I Think My Mechanic Destroyed My Car –Ford Owner Catches a Bad Fix on Video

A recent post on the Reddit r/MechanicAdvice repair forum illustrates the importance of taking before-and-after photos whenever you have someone work on your car.

The owner of a 2017 Ford Ranger Wildtrak needed a timing chain repair on her vehicle. This was not an unexpected diagnosis, as the vehicle is 7 years old. However, what was unexpected was how the repair was done.

According to the owner's post:

What Happened?

From what is indicated by the post, the timing cover was removed without any signs of damage to the alternator bracket when the mechanic showed the owner the worn condition of her vehicle's timing chain. We can see from the "Before" photo that the bracket is intact and that a bit of the timing chain is visible, so the cover must have been off or at least partially moved aside for the owner to see what the needed repair involved.

The owner returned after the work was completed and was surprised to see that the mechanic had severely damaged the alternator bracket (as shown in the "After" photo), but the vehicle's timing problem was repaired, and the vehicle was good to go.

From the "Before" photo, we can see that the mechanic could unbolt the timing cover without disassembling the alternator and its bracket to gain access. However, the mechanic's choice to grind away a significant portion of the alternator bracket, as shown in the "After" photo, is a mystery.

Scenarios posited include:

1. The mechanic found that removing the timing cover was much easier than putting it back on―a familiar scenario for anyone working on cars.
2. The cover needed silicone on the gasket, but the tight fit, with the alternator in the way, made it difficult to slip the timing cover back on without rubbing off the silicone.
3. The mechanic found bolting the timing cover back on too difficult and opted to grind away a portion of the alternator bracket to make things easier(?) for him. For example, he may have wanted to torque the bolts correctly but could not get his torque wrench and socket to fit, so he ground away the offending obstacle.
4. The mechanic may have felt he was doing the owner a favor by "improving" access to the timing cover for future repairs.

Surprising Post Comments

What caught my attention, aside from the blatant disregard by the mechanic towards the owner's car with one of the shoddiest techniques I've seen in a while, is that many of the comments from other mechanics put as much blame on the automotive engineers who designed the alternator bracket position as they do the OP's mechanic.

In fact, quite a few others also commented that if it were their car, they might have done the same thing as the mechanic to save money and time.

To each their own. However, envision the sparks flying under the hood as a wheel grinder does its job on the alternator bracket. I cannot help but imagine this has all the makings of a potential "Darwin Awards" fatality about to happen.

Car Designs Do Not Always Make Good Repair Sense

Back to the blame on the automotive engineers, however, there is merit to these views.

In an earlier article titled "Ford Engineers Have Lost Their Minds Says This Mechanic," we learned that when comparing the differences in cost based on the replacement difficulties between a modern Toyota and a Ford Explorer V6 with 105,000 miles on it in need of a water pump replacement is just one reason (of many) why a used car shopper might want to reconsider some of the Ford models from the past 10 years.

Another example we touched on is gaining access to the HVAC system for a simple and inexpensive plastic actuator replacement that entails hours of difficult dashboard disassembly and reassembly. Mechanics hate this kind of repair because it is time-consuming, and the risk of breaking multiple plastic fasteners is high and problematic. Car owners hate this kind of repair because it is expensive, and their car could be in the garage for weeks at a time.

This then begs the question: Is it ever okay to do an unorthodox repair to gain easier access to a part or a system?

Repair Techniques Not Covered in Your Car's Service/Repair Manual

As it turns out, there are uncommon repair procedures that make sense, but you will never see them listed in a service/repair manual for your car. Believe it or not, it turns out that sometimes it makes sense to let a mechanic cut a hole in your vehicle to gain access to a problem and save money on a repair.

An example of this was shown in an article titled "Crazy Way to Cut Your Car Repair Costs in Half that Works," based on a Car Wizard YouTube video in which the Car Wizard shows how he managed to save his customer about half of the repair cost (approximately $2,500-$3,000) of replacing a fuel pump attached to the fuel tank by cutting a hole in the backseat floor area of a car.

In other words, as some comments pointed out, sometimes it makes more sense to make a questionable repair by cutting corners than to spend more money on a "proper" repair for a car that might not be worth the extra cost.

Tell Us What You Think

While I believe many of us can agree that the mechanic who did the alternator bracket grinding repair did a shoddy job and should have discussed this with the car owner before attempting it, if he had done a more professional-appearing "modification" of the alternator bracket, would this have made the repair more acceptable to you?

Let us know in the comments below how you feel about the repair done and if you have ever made an uncommon repair procedure that made sense to you that you will not find in any repair manual.

For additional mechanic and owner bad repair-related articles, here are three cringeworthy examples:

1. Used Car Dealer Scam With Superglue and Drywall Screws
2. TikTok Car Repair Hacks You Should and Should Not Do
3. People Who Should Not Be Driving

Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati who currently researches and works on restoring older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. He also reports on modern cars (including EVs) with a focus on DIY mechanics, buying and using tools, and other related topical automotive repair news. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites as well as on Facebook and his automotive blog "Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair" for useful daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

Image Source: Deposit Photos