Rev Up Your Engines: A Conversation with Hank
Hey Scotty, my name is Hank, and I had an '01 Toyota Camry that I got from my grandparents. Unfortunately, it was totaled about 2 months into owning it due to transmission issues. About 150,000 miles in, the car now has 194,000 miles on it. I woke up one morning, drove to get coffee, and exited the highway when my transmission fell off the mounts and apart going 60 mph. Luckily, no one was behind me, but what a mess! However, I'm not blaming that on the transmission itself. Whoever did the work didn't do it right, as they left the old worn-out mounts and didn't tighten the new ones properly.
When a Toyota transmission does go out, many people take it to someone who just buys a used transmission from a junkyard and puts it in without any history. This is like playing a game of chance, where you're essentially gambling on whether or not that transmission will work correctly. In contrast, if they were to get a factory rebuilt one or rebuild it themselves, they would have more control over the process. Unfortunately, Toyota doesn't sell new automatic transmissions, so I wouldn't blame them for this issue. As someone who has worked on cars before, I can attest that putting parts together tight ensures they don't fall apart later.
Chinese Big Fun: A Question from a Viewer
"Hi Scotty, I want to buy something that's going to last forever," said the viewer. "Get a 4Runner; it's going to pay more than an Explorer." And that's true! The 4Runner is known for its longevity and reliability, which makes it a great choice for someone looking for a long-term vehicle. On the other hand, Explorers are often considered short-term cars because they're cheaper to buy upfront. Sometimes you can get an Explorer for $4-5k, but keep in mind that while they may be affordable initially, they might not last as long as a 4Runner.
Brian's Question: Do 303 Wipers and Tires Make Them Last Longer?
"Does putting 303 on your tires and wiper blades make it last longer?" asked Brian. Well, let me tell you - the wiper blades do indeed benefit from 303. The reason is that they have a thin edge to wipe clean and prevent judder. If you were to put a thicker wiper blade on, it would create all sorts of noise, so 303 helps keep them running smoothly. However, when it comes to tires, the situation is different. Tires are not going to last any longer just because you've applied some lubricant or conditioner. The tread is where all the wear occurs, and even with a good product like 303, it's still going to crack and wear out eventually.
Susan's Question: Is It Really Necessary to Torque Axle Nuts to Exact Specs?
"Yes, it is," said Susan. This morning, I shot a video on this topic, and the truth is that you really need to torque axle nuts to exact specs. If you don't do it right, wheel bearings can become over-torqued and stressed, which means they won't last long. On the other hand, if you don't torque them tightly enough, they can start rattling around inside the wheel. The type of bearing used in modern cars, including wheel bearings, is generally reliable. However, applying excessive force or underusing it over thousands of miles and millions of spins will wear out these parts prematurely.
Life Hacks from Miguel
Miguel chimed in with a question about his hairstyle. "I'm sure there's a reason behind this hairstyle," he said, referring to Scotty's hair. Yeah, I've had this haircut for 45 years now. It started when I was in university and has remained relatively unchanged ever since. Some people might find it lazy or unpolished, but I'm just used to it at this point. And if white guys like me were to shave their heads, they'd probably look a bit... unusual. So, for Scotty, his hairstyle is here to stay! If you're new to watching my car repair videos and want to catch the next one, be sure to ring that bell so you don't miss out on any future content!
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enRev up your engines,hey scotty my name is hank, I had an 01 toyotacamry and got it from my grandparents andit was totaled about 2 months into owningit, about the transmission being replacedabout 150,000 miles, the car now has 194,000,I woke up and drove my car to go get coffeeand off the highway exit my transmission felloff the mounts and fell apart going 60 mph,no one was behind me but I got to see thetransmission flip and tumble what a mess,but it was a nice ride, now that I'm not blamingthat on the transmission, whoever did thework, because if the transmission actuallyfell out of the car, they didn't bolt it onright, the mounts were worn and they leftthe old ones and they broke and fell down,but if you saw it tumbling back they justdidn't tighten it right, here's somethingthat I see all the time, which a lot of peopledon't understand but when they do have transmissionwork done they have to learn what exactlyis happening, a lot of people when a toyotatransmission does go out, they take it somewhereand they people they take it to will justgo buy a used transmission from a junkyardand put it in, you have no history those thingsare relatively hard to rebuild correctly,if their just putting a used one in that'sjust pot luck, that's just gambling, are theygetting a factory rebuilt one, are they rebuildingit themselves, or are they using a used one,with toyotas you can't buy a new automatictransmission they don't sell them, I wouldn'tblame that one on the toyota, I'd blame thaton the people that worked on the toyota, cuzI've personally never see that myself, whenI work on a car I put them together tightthey don't fall apart when people drive downthe road later,chinese big fun, hi scotty I want a biggersuv, 2014 explorer or 2011-14 4runner thanksa lot, ok well if you want to buy somethingthat's going to last forever, get the 4runneryour going to pay a lot more there's no arguingthat, they go for a whole bunch more, that'snew enough that it's going to be super expensive,you can get the explorers a whole lot cheaper,sometimes you will pay 25% of what the toyotagoes for against an explorer, they can okshort run cars, customers buy those explorersfor $4-5k and keep them for a few years andwere happy, but if you want long term thatwill run for years and years go the toyota,your going to pay a lot more but you get yourmoney's worth, but short term I've had peopleget explorers and they were ok they were happywith them for what they paid,brian says does putting 303 on your tiresand wiper blades make it last longer, ok yourwiper blades yes, cuz their thin and rubberand they have to have a thin edge to wipeand make it clean so they don't jutter backand forth, they always ask me, scotty whydon't they just make them thicker they'lllast longer, well if they do then they makeall kind of noise, so they have to be thin,but tires no, the tires are just going towear out, look your tires are riding on theground right the tread, the tread is whereall the wear occurs, and if you get your tiresworn and the tread start to crack, it doesn'tmatter what the rest of the tire is like,it's cracked it's worn and it's time to replacethem, rubber only lasts so long on tires,that's not going to make them last any longer,but it will make your wiper blades last longer,there's a lot less technology in the wiperblades than in the tires,surviving susan says, is it really necessaryto torque an axle nut to exact specs, yesit is as a matter of fact this morning I shota video on just that, you really need to torquethem to exact specs because wheel bearingsif they are over torqued and too tight, theirover stressed and their not going to wearout right away but sometimes within 6 monthsor a year you start to hear them roaring andtheir worn out from being torque too tight,and on the other hand you don't want themtoo loose either cuz if their too loose thenthey rattle around, wheel bearings generallythese days are roller bearings ball bearingsinside, some of them are tapered bearingsbut either way their steal their hard as canbe, just a little bit too much extra pressureon them over thousands of miles and millionsof spins around it will wear them out earlyif you don't do it right, some cars are reallytouchy about it like VW, their really touchyabout it, miguel says scotty life hacks everythingI'm sure there's a reason behind his hairstyle, yeah it's called laziness, I've hadthis hair style since I was in universityand that was 45 years ago, there's just lessof it, I mean I always had a high foreheadhere but now it's a little bit further back,I'm used to it, I live with it, and that'sthe way it's gonna be, I'm not going to beone of these guy who's gonna shave his head,because personally I think that white guyslike me, if they shave their head they looklike somebody who just escaped from a lunaticasylum, other people can pull it off but whitedudes especially of Germanic origin, if youshave your head you look like an insane berserkerlike the vikings when they shave their headsso I'm going to keep my hair style that'sthe way that it goes,so if you never want to miss another one ofmy new car repair videos, remember to ringthat bell!\n"
