A shop-focused rant turns into a practical warning about brake maintenance timing and quality control. Nile MotorMouth Jenkins recounts “$2,800 gone in 5 months” after a van’s front brakes were replaced in late October, only for seized caliper pins and improper torque/lube to be found months later. He argues brakes aren’t “set it and forget it,” pushing at least twice-yearly service, proper lubrication, torque specs, and using the parking brake daily. He also contrasts “quality vs affordable” and cites newer reliability issues (including a Chevy Trax head-gasket pattern) to reinforce the episode’s theme: maintenance beats big repair bills.
This morning in the Car Connection Workshop, a minivan rolled in with a serious problem - just five months after $2800 of repair work completed included a complete front brake job., the front brakes are already seizing up.
That's not bad luck. That's bad service.
In todays episode of Dems The Brakes, we break down what went wrong, why brake service is often skipped or rushed, and how that decision can cost you thousands. Brakes aren't just parts you replace- they're a system that demands proper cleaning, lubrication, and inspection.
Think of it like the landing gear on an airplane. If it doesn't work when you need it, nothing else matters.
We also revisit the "Brake Nationals" from Summer 2025-one brutal job after another that could've been avoided with proper maintenance.
So here's the question:
What's brake service worth to you...compared to what it'll cost you if you don't do it?
Check out our brake job series on YouTube: Summer 2025 - The Brake Nationals
You'll see exactly what happens when maintenance is ignored-or done wrong.
Car Connection Motormouth Merchandise available in our online store at ccbusnet.com grab some merch join our crew in fighting addiction, helping those ready to deal with their addiction get to a Total Freedom Addiction Campus Canada & USA where a New Life awaits them there! Tnx so much friends. Motormouth & Skippy
More episodes and....project Details & Links are available at Car Connection Business Network.com (ccbusnet.com) you'll find everything on our homepage if you'd like to follow the build & repair work we do & connect with our program partners click their logo to meet them. Thank You for giving them your business. NMJ
Please Consider: Like, Share, Subscribe, Comment, Ring the Bell be notified of new vids, Follow, Watch & Listen, Join our online community! We. appreciate your Love & support. Skippy. Help us keep the ignition On!
"...our morning swiggy brought to us this morning by Niagara Block at 5000 Montrose Road Niagara Falls, building Canada since 1931 with building supplies, hardscape, landscape, building materials..."
Niagara Block is the company sponsoring this part of the show. They sell building materials, like supplies for landscaping and outdoor projects.
Niagara Block is mentioned as the sponsor for the segment. The host ties the brand to building supplies and hardscape/landscape materials, which is a common kind of local business advertisement on automotive podcasts.
"Thank you to Earl and Louise Grant at City Auto Sales and Leasing, providing us with low mileage, top quality vehicles at fair prices, Greater Toronto area's premier pre-owned auto store bringing to us this morning..."
This is the name of the dealership the host is talking about. They’re saying the dealership sells used cars and tries to be straightforward about what you’re buying.
The host mentions City Auto Sales and Leasing as the dealership sponsoring the segment. They’re positioning the store as a source of “low mileage” used vehicles sold with a focus on honesty and fair pricing.
"all right let's jump right into our topic this morning and that's [801.7s] I've entitled it thems or thems the breaks, break service, hmm that's something I need to do [812.1s] maybe maybe not,"
Brake service is when you maintain or fix the parts that help your car stop. It can include replacing brake pads and resurfacing or replacing rotors, and checking the brake fluid.
“Brake service” refers to maintenance or repairs for the braking system—commonly brake pads, rotors, calipers, brake fluid, and related hardware. In the context of the episode title, it’s likely being used to frame what should have been done before the brakes failed.
"...I said I'm confused by the amount of corrosion and components seized up in your braking system and things were left loose..."
Corrosion is rust and metal breakdown from moisture and salt. In brakes, it can make parts stick and lead to bigger problems.
Corrosion is the deterioration of metal due to chemical reactions, commonly accelerated by road salt and moisture. In brake systems, corrosion can cause seized hardware, sticking calipers, and uneven pad wear.
"...it's them the brakes we don't just do a brake job and see you at the next one that's where the reason I talk about there are two ways to own a car..."
A brake job is when a shop replaces or services brake parts to make braking work correctly again. Good brake work includes more than just swapping pads.
A brake job is service work intended to restore braking performance, often involving pads and rotors plus inspection and servicing of calipers and brake hardware. The episode emphasizes that skipping the “while you’re in there” checks can turn a small issue into a larger repair.
"...I got like a super duper shower anti-free shower doing a gush and flush on the old Jeep the 97 Jeep TJ Wrangler Rescue got its final cooling system flush..."
They’re talking about a 1997 Jeep Wrangler TJ. It’s a common Jeep generation, and they’re describing routine maintenance like flushing the cooling system.
The speaker references a 1997 Jeep Wrangler TJ, a popular generation of Wrangler known for its solid-axle off-road layout and straightforward maintenance. The episode mentions doing a cooling system flush on this TJ as part of ongoing upkeep.
"...Rescue got its final cooling system flush and is parked in another area of the campus to come back in the later spring..."
A cooling system flush is when the old coolant is removed and replaced. It helps keep the engine from overheating and reduces rust inside the cooling passages.
A cooling system flush replaces old coolant and contaminants from the engine’s cooling passages. Over time, coolant can degrade and collect debris, which can reduce heat transfer and contribute to overheating or corrosion.
"...so I can do some floor welding I gotta put a floor pan in part of a floor pan..."
A floor pan is the metal sheet that makes up the car’s floor. If it’s rusted out, it has to be cut out and welded back in so the car stays solid and safe.
A floor pan is the sheet-metal panel forming the vehicle’s floor structure. Replacing one is typically a rust-repair job and can be labor-intensive because it requires cutting out damaged sections and welding in new metal for structural integrity.
"it's gruesome these things are blowing out coolant gaskets sonderhead gaskets and it's costly it's not covered by factory warning 2024 and the people that own this vehicle don't have the money to fix it so they're making payments"
The head gasket is a seal inside the engine that keeps coolant and engine gases in the right places. If it fails, the engine can overheat and the repair can be extremely expensive.
A head gasket seals the engine’s combustion chambers and coolant passages between the cylinder head and engine block. When a head gasket fails, coolant can leak into the engine or combustion gases can enter the cooling system, often leading to overheating and very costly repairs.
"now you know Chevrolet is not coming to the plate with any goodwill warranty they don't do that but I can tell you some other car companies that do do that"
Chevrolet is mentioned in the context of goodwill warranty policy, with the speaker claiming Chevrolet doesn’t offer goodwill coverage for out-of-warranty failures. This is used to contrast Chevrolet’s approach with other brands that may be more willing to assist.
"provide you with you know what they call goodwill warranty your warranty is run out but based on the circumstances being being good that you've been keeping up your vehicle maintenance"
When a warranty is “run out,” the original factory coverage period has ended, so repairs are generally the owner’s responsibility. This is why goodwill warranty discussions matter: it’s the difference between standard coverage and discretionary help.
"according to the manufacturer's maintenance guide and you have good service records and you've been back to the purchasing dealer"
“Good service records” means documented proof that scheduled maintenance was completed. In goodwill-warranty situations, these records help establish that the failure wasn’t caused by neglect or missed service.
"but based on the circumstances being being good that you've been keeping up your vehicle maintenance according to the manufacturer's maintenance guide and you have good service records"
The speaker emphasizes that maintenance performed per the manufacturer’s schedule can affect whether goodwill assistance is considered. It’s essentially about being able to prove the car was cared for using the recommended service intervals and procedures.
"i always pull the caliper pins out and double check that whoever assembled the calipers put enough lubrication in there i never assume and that was part of my teaching never assume someone has done that correctly"
Brake hardware needs the right grease so it can slide smoothly. If someone doesn’t lubricate it properly, the brakes can start sticking again.
Proper lubrication on caliper slide pins and contact points is critical for free movement and even pad wear. Skipping lubrication or using the wrong grease can lead to pin seizure and recurring brake problems.
"...there's nothing maintenance free so here we go five months another month of driving that vehicle and the brake pads are going to start to burn off and they'll burn off very very quickly..."
Brake pads are the parts that squeeze against the spinning brake disc to help your car slow down. If they wear out, your brakes won’t work as well and you’ll need repairs.
Brake pads are the friction material that clamp onto the brake rotor to slow the car down. If they wear down too far, stopping performance drops and you can end up damaging other brake components.
"...another month of driving that vehicle and the brake pads are going to start to burn off and they'll burn off very very quickly..."
They mean the brake pads are wearing down very fast. If that happens quickly, it usually means something isn’t working correctly, not just normal driving.
“Burn off” here describes rapid brake pad wear from friction and heat. When pads wear quickly, it often points to a mechanical issue like a sticking caliper or misalignment rather than normal use.
"...so that was a 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 and it was a shambles like i mean seriously..."
They’re talking about a 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup. The brakes were in really bad shape, and if it went to a shop it would have been a costly repair.
The speaker describes a 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 with severe brake issues that would have cost thousands at a shop. This is a heavy-duty pickup, so brake problems can become expensive quickly if calipers or hardware seize.
"...and lubricate them things will turn out okay but of another month worth of driving..."
Some brake parts have to slide smoothly, and they need the right grease. If they don’t, the brakes can get stuck and wear out faster.
Brake caliper slide pins and related contact points need proper lubrication so the caliper can move freely. If lubrication is missing or wrong, calipers can stick and cause rapid pad wear.
"...so let's say end of april beginning of may that came in those break the inboard brake pad would be completely burned off..."
Brake pads come in pairs on each wheel. The inboard pad is the one closer to the inside of the car, and if it wears much faster, it can be a sign something in the caliper isn’t moving freely.
The inboard brake pad is the pad closer to the inside of the wheel, toward the suspension. Uneven wear between inboard and outboard pads often points to a sticking caliper or slide pins.
"how important that park brake set brake emergency brake whatever you want to call it ... you need to be using that every single day every time you park that vehicle you put that parking brake on"
The parking brake is the brake you set when you park. The speaker is saying it’s not just a backup—using it helps keep the rear brake parts from rusting and getting stuck.
The parking brake (also called the emergency brake in many vehicles) is a separate braking system from the service brakes. The speaker emphasizes that it uses dedicated hardware on the rear brakes, so regular use helps prevent rust/seizure and reduces the chance of major brake job costs.
"how important that park brake set brake emergency brake whatever you want to call it ... they have a separate set of brakes for the emergency brake"
The emergency brake is the backup brake if something else fails. In this story, they’re saying the emergency brake parts are built into the rear brake system, so ignoring it can lead to costly repairs.
The emergency brake is the backup braking system, typically acting on the rear wheels. In this segment, the speaker ties emergency-brake neglect to rear disc-brake systems that still contain parking-brake shoes and related hardware.
"what we do a call a pad slap you know not replacing rotors or checking
[2359.4s] bushings and anything to do with a caliper oh i managed to get the caliper off i'll just stuff
[2364.5s] new pads in there that is not a break job folks"
“Pad slap” means just throwing new brake pads on without doing the proper checks. The danger is that other brake parts might still be worn or not working right.
“Pad slap” is the shortcut of replacing brake pads without properly diagnosing and servicing the rest of the brake system. The host warns that this can leave issues like rotor problems, caliper problems, or worn hardware unaddressed, making the repair unsafe and short-lived.
"new pads in there that is not a break job folks and if you're a di wire that's called a pad slap
[2370.6s] shame on you that's dangerous man that is dangerous would i take your car to the corner"
The host criticizes a DIY approach that only replaces pads without performing the full inspection and service steps. The underlying concept is that brake work requires more than parts swapping to ensure safe operation.
"[2396.1s] you do not cheap out on steering and brakes and tires those are the things that keep you safe"
Tires are what actually grip the road. If tires are worn or unsafe, your car can’t stop or turn as well.
Tires are the contact patch between the car and the road, directly affecting braking grip and steering control. The host groups tires with brakes and steering as essential safety items.
"[2509.4s] particular person took the vehicle back to the shop that did all this $2,800 worth of work complaining [2517.8s] of noises clunking and banging didn't find anything wrong"
Clunking and banging sounds usually mean something mechanical is loose or worn. If the shop didn’t find anything and the noise is still there, they may not have checked the right place.
Clunking and banging noises are common symptoms of mechanical issues such as worn suspension components, loose hardware, or drivetrain-related problems. When noises persist after a repair, it suggests the root cause may not have been properly diagnosed.
"[2578.2s] because i still have a noise at the back of this vehicle and i'll tell you what it is loud it is [2585.6s] extremely loud and it's certainly indicating something is not right"
If the noise is coming from the back, that helps narrow down where the problem is. It could be something in the rear suspension or brakes, but the exact timing and sound matter.
A persistent noise localized to the rear of a vehicle is a key diagnostic clue. It can point to rear suspension components, brake hardware, wheel bearings, or other rear-end mechanical issues depending on the exact sound and when it occurs.
"upsell them if you can yeah not my way of doing things"
Upselling in auto repair is when a shop pushes additional recommended work beyond what the customer came in for. It’s not automatically bad, but it becomes a problem if it’s used to pad bills or if repairs are unnecessary.
"our job was to not have any clients vehicles showing up at our shop on a flatbed tow truck"
A flatbed tow truck is used to transport vehicles safely when they can’t be driven. Mentioning it in the context of shop goals implies the shop aims to prevent breakdowns that would require towing.
"but we always made sure that you know the repair orders were filled out properly so if they decline
[2777.6s] a repair i want them to sign print and date that they've declined that repair so that way if it comes"
A repair order is the form the shop uses to document what they plan to do to your car. If there’s ever a disagreement, it helps prove what you were told and what you approved.
A repair order is the shop’s official document that lists the customer’s authorization, the work to be performed, and the parts/labor details. In disputes, it’s the paper trail that shows what was offered and what the customer agreed to.
"a repair i want them to sign print and date that they've declined that repair so that way if it comes
[2784.1s] back on us we can pull the work order and say well on this date we did tell you about this and this
[2790.7s] is your signature that's your printed name that's the date that's the mileage and you decline the
[2796.1s] repair"
Sometimes a mechanic recommends something, but you decide not to do it. The key is to document that choice in writing so everyone is clear on what was and wasn’t approved.
Declining a repair means the customer chooses not to authorize a specific recommended service. The speaker stresses getting a signature, date, mileage, and printed name so the shop isn’t held responsible for work the customer didn’t approve.
"[2790.7s] is your signature that's your printed name that's the date that's the mileage and you decline the
[2796.1s] repair and that's usually where the wife goes did you really do that moments of intense fellowship"
Mileage on a repair document ties recommendations to the vehicle’s condition at a specific point in time. It helps establish context for what was advised and when, which matters for warranty, repeat repairs, and customer disputes.
"all the time to keep the maintenance up and not let the maintenance slide backwards that's
[2910.6s] when you when you let this maintenance slide backwards you get the large repair bills"
“Letting maintenance slide backwards” describes falling behind on scheduled service, allowing small issues to worsen. The speaker connects it to larger repair bills, emphasizing consistent upkeep rather than catching problems late.
"we
[2916.5s] don't get to use these pieces of equipment called automobiles for free they're not maintenance free
[2923.3s] they've never been maintenance free"
“Maintenance free” is a marketing idea that suggests a vehicle won’t require routine upkeep. The speaker rejects it, emphasizing that all cars need periodic service and that ignoring maintenance leads to expensive repairs.
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Good morning friends, you're tuned into car connection where the coffee is hot, the tools
are ready and the talk is always tuned up.
I'm your host Nile MotorMouth Jenkins coming to you straight from the car connection workshop,
where we mix a little humor, a little know-how and a whole lot of horsepower.
Here it's not just about fixing cars, it's about keeping you rolling, saving you money
and giving you the confidence to understand what's under that hood.
From the classics to the commuters, the weird noises to the what the heck moments we've
got you covered.
So grab your coffee, sit back, join the crew because this is car connection, your Monday
through Saturday morning pit stop for stories, smarts, a few good laughs and I'm Nile MotorMouth
Jenkins we're going to shift in to drive this morning.
I hope your day is going well so far, if you're just scooting through the drive-thru,
double check your order, lock that down in your cup holder, we don't want any speed
laces going on and messing up the car right, absolutely.
Wake up your sidekick if you've got a passenger, give them the 16 pack of Crayola crayons and
the folded up leaf bag that is our official car connection workshop laptop and join us
this morning, we're going to be talking about Dems, the brakes, yeah coming up in just a
few minutes, just a few moments so we've got a couple of pieces of business to take
care of first of, our morning swiggy brought to us this morning by Niagara Block at 5000
Montrose Road Niagara Falls, building Canada since 1931 with building supplies, hardscape,
landscape, building materials, all the things you need to create that beautiful backyard
oasis that you've always wanted.
Connect with them and get yourself on the calendar because spring approaches and you
want to make sure you're lined up with a contractor that can estimate the job, design the job
for you and get the job done right.
So let's raise our cup this morning, if you're joining us for the very first time, we really
love, love, love our first time listeners and there's lots of housekeeping things to
take care of and the first one is let's have our morning swiggy, right on, on three two
one, are you ready?
And remember, no reversing in the drive through, three two one, that's spot on this morning,
it's even hot, how did I pull that one off?
There you go, happy Thursday my friends, wow lots going on in the car connection workshop
and I'm sure there's tons going on in your world as well, drive safe out there this morning,
it is just a little blustery.
In fact just before I turned the microphone on I'm thinking, what is that noise?
It was the wind coming off of the south shores of Lake Erie this morning, it's a blustery
morning.
Thank you to Earl and Louise Grant at City Auto Sales and Leasing, providing us with
low mileage, top quality vehicles at fair prices, Greater Toronto area's premier pre-owned
auto store bringing to us this morning, our Thursday morning weather forecast here in
the motormouth morning drive, thank you for joining me once again, letting me into your
world and I let you into mine and that can be like getting stuck in a vacuum cleaner,
I wouldn't know what that's like, I know what it's like to get caught up in a commercial
dryer and spin for about half an hour or so, yeah, that's a story for another time.
So if you or someone you know is looking to buy a vehicle, here's what I tell you, if
you know that you can get to a place where you're going to be treated with nothing less
than honesty and integrity and you can buy a vehicle there with confidence, you're not
buying a fixer upper or a crash and smash and fix it up and dash it out the door, that's
not what you get at City Auto Sales and Leasing, Earl and Louise Grant are as honest as the
day is long, they've been in the business for 25 years now, their car guys and Earl and
Louise are very, very picky as to what vehicles they bring into their building and place on
their lot, that's how they earned the title, Greater Toronto Areas, Premier Pre-Owned Auto
Store, they have in-house leasing as well as financing and one thing that's very unique
about them is they won't let you walk out that door knowing you're going to be car broke,
they're going to have a conversation with you, they want you to not only be comfortable in
purchasing a vehicle there, but they want to make sure that you're going to be able to manage,
manage looking after the car, not just making a payment, but actually being able to take
good care of it, so buy with confidence and nothing less than honesty and integrity, thank
you to Earl and Louise Grant for being there for us to help us along with the second largest
purchase that we'll ever make, 44 degrees right now, mostly cloudy, wind is making it feel colder
about 34 degrees, partly cloudy conditions from 9 a.m. till 10 a.m. this morning with drizzle
expected at 2 p.m. today's temperature range from 41 to 54 and it's going to feel more like
with the wind 33 degrees to 50 on the radar for precipitation today 0.75 of an inch if you're in
our neck of the woods in the Niagara region just off the south shores of Lake Erie almost an inch,
wow, I didn't think we could get any more water down here, last week the rains were coming down
sideways and the water rose so high that I could hardly, I almost had to put my wellies on my rubber
boots to get into my car, yeah it was pretty tight, it was really really tight, thank you to our
certified financial planning professionals bringing this morning's motor health morning drive to you,
Tony Miele, Larry Tietro, 50 years experience as fiduciaries working with IG wealth management,
if you have questions I guarantee you these two fellows they will have the answers,
they'll help you with an investment portfolio, debt retirement, estate planning, that's not escape
planning, estate planning, if you have a checkbook and a bank account you have an estate that needs
to be planned for, if you have kids, children, 18 years older, are you their health proxy,
there's a question for you, estate planning, powers of attorney, beneficiaries, all that folks,
if I could tell you any piece of advice that would help you is don't get caught in the caught up in
the I'll DIY my estate planning, so you'll go get one of those kits, don't do it,
CRA will love you even when you're gone because they're going to take most of your estate
away from you, so if you actually read the entire kit at the very end of it it will say you should
have an attorney check this, mortgages, they do mortgages at great rates, I haven't had a bank
mortgage for about 15 years, I love dealing with their mortgage department out in Winnipeg,
the ladies out there are fantastic, health insurance, do you have any life insurance,
critical illness insurance, well here's your opportunity to sit down and have a discovery
meeting at no cost, so leave your wallets, leave your purse at home ladies, no one's going to be
there to sell you anything, we call it the hour and a coffee, just sitting and meet and greet
and you're going to do more talking and they're going to do most of the listening
to find out where you're at and where you really would like to be, then they can build a plan that
specifically tailored just for you, your family, your household and your circumstances, so take
advantage of Tony Miele and Larry Tietro's time, but don't waste their time, do me a favor don't do
that, they don't need particularly any more clients, they've been in the business for a long time and
they have a lot on their plates, but these two guys, they're well decorated, very humble and they
can help you, so take advantage of their generosity and giving you a full hour of their time to help
you to navigate those areas in your life, if you don't have the six pillars to a financial plan
put together then you really don't have a superstructure under your roof in your home, this way
it eliminates a lot of those intense moments of fellowship with husband and wife,
in fact that's how we developed a segment for many years, we called it the Planners, Tony and Larry
would join us on the air, one of them each month to help you navigate through, so we're hoping we
can get back to that, now that we've got our podcasts up and we have well over 100 heading
towards 125 podcasts which are now migrated over to YouTube, so you can also catch all the podcasts
past, present and future at our YouTube channel, so the biggest drawer in our toolbox is our
website and I want to make that perfectly clear, where have I heard that before,
that was kind of creepy there for a second, creep me out, everything and everything and all things
car connection are at carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com, that's the homepage of our website, you'll find
everything you need there to connect with us, all our platform links are there, Facebook, Instagram,
YouTube, iHeart, radio, Stevensvilleontheweb.ca, just click on the businesses tab to find our
profile there and our videographer Skippy has put that website together a number of years ago now
to bring community and the family owned and operated businesses in the Stevensville area together,
so kind of a communal website, I think that is so so cool to pull the two together,
we also have an online merchandise store, so car connection motormouth merchandise is available
to you, it was just in the store yesterday, having to look around to see what we've added and what we
could add for summer, there is a new snapback ball cap there available, it's in our official colors,
which is the goldy yellow and black, it looks pretty it looks pretty stellar and our first official
in 32 years our car connection morning coffee mug is there, so whatever your morning beverages
I'm sure it would be a delight to have one of those, limited edition so first come first serve
and when you purchase merchandise in our store our online store on our website, you join the crew
in the fight against addiction, so our team is working to help those who've made the decision
to deal with whatever addiction that is, they're ready for the change and to bash it and kick it out
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over 25 years on the campuses and they'll take it from there, so join the battle and the fight
against addiction and purchase some car connection motormouth merchandise, thank you very much for
working hard on those things, all right let's jump right into our topic this morning and that's
I've entitled it thems or thems the breaks, break service, hmm that's something I need to do
maybe maybe not, well if you go to our youtube channel and the reason I say that is last summer
Skippy could tell you if she was here, it was like the break nationals, it was one vehicle
after the other coming in with break systems totally destroyed and all of them could have saved
a lot of money not hundreds thousands of dollars in needless repairs had they have brought the vehicle
into the shop a whole lot sooner you hear me talk about that $200 a $200 part in labor turns into a
$5,000 repair bill and it is true in fact I just had invoices sent to me I asked could you if you
could find those invoices for the work that was done to the van we have in the shop right now I
said I really just like to take a moment and look that over because I'm I said I'm confused
by the amount of corrosion and components seized up in your braking system and things were left
loose it's like you know come on guys out there in the service base do you not have a big bucket of
anti-seize or silicone grease or how about even making sure that things are fastened tight and
torqued yeah that's why we have torque wrenches and torque charts so that we know what nuts and bolts
have to be fastened to in foot pounds or inch pounds it wasn't good so I asked could I see
the last invoices for the work done on the stand and it takes us back there is a story here but
there is also a complete lead in to this morning's program topic it's them the brakes we don't just
do a brake job and see you at the next one that's where the reason I talk about there are two ways
to own a car living in the unknown or living in the know one creates stress the other gives you
freedom and this is the lane that I've been carving out and have been carving out for over 40 plus years
and we now give you more and more ways to watch listen and engage so on our youtube channel
you don't need to be a braniac or a brain surgeon to learn some stuff about your automobile I really
dumb it down and yes I am a bit of a shop idiot it's okay that's where you get to laugh and I know
you're not laughing at me so it doesn't hurt my feeling you're laughing with me that makes a huge
difference you have to catch the next uh videos that just went up because I got like a super
duper shower anti-free shower doing a gush and flush on the old Jeep the 97 Jeep TJ Wrangler Rescue
got its final cooling system flush and is parked in another area of the campus to come back in the
later spring so I can do some floor welding I gotta put a floor pan in part of a floor pan
and a what what they call a water box so I won't bore you with that but getting back to the videos
we shot last summer the break jobs that we got into we're just an absolute disaster I mean a
disaster you gotta go and watch those and if you haven't signed up for a youtube channel yet
get it done no matter what age group all the videos are dumbed down for you where you learn
five things what it is where it is how it works how it breaks and what could you have known or done
better to have saved yourself hundreds if not thousands of dollars in needless
automotive repairs we don't need to be seeing super duper large repair bills
even on older vehicles and I'll tell you what a comment made by a tech that I was watching on
YouTubes and he was spot on when he said it I was like amen brother that's exactly what people
need to understand quality cars versus affordable he's working on a 2024 Chevy Trax which there's
quite a class action suit going on in the US side you might want to googly that and see what's going
on get all the details it's gruesome these things are blowing out coolant gaskets sonderhead
gaskets and it's costly it's not covered by factory warning 2024 and the people that own this vehicle
don't have the money to fix it so they're making payments and the car is going to sit in the driveway
this is what you gotta this is the car game and it's very upsetting for me and you know it's a good
thing I haven't had coffee yet because it I'm a little more mellow before coffee get a little
ramy after coffee yes but it's all good it's all good so how would you like to be in that position
a two-year-old vehicle and now it's car down because the head gasket's blown and it seems to be a very
big pattern failure for these Chevy Trax and now you know Chevrolet is not coming to the plate with
any goodwill warranty they don't do that but I can tell you some other car companies that do do that
provide you with you know what they call goodwill warranty your warranty is run out
but based on the circumstances being being good that you've been keeping up your vehicle maintenance
according to the manufacturer's maintenance guide and you have good service records and you've been
back to the purchasing dealer all those things factor in at some dealerships for some makes and
models mostly European cars to get goodwill warranty but if you're not taking care of the car then
you're probably not going to get some GW some goodwill but you'll never see that goodwill warranty
at any domestic car manufacturer so he went on to say this quality cars versus affordable
two different things they absolutely are two different things quality cars versus affordable
well that Chevy Trax is about twenty thousand dollars today in today's world that's a cheap ride
but then again you take a look at it it's a cheap ride all right he went on to say older is better
and more reliable he said all the years that i've been working in the shop he said same as me
i wouldn't touch anything that's only a couple of years old right now the quality is not there
the reliability is not there i watch a couple of specific youtube channels to see what's going on in
the service bays where they're actually open to the public and they're fixing cars in their service
bays for other people and seeing what the pattern failures are it's astronomical you know the number
of engine problems transmission problems from the same manufacturer is over and over and over and
over again and people are paying for this they're paying for this out of pocket and many just say
hands up there i'll just go get something else and they go back in the hole that's the car game
so i say all that to say this so i get these service orders for this vehicle i'm working on
and it was beating me up pretty good last night but i have won the battle
one seas bolt was holding me hostage on that job and that's what can happen you know if we're not
rustproofing and using the right product things aren't getting lubricated and that's one thing i wanted
to add to my conversation about rustproofing if you missed that podcast please pick it up and
have a good listen to it and number two take time to read what i've put for you in the description
box i put nuggets there for you on purpose so that you will actually take the time to read the
description to get more information that i may not cover during the recording of the podcast
so i'm helping you as many ways as i possibly can but you have to reach out you have to want to reach
out and save money so having an older automobile and getting 300 400 or 600 000 kilometers out of it
is not unreachable it is very reachable it's on i continue i want to stay on track with this this
morning so back in october of 2025 uh $2,800 was spent on this particular vehicle and part of it
part of that bill were front brakes so they had the front brakes all apart replaced calipers
brake pads and front disc brake rotors here's what i discovered okay it was the vehicle
was worked on october 24th 2025 so that's pretty much the end of october so if we count
november december january february march would you agree that five months have passed
since that $2,800 bill was paid for for repairs and service and maintenance on this particular
vehicle would you agree that's five months okay october 24th 2025 pretty much the end of the month
let's start with november first being the first full month after the repaired service
november december january february and we're almost at pretty much at the wrap up of march
2026 five months five months here's what i found first of all i found an axle nut
on the driver's side that holds the axle in place and holds it into the hub i took it off with my
fingers yeah it should be torqued to around 250 some of them 320 325 foot pounds oopsie
um next issue and again i'm not car connections never been around in myself motor mouth
around to bash shops or bash technicians but you know what guys if you're a tech listen this morning
you gotta do better than that then i find the brakes are already seized
one of the pins in the caliper i can't even move it at all so the calipers are still shiny black
nicely painted and they were replaced brand new and it's already seized up and i can tell you i
haven't taken that apart yet but i will uh at some point today i will do a brake service and see if
i can get that pin freed off and here's the problem if we just in this in today's parts world if i
order calipers and they come in a nice uh nice plastic wrapper and there's certain companies
i will buy them from and other companies i just keep it moving and stay away i always pull the
caliper pins out and double check that whoever assembled the calipers put enough lubrication
in there i never assume and that was part of my teaching never assume someone has done that
correctly check and the reason being is and it's just a habit is we were taught by our military
and mechanic instructor never walk another man's path if you want to know how to get across a mine
field do you want to listen to your neighbor that thinks they know it all has never done that before
you're probably going to blow up but how about the fellow standing on the other side of the mine
field telling you where to put your feet that's the person i'm going to listen to any day of the week
so that's why we were taught you get an alternator in a box there's a tag on it
that says so-and-so completed it blah blah blah was inspected yada yada yada sis boom bang
we put it on the bench we make sure that the pulley nut is torqued to spec because
that happened to me one time at band camp just kidding
mm-hmm i didn't do that i was in a hurry took the alternator out of the box
it's not a remanufactured it's brand new should be okay right uh-uh put it on two days later customer
calls my belt's all torn off i heard this noise going down the road and i look under the hood it's
a mess okay tow it in bring it in got him a rental car the pulley came off the pulley came off the
freaking alternator that was a brand new alternator right out of the box now who pays for that guess
who hello yeah i got a little bit from the parts supplier but that was the day that i learned and
remembered my my boss at the time and a military instructor saying never walk another man's path
so since then that i'm taking you back now to the very early 80s anything i order before it goes on
your car and leaves my hands and gets a check mark saying yeah it's ready to go on i'll take it apart
and check it and make sure we're good to go calipers especially you know the line workers that are
putting these things together and putting them in boxes and shipping them out they're not mechanics
and they're only doing what they're being told to do and that is like a q-tip blob of of lubrication
on caliper pins and sliders and pushings is not enough to get the job done and i can tell you
that's why five months the caliper pins are seized and i haven't done the passenger side yet i got to
tear all the front end out of there control arms waybar links tie rods you name it the whole lower
control arm has to come out and be all that's getting replaced so the driver side it we're now
winning but when i put the brakes back together and mount everything up today i'll take those
calipers apart clean and relubricate and put them back together here's the deal if that vehicle had
not come in right now five five months later that brake job gone i'm telling you the truth
a lot of damage happens in the braking system in five months lots so when you get a break job
done to your vehicle it's not well see in a 50 000 k or 30 000 k folks that's what i'm talking about
this morning that's not good enough if you want to save money and you want to make sure that
your brakes are working 100 you have to you can't just do it once and forget about it there's
nothing maintenance free so here we go five months another month of driving that vehicle and the brake
pads are going to start to burn off and they'll burn off very very quickly again check out the
the videos on all the brake jobs we did last summer some of them were had similarities but
others were just devastating and i one in particular i remember was uh i think it was a 2010 2010
um was a lady in in my area here her husband was a mechanic he looked after all the vehicles in
the household and he passed away so she's on her own to fend with these things and she heard from
her other neighbor that i was looking after her Jeep and she would let us shoot videos on it and
i got the text saying could i bring my vehicle and let you check it and so that was a 2010 Dodge
Ram 2500 and it was a shambles like i mean seriously i wouldn't even when i just looked through the
wheel and what i could see i'm going i'm not even taking this for a test drive let's just get right
into it and see what we need and it was uh it was brutal and had that vehicle gone to a shop
she would have been looking about four thousand dollars worth of repair work it was it was not
pretty so this particular vehicle in in our service bay right now is a comet it's common
so six if if it hadn't come in at the five month mark and i found what i when i've already found
an axle nut drive front drive axle nut i took off with my fingers that's one number two the the
brand new brake calipers already seized up and it's not moving which means the brand new pads in
there which they're okay and i can clean them up and put them back in but um and lubricate them
things will turn out okay but of another month worth of driving from today so let's say end of
april beginning of may that came in those break the inboard brake pad would be completely burned
off and there's no warranty your warranty is already gone so guess what you're going to pay again
yeah it's like roll up the rim yeah i don't know about you but every time i do that it says
you win an opportunity to pay again yeah that's why i don't play that stuff it annoys me so them's
the brakes brake service yes folks every at least twice a year if you could only do twice a year
that's better than not doing anything at all but brakes can get super expensive very very quickly
and that's what i'm trying to tell you here when you watch those videos on our youtube channel all
the brake jobs i did last year it will wake you up i'm a hundred percent sure of that when you see
the damage and unfortunately i'm not able to share the cost when there's if it's other somebody
else's vehicle that's just you know we can't do that but all i can tell you is every single one of
those brake jobs i did last summer would have been in the thousands the last one i did was on
and it was major and that was the deciding factor the donated 2008 Nissan Rogue the rear brakes were
destroyed everything the cables the rear emergency brake shoes they hide inside the rear disc brake
rotor and that's what you have to know we're going to talk about that in a separate program
how important that park brake set brake emergency brake whatever you want to call it
the terminology is all the way they work is all the same on these rear disc brake systems
they have a separate set of brakes for the emergency brake and when you don't use it
go watch those videos you go watch the video on the 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 and you'll get the picture
you will get the picture of what i've just kind of given you a little taster on the reason we have
the emergency brake park brake set brake i'm just going to call it a stinking parking brake
you need to be using that every single day every time you park that vehicle you put that parking
brake on if you went out to our car connection studio parking lot here you would not be able to
bust me on not having the parking brake a working and fully serviced b actually freaking using it
yeah you can test me on anything you want anytime anywhere and i'll tell you when i show up at car
shows people are all over the vehicle that i bring to see if they can catch me not doing something
that i talk about i do everything i talk about with you i do myself i'm not that kind of person
do as i say not as i do that's not correct that's not correct so you can take a look it's you can
sneak around and have a look and see if the parking brake is on on the vehicles that are in the driveway
you will see that if you caught me up at the grocery store going for the big gg the grub grab
and look through the window you will see the parking brake is on that is the habit you have to create
and if you don't it is going to cost you thousands to fix it absolutely and it has to be working
so anyways check out those videos sign up for everything we have and come along for the ride
i will save you thousands of dollars in needless auto repairs by doing the repair work in the
maintenance properly that's why i redeveloped the car connection fleet maintenance system
that makes it simple for you to follow along and take charge and control of your vehicle maintenance
so how long would your car last if you actually followed a proper maintenance plan
i can tell you half a million miles is not unachievable on an older vehicle absolutely it is
come to the driveway and you'll see exactly what i mean i don't have a a vehicle that is less than
15 years old correct less than 15 years old the 2007 fj cruiser the 2008 desan rogue the
1999 honda civic dx hatchback is 99 what else i got out there 1997 jeep tj wrangler we just
rescued from the crusher and everything we did on that vehicle you can watch every single video
there are going to be evergreen videos so that people 10 years from now will be able to watch that
so when i say break service what do you think of right away you're going to think money that's
the that's the way people think well how much is that going to cost well how much is it going to
cost if you don't do it that's what those videos on our youtube channel the break nationals i'm
calling it summer 2025 in the car connection workshop join us for the break nationals exactly
when i say it was one after another it was one after another break system disaster
and it could have cost them a lot less if we were doing break servicing not just replacing
some components what we do a call a pad slap you know not replacing rotors or checking
bushings and anything to do with a caliper oh i managed to get the caliper off i'll just stuff
new pads in there that is not a break job folks and if you're a di wire that's called a pad slap
shame on you that's dangerous man that is dangerous would i take your car to the corner
absolutely no times no plus no divided by no equals no so if that's your di y break service
shame on you breaks and steering most important if you can't stop and you can't steer it
you do not cheap out on steering and brakes and tires those are the things that keep you safe
and your occupants safe you need to be able to handle that vehicle and you need to know
you can stop it and steer it on a dime and get change
say yes to the break service and that is on our car connection fleet maintenance system which
just spoke to our webmaster yesterday that page they're just waiting on me now believe that or not
yeah just want to lay out the system so that you can see the components and see how simple it is
to get yourself one and get started and don't fall in that category of the 2025 break nationals
this particular vehicle that i'm picking on this morning that's where that job is going
but if i had not been the guy that got in there and found these things the results
another month from now driving that van it's going to need breaks again and it means it's
all coming out of your pocket try going back to the dude that just did them five months ago
and tell him he's paying for it really good luck good luck with that you're going to hear more
excuses than carter has pills so break servicing is going to pay you back tenfold tenfold so this
particular van how would you like to be buying a second break job a month from now if i had not
discovered these things and the sad part is the things that we're fixing right now for this
particular person took the vehicle back to the shop that did all this $2,800 worth of work complaining
of noises clunking and banging didn't find anything wrong we're posting new videos on this on this
vehicle that will be next week next week videos going up we put two videos up on our youtube
channel every week two for tuesday one every friday and we recorded the session on it uh this past
monday so that video is going to go up next week next week into april so you might want to check
that out because it's a real eye opener what we found what we really found and how they missed it
are two different things i'm like i said i'm not i'm not going to browbeat anybody or cut down their
shop but if that's the quality of work they put out uh something needs to be done to change that
quality control or uh send the guys packing and try another another group of fellows fixing cars
because i still have a noise at the back of this vehicle and i'll tell you what it is loud it is
extremely loud and it's certainly indicating something is not right in danmark and again the
person took it back saying i'm hearing something in the back and uh they did some work back there
that's the other reason i wanted to see the service orders to see what exactly did these fellows do
and yes they were working back there and i'm just in my mind's eye i'm wondering i've got an idea of
what it might be the noise and i mean it's not difficult not to hear it as soon as you go over
a small bump it's it's clunking and a banging back there and it doesn't sound good and when you press
the brakes it seems to go away which is weird but nevertheless at what i found already the work
shoddy workmanship it wouldn't surprise me i mean who leaves an axle a drive axle not hand tight
i don't know who to make sure that there's you know that that there's a enough lubrication on
the calipers and the brake pads as you're doing the job not everybody does a brake job the same
let me tell you cheap and nasty out there that's what happens cheap and nasty get it in slap the
stuff on get it out get to the next one upsell them if you can yeah not my way of doing things
so where do we go from here well a couple of decisions have to be made and it is actually
on your part not on mine i'm here to help you not hurt you and share these things with you
because you can save a lot of money and oh and own an older vehicle and keep that thing going 10
15 20 years like i do you can you absolutely can i've been doing it for a long time a solid goal
mechanic doesn't wait for your car to break he helps you to stop it from breaking in the first
place that's the type of shop you want to get to and that's the shop that i ran on the handleton
mountain was my customers it was like a car one of my clients nicknamed it the auto salon
because i'd always say okay we've got a little bit other work that needs to be done
sooner than later let's get you on the schedule so that we can get this done and keep your car
up to up to speed my job and my fellow's job i worked on the floor just like everyone else i had
my own service bay for my own customers that i'm working on for the day and you do the job
and you do it right check things over let the customer know what's going on our job was to not
have any clients vehicles showing up at our shop on a flatbed tow truck and we did pretty damn good
at it we did we worked hard at that there's nothing we can do if somebody declines some repair work
but we always made sure that you know the repair orders were filled out properly so if they decline
a repair i want them to sign print and date that they've declined that repair so that way if it comes
back on us we can pull the work order and say well on this date we did tell you about this and this
is your signature that's your printed name that's the date that's the mileage and you decline the
repair and that's usually where the wife goes did you really do that moments of intense fellowship
let me tell you i think we needed to have a special room for that in the shop because some other
customers would they really it was uncomfortable for so i'm going to wrap it up there the best
advice i can give you is if you want to save not hundreds but thousands of dollars in needless
automotive repairs keep an older vehicle running long term 300 400 600 thousand kilometers or 500
thousand miles it's doable no matter what the white noise says or the sales guy i went i wouldn't
put any money into that old car it's not worth much money anymore if it's paid off it's worth gold
and especially right now in the economy that we're trying to get through the best vehicle in the
driveway is the one that's paid for it as long as as long as the structural integrity of that vehicle
is solid and that's why i spent quite a bit of time talking about rust protection it is important
and it will save you thousands of dollars in car payments and interest payments there's no reason
whatsoever you can't have a 10 15 year old vehicle that's completely maintained well maintained
and reliable i do it all the time and i've done it for my customers when i had my shop on the
schedule all the time to keep the maintenance up and not let the maintenance slide backwards that's
when you when you let this maintenance slide backwards you get the large repair bills we
don't get to use these pieces of equipment called automobiles for free they're not maintenance free
they've never been maintenance free and those who are spelling that crap out there need to shut up
because you're miss it's misinformation if we want to be correct it's misinformation that
they're feeding you they just want to get you out of your older car and sell you a new one and i get
that profitability is not a dirty word if it's come by honestly so have yourself a wonderful
thursday weekend's almost here remember tomorrow is fun friday i have a couple of funny things to
talk about tell some stories and i invite you to come and join us if you've got questions saturday
mornings one hour program is saturday q&a with motormouth i pull out the best of the questions
that get asked and if i can get through all of them i will if not i'll pull them back for the
following week so email your questions in now for saturday's q&a with motormouth and i look forward
to reading them and putting the answers out there that may your questions may help someone
somewhere else that's a little fearful of sending me an email and letting me know what's going on
you can change your name you know i i don't normally give out names and addresses when i'm
asking when i'm answering questions i never have just like the vehicle i'm working on at service
bay you don't know who's it is where it came from but it's a mess and we're fixing that up and you'll
get to see the videos on those as well the pre and post so we get to see the final results
ahead of the inspection so inspection videos are going up next week on this particular vehicle
and then we'll shoot upcoming videos by on monday the follow-up so you'll get to see the before
in the after and what's going on there so till tomorrow uh weekend is almost here and we're
almost out of the month of march did we really have a march that came in like a lion and goes out
like a lamb i'm not sure what are your thoughts on that my my thoughts are still up in the air
trying to figure it out in like a lion or did it come in like a lamb all right well we got a
pretty good snowstorm at the beginning so i'm saying it came in like a lion but but i'm not
really sold on the out like a lamb thing so again you have questions car questions fire them over to
you can reach me at nile at ccbusnet.com or motormouth.jankins at gmail.com and all that
information is in the description box for our youtube videos as well as our podcast so till
tomorrow keep it under 100 put that coffee on happy healthy motoring i think we'll come to your house
peace patience and kindness always happy thursday my friends bye for now
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