NW Las Vegas mechanic recommendations?

[blankchalice]

Hi, any recommendations for a mechanic with integrity and reasonable pricing? I’m in the NW of Vegas in the Centennial area.

Vehicle is a newer VW Taos.

No specific needs at this time, just looking to find a good place to go for things other than oil changes and tires.

 

[Bonez]

Bumping this one up; I am also looking for a mechanic with integrity and reasonable pricing as close to NW Vegas in the Centennial area as possible.

My father’s 2008 Ford Ranger XL (2WD, 2.4L 4cyl, manual trans) has a persistent check engine light that we need fixed. The "long story" for additional context (if anyone cares):

• We took the vehicle to the nearest O’Reilly auto parts store where the counter guy used a code reader to learn that the CEL is a result of a code P0171 which “indicates that the Bank 1 system is too lean for a predetermined period of time”.
• At the recommendation of the guy at the counter we replaced the O2 sensor with a direct fit recommended for the year/make/model of the truck and drove it for ~100 miles to see if the CEL turned off. It did not.
• We then tried a combination of things to get the CEL to turn off including turning the key on and off three times in succession (no change), disconnecting the battery for at least 15 minutes & turning the key on and off three times in succession before reconnecting the battery, turning the key on and waiting for 60 seconds - this caused the CEL to blink a few times then turn off BUT when the engine was started, it ran rough and ultimately the light came back on a short time later.
• After driving the truck for a few minutes, the roughness smoothed out, but there was still the CEL and lack of power. At the recommendation of the guy at O’Reilly I went back into the truck and disconnected the electrical connector then after ensuring everything was clean and clear from debris, again made sure it was fully seated then drove it for another 100+ miles at varying speeds to check to see if the CEL went out. It didn’t.

I unfortunately don’t have the knowledge, experience, or time to dig into this more and would prefer to take it to someone that knows what they are doing won’t rake me over the coals with costs to replace my exhaust bearings and blinker fluid.

Anyone out there that can help OP + me and my Dad with any decent auto-repair shop recommendations would be very much appreciated.

 

[Harley]

Bumping this one up; I am also looking for a mechanic with integrity and reasonable pricing as close to NW Vegas in the Centennial area as possible.

My father’s 2008 Ford Ranger XL (2WD, 2.4L 4cyl, manual trans) has a persistent check engine light that we need fixed. The "long story" for additional context (if anyone cares):

• We took the vehicle to the nearest O’Reilly auto parts store where the counter guy used a code reader to learn that the CEL is a result of a code P0171 which “indicates that the Bank 1 system is too lean for a predetermined period of time”.
• At the recommendation of the guy at the counter we replaced the O2 sensor with a direct fit recommended for the year/make/model of the truck and drove it for ~100 miles to see if the CEL turned off. It did not.
• We then tried a combination of things to get the CEL to turn off including turning the key on and off three times in succession (no change), disconnecting the battery for at least 15 minutes & turning the key on and off three times in succession before reconnecting the battery, turning the key on and waiting for 60 seconds - this caused the CEL to blink a few times then turn off BUT when the engine was started, it ran rough and ultimately the light came back on a short time later.
• After driving the truck for a few minutes, the roughness smoothed out, but there was still the CEL and lack of power. At the recommendation of the guy at O’Reilly I went back into the truck and disconnected the electrical connector then after ensuring everything was clean and clear from debris, again made sure it was fully seated then drove it for another 100+ miles at varying speeds to check to see if the CEL went out. It didn’t.

I unfortunately don’t have the knowledge, experience, or time to dig into this more and would prefer to take it to someone that knows what they are doing won’t rake me over the coals with costs to replace my exhaust bearings and blinker fluid.

Anyone out there that can help OP + me and my Dad with any decent auto-repair shop recommendations would be very much appreciated.

You have to do the drive cycles to clear the monitors and then see what its doing from there. It takes aprox 40 or so miles for all of them to clear. I typically tell people to take a cruise out the dam and back and thats plenty. It takes several driving conditions, stop n go, highway speeds etc to reset them all.

If you don’t have the propper scanner to show that, you’re just shootin blanks.

To add: every time you clear the CEL or disconnect the battery it wipes out the monitors and they need to relearn from the drive cycles.

 

[STS Hunter]

In my experience a leak in the intake allows air in that wasn't measured by the Mass Airflow Sensor, causing a lean condition. Could be the intake manifold seals/seals itself (as on my 4.0 V6 Ranger) or really anywhere that has a way to let air in. Or maybe cleaning the Mass Airflow Sensor would work. Parts stores sell a spray cleaner specifically for that sensor. Even if you take it to someone I would expect these would be the first steps.

 

[MXMITC4]

Places not to go.
-Doctor auto
-Firestone complete auto (off Oso blanco)

We have been going to Sun auto, they seem to do a good job. They are not cheap, but they are not crazy expensive either. Firestone complete auto became crazy expensive, after they got bought out.

 

[Bonez]

You have to do the drive cycles to clear the monitors and then see what its doing from there. It takes aprox 40 or so miles for all of them to clear. I typically tell people to take a cruise out the dam and back and thats plenty. It takes several driving conditions, stop n go, highway speeds etc to reset them all.

If you don’t have the propper scanner to show that, you’re just shootin blanks.

To add: every time you clear the CEL or disconnect the battery it wipes out the monitors and they need to relearn from the drive cycles.

So what you’re saying is what I did was the correct thing to do? (E.g. used auto parts store to check the codes, performed recommended air, then drive another 100 miles?)

 

[Harley]

No, you assumed the min wage parts store worker knew what he was doing and threw parts at it that didn’t fix it. Don’t even get me started on them. All they do is give the codes and possible fix.

A decent scanner would give you the live data and show you what the O2 sensors were doing before spending the money. The live data is crucial when diagnosing.

You drove it 100 miles but have no idea if all the monitors cleared or what everything else is doing.

 

[Bonez]

No, you assumed the min wage parts store worker knew what he was doing and threw parts at it that didn’t fix it. Don’t even get me started on them. All they do is give the codes and possible fix.

A decent scanner would give you the live data and show you what the O2 sensors were doing before spending the money. The live data is crucial when diagnosing.

You drove it 100 miles but have no idea if all the monitors cleared or what everything else is doing.

Ahhh thanks for the clarification. Like I said in the beginning.. I don’t have the knowledge or experience, and unfortunately I don’t know what I don’t know.

 

[Harley]

Nothing wrong with not having the experience but if somebody wants to do things themselves, they should get the proper tools/equipment to do it avoiding wasted money. Or pay somebody from the start.

One way requires a lot of lube and trust and the other is more satisfying and cheaper.

 

[Petervangogh]

I trust this guy with all my cars.

 

[Tom702]

As said above, the goal is to fix the problem, not turn off the check engine light. The check engine light will go off itself when the problem is fixed and the vehicle completes its drive cycle. Disconnecting the battery or clearing the codes with a scanner won't help the Ranger drive better or pass smog. Looks like the P0171 code can be a lot of different things on the Ranger so spending some time/money for a skilled diagnosis would be preferable to throwing parts at it. I don't know a good shop, but I personally had a bad experience at Zip Zap Auto.

 

[Gullwing]

Yeah check the intake for leaks. I'm sure you have a smoke machine in your closet... Mityvac and decent plug might be enough, if it leaks toss in something that smokes and pressurize again.

A good scan tool will help anyone who wants to see what is going on. At least a scan tool for an 08 Ford is a whole lot cheaper than anything I want for my Mercedes. If I can find a decent one for only a few hundo I would be happy. But that still wont do all I "need".
Good/great tool should show air/fuel mixture and if off should be intake, if fine then O2 would be the issue and if O2 then maybe cats, or fuel injectors or........