how did you guys start working on your own trucks??i want to work on my own truck rather then taking it to a shop the only thing im taking it to shop for is the oil change the ford garage does that (quick lube)..last time i took my truck to a garage i ended up spennding 500.00 on a tune up and oil change..it was a 4.3 v6..all he did was new plugs and wires and he charged me 500.00 for just that..know that my wife works at advance auto parts i can get a pretty good deal on parts so im gonna try to work on my own if its possiable to..thinking on buying a chilton book or somekind of manual....

 

Most of us started working on our own trucks for one reason, to save money becuase we are either cheap, or realize that the $200.00 we save on labor can be put to better use buying new parts.

My suggestion is to get a chilton book for your truck. Go to Sears and get a good set of Craftsman tools, or my favorite Snap-on if you can afford and are willing to spend it. You can buy cheaper tool sets but I can't tell you how many made in Tiwan sockets I have snapped. Start with the smaller things, oil changes, swapping plugs and wires, installing a few aftermarket parts etc. As for major repairs such as an engine overhaul I would leave that for the pros.

Another thing to consider is the task you want to do. Some things require specific tools that you don't have is it cheaper to buy the tool and spend your time doing it or just to pay someone else that has the tool to do it i.e. ring and pinion installs.

 

I started working on cars when I was 14. That was..... well, along time ago. Not emmisions stuff back then. First tune up was on my dad's 67 Buick Wildcat with a 430-4V. That motor made some torque. Well, it did after he showed me how to gap the new points I put in. hehehe

I actually still like working on my own vehicles. That is the biggest reason I do it. That, and the fact I trust myself way more than another mechanic.

Lots of good books out there to start with. Haynes are relatively cheap, and pretty easy to follow.

 

I got a go-kart for christmas when I was 8 years old, and my dad told me that if I couldn't work on it myself, then I wasn't old enough to have it. I guess I've been going ever since...

 

I have worked on them since my first 62 Ford Galaxy that cost me $100 in 1968. But now that I’m older, it is making more sense to get the oil changed at the dealership than me getting up and down off hte ground and getting rid of the old oil. Both of those things are getting harder to do. Advantages of doing your own work: You know what was done, saves money, learning experience, bragging rights, do it on your own time. Good luck and be safe.

 

Well gee you kids I started on a '49 Ford and I still change oil on 6 vehicles and many extented family snow blowers etc. You can learn alot by looking while rolling under a truck.

 

Before my dad taught me how to read English, he taught me to read wrench sizes...

I actually suspect it was so that he didn't have to go back to the garage and get it himself...

But really, when I was 3 I rode my first 3 wheeler, at 4 I was cutting grass on a riding lawnmower, and at 10, I rebuilt my first dirtbike. Also at 10, my dad and I had built about 4 or 5 car engines... So I know my way around a shop or garage pretty well... I learned everything I knew on mechanical and vacuum operated engines (carburators, points, vacuum lines), so I knew not much of anything about these modern computer controlled engins until I came here. These guys know their stuff. I'm still learning, but I can help out on somethings... If you can't find what you're looking for in a search, and don't want to post it, PM me. I'll know the answer, or will know someone who does...


Bottom line is, my dad always told me never to pay someone to do something that you can do yourself. With a little patience, and a lot of skinned knuckles, you'll find great satisfaction in working on and fixing you own vehicles, not to mention a happier pocketbook. I also highly reccomend to get an OBD-2 scanner, either a basic model for about $40 or $50, or one that hooks to a laptop, such as Autotap ($299). It will pay for itself shortly...

 

well i raced motocross for 8 years... started at age 9 so by working on my own bike i picked up some basic knowledge of how an engine works. after that around 16 i didnt have my own car ( if i couldnt buy it i couldnt have it is what dad sed ha) well i shared my moms honda and they sed be careful with it and if i break it i fix it... so after a couple months of P*ss pounding it the tranny went.... ya thats pricey for a 16 year old but once i paid it off i was able to drive again. ever since then i did stuff myself ha. i just worked around with my dad (not mechanically inclined too much) and my uncle in the garage. now that im 21 im in college and full time job ... money is kinda short so i do as much as i can by myself... ps kinda helps i work as a mechanic now but im still learning new stuff everyday.

you just have to fess up and come to the conclusion that you will NEVER know everything about cars.. i dont care who you are you will not understand how every model or every company makes their car, especially since they change every year. i would personally start out by getting a manual and some basic hand tools. my first set was at sears (one of those 155 peice jobbers for like $100) and then a set of wrenches (mainly need metric) BFH always comes in handy for chassis work like BRAKES!!. anyways just go with the manual and when i got my first one i just read the thing like a book even tho i didnt have to do the work. once u get the simple idea of how stuff works u begin to pick it up alot faster. Good Luck with the learning! to working on your own toys

 

Doesn't it seem like working on your own vehicle is FUN when you are doing something you WANT to do (like adding a new mod or part), but when it is something you HAVE to do, like to get it back together sos you can drive it to work the next day it can sometimes get to be a PITA!

My first vehicle was a 1959 year model, so I grew up in a time of REALLY neat cars and trucks during the late 1950's - early 1970's, and when cars and trucks from the 30's and 40's were still plentiful and affordable, even to teenagers. Spending weekeds at the local drag strip was fun, and you could learn a lot about those vehicles before they got emissions and computers. Remember back in late 1960's, when you could just "tie back" the heat riser on GM's like my 1969 Chevelle SS, and even that would make a difference, or it seemed to, or at least everybody was doing it.

I started out by going to pawn shops and junk shops, looking for and buying BROKEN Craftsman tools for like a buck apeice, then going back to Sears and exchanging tham, that was back when they had a "no questions asked money back guarantee" on their tools. I got a nice tool set going that way, some on them I still have, some even still fit my Ford.

In those years almost any car or truck you wanted to drive or own was made by one of the "big 3" and I don't think that a metric sized wrench would have fit anything on any of them...

 

Remember putting a nut and bolt through the throttle linkage on vacuum operated secondaries to make the secondaries open mechanically?

 

Yeah, ya never would have figured that it was actually hurting your performance! That sudden jolt of "power" was great wasn't it!

 

Yeah, I forgot about that! And those danged QJ's.

 

No, it's Jay S, though... I live about 20 miles north of Jax...

Yeah, I never could stand a Q-Jet... I pulled one off a '67 Chevelle 396 (375hp version) and put a Holley 850 on it. Dropped from 14.5 to 13.7 in the quater. I just wish they'd had the Barry Grants around back then...

BTW, when I say back then, I mean late 80's thru early 90's... I'm 27, but my dad was racing in the late 60's early 70's, and that's where my passion for American Muscle came from. I've worked on Camero's, El Caminos, Malibus, Chevelles, GTO's... My dad always hated Ford, but I got hooked on their trucks, and then started messing with Mustangs.

 

You're a young'un. I remember back in the late 1960's we had one of the ex "Dynamic Chevelle" cars (Wally Booth??). Never was beat at the dragstrip while we had it. Always did like that Hurst "line lock".

Had a friend who had an old L/M (forget which) '64 Chevy Nova. He held the IHRA National record for a couple of years if I remember correctly.

You mentioned El Camino's, I had an '81 SS, and a '85 SS. I liked the '81 better, it was a much better built, more solid vehicle. Tried to go with TPI and 700r4 on the '85 but we never could really get it right because of trouble and complications with changing out the wiring harness.

You mention Ford Trucks, my Grandpa had a 1948 Ford that we had in the family until about 1970. I really miss that truck, and after it was sold we used to see it around some in the little town in WV where it was. Grey when we had it, later fire-engine red and all hopped up.

I know that it was only a shell of a vehicle, but I always liked the Ford Rod they used to film "American Graffiti".

http://kathyschrock.net/graffiti/coupe.htm

Sorry to temporarily hijack the thread, just reminiscing...

 

I was prolly 3 or 4 yrs beside my dad under cars. I think that's when I learned what a crescent wrench is.