Mechanic / Shop Recommendation - Charlotte?

Windini

Windini

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I'm "stranded" in Charlotte with what appears to be a cooling system failure - Tstat, water pump, radiator. While I'm capable of doing it myself, I don't have many tools with me and I really don't want to shade-tree it when it's in the teens & twenties, temperature-wise!

Can anyone recommend a reliable & reasonable mechanic to take my 2002 F150 to?

Thanks for any input!
 
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What part of Charlotte?

If you’re within driving distance to Lowell, hit up @Mike Overlay . Or if you sweet talk him, he might even make a house call.

If not, if you’re within striking distance of 28227, Manchester’s in Mint Hill is good.

Being a 2002, and if this is the first time working on those components, there’s great risk of breaking bolts off in the block. Ask me how I know...
 
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9outof10mms said:
What part of Charlotte?

If you’re within driving distance to Lowell, hit up @Mike Overlay . Or if you sweet talk him, he might even make a house call.
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Thanks! I'm in Oakhurst, near Sharon Amity & Monroe. I can probably make it a few miles; would like to avoid the expense of a tow if possible. Possible = not putting a rod through the side of the block or warping a head...
 
Mike Overlay said:
Are you low on coolant? Visible leaks?
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I am now! :D

Yes - I was on my way home yesterday evening when the temp light came on. Pulled over, popped the hood, saw liquid spewed all over the front of the engine compartment. Thought it was oil at first! When panic subsided, I realized it was a coolant/steam release that was sprayed around byt the fan. I limped back to my starting point, let it cool down, then checked reservoir - it's empty.

Also noted a large puddle under where I'd parked. Gut says water pump. No water or emulsion on dipstick; oil on low side of normal.
 
Please tow it. Catastrophic engine damage can occur if the engine is continued to operate while overheated. A tow is MUCH cheaper than a cylinder head job or worse an engine swap. The Shop I work at is by the airport. My personal Shop is in Harrisburg. They will rip your pockets off at my full time gig that’s why I don’t recommend anyone from here to them. If you can get it to Harrisburg I can and will be more than happy to help.
 
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Thanks to a hiccupy clutch slave cylinder at the same time as the overheating, I wound up gettin' towed to @Mike Overlay 's. @Coltdefender1911 also offered to help, but he was in the opposite direction. @9outof10mms brought MO into the conversation, and recommended a shop he trusts in Mint Hill. All this happened between 7:56AM and 9:26AM.

Mike O is a great guy, and clearly very knowledgeable about his business. He's also willing to share his knowledge & take the time to explain what's really going on. He not only traced the real problem and fixed it (saving me lots of time & money throwing parts one after another at it, hopin' soemthing'll work), he also figured out and explained an ongoing mixture problem that's been nagging me for years.

Well done and thanks again, Mike Overlay!

In short, I got further evidence of the high quality people to be found on Carolina Firearms Forum. Happy to be here, y'all!
 
Glad this worked out guys and this is another example of how great all of you are. This site is SOOOOOOO much more than a firearms forum !

Again, I'm glad to be a small part of such a wonderful group of people here.
 
Windini said:
Thanks to a hiccupy clutch slave cylinder at the same time as the overheating, I wound up gettin' towed to @Mike Overlay 's. @Coltdefender1911 also offered to help, but he was in the opposite direction. @9outof10mms brought MO into the conversation, and recommended a shop he trusts in Mint Hill. All this happened between 7:56AM and 9:26AM.

Mike O is a great guy, and clearly very knowledgeable about his business. He's also willing to share his knowledge & take the time to explain what's really going on. He not only traced the real problem and fixed it (saving me lots of time & money throwing parts one after another at it, hopin' soemthing'll work), he also figured out and explained an ongoing mixture problem that's been nagging me for years.

Well done and thanks again, Mike Overlay!

In short, I got further evidence of the high quality people to be found on Carolina Firearms Forum. Happy to be here, y'all!
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Here here, dilly dilly....lol

@Mike Overlay is the best!! That's why I drove from Wilmington to him before. He's helped me out more than once.
This is a great community! If someone here can't help, they will at least point you in the direction you need with sound advice!

DS

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 
Mirac said:
Awesome !

What was the root problem?
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Of which problem? :)

Overheating was not the water pump. It was a rusted-to-failure steel heater bypass tree. In hindsight, it turns out that puddle of non-oil liquid under the truck wasn't just water, but I saw it a little while after pulling into the garage in a puring rain & dismissed it as runoff.

Clutch slave leaked until pedal wasn't doing much. I added Dot 3, but it didn't do enough, thought I may have air in the hydraulic line, so I called for a tow rather than get on the highway. MO showed me it does leak, but is a self-bleeding system, so I can limp along by adding brake fluid for a little while.

I've been getting error codes that trip the engone light for quite a while, and my local shop hasn't been able to fix it long-term. @Mike Overlay correct me if I'm wrong, but it's likely failed bolt gaskets in the upper intake manifold (this is the simpleton's understanding of it). The manifold leak is internal-EGR recirculating too-rich mixture. Back 02 sensor picks this up & sends message to brain, which tries to correct it by making mixture too lean. Front 02 sensor reads "all is well" b/c it's sourcing pre-EGR sample. The O2 sensors are contradicting each other, so - error codes.

I learned something here today...
 
Coltdefender1911 said:
Please tow it. Catastrophic engine damage can occur if the engine is continued to operate while overheated. A tow is MUCH cheaper than a cylinder head job or worse an engine swap. The Shop I work at is by the airport. My personal Shop is in Harrisburg. They will rip your pockets off at my full time gig that’s why I don’t recommend anyone from here to them. If you can get it to Harrisburg I can and will be more than happy to help.
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Are you near Piper Ln?
 
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