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One of the first times I really did it on my own was this summer with my Saturn SL1. The transmission started shifting hard, then really hard. I guessed that I would need a new transmission, but I was looking for anyway I could to fix it without replacing it. I stumbled up a great youtube video about checking solenoids on this car (posted below) and it showed how to do an ohm test. It turned out that one of the solenoids was bad and I got a remanufactured one for $25. It’s been smooth ridding ever since. I still get quite the kick out of it knowing I did it.
I’ve been working on my 94 Mustang project car. I’ve been able to learn a lot through the Forum here and I’ve taken on projects that I’ve never tried to do myself before. Over the weekend, the check engine light came on in my 08 Mustang Bullitt as I was on the way to a car show. When I got back, I hooked up my ODB-II reader and got codes PO171 and PO174. Checked the codes on this website and decided clean the Mass Air Flow Sensor (tomorrow night using the CRC stuff)(yes, I have a K&N air filter on car)and then reset the codes and see if the codes return. If the codes return, next I’ll replace the fuel filter (62K on car and original filter still on car). And yes, I’m looking for a vacuum leak but I don’t think that’s it. The car was running ok with the check engine light on but did seem to stumble a little at times but not all the time at low speed (or I could just be paranoid about the light being on). If the codes do not return after cleaning the Mass Air but later come back, I’ll go back to a stock (non-oiled)air filter. I feel comfortable doing most all this now although I will get a friend to help if/when I replace the fuel filter (I’ve watched some good videos on doing that but I’d rather have some help the fist time I tackle that). No magic powers yet BUT I do feel somewhat empowered!
The negative side: Once you have fixed something for a Muggle, they will want you to fix all their broken stuff FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
I know exactly what you mean, I may not be the best at it, but for the most part I usually able to spot a solution. Mine also started at a VERY early age of taking things apart and horrifying my parents. Not sure your middle name, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard my mom yell “ERIC ROBERT” because she’d find me with stuff just torn apart everywhere. It didn’t really matter: vacuums, computers, electronics, bikes, THE DRYER (that one really pissed her off). I think it was around 6 or 7 years old that I learned how to figure out how stuff went together. When I was about 8, my dad had me working on lawn mowers with him, which lead to vehicle repair and such. It makes sense that it would lead to me becoming a maintenance mechanic at the beverage plant I work at, working on machines that I’ve never even seen before 2011. We were having a timing issue on a case packer, imagine the surprise for the older guys when the young buck noticed a stripped shear key between a gear and a motor shaft.
This is a bitter sweet subject for me and i can relate however i wouldn’t say its like a wizard with magic powers but i always invisioned myself wanting to be some sort of Diesel drinking machine that was given a simple “fix the car imput and the next thing you know i go over to the car and flip the hood open and with a manner of impact gun noises and tinks and clanks within a couple seconds the engine flies out and another one gets thrown in freshy rebuilt with a few performance extras thrown on, more noises and job done, but at the same time it was done so well and so much quality was put in it the customer gets satisfaction from that…
its bitter sweet because i didn’t make it as a mechanic, and when i was i never got that itch satisfied to fix anyways, i always got stuck on the simple boring jobs and would daze off into dream lala land, loose my tools, but the moment i was given a task like replace a gas tank or a water pump i did the job in a decent amount of time… i replace the parts on my own car because i want along with improving the quality of the vehicle knowing which parts are best for my car even over the GM recommeded AcDelco parts, like BWG and MSD and stuff, the aluminom coolant elbows, i know which parts are better, i know the pattern failures so naturally i find it satisfying to replace the pattern failure parts before they even fail and leave me stranded.
but because i work a stupid POS factory job, i work 6 days a week on average from 3PM to 11PM, right now i am working 10 hour days 5PM to 3AM there is no time to fix my own cars, so if i want to replace a fuel pump with a better unit than the GM fuel pumps that are known for burning out and there fuel level indicators known for failing i cant because for a GM W body car this involves dropping the fuel tank, when i was in school i had time, but now i don’t so i can’t do it myself. if i had a lift my lord my car would probably be on it all the time… to me it is like an addiction, like a drug, but it never really gets satisfied because of my job i work.
the bitter sweet part is i have this gift, ever since i was a little boy of single didget age i would watch trucks drive out of my grandpas driveway and observe the driveshaft and u joint spin next to the differential and know it did something, in middle school just buy observing drawings and reading a little i got a good idea of how the internal combustion engine worked and soon was designing my dream engines, buy trade school i was on the top of my class and i graduated with honors, but being a mechanic kind of killed it for me, i suppose i just had a very bad start, but now that i make $15.50 an hour in a factory i am making good money, i see no point in going back to be a mechanic, i don’t have to pay for tools it seems like you need a new one every day, doesn’t seem like i have a customer breathing down my neck about getting the car done faster when i am trying to put my quality and passionate work into it, people who genuinly need a mechanics help and just don’t have the money for a real mechanic i am here, so in the end i guess that is good enough for me, and it satisfies that fix it drug.
[quote=”ukrkoz” post=111130]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ysGEyW-QC0[/quote]
I think this sums up the feeling quite nicely.
I feel the same way you do Eric.I like knowing how things work.I even notice that some of your ideas are similar to mine.However I seem to have a flaw when multitasking.I’m not organized well.Example,I lost the drain plug while changing transfer case lubricant and never did find it.I had to go buy a half inch pipe plug to fit from Napa.Then I get frustrated and make mistakes.I don’t have engineering knowledge and I feel limited because of that.it helps to know why I’m doing something
Your video are the closest thing to school text that I have been able to access easily.ThanksThe Magic seems to work… I reset the Check Engine Light, cleaned the Mass Air Flow with the CRC stuff, took the car for a long ride…. and no light! Maybe too soon to declare victory but seems to be fixed.
There is magic. The other day I pulled my car into the garage and shut down the engine. Then I began trying to retrieve my wallet from my hip pocket. From that little bit of movement the car was creaking and groaning. I got out of the car, walked over to the work bench, picked up silicon spray, opened the trunk, sprayed all the rubber parts, closed the trunk and got back in the driver’s seat to see if the noise was gone. Silence.
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