Car Repair question

Factual Questions
1

The backstory.I took my car (Ford Ranger '95)to a convenient to me mechanic that had a recommendation on the "click and clack"site.

Obviously,people can go on there and give a A grade to a friend’s shop,but WTF,he’s close,I NEED to trust somebody and I can walk home while my car is being held for the usual day or so period til they get around to fixing it.

First pleasant surprise the owner said he’d give me a call back in an hour or so to tell me what he’s found.

My instructions to him were:the day before my power steering had starting spewing fluid, and was practically dry when I finally pulled over after about a 10 min city street drive with accompaning noise whenever I turned right/left.Saw the problem filled the reservoir and the car steered fine with no noise,alho it was still blowing out fluid as I drove.Have no idea whether this is caused by a bad pump or bad connection/hose.

Also told him since it was there to check the brakes and if they needed them do it,since a couple months ago when I got tires I asked the tireputteroner to see if the brakes looked OK to him.He told me the pads were "shot/gone/minimal,something like that so I figured my time has come (about 65k mi.)

Also told him to check/install PCV valve-a possible problem and solution I posted about a month ago to the board (Oil in air cleaner intake and possible/probable solutions).

OK.He calls me says I need a new power steering pump couldn’t find leaks anywhere else and my brake pads are probably good for another 5k or so (this lead me to think I’m getting a reputable mechanic here),but the master cylinder is “starting to go”,they found some leakage into the power booster or something,so I said “go ahead do the MC,we’ll deal with the complete brake job in a couple months.”

Today while driving my ABS and Brake light came on and stayed on.From reading my owner’s manual it tells me that I still have brakes,tho the ABS is shut down and I should get to a mechanic to resolve the problem.Being Sunday I had no choice but to wait until Monday to take it back to my mechanic.

I popped the hood and noticed my master cylinder reservoir was at the low point so I put some (about 3 oz.of brake fluid) into the reservoir and Voila! the dash lights go out.
So now I’m guessing the only faulty piece of my brake system is a leak that has leaked more in 5 days in total volume after a repair than in 5 years before my MC “was starting to go” .

Am I the victim of A-a freak “lemon rebuilt part”,B-another part of the system (wheel cylinder all of a sudden pops AFTER an “inspection” was done on the brake system or C-an incompetent troubleshooter-go for the easy fix mechanic?

I ask part C because in my instructions about the PCV valve I told them to see if it was that or something else and after paying my bill I’m talking to the mechanic (not the owner who originally quoted what was needed) and asking "did you see that it was the PCV as opposed to a clogged something up there in the valve cover and his reply was "PCV will probably cure it 95% of the time,otherwise we’d have to pull the valve covers (they didn’t) and clean the baffles,etc,so I let that slide for the moment,thinking in susequent oil chages if oil keeps on showing up in the air filter assembly I’ll deal with it then-I wanted my ride back.

Sorry this is such a longwinded post but I’m looking for knowledgeable points I can use with the mechanic (why did this thing leak in 5 days after an “inspection of the whole brake system”),and any possible complications/ramifications for the other work (power steering motor/PCV valve install).

I feel like I’m driving a time bomb here-and this after 6 years of faithful-no more than a new battery 2 years ago-ride.

Is the whole thing going to implode at 70k?

2

Sorry you are having hassles - don’t imagine you are alone though! It’s unfortunately very common. I can only discuss a couple of points and suggestions that may help.

  1. Power steering pumps are expensive, so is rebuilding a steering rack. Even though replacing steering rack seals is cheap it’s expensive to do the job.

I would always ensure that it is the high pressure hose (from the pump to the rack) that has not failed. These are solid bits of hose (so not cheap themselves), so they don’t usually fail in a dramatic fashion. They also may only leak once the whole system is really warmed up - the heat=expansion is then enough to open a crack in the hose enough to lose fluid.

  1. It’s possible that installing a new brake MC can highlight other problems. The reasoning is this. You have a leaking seal in the MC, this suggests that there may be the potential for other seals to leak. Thus fixing the MC leak may increase the internal fluid pressure just enough so that another “borderline” seal fails. It’s unusual/unlucky though.

  2. See if you can find a web forum/list that specialises in your car - posting questions there will be much more effective.

But overall I think you have a bigger issue to resolve. You do not have a Ferrari owner mentality (where money is no issue) yet you don’t seem to have the mechanical knowledge to know if you are being ripped-off. This is a big problem.

I can only suggest that the cheapest/best mechanics for non-mechanically minded people are word-of-mouth recommendations from family or friends. This is because you need to use someone who you can trust - full stop. Your family/friends (sometimes close neighbors or work colleagues) are generally the only people who can give that sort of personal guarantee for a complete stranger.

Generally dealerships will be much more expensive, but they will generally guarantee their work to a much higher level and since this is really an extension of their service they ususally won’t take customers (as potential new car buyers) for a ride (pun intended).

But if location and convenience are the main factors, then you may simply need to develop the Ferrari attitude or just keep buying new cars with new warranties - I kid you not this is the way the auto industry is heading.

BTW, my newest car is 19 years old…

3

I assume the power steering problem has been resolved.

Tell the shop what you experienced and what you did relative to the brakes. They need to reinspect what they’ve done to see if there’s a fault there. Since presumably brake fluid loss was very slow before the repair, and appears to be comparatively rapid now, I would expect it would be something covered under their warranty.

It’s not always possible to verify a faulty PCV valve when replacing it. Replacing one is often a simpler, cheaper, and more definite way to determine if it was causing a problem than doing actual testing of its operation. Time will tell.

Implode at 70k? This is a lot more worrying than is justified by anything you’ve related here. A whole lot more.

4

IF they changed the brake MC and did a poor job bleeding the brakes, or simply forgot to refill the resevoir, then the brake fluid quantity would be low.

So do you know you have a ongoing brake leak as opposed to simply a one-time underserviced reservoir? After you refilled it has the quantitiy fallen again?

Underservicing something that vital sure weakens my faith in that shop, or at least that worker, but every possible mistake will happen once in a while, given enough time.

5

Upon reflection, the above suggests that the vehicle has not had the recommended maintenance for 60k, 45k, etc. Ignoring maintenance is a good way to increase the chances of having problems. 'Nuff said?

6

The car has been serviced FAITHFULLY since new.

Every recommendation by the Jiffy Lube has been done (fluid chages,radiator flushes,fuel filters,etc.)

The one time I took it to a MECHANIC to look it over at around 35k(thinking I need “tune up”) he told me that shouldn’t happen until 100k,I have platinum plugs.

He replaced a serpentine belt for me that was deemed unworthy by an oil change place,and I used him for a second opinion after inspecting the belt and not noticing anything major.

I have an elementary understanding of auto systems-tho this goes back to my younger days when everything was vacuum hoses and spark plugs etc.were fairly handy to reach with an ordinary socket or wrench,and the sensors and other gizmos under the hood weren’t there.

AS for the brake fluid level it was COMPLETELY full when I picked the car up and down to warning light level in 5 days,so I know it’s (what?) leaking much worse than it ever has.

Thanks for the responses,I’ve at least got something to fall back on if he tells me a wheel cylinder went.

One thing bothers me tho,with all the fluid levels recently (Hi/low enough to turn my dash lites on)I feel no sponginess or pump brakes to make pedal harder.This was to my knowledge the classic air in brake lines indicator.Is this the ABS at work? Tho I didn’t notice it when it was off (warning light on).

For some reason this board was unavailable to me until recently so I didn’t get to the mechanic yet.Wanted to read others thoughts on my predicament before proceeding.

7

Excellent.
**

Probably good. Some of these types of facitility have been known to oversell (e.g., recommend a 30,000 mile air filter at every other oil change).
**

I think you’ll find the recommendation for your year and model is 60k with platinum plugs. Even if it’s 100k, it’s not a bad idea to replace them sooner.
**

Well, it’s not impossible that a cylinder failed, but it sure would be a heck of a coincidence. I’m guessing that the most likely thing is a brake line not quite tight enough, or a faulty replacement master cylinder.

**

No, there’s a fair amount of leeway in the brake fluid level (it’s normal for the level to drop as brake pads wear). The warning light system is designed to let you know the level is low before it gets low enough to suck air.