Mechanics React to More Awful Tiktok Repair Hacks

We asked real mechanics to break down some of the worst and best car repair hacks from Tiktok.

Huge thanks to our experts!

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[kevinpfeifer]

Do an episode where Sandro showcases his own hacks in the shop and the boys judge em. That’d be great.

[bobbytabernacle]

Everybody else: "WTF?!?!?!"
Sandro: "I've done that"

[TheDersEffect]

Nolan acting like a high school boy working on a project with his crush 😂

[JonnyThrash_]

Sandro makes a good point about tutorials. even surgeons look through instructions before going through a procedure. no shame in a quick refresher

[DyllisDead]

I remember when Sandro used to apologize for cursing now he just lets it rip lmao 😂

[chrishalemusic]

Sandro in the thumbnail it’s instant 👍🏼

[Helmsy]

On heavy diesels with massive oil filters this hack is great 5:50
It makes the filter so much lighter and easier to control it and get it out from under the truck

[MichaelWilloughby]

You used a terry/microfiber towel with the carb cleaner. The hack used a paper towel, which had more contact on the surface, and didn't have any nap to reach into the stamped lettering as much as your towel did. Just a thought.

[ALoneFox]

The punch a hole in the filter to drain it first is an amazing trick for diesel engines. They tend to have enormous filters and a bunch of oil in the filter. So you end up with way less mess in the pit or driveway. I've done it for decades on diesels and particularly annoying and messy filters.

[redmesa]

5:09 if you’re changing oil in a semi truck. Punching a hole in the filter is a big help !
Trying to unscrew and lower a hot filter with almost a gallon of oil in it, is a spill waiting to happen.

[coltdavis]

The hole to drain the filter, not something I would do on small filters, but as a heavy diesel mechanic, definitely worth while on filters on 85L V16 engines. A lot of the filters have drain plugs on them to save you having to do this.

The vacuum also is a good trick for small engines, basically a home-made transducer, another tool I use regularly to swap out hoses and such without draining 1000's of litres of oil from a hydraulic tank. (Again, sometimes come built in on the machines).

Greay video, Steph is a good addition to the Sandro, Angelina stars! 👍🏻

[sjgoff]

Socket paint hack - Use a bright color and a paper towel with a very light grip. The microfiber with a strong grip will dig into the grooves and remove the paint. A folded paper towel will stay flatter and have less of a change at removing the paint from the grooves.

[xenalin]

Try the vacuum hack w/ the oil sensor! I'd like to see what it's like trying to get the suction strength/fit right.

[nollienick]

Loving the addition of Tony. Cool to have someone who knows the science behind some of these weird things means. Keep it up RMS

[BioFake]

Hydroponics are also used to grow lettuce and tomatoes indoors ;) When I was in college studying biology, there was a lab fully dedicated to studying hydroponics (it was in France, near Paris in 2009-2013) and refining the technique. I was friends with someone studying and working in this lab, he once brought tomatoes that were grown there after making sure they were ok to be eaten. These were among the tastiest, most perfect tomatoes I've ever eaten. I now live in southern France where homegrown tomatoes are known to be fabulous, these hydroponics grown tomatoes are still among the best I've ever had.
For those wondering what hydroponics are, it's a way to grow almost any kind of plants out of the ground, on a fiber substrate soaked in water and nutrients. And yes it's also used to grow "aromatics". Actually, "aromatics" growth shares a lot with tomatoes...

[jannickliche]

Sandro on the thumbnail, I click. Brother knows what he’s talking about

[wheeledwandering]

You’ve found some proper legends in Sandro, Angelina and now Steph. They could have this channel all to themselves.

[tjfaulkner]

The vacuum trick is awesome, i work on heavy equipment and we do this often for hydraulic repairs. Then you don’t make a mess with oil. The oil filter trick with the punch is good too, also used it heavy equipment applications. Some of the filters used hold over a gallon of oil so it’s heavy when they are full so to prevent a mess we drain them out like that.

[FieroGT]

For that first hack, I had a much more extreme version, I was trying to drill some mounting holes on the engine cradle, and only had wood drill bits and an old single speed drill, after the first half of the holes, I discovered that I could lower the CAR onto the drill (braced on pavement), and exert as much force as I wanted without tiring myself,

[nittojoe]

Homeboy picked that transmission up like it was Styrofoam