Working on Cars: How competent are you?

[Egg Nog]

So are you the kind of guy who's personally restored entire cars, or are you the kind of guy who still gets oil changes done at the shop? ;)


Personally, I wouldn't consider myself exceedingly good at anything, but I do have a few stronger points. I can cover everything basic, like brakes, suspension, CV joints, fluids, exhausts, radiators, etc, but I'm not very familiar with anything too detailed and intricate. Lots of time to learn, but I still have yet to have to chance to work on quite a few things...

I'm good with body work... filling, pulling, glazing, and a bit of experience with fibreglass. I suppose that fabrication/welding is my forté more than anything else... I've had a ton of experience with it on my car and a couple of others over the past few years...


Anyway, what about you guys?

[crisis]

With respect to body work, zilch. You are lucky as the smallest scratch or dent can cost a fortune to repair. I used to work on my cars in a general maintainence way. Also fitting exhausts, suspension, stereos ( my favorite), fiddling with carbies etc. When I first got a comany car I didnt have to any more. Since then I send both my cars ( not company cars anymore ) to my brother in law who runs a service centre. He doest charge me much and has all the right gear which leaves me time for more leisurly duties as well as building fvcking pergolas. Which is finished by the way.

[bloggs]

I'm a qualified motor mechanic, but I started my trade way back in Feb 1970, so anything after about 1985, I'm lost, as I did not continue in the motor trade. Now I send my car out to be serviced. But I still like looking at the new stuff, and am always interested in motors, etc..

[Suka]

I am fairly good since i built the Libra with my Dad, if anything happens the the bodywork though we send it to me dads mate who can take a mould and make a new fibre glass panel.

[henk4]

which leaves me time for more leisurly duties as well as building fvcking pergolas. Which is finished by the way.

So we need that picture urgently, (proof of ownership it seems to be called) and you can watch Malaysia!

[henk4]

Absolutely incompetent, I was able to change a light bulb, until they make you dismantle half of the car to do so. I can change a tyre, apply snow chains, check the fluid levels, and drive the car to my service station when it's due for service. This is no guarantee for safe activities though as during a recent change of the timebelt a trainee working on the rear wiper erroneously started the engine, causing "a certain amount" of damage.
Even if I could say change a head gasket I don't have the electronic devices necessary to put an engine back in full operation.
One day when I fully retire I might want to buy a car for a hobby (and not for the purpose of transportation) and a good starter would be the 2CV, which can be easily maintained even by the greatest dummy. It's fun to drive too, although other forum members seem to disaggree, (not based on previous experience I suppose)

[fpv_gtho]

i'm more of the dismantling type i guess you could say. the latest it seems ive been doing is oil and filter changes on my dads 80 series landcruiser, the only fun of it being hes got a hoise in his garage so of course hes always putting cars on that to work on them. not too long ago though i pulled apart the old engine from it after the turbo killed it and salvaged the head pretty much. apart from that i havent really had much of a chance to do any constructive work on cars

[Matra et Alpine]

I'd say I was pretty competent.
My Dad rebuilt and serviced all his cars and I was brought up helping.
I've always owned 'interesting' cars and service/repaired them myself.
In the last 10 years I've concentrated on restoration and running of my Matra Bagheera's.
Modern engines with their complex electronics are going to make this difficult in the future with my A610, but I'm about to do a complete engine strip and rebuild on it. Hardest problem is finding the special workshop tools that again modern cars seem to need to do anything :(
In the last few years I've helped friend built kit cars - Locost, Stryka, Rossa - and an MGB GT prep for post-historic rallying.
Along the way, I've learned most of the skill necessary and had to build a few parts from scratch with the help of other friends with engineering tools -lathes, milling, punch.
My dream would be to get a decent lathe/milling machine into my workshop and become independant in remanufacturing those hard to get parts. Maybe a wee business for my retirement :)

[NoOne]

I'm fairly competent mechanically at least with the older cars. I don't do anything electronic ... that's my brother's forte including stereo installation, I know 2 things about electricity: its invisible and it bites ;) . Body work I'm a butcher, again that's my brother's dept.
I used to enjoy basic maintenance, but between work and family time it became more of a chore, I have a friend with a service station who charges me about the same for an oil change/front end lube as it would cost for me to do it myself and you can't beat the convenience.
I hope that when the kids get older, and I get back on to day shifts, I will be able to get back into the dirtier side of cars.

[kiwitt]

I have cahnged oil in the old days. But with all the electronics diagnostics equipment, I now leave it to the experts. Also, with the complexity of cars, these days, getting it wrong can be costly.

[MrVette83]

I'm currently enrolled at Nashville Auto-Diesel College in Nashville, TN. I won't say I'm completely competant at everything, but I'm learning.

[Mustang]

but I'm learning.

me to ive been messing round taking cars and engines apart since i was bout 12, soon i am hoping to buy a cheap car and make it into a stock car.

[henk4]

me to ive been messing round taking cars and engines apart since i was bout 12,

That's normally not the problem, but how good are you putting things back together in working order? :)

[Mustang]

That's normally not the problem, but how good are you putting things back together in working order? :)

well thats the problem tht i am trying to overcome, see i am still only 15 and things tend to get lost so there fore wont fit back together. but i am working on that.(loosing things and getting them to work when they are put back together).

[ace]

13 years trade experience paint and panel beating I now drive and maintain heavy machinery and when I was younger my old man had a mechanics shop (car’s and bikes) I do almost every thing from oil change to complete reseration's on old car's I don’t have the tool's or knowledge for electronic injection (wish I did and a dyno to) :cool:

[crisis]

So we need that picture urgently, (proof of ownership it seems to be called) and you can watch Malaysia!
OK , I'll organise it. Do I need to pin a note to it al la Egg Nog stlye? It has no gear shift.
I'll be checking out the first round of the Aussie V8 supercars which is on over the weekend in Adelaide. Didnt get a ticket this year as I wasnt sure if I would be free. It seems ALL of my mates have scored free corporate facilities of some kind for various days. Got to change the business Im in.

[Matt]

I've never even changed my own oil. Pathetic.

[henk4]

I've never even changed my own oil. Pathetic.

Not so bad, at least then it will be disposed off in an environmentally correct manner.

[Misho]

do we need to change the car's oil ?!!! :confused:

[Doza]

do we need to change the car's oil ?!!! :confused:
ROFL. Only if you plan to have it past 50K miles.

[henk4]

do we need to change the car's oil ?!!! :confused:


not necessarily, if you drive a BMW just add a litre every 1000 km.

[Zambia]

I live in Ireland and have no garage , if i was to work on the car myself I would either drown or freeze to death between august and June

lots of love from dublin ( the only place summer falls on a tuesday!)

[crisis]

do we need to change the car's oil ?!!! :confused:
I knew a guy who never changed, or had anyone else change his oil in a 308 Holden. He used to replace the oil that it leaked or burned. His theory was that the oil filter would keep the oil like new. Eventually he would have sold that heap to some poor schmuck.

[Misho]

[QUOTE=Zambia]I live in Ireland[QUOTE]

so u live in Ireland and your name is Zambia ?? that needs a bit of clarification ! :)

[Misho]

and i hope you all know i was just fooling around with the oil change thing. a good question though, would be how often is it safe enough to change ur oil. a friend of mine (a mechanical engineer) tells me that with synthetic oils, like Mobil1, you can change every 25,000 kms under normal driving conditions. other people do it every 3,000 kms. So what would be a good range for oil changes ?? I know it vaires on the type of oil, car, driving conditions, driving pattern, weather, . . . how often do u change ur oil ??

[crisis]

and i hope you all know i was just fooling around with the oil change thing. a good question though, would be how often is it safe enough to change ur oil. a friend of mine (a mechanical engineer) tells me that with synthetic oils, like Mobil1, you can change every 25,000 kms under normal driving conditions. other people do it every 3,000 kms. So what would be a good range for oil changes ?? I know it vaires on the type of oil, car, driving conditions, driving pattern, weather, . . . how often do u change ur oil ??
My brother in law and mechanic says that it mainly depends on the amount and type of usage. Lots of stop starts and heavy traffic requiring more for example. Despite longer intervals prescribed by manufacturers he recommends 5000k. It may be an "old school" type of mentality but if you are keeping the car long term, it doesnt cost that much to change oil. Unless its a Landcruiser which need 10lt. Even so I still do it. I wont keep my Commodore much longer that 3-4 years for tax reasons, so someone will get a dearly loved car when they buy it. Also on that just had its 25000k service and not used a drop of oil, for all the Gen 3 doomsayers.

[fpv_gtho]

well those in the knoew about australian cars will know that Holden claimed the bulk of the problems had been rectified for the VY. even still there was alot of claims made even with VY's so its good that you haven't fallen victim

[Falcon500]

Id probly be considerd a true back yard mechanic....mainly because i work in the back yard...and also on my sunny ive used my boot to fix problems on it....my break lights work again :) and my boot also came in handy when i was putting the bumper back in the right shape too so my steel cap boots are effective pannel beating tools too....i actually take care of every other car we own...and i do everything that needs doing on the sunny (despite the fact the best fix would be a match!)

[NoOne]

Speaking of oil changes, a friend of my brother replaced his oil with automatic transmission fluid in an old Pontiac Parisienne (350 cid V8) several yrs ago.
To the best of my knowledge he changes it every 5000k or so and the car has over 600,000kms on the clock, he claims it runs smoother, and only accomplished this amount of mileage because of it, anyone heard of this before?

[ace]

Speaking of oil changes, a friend of my brother replaced his oil with automatic transmission fluid in an old Pontiac Parisienne (350 cid V8) several yrs ago.
To the best of my knowledge he changes it every 5000k or so and the car has over 600,000kms on the clock, he claims it runs smoother, and only accomplished this amount of mileage because of it, anyone heard of this before?
NO and i think he's having a go at you :D

[The Tuner]

lemme see...

ive cleaned out the floor mats, and ive washed ma car twice...no wait! 3 times!

ive cheked the oil a couple of times, and everytime we go desert drivin im in charge of tyre pressure reduction.

and that, dear friends, is the limit of my abilities.

[Misho]

a good question though, would be how often is it safe enough to change ur oil. a friend of mine (a mechanical engineer) tells me that with synthetic oils, like Mobil1, you can change every 25,000 kms under normal driving conditions. other people do it every 3,000 kms.

just a small corrction, he mentioned 15,000 and not 25,000 as mentioned in my earlier post.
i still think thats a bit too much of an interval for an oil change, even if using a synthetic oil such as Mobil1. i personally try and do it every 3K using non-synthetic oils.

[motorsportnerd]

I'm not mechanically inclined. I can of course do the basics such as change tyres and check and top up fluids. The most complex job I ever did was replace a smashed rear quarter window on an old Ford Telstar that I owned. And I've replaced bulbs for rear reserve lights, etc. But I wouldn't even consider doing that on my current car (97 Ford Mondeo).. it goes to the dealer for all servicing.