Engineers vs Mechanics | They GOT Me! 

I think anyone that's worked on cars long enough has experienced moments like this. You fight and you fight and you fight but the part refuses to come out. Walk away for a while, come back, and it practically falls out the moment you touch it.

I’ve often said that automotive engineers should have to serve a a one year “internship” as a mechanic before they’re ever allowed to design anything. A little hands-on experience in the real world would give them an entirely different perspective on how the design things.

I remember a job I had once similar to this. I had to change a clutch in a car (Audi, Volvo, or something) which had an enclosed drive shaft. The 'book' called for ten hours. The procedure called for removing the rear differential, sliding the 'torque tube' (drive shaft housing) off, remove the drive shaft, remove the transmission, then change the clutch. I noticed that all the wires, hoses, cables, etc. attached to the engine had plenty of slack, there was room in front of the engine, and all the mounting bolts were easily accessible so I just attached an engine hoist, removed the bolts, and moved the engine forward about six inches, changed the clutch, and remounted the engine. My time, five hours! Beat the book by half!

Just an odd tip for ya. I always keep a jug of earplugs around not only for my ears but for any line that moves fluid. Roll them up and shove them in the head of the line just enough for them to expand and stop covering you in fluid or losing more than you need to.

“Either the labour guide is wrong or I’m about to run in to a VERY large unforeseen problem… “ the voice or experience right there! Had me in stitches!

18 year engineer (various disciplines) here. I always ask when inquiring about a position "Will I be allowed to work with the people, or on the equipment I am designing/improving/developing process for?" If the answer is no, I won't take the job. If I am not allowed to spend time working the process, or on the equipment with the people that do it everyday... that job is not for me. I walked out on a job with a wall board company because I got in trouble for working on the line with the operators to see specifically how a piece of equipment was used. It's always been my opinion that if you can't repair it, build it, or run it... you shouldn't be designing it.

“To make things worse, my rubber ripped… and that can lead to problems” said every young father out there.

I worked with a guy who had been an engineer in R&D for a once large manufacturer. When he worked on his own vehicles, he realised how difficult some things were, and how he could have made it better. Myself, and other colleagues, who had spent time in repair workshops, gave him no sympathy.

Oddly, coming from an aviation background, I see so damned much here that is wrong on at least twenty levels. On the birds I worked on, everything was built to be disassembled while stile still installed on the aircraft: saving the mechanic, the repair station, and the customer time and money in terms of work performed and down time. This Dodge Brother's Wagon on the other hand, looks like it was built to never come apart. Even the rack bolts are upside down. If the nuts back off, the bolts fall out and you lose 90% of your steering input. If the bolts were "heads-up" that would not happen. Just further evidence that modern vehicles are built to be thrown away and never worked on.

This almost looked like a magic trick. “See how it will NOT come out? Watch me put the new one right in!” It’s got my head spinning. I totally agree with Andrew below. TOP NOTCH video Ray. Really appreciate it.

"Scoop up this gravy job!" man you jinx yourself awfully hard 🤣

I'm a hydraulic mechanic and I swear sometime long ago a mechanic messed with an engineers wife so now they are all determined to screw us.

“To make things worse, my rubber ripped… and that can lead to problems” 🤣😂 Ray, thank you for that little nugget of comedic gold to help start my day at 7am.

You are so lucky that you got the easiest case scenario: No rusty undercarriage and 2WD, good lord!

The way we separate Morse Taper joints downtown Ray, is we loosen up the nut several turns, then spray a bit of penetrating oil of your choice (I prefer Kroil) on the joint, wait a few seconds, and then whack the socket part of the joint with a medium sized hammer, about 16 Oz most of the time. Sometimes we place a bigger hammer directly opposite where the hammer will hit. It's a rare occasion indeed that it takes more than three good hits until the joint comes apart! If you see a raised and flat spot on the socket half of the joint, that's a striking surface, so hit it there. You're welcome!

Spending 2 hrs getting a part out and somehow the new one goes in with NO problem has happened to me more than once. Drives me INSANE!!!

‘Frustrated pliers’ ‘Linear impact driver’ Love it 😂

Helpful hint when working on a Dodge: always start by removing the entire frame. I hear that's how their engineers plan out all repair techniques.

I worked with manufacturing engineers for ten years implementing their brilliant ideas. 9 out of 10 times they would listen to the guys on the shop floor about their "improvements". Except the ones just out of college. They knew EVERYTHING. Never wanted to throttle somebody as much as them.

Mean time the engineer is really sitting there [shaking his head] going "See, I gave you 5 hours to do this the hard way, and you figured out the trick around it. You're welcome hater."

I worked as a mechanic for decades, automotive, aviation, heavy equipment of various types... I feel your pain. The newer cars are designed to be assembled, used and tossed into recycler.

During that 5 minutes Ray took to collect his thoughts, sounds of a skull impacting drywall and screaming, followed by sobbing could be heard from the shop bathroom.

Ray, you know why i love your videos so much , there's something about watching someone else work while i relax lol

I always thought that every hangar had cameras linked to a room full of engineers. They're watching us with they're feet on the table while eating popcorn and drinking soda. They're laughing and cheering with the popcorn falling out of their mouth and taking notes so they can make the next job more complex.

"I won, but I'm not very happy about how this went down" Any argument with the wife.

Great vid!! A little tip if people remove or dismount the steering rack, put the steering wheel in its lock or if it doesnt have that, put the seatbelt thru one of the spokes. This way you eliminate the chance of destroying your clockspring.

Great job Ray as always,you set the example for all other mechanics to follow. You are an old school mechanic with old school values and thats exactly the way my dad taught me how to do mechanical work on vehicles.

A line wrench isn't for better access it's for a better grip on more sides of the fastener. They are very soft and require replacing the whole line if damaged.

“How did I screw that up so bad!?” Story of my life, man. Subscribe.

As a former A&P with McDonnell Douglas and someone who's done his own auto maintenance work for the last 30 years. I can agree with Ray. None of us like engineers for exactly what Ray illustrates in this vid. Over the years I have probably used every curse word in the book directed at engineers for some of their designs. Just a few months ago I replaced a starter motor on my girlfriend's 2000 Tundra. Instead of locating the starter motor where it normally resides. Noooooo, engineers had to locate this one underneath the intake manifold. Turning a ten to fifteen minute easy peezy job into a few hours of removing stuff (including the fuel injector rails) to get the upper intake manifold out of the way to expose the starter motor with it's three mounting bolts in the awkward location in the small out of visual sight between the engine and firewall and then putting it all back together. Just to replace a starter. Uggg! Anyway, Ray, I couldn't agree with you more brother....

As an engineer, this warmed my heart. As an ex-mechanic, I feel ya bro.

Ray, Ray, Ray… what can I say? Excellent content, skilled technician, problem solving with explanation, and nary a parts canon, cutting torch, nor F-bomb in sight. Unfortunately I’m limited to a single thumbs up. Clicking the button repeatedly doesn’t seem to increase the like counter as much as i hoped 🤷🏻‍♂️

Retired (EE) engineer and once a professional auto mechanic in my earlier life, I always enjoy your helpful, informative, albeit entertaining videos! Best part is your handy universal torque wrenches, I’m curiously wondering if you have one of those for oil filters too! Keep up your awesome upbeat videos!!

I am not a certified mechanic, but as a farmer I do a lot of what you do on onroad and offroad equipment. I REALLY can appreciate the work that you do and that you show in these video clips. I don't feel so alone in the challenges - LOL! But I think if folks see these kind of clips that normally do not do this kinda work, that hopefully they can appreciate those that do! Keep up the Awesome work and videos!... I'm watching you! Cheers!

I always tell customers: "There is a reason they don't hold the engineers and mechanics office party on the same day."

For what it's worth - one trick I was taught by my dad when working on my own cars - if you need to remove fluid lines, be they brake/clutch or power steering if you remove the (vented) cap from the fluid reservoir and cover the opening with some plastic wrap and screw the cap back on, you won't lose all of the fluid from the disconnected line..

A video on how a front end alignment is performed would be very interesting. Love your videos. New respect for a skilled mechanic! You make it look easy.

Cool, a freebie video, and yes, right to the end! This is one of those jobs that you now know you can easily do in less than half book time, but you'll never get to do another one.

Names given to some of my tools: 1) The flying butt pliers = huge channel lock pliers with pipe wrench jaws 2) The cherry popper = air hammer w/ red cover 3) The stag beetle pliers = large oil filter pliers I only use to hold cam sprockets 4) Meh-myr = dead blow hammer 5) The invidious eye = bore scope camera 6) The holy hand tool = obsolete Honda ABS bleed wrench with built-in reservoir (shaped like a long cross 3.5 feet tall, with reservoir on top) 7) Scarecrow = any obsolete specialty tool for a specific car that no longer shows up anymore. 1-2 uses total. Kept to keep the evil cars from coming back.

I been watching numerous videos and I have to say growing up with my dad a life long mechanic and having friends that are mechanics... his positive attitude especially when things get stressful is refreshing. I'm used to seeing wrenches and f bombs flying around the shop along with the horrible attitude that goes along with all that. This guy is a bit on the rare side for a legit mechanic trust me on that. I would have loved to learn about mechanics in this environment. I may have actually became a mechanic.

Great video. I am a retired aircraft engineer. I agree with you, engineers should periodically have to work in the shop with the mechanic, preferably on their own designs. I learned a lot that way over the years. "Who designed that peice of crap" is not what I wanted to hear when I went into the shop area!

Ray, you are, as we said in the USCG, a Subject Matter Expert. I know I have learned a few things from watching you. We NEVER take our vehicles to the dealer unless its something I can't crack. Yet, both cars and my Dodge 3500/Cummins (1999 5spd w/ only 76K on it) are fully maintained. Also, the greater your success, the more humble you become. Quite a spectrum of positive and rare traits, IMHO. Ok, I'll get the Angry Pliers.......

That 5.6 HR.S must have been " THE NORTHERN MANUAL " where everything is rusted too hell. I had an alternator or maybe a starter I was fighting with for a 1/2 HR. to get it out, I just walked away for a bit & it fell out all by itself ? GREAT VID. AS ALWAYS SIR.

Heya from a new viewer from Mexico! Love watching your videos. Speaking as a complete mechanical layman with a basic home DIYer set of tools you've no idea how envious I get when I see all the cool tools and toys you get to work with. Keep up the great work and stay as honest as you are. World needs more people like you dude!

5 years of being injured and I felt like I would forget how to work on vehicle's but you have helped me realize I will not forget.

Always a good feeling beating the book time and playing tetris to get the impossible out of a tight hole.

gotta love it when they hang a part from the ceiling with string and then build a car around it

Oh buddy, I felt your pain on this one! As a plumber working on boilers and such I've been known to utter the words "This is a poor design. What were they thinking?!" so many times that my coworkers are conspiring on printing up a t-shirt with that phrase.

As a dodge technician, we love those steering racks. You do enough of them and the combination to remove them becomes second nature.

"I'll just circle back Psaki style!" Classic!

What a great design that holds so much water in a bolt channel on those big bolts! It's like they WANT to have the bolts fail eventually.

Looking at it from an engineering standpoint, any time you design a new model, you always look to established inventory for parts that will fit from older models.

Well I watched the struggle to disentangle the dismantled part. The Car Gods smiled on you when the complete assembly went in easily. I saw it but still can't believe it. Well done!

I love your videos. I am from Western NY and we need that 5 hours for the job. I would have had the vise grips, a torch, box of bandages for the wounds from the rust.

I was once told by my boss who started out as a mechanic, then went back to school and became an engineer You build it once and operate it forever. It was in reference to a piping design I did. I was going to build it simple; but would have made repairs very difficult. I fixed the design.

Taking something apart for the first time is always a test of our abilities and going back together is usually a bit easier. Kind of like driving somewhere you haven't been. It always seem longer going there but shorter coming back.

I can see a dozen engineers sitting around talking about their great design. Someone says, "So how do they fix it if it goes wrong?" Another one says, "They won't!" And they all laugh.

"Peeved pliers" would work, and the alliteration is nice.

Ray, like my father told me, you live and you learn. Keep up the good work.

Things have always been lacking in the automotive engineering department. Many years ago (over 50), I had a 1963 Jaguar XKE. Nice car, but a maintenance nightmare. I had to replace the clutch. Anyone that has ever worked on one knows that half the car has to come apart to change it. The nose had to come off, torsion bars, console (to access u-joint), cross brace, remove intake with carbs, entire exhaust system (those parts extended through the tubular frame and under the engine), release motor mounts, drop engine and transmission out the bottom, separate engine and transmission and finally install the clutch and reassemble. I still remember all the steps to this day. In addition, those British cars had the worst electrical systems ever devised. If it looked like rain, it wouldn't run. I had to avoid any puddles, because if water splashed up onto the engine, it would quit. After a while, I got used to popping off the distributor cap and drying it out so that it would run again. I agree on the aviation side. Aircraft 50 to 75 years old are still flying when properly maintained. Fortunately, they are designed to be easily maintained.

What didn’t need a torch! Up here in Northern Wisconsin that’s the first tool we roll out.

I like how you torque everything to factory spec. Assures top safety of the drivers and folks around the driver!

like that you kept your cool and stopped to think about how it could posable come out as one is cursing the engineers out in the head. good job sir.

I greatly appreciate your videos, I am a shop owner and have implicated several of your techniques. You are an awesome tech, and are great with your video tutorials. I have a question, are you the shop owner? There are so many things that I mimic what you do being that i was taught by my Dad, (who was the original owner, and in my eyes the BEST mechanic i have ever seen, he passed 11 yrs ago, but he had me working with him since i can remember. He was the most honest and caring mechanic you could of ever met, which i also see in you. I don’t advertise because word of mouth is 10x’s better, and it keeps me very busy. Last thing i will say is i agree 💯 that everyone of those f’n engineers should have to remove and replace every part in the car so they can see what WE….. have to go through when they design these POS’s.. once again thank you and keep doing the great job you do!!! Ohhhh btw the video of when you had to remove the lug nuts because someone crossed threaded them at the dealership, was a great video.. you have the patience of Shaolin Monk…. I would of told the dealership, THATS YOUR PROBLEM……… i hope you got well compensated for that and i hope they paid for the new drill bits you had to buy. Thank you again and keep turning those wrenches!!!! 👍🏼

Good job Ray! Nice to see that you include the frustrating bits also, and don’t edit them out. I honestly thought “is Ray on drugs, no way is the new rack going in complete, has he forgotten how much of a pain it was coming out!!?). Turns out it was possible.

I just love to see a guy who refuses to listen to the "experts" and does it his way. a man after my own heart.

I know you do this every day so plz consider a small suggestion. I've had good results with that ball joint separator by tightening then a few hammer taps on the parts, then tighten a bit more, repeat process. I found its a lot less strain on the tool.

Went for a Beechcraft factory tour in the 80’s while out in Wichita for King Air training. Our guide was an engineer. During the Q & A session I asked him why stuff was so hard to get to during maintenance. His answer was there was only one customer that paid for maintainability and that was the US government. Civilians won’t pay extra for a car or plane that is easy to maintain.

"To make it worse, my rubber ripped and I didn't stop, which can sometimes lead to problems" story of my life man! 😂😂😂 I feel you

"Just gotta wiggle it until the shaft slides in" "Yea I can feel the shaft on the other side of the collar" And women ask why men have such dirty minds. WE DON'T! OUR CARS MAKE US THIS WAY!!!

Probably a 5 hour job if its 4 wheel drive given you have a diff in the way. being 2 wheel drive probably made this job a little easier.

Friend of mine was a VW mechanic in the late 70's and there was a design flaw in manual transmissions that caused trans to lock up. The manual instructed to drop engine and trans and open up trans to strike gear as two were engaged, 8 hours book time and no replacement parts to fix issue. My friend would drill a hole in trans case and had fabricated a rod to reach gear to strike it and unlock trans, then would install a rubber plug which worked fine as it was above fluid level. 10 minutes for 8 hours pay.

Thank you son I appreciate your videos, you do things and explain it to where even a novice can get it, but I really appreciate this one on the rack and pinion they are a pain, again young man keep up the good work wish I had a good mechanic like you around here in Georgia

The engineer in me was like just take the subframe off.. Always a good reminder to get that second opinion. Nice job.

Snapon flankdrive PLUS wrenches the only ones that fit and bite in tight spots without rounding off. Best investment to make.

Having the right tools is always a treat.

I have had the same kind of trouble with starters on machines, they are heavy and if they need to be lifted out of a tight space it can be much harder to maneuver them out than put them in or they come out the bottom and it is easy to maneuver the old one out but lifting and maneuvering the new one in is a fight to get it to zig zag back in without major disassembly.

Things always go back together easier than they come off. It never fails. 1999 4X4 Dodge Durango Owner.

Man it's really nice to have air tools do this stuff. Doing it manually takes more time.

Outstanding work! Can't imagine having enough patients to make a living day in and day out working on cars. Bless the technology and the CAD taking up every nano inch of space. I use to think working on my C3 corvette was tight. My current C6 is ridiculous! I no long find it challenging to overcome ridiculous engineering. You seem to have the temperament. Good luck.

Thanks very much for this Ray. Watching you take stuff apart in the relatively environmentally friendly, southern Florida climate is so satisfying. Up here in Ottawa, Canada, every nut and bolt is crusted with road salt and rust. Older cars are such a major pain to work on. I envy you. 🙂

I've done a steering rack on a 96 Camry. It was a job from Hell! You have to have a ton of patience and take apart half the front end off. I can easily see why you had to take break to regroup your thoughts.

They only care about the order of assembly on the production line. As a mechanical design draftsman for over 30 years I hated this mentality.

The power of overcoming the learning curve. Have you even taken a long unfamiliar drive somewhere that seems to take for ever to get there but the ride back home or the next trip doesn't seem so long. Thats the fun explorers feel

Miffed pliers Incensed pliers Underwhelmed pliers Indifferent pliers Contrarian pliers "Sceptic" pliers Disappointed pliers Aggravated pliers Soured pliers Somewhat irate pliers

Good Job on the solving the puzzle pieces. I was ensured the condenser had to come out to replace the radiator on my Cadillac, nope. Just have to be patient and think it through.

That's a win if you did that quicker than you were supposed to. Well done!

I can't belive how easy that new rack went in. Maybe the car Gods had something to do with it.. nice vid by the way, it's much easier to watch someone work than doin' it yourself.

Although it can definitely be frustrating, think of the rack going back in so easily as you're reward from the engineering gods for outsmarting their disciples. 😎

That time frame for this repair is just part of the lies for shops to overcharge those who do not possess mechanical skills such as yourself/ other than that it was great as always!

Yeah those you need to remove both inner/outer tie rod ends,the 5+ hours labor is for the 4wd version,I believe the 2wd version is 3 some hours.Never see a 2wd here in Colorado though,you are so lucky.

I have a minor reee I don't see you lock the steering wheel off to stop rotation during removal of the rack... I have seen too many people kill clock springs while doing a rack swap to not get triggered by it

Aviation machinist here. Used to work for a few auto dealers. Worked for Chrysler in the mid 90s, when they had that garbage transmission. Book time on reseal a Transmission was 9 hrs, the Transmission guy could do on in 45 minutes, did nine a day, that guy made serious cash. Great videos by the way. I often find myself asking, why am I watching someone else work on a car. You make car work fun

Good job man. I have worked at a Dodge dealer for many years and haven't had to do one of those racks yet. The silly thing is the subframe supports the whole entire engine as its mounts are fastened to it. Liked the angled wrench you used for the power steering lines. I should get one of those. One word of advice from one technician to another. Put a dab of blue threadlocker on the steering shaft bolt. It is extra insurance so there is no way it can loosen and cause a crash. I do the same for torque converter bolts and u-joint bolts.

Proof that mechanics are actually smarter than engineers.

OMG Ray, “…to make things worse, my rubber ripped, and I haven’t stopped, which sometimes leads to problems.” You really need to go on tour!

To give you some insight into the design process of suspension and propulsion systems of cars: It's a battle for space. Suspension engineers want space for their structures. Ideally straight rods everywhere, a lot of space for wheel travel and steering. The worst part to place is the steering rack, since it's a part that goes from side to side no matter what, and is severely limited in its positioning due to the steering geometry. Meanwhile the drivetrain engineers need to run the exhaust pipes front to back, no matter what. Ideally as straight as possible. Depending on the car, a drive shaft accompanies it on its journey to the rear axle. You can start to see the conflict of interests. So tldr: Not just mechanics hate engineers, engineers also hate other engineers that take up their prime design space. Someone's gonna lose, and all you can do is hope that you don't have to get out the part that lost.

as a mechanical engineer i can confirm, mechanics are last in the priority list. as long as the production costs are low, its all good.

A Mechanic, because Engineers need heroes too. A little tappy tap, ripped gloves and extreme ingenuity. You da man !

Ray: Your explanation for what and why a line (flare) wrench is used sounds good, but no. The fittings on a hydraulic line, brake line, power steering line, etc differ in one important way from a normal fastener (nut or bolt). The hole in a fitting is significantly larger, leaving less material and therefor, greatly reducing the crush strength of the fitting compared to a nut. And many times the fitting is made of brass, further resulting in weaker. If you use a standard wrench on a fitting, you have the possibility of crushing the fitting into an out of round condition because of the limited points of contact (2) between the fitting and the wrench. This can cause the fitting to not thread in fully or jam in place and may even prevent the flare end of the line from seating correctly. A line wrench provides maximum points of contact (4) between the fitting and the wrench. Yes, I know, you have removed/replaced 1000's of fittings with regular wrenches and never had a problem. I too have removed 1000's of fittings with regular wrenches, but in the case of a rusty or over tight fitting, you and I both know the fitting will go "egg" shape unless you use a line wrench (and even then it could still bugger up). Line wrenches and the fittings they are used (cheap $) on are an excellent example of "poor" engineering design and the primary reason for the creation of AN (expensive $) Fittings. As with anything, you get what you pay for. I suspect that steering racks fits several other Mopar vehicles and that is why fitment isn't optimal.