improving your mechanical skills.

rowanh

Aside from becomming an apprentice what are the best ways to improve your mechanical ability. Is just trying to do things the only way tyo learn?

I can change oil and filters in a car, i have also installed stereoes and done a couple other very basic things like these. Id like to be able to do a lot more but im not really sure how to go about learning. I dont really want to wreck my car trying to do something more advanced than i should.

daedalus2097

Buy a Haynes manual or similar, and when you go to do a job, work slowly and methodically, and only start after you've read everything involved, have all the parts and tools you need. If you get stuck, read it again or ask someone, don't go guessing if it's something that might cause damage... In my experience the best way of learning about the inside of any machine is to fix it when it breaks, and fix whatever you break while you're at it

MercMad

If you had the space you could go to a scrap yard, buy and old car, or just an engine, and tear it down !

Glanza V

buy a fiat

colm_mcm

Glanza V wrote:

buy a fiat

Damn, got there before me (was gonna say Alfa)

rowanh

I quite like the idea of buying an engine and taking it apart and trying to put it back together. Would you need many tools other than a socket set? Where would you get a damaged engine and how could you transport it, i assume they are very heavy. could you put one in the back of an estate car?

I have a subaru impreza, seems there is no haynes manual for it? There is some manual by subaru but it costs a lot and i cant find it to dl as a pdf.

Darragh29

rowanh wrote:

I quite like the idea of buying an engine and taking it apart and trying to put it back together. Would you need many tools other than a socket set? Where would you get a damaged engine and how could you transport it, i assume they are very heavy. could you put one in the back of an estate car?

I have a subaru impreza, seems there is no haynes manual for it? There is some manual by subaru but it costs a lot and i cant find it to dl as a pdf.

Well to get an engine started, you need a starter motor which bolts onto the Bell Housing on the gearbox, so you'll need a gearbox and a starter motor, not just an engine, if you want to see the fruits of your labour and be able to start up your recon engine!

Also, you'll need an ECU and a wiring harness and engine sensors which you can take off the engine fi you know where they are. You'll also need an exhaust as there is at least one sensor on the exhaust. You'd be better off buying an old banger somewhere and taking out the engine and having a go at putting it together again.

Depending on what you want to do, you might need cam & crank locking tools if you are taking apart an engine like a Ford Zetec or a VW Passat, etc.

If you want to strip down the cylinder head, you'll need a valve spring compressor to get the valves out or else a bit of patience and maybe an extra set of hands!

Above all else, use your head and think of your safety. If your jacking up the car to get in under it, USE AXLE STANDS!

If your taking out the engine, you'll need to plan how its coming out and use an engine crane to keep the weight under control and lift out safely without dropping the engine.

Good luck!

kikel

Buy yourself a classic car. Much simpler to learn the basics on and if you have another car you are not always under presure to get it up and running straight away. Sometimes when your learning you need to be able to walk away from a problem for a few hours\weeks.

Max_Damage

The problem with modern cars is that they have so much electronic crap in them it is considerably difficult to do any advanced DIY mechanics on a modern car.

If you do intend on getting a second hand engine, I'd advice getting one from an old Micra K10 (the boxy shaped model). They are incredibly user friendly to work on and they can be got cheaply in many scrappys, and Haynes manuals can be got very cheap from eBay (I got mine for 1p ).

scaldybelt

Anyone know what the evening courses are like for basic car maintenance? (usually available at local VECs)
I've considered doing something like this a few times but never got round to it.

rowanh

I looked into a couple of those but they all appear to be extremly basic. The last and most advanced classes doing things like changing brake pads and the first ones changing a wheel and checking oil etc.

It would be nice if there was a night course where they did intermediate mechanics, i guess it would be kind of expensive and require to much space and resources.

I do have space in my house to work on a car so i might do that, an old micra might be the way to go then, i guess ill start having a look around. Is there other cars that would be ideal?

Glanza V

From what i have heard the best car to work on and learn the trade is an old vw beetle. You can even strip the engine and rebuilt it easily. Only thing though is the price they go for these days.

Max_Damage

Any small cheap car from the 80's would be ideal, as they are very basic and user friendly. One I've also heard that are good to work on are the old Opel Kadett / Vauxhall Astra Mk2. Only problem is they are becoming in short supply these days.

A good spanner set is a must, socket sets too. I usually get alot of tools at auto jumbles, and I have to say, I find them to be of good quality.

Gerry

After bad experiences with numerous mechanics, I do all the work on my car myself. As I've gone along, I've had to fix plenty of shortcuts that were taken by them.
There is a certain "fear factor" involved, the only way to get over this is to get stuck in. Theres a great satisfaction in knowing that the job is done right. I've recently changed the engine mountings, shocks, springs, and some of the suspension bushes on my car, and it was great to see the nct folks find nothing wrong with my work.

I've also done plenty of other work, which would have cost a lot of money at a garage. For example, replacing the window washer mechanism, replacing the window motor and regulator, fixing the cruise control.
These sort of things don't take the car off the road, so theres less pressure when working on them.

Working your way up - changing brake pads is pretty easy, brake discs usually ok also, depending on the car.

Engine work - replacing parts that don't require you to dismantle much is usually straightforward. These things might not be needed at every service, but they aren't too tough normally. Examples - thermostat, fuel filter.

Theres no shame in leaving the really tough jobs to a professional while you build your skills up, you just need to be sure you are dealing with a professional. The good mechanics will offer you advice for jobs that you are going to take on yourself.

Does your car need work at the minute? If so, post up, and people will be able to advise you on the difficulty of various jobs for the diy mechanic.

slipss

rowanh wrote:

Aside from becomming an apprentice what are the best ways to improve your mechanical ability. Is just trying to do things the only way tyo learn?

I can change oil and filters in a car, i have also installed stereoes and done a couple other very basic things like these. Id like to be able to do a lot more but im not really sure how to go about learning. I dont really want to wreck my car trying to do something more advanced than i should.

Buy yourself an old banger for a hundred euro or so, like an old nissan march, then buy a haynes maual (or similar) if thier is one available and then work through it from start to finish. Or far better than that, if you know any mechanics, ask them for a loan of thier notes from phase 2 of FAS, most mechanics I know kept all thier notes. They should have everything from the basic theory on how an engine, gear box, braking system, ect works right through to how to go about diagnosing basic faults and repairing them, to replacing the main parts of a car.

Haynes manuals are good for showing you how to replace parts with minimal tools and equipment, but if you can get a hold of someones FAS notes, and get a proper grasp of how the parts work in relation to each other, then diagnosing problems and replacing parts becomes 100 times easier. If you don't know any mechanics you can still buy text books that have roughly the same info in them.

Ford also make some absalutley amazing videos which show how all the parts work and how they are put together and how to replace them ect for the use of mechanics in Ford dealerships. They are really well made, using CGI to show how things work and all the stuff is applicable to all cars in general, not just fords. Try emailing Ford Ireland saying you are a life long Ford enthusiast and heard about the films from a ford mechanic and would like to purchase them. If you lick thier ass enough they might only request that you pay postage and packaging.

rowanh

Thanks for the info, has inspired me to get an old car, im going to get one with a friend of mine and try to totally recondition it.

I do know a couple mechanics, ill ask them about thier notes, that sounds handy.

In terms of my car i think it does need a couple things done like a belt changed and possibly the clutch changed soon enough but i dont think i would be up for doing somethig like that. Well definatley not changing the clutch. I would not be happy if i wrecked my car and i have been told its not a handy one to do most things on. Though i might try changin the fuel filter on it, is that generally handy enough to do? The air filter definatley needed changing so i guess the fuel filter probably does too.

bjmotors

scaldybelt wrote:

Anyone know what the evening courses are like for basic car maintenance? (usually available at local VECs)
I've considered doing something like this a few times but never got round to it.

ballymun comp deos one. and kylemore college. costs 90euro i think.

Keeks

If you search ebay you can find service and repair manuals

http://motors.listings.ebay.ie/Car-Manuals-Literature_Subaru_W0QQfromZR0QQsacatZ122098QQsocmdZListingItemList

Max_Damage

Here is one for the Micra K10:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Haynes-Nissan-Micra-manual-83-93-parts-mechanical_W0QQitemZ150127737449QQihZ005QQcategoryZ72274QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

A word of advice, it is best to buy the older Haynes manuals (like the green one in the link above), as the newer ones (blue) are far less detailed than the older ones for some odd reason.

johnplayerblue

kikel wrote:

Buy yourself a classic car. Much simpler to learn the basics on and if you have another car you are not always under presure to get it up and running straight away. Sometimes when your learning you need to be able to walk away from a problem for a few hours\weeks.

Haha, and this can sometimes lead to months.....