Mechanic Ask

My son tried to do an oil change, and now the drain plug just spins freely. 😬🔧Now it won't tighten, won't come out. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

What could cause a timing belt to fail this early?
I'm not just looking for the common answers—I want to hear every possible cause. I still can't figure out why mine snapped.
The tensioner, pulleys, and water pump all appear to be fine. There are no oil or coolant leaks, and the belt itself showed no obvious signs of damage before it failed.
The entire timing kit was replaced with a sealed Gates kit only 11,000 miles and about 7 months ago.
What could I be missing?

Customer complaint: "No power. Pretty sure it lost compression."
Started checking things over and the fuel supply line had something to say about that... 😅🔧

Piece broke off into a coolant hose while replacing my alternator... now what? 😬🔧
I was replacing the alternator on my 2009 Toyota Corolla because I'd heard it was a pretty straightforward job.
The alternator was stuck, so I was carefully trying to pry it loose. Unfortunately, I didn't realize I was putting pressure on a nearby plastic fitting, and it snapped off, with part of it breaking off inside the coolant hose.
Can anyone tell me what this part is called and what my options are for fixing it? Am I looking at replacing the entire fitting, the hose, or something more involved?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Driving with a cracked tie rod boot — how bad of an idea is it? 🤔🔧
I have a 2000 model with about 150k miles, and I've noticed one of the tie rod boots is cracked. I'm planning to inspect everything more thoroughly and replace the tie rod ends next week, followed by an alignment.
Lately I've been feeling a clunk through the steering wheel, which is what made me start looking into it. Other than that, there's no wandering, dead spots in the steering, or noticeable vibrations.
I haven't had a chance to jack the car up and check for play yet.
Most of my commute is freeway driving. Assuming the tie rod itself isn't excessively loose, would you feel comfortable driving it for another week, or is this something that shouldn't wait?
Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

Why does my oil look like this? 🤔🛢️
2006 VW Golf Mk5 1.9 TDI (105hp)
I noticed something unusual about the oil and I'm trying to figure out whether it's normal or a sign of a problem.
The oil on the dipstick looks completely normal, and the last oil change was about 7,000 km ago.
The car is mostly used for short trips, and the coolant level hasn't dropped at all.

Rodent chewed holes in my air filter box – is a DIY fix possible? 🐭🔧
I took my 2022 Corolla Hatchback in for its scheduled service, and the dealership told me that a rodent (or something similar) had chewed holes in the air filter housing.
They quoted nearly $1000 to replace it, but they weren't pushing me to do it immediately.
Before I start calling around for other estimates, I'm wondering if there's a temporary or DIY solution. Could the holes be safely sealed with something like duct tape, plastic epoxy, or another repair method, or does the entire housing really need to be replaced?
Has anyone dealt with this before? I'd appreciate any advice.

Anyone else with a hybrid sport think theirs is a little doggy off the line? My wife has a Hybrid Forester and I feel like it has more torque to get moving.

My third Subaru I got a few months ago, and I still look forward to driving it every chance I get. Not the best on gas mileage driving short distances, but pretty decent on longer trips. The only thing I don’t like is the major lag in the infotainment center. Kinda wish we were back to more push buttons. Also with all the great features that Subarus have it still boggles the mind about the outdated switch for the heated seats, and that they won’t do the key-fob remote start. I know it’s away for them to make money by charging for the app, but what can you do. I still like their dependability and reliability. That outweighs the downfalls…(well, mostly it does) 🫤😎👍

Well guys it was fun with the crosstrek but it was time to upgrade for something better. I hope yall enjoy your crosstreks!