Anyone else work on their own vehicles?

JeeperDon

JeeperDon

Member
Location
New Mexico, USA
I was born and raised in Detroit, so it may be a DNA thing, but I pretty much do all my own auto repair. I've had my two current vehicles for 22 and 27 years (so far). I don't hesitate to put a radiator in one or a clutch in the other, and of course the simple things like oil changes. Any other home garage monkeys here?
 

Paladin1950 said:
But when you talk about modern cars with the computer systems and all of that, no way. I take my 2015 Mitsubishi to a car repair shop. I used to do oil changes when I was younger, when I had a Dodge Neon, but those days are long gone.
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Modern? Well my MG has a cranking handle so getting top dead centre is quite easy but I still leave it to a very good specialist, I'm not one for getting my hands dirty.
 
I'm not afraid to try and work on my own vehicles but these days am less inclined and usually take to a certified mechanic for things other than routine maintenance.

My dad was an AD in the Navy (worked on aircraft engines) and every tool had a place and a place for every tool at home.
I was passing wrenches when I was 6yrs old to my dad when he was working on the differential of a '56 Oldsmobile.
9/16ths socket came up missing once and I got blamed for it because I was the kid always working on stuff.
Found out later it was my brother who misplaced the socket but he didn't admit it until it was found.
Dad didn't apologize to me, just reiterated the golden rule to us, of put it back where you got it from and it best be clean.

I have two vehicles I've had so long they're family and I've given them names. "Ruby" the Jeep and "Candy" the Volkswagen Passat.
 
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Back in the 1970s, I got out my big green Chilton's manual, and fixed anything on my car. My buddy and I replaced the rear axle, and we only had 4 bolts left over. Today, cars are like Swiss watches. There's very little room to work, and you have to take the car apart just to get at a part. I'll leave the headache and swearing to somebody else. There's a reason they make the big bucks.
 

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I'm sure Geezer Garage does!
Squatting Dog does!
I think it's WONDERFUL when a man does his own auto repair,
or at least his own oil change.
I drive a Jeep too but don't know diddley!

You're in Albq? I'm just South of you! Howdy neighbor!
 
I've been a do-it-yourselfer my entire life, was a diesel mechanic / automotive mechanic / industrial maintenance mechanic and for the last 30 years a building maintenance mechanic. But, about 15 years ago I grew tired of taking care of everything, started hiring out automotive service on my vehicles. I'll still replace automotive batteries, but oil changes and brake jobs and whatever else goes to the local garage.
 
I used do my own and others for a while, in the '70s,
I wouldn't do any of the modern ones though, I put
water in the header tank of my Renault Laguna and
I had to look at the book to find it, it was on the
bulkhead beside the brake reservoir.

Mike.
 
I’ve often worked on my own vehicle. Including to the point of removing engines so I can strip it down to get the engine block re machined and then me fitting ‘oversized’ yet lighter pistons. And then modifying the cylinder head for improved flow. Then selecting a camshaft with higher lift; longer valve duration; wider valve overlap period. The wider overlap period being for improved combustion chamber scavenging at mid to high engine speeds. Better inlet and exhaust manifolds for better flow; bigger carbs. All for the purpose of producing higher volumetric efficiency and therefore more power.

Changing spring and damper (shock absorber) rates for improved handling. Getting components fabricated for better/improved location of the rear live axle. Changing differential gear ratio to multiply torque to the driving wheels.

You name it, I’ve probably done it to one or more of my cars in the past. I still like working on them, but at times I know there are certain things I’m not able to do due to the expense of some specialised tools. For which it might end up being cheaper to pay someone else to do it. Or at times pay someone else when I don’t have the time to do it myself.
 
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JeeperDon said:
I was born and raised in Detroit, so it may be a DNA thing, but I pretty much do all my own auto repair. I've had my two current vehicles for 22 and 27 years (so far). I don't hesitate to put a radiator in one or a clutch in the other, and of course the simple things like oil changes. Any other home garage monkeys here?
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I've been to Detroit many times. A girlfriend of mine used to live in Grosse Pointe.
 
JeeperDon said:
I was born and raised in Detroit, so it may be a DNA thing, but I pretty much do all my own auto repair. I've had my two current vehicles for 22 and 27 years (so far). I don't hesitate to put a radiator in one or a clutch in the other, and of course the simple things like oil changes. Any other home garage monkeys here?
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Alligatorob said:
I check the air pressure myself, does that count? Even add air when needed.

I do a little more work on my tractor, lawnmower, and chainsaw but gave up working on my cars years ago. Don't see a lot under the hood I recognize any more...
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Also remember that YouTube helps alot!!
 
When I got my first real job after graduating college. I promised I would never work on my own car again. I'm in awe of anyone that knows their way around an engine. Other guys have said, "Yeah, but you build your own houses." But to me that is just a logical step by step process, and not even in the same ballpark, and that was 50 years ago. Today's cars? A month ago, I raised the hood on one of my vehicles. Took me 15 minutes to figure out how to do that. I stared at the engine for a couple of minutes and then closed the hood.
 
Nathan said:
started hiring out automotive service on my vehicles. I'll still replace automotive batteries, but oil changes and brake jobs and whatever else goes to the local garage.
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Yeah, I discovered simple things like oil/filter changes are cheaper at those little drive thru places

Still do simple things like sensor replace, radiator replace.
No room for proper tools to do heavy knuckle busting
I'd much rather butcher wood

Bought my '99 Wrangler new
Over 250K mi
Runs like a top

Got us to town and back when living at our cabin in the mountains

jeep.jpg
 
Paladin1950 said:
What year is that beauty? It looks like a car that I would see on shows like Father Brown.
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Based on a Morris, it's called a Y-Type. Designed in 1938, prototypes built and ready for testing by 1939. It would have been launched that year but the hostilities of WW2 put paid to that. At the end of the war the Y-Type was all that MG had by way of models for production. What I have is a pre-war looking car but it has some quite advanced technology for the era of production. All the things that MG learned whilst making war produce went into post war cars. Mine was made in 1947. I put in an appearance in 1946.
 
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