“Experience is simply the name we give mistakes.”
Starting off with some Oscar Wilde wisdom to kick off a story about a viral automotive repair clip might seem like a bit of a stretch. But when we’re dealing with the measured and insightful words of veteran auto repair specialist Sherwood Cooke Jr., it seems within reason to get a little more out there.
Cooke, who is the owner of Royalty Auto Service in St. Marys, Georgia, starts off the recent clip from his shop’s account (@Royaltyautoservice) responding to a request to share one of the biggest mistakes he’s made over a career in repair work.
“How long is this series going to be? We probably got… This is going to be at least a 200-parter,” he jokes in an endearing show of humility.
Cooke then proceeds to unspool a tale from his early days as a teenage mechanic when he was instructed to clean out the evaporator core of a ’80s model Buick. Being unfamiliar with that process, he recounts what happened when he accidentally punctured the core with a screwdriver, thinking he was loosening a release mechanism.
What is an evaporator core?
The term “evaporator core” is mechanic speak for a vehicle’s evaporator, which absorbs heat and humidity from ambient air. The resulting cooler air is then blown into the interior via a fan to circulate.
A faulty evaporator will be evident from sudden dampness on the vehicle’s floor mats, as well as foggy windows when the air conditioner is operating. There may also be hissing or gurgling sounds coming from the A/C system.
Should you ever try working on one yourself?
Replacing a bad evaporator is pricey, at between $500 and $1,000. Amateur or at-home mechanics may be tempted to do the jobs themselves but the fact that auto refrigerant is a regulated chemical means it’s best to leave the job to a licensed professional technician.
“I cleaned the hole out because it went, and there goes all that refrigerant right out, blew the hole out,” our protagonist remembers, still slightly embarrassed over the mistake.
The owner of the shop, who eventually wound up selling the business to Cooke years later, was patient and measured in his response, and provided a new evaporator core that Cooke spent most of that night installing in the vehicle to correct the error.
“He didn’t get all upset, didn’t get mad. He said, ‘All right, I’m going to get in the evaporator core’… I stayed the night and I put it in… think that was fair. I mean, it was right. He didn’t ask me to do it. I just told him I would do it.”
That response emphasizes the lesson Cooke shared at the start of the clip. “For you shop owners out there, this will help you to understand to be patience with younger guys,” he said.
The “biggest mistakes” series looks like it could be a good one for the shop, since the initial clip and its followup have both accumulated more than 100,000 views.
Viewers chime in
Commenters on the clip expressed their appreciation for Cooke’s candor. They wished more bosses showed the same level of patience and understanding that he received early in his career.
“That is the problem in this industry, most of the places we work at suck so bad it has jaded us. This guy seems like he’s a very decent guy to work for and learn from. That’s rare today,” one observer wrote.
Another shared one of their own early missteps: “Spent hours porting heads Ford 4.6. Dad decided to sand down cam seats to spin freely. Installed had low oil pressure. The gap was so big oil pressure dropped. It ran like a dream but killed crank.”
@royaltyautoservice And then the guy gave him the shop that led to what we have today. 😬 #mechaniclife #mechanicsoftiktok #cartok #storytime #technician #automotive #stitch #fyp #foryou ♬ Pop beat BGM / long version(1283324) – nightbird_bgm
Or, there was this awfully messy situation we’re glad to have had no part of: “Punched in 7 quarts on the oil reel that I didn’t know had a split in it. Shot oil into a charger with the windshield out and all over another guys box. Spent the next day cleaning his box and all his tools.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Royalty Auto Service via email.
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