# Auto Repair Help



## Spop (Jan 9, 2003)

I'm interested in getting started in weekend automotive repair. Can anybody tell me the basic I should learn to start off with? Also any good resources to study from.


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## johnnyburst79 (Aug 16, 2005)

Get tools, good ones that have a lifetime warranty. Learn to change your oil. Resource wise, get a Chilton manual for your car.


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## Spop (Jan 9, 2003)

Thanks Johhny


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Truthfully, I'd try to find some place where you could work part time and learn your way around. Of course, you don't say how much mechanical experience you currently have, which might change any recommendations.


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## Spop (Jan 9, 2003)

I rather not do this as a job, and I have no mechanical experience at all. I want to just be able to work on my car, and do basic stuff, like change the oil, do tune-ups, add custom parts, and troubleshoot problems.


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## telecom69 (Oct 12, 2001)

Here is a place to start,click on this site and scroll down to read the whole page.its very interesting for beginners so to speak http://www.samarins.com/maintenance/simple.html

Nowadays cars dont allow much DIY I find, the one I have at the moment Ford Focus just about allows me to check fluid levels,brakes etc ....all the rest is run by some sort of computers  this is all very nice of course and cars are usually very reliable these days,but the downside to all this is if they do go wrong it usually means a trip to the garage for repairs and an opening of the wallet,or arrangments for a small loan to pay the bill

In the old days you almost were afraid to go very far as there was so much that could go wrong,plugs,points,carburettors,coils,voltage regulators,distributors,to name a few,all of which could go wrong at any time,and frequently did  you hear people talking about the good old days,but it didnt apply to cars  every weekend at every house that had a car you would see bonnets/hoods up and men working on the latest problems  ....thankfully all that has gone now,interesting though it was for some of us that liked doing it :up:

Reading is the answer of course if you want to learn about cars,lots of books on the subject in libraries etc but you can't beat hands on experience and actually doing the job .....Im certain there are lots of sites on the internet too if you just type car maintenance into Google ...As mentioned earlier in this thread always get the appropriate car manual for your car,they contain all you want to know about it ....


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## Knotbored (Jun 5, 2004)

If you are doing this as a hobby or out of curiosity then get an older car or tractor and play with it. Join a hot-rod or restorer club and have fun.
But if you expect to save money like we did "in the good ole days" I would forget it.
You cannot compete with the service places if you value your time at all. Midas will replace an axels brakes for $110 and a muffler for about the same. Tools/time and shop space makes that as cheap as doing yourself.
But getting grease under the fingernails is fun and accomplishing an auto repair is rewarding, just not in the financial sence.


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## Guyzer (Jul 3, 2004)

Spop said:


> I rather not do this as a job, and I have no mechanical experience at all. I want to just be able to work on my car, and do basic stuff, like change the oil, do tune-ups, add custom parts, and troubleshoot problems.


Oil changes are basic but the rest of your want to do's are not. You will gain a lot of knowledge from book learnin' and actual experience be it yours or someone else's.


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## ff18wife (Jul 31, 2002)

Look into your local schools or adult schools or night college classes for automotive...there will be a fee for the class but you may not have to fork over $$$ for tools until you're really sure you want to get into automotive repair...

ps-hubby is a mechanic...


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## gopher85 (Jan 1, 2005)

Hard to do anymore since it requires many many specialty tools and knowhow. I worked on my own for years and now am limited due to the intentional engineering nightmare they made in the auto industry. Screw up and use starter fluid or other things sold and you can screw up oxygen sensors($100) or worse the brain box. Some vehicles(mini vans) require you to loosen motor mounts just to get at two spark plugs and one person has to use a pry bar to hold it over. Would be nice if you had a friend who is a mechanic you can hang around and watch and learn. It was a nightmare just to change the distributor and cap. What used to take about 10 minutes took almost all day. They make it thay way to make big bucks at the car dealers and weed out old time shade tree mechanics. Even tune ups are hard nowdays.
Good luck.


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## Spop (Jan 9, 2003)

If only cars were like computers, I could probably fix and maintain them. It seems that if you not too knowledgeable about something you lose more money to get it worked on by someone who does.


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## Spop (Jan 9, 2003)

Okay. Someone just tipped my off to a book titled "The Pep Boys Auto Guide to Car Care and Maintenance" by Braswell, E. J. I'll check it out. Thanks.


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