Will Repair Auto

End of year recap: JULY 2023

Another crazy month that started with giving myself heat stroke pulling this engine at a junkyard. Check out the ratchet discovered after pulling the engine, who knows how long it's been there for.

I then loaded up my car with parts and tools and headed 6hrs south to Medford, OR to help a buddy turbo swap his Mazda Protege5. It was a wild and tight timeline that also overlapped with July 4th weekend but, we pulled engine resealed and swapped all the necessary parts in about 3 days. All during a 100+ degree heatwave!

Got home, found another 2003 Protege5 with a seized motor which would pair perfectly with the motor pulled earlier that month. Got it loaded up and towed to the shop to begin teardown.

Meanwhile I also helped a buddy try to figure out an Audi A3 that ended up needed more repair than it was worth. Also pulled the interior out of a mazda3 to do a deep clean and restore some questionable audio modifications.. Lots of Mazda fun in July.

Please message me for your automotive needs!

End of year recap: JUNE 2023 pt2

2003 Subaru Forester in for the classic head gasket job. This one was a rollercoaster, from counterfeit Subaru parts and spark plugs to MORE shady mechanic work.

First, the owner agreed we wanted to do this job right. Naturally we went with OEM parts, except that the Subaru kit we purchased through Amazon turned out to be counterfeit. It had Subaru and made in Japan markings but, on closer inspection I found they were copies. Even the spark plugs purchased through Amazon were also counterfeit NGK plugs. Lesson learned, be careful with parts through Amazon!

The head gaskets had been done previously a few years ago but were already failing. I found they used a single layer composite head gasket instead of the recommended multi-layer steel turbo gasket AND used a wire wheel to clean the surfaces of the head and block. Wire wheel being an absolute no go on an aluminum engine like this.

Got the heads sent to a machine shop and then did a valve job and valve stem seals. Went to clean the block and noticed the wire wheel marks (circled in yellow) and ultimately decided to get the whole block machined too. After the first few passes sure enough, you could see the low spots marked with yellow arrows. Again damage from the previous mechanic.

Once that was sorted we sourced Subaru head gaskets and water pump from local dealerships. Turns out the water pump was different than the one supplied with the Aisin timing kit. The hydrolic tensioner was bled (commonly missed when doing these Subaru engines) and everything assembled. Got the car running fine, did a final valve adjustment and set the car on its way.

Learned a lot with this car. I am glad the owner was so flexible and willing to do this job right with the correct parts and processes.

Message me if you need work for your Subaru too!

End of year recap: APRIL 2023

A shady mechanics mess!

Started April with pulling the old engine and refreshing the one pulled for last month. All new gaskets, timing components, sensors, the works. Also got to install a modern radio which really updates the look and feel of older cars. Did new motor mounts all around on a vehicle, also did new OEM spark plugs and servicing with this Ram 1500.

Here's where the shady mechanic stuff comes in. There's a picture of a piston bearing with damage. This customers car claimed to have been recently rebuilt but after initial hesitation with concerns of a bad engine, disassembling it confirmed the short cuts and lies from the this previous mechanic. We were able to find a know good engine, did a top end rebuild and got the head machined, rebuilt the engine with new OEM everything and got it back on the road in less than a week. Talk about a tight timeline!

If you need any work done with your vehicle or have any automotive questions feel free to reach out!

Here's a long post, engine swap on a 2003 Camry V6 with 260k miles.

This is a good customers car, she had it since 2005 and sold it to a friend that unfortunately over heated it multiple times. Instead of doing just head gaskets we opted for a lower milage JDM engine. You could tell the original engine was still well cared for and likely would have lasted many more miles if it hadn't overheated.

After taking apart the lower milage JDM engine I verified it had no major or obvious issues. The oil pan and pickup tube were crushed so we replaced and sealed with a new one. I also installed a new Aisin timing belt and water pump kit that was fantastic. It's the same used in the OEM engine so very good quality. Also did valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals.

After that it was time to pull the old engine to remove the Camry specific parts to swap onto the new engine. I opted to leave the transmission in the car and it was a nightmare. I think next time I'd drop the engine and transmission together through the top or possibly drop the whole subframe. It was a good challenge though.

While the engine was all taken apart it was also a good time to do the knock sensor harness since it is deep in the engine. Did new lower and upper intake manifold gaskets as well as exhaust manifold gaskets.

One of the original axles was also leaking grease but wasn't yet making noise. This is amazing considering the age and milage of the car. Replaced and also did new accessory belts when putting the car back together. There were a few broken connectors that I was able to depin and swap from the partial JDM harness.

Many many things had to be swapped from the Camry engine to the JDM engine but in the end I was relieved to start the engine and hear it sounded very healthy. We did all of the maintenance items and hopefully this Camry will run another 100k+ miles!

We do almost everything from basic maintenance to engine swaps. Message us for your automotive needs!