Hey Ray, I am a service manager of a 14 person heavy duty shop up here in Canada. I am a licenced HD mechanic myself and appreciate your videos. The integrity and work ethic you have is rare. I am always seeking people with your ability and determination, it's rare to find. People may critisize some cheats sometimes with the "clicks", but you get to learn the "feel-click" and your tools for what is being done and in auto repair, time is the way you feed your family.....KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK & VIDEOS!

My first job was my dad got me hired in the plant where he had been working for 6 years longer than I had been alive. The plant (or factory) was owned by Anheuser-Busch. They made the pop top lids that go on beer and Pepsi cans. The coolest thing about that wasn't the beer and soda. It was the fact that we lived in Florida and Anheuser-Busch also owns Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay. So every employee got 12 tickets a year to get into all the Anheuser-Bus-owned theme parks. I spent my entire childhood and adolescence traveling back and forth from the Jacksonville area to Tampa to go to Busch Gardens, SeaWorld and Adventure Island. But then Anheuser-Busch sold out to InBev and they didn't want to be in the can business so they sold the plant to Ball. Ball already had plenty of manufacturing plants so they closed it, forcing my dad into retirement 3 years early. Why did I just go on that long rant about the history of some lid plant that nobody cares about? Oh well. I typed it out so I might as well submit it.

Thank you for going through the extra effort of filming this while you are working!

Rainman Ray never fails to educate and entertain! Attention to detail, and an honest caring for the customer, and their vehicles shows. Keep up the great work! Blessings

Watching Ray work on cars is so relaxing and he makes it look cool and easy. The minute I start wrenching on my own cars. I am like this freaking sucks!

Ray, your click bait is nowhere near to be seen. Unlike the master of them Scotty. He will put something like "this is the end of my channel, goodbye" and then pull some minor bs not even related. Luv ya man, keep up the great content.

Hey! My first job was at McD’s at 14. Lied about my age and said I was 16. Gave a fake birthday and got surprised with a cake for my “18th” birthday. I was indeed surprised.

Ray it’s great that you’ll even touch anything that “ old “ Most shops in Atlanta will not touch your car if it’s older than 12 years old…..and that is no exaggeration

There is a thing I learned when I first moved to Fl. The truck is most likely owned by a snowbird and spends 6 months out of the year in the gerage locked down with the house until the snowbird returns during winter. These snow birds have everything they need at this winter home, all they do is fly in taxi or Uber to the house, unlock the door roll up the hurricane shutters and bam 4 to 6 months living in FL all while their northern home and car are locked down. This is actually a very cost effective option as now their northern car never gets winter salt slushy on it and it to remains in great shape.

Really enjoyed the background music during the parts cleaning segment. So relaxing.😎🤪 Keep up the good work, my friend.

Holy dingus this is creepy, on Friday I was cleaning an upper and lower pan for a 4.0L ford out of a mustang(apprentice stuff). now you’ve uploaded cleaning and sealing one And my name is also Ray.

The best part of this channel is Ray's inability to get drain plugs out cleanly. Cracks me up everytime.

When I finally landed my dream job, after a few months into it to make sure it was really my dream job, I went and got a nice truck. I always wanted a Nissan Titan. So I bought one in 2010. The thing was, I lived 3.5 miles from work and in the middle of a city. I didn't drive much. Long story short, I developed epilepsy in 2019. I wanted to continue working but it wasn't possible with weekly seizures, sometimes more than one a day. I also could no longer drive. So, I sold the truck. Everyone that looked at it thought it was brand new. Most people made me prove it was a 2010. After 9 years, it had 9,109 miles on it. I detailed it monthly whether it needed it or not. It was 9 years old but it was _mint_ as mint gets. I really miss my truck and my Harley.

It`s amazing how many different tools that a mechanic needs now days to repair something in a car . I have about seven tool cabinets to keep alot of the one off tools that I need . Great videos . I luv your stuff . Cheers , Just John

Glad to see you take care of every car like it's your own!

I, too, am very glad to be here. Have yourself a fantastic day.

just like you ray, my first real job was working at McDonald’s. The big Mac was brand new and cost $.49. Sales tax was 4% in those days. We wrote the orders down on a pad and hurried to get the food in a paper bag, figuring the price with tax in your head. The competition was great…. I liked your story.

My 2nd job was at Jack in the Box, I got fired for stealing cups. STEALING CUPS! So Jack in the Crack was having some promotion with the movie “Star Trek: Generations” and they had these neat “collectible cups” for the movie. I wanted a full unused set of these cups ‘cause I’m a Star Trek nerd and each cup had different things on them like one had Captain Kirk, the other had Captain Picard etc. I asked the assistant manager if I could buy a set, they didn’t know how to sell me a set of these cups. I was like, fine, sell me (I think it was like 8 different cups) eight sodas with my employee discount and I’ll just take the cups home. It was at the end of my shift, the assistant manager was all “whatever, we’re busy, just take the cups and we’ll charge you later”. I didn’t feel comfortable doing that so I got the cups and stacked them together and put them in a bag and left them on the managers desk in her office and I figured on my next shift I’ll just ask her and buy the cups (sodas) then. They call me in on my day off, I knew I was fired, whenever they call you in on your day off you’re being fired. I really hated that job, the people were ghetto people… So I go in and my manager said “because you stole these cups you are terminated.” I say “OK Thank You 🙂”, they were confused as hell, like I needed a job at Jack in the Crack so bad, I was in High School and just wanted some extra money. So as I was walking out of the office the manager hands me the cups and says they can’t use the cups so they’re mine anyways since I “stole them”, I laugh and throw the cups in her trash can and say “have a good one 🤓” and walk out and go home. BTW that was like 25 years ago, those cups aren’t worth anything today, anything made as a collectible is never actually collectible so throwing them away was probably the best thing to do with them. 😎

The California Almond Growers used to say "A can a week, That's all we ask." your shop is "A can of CRC Brakleen per car. Tha'ts what we charge." But seriously, you always send your cars out cleaner than when they came in. A true sign of a mechanic that has pride in their work and respect for their customer. Grade AAA job!

That Explorer is really sweet. It’s èngine should reflect the obvious care it receives. I’m glad you’re seeing to it Ray. It has low mileage for being 17 years old.

Love all the extra commentary late arrival,first job, and the parking lot truck. Helps us get to know you.

Wish I could still do full time. I miss being pain-free. ... I'm good for a job every few days

I have been waiting to see a video on a sports trac for a while, I have a 02 sports trac with 200,000+ miles and it's still the best, rn tho it's at the stage of replacing parts so vids like this help a lot!

Dean loves watching your videos. I enjoy them, as well. You are not only a brilliant mechanic, you are also very entertaining as all get out! I also LOVE the music you play during your interludes! Classy! Priscilla

Ray, RE: dropping parts. When I serviced mechanical TTY machines and dropped a small part I didn't try to catch it, I watched it to see where it ended up. Then I could pick it up without having to look for it. Sounds counter-intuitive to just let it drop but it worked out easier to retrieve in the long run. Sounded like you did the same thing here. You mentioned something dropped but you saw where it went. Nice.

Leave it to the engineers to design two piece oil pans to provide twice as many opportunities for leaks.

Ray, you are a ray of sunshine in a world of people, who for the most part, hate their jobs. Your upbeat intro telling us that you're glad to be where you are is so refreshing and encouraging. The reality TV car guys who moan and complain about having to do their jobs - e.g. cutting out parts of a rusty frame and replacing it with new metal - just show an absolute hatred for their jobs. It's as if they're not getting paid for doing their jobs. And that's why I rarely ever watch their shows any more. Your attitude, on the other hand, is just so refreshing and encouraging. Thank you, Ray!

Always nice to see Metal replacement parts for oem plastic Parts @Rainman Ray's Repairs

I see your McDonald's training is how most places still train, especially retail and restaurants. Businesses would have higher retention if they'd invest time and effort into their employees instead of holding the belief that a dollar more an hour is enough to counter the stress of being ill prepared for the position.

Good to see you were able to do all the repairs that vehicle needed , nice job !

I notice many of your fans are mechanics like yourself seems like with most professions sharing info has it’s benefits. Having said that I’m a female that watches. I won’t bore you with my experiences but I’m too old to be crawling under for repairs and what I learned was back when that oil was still dinosaurs. I watch just for personal edification and your personality. Just a mighty fine good time. Thanks Ray oh did I mention I “love “ “click” bait lol

You do such a nice job, giving us fans good sight lines in your videos. Thanks.

Love it! Ray I picked up an 04 Sport Trac (174k) last May just as clean and it needs the same job done. I always said I wish I can bring by car to FL and have Ray work on it. I am so glad you posted this vid to keep the Sport Trac's alive!

I've watched a bunch of your videos but this is one of the best. I thought that main cradle was going to need the timing chain cover removed first, especially when you said you hadn't done the job before, but you proved me wrong . Great work, very professional, super editing...and the music was cool too!

Ray , another 10 on quality and content , have a great day and thank you

I don't know how you do this job without swearing. I can't work on anything without calling it names/cursing it. Good for you.

What a nice truck. I haven't seen one of those on the road in a long time. Hopefully, the customer wasn't too ticked at you for showing up late. Also, I love classical music interludes. Great work, as always Ray.

I wish I lived in your area… where I live all of the local mechanics had bad reviews. I go to the Honda dealer for my work because they got 5 stars from most of their customers. I know this is costing me more money but they have never done me wrong. Allows me to see the problem and give very detailed explanations

Reiman, you work on each vehicle with special skill and care as if you are a skilled artist paying close attention to every detail with a stroke of two skilled hands in harmony with successful results. Thanks Mike

I love your videos I’ve been watching for the past three months and it’s helped me decide to go to uti and become a mechanic myself! Keep up the great content!!!!

Great video thanks! Always good to see a meticulous mechanic. Now the underside matches the topside

I still remember the feels, smells and sounds of riding home from the dealer with my dad in 2004 in a brand new one of these, that thing finally went the way of the junkyard with a bad head gasket or cracked head at 270k in 2018, one owner, beginning to end. Pretty solid ride, it was here in Florida it’s whole life, so I know that helped it’s cause

First Petey didnt want to sing it. But then you won his heart, and the song of Petey flowed forth. Nice work. Stay gold.

I'm older but starting a new career in the field and have watched a ton of your vids. I pick up a lot from you. Thanks for doing what you do. You are fun to watch and very thorough and at the same time you don't sweat the small stuff. Thanks again

Great mechanic. Clear and methodical in your work and good that you always take care of the cars you're working on cleaning up as you go along. As always a great video. Have a nice day :< )

I wanted one of those so badly back in the day. Too bad they were still new when I started driving and couldn't afford it haha.

Brilliant job, I like that your meticulous in what your doing and showing how it’s done professionally

Excellent job bud You are a very skilled mechanic Cheers from Nova Scotia

Noticed in one of your videos, you grabbed your jumper leads from the utility box. I roll mine up and fit into a pillow case. No tangles and no loosing the plastic grips. Great for leads as well.

Ray, love your videos, excellent work ethics. Someone actually looks after their vehicle, what a pleasant surprise. I am absolutely horrified at the general condition of all the cars you work on. Does no on-one care anymore, it's disgusting.

informative ...gets the job done the proper way ....and entertaining at the same time.....its the way Ray works .....need more of him

I really wish I had had a teacher like you when I was going through my apprenticeship all those years ago Ray,

Sorry for the long post, hope you see this for potential videos: I am not sure if you have gotten this covered, but it would be interesting to get some frequently asked questions answered. Simple things like what cars have you owned, quality of your cars mechanically (always a myth(?) that mechanics are not the best to buy cars from for mechanical reasons), types of jobs you have worked, how many times you have changed shops (without naming them of course), how long you have been a mechanic, how have you acquired your tools (I've heard many mechanics need to get their own stuff), any special schooling you have done since you were a mechanic, and what got you into doing it as a job. I am sure there are many more questions, but it would be interesting to hear about you. Also, on a slow day, it would be interesting to hear about your personal tools and a walkthrough of what the non-common tools are for so that people can use the video to help build their own toolset based on their needs. I am always finding more and more things I need to purchase for my small setup just to do basic tasks as I change vehicles, as well as finding faster/easier tools I could get to make everything easier (best purchase was an electric ratchet and an impact by far for myself, was always a manual operation person) Yes, I liked my own post to help promote these ideas.

I went and got one of those scrapers and I really love it. It’s nice being able to go either direction to clean gaskets.

Hi Ray You are the best mechanic and I appreciate your tireless effort to teach us. Kudos to you. Keep it up.

For someone who takes such great care of their vehicle, they certainly got the right person to appreciate and continue its care.

Thank you for the shop talk inclusion. Always love a good talk about something random that everyone is into, bringing all involved together. Ours was always in a not so good location, when we were meant to be home weeks prior. Just gotta enjoy the company and the stories, it makes your time much more enjoyable. Everyone in bad situations (or those who could be in a better situation), can benefit from some temporary release from their situation through stories.

I love explorers. I had one for years and I sold it with 212,000. Great truck. Like most engines just take care of them and youll be good to go. I just cant stand people who are like "my car is so shitty it drives like crap", owned it for 2 years and did absolutely nothing to it maintenance wise and wonder why its a hunk of crap. Ill always respect a great honest mechanic. Take care.

When you unbolted the starter reminded me when the starter went out on my ‘92 Ford Explorer 4.0L two wheel drive in a Walmart parking lot back in 2000. It was a change, but I got it done. Ray at least you won’t rust with the oil dripping onto you😀😀. Ray 👍👍

Older Ford's leak. That's the way you check the oil. LOL Nice job slowing it down a bit. Thanks for sharing.

My 2006 Land Rover LR3 has this same engine, and the same leak. Thanks Ray for showing this. Although I'm sure Land Rover did something to make the job harder...

Superb condition, the owner clearly puts plenty of care into it. I'm curious as to what proportion of customers wash their cars before they bring them in? I always wash my motorbike before taking it for its annual safety check here in the UK as a common courtesy but I'm sure many people don't.

Excellent job! Nice u appreciate an owner that takes pride in their vehicle. I KNOW my family owned garage does that, just wonder if any other work I get done elsewhere, if THEY take pride like YOU!

I really enjoy your commentary as well as the work ethic you exhibit. My father worked as a mechanic on piston engines n aircraft. He taught me nothing, however I have learned from your videos. Thanks !

Ray, just an observation but should the upper pan gasket with the extensions on the rear seal, be fitted to the block first? There is no way to see if they slotted into the gaps correctly. Probably not a concern but it would give reassurance that the gasket would not leak. Great vids, a big fan from the UK.

The 4l is a solid motor but that block cradle is a real bolt fest. I had one of those in my old mustang before I swapped it out for a 5l stroker

thank you for this doing my upper oil pan gasket in my garage now. super helpful!

First Job I had was over the summer when I was 16. I went to Vancouver Washington with my dads friend for a few weeks and helped them with their tree business. When i got home I got a job working courtesy at a Grocery store. Now im in the beer business in the warehouse. Been here for 13 years. Good job on the repair Ray.

Good job ray. I think a set of grey pneumatic swivel 1/4 and 3/8 impact sockets would have helped on this job. I have had them for 18 years and use them everyday. They are also way cheaper them the major tool brands.

Does anyone else avoid the title of Ray's videos like the plague until AFTER they have watched? I can turn wrenches and replace/repair most things if I can get a service manual or find a video (if I've never done it before). But what I love about Ray's videos is that you get to take the whole journey with him. For me personally what I gain the most is from his diagnostic thought process! I think alot of people can replace parts, but being able to know which part to replace, that's the piece that separates the amateur from the professional! Anyhow, I do my best not to read the title because I know that 80% of the time it is a dead giveaway as to what's wrong with the vehicle and I don't want to know, I want to get the info Ray gets and then think about how I would diagnose the issue and compare that to how Ray does it! For me, that's the big value of these videos. Keep up the great work, Ray!

I have one of these , same year, same engine. I guess I now know how when the time comes if mine starts to leak. Great job as always Ray

It's nice to see technician take the time to clean up the Mess that was there And also the mess he made. It's always good to have your vehicle come out of the shop nice and shiny on the bottom.

Hope that wasn't coolant dripping at the end of the video. Also I had an output shaft seal leaking on the transfer case on my truck, took it in to the dealer, still under warranty, the "technician" tried to fix it with rtv between the seal and the drive shaft. After several visits and switching dealer, they ended up replacing the T-case as it was an internal manufacturing defect. One bearing spun because the case wasn't machined properly, causing the output shaft to wobble and kept destroying the seal.

When I worked at a Ford Dealership we had a gentleman who bought new vehicles regularly, and he only ever bought these SportTrac Explorers. Really nice dude, very very particular taste in vehicles, he was very unhappy when they were discontinued, but he came back several more times after the Dealership sourced new unsold units that were basically mothballed. I have no idea why he needed/wanted so many but he got at least 8 in the time I worked there.

Enjoyed all your effort in doing a wonderful job on this truck. ☝

I bought that gasket scraper when I had to replace the waterpump and thermostat housing again.. worked great!

Sometimes sleeping through your alarms can be a good thing. It's your body telling you it is too tired to work. If you have a job which requires concentration / care then those extra hours of sleep can be the difference between doing a good job / making a mistake that can kill someone. I was a pizza delivery guy for a while . This involves driving of course. If you are tired and driving you have a good chance of crashing. I was so tired one day that I fell asleep on my upright couch (had been working way too much and not getting enough sleep for weeks) I'm not someone who can sleep sitting up (on planes / cars) but this one time I actually did fall asleep upright. Just imagine if I did that while driving. That would have ruined the day. The shift manager got upset at me because I ended up being 30 minutes late. She had other workers there anyway so no biggie but she tried to put guilt on me. I didn't mention to her how many times she hasn't even shown up because she's been too drunk or sleeping with the younger boss (known facts).

It was very funny to see Ford accidently make a starter that easy to remove! Great video Ray, well cared for vehicle!!

@RainmanRaysRepairs Doing sewer work got real muddy and I used a sawzall to cut out the roots so I would put those plasttic store bags over the tools to keep them clean. I would secure them with a rubber band and it worked really well if you made the hole for the front really small. Works like a charm.

Hi Ray the classical music choice is spot on.

Note I am NOT a mechanic but a follower. But was the rear seal ever replaced before the upper tray was put back up? I would be remiss to mention. Ray I love your videos man, they start my day off right!

Bought one of these for my son when he was in high school. It was not as well maintained as this one. I replaced front brakes and suspension, shocks, tires, and a few other things. When I went to change the plugs, I found out you have to remove the passenger side wheel and take off a little access panel in the wheel well to get to the back plug on that side! Consequently that plug had never been changed. I still say that some engineers should just be throat punched.

Always nice when the job comes out nice and the oil leaks are gone Nice actual clicks see you next time Ray @Rainman Ray's Repairs

As always another great video. I love the content but could you add a note on your vid giving your time spent on the work you do. Keep up the good work, it's nice to see a mechanic showing how to do the work.!!

Looks like by a Ford oil filter, this vehicle has been taken to the dealership for it's maintenance. I'm guessing they gave an extravagant estimate to repair the oil leak. Video is 2/3 done when I made this assumption. We'll see how it "pans" out!

I maintain this is the worst engine Ford ever made. FYI, under the 8 bolts with the big washers on them there are hollow set screws with an internal hex. You are supposed to back them out and then run them up to 2 ft-lbs (finger tight) before installing the bolts through them.

As an co-owner of a 08 Ford Explorer XLT, really happy to see people work on this truck ::)

How easy is to watch you doing your job. My father was a carpenter, and an old grumpy lady told him oh you just do this and that so easily, it's a joke. So then my dad picked up his tools and said -if it's so easy you finish it -and said good bye..i. I'm now an old lady and still love to work around my car.I am always curious and asking questions, learning. Thank you . I love watching your videos. You've got a new subscriber 😁

Why are reverse clicks so satisfying? I first noticed this when I used to work on my own cars as a new driver. Even with small machinery like lawn equipment, reverse clicks are always welcome to hear and feel. Oh, first job was as a doorman at the local General Cinema Triplex. 👍😄

Man, That really long T30 Bolt! Crazy. Love how you say "Shine-nay"!

Ray, Another great video entertaining viewers like I, thanks again.

Thank you so much, I’ve been searching for a video of this process. I have a 01 sport and have oil leaks from the valve covers and upper and lower oil pan gaskets. I’ve always herd you’d have to pull the engine to do the upper but debunked that! Thank you for this!

Fun Vid Ray, My first job was at Sears and Roebuck, in the bike shop. But finished in the Sears Auto Center. Fun times way back in the 80's/90's. Nice job on using Beethoven's "Nice-N-Shinny" in A Minor.

Really love the classical interlude music selection!!!

That's a fun one ray. They arnt that bad. Some hard to reachers, but realy just process. Yesterday I did a 4 brake wheel on a 2011 grand Cherokee. I have a process Down. All 4 wheels all propper prep. And mind you I'm north country. Corrosion. 45 minutes out the door.

Nice job Ray I use to struggle with those rear mains yea im guilty of big globs of silicone in the rear area just because I could not seal it rite without the trans and flywheel being removed no matter how much I tried.

Really enjoying your videos,I Always learn something new.👍🇨🇦

Blew the same seal …and had the same problems on my Explorer S/T…..they tried to fix it the same way …sealer against the metal to no avail……no body could or would do the seal replacement…called 10 recommended shops in Orlando. Nothing…..leaking a quart a week…can’t remember who or how I got it fixed..nightmare …repaired two times…tried to forget…I remember the price….2 k….this guy made it look like childs play… made it look so easy…this guy knows his shit….

Nice job. Loved the musical interludes 😁

Ya know Ray, whatcha need is a set of anti-gravs from the Star Ship Enterprise. Then nothing would drop and you could work just that much faster. Seriously though, watching you work is truly a pleasure. You always take the time to diagnose and repair things properly. You’re lucky that I live out west. Otherwise I would sneak in and relieve you of your code scanner. That is one cool piece of technology.