I have recently got the DIY bug, and I want to do all the work on my cars. Started by replacing my wifes alternator in her CLK500 (yeah I know, big steps for mankind huh?) I got it done, with a few problems .

But recently I have been wanting to learn how to at least do the basics considering I'm a track guy and dont want to get to the track and have to end the weekend early because of something simple. And unfortunately Neil will mostly be at Road Atlanta and not the other tracks so I'd be on my own. Big thanks to Neil for coming to my house yesterday and helping me learn to change brake fluid and oil while we changed my brakes to the 6 pot kit (so I learned rotors and pads too whereas previously I didnt know jack)


But I guess my question for the DIY's is how did you get into working on your own car?

 

99% of the time I learned by thinking I knew how to do something, then accidently breaking something, and then having to figure out how to fix it.

 

I couldn't afford to pay anybody to keep my cars running when I was young so I fixed them myself. It was either fix them myself or take up long distance running. I used the library for fee manuals and went from there. Now I do most of my wrenching because finding a good trustworthy mechanic is hard to find and I don't like waiting for someone to "get around to it".

 

I've always been a 'take it apart and see how it works' kinda guy... apparently this started by taking my parents vacuum apart when I was 4 or so.

So it pretty much progressed from there. When I got my dirtbikes it was my job to take car of them, prep for races, etc. Dad guided me through a lot, let me figure some things out on my own, until at 12 or so I could rebuild the whole thing practically with my eyes closed.

I took the same approach with cars. I am a very meticulous person with this sort of things and don't think any mechanic would do the job up to my standards. Plus it's just enjoyable and saves me $$ as well. I've learned that absolutely nothing on a car is really all that complicated, heck look at the people who assemble them the first time, not exactly rocket scientists. You learn some tricks along the way, but pretty much just jump in and have at it.

From just fixing things, replacing parts with parts ets. It progressed into some pretty serious fabrication and design work. Mainly engine related but to some extent suspension stuff.

That provoked me to go to school for Mech Engineering. At which time I found out 90% of 'engineers' are math smart but really pretty useless in any mechanical sense and horrible at functional design application. Ironic to say the least.

So now I'm my own mechanic, architectural designer with a very engineering based product line, and do some side consulting work for a couple very well known automotive aftermarket companies focused on mostly turbo applications. Oh and I'm a partner in a business totally unrelated to all of the above.

 

Lots of meth. I just can't ever put anything back together. Sucks.

 

Now THAT is funny. Careful where you point that gun.


My start in wrenching...It was 1984 and I was 17. I had saved enough money from years of working in a bicycle shop and at a Swensen's Ice Cream to buy my own car and pay for the insurance. I searched for a convertible sports car and found a 1972 MGB. For those of you who don't know, the MGB is not known for its reliability. My parents said "It's your money, your decision, and your problem."
It really was a great car to drive, and it gave me many opportunities to experience auto repair. Since then I have rarely paid someone to do work on my cars. I have rebuilt several engines and two 5-spd trannies, and completely restored a 1969 Datsun Roadster 2000 (part of my user ID) between the 1st and 2nd year of medical school. Next was turbocharging a Miata with spare parts (not a kit) including tuning the ecu's timing, boost and fuel maps. The biggest PITA to work on car I have owned is the 3rd generation RX-7, and I had two.
Currently I'm in the process of ugrading to a 550-600whp setup in the 996TT with parts I have collected from this forum, ebay and other internet sources. I'm too DIY (and too cheap) to just buy a kit. Half the fun is learning what you need and collecting it.

 

Mine was out of necessity for most of the period in my life between the age of 16-35. Now days I could certainly pay someone to swap pads and bleed my brakes, but I find it rediculous. I have a friend who paid one of the better known shops in Maryland to prep his GT3 for a track weekend... this consisted of bleeding the brakes and CHECKING his rotors/pads... $500.

Buy a Motiv bleeder and some decent jack stands and jack and learn how to bleed the system yourself. I write DIYs on a regular bassis, and just recently did a full DIY on my SAMCO hose swap.

Buy a manual (Or download it for free from a member here) and take lots of pics of what you're GONNA do before you DO IT! That way, you have pics of what its supposed to look like when back together. Most of all, be patient. Mechanics aren't "that" smart. They've just been taught a lot of tricks of the trade. Those tricks and tips really do make it easy to do a job.

I'm getting ready to swap out my exhaust on Monday and it will take me no more than 2 hours to do the whole job, start to finish.. But I've done it twice already, So swapping another system won't be that hard...

And above all, Search here, rennlist and renntech for the answers before hand.

Mike

 

This is some great info guys, keep it coming. There is no greater joy than not having to depend on another person for something IMO. And it's actually fun to do, especially at first. I find myself trying to find something to fix next. I'm changing the spark pluga on my corvette next, should be fun.

 

Digital cameras and a laptop have cured almost all my fears of not being able to put something back together.

Take pictures of each step and load them in sequence, it's never let me down.

 

Arm yourself with as much info on the project as possible, I have all the manuals on my laptop. A decent set of tools but of course the special one you will need will occur 2/3 through the project...typical eh!

I have been messing around with cars since I was 16, tinkering with making my Mini Van/Ford Cortina in the UK go faster. It started from there to where I am now doing all the mods on my cars myself. Really dropping the motor on these cars is an easy job, 3 hours tops sometimes quicker.

To be honest I do not trust other people working on my car, I know I do a better job because I care about the work I do and If I make a mistake, I fix it right! The closest P-car shop to me is 400 KM away so there is another reason.

Also it helps to have a 95' Maxima winter beater as a backup car if the project takes longer than I first thought...she has bailed me out a few times

Great thread BTW, more folks on here should get their hands dirty even if it is just for oil changes and the like.

 

The german cars are nice to work on. Follow the manuals and take pictures and have a backup plan just in case.

 

Couple of tools I'd personally recommend...

Complete set of Metric wrenches and sockets... Do NOT forget the 15, 16 & 18 in the sets... I've come up short not having those in my range of sockets and wrenches in both Porsches and Vettes.

Torx multitool AND sockets. Seems like these have also become a favorite of the Prosche and Vette engineers!

PelicanParts sells all the tools needed for doing an oil change, including the 27mm socket and the specialty tool to remove the oil filter housing. Also order the copper and aluminum washers while you're ordering the tools... I get 5 of each anytime I order something from PelicanParts. I don't have a dealership close by, so I figure they're cheap enough to have plenty on hand.

A decent low profile jack and some 2X12 boards approx. 3 ft. in length help with jack clearance for most issues getting the rear up in the air.

Torque wrench... Don't scrimp. Buy the best if you can afford it and confirm with your vendor that they can calibrate it periodically.

I'll post more as I think of them... Picks of my shop, before and after soon...

Mike

 

I was blessed with a college roommate whose father was a mechanical engineer. They taught me how to service my car and then we started taking my roommate's car apart. In my 20s I worked for a Porsche mechanic on a part time basis to learn how to fix high end cars. I've never regretted the time I spent there.