Work on your own?

Just wanted to see how many of you guys/girls actually work on your cars yourself. Because i dont know much about cars but would definately like to. Like i would want to try the 120k tune up with a friend or two to save the money and learn but i know my pops would freak out. He keeps saying i dont have the tools or dont know what im doing. I dont want to be a mechanic for life i would just like to know enough so i can work on my own shit you know. If you want just say if you do or dont and if so how did you learn about cars...especially our cars.

Yeah, I would like to learn how to work on my car but I'm still really new at this stuff. I ordered the manual CD thing so that I could have a better understanding of what's down there but it still haven't come yet.... My dad knows cars so I figured once I'm outta school, he could help me with all the maintenance stuff and teach me what's going on. But yeah, I'd definitely wanna learn....it's just too freakin' expensive taking it to a shop all the time. Ugh!

Yea, I haven't really needed to work on my car, but my pops is a rachet-head, so I pick up what I can from him and from you guys online.

First off, I definantly think everyone should learn to work on their own cars...seriously all you need is stealth316.com, eric gross' page, and vr4stealth.com Those 3 have enough detailed instructions with pics to tackle most any job...however I would definantly recommend you learn how to do the simple stuff and get a feel for your car and its engine and other components before jumping into the 60k tuneup...that is not for the beginner.

i have posted a lot of information about doing my own work on cars in previous threads: here--> http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=301828 and here--> http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=304664 . I'm all about working on your own cars, but experience is soo valuable. Live and learn, learn from mistakes, and don't be afraid to make mistakes. Life is full of risks, so what's to life if you never take a risk? Of course, take it with a grain of salt...i prefer to do as much research/questioning before i undertake an endeavor, to minimize mistakes, but when mistakes happen, and they will, react accordingly, b/c getting pissed and cursing at your tools/car never solved anything.

enough of 'lessons for life' by Andrew... i did the 60k service with the help of stealth316.com, team3s.com, and erik gross's web site. All very helpful b/c of the attention to detail they put in. also, anyone on automotiveforums.com and 3si.org forums will be more than happy to answer any questions you have. I spent a mere $350 on parts for the 60k...got all my parts from thepartsbin.com, which gives free shipping on orders over 50 bucks. so you can find some good deals.

just gotta muster the confidence that you can do it. and someone helping you is always a nice thing. (whether or not they know what they're doing, its always nice to have a second opinion [other than your own] on how to do something).

any questions, feel free to ask...that's what we're here for :)

i have done all of the work to my car with a little bit of help from a buddy of mine who has a 92 vr-4. I even put together my turbos that i have. If you can drive around another car for a couple of months, just go to town under your hood and get to know it under the hood and under the car, and you can do just about anything you want to.

I love working on my car. I do it whenever it needs it (which hopefully is only oil changes!). You take such pride and good care of your car when you put the labor into it. Plus, it saves a ton of money. All my friends know I'm a gearhead and it feels great to come to the rescue of a friend by fixing something for them. And chicks love it!

First off, I definantly think everyone should learn to work on their own cars...seriously all you need is stealth316.com, eric gross' page, and vr4stealth.com Those 3 have enough detailed instructions with pics to tackle most any job...however I would definantly recommend you learn how to do the simple stuff and get a feel for your car and its engine and other components before jumping into the 60k tuneup...that is not for the beginner.


What he said. :iagree:

i think we are all guilty of this. i proudly stand by and affirm it!
.............
YOU MIGHT BE A REDNECK IF YOU WORK ON YOUR CAR WHEN THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT.

oh ya, sign me up, Redneck right here :icon16:

Me and my dad replaced the engine in my car, as well as replacing the transmission twice :( we try to do most the work ourselves, but when it comes to a tune up, we get a dealer to do it

Whats involved in a tune up? Is it jsut replacing the plugs and wires and an oil & filter change?

Hahaha...check the faq, the 60k tuneup part has everything listed that needs to be done

I should have known, didn't know if there was a difference between a regular tuneup and the 60-120k.