Shade Tree Mechanic

[Graymills - Craig]

Hey all;

I'm fairly mechanically handy and enjoy cars as a hobby (I have two vintages). I've somewhat self taught, but by it's nature this is sporadic and limited knowledge. I'd love to learn more about how to work on them, but there don't seem to be any trade schools in Chicago proper (driving to the burbs after work won't work, thanks to insane traffic).

Are there any DIY resources people would recommend for improving knowledge and skills when it comes to working on cars?

 

[Packard V8]

FWIW, watch craigslist for free lawnmowers and other power equipment. Pick up one at a time and use them as free educational projects. The inspection, diagnosis, disassembly, parts chasing, rebuilding, assembly and tuneups are essentially the same steps as on a car. Do a few of these, sell them in the spring for spare change. You'll further your education and gain confidence in your mechanical abilities.

jack vines

 

[jktruck150]

I bought a late model mustang engine for 75 bucks because 'something was bad inside.' I didn't know a dang thing, so I bought an engine building book (from autozone), and took the whole thing apart in an afternoon. Sold it for scrap (found out the bearings were bad and it needed machine work). Scrap yard paid me 60 bucks between the aluminum heads and cast iron block,pistons,rods, etc. I learned a lot just doing that!

 

[May Pop]

We have a shop at Willow Creek Church that repairs cars for single moms and people down on their luck.It meets mon-sat days and evenings. Guys with all different levels of skill work about 3 hours at a crack.All the guys are volunteers. Its a great way to learn and build up speed. We do most all repairs except trans work.We always are looking for more guys to come and work.
Ron

PM me if intrested. The shop is off Irving Park rd. in Elgin. I know its a good ride but worth checking out.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

Best way to learn about a specific make of car is online forums. Then you have to turn wrenches. But the forums will point you in the right direction most times.

 

[srmofo]

Well what do you want to learn. Theres abig difference in diagnostic work when compared to hanging parts.

Eithetway you need to have full understandof the basic fundamentalsof whichever systemyou are working on.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

We have a shop at Willow Creek Church that repairs cars for single moms and people down on their luck.It meets mon-sat days and evenings. Guys with all different levels of skill work about 3 hours at a crack.All the guys are volunteers. Its a great way to learn and build up speed. We do most all repairs except trans work.We always are looking for more guys to come and work.
Ron

PM me if intrested. The shop is off Irving Park rd. in Elgin. I know its a good ride but worth checking out.

Church auto missions are becoming more common. Guy at work here in Atlanta has a mission at his church, they do a full Saturday a month if I recall. Someone even gave them a decent car that needed a bunch of little things and TLC, the worked it over in their spare time and gave it to a needy family.

Very good way to learn, especially if you have a professional tech or two in the group to lead the way. They do lots of oil changes, brake jobs, suspension repairs, stuff that makes a car dangerous to drive if it goes bad, and/or trashes the car beyond economical repair if let go too long. Poor people and down on their luck people don't need a fancy car, just one that is safe and dependable so they can get a job, back on their feet, etc.

Charles

 

[LEVE]

I like the idea of volunteering for a non-profit, it's a win-win for everyone.

Short of that, I'd suggest buy an old short wheel based Jeep, a CJ, YJ, etc.. That will give you all the experience you can handle.

 

[A_Pmech]

Buy a service manual, follow the instructions.

 

[mhm993]

In NY, the local counties run job training centers, known as BOCES. They offer night classes in all kinds of trades, including car mechanical and body repair. I'm surprised that Cook County doesn't offer similar, maybe at a vocational high school.

I'm teaching myself car repair trial by fire style. We have a twenty year old ssm miata, a lift, and the factory repair manual, and I know lots of cuss words.

 

[Shadowdog500]

That voulinteer thing looks like a win-win to me too. Especially if there is a pro looking over shoulders, or at least occationally poping in to check your work and give guidence. You will be wrenching on cars gaining experience at no cost to you while helping others.

I see you are the president of a Parts Washer company. This is a strech, and I dont want to put you on the spot, but is there any way you could make space available for a church or charitible orginization to use to repair cars for needy people. This way the work would be done at your work or home which may be needed with the tight schedule that you must have.

You would be going a good deed to boot.

Chris

 

[MattT]

Buy a factory service manual, follow the instructions.

Fixed it for ya. I picked up factory service manuals and wiring diagrams for my Fords on feebay for less than the price of a new parts store maintenance guide. The wiring diagram books are about the same thickness as a maintenance guide and the service manuals are 2 1/2" thick.

The Ford powertrain manuals are also well worth what they cost on feebay.

You can also find some factory pdf manuals on the web for free

 

[bchee]

I learned some stuff about my specific model car at the junkyard, while looking for a part.
I tinkered around with the junk car a little. Admission is $2 and you can learn at your leisure.
I agree with fixing free small motors that you might find on craigslist.

 

[meissen]

Fixed it for ya. I picked up factory service manuals and wiring diagrams for my Fords on feebay for less than the price of a new parts store maintenance guide. The wiring diagram books are about the same thickness as a maintenance guide and the service manuals are 2 1/2" thick.

The Ford powertrain manuals are also well worth what they cost on feebay.

You can also find some factory pdf manuals on the web for free

That's excellent advice right there. I bought the service manuals for my Camaro and it's a great asset for information.



Honestly, I went from not knowing barely anything about turning a wrench to jumping straight in. My dad and I dropped the v6 out of my car, bought a v8 LT1, tore it all apart, rebuilt it with a new cam and other go-fast goodies, and then installed it in my Camaro. Best hands-on experience ever - plus a nice father son project to boot. I went from not knowing anything to being able to help plenty of others on my website. Even the guys on my site joke around about how I went from not knowing anything to being able to help quite a bit with the basics.

 

[flat350]

We have a shop at Willow Creek Church that repairs cars for single moms and people down on their luck.It meets mon-sat days and evenings. Guys with all different levels of skill work about 3 hours at a crack.All the guys are volunteers. Its a great way to learn and build up speed. We do most all repairs except trans work.We always are looking for more guys to come and work.
Ron

PM me if intrested. The shop is off Irving Park rd. in Elgin. I know its a good ride but worth checking out.

More info please,I may have some spare time.

 

[z28toz06]

FWIW, watch craigslist for free lawnmowers and other power equipment. Pick up one at a time and use them as free educational projects. The inspection, diagnosis, disassembly, parts chasing, rebuilding, assembly and tuneups are essentially the same steps as on a car. Do a few of these, sell them in the spring for spare change. You'll further your education and gain confidence in your mechanical abilities.

jack vines

yeah and when you do a few of them you will be fully capable of working on imports!! same engine I believe.

 

[CarCrafter]

IMHO there is no teacher quite like experience. I am an ASE Master tech now, but looking back at the road I traveled, I never took a course to get started in the business. I took auto shop in high school because I wanted to use the hoist. I always had a passion for cars even at a young age. I think the passion for automobiles will get you further, simply because it will push you to learn. I grew up in an inner city with a lot of crime. My parents' way of keeping me off the streets was to keep me occupied with the fleet of cars we had. They bought whatever cheap tools I may have needed and parts and the rest was history. The first engine I rebuild by myself was out of my sister's Chevette when I was a freshman in high school. I read a lot of books and a ton of magazines and I watched whenever the opportunity was there. I took apart stuff like the others have mentioned and worked on stuff for free simply because I was given the opportunity to. Now don't get me wrong, since joining the ranks more than a dozen years ago, I've had some of the best techs teach me/ show me, just as I have done for the younger bucks nowadays. With the advent of the internet, you can learn just about anything. There are so many more books/ dvds/ youtube videos.

 

[Falcon67]

The best way, from my youth experience, is to go break your car racing on Saturday night, get your buds to help drag it home, then fix it on Sunday so you can get to work on Monday. You'll learn a lot real quick. I got really good at changing clutches, among other things. I now have enough experience to screw up any piece of just about any vehicle.

 

[Tom2]

The best way to learn is to just get your hands dirty. Old lawnmowers are a great start. I'd be willing to be thats how 90% of the people here started. Research as needed throughout the projects. Years and years later your start accumulating knowledge.

Check out some pick-pull / u-pull-it yards in your area. Just take some walks around looking at cars. Pull some parts you think you may need for future projects.

 

[Graymills - Craig]

FWIW, watch craigslist for free lawnmowers and other power equipment. Pick up one at a time and use them as free educational projects. The inspection, diagnosis, disassembly, parts chasing, rebuilding, assembly and tuneups are essentially the same steps as on a car. Do a few of these, sell them in the spring for spare change. You'll further your education and gain confidence in your mechanical abilities.

jack vines

Great idea! Thanks.

 

[Graymills - Craig]

I bought a late model mustang engine for 75 bucks because 'something was bad inside.' I didn't know a dang thing, so I bought an engine building book (from autozone), and took the whole thing apart in an afternoon. Sold it for scrap (found out the bearings were bad and it needed machine work). Scrap yard paid me 60 bucks between the aluminum heads and cast iron block,pistons,rods, etc. I learned a lot just doing that!

Yeah, a spare engine came with my Healey. It's a simple inline 4, so I sat there and took it apart, photographing each step. Great idea.

 

[Graymills - Craig]

I like the idea of volunteering for a non-profit, it's a win-win for everyone.

Short of that, I'd suggest buy an old short wheel based Jeep, a CJ, YJ, etc.. That will give you all the experience you can handle.

I miss my '92 YJ. After 17 Chicago winters, it had what I'll euphemistically call "load bearing floormats."

 

[Graymills - Craig]

In NY, the local counties run job training centers, known as BOCES. They offer night classes in all kinds of trades, including car mechanical and body repair. I'm surprised that Cook County doesn't offer similar, maybe at a vocational high school.

I'm teaching myself car repair trial by fire style. We have a twenty year old ssm miata, a lift, and the factory repair manual, and I know lots of cuss words.

Cook County has some, but they are in the SW burbs and not convenient if you have a job. I'm on the advisory board for one jobs center in the city, but it's CNC/CAD and that sort of thing.

I *am* good at swearing, though!

 

[Graymills - Craig]

That voulinteer thing looks like a win-win to me too. Especially if there is a pro looking over shoulders, or at least occationally poping in to check your work and give guidence. You will be wrenching on cars gaining experience at no cost to you while helping others.

I see you are the president of a Parts Washer company. This is a strech, and I dont want to put you on the spot, but is there any way you could make space available for a church or charitible orginization to use to repair cars for needy people. This way the work would be done at your work or home which may be needed with the tight schedule that you must have.

You would be going a good deed to boot.

Chris

Yeah, I think we could. I'm not sure how to start it, though. Any suggestions would be appreciated, but maybe I'll go to the Elgin facility referenced above to get some idea of how these groups work.

Hmmm, I can see the sign for the "Our Lady of the Tasty Beer Car Clinic" now.

 

[Graymills - Craig]

IMHO there is no teacher quite like experience. I am an ASE Master tech now, but looking back at the road I traveled, I never took a course to get started in the business. I took auto shop in high school because I wanted to use the hoist. I always had a passion for cars even at a young age. I think the passion for automobiles will get you further, simply because it will push you to learn. I grew up in an inner city with a lot of crime. My parents' way of keeping me off the streets was to keep me occupied with the fleet of cars we had. They bought whatever cheap tools I may have needed and parts and the rest was history. The first engine I rebuild by myself was out of my sister's Chevette when I was a freshman in high school. I read a lot of books and a ton of magazines and I watched whenever the opportunity was there. I took apart stuff like the others have mentioned and worked on stuff for free simply because I was given the opportunity to. Now don't get me wrong, since joining the ranks more than a dozen years ago, I've had some of the best techs teach me/ show me, just as I have done for the younger bucks nowadays. With the advent of the internet, you can learn just about anything. There are so many more books/ dvds/ youtube videos.

Nice story. Thanks!

 

[Graymills - Craig]

The best way, from my youth experience, is to go break your car racing on Saturday night, get your buds to help drag it home, then fix it on Sunday so you can get to work on Monday. You'll learn a lot real quick. I got really good at changing clutches, among other things. I now have enough experience to screw up any piece of just about any vehicle.

I'm quite good at the first part. There's a nice dent in the tire wall between 3 and 4 at Laguna Seca with my name on it. Oh, and Midwest Council has unofficially named the red/yellow flag (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Auto_Racing_Oil.svg) the "Craig's on track" flag...

The great part about British cars is that the break themselves, saving you the trouble.

 

[Graymills - Craig]

Anyhow, thanks to everyone. My action items:

1) Find an old lawnmower. Take apart and put back together.
2) Find an old motorcycle. Ditto
3) Go turn a wrench with a volunteer group.

 

[jktruck150]

The great part about British cars is that the break themselves, saving you the trouble.

Had to laugh at that!


My buddy says stick with Honda atvs/motorcycles. Parts are out there, but they are the best, and you have something with resale value at the end of the day. Although, you can pick up Yamaha, Polaris, and Kawasaki ATVs a lot cheaper. Good luck! And as always, post pics!

 

[Falcon67]

There's one more method not mentioned and I've known some that were qualified in this manner. Find a BIG rock, climb up on top, stick your wrench straight up in the sky and shout "I AM A MECHANIC!"

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Graymills - Craig]

There's one more method not mentioned and I've known some that were qualified in this manner. Find a BIG rock, climb up on top, stick your wrench straight up in the sky and shout "I AM A MECHANIC!"

Good luck and have fun!

I've had mechanics where it became apparent this was the limit of their training...

And, hey, found an old mower for $10 on CraigsList. Picking it up this weekend.

 

[Falcon67]

I've had mechanics where it became apparent this was the limit of their training...

And, hey, found an old mower for $10 on CraigsList. Picking it up this weekend.

Excellent. I forgot to add I started with lawn mower engines too. Fun stuff. I was about 10 when I converted my go cart to run on Butane and took the governor off the motor. It hauled *** until the head blew off. Man, those were the days.