How'd you learn to work on cars?

[BennyBlown2v]

I've always been a builder/fabricator. I learned to solder/braze/weld and cut/fabricate steel and plastic at a very young age. As far as learning how cars work, RC cars helped (was into racing mod class pan cars for a while, then nitro stadium trucks, and lastly nitro touring cars) - but mainly I just dove right in and started tearing cars apart. Once you do something in one car (eg. brakes), it becomes easy to do on any other.

 

[Rickey_Bobby]

You never really learn WHAT to do, It's more of a long process of learning what NOT to do...

 

[SaleenGT2001]

I've always been a builder/fabricator. I learned to solder/braze/weld and cut/fabricate steel and plastic at a very young age. As far as learning how cars work, RC cars helped (was into racing mod class pan cars for a while, then nitro stadium trucks, and lastly nitro touring cars) - but mainly I just dove right in and started tearing cars apart. Once you do something in one car (eg. brakes), it becomes easy to do on any other.

same here, except the RC car part. then i got a job at a shop right out of high school. thtas where i learned a LOT! and i have always liked to work on my own vehicles. just learn from experiance and of course your mistakes.

 

[Dan_Soprano]

I learned growing up, my Dad used to make us help him work on the cars, I hated it, but now I am thankful for it.

+1 same here. My dad rebuilds old Chevy's on the side. I grew up building big blocks. Hated it when I was young, but now I would NEVER trade the experience!

 

[tomustang]

Same damn way I learned everything else, by myself with no one to help me

 

[Az Pete]

When I was 5 years old, my Dad had me helping when he and my grandfather put a 1950 Ford flathead V8 into a Ford 8N tractor that originally had a 4 cylinder. (fastest tractor in the neighborhood then) That modification really got me started and here I am 50 years later still playing around with engines. The one mistake at a time works good also no matter how good you are.

 

[mustangman9812]

Both my uncles taught me both ASE

 

[bigcat]

start reading every automotive magazine or book you can. car craft is a good starter mag, because it covers many different brands, so you get a more broad learning experience. read as much as you can, talk to as many people as possible, and try new experiences as much as you can. if someone says they are working on their car, ask to help.

pay attention as you go, and you will learn quickly. if you are around good mechanics, you will learn what to do. if you are around not so good mechanics, you will learn what does not work.

and most importantly, read the tech threads. more often than not, someone has has been through everything already, so learn from them.

 

[Skidzz]

Same damn way I learned everything else, by myself with no one to help me

Do you need a hug? Or a beer?

 

[mineralgray2002]

not to hijack the thread, but how hard are the ase tests? my dad is certified in ase and i-car for autobody, i know he's horrible with bookwork so i didnt know if it was fairly easy or more common sense. he is great at what he does. im interested in getting certified so i can get a job in autobody

 

[02LaserRed2V]

I didnt learn anything. I just randomly choose parts and pay ppl to make my car fast.

 

[thomas91169]

i had a 97 Eclipse GST Spyder before my current GT, which helped me learn mostly everything about modern cars and modification processes. I upgraded many things on that car, a few turbo setups, a custom fmic setup, fuel system. even learnt how to tune it myself and tuning theory from a very good dsm tuning forum and program.

if it wasnt for that car, id still struggle with car mods, now im usually the one at the meets telling other people how things work and what can be done to get the most out of their cars. right now im pretty knowledgeable in dsm's/evo's, srt4's, subies cause of my buddy, mustangs, fbodies, etc. mostly any car people mod on a normal basis ive studied up on.

 

[bdcardinal]

not to hijack the thread, but how hard are the ase tests? my dad is certified in ase and i-car for autobody, i know he's horrible with bookwork so i didnt know if it was fairly easy or more common sense. he is great at what he does. im interested in getting certified so i can get a job in autobody

depends on the test. the automatic trans, electrical and engine performance/advanced engine performance are probably the hardest. im ASE certified in Engine Repair, Suspension/Steering, Brakes, Electrical and Engine Performance.

i got hooked watching all the "mechanic" shows on tv. when i started college, there was an automotive program. i took the intro class and decided thats what i liked. whenever i go to the bookstore i buy magazines and books and just read them. i never throw my car mags away, have a huge stash. i will go back and read old ones. when i was in school i used to go through and look up random stuff on AllData when i had too much time. i would go through and read all the TSBs. i worked at a L/M dealer as a heavy line apprentice. hated heavyline, but i learned a lot. then i worked at a smog referee station, where i had possibly one of the coolest bosses possible. he knew everything and would tell me what tools to buy, what ones worked, what ones didnt. showed me all the random car stuff he had seen over the years.

where i work now at Sears, the training is REALLY good. i went to an alignment school that was 7 days long. 8 hours a day, in class and on the alignment machines with multiple cars. working on cars all day i can say that its frustrating and rewarding at the same time. i hate how i have to shake down every car i work on to find everything wrong. but i also like knowing that i do the job right, and dont cut corners. i am the only alignment tech where i work that will sit there and get things perfect. ive only had 1 comeback ever, and that was on a honda passport where the brake pads we used were noisy. wasnt an install problem, just a parts problem.

 

[XxMustang281xX]

yea, depends what ASE test you're taking...my vo-tech teacher is certified in everything but auto and manual transmissions, he said it was a lot of studying but barely missed any on the tests...just gotta study I guess...

As far as learning about cars..well, I've always had dirtbikes since I was 5..so that helped a little. My dad knows a little, my pap knows a little, my step pap used to be an inspection mechanic..my uncle Troy (yeahloh95) knows A LOT about cars, no wonder, he has a 500+HP 95 GT and did most if not all of his own work. I now am in my 2nd year of vo-tech for auto/diesel, where I learn a whole heck of a lot. But, I think the most I've ever learned about engines and how they work is when me and my friend tore my old 2.3 Tempo motor apart, down to the bare block, sandblasted some stuff, painted some stuff, pressure washed some stuff, and put it all back together. Did it all in 3 days for our senior project. Hated every second of it but now I'm thankful I did it, and now actually ENJOY working on engines.

If you wanna learn about cars get a junk engine, tear it down, and put it all back together CORRECTLY. Teach you sooo much.

 

[mogs01gt]

^^^ I'm trying to learn; I hung out with one of the guys at my job the other day when he put a front mount intercooler on his eclipse. I just try to be around people working on cars whenever so I can get an idea of how they come apart and go back together.

I bought the tools and started tearing **** apart.

 

[04fullitgt]

You never really learn WHAT to do, It's more of a long process of learning what NOT to do...

I couldn't agree more.

 

[bigcat]

not to hijack the thread, but how hard are the ase tests? my dad is certified in ase and i-car for autobody, i know he's horrible with bookwork so i didnt know if it was fairly easy or more common sense. he is great at what he does. im interested in getting certified so i can get a job in autobody

the body tests are pretty easy if you have been around long enough. i took mine right out of WyoTech, but i had been around shops long before that, so i had a good base. the hardest one is the electrical/mechanical because they ask about alignments. i never met a bodyman that did their own alignments.

 

[mineralgray2002]

Yeah i plan on only taking the body tests. My dad is a bodyman and he has to do all his own alignments at the shop he works at. He does all the frame straitening and the **** like that. Maybe i can borrow his books and study them, the testing here for ase is at the end of the month. Ive been around autobody damn near my whole live. We owned an autobody that was about 500ft from our house so i know quite a bit. ive completely redone 2 totalled out vehicles now

 

[BurningRubber]

I grew up with my brother working on his Camaro's so good old V8 muscle is what I was brought up on, and I wanted to be like him so ive always wanted to learn how to wrench.

It pretty much started with my first vehicle, which was a Jeep... so naturally it was gonna need fixing constantly. After taking it to the stealership more times than I wanted at the tender age of 15 or 16, I got some tools and started messing with it myself. I started with putting in an aftermarket intake, and then moved on to repairing it myself and whatnot.

Ive fixed alot of stuff on the Jeep, installed alot of parts and really started to get comfortable with working on it. Then I bought the Mustang, and found that transfering the knowlege I got from working on the Jeep to the Mustang wasnt hard at all. So ive done every single thing thats been done to the car since ive had it myself. The car has never seen a shop for anything, and I want to keep it that way as reasonably as possible.

I love wrenching.

 

[jivepepper]

My grandfather was a jack of all trades. I also had an old hot rodder that had garage behind us, and he would let me tinker around.

Plus the Internet of course, is wealth of info. I have had this car 7 years and I have did all the work myself, and with a little help from friends. I never have bought a repair manual. Here's my mod list and mods I'm working on this winter. This was copied from my cardomain please forgive caps. I think it's pretty good for someone with no official training.


VORTECH S-TRIM SUPERCHARGER MODEL V1 (11-12psi)
MMR MOD 900 FORGED SHORTBLOCK RATED 900 HP AND 8000 RPM
MMR HIGH FLOW OIL PUMP WITH CYRO GEARS
DO IT YOURSELF FRONT MOUNT INTERCOOLER
KAUFFMAN MOTORSPORT TUNED SCT CHIP
PRO. PRODUCTS 75MM THROTTLE BODY
PRO. PRODUCTS POWERFLOW PLENUM
DRIVERS SIDE HEAD COOLING MOD
03 COBRA DUAL FUEL PUMPS AND TANK
42LB FORD RACING FUEL INJECTORS
NIGHT GLOW BOOST GAUGE
NGK B7E'S SPARKPLUGS
180* THERMOSTAT
AFM 4" BOOSTPIPE
SCT BA 90MM MAF
EGR DELETE
MAC LONGTUBES
MAC O/R H-PIPE
MAC CATBACK W/3.5" CHROME TIPS
XTD STAGE 3 CLUTCH
BREMBO DRILLED/SLOTTED ROTORS
ALL NEW BEARING, SEALS, AND SHIMS
COBRA BRAKE UPGRADE
HAWK HPS BRAKE PADS
KYB SHOCKS/STRUTS
NEW FRONT SPRINGS.

This winter's mods:
DUAL SVT FOCUS PUMPS
03, 31, SPLINE EXPLORER DIFFERENTIAL WITH EXTRA CLUTCHES
ALL NEW BEARING, SEALS, AND SHIMS
3.73 FORD GEARS
ALLOY USA 31 SPLINE FORGED AXLES
WELDED AXLE TUBES AND TORQUE BOXES
HOUSTON PERFORMANCE S292 BLOWER CAMS