I Think My Mechanic Wrecked My Car – Ford Owner Discovers Wrong Fix on Video

A recent article on Reddit r/MechanicAdvice The repair forum illustrates the importance of taking before and after photos every time someone works on your car.

The owner of a 2017 Ford Ranger Wildtrak needed a timing chain repair on her vehicle. This was not an unexpected diagnosis, since the vehicle is 7 years old. However, what was unexpected was the manner in which the repair was carried out.

According to the owner’s message:

What happened?

According to the message, the timing cover was removed without any signs of damage to the alternator bracket when the mechanic showed the owner the worn state of the timing chain on her vehicle. We can see in the “Before” photo that the bracket is intact and a bit of the timing chain is visible, so the cover must have been removed or at least partially moved aside for the owner to see what repair is needed .

The owner returned after the work was completed and was surprised to find that the mechanic had severely damaged the alternator bracket (as shown in the “After” photo), but the vehicle’s timing problem was repaired and the vehicle was ready to leave.

In the “Before” photo, we see that the mechanic could unbolt the timing cover without dismantling the alternator and its support to access it. However, the mechanic’s choice to grind off a significant portion of the alternator bracket, as shown in the “After” photo, remains a mystery.

Proposed scenarios include:

1. The mechanic discovered that it was much easier to remove the timing cover than to put it back in place, a scenario familiar to anyone working on cars.
2. The cover needed silicone on the gasket, but the tight fit, along with the alternator getting in the way, made it difficult to put the timing cover back on without rubbing the silicone.
3. The mechanic found it too difficult to screw the timing cover back on and chose to grind off part of the alternator bracket to make things easier for him (?). For example, he may have wanted to tighten the bolts correctly, but failed to install his torque wrench and socket, so he removed the offending obstacle.
4. The mechanic may have felt like he was doing the owner a favor by “improving” access to the timing cover for future repairs.

Surprising comments

What caught my attention, aside from the mechanic’s blatant disregard for the owner’s car with some of the poorest technique I’ve seen in a while, was that many of the comments from other mechanics blame as much the automotive engineers who designed the position of the alternator bracket as they did the OP’s mechanic.

In fact, several others also said that if it was their car, they might have done the same thing as the mechanic to save time and money.

To each their own. However, imagine the sparks flying under the hood while a wheel grinder does its work on the alternator bracket. I can’t help but imagine that this has all the makings of a possible “Darwin Awards” inevitability about to happen.

Car designs don’t always make good repair sense

But back to the fault of the automobile engineers. These views, however, have merit.

In a previous article titled “Ford Engineers Have Lost Their Minds, Says This Mechanic,” we learned that when comparing cost differences based on replacement difficulties between a modern Toyota and a Ford Explorer V6 with 105,000 miles requiring water pump replacement, this is only one reason (among so many others) why a used car buyer might want to reconsider certain Ford models from the last 10 years.

Another example we discussed is accessing the HVAC system for a simple, inexpensive plastic actuator replacement that involves hours of difficult dashboard disassembly and reassembly. Mechanics hate this type of repair because it is time consuming and the risk of breaking multiple plastic fasteners is high and problematic. Car owners hate this type of repair because it is expensive and their car can sit in the garage for weeks.

This then begs the question: Is it ever okay to perform an unorthodox repair to gain easier access to a part or system?

Repair techniques not covered in your car’s service/repair manual

It turns out there are some uncommon repair procedures that make sense, but you’ll never see them listed in a service/repair manual for your car. Believe it or not, it turns out that sometimes it’s a good idea to let a mechanic drill a hole in your vehicle to get to a problem and save money on a repair.

An example of this was shown in an article titled “A Crazy Way to Cut Your Auto Repair Costs in Half That Works”, based on a Car Assistant YouTube video in which the Car Assistant shows how he was able to save his customer about half the repair cost (about $2,500 to $3,000) of replacing a fuel pump attached to the fuel tank by cutting a hole in the floor of the back seat of a car.

In other words, as some comments have pointed out, sometimes it makes more sense to perform a questionable repair by cutting corners rather than spending more money on a “proper” repair of a car that doesn’t. may not be worth the extra cost.

Tell us what you think

Although I think many of us can agree that the mechanic who performed the grinding repair of the alternator bracket did a shoddy job and should have discussed it with the car owner before try, if he had done a more professional looking “modification” to the alternator. support, would that have made the repair more acceptable to you?

Let us know in the comments below what you think of the repair performed and if you have ever performed an uncommon repair procedure that seemed logical to you and that you won’t find in any repair manual.

For additional articles relating to poor repairs by mechanics and homeowners, here are three striking examples:

1. Used car dealership scam with superglue and drywall screws
2. TikTok Car Repair Tricks You Should and Shouldn’t Do
3. People who shouldn’t drive

Timothy Boyer is a Cincinnati-based automotive journalist who currently researches and works on restoring older vehicles with engine modifications to improve performance. He also reports on modern cars (including electric vehicles) with a focus on DIY mechanics, buying and using tools, and other auto repair-related news. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites as well as on Facebook and his automotive blog “Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair” for helpful daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

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