Comments by "Aaron Britt" (@aaronbritt2025) on "Rainman Ray's Repairs" channel.

  1. As a former Nissan tech, I've learned to always use a vacuum filler on Nissan's with the VQ35 engine. They're notoriously difficult to get all of the air out of. Guys that didn't have a vacuum filler would raise the front end by using just the front lift arms.
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  2. Yes, and those are good for DIY'ing. However, at a shop, where you're warrantying the work, you always replace the entire unit. If any other part fails in the next year or so, like the fuel level sender, you're doing your job twice.
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  3. 4 Year Nissan Master Tech... Nissan CVT's work just fine if you change the fluid every 30k with high quality fluid. The '08 to '12 Altima/Rogue had a problem with being overfilled from the factory. We fixed it by sucking out some fluid and replacing the dipstick with a new one. They also overheated in very hot climates like here in Vegas and also Phoenix. We fixed that with a trans cooler. The newer CVT's with the 3.5 V6's had a bearing in the case that could go bad. Some were factory defects, some went bad from lack of maintenance. Moral of the story... Replace your fluid and you'll be fine.
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  4. So, when I was at Nissan, I had a rash of customers coming in stating that the trunk on their '13 Altima wouldn't open. I would have to go out to the service drive and show the customer the valet switch in the glove box that turns off the trunk release. Invariably, I'd see the still shrink wrapped owner's manual in the glovebox. One day I had this complaint on a car that was in for service. I performed the service, turned off the valet switch and pulled the still shrink wrapped owers manual out of the glove box. I placed it on the seat with a snarky note on a Post-It. After the customer picked up the car, they complained to the service manager and I was "counseled" on how to deal with customers. Fun times.
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  5. Just a suggestion... Any time I have to drop a trans pan without a drain plug, I use a sucker to suck most of the fluid out through the dipstick tube. It removes 90% of the possibility of taking a trans fluid shower and keeps you from having to do the trans pan dance of keeping a couple of bolts in and letting the fluid pour out everywhere.
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  6. It's happened to me. I had a G35 come in with busted front control arm bushings. I'm sure you've seen it, it's very common on the G35 and 350Z. I took pictures and told him about it. He declined the repair and went on his way. 2 hours later, he calls and complains about a clunking in his front end that he never had until I did the service on his car. :facepalm: Now, I will say it has happened to me the other way as a customer. I brought my Mustang to the body shop to get the right side fixed from some kid changing lanes while I was right next to him. The car only had 700 miles on it, so the rest of the car was brand new and pristine. When I went to pick the car up, the left rear corner of the bumper was pushed in. Guy at the body shop said, "Well you didn't ask us to fix that". To which I replied, "I didn't ask you to fix it because it wasn't there when I dropped it off". They reviewed the camera footage of the lot and saw a lot porter back into my car. They fired him for not reporting it and replaced my rear bumper.
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  7. @15:00... Definitely sketch-o-matic. You're risking bending the flange that way. I'd put the axle in the press the same way, but use a deep socket to press one stud at a time. This way there's no chance of bending that flange.
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  8. When I was a Nissan Tech, one of my pet peeves was customers coming in and asking what a light on the dash meant. Every single time, I'd open the glove box and find the owner's manual still shrink wrapped in plastic. I'd open it and explain that "this book contains all of the answers to your questions".
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  9. It's a pleasure to watch a fellow diagnostician at work. Previous techs that swapped that motor were all parts swappers, not diagnosticians.
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  10. This is the perfect job for a magnetic socket set. 😉 You found the spring clamp on the PCV, but forgot the one on the crankcase vent hose (at the airbox end of the intake tube @26:27).
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  11. I always change the expansion valve when I do the compressor because if there's any debris in the system, it's most likely caught in the expansion valve (or orifice tube). @30:00... Since you already have the refrigerant drained, the coolant drained, the core support unbolted, and the upper hose off, I'd think it would be easier and give you more room if you removed the lower hose and pulled out the entire cooling package as a unit.
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  12. Former Nissan Tech here... Don't you just love how you have to disassemble just to do struts? Watching you struggle brings back horrible memories. I believe warranty time for these was 1.4 hours. Don't remember what customer pay time was. That Branick 7600 is about the least sketch spring compressor. I love using it.
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  13. Copyright laws really need to be changed to exclude "incidental" background music.
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  14. And it's worth mentioning, Nissan engines HATE aftermarket sensors. Use Nissan sensors.
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  15. Get yourself a caulking gun. Makes it easy to get sealant into those tight corners. Also RTV Grey is cheaper in the big tube. Guy with the Cadillac didn't pay extra for turn signals. They're optional on cars that cost over $60k.
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  16. Hey Ray, they make single post battery terminals. I would've had your parts guy order those rather than using the "off the cardboard" universals. You went through all of that effort to make up the cables correctly then Jerry Rigged the clamp.
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  17.  @sturnie1  I've reported many porn links in the comments. When the bots start posting on your videos, that's how you know you've "made it" on Youtube.
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  18. LOL @96 degrees. The official high in Vegas is gonna be 119 today, which means it'll be 125 at my shop.
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  19. He would know this if he read the instructions. He never does though.
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  20.  @Chief1063  I also don't need traction control, or a back up camera, or blind spot monitoring, or automatic braking, or parking sensors. 90% of these features wouldn't be needed if people just kept their phones in their pockets.
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  21. Yep. Cold is not really it's own thing in physics. Cold is how we perceive the absence of heat.
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  22. Tip for next time... If you remove the switch assembly from the door panel, you can leave it hooked up. Makes these jobs much easier. I also unbolt and remove the glass first.
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  23. and when you're a shop that warranties your work, you replace the whole unit, so you don't have a customer coming back with another issue.
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  24. Prices go up, quality goes down and the only people happy are the shareholders and executives whose pay is tied to share price.
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  25. @10:30... Project Farm settled the penetrating oil debate. Gibbs is the best, followed by Liquid Wrench then Seafoam. Also, pre-soaking fasteners and letting them sit for 24 hours makes a huge difference in breakaway torque.
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  26. Any suspension part with a rubber bushing should be tightened at ride height. Otherwise, they become preloaded when you lower the vehicle which leads to early failure.
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  27. If there's a fuel pressure regulator with a vacuum reference, all of the codes (except the TCM codes) could be caused by a vacuum leak.
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  28. A flywheel performs a function of keeping the engine rotating while the clutch is disengaged. It has mass to hold kinetic energy so that the engine rpm doesn't drop too much and force the synchros to slow the transmission's input shaft down. This prevents premature synchro wear. This is why lightweight flywheels on street cars aren't a great idea unless you don't mind rebuilding your trans every 60k miles. That being said, I use lightweight flywheels on all of my cars because I don't keep them long enough to worry about it.
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  29. Buick is the #1 selling American brand in China. This is the reason GM kept Buick and killed Pontiac.
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  30. Service writers should say, "no" in this situation. We ALWAYS charge diag. Even if the customers says they know what's wrong. If they don't like it, they can go somewhere else.
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  31. If you suspect the VVT solenoid, you can go into "engine data" and watch the cam timing. Throw the D8 into graphing mode and watch for a drop or spike.
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  32. You folks act like this is something new. Are any of you old enough to remember George Bush's (the first) speech about the New World Order?
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  33. I used to use that same phrase with my service advisors, "waiter's gonna wait". It always pissed me off when they'd start bugging me 2 hours into a 6 hour book time job. Who's bright idea was it to tell a customer they could wait in the lobby for a 6 hour job? Dumbasses.
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  34. He had trouble because it's a VQ35 engine. They're just like that.
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  35. I spent about 15% of my paycheck on tools. Wasn't so bad when I could write them off my taxes. Trump ended that though.
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  36. Hey! Let's try leeches. Can't hurt.
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  37.  @wesss9353  You say inflation, I say price gouging. Yeah, Deregulation! Thanks, Reagan!
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  38.  @maryangozdziewski8129  sucker doesn't take any time. You don't have to monitor it. I was a Nissan Master Tech and worked flat rate.
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  39. This is a mechanical repair. I've done a few sunroofs and a 370Z convertible top when I was at the Nissan dealer. We never sent this type of work to the body shop.
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  40. Your roads over there are kind of narrow and twisty for the trailers we sometimes tow here. Don't imagine you have a lot of dually trucks towing 40+ foot long, 30k Lbs. trailers. I used to tow a 50 foot trailer that could haul 3 cars at a time. Wouldn't make it around many corners there in the UK.
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  41. I've never understood why so many people don't take the 3 extra minutes to drain the filter housing before removing. The filter kit even comes with the tool and new o-ring.
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  42. Ray, don't put used cats in the scrap. If they're not completely melted or hollow, you can sell them for from $100 to $800, depending on the size.
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  43. Backflushing won't clear the orifice tube. The tube is by the high side port. He didn't pass any flush through it. I would have pulled it out to inspect it and probably would have replaced it since they're cheap. You may be thinking of an expansion valve, which is usually on the firewall.
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  44. My Snap-On guy gives me free gifts all the time. I got a free winter jacket when I bought my $7k scan tool.
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  45. @9:00... To keep from taking a coolant shower, I always slip a hose over the drain.
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  46. The dealer used to be the place to go for the highest knowledge tech in a particular brand. So many dealers have become corporate that they've fallen victim to corporate think when it comes to labor. Corporate think says labor is a cost that can be cut to improve profits. This is why I left my dealership job after 4 years. My service manager refused to give me a raise after 4 years. I'm a diagnostician. I usually got other tech's comebacks. I refuse to replace a part until I've confirmed the fault. I was undoubtedly replaced with a lower paid parts swapper. Times have changed. The knowledgeable techs are mostly at independent shops now. Like you, I now have my own shop.
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  47. Yep. I always put a screw jack under the trailer hitch. Not meant to support any real weight, just keeps things from swaying and putting unnecessary strain in the rack.
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  48. Seen a few farm trucks with old tires bolted to the bumpers.
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  49. He wants it to go flying. It's for dramatic effect.
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  50.  @Cheepchipsable  get over yourself, internet white knight.
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