Where did you learn about cars?

[TwinsenTacquito]

Nice. I used a crown vic's driveshaft to break 3 breaker bars and a couple rachets. Thank you craftsman. The driveshaft we got after a drunk dude passed a friend on a one lane road and moved back into the lane... but he hadn't fully passed my friend. It was like he did the pit maneuver on himself, he took out a telephone pole, and then the second one took out the car. Totally awesome.


I learned from my Dad, my friends, some books, and the internet. I don't know a lot, but I know what makes a good car and what's useless bullshit.

 

[Squisher]

My dad was OK with cars, but my best friend's dad was where I really learned a lot. Old Vern owned his own tool and die shop, was a journeyman wood model maker, and owned a half dozen houses on his block. There was nothing he couldn't fix and he had every tool in the world.

 

[vshah]

its mostly theoretical knowledge at the moment, from the internet/books, as I don't have anywhere to work on my own car. as soon as i get the fuck out of NYC I'll try to start applying what I've learned.

I learned some from my uncle, some from Haynes manuals, and mostly from the internet.



Heh I couldn't get the axle nut off my MR2...I asked a shop about it and said they only thing they would do is put a bigger bar on it.

So I did. Two broken 1/2" breaker bars and a nice 3/4" (which didn't break) later, I was in business.

holy leverage batman

 

[IcePickFreak]

Mainly from my grandfather. I was wrenching on cars with him well before I was 10. By the time I was 14 I had older friends with cars where we do motor swaps etc. 20 years later and I still have the same excitement for it, although not as much time - well, up until I got laid off a few months ago. I worked in auto body for about 8 years as well, went back to school while I was doing that and now work in engineering (well again, besides the whole unemployment thing right now).

I've been itchin for a project car to mess with lately though, been a few years since I've had a secondary car to go overboard with and not have to worry about it.

 

[AMCRambler]

My father mostly. The rest just by doing it. Haynes manuals walk you through a lot of the stuff you can do on a car yourself with pictures and fairly detailed descriptions. My first car was a 1966 AMC Rambler that belonged to my grandfather. started driving it to college in 1998 and having a car that old, you learn to do repairs on it.

Brakes was the big thing. Learned to do brakes on the four wheel drums on that car. When my parents gave me their old Honda 3 years later I was simply floored at how simple it was to work on disc brakes, lol. Goddamn manual brake shoe adjusters...

 

[exdeath]

holy leverage batman

*Dr Evil*: one meeeeeellyon lb-ft of torque.

 

[SearchMaster]

I agree with this. And I try to remind myself of it constantly when working on the house and doing things well above tasks like repainting the living room.

I agree with this sentiment. I always had a fear of breaking stuff until the last 10 years or so, and have started "just trying" first. This isn't just with cars, it also goes for household projects. This last weekend I replaced the starter and solenoid on my pontoon boat, and tracked down another ground issue...boat runs perfectly now. Heck, there are things I've done better than professionals lately (helped a friend track down a problem with her car, fixed a major electrical problem on my dock, etc.) and that gives a huge sense of satisfaction, not to mention the thousands of dollars I save.

I never had anyone to teach me anything; the best my dad ever did was show me how to change a tire

 

[Possessed Freak]

After an engine fire in my dad's J10, we rewired it. That is where I learned the basics of auto-repair.

 

[PricklyPete]

Books, Friends, Doing small stuff on my car, Magazines, Internet. There is a ton of resources out there.

 

[radioouman]

I've always enjoyed learning about cars. I had two classic cars when I was in college, and I'm a designer/project engineer in the auto industry now, so I get my fair share of automotive edumacation.

 

[Viperoni]

read books when I was small, did a few small things on my first few cars, then dove head first when I had my saturn wagon.

 

[CraigRT]

read books when I was small, did a few small things on my first few cars, then dove head first when I had my saturn wagon.

Yay Saturn wagon.. I still want to find one of those in good shape. a 5 speed SW2 would be awesome!

 

[peez]

Interesting, I'm liking the input here

 

[nakedfrog]

Someone gave me a air-cooled Beetle. I bought a copy of How To Keep Your VW Alive for the Compleat Idiot. I still think the general chapters on how and engine and such are a good read for anyone who wants to learn about working on cars, starting from scratch.

 

[Viperoni]

Yay Saturn wagon.. I still want to find one of those in good shape. a 5 speed SW2 would be awesome!

That's what I had
95 SW2, obviously DOHC and with a 5 speed conversion.
Best 1/4 mile time was 15.3 on a stock exhaust with a ghetto fuel controller (think ghetto Apexi SAFC).

But alas, that car's gone, and I got a way better handling car to replace it.

 

[Howard]

*Dr Evil*: one meeeeeellyon lb-ft of torque.

Better believe it. The only thing left to do is to drive in first with that thing attached.

 

[BlackTigers]

Better believe it. The only thing left to do is to drive in first with that thing attached.

i got an axle nut off like that, actually. i did a clutch drop/stall to get the fast impact needed to break the axle nut off. worked like a charm.

that ended better than when i had a ratchet on my crank pulley, and let the engine crank over too far when i was trying to loosen it. now THAT was bad.

 

[skyking]

LOL, I can picture a ratchet flailing around the engine compartment after she starts up!

 

[BlackTigers]

LOL, I can picture a ratchet flailing around the engine compartment after she starts up!

it just took out my serpentine belt, snapped a 3/8" ratchet clean in half, and dented my inner fender wall...haha. learning experience.

i learned that if you just leave one spark plug connected, you only get enough of a crank to kick the engine over once

 

[jlee]

it just took out my serpentine belt, snapped a 3/8" ratchet clean in half, and dented my inner fender wall...haha. learning experience.

i learned that if you just leave one spark plug connected, you only get enough of a crank to kick the engine over once

Disconnect all the spark plugs and just bump it with the starter..will save you a hassle next time.