does anyone know of a place in the bay area/contra costa that'll steam clean my car engine? i have some major leaks going on & mechanic advised me to steam clean engine first so they can detect where the leak is coming from... guess it's pretty yucky down there for them to find it!

cool! thanks! i'm in need of good honest mechanics... soooo hard to find these days!!!

james auto... pretty honest??

i have another issue... i didn't pass smog due to my check engine light being on (for 2 years already!) smog guy tells me that my car passed with flying colors with everything else except for 2 error codes pointing to catalyctic converter 1 & 2 (i have a nissan armada & i guess mine's come with 2)... but given i've been driving it for 2 years & it passing all emissions test & doesn't pollute the environment, i'm hoping i don't have to replace my 2 cats ($2600 job - worst case scenario)... so i'm really in need of an honest mechanic to REALLY tell me if i really need it or not... u think james can help me?

good lookin out! thanks again che!

upate:

1. called james & unfortunately, che, ur right... he only works on mercedes, toyota, & hondas :( he couldn't really direct me to anyone that works on nissans :(

2. called ron's & spoke with abby (?) & explained to her my cat issue... jus my luck: it's not legal in CA to sell cats for nissan @ after-market! she said i gotta go to nissan directly

3. called oceanworks II (they got a bigger garage than oceanworks to handle my big ole suv) & spoke with chris... told him about the smog/cat issue & leak/steamclean issue... he's happy to take a look at it!!! yes! i have an appt with him next week & he even offered to drop me off to bart ;)

wish me luck!!!

My mechanic also recommended cleaning the bottom of the engine... I wouldn't necessarily call him a lazy ass when there is like an inch of caked on grease and oil from being driven for 12 years.

hmmm, good point justin... but mine's a 2006

unless the leak is really that bad :(

A second opinion's always a good idea though, I hope everything works out!

good lookin out justin!

yes, i'm hoping oceanworks work out! i've had too many bad experiences with different mechanics all my life & my kids & i rely greatly on this suv! ;)

It is not illegal to sell aftermarket catalytic convertors in CA. Here's the gist of it:

As of January 1, 2009, all converters sold in the State of California must meet new converter regulations. Converters sold in California must now be tested an approved by engine family and vehicle weight. This includes all vehicles, including those manufactured prior to 1996. If an aftermarket converter has not been tested and approved for your vehicle (the converter listing will state which vehicle(s) it can be used on), you will have to purchase a dealer part.

So...technically speaking IF there is an aftermarket cat that has been tested and approved for your car, you are good to go. Otherwise you're screwed. One alternative way to go is to have a factory cat installed by a non-Nissan shop. Just because you buy the part there, doesn't mean you are required to install it there. While you still get screwed on the dealer part price, you may end up saving a couple hundred in labor costs.

IE. dealer labor $150/hour, non-dealer labor $75-$120, highly negotiable.

Keep in mind, if the dealer effs up with the install, they're backed by the factory warranty. If a non-dealer shop effs up, you gotta duke it out with them to prove they messed up the install. But installing a cat is pretty easy, a couple of bolts, welds, and rubber hangers and you're good to go.

Try Marty's Metrix, located in between Oakland Chinatown and San Antonio District.

yelp.com/biz/martys-metr…

They are not a muffler shop, they do all sorts of mechanical stuff on Japanese imports. They could definitely put in a cat for you tho.

that's really good to know, alan... i actually started doing research for a cat for my 06 nissan armada. unfortunately, the online vendors won't mail my cat to a CA address (state law or sumthn)! anyway, i'm thinking about contacting my out-of-state buddies???

i think i'll give marty's a call as well

thanks!

lol!

that does sound pretty easy, asiatic... but i think i gotta get underneath cuz that's where they're trying to figure out where the leak is coming from

& plus, i don't think it's a very good idea to get that grease & stuff in our sewage... i better look for a pro to get sumthn like that done

:)

Too lazy to read what others have said...time for my own two cents

Steam cleaning is a BAD idea. You risk getting water in to a multitude of electrical components and connectors. Most auto-makers have technical bulletins expressly forbidding this. BMW specifically does.

There's two ways you can clean a dirty engine..one, you can use spray on engine cleaner. You spray it all over the place, then wash it down with water. Pretty environmentally hazardous, as 99.8 percent of the time people who do this let it go in to our groundwater (BAD)

The right way is laborious. Scrub down everything you can with rags soaked with solvent. Then bag all of the solvent/oil soaked rags and take them to the hazardous waste facility when you're done.

But all of this is irrelevant anyway. If the guy was a better mechanic he'd be able to quickly determine the source of the leak, even in a dirty engine. Engines aren't really that complicated, there's only maybe 10-15 sources of leaks..once you determine what the leak is (motor oil, transmission oil, power steering oil, brake fluid) you can easily get to the bottom of it.

Like David said - find a better mechanic

On catalytic converters..that guys wrong. You can go with after-market converters, so long as they are CARB legal. One company I know that is, is Magnaflow. They're like 200 bucks each. So 400 plus an hour or two of labor, you're done for 600 bucks maybe

that 2300 dollar quote is insane

If you do have a shop replace the cats, I'd recommend Mel And Sons. Great business.

yelp.com/biz/mel-and-son…

Paul "need indian food" M. says:

On catalytic converters..that guys wrong. You can go with after-market converters, so long as they are CARB legal. One company I know that is, is Magnaflow. They're like 200 bucks each. So 400 plus an hour or two of labor, you're done for 600 bucks maybe

---

Here's the problem, NO ONE MAKES A CARB LEGAL 50 STATE AFTERMARKET CATALYTIC CONVERTOR FOR THE NISSAN PATHFINDER ARMADA. Catch-22. While aftermarket cats are legal, there is not one that meets CA standards, so for all practical purposes an OEM CA legal cat is the only option. But again, where you get it installed will save some money.

When I had company cars, we were required to help sell our cars (every two years) in order to get our new car.  I always took the used car to an auto detailer and had them steam clean the engine -- which comes up looking brand new.  It might be a good idea to get your engine steam cleaned so that when a good mechanic points out the problems to you, you can see what he/she is talking about.

Call the Car Guys (Click & Clack) on NPR if you have any questions.

for the cat, no warranty :( it's @ 170k now

i did talk to marty & i like him... he wasn't quick to tell me to come down & have him look at it & $$ is his charge for the diagnosis... he actually spent about 30-40 min with me on the phone explaining:

1. smog/cat issue: he's not an approved smog repair shop... he advised i go to one of the smog repair shops that on the list that smog guy gave me on mon. he said 1 big benefit is if i qualify for repair financial assistance due to not passing smog, the state will pay the approved smog repair shop $500 to go towards my bill

2. leak/steam cleaning issue: he did say that when the leak gets bad enough, it's pretty hard for them (mechanics) to diagnose leaks etc... he did say that steam cleaning is pretty obsolete here in the bay tho (as i've found out). he suggested if i could find a detailer that'll pressure wash the engine instead, that should help a whole lot to clear off some of the gunk

overall, i think i'm staying away from steam cleaning... i spoke with al's detail @ martinez & he said they used to steam clean, but the hot water was melting a lot of the plastic components in vehicles... so they'll pressure wash instead. thanks for the warning on steam cleaning, david, che, & paul!

i gotta cancel my appt with oceanworks since i confirmed they're not approved smog repair... but thanks for the rec, che... i'll keep them in mind next time! :)

after that pressure wash, i'm gonna take ur advise, paul & dave, & find me a better mechanic... i think i'm gonna check out marty's & have him diagnose the leak cuz he was a pretty cool guy! thanks again for the rec, alan!