Thao Auto Repair Auto repair & auto body · San Diego
Service desk(619) 640-4606 Book a slot
Bring this in Oil change $45 · full synthetic $60

Bring this in

Oil change

Conventional$45up to 5 qt
Full synthetic$60up to 5 qt

Plus sales tax and any disposal fee, itemized on your invoice. Not an out-the-door price.

  • New filter, every time
  • Multi-point inspection on the lift
  • Tire pressures set, tread measured
  • Fluids topped to the correct spec
Expires 12.31.26 Thao’s Auto Repair
(619) 640-4606 Call

Expires December 31, 2026. One vehicle per visit. Most cars and light trucks.

Quarts beyond five, diesel engines, and European engines that require a specific manufacturer approval are priced separately — the extra cost may be substantial. We tell you before we start, never after. Some engines must have full synthetic; if yours is one we will say so rather than put the wrong oil in it.

You get a written estimate and you authorize it before any work is done. If the job changes, you get a revised figure to approve.

Home / Services / Engine repair

Engine repair

An engine repair should start with a measurement, not a hunch. Compression and leak-down tell us whether the problem is worth fixing before you spend anything.

A technician working under an open hood at the front of a car
Work under the hood, on our own floor

Leaks get traced, not guessed

Oil on the underside of an engine has usually traveled from somewhere else. We clean, run UV dye where it helps, and find the highest wet point — because replacing the wrong gasket is a repeat visit.

EstimateAlways, in writing
Old partsReturned on request
Machine shopOn site
Engine repair
EstimateAlways, in writing
Old partsReturned on request
Machine shopOn site

Cooling systems

Overheating gets pressure tested cold and watched hot. Thermostats, water pumps, radiators and head gaskets all present similarly, and a pressure test separates them in an hour.

Timing components

Belts and chains get replaced on the manufacturer's interval or on evidence — noise, a code, or slack outside spec. On an interference engine we will tell you plainly what happens if it lets go.

The machine shop is on the same site

Most shops send head and block work out, which adds a courier, a queue and somebody else's schedule to your repair. Here the machine shop is in the same building, so a head that needs skimming does not leave the premises. It also means we can tell you early whether a repair is worth doing on the engine you have, rather than finding out three weeks in.

Thao Auto Repair is on El Cajon Blvd in North Park, San Diego, and has been family run for over forty years — started by Le’s father and run by Le ever since. Most of the cars that come through are from the neighborhoods around the shop: North Park, University Heights, Normal Heights, South Park, Hillcrest and City Heights. All makes, domestic, Asian and European. Repair, auto body and a full machine shop are on the one site, which is why a job needing two of the three never leaves the building.

Book a slot

Tell us the symptom. We will tell you the next opening.

The chat narrows the symptom down with you so the call is short and the desk knows what to pull before you arrive. It will not diagnose your car in a chat window, and it does not book for you — the last step is a phone call, to a person.

Call (619) 640-4606

Where we are

3400 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104

Mon–Fri · 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM

Get directions

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Other services

Everything else we do.