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Ran into this while doing an oil change, why is this like this? Why is there a chunk of thread missing? Vehicle is a 2019 Buick Cascada. Based on the look of things, At one point before it came to me the threads got cross-threaded or stripped, there was an attempt to retap and rethread the hole. There was a HeliCoil installed, And it came out while I was removing the drain plug.

I recently started a job as a lube tech, I'm using shop loaner tools for now but it doesn't have quite everything I need, and I'm going to need to get my own eventually.

What specific things do you recommend a lube tech at a GM dealership making 12.50 an hour full time gets as their first tools? Specific links for specific brand/models would be greatly appreciated!

My first priority is shoes, (Currently rocking some old tennis shoes) My second priority is a power drill, (Currently the other lube tech is sharing his with me) My 3rd priority is a air-chuck, (Currently the other lube tech is sharing his with me, ) My 4th priority is an impact wrench (being affordable is important, but I'm currently borrowing one that is good enough, and I'd rather not go deaf so if I have to spend a little bit more to get something quieter I will)

I'm getting confused by all the numbers involved. Here's my current understanding:

• Bolt pattern needs to be an exact match (ex/ 5x114)
• Diameter needs to be exact match, but there's some flexibility with width (ex/ 17x7 and 17x8 are probably interchangeable)

Things I'm confused about:

• Does offset need to be an exact match? (ex/ ET45 vs ET42?)
• How careful do I need to be with tire size, if the rim is correct? For example, if my car originally had 225/50R17, can I use a 225/65R17 tire?

Is there a good website for explaining these details? I've spent time on various wheel database websites, and they only give a list of sizes without explaining why they're compatible or not.

Thanks!

Okay, very specific question but I've been working on my car for the past 4 weeks and in the meantime I had the hose to the heater core open.

I was doing a head gasket repair but had some downtime due to my incredible back-throwing skills, and once I got the heads back in I noticed that there are ANTS living in water lines -.-

They're building walls and everything these squatters.

Anyways besides blasting it through with water, what are some ways I can solve this oddball problem

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