Do it yourself auto mechanics....worth it?

[Lee]

Wow...great information, and advice.  Thanks so much.  I do already own quite a few hand tools, but I really need to get them organized to figure out what I do and don't have anymore.  Basically I haven't touched most of them since I moved to this house 8 years ago.  My tools are all over the place and my toolbox sits empty in my basement.  I used to have a nice set of S&K tools, but I had a roommate with an MG (circa 1972) ...and those tools mostly disappeared on me. I've got a Sears floor jack and stands.  I am extremely cautious about getting under a lifted 5000 lb hunk of metal....and still very concerned about jerking around on a breaker bar or wrench while I'm under it. 
I've never been to a Harbor Freight store...although there is one about 15 minutes from me. It does sound like a good place to pick up something that will be used infrequently.
I'm hesitant to rent tools, because I might spend hours trying to figure out something that would take a mechanic ten minutes.  Thanks again.

[Monkeyleg]

...you don't end up with a painful reminder that incandescent bulbs convert most of the energy they use to heat.

But burns, cuts and bruises are part of the shade tree mechanic experience.

[Harold Tuttle]

I am getting tired of needing to do something every month on the beetle.

Last weekend it was the emergency brake, today I pushed it out of the way, and the tire sprung a leak.

[Boomhauer]

It does sound like a good place to pick up something that will be used infrequently.

They are also excellent for consumables such as work and nitrile gloves, ear plugs and cheap safety glasses, sanding materials, air hose connectors, decent cheap multimeters, and all the little bits and things you need as far as shop supplies go.

[Tallpine]

It has never been an option of taking it to the paid mechanics for us. We've never had the money. Don't know how to do it? We figure it out.

That's how I learned to tear down engines, and put them back together again so they ran.   

But these days, I pay to have most things done.  I'm getting too old to crawl around under stuff. and when I'm doing softwark work it actually costs me money to work on my own stuff.

But a year ago, GrandpaShooter and I did R&R the 40 gal gas tank on our Suburban.  The gorram 2" long hose between the electric pump and the gas line fell off 

[RoadKingLarry]

It will also help you develop quite the extensive vocabulary of colorful words.

Not to mention the collection of scars on your knuckles to brag about.

I do all my own maintenance and the majority of repairs on all my vehicles unless it is a warranty issue. But, being that my newest vehicle is 10 years old that hasn't been an issue for a while. Of course the old stuff like my Kaiser Jeep you just don't take that in to get something done on it unless you got real deep pockets.
You can also find detailed how-tos for pretty much anything a normal (or even one of us) human might want to do on a vehicle somewhere on the internet.

[Brad Johnson]

I just mentally went through everything I did to the Vic (before it was killed *sniffle*) and have done to the truck, both preventive maintenance and actual repairs.  I figure I've saved just shy of $4,000 in labor expense over the last 10 years.  I've offset that to a degree by substantially stepping up the parts quality over what would likely have been used in hired repairs, so I will say that I've netted prob somewhere around $2,500-$2,800 by doing it myself.

Brad

[Boomhauer]

I just mentally went through everything I did to the Vic (before it was killed *sniffle*) and have done to the truck, both preventive maintenance and actual repairs.  I figure I've saved just shy of $4,000 in labor expense over the last 10 years.  I've offset that to a degree by substantially stepping up the parts quality over what would likely have been used in hired repairs, so I will say that I've netted prob somewhere around $2,500-$2,800 by doing it myself.

Brad

And the pride in knowing it was done right, the vehicle suffered no abuse, and the fact that it is impossible to rip yourself off is absolutely priceless.

[brimic]

Things that I won't work without-Hydraulic floor jack, jack stands, good lighting, and an impact wrench if I have to do anything involving suspension/brakes.

I've found Haynes manuals good enough for most things, Chilton manuals much less so. Good information can be found online .
If you live more than 10 miles from a chain auto parts store, buying a OBDII scanner is worth it. A basic model can be had for under $100, and all cars made since 1996 or so use this system. I went without out one for years, but decided that being a slave to store hours and driving back and forth multiple times to diagnose/fiix a problem was worth way more than the cost of my own scanner.

I easily save $1000/year in repairs by doing them myself, but I'm also very cheap about cars- I buy them with cash and run them until they die or become a nuicsence- I rarely get less than 200,000 miles out of them.

[tokugawa]

After getting universally crappy work done at dealers  - $$$$$ + STINKING PILE OF CRAP = CAR DEALER. I found a very good independent mechanic who is about 1/2 the cost of the dealerships.
 
 Some examples of dealer crap.  I just bought a used vehicle from the dealer. One of the seatbelts had a small defect and it was going to be replaced under warranty. Also a "free" first oil change.  After making the appointment, I brought the car in and waited for the 1 hour service appointment. 5 hours later I left the dealership, and parked the car in my garage. to find out that #1-they cross threaded the oil drain bolt and it is leaking on the floor, # 2, I think they wiped off the filter with a rag and left the old one on, and #3, the new oil sure looks dark.... (and yes I know, this does not reconcile with #1 )
 
 Drove a car in the pouring rain, an absolute deluge, worst I have ever seen. Car started running super super rough, as in barely run at all, was pouring choking black smoke -an obvious ultra rich condition. checked the plugs and spark, just to be sure all ok- so dealer time I told them there was a problem with the fuel injection or controller, that it was running super rich- after charging me $500 for a tune up so they could get it " running"- yeah, right, they then discovered the computer was filled with water.
 
 Anyway- with a newer car, I would suggest doing all the routine maintenance, and leave the more specialized work to a good independent pro. 
 
 
 
 

[White Horseradish]

I've found Haynes manuals good enough for most things, Chilton manuals much less so.

The most infuriating thing about them is that the instructions for removing part X are along the lines of "Remove two 10mm bolts and pull X out", while they often neglect to tell you where exactly part X and the two bolts are located. This is very common for sensors. Factory service manuals have detailed pictures of where everything is, which is why they are usually the size of a good phone book.

Also, I have found errors in troubleshooting charts. For instance, Haynes will tell you that GM OBDI code 32 is "EGR valve or EGR valve solenoid". This is true for electronic EGR valves, which come on two out of three engines available for the car I was working on. My engine, naturally, was the third one, with a vacuum-operated EGR valve. It can still set a code 32, but it sets under a specific set of values for three or four different measurements most of which have jack all to do with the EGR valve itself and usually not related to the solenoid either. FSM had a detailed explanation of how this voodoo happened.

[Lee]

I'm thinking my Jevy....or Cheep is going to be the most "interesting" one.  It's a 1990 (YJ) Wrangler that has a 350 crate motor and turbo trans, and is lifted (but I'm not sure how much). It has 33" mudder tires on it and clears them by a good margin. The motor has a re-manufactured tag with a number, but I have no idea who built it, when, or how many miles are on it.  I plan on getting a Jeep service manual, but I'm not sure about the motor, trans, suspension and such.  I don't know who did the work on this Jeep (the previous owner bought it as is). In short -I don't know what came from where or when.  I am considering taking it to the local off- road builder place to have them check it out and perhaps tell me what is what. I'm guessing they've seen about every off- road configuration there is.

[Tallpine]

I'm thinking my Jevy....or Cheep is going to be the most "interesting" one.  It's a 1990 (YJ) Wrangler that has a 350 crate motor and turbo trans, and is lifted (but I'm not sure how much). It has 33" mudder tires on it and clears them by a good margin. The motor has a re-manufactured tag with a number, but I have no idea who built it, when, or how many miles are on it.  I plan on getting a Jeep service manual, but I'm not sure about the motor, trans, suspension and such.  I don't know who did the work on this Jeep (the previous owner bought it as is). In short -I don't know what came from where or when.  I am considering taking it to the local off- road builder place to have them check it out and perhaps tell me what is what. I'm guessing they've seen about every off- road configuration there is.

I could probably work on that with my eyes closed - which is a good thing because my senior eyesight is one of the reasons that I hate mechanic work now.

[Brad Johnson]

Small block Jeep conversions are common.  Pretty much the best of both worlds - the driveline simplicity of a Jeep with the bulletproof reliability and easy, cheap repairs of the small block Chebby.

Have the offroad shop look at your axle setups, both front and rear.  The 350 swap can put a lot of stress on the driveline, especially spinning 33s.

Brad

[Lee]

I could probably work on that with my eyes closed - which is a good thing because my senior eyesight is one of the reasons that I hate mechanic work now.

You might be sorry that I know that ha ha.  I know what you mean about the eyes though...I'm ignorant AND blind.  I actually took some pics of the Jeep motor with my cell phone and sent them to my pc so I could enlarge and read them ...pitiful I know....but the cell phone fits where my head won't.