealogy work. Spent 15 years documenting my family and that saying has served me well.

[@jdretiree2433]

And even after all the problems and heartache, Eric still has a smile at the end of the video. A real trooper in my book. Thank you Eric for all you do for us.

[@aarondean8299]

We all feel your frustration. Could have been worse, the oem module at the transmission could have been the dud. I still say that you’re the best. Everyone really loves your channel. Aaron from Canada.

[@johnbayne9200]

Best wrap up ever. Thanks for your candid comments. The truth always comes out.

[@Thermool]

Eric; I’ve been doing pest control for about 20 years and they can’t even make Rat and Mouse Traps right today.

[@genestokes8383]

I feel your pain. I was an auto mechanic in the 1970s, we didn't have near the problems back then, but I watch a lot of automotive u tube videos and I will NEVER buy a new car. I wish you the best for the future and will continue to enjoy your videos. I guess we all have to fight back as best we can for honesty and sanity.

[@tallpaulsynd]

Bad condensers were very common for points ignitions.

[@tedcook8749]

Only 20 more years to go Eric lol 😅I’m 2 1/2 years from retiring as a mechanic in my field and can’t wait. Do what you gotta do to make it liveable- put your rate up to cover for all this crap - you’re worth it! Take more time off- you’ve earned it! Don’t let things drive you to drink, or worse- you don’t wanna hamper your ‘golden years’ with a brain aneurysm induced by taking on too much, seriously!! At any rate, rage on my good man if it helps- we really are here for you! Appreciate YOU! Cheers

[@gailtaylor1636]

Female dirtbike racer on Book Of Faces had a story this week. Took vehicle to dealer to get turn signals repaired. Wasn't cancelling consistently. After about 3 hours they said it needs THIS part and will be 900ish bucks. Whaaaaat? $250 an hour. Supposedly 3 hours to reassemble. Fortunately she hung around and walking on the lot and saw her vehicle get hide way on the back row. She confronted the dude and asked why he parked it back there instead of bring it to the front. Blah, Blah, blah like Charlie Brown heard...talk to the SA. More blah, blah, blah. She finally told them, I'm not paying 900 bucks when it obviously only took you 15 minutes to put back together. They negotiated it down to 500ish. With an oil change. My point is, raise your diag rates. Local shop (Raleigh NC) that specializes in electrical diag was getting I think $250 to drop a car off. For that you got 1hr & 45 minutes. If they hadn't resolved the issue, called customer to decide direction. Very rarely needed more time. Guys were good. They didn't apologize for being good. PAY ME!

[@tetedur377]

@@gailtaylor1636 Most of us don't/didn't have those kind of brass ones.

[@ngnmech]

That brings up a point of I wonder what percentage of mechanics/techs are over say 60. I am in the OPE industry and from their last survey they are showing that 21% are 49 or younger with 25% between 50-59, 36% are 60-69 and 18% are over 70 years young. So over half of the mower mechanics could be retiring in the next 2-5 years with only 6% under age 39 to replace them.

[@jburk8600]

As a retired Motorcraft distributor, I’m glad that I don’t have to deal with the poor quality of today’s parts. I too had a 2008 F150 with a bad resistor and I decided to go the Amazon route. It only had high speed. Went with the motorcraft and it worked. As to the defects they expected a 3 percent defect rate. Not by part but by dollar figure.

[@djmartin4776]

A resistor from an auto parts store will be fine. I've installed plenty and not one had a problem. Amazon is like 80/20 is bad or will go bad soon. Rockauto is 50/50

[@tluperz400]

You are definitely not the only one. We must be brothers because we share the same luck!!

[@jonesfarm1836]

Ahh the “good” bad “new” parts 😂 I completely understand Eric. I work in a family run independent shop like you and we get crap parts all the time. We got sent the wrong camshaft from a Kia dealer 3 times in a row and explained to them exactly what we needed and gave them the vin number and everything. And us techs are like how does this happen THREE TIMES!? Much love to the O family from a good ole boy in East Tennessee ❤

[@Brokendiesel1982]

Gotta love that dealer mentality.. That's why we appreciate guys like you who are honest and actually know what they are doing! Or atleast are really good at making us believe you do!! 😁🤣

[@raygunner2437]

Recently started dating a beautiful lady. Was over her house last week when her daughter came home and said her check engine started flashing and car was rumbling. Start asking questions and find check engine light has been on for long time. Her mechanic passes the inspection. States nothing wrong with it🤯 My advice was stop driving and get it to shop. Been at her mechanic a week with no answers. Research looks like cats...guy ignored original issue and almost left young girl stranded in rural PA. She says I don't like her mechanic, ya think! Moral of my story is guys like Eric are hard to find these days. Know that young lady wouldn't be put at risk with a tech like this. Enjoy your vids very much sir❤❤

[@kennygee2715]

I do almost all repairs myself, because guys like Eric are hard to find.

[@loisrinehart6755]

Had a new?? Alternator put on my coroner suburban 3 months ago and last week it went out again. Found out it was a reman at a cost of $600.00 plus labor. Had them put a new one on this time at a cost of $800.00. They did warranty the other one but it still pisses me off that this the new norm. They said sorry but that’s what we have now. Great video. Thanks sir

[@DannyLeech-s2d]

I brought three set's of brake calipers for my mustang the bleeder valve would not seal number 4 from napa was a fix lucky me

[@therandomchannel2022]

I replaced a water pump for a guy on his 2002 Suburban 5.3 V8 with one from Oreillys and it barely lasted 3 weeks before it was puking coolant out the bottom of it. My God the parts quality has really tanked.

[@brucedale4465]

@@therandomchannel2022orieillys is even worse junk than the Napa crap, I remember when Napa had the best parts but not anymore (had to get my own rant out for the day)! Thanks Eric!

[@jasonleatherwood2172]

You still bought junk with the new one…ac delco alternators only on gm been only brand ive used with 0 comebacks

[@2nickles647]

Hmmm...pay some one 600 to install an alternator. Is it so hard to replace an alternator

[@tonyday7632]

Aftermarket Parts - Agree 100%. Luckily these customers have you on their front line. Thanks for the video Eric.O.

[@zacharyclark118]

I feel your frustration! This is all too common it's pathetic. Especially on these older vehicles where options are becoming more and more limited.

[@dustinvanderhoff2044]

I own a tractor-trailer shop in Akron Ohio. I can’t tell you how much I understand exactly what you’re talking about. I see the frustration on your face. I go through these struggles daily. All we can do is keep pushing! Love your videos

[@John-yf4ie]

Talk about frustration. We had a friend that has been doing A/C and heating Business for 30 years. We finally after retiring were able to build a small home on Bush River here in Aberdeen MD. After 1 year our furnance went up during Christmas. Called our friend that did all A/C and heating work at our other house and never problem. Our new house has Goodman heating and A/C. The heating coil went out. Parts are under waranty but does not cover labor. He only charged us $65.00 to come out and replace the part. Took 2 weeks to order factory part. Finally installed part and it only last 1 month. Came out again and found the new part was defective- made in Mexico. Ordered another new part took 1 week this time. New part from Goodman was made in Taiwan. New part came with 2 special circuit breakers made in to the Heating Coil assembly. Everything still works!!! His new Ford Transit Van that was specially built for his work is still at the Ford Dealer waiting on a new Transmission for other a month!!! And you talk about junk. He had to rent a rental van so he can do his work.

[@cliffhaskett7703]

Same thing here. Outer Banks of N.C. Brand new Trane unit. About a year(maybe less , I forgot) & the compressor is bad. This was not an Outer Banks salt issue as we purposely put it on the west side to protect it from the east (ocean) air. It's not even a Trane/Goodman issue as the parts , seemingly, are not manufactured by the name on the cabinet but rather outsourced. LG , Honeywell , Robertshaw , Etc. The biggest difference seems to be the color of paint and name on the cabinet. The parts were warrantied, but if I remember correctly , the labor was not ?? I asked the Tech. If he sees a lot of these problems. He said that he would go broke if he owned the business and had to stand behind all of the warranty claims. The compressor itself seems to be a tall , skinny, poor excuse fart design of what the predecessors were.

[@mikeam3871]

@@cliffhaskett7703energy efficiency is killing reliability. In the old days they couldn’t accurately determine the minimums to make something so they overbuilt to compensate. This unfortunately leads to a minor amount of extra energy consumption (weight of rotor in the compressor for instance), so nowadays they can run computer simulations and figure out the very minimums to last until out of the warranty period. I used to see stationary electric motors from the 1960s still ginnin along next to new motors that I’d replaced a couple times.

[@cliffhaskett7703]

@mikeam3871 I had an ugly '74 GE refrigerator in my garage that just wouldn't die. Neither would it defrost because it wasn't self defrosting. Periodically, you would have to go into the freezer with an ice pick. And yep , that last defrost with the ice pick did it in.

[@mark-d9k9b]

I feel your pain man. I have been there and done that. But still it is comforting to know i am not the only one leaving the shop once in a while swearing and cursing on my way out! Priceless video. Thank you.

[@mikeaho4143]

Well Eric O. you definitely hit the nail on the head about aftermarket junk. I so agree along with a lot of others as you said. One example is the walker exhaust stuff. Many times I can't get anything but Walker and I usually have to heat, bend or weld the new stuff so it fits properly. I also agree on sensors I will only install OEM sensors as I've had them come back after a month or 6 months. Don't get me started about wheel bearings as that's another sore subject. Your rant is well deserved, Thanks for sharing. I haven't read all the comments but I'm sure Ivan & Wes and Keith, etc. will agree also.

[@tetedur377]

If you notice, Paul at Fab Rats, as well as others, build their own exhaust systems. That cuts way down on parts not fitting.

[@jonathonvanmeter4893]

Hey Eric. Been busy having a heart cath after a heart attack. But. I wasn’t going to miss you. Losing your mind! Haven’t been following any utubes much, including sma. But getting stronger everyday! Going to watch now. Have a good day today everyone. And a better day tomorrow hopefully!

[@allanandrowey5219]

In mew zealand, same issues. I orderd an ignition rotor for a 1970 vehicle. The part came in an Italian box but was a 3D printed copy, the contact metal was clued on, the finish was not even cleaned up. I sent it back amd left the 50 year OG part on there. Its so bad. Loved the rant though. Do more of them.

[@freddiejupiter442]

Hey Eric. I am constantly impressed with the breadth of your experienced based knowledge and the high levels of down home directness you utilize in communicating it to the masses. The production value is top-notch, and your obvious ethical integrity and humor tops it all off like the tastiest of cherries. Thanks for being one of the very best that KZbin has to offer.

[@robertswartzwelder8810]

It's not just car parts, it all the cheap crap we get from overseas. You look at all the technology in a cell phone and they work for years, but the simplest things are pure garbage. You hit the nail on the head, they just don't care!

[@tschuuuls486]

Ironically there is plenty of Chinese parts that work just fine. Xiaomi/Roborock/Dreame tech works just fine but is built down to a price. Tuya Smart Home stuff usually works just fine and is incredibly cheap. Just a couple of examples. But the thing is some manufacturers built you the cheapest parts possible without quality control if that's your only metric. Sounds like that's what the spare parts companies are doing. Ironically this isn't much of an issue here in Germany, you can still get genuine Bosch, Delphi, Mahle or Pierburg parts for acceptable prices that work just fine. But you can also save 30% and buy manufactured garbage.

[@Gruin]

Just keep consuming america, because were giving you junk parts with inferior metal

[@jasonspellich2440]

It's not where it's from, it's the standards set by the manufacturer.

[@harleydavidson4254]

@@jasonspellich2440 Actually it's the cost to manufacture that the "Brand" is willing to pay that sets the quality level. Don't blame the manufacturer, blame the Outsourcer Company (usually American) for wanting everything as cheap as possible.

[@TheRollingTimes]

Opened my own shop about two years ago. It seems like at least one job a week we manage to get a brand new part bad in the box. From aftermarket to OEM. I've lost so much time on this and its so frustrating. Thanks for sharing your experience Eric, your videos help me stay motivated!

[@Rogues4Ever]

Sorry you have to deal with this crap Mr. O - when I was working at Toyota, I was employed during the whole accelerator fiasco (where it would get stuck under the mat) and I remember a number of customers coming in just RAGING about how they could have died, etc. Trash parts and badly designed parts seriously hurt people's trust in the industry. Hope you have a better afternoon!

[@HoboJoeGarage]

Holy crap what a flashback. I was working for a Toyota dealer during those times as well. Hearing the people complain about that issue, meanwhile 3 floor mats are stacked on top of each other. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the fix, cutting an inch or 2 off of the bottom of the pedal?

[@Rogues4Ever]

@@HoboJoeGarage It was exactly. We had a jig that we set the accelerator pedal into after removal and then just shaved it off. What a fix huh :) LOL

[@mattvermont7994]

Great Video Eric! I hear you on the pile of junk new parts out there. I did a tune up on a 1982 Oldsmobile last Summer. It had a fish bite miss under heavy load but came in running. I installed a new AC Delco Hei cap, Rotor, Wires, Plugs and a NGK Coil (ACD no longer makes this part) because the original was out of spec. Car did not run after the parts were installed!! Figured out the new NGK coil was bad out of the box. So, I got a replacement. It was in specs, the car now running, but worse than before. It was the brand new ACD Cap next! One of the male wire connector studs on top was not riveted on properly. When I installed the wire the center electrode of it fell in the cap. So, I solve this with another cap? Nope, that one had a chunk broke out of it right out of the box! Now comes a 3rd cap. Car runs like it did when it came in, still has the misfire. This leaves the pick-up coil. So, I replace that with a Standard Motor Products because ACD no longer makes the part. Now the car really runs bad! The timing is off by 20 degrees. Seems Standard does not realize the difference in distributor rotation between Chevy engines and Oldsmobile. So, the part in the box was for a Chevy but looks identical! It was marked with the right part number for the Olds, and the box was too. Come to find out they put the wrong polarity magnet in the pick-up at the factory. So, I took the magnet out of the old pick-up and put it in the new part. Now all is happy. But in the meantime, I have at least 10 hours into what should have been a simple tune up and pick up coil replacement. Junk new part recap, Bad coil, 2 bad distributor caps and improperly made or mismarked pick-up coil. What a nightmare, the worst I've seen in years.

[@wingman8447]

The bean counters are in control. Engineers can build a good anything. They’re not allowed. You’re right there is an acceptable failure rate. It should be zero but that doesn’t make them money. Good video.

[@brothaman1312]

who do you think hires the bean counters? it's the executives chasing increasing profits at the expense of workers and consumers that's the real problem.

[@weshawkins7165]

Your absolutely right about crappy parts. Brake calipers leaking, that why I have always rebuilt them myself, mine don’t leak.

[@opiumtrail7032]

You're*

[@weshawkins7165]

@ Thanks, I’m a mechanic not an english major.

[@jamskinner]

@opiumtrail7032 Don’t go around correcting grammar. If you can understand it that’s good enough

[@opiumtrail7032]

@@jamskinner don't be a despot. I was trying to help.

[@jamskinner]

@ no you weren’t.

[@nicholasherman8155]

You are not alone my friend. We all as shop owners hate the junk parts that are out there now

[@dougkrause9110]

Thank you for your videos, and honesty. As a backyard wrencher, I can relate to the frustration. Quality is on the decline across the industry, while prices continue to go up... sigh.... very frustrating.

[@Tyler_Ey]

No mercy reversy cracks me up every single time 😂😂😂

[@65bugnut]

I've been retired for a couple of years now, and I don't miss the callbacks from bad new parts. The trouble is, when I work on my own stuff, I have to put up with bad new parts. I didn't get away from it.

[@greg.goergens6315]

Eric, I honestly don't know how you keep your sanity. I think I would just go outside and scream. My dad was a mechanic most of his life and all I remember him complaining about was his coworkers. Not once about the job or parts. How things have changed over the years and not for the better. Hang in there. Retirement will come my friend. But as my father in law always sternly said "Your working years are your best years". And I can certainly attest to that. So try to enjoy your working years as best you can.

[@greggc8088]

I always love watching your diag and following along but will admit that "Eric O Loses His Mind At The End" in the title had me clicking today. 🤣🤣 I feel your pain on sheet parts. I work a tech line and almost half our cases are diaging a circuit issue that a smart tech already diaged themselves and were right but used a Dorman part and spent hours chasing their tail and then going over it again with us to find out the part is bad. If it's an inexpensive part and they are willing I often start out by "throw the Dorman in the garbage and try an OE before we get too deep in".

[@Jangus]

Eric’s been keeping it real lately and I find it helpful. Thanks SMA

[@remogaggi82]

Appreciate you showing the diagnosis for the blower resistor even though you knew it was the problem. I thank you for taking the extra time for us.

[@newlonburnworth8396]

Whenever I hear the old “we haven’t had this problem before”I know it’s a big problem

[@LTVoyager]

The funny part is that many of the aftermarket parts are from the same company that supplies Detroit. I am convinced that they QC organizations have two bins and parts that test well go into the OEM bin and the other parts go into the aftermarket bin and then both bins get packaged and shipped to their respective customers.

[@bigj231]

I dunno about them even being rejects. I've bought SMP electrical and emissions parts for older Hondas, and there's been a couple times I've gotten a part in a Honda bag with a Honda part number stuffed inside a SMP box! I've also gotten complete junk from them recently too, so it's a gamble. The non Honda bagged transmission pressure switches start shifting funny much faster than OEM, but they're also a quarter the cost and not too bad to get to.

[@bruceb9552]

In a nutshell you just described why Japanese cars were so good for so long, quality control. Ford said 3% failure rate was O.K., Toyota said 0.1% was bad. As in NO bad parts, EVER were to be put in their cars. Who wrote the book on quality control and the bell curve? An American. Who read it? The Japanese.

[@emylrmm]

quite so, and that famous book should be required reading in any MBA course of study

[@stevennunez6013]

Also no union workers who don’t get fired for not doing their job I had a truck early last year that had a ball joint only held on by a couple of threads it was missing the cotter pin the tow truck driver said it was making a knocking noise while being unloaded from the truck lol it only has 6 miles on it talk about quality control GM .

[@mobilemowers]

While I worked on an S-10 replaced both sets of tie rods for customer. He brought durcrap from Autozone. So Instead of have 2 pairs of matching tie rods. They weren't the same expect boxes and part numbers. My Cobalt out 5-6 air flow sensors and none worked. Tried a few aftermark O2 sensors in the past for my Chevy's and they never work. Use orginal brands ( not necessary "gm") and never an issues.

[@Doing_it_right_the_first_time]

3:54 and while we’re waiting for the Alltel to completely load up, we will listen to Pearl Jam in the background… A little retro music from days gone by like when the truck was made… in / from days gone by. Keep up the great work Eric and Vanessa!

[@TheWibbo]

Autel*

[@djambrosia]

Here's a story that my dad told me from his Bosch days in the 80's. Back then, ECU's where the new big thing and Bosch was starting the manufacturing process. Japan was the place for chips, so a request was made to supply a sizable quantity for testing. The request noted that a 1% failure rate was acceptable as this was the supplier standard for Bosch at the time. Several months later a parcel arrived which upon opening contained all the requested chips, a small bag of loose chips and a note. The note stated thank you for your order, we are not sure why you wanted them but the failed chips are in the extra bag.

[@gwbuilder5779]

Eric, Thank you. The level of frustration is real! Most electronic component issues, I do the exact same thing, call every parts house, confirm that they have is (hands on), and try to use familiar brands that mostly work. My neighbor and I partnered and bought the Autel MK808X PRO with the blue tooth dongle. It will be the last scan tool I buy because I'm pretty much done working on vehicles except mine or people I know. I got rid of my friends, so they won't call.😅 Whenever people hear that I use to work on diesels they beg and plead, but I just won't do for hire work anymore. The liability just isn't worth it, and that doesn't even include the whole parts bs. I salute you, hang in there, you are a good man with a good heart... And a bad attitude, me too!😭🤣🤙

[@buckzilla1466]

Very good eric. You're almost at 1 million subscribers. I've been with you for at least 6 years. Your channel is probably the best used to watch Scotty had to get rid of his crazy. You know what great videos! Great content! Great diagnosis. Good job as always

[@Doing_it_right_the_first_time]

There is absolutely no commonality between Scotti and Eric O.! Scotti is a BS hack whereas Eric is a true bonified auto repair technician! Difference is between night and day!

[@PhillipBailey]

For the last 30 years I've probably tested over 100 blower motor and circuits and I've come to the conclusion that maximum current that the fan motor will draw should not exceed 50% of the fuse rating protecting the circuit. Be sure to start the vehicle as the current will be higher with alternator output. As you mentioned check the cabin filter for a potential restriction if it has one while in there. I feel your pain regarding the parts quality!

[@SouthMainAuto]

Oh really? I will have to look into this and see what I discover but that def sounds like a good rule of thumb. Trick question... does a plugged cabin air filter increase or decrease the current draw?

[@PhillipBailey]

@SouthMainAuto I would think it would not affect the motor current but reduced airflow past the blower resistor will make it hotter and likely blow the thermal fuse sooner.

[@SouthMainAuto]

@@PhillipBailey It decreases the amperage draw but yes it would make the resistor hot for sure

[@Sejokintosol21]

Mr O if you ever worked on my car and a part fails on you and it’s a part failure and you tell me it needs to be replaced again I would never give you a problem because I know and understand that car parts aren’t like they use to be before. Keep up the awesome work and keep your head up because you do some of the best work. And I’m also glad that you have change the business hours to perhaps have more family time. Take care Mr & Mrs O

[@YaksAttack]

Eric i am a commercial electrician, currently working for a company that wires up giant warehouses. The customers always want the cheapest lights and occupancy sensors, we install them, and then have a 10%-15% failure rate within the first year. Cheap chinese crap. I remember the days of installing lights stamped with "proudly manufactured and assembled by members of local xyz of the ibew". Not anymore!

[@vanceblosser2155]

Since the mid 1980s I have honestly believed that we have a real possibility of the end of our technological civilization through indifference. This insight occurred when we moved into redone and upgraded office quarters at work. They had all new cubicles and we soon discovered that whoever installed them had never bothered to tighten the friggin screws. We were one person leaning on a wall from total collapse. A couple of us had screwdrivers in our cars and we fixed it but still.... A funny story goes with this. Part of the renovation included textured vinyl wallpaper. There was a wall mounted water fountain just outside of a conference room and we were filing in for a meeting. The office manager had one of the contractors at the fountain showing him how poorly the wallpaper was done around the fountain. The contractor said he would fix it immediately, he had some fresh wallpaper with him. We were in the meeting 10 or 15 minutes and heard a KLUNK and then a hissing sound followed by water coming in under the wall. The meeting was ended and as we left we discovered that this genius had unplugged the fountain and then unbolted it from the wall but didn't disconnect the copper line supplying it with water. When it resisted being taken off he just pulled until it came off. Including the shutoff valve. Soon water was spreading across the floor and we were enlisted to get all the electronic equipment off the floors and onto the desks to protect them. Under the nice new carpet was a concrete floor with numerous drilled holes in, for running cables and anchors to support the old walls. The water found these holes and started raining onto folks on the 4th floor below us. The redecoration included nice big ceiling fans which, being summer, were on and were very effective at splashing the water all over everyone down there. Just down the hall was the elevator. Although not visible from our location some visitors came in to the first floor and when the doors to the elevator opened there was a shower of water waiting to drench them. The office manager finally located a master water valve and shut it off until they could replace the valve that got broken off at the fountain. For some reason they had a different guy complete the repairs. I took this as further evidence of us probably fading out quietly as more and more stuff wasn't properly assembled like airplanes, cars, power stations, and other facets of our technical civilization. And it's only gotten worse since then.

[@23billd]

Old guy here (75) who still fixes my own stuff. I've read that the Cheap Chinese parts makers now copy the Ford and Motorcraft logos for obvious reasons. So you are correct, everything's broken. Furthermore, a minor quibble about that repair. I would have checked the interior air filter (assuming it has one) for blockage. It could contribute to a resistor failure due to heat load.

[@JamesAgans]

My 2004 does not have a cabin air filter.

[@kevinwalker4623]

2006 does not either!

[@Kadepatterson]

Eric, feel your pain with parts. In the peak of Covid I was working at a Komatsu dealership. About 80% of the def tank sensors were junk, new machines worth $200k-900k with less than 1000hrs were disabled due to junk parts, then the parts were on 75-90 day back order, when the new ones came in about 20% were bad out of the box. I’ve since gone on to work for myself and still experience bad out of the box parts on a regular basis, new, reman, oem, aftermarket, doesn’t matter. Manufacturers and “everyone” for that matter make it cost more to submit warranty claims than what it’s worth. The new normal in customer service, one of the biggest reasons I went in to business for myself. It gets old talking to robots on the phone and dealing with $12/hr parts guys that don’t have any interest in their job. Too far gone to change anything and it’s good for business when like minded people find out about you to have real customer service and a real mechanic to explain things in detail instead of a shitty service advisor salesman.

[@NicholasAndre1]

This is a huge problem these days. Louis Rossman did a test on Amazon fuses and many of them were misrated by 1000% (like a 1amp that wouldn’t blow till >10 amps). It’s definitely a business opportunity for a third party to test and certify parts met standards with some quality and revoke certification if the quality slips.

[@wilbilt]

Eric, I feel your pain. 40 years ago, we rebuilt calipers and wheel cylinders in the shop on a daily basis. Zero failures. Then the aftermarket rebuilt calipers showed up (and CV axles etc.) Nothing but problems. I can remember working late every New Years Eve doing inventory. Counting wheel cylinder cups, caliper parts, CV boots and all the rest. I don't miss those days.

[@generichards6497]

I have to agree with you. I'm a retired master tech and the amount of electrical parts that I had to replace that were supposed to be new was crazy back then. It seems that quality control has gone out the window. That's my rant glad I don't have to deal with it anymore.

[@garryhatchett775]

Sounds so familiar! I was a mechanic for almost 40 years and the quality of parts is a real epidemic. It’s not regional either. I’m out west. Hang in there.

[@deanyoung9214]

I work for a medical company and the OEM parts that we use have a 10% failure rate. So in other words there is a good chance you get a DOA part. Just like you said you start doubting yourself when you are troubleshooting and you start running in circles. Unfortunately for us guys in the field it takes 24 hours to get a replacement part since it comes from the east coast (I'm in Cali). There is no going to a hardware store or autozone to get a part.

[@jeremyah78]

You are definitely not the only one Eric! Our shop has some luck reducing - definitely not eradicating - the issue by educating customers as to why we highly recommend more expensive parts - because you do still get what you pay for, at least as a rule. We also put on 3 or 4 times more OE parts than we used to, say 10 years ago. And we give the overwhelming majority of our parts purchases to 1 aftermarket supplier - that's the one (Benson Auto Parts here in Ontario Canada) that agreed to promptly help us out with labour kick back when parts do fail (they earned our loyalty for that quite a few years ago now). It's not a perfect formula. I've got 3 examples in the last week that are top of mind that speak to the level of junk-in-a-box even still; but it's good enough that I'm not pulling my hair out every time I turn around.

[@mikes1345]

As one of those grumpy geezers i can tell you the day you retire and become a full time grandpa life will be better. Now with great grandkids my stress level is so down. All the crap you put up with now wont matter when you hit that pinnacle. Peace!!

[@kevinfergusson8239]

Don't apologise for the complaining. You are absolutely right. Failure is becoming more acceptable now. (Not for the paying customer) but for the manufacturer. We are losing pride in good work, it is becoming toooo easy to pass the buck. Thank you for your honesty and dedication. It is no different here in AUSTRALIA. Very hard to find honest workshops. When you find one TELL your friends. Thanks again.

[@johnhollenkamp3769]

Good rant at the end. I'm a mechanic and am absolutely frustrated by the decline in parts quality. I pride myself in my diagnostic ability (although not as good as you) and when I run into something that I think I diagnosed correctly but the new part doesn't fix it, and am left perplexed till I try the same part again from a different batch/manufacturer and it suddenly works. Also, MAF sensors - I had a customer didn't want me to buy the Toyota part, I told him aftermarket suck "trust me" Toyota sold me a bad one (completely different failure mode than one we were replacing) so much for convincing him it was worth twice what O'Reilly's wanted. Some days you're the dog, some days, you're the hydrant.

[@uva514]

I just got done installing/reinstalling EVAP vent solenoid on my son's CR-V because the parts weren't working. I don't do this all the time, so removing air handlers, hoses, etc isn't that fast (plus, that 5.5mm socket I needed to go buy wasn't on my list of things to do). Finally replaced and is working, but the parts let us down and it's frustrating. Funny thing was, I wasn't the first person there as it was held on with zip-ties. I tried to get the correct bolts (twice) but used zip-ties myself in the end. Money and time. Money and time.

[@airric166]

I couldn't have agreed more. I feel your pain. Parts are worse now than ever. Trying to find parts for anything older than 10 years seems to be more of a challenge too. I have been a tech since 1993 and no wonder there is a national tech shortage. We're underpaid. Over stressed and aftermarket parts suck.

[@privateer0561]

How can you be underpaid when the shop gets $150 per hour?

[@airric166]

Just cause shop makes that. The tech certainly doesn't.

[@adamtrombino106]

@@airric166 Give that man a cigar. At some shops, depending how the tech gets paid, the tech makes nothing for diag time, or warranty work. People outside the industry just don't understand how it works.

[@RenegadesGarage]

South Maine Auto... Awesome video and story about GM.. I have never liked GM but they have made me quite a bit of money fixing their junk. I remember a while back getting a couple of bad calipers from NAPA and a lot of brake pads from AutoZone that just didn't fit correctly. I know it's not the guy at the parts counter's fault but dang it is really getting bad. Even getting new parts with old parts in the box. I guess people buy new parts and then take the old parts back for a refund hoping the parts guy doesn't open the box to make sure it's still a new part in it. Like come on!!

[@edgarcornette6387]

Sir the sad part is its not just your industry and has this problem with poopy parts. I am a computer/network engineer and electrical engineer and I order parts for everything from a normal pc all the way to a $20,000 server rack full of servers and its the same thing.. 20% of everything made in china is bad from the factory. No one over there does QC on anything it seems and parts made in Mexico , Vietnam , HK ect there failure rate is about 10% so not that much better .. WE NEED TO MAKE STUFF HERE AND GO BACK TO HOW IT WAS BEFORE WE HAD EVERYTHING MADE SOMEWHERE ELSE !!! Love and Prayers to you and your family. Love ya Brother !!

[@jonmack5359]

making stuff here wont work unless buyers are willing to pay a bunch more, or the american worker will work for $2 a day with a bowl of company supplied rice....

[@tommywhidby]

this comment has nothing to do with this video, however, i watched another video regarding 1994 f-150 and the problem with coolant temperature sensor. i had been trying to figure out the problem for about 3 weeks on my own and found your video. what a relief! thanks for showing me the problem. i learn a lot from watching you. I'm 76 and still learning. So grateful to have my truck running again and reliable again. Thank you very much!

[@danlemke6407]

Are you shittin me? That was an epic rant. I did have an intermittent issue with wife's cruise cuttin out and I had changed the brake light switch (potentiometer) as it was cheap and easy. Ended up at the dealer to get brake pedal calibrated, no joy, and it turned out all the brake light crap was in the right rear digital brake light with the circuit board and had a pin fitment issue. I ended up ordering a new socket, which came with all the same colored wires to make it easier to replace and stop the cruise from cuttin out due to brake light intermittent signal. I have ordered stuff off the Amazon and compared it to the same part from AutoZone and Oriellys and they were the same damn part. So you pays your money, take your chances. Being a tightwad, I just can't stomach some of the dealers prices, and I am not running a business, so I take more chances, even buying used parts off the Flea-Bay just to get the right stuff. Some of the aftermarket stuff is so cheap, with plastic replacing what was metal and fitment that makes you feel like you are building the car from scratch. I only have a few vehicles to deal with and I have to say on this issue... Sucks to be you. You know I kid,. Thanks Eric... You are beyond a shadow of a doubt the best mechanic utuber out there. Not just pumpin you full of sunshine, I mean it.

[@sargefreedom1578]

Appreciate your videos and honesty. When I was working and would travel three hours to a jobsite to do a repair only to find the "new" part was no good was infuriating. Luckily most of the time I was on a secluded mountaintop and nobody could hear my opinion of the no good crap we were getting for "new" parts. I feel your pain brother. Nice repair, great video as usual

[@wlb-85]

I've gone through 2 replacement shift tubes on my Ranger. The first one (Dorman - Lord, "help" me!) would not engage the key lock switch correctly, so you have to hold your mouth right just to take the key out. I used it for a while, and it got gradually worse, till I got a slightly better replacement. Still has the same problem, just 20% of what the Dorman had. Terrible.

[@adamtrombino106]

Just did 1 in a 98 f150 that was worn out from the guy using it like a 3 on the tree. Dorman was the only 1 available locally. Knowing their rep, I shied away, but thx to the net, I was able to find NOS parts from a guy that bought out the entire parts inventory from a dealer in Arkansas that closed. That was fine, but when time is an issue, you're kinda stuck.

[@mikeschaner5853]

Glad to see you're staying busy. I'm with you 100% on parts quality, and build quality. Bought a jasper reman 2.5 for my sentra in july last year. I drive a lot, abt 65-70k per year. 12k miles on the jasper, and the balance shaft assembly bolts came out, blew out the upper pan. Bolts were way over torqued and stripped out the threads internally on block. During repair, i found about 6 crankcase bolts that were undertorqued. Had to drill/tap/plug an oil feed as the balancer shaft could not be reinstalled. Bought the engine on clearance, so I'll give jasper credit for replacing both oil pans, and paying me for labor. But still. If this was a customer's engine, this would be a bigger deal. Good show sir! Hustle on

[@joeyabb1965]

I’m starting to ‘work’ on EVs. So anytime you get frustrated Eric just think of me and my EVs and say, glad I’m not that guy.

[@SouthMainAuto]

That is a good thought. I need to keep that in mind 😂

[@raydufour9591]

Thanks Mr O. I have exact same truck with same fan resistor problem plus blend door and you "helped" me fix it the day your video came out.

[@Intabih]

1:07 Gratutious Mrs. O sighting! 24:16 And deeper in debt!

[@lutherodom546]

Thanks Eric for sharing. I watch you and Pine hollow diagnostics and enjoy watching expert elecrical diagtitions

[@bluegrallis]

Having 16 years experience at it, being the grumpy old man that just sits around and runs kids off the lawn, isn't all that much fun! (not one kid ran across my yard yet in this time). 😂 It is most likely, way more fun than dealing with junk new parts though.

[@paulwoodall2377]

Sometimes you just gotta vent, it's all good. I often hear that it's actually beneficial to vent.

[@65cbtengr]

Hey man, let out we are listening.

[@SmittySmithsonite]

I've been there too with NAPA brake calipers! Only difference was instead of leaking they were SEIZING! Prior to the NAPA ordeal, I had bought 4 remanned calipers for our '93 940, and EVERY SINGLE ONE seized up solid one after the other. Cardone - should've known! One rear was so bad, I had the caliper removed, engine running and STOOD on the brake pedal with everything I had, and could not get the piston to move one half of one millimeter!!! MAN!! Frustration city! This was about 7 years ago. We're in a small (by MA standards) town, too, and I was seeing just as much junk aftermarket and OE parts. It was the layers of frustration from this, and a hundred other things that drove me right out of the industry. I couldn't take it anymore. I'd have been dead by 55 if I kept that level of frustration up! Another time I had to buy 3 neutral safety switches for a '99 Saturn my buddy's daughter owned. Talk about infuriating! Started second-guessing my adjustment of it after installation ... but eventually I got a good one! MAN!!! I'm hoping things will change soon. Might take a while, but I believe it's finally coming!

[@thedogbarber]

Hope I'm not overstepping my bounds here popop, but I gotta say again, I really think you'd flourish and be so much better off mentally in a teaching position for what it is you do so well. All of us can feel your frustration so times through our screens about the industry, parts, and cars nowadays in general. I know I know, wrenching is in your blood and it's been the family business for ages now, and I knooooow it's a scary thing to even begin to consider, changing gears like that so much later in life, but I hope you'd consider it someday. Heck, maybe even becoming a mobil diag guy. Let some other sap do the grunt work. I listen to all the Mobil diag podcasts out there, you know the ones, and man those guys are absolutely killing it out there. They're in high demand and make money that makes me blush. We love ya big guy. I hope this wasn't out of line to mention, but it's been on my heart for ya. 😊

[@mikemiller3565]

Sometimes working with equipment is better than working with people.

[@Shiver2002]

Equipment doesn't get upset when it gets launched across the shop.

[@brucedale4465]

Unfortunately teaching doesn’t pay even close to what Eric can make with his own business!

[@christopherzatalokin8652]

Yeah, I do not see being a people person thing working out.

[@galerae947]

My son was a mobile mechanic. If all he had to do was diagnose the problem, his job would have been less stressful. Unfortunately, the client wants the car fixed after it was diagnosed. He was busy as heck but got tired of working on long neglected cars in long neglected yards.

[@jdtractorman7445]

I have a 08 F-150 as well. When I first got the truck, some of the blower speeds didn't work and I replaced the resistor card. I have replaced it twice over the years since I have had it. I have found the key to making it last is leave the blower switch off when you shut the truck off and before you start it. When you are turning the key through the various positions (off, acc, run, crank then back to run) I think there are voltage spikes created that the resistor card doesn't like. I have not had a problem since with it. I feel your pain on getting bad replacement parts. It is time wasted, and it doesn't really do any good to get on the phone or chat with these people at the parts stores because they are not rebuilding or making the parts. Contacting the corporate people or parts rebuilders probably won't be effective either, and it's just more time wasted where you could be working on other cars making money.

[@russellstephan6844]

I'm retired. 90% of my daily transportation is handled by a 1970's Schwinn extra-tall Continental. Oh, I've upgraded everything. The only stock components are the frame and brake calipers. Anywho, I was having trouble with the front chain ring derailleur throwing far enough to get the outer most ring of three. Yes, the front derailleur is rated for three chain rings. The issue was, my conversion from the old Schwinn OEM single-piece crank to a three-piece involves getting the right lengthed square-ended shaft sealed bearing crank. I originally went with the recommendations from the crank arms manufacturer, Shimano. But, the recommended length was still too long -- causing the chain ring to be out of reach of the derailleur's capability to throw. So, in the Fall of 2024, I searched and searched and searched for a shorter sealed bearing crank. Finally, I found one! It was a no-name. But, it's a shaft with pressed on bearings and a spacer sleeve. Not really a whole lot to F up. But, you guessed it, they did. The sealed bearing crank shaft is labeled for left and right installation. The threads on each side are normal and reversed so pedaling *_always_* tightens the crank end caps. I blindly followed the illustration on the crank bearing sleeve pointing out left and right. A couple of days ago, I was returning from a trip to the grocery store with a kiddy cart trailer full of provisions and the derailleur wouldn't throw far enough again. What? It was working just fine for months! Sure enough, the crank was working its way to coming out the right side of the bottom bracket. As I'm disassembling the mess with lots of galled aluminum bits, I notice I'm loosening everything in the same direction one pedals. That ain't right at all! Once things are fully apart I see the right/left illustration. That's the way it was installed! After about 45 minutes of head-scratching and playing with undamaged parts from the scrap bin, I figured out the spacer sleeve with the right/left illustration was installed backwards. Are you F'ing kidding me! I should have been paying attention when tightening everything up in the Fall. I should have known something was wrong. But, being a good little follow-the-directions assembler, I didn't bother paying attention. Three hours of my day wasted. Parts damaged unnecessarily. And yet, another lesson, in a long unending list of lessons, learned. ------ Oh, and on the car front, back when I was working the full-time gig, my windshield washer pump wasn't being commanded on by the control stock on the steering column. I ran 12 volts to the pump directly to test. The pump worked fine and with authority. Since I was going to be flying out of town the following week, might as well have a dealer shop look into replacing the column switch. I explained the issue in writing along with the testing I had done prior to dropping off the car after hours Sunday night. When I got the call about the diagnosis Monday mid-day. They said I needed a new washer pump. I about ripped the service writer a new expulsion hole... "I ran 12 volts directly to the washer pump as stated in the note I put in the drop-off envelope! It ain't the pump! It's somewhere upstream. Most likely, it's the switch on the steering column!" Lots of babbling on the other end that did nothing to relieve my mounting frustration! I took the thing to the dealer because I didn't have time to do it myself. Well, playing these time-wasting games, I can fit the work into my DIY schedule. I go, "Put the car back out in the parking lot. DO NOT WORK ON IT! I'll do it myself. And I better not have to deal with a diagnostic fee when I come to pick it up!" That was thirty years ago. I've never taken a vehicle to retail repair facility since.

[@kmartin5054]

I can remember many many year’s ago when I was in the industry full time at an independent shop the failure rate was minuscule, but you’re absolutely right who pays for it? It’s only gotten worse & the larger companies as long as they can produce the parts cheap & make a sizable profit they don’t care. I see allot of parts even OEM produced in China?

[@chrisfreemesser]

Dunno how I missed this video when it came out, but feel free to rant whenever you need to. This has become a chronic problem and if more folks in the public eye call out companies for putting out garbage products, the greater the chance that public pressure will force them to change

[@michelparent8392]

I feel your frustration. I tried to deal with Fram over a new oil filter that had a pin hole in the side. They just gave me the runaround, wasted my time until I simply gave up knowing I wasn't getting anywhere. The only thing that I could do is change filter brands and let all of my accointances know about Fram.

[@dont-want-no-wrench]

companies still dont seem to get that.