I have been on the boards a little over a year now, and I have seen quite a few posts on here. The biggest problem I see is folks asking for help and being about as descriptive as a blank sheet of paper. A lot of guys post a question like we have known your cars all our lives, and know every problem you have ever had. We must assume half our answers because of information not posted.



I'll give you an example...



Ok so I go out to my car after a week and it does not start, I tried jumpstarting it and nothing happened. Whats wrong?



From this post you will receive about 12 posts asking questions to get a better idea of what you have, what you have done, and then you might get 6 more posts with an answer close to what is wrong with your problem.



Now let me show you a proper example of how the question should have read.



I have a 1987 Turbo II with 128,000 miles on it. everything is stock on the car. I went out to start it this morning and I tried to start it and nothig happened. When I turn the key on I get the normal dash warning lights, I can hear the fuel pump prime, and when I turn the key I hear a tiny click. Looking through the hood when I try this I do not see the engine move or anything. I hooked a set of battery cables up to jumpstart it and I did not get any change. What could it be?



Now these 2 questions have the same problem but one will get a better, more accurate response for help than the other. Why you ask? Because most of the information is already there, and variables have been eliminated.



GM was putting a brochure in their new cars a few years ago that was designed to tell you how to describe a problem, so the mechanic had a better idea of what was wrong with the problem, like how to describe noises. When you put the car in gear and it makes a noise is it a clunk or is it a whine you are complaining about. 2 different sounds with 2 totally different problems, but being a little more specific really helps.



So I thought I would put a format up that may help some of you help those of us trying to help you out when diagnosing a problem.



Year

Model

Mileage

Major modifications: Turbos, port work, rebuilt or stock, and how long the parts have been installed that go along with your problem.

Descriptive words: Clunk, whine, grinds, or silence

Listing of things you have tried and their outcome: good battery voltage, terminals cleaned, new air filter installed etc etc.



And when asking about a possible blown engine, please do a compression test first!!!



All of this ladies and gentleman will get you a more accurate diagnosis of your problem and get you on the road a lot faster.

 

i remember a stoey my autoshop teacher told us way back when. they had just gotten yelled at for fixing stuff that wasnt on the work order, so they were told to fix ONLY what was on the repair order.



he pulls the next car in and looks at the r.o. and it says "whistle at alternator" so he whistled a tune at the alternator and parked the car....









it should have said whistle at alternator check and advise, or replace or something like that

 

@ j9fd



Its true, sometimes its like a guessing game. Everyone takes a guess, but no one is really sure without all the info.

 

This is a great post, should almost be pinned in all the tech forums.



Thanks Camel

 

actually phins, is there any way to make a fill in the blank form where you could click on a button, form pops up, you fill in the blanks and then post it? Somthing like the fill in your credit card info and mailing address forms for when you order ****...

 

bump



Come on folks...

 

No that isn't really feasable.

 

what about just a document you download open fill in the blanks and then copy and paste? would be a little simpler to make

 

Or we just pin this in here...

 

its almost like asking for common sense isnt it?