Being able to change your own oil doesn't make you a mechanic

[jtvang125]

My roommate had his dad come over (3hr drive) to help him replace the clutch on his car. By doing it themselves they figured they'll save some money. He needed it done quite quickly because he needs the car for work and school.

Now for the sad part. It took them four days to do the job and when I say day, I mean morning til night. At the end of the day they look like monkeys. So on the fourth night his dad finishes the job while he's off to work. I'm in bed already by then but not totally asleep yet. I hear him start the car and try to shift...grrrrrrrrrr, ggrrrrrrrrrrrr. The transmission will not shift into gear at all.

4 full days of work and you end up worst than when you started. Sad, just sad.

 

[jpeyton]

Getting a new clutch is cheaper than 4 days of labor. A bunch of idiots.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: jtvang125
My roommate had his dad come over (3hr drive) to help him replace the clutch on his car. By doing it themselves they figured they'll save some money. He needed it done quite quickly because he needs the car for work and school.

Now for the sad part. It took them four days to do the job and when I say day, I mean morning til night. At the end of the day they look like monkeys. So on the fourth night his dad finishes the job while he's off to work. I'm in bed already by then but not totally asleep yet. I hear him start the car and try to shift...grrrrrrrrrr, ggrrrrrrrrrrrr. The transmission will not shift into gear at all.

4 full days of work and you end up worst than when you started. Sad, just sad.

But when they're done, they'll have valuable experience. Sure, it took them a while to do it, but when all is said and done they'll have a new clutch and newfound knowledge, whereas someone who paid to have it done gains no knowledge.

I make it a habit to do everything myself. And over the years, all the knowledge adds up. I don't think I own much that I haven't taken apart.

In fact, I owe my career to my attitude because I learned to work on all my computers by myself. I was taking computers apart when I was 12 and building them for people when I was 14. Now I'm 29 and working for IBM, running a datacenter.

 

[91TTZ]

There are 2 types of people- those who have a thirst for knowledge and those who really don't care. If you sit around watching MTV we already know the category you fall in (not you personally, just people in general). I need to always be learning something or I feel stupid.

 

[sonoma1993]

some of today cars. are such a pain in the rearend to work on, Id take them to a shop and have them do it.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I can do a bunch of stuff myself when it comes to cars but there is no fvcking way I would tackle that job. Tune ups, replacing O2 sensors, brake jobs, headers, replacing shocks and struts? No problem.

Clutch? Transmission? Cylinder heads? No way.

 

[cjgallen]

I've done a motor swap and replaced a clutch. It wasn't that hard (and it was my first time doing it!). Of course I do far more than oil changes on a regular basis and I did tons of research beforehand, plus a Haynes manual helps.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

i'm willing to bet they didn't turn the flywheel andmisaligned the new clutch. there job just got alot more expensive.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'll give you a perfect example. I have a friend who used to be kind of a gear head. He and his brother rebuilt engines and worked on his cars quite a bit. Well, fast forward to years later...he has all these tools, a house and a Suburban with a seized bearing. He decides to tackle the job himself since he has such l33t skills with cars and all. Well, he pulls the engine, tears it all down, has the block bored, machined and painted and proceeds to put it all back together. On his maiden voyage back to work it seizes a main bearing again. Chevrolet charges him another $2500 on top of all the money and time he put into it...

Stupid. I'd have no problem yanking an engine or installing one but I'll leave the rebuilds and balancing & blueprinting to professionals. Same with clutch work and transmission rebuilds.

 

[TriStar]

I'm sure it wasn't fun for them, but at least they tried.

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I'll give you a perfect example. I have a friend who used to be kind of a gear head. He and his brother rebuilt engines and worked on his cars quite a bit. Well, fast forward to years later...he has all these tools, a house and a Suburban with a seized bearing. He decides to tackle the job himself since he has such l33t skills with cars and all. Well, he pulls the engine, tears it all down, has the block bored, machined and painted and proceeds to put it all back together. On his maiden voyage back to work it seizes a main bearing again. Chevrolet charges him another $2500 on top of all the money and time he put into it...

Stupid. I'd have no problem yanking an engine or installing one but I'll leave the rebuilds and balancing & blueprinting to professionals. Same with clutch work and transmission rebuilds.

Rebuilding a V8 engine is not that difficult. But you need to go carefully and be precise with your tools.

I rebuilt my small block Buick 350 including forged pistons, ground crank etc, etc....

The only thing I screwed-up on was the rear main seal. So I had to pull the engine and redo the seal. It hasn't leaked since then (1990).

I learned a lot back in the day. I now work on my 318. That set of 340 "X" heads and headers is looking mighty sweet now.

 

[myusername]

I break something new every time I dive under the hood. Means there's a lot more trepidation and planning prior to actually doing the work (the new parts tend to sit on my living room floor for a couple months before I rally the courage to put them in). I keep doing it anyway.

There's more satisfaction in doing a job wrong and having to redo it again right than there is in shelling out half a grand every time you need a mechanic.

And no, I haven't tackled the tranny or the block yet, but I do intend to bore and stroke myself (well - assembly anyhow - of course a machine shop will do the dirty work). That's probably a good 50k miles off though.

 

[shilala]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: jtvang125
My roommate had his dad come over (3hr drive) to help him replace the clutch on his car. By doing it themselves they figured they'll save some money. He needed it done quite quickly because he needs the car for work and school.

Now for the sad part. It took them four days to do the job and when I say day, I mean morning til night. At the end of the day they look like monkeys. So on the fourth night his dad finishes the job while he's off to work. I'm in bed already by then but not totally asleep yet. I hear him start the car and try to shift...grrrrrrrrrr, ggrrrrrrrrrrrr. The transmission will not shift into gear at all.

4 full days of work and you end up worst than when you started. Sad, just sad.

But when they're done, they'll have valuable experience. Sure, it took them a while to do it, but when all is said and done they'll have a new clutch and newfound knowledge, whereas someone who paid to have it done gains no knowledge.

I make it a habit to do everything myself. And over the years, all the knowledge adds up. I don't think I own much that I haven't taken apart.

In fact, I owe my career to my attitude because I learned to work on all my computers by myself. I was taking computers apart when I was 12 and building them for people when I was 14. Now I'm 29 and working for IBM, running a datacenter.

:thumbsup:
I do it all, all by myself.
So far today I hung a door, replaced a water heater, coached a ball team to yet another win, worked on my website, and fixed a computer.
Yesterday I pulled the drums off the back of my Stratus because they were full of dust and grinding.
Everything you learn makes you a better person.
I'm in the midst of learning CS:Source. I believe that will turn out to be the rare exception.

 

[IGBT]

..rolling around on the ground under a car on jackstands is a drag. Somebody set up wit the right tools and a lift can do it in a few hours..I think your better off with an automatic..I've had sticks and don't think there's much diff in gas milage if your driving with a light foot. Todays automatics are nearly trouble free if you don't do neutral drops.

 

[Pciber]

I changed my air filter last night... that makes me a qualified mechanic!

 

[no0b]

Thus far, I've done oil changes, airfilters, gasfilters, fuel pump, sparkplugs rotor wires distr cap.

Eventualy I will do sway bar, clutch, springs, shocks.

I love Haynes.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I can do a bunch of stuff myself when it comes to cars but there is no fvcking way I would tackle that job. Tune ups, replacing O2 sensors, brake jobs, headers, replacing shocks and struts? No problem.

Clutch? Transmission? Cylinder heads? No way.

All three of those last things you mentioned take no more skill than the other stuff you mentioned as long as you have the correct tools. I would draw the line personally at rebuilding the internals, but even that I would probably give a try if I had the right tools.

When I started working on my Mustang years ago, all I could do is change the oil. All it takes is patience, and researching the procedures throughly before you start...

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I'll give you a perfect example. I have a friend who used to be kind of a gear head. He and his brother rebuilt engines and worked on his cars quite a bit. Well, fast forward to years later...he has all these tools, a house and a Suburban with a seized bearing. He decides to tackle the job himself since he has such l33t skills with cars and all. Well, he pulls the engine, tears it all down, has the block bored, machined and painted and proceeds to put it all back together. On his maiden voyage back to work it seizes a main bearing again. Chevrolet charges him another $2500 on top of all the money and time he put into it...

Stupid. I'd have no problem yanking an engine or installing one but I'll leave the rebuilds and balancing & blueprinting to professionals. Same with clutch work and transmission rebuilds.

Again, it may seem "stupid" to you, and he maybe should have been more careful with his work, but at least he gained valuable experience, and I bet he wouldn't do whatever he did wrong again.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
I can do a bunch of stuff myself when it comes to cars but there is no fvcking way I would tackle that job. Tune ups, replacing O2 sensors, brake jobs, headers, replacing shocks and struts? No problem.

Clutch? Transmission? Cylinder heads? No way.

What the fvck is so hard about a simple clutch? Even the "nightmare" clutch on the 944 isn't bad at all if you have the space to get around under the car. Just takes a weekend to do if you don't have a hydraulic lift.

ZV

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Stupid. I'd have no problem yanking an engine or installing one but I'll leave the rebuilds and balancing & blueprinting to professionals. Same with clutch work and transmission rebuilds.

At least you know your abilities and know that you're not capable of doing that. But some of us are professionals (or have professionals in the family).

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

What the fvck is so hard about a simple clutch? Even the "nightmare" clutch on the 944 isn't bad at all if you have the space to get around under the car. Just takes a weekend to do if you don't have a hydraulic lift.

ZV

Some people have little to no mechanical ability and think that nobody else does, either. They think that tasks such as changing a clutch or rebuilding a motor are out of the reach of everyone but a pro.

 

[Zebo]

I can do that in less than half a day, I swapped a hydrolocked diesel in my F350 in a day.. Love it!

I'm an engineer but if I could choose any other career I think it would be a mechanic, working with tools, fixing things is cool....or interstate truck driver since these brats around here drive me nuts at times.

All it takes is patience, and researching the procedures throughly before you start...

I never researched anything. Some people are mechanically inclined you know, I'm one of them. Wether fiberglass patching my boat or building a barn I don't read anything. (on principle)

 

[Crucial]

I have rebuilt a motor, changed heads, valves, springs, intakes, and carburators. Rebuilt the front suspension on 2 cars, changed shocks, springs and exhaust. Swapped water pumps, fuel pumps, distributors, clutches and done complete brake jobs on multiple cars. Replaced stereos and windows lift motors and painted a complete motorcycle. All in the garage with no lift and a decent set of tools.

I got all the training I needed from my dad. It does take some natural ability but patience and a good service manual will get you far. I am lucky in that I have a natural ability when it comes to mechanical things.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: Crucial


I got all the training I needed from my dad. It does take some natural ability but patience and a good service manual will get you far. I am lucky in that I have a natural ability when it comes to mechanical things.

:thumbsup:

Same here.

 

[Quasmo]

I replaced a fuse for my glove compartment light... when do I get to start rebuilding my own transmission?