A Cars forum. AutoBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » AutoBanter forum » Auto newsgroups » Technology
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done?



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old November 4th 17, 03:42 AM posted to alt.home.repair,rec.autos.tech,sci.electronics.repair
RS Wood[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 191
Default What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done?

What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
done?

Mine are, in this order of "I wish I could do it" order
1. painting
2. alignment
3. replace/rebuild engine
4. clutch replacement
5. tire mounting and balancing
6. timing belt
7. head gasket and vcg

I've done electrical, brakes, shocks, cooling systems, alternators,
ujoints, pitman/idler arms & tie-rod ends and ball joints, tuneups,
emissions hoses and sensors, exhaust, electrical components, fuel pumps,
and fluids, but not the six things above.

What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
done?
Ads
  #2  
Old November 4th 17, 04:04 AM posted to alt.home.repair,rec.autos.tech,sci.electronics.repair
rbowman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 159
Default What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do buthave never done?

On 11/03/2017 08:42 PM, RS Wood wrote:
> What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
> done?


Painting is something I have done and wish I never had... The best
paint guy I ever knew was someone you had to catch in the zone between
sober but shaky and falling down drunk. The runner up was a complete
stoner.


  #3  
Old November 4th 17, 04:06 AM posted to alt.home.repair,rec.autos.tech,sci.electronics.repair
Bob F
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 75
Default What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do buthave never done?

On 11/3/2017 7:42 PM, RS Wood wrote:
> What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
> done?
>
> Mine are, in this order of "I wish I could do it" order
> 1. paintingDid it.
> 2. alignment

Bought Firestone "lifetime alignment" for each vehicle.
> 3. replace/rebuild engine

Did it.
> 4. clutch replacement

Did it.
> 5. tire mounting and balancing

I've thought about this one
> 6. timing belt

Never had a vehicle with one.
> 7. head gasket and vcg

On the rebuild - Honda 600 Sedan
>
> I've done electrical, brakes, shocks, cooling systems, alternators,
> ujoints, pitman/idler arms & tie-rod ends and ball joints, tuneups,
> emissions hoses and sensors, exhaust, electrical components, fuel pumps,
> and fluids, but not the six things above.

Ditto, plus a ring replacement on the 66 Chevy van.
>
> What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
> done?

Replace transmission - I did pay someone else to replace an automatic
with a manual transmission I provided, on a 66 Chevy van. Glad I did it
- got 3 mpg out of it and way better performance (repl. power glide).
The shop that did it said "never again.

a
  #4  
Old November 4th 17, 04:08 AM posted to alt.home.repair,rec.autos.tech,sci.electronics.repair
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 931
Default What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done?

On Sat, 4 Nov 2017 02:42:59 +0000 (UTC), RS Wood >
wrote:

>What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
>done?
>
>Mine are, in this order of "I wish I could do it" order
>1. painting
>2. alignment
>3. replace/rebuild engine
>4. clutch replacement
>5. tire mounting and balancing
>6. timing belt
>7. head gasket and vcg
>
>I've done electrical, brakes, shocks, cooling systems, alternators,
>ujoints, pitman/idler arms & tie-rod ends and ball joints, tuneups,
>emissions hoses and sensors, exhaust, electrical components, fuel pumps,
>and fluids, but not the six things above.
>
>What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
>done?

Done just about all of it. My painting left a bit to be desired, and
I don't really like rust repair bodywork. I've installed AC, installed
oversized brakes, totally rebuilt a few cars - engine, suspension,
electrics - the works. I've done some automatic trans work - but never
a FULL rebuild.

What I'd really LIKE to do is build a complete car from scratch - but
after taking 16 years on the plane, and it's not done yet - at 65 that
likely won't happen
  #5  
Old November 4th 17, 05:55 AM posted to alt.home.repair,rec.autos.tech,sci.electronics.repair
rickman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 18
Default What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do buthave never done?

RS Wood wrote on 11/3/2017 10:42 PM:
> What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
> done?
>
> Mine are, in this order of "I wish I could do it" order
> 1. painting
> 2. alignment
> 3. replace/rebuild engine
> 4. clutch replacement
> 5. tire mounting and balancing
> 6. timing belt
> 7. head gasket and vcg
>
> I've done electrical, brakes, shocks, cooling systems, alternators,
> ujoints, pitman/idler arms & tie-rod ends and ball joints, tuneups,
> emissions hoses and sensors, exhaust, electrical components, fuel pumps,
> and fluids, but not the six things above.
>
> What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
> done?


None, I've done a bunch of work on cars in my day, but I'm fed up with it
now. I wish I could find someone who has half a brain who would do a decent
job fixing my truck. It's old and has issues, but the repair people I seem
to find these days fix one thing and break something else.

--

Rick C

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms,
on the centerline of totality since 1998
  #6  
Old November 4th 17, 07:22 AM posted to rec.autos.tech
dsi1[_11_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 331
Default What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do buthave never done?

On Friday, November 3, 2017 at 4:43:02 PM UTC-10, RS Wood wrote:
> What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
> done?
>
> Mine are, in this order of "I wish I could do it" order
> 1. painting
> 2. alignment
> 3. replace/rebuild engine
> 4. clutch replacement
> 5. tire mounting and balancing
> 6. timing belt
> 7. head gasket and vcg
>
> I've done electrical, brakes, shocks, cooling systems, alternators,
> ujoints, pitman/idler arms & tie-rod ends and ball joints, tuneups,
> emissions hoses and sensors, exhaust, electrical components, fuel pumps,
> and fluids, but not the six things above.
>
> What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
> done?


My guess is that most people here have done these things - except painting, alignment, and tire mounting. These things are impractical to do at home. Rebuilding an engine ain't too practical either. I've done it but I cheated.. It was a Mazda rotary engine which can be easily done on a workbench. Some people will try painting at home but they tend to be just bonkers.
  #7  
Old November 4th 17, 02:00 PM posted to alt.home.repair,rec.autos.tech,sci.electronics.repair
RS Wood[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 191
Default What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done?

rickman wrote:

> None, I've done a bunch of work on cars in my day, but I'm fed up with it
> now. I wish I could find someone who has half a brain who would do a decent
> job fixing my truck. It's old and has issues, but the repair people I seem
> to find these days fix one thing and break something else.


My observation with repair people is that it's hard to find one who cares
to do what he was trained to do.

Recently a bolt was missing from a repair job and when I came back to ask
why, the guy told me it didn't do anything.

I reflected that the car still works fine without the bolt, but there is no
way they put that bolt there in the first place if it didn't do anything.

He didn't believe me.
  #8  
Old November 4th 17, 02:00 PM posted to alt.home.repair,rec.autos.tech,sci.electronics.repair
RS Wood[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 191
Default What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done?

wrote:

> Done just about all of it.


You may be the only lucky one here!

> My painting left a bit to be desired, and
> I don't really like rust repair bodywork.


Nobody expects a home job to be as good as the pros, but it still would be
nice to do.

> I've installed AC, installed
> oversized brakes, totally rebuilt a few cars - engine, suspension,
> electrics - the works. I've done some automatic trans work - but never
> a FULL rebuild.


I was thinking manual. An automatic might be too much for a home job due to
the potential equipment requirement. For a manual, all you need is a good
jack, some tools for tight places, clutch alignment tool, snapring pliers,
and everything else you probably already have.

> What I'd really LIKE to do is build a complete car from scratch - but
> after taking 16 years on the plane, and it's not done yet - at 65 that
> likely won't happen


I'm older than you, so I know what you mean that it probably will never
happen. We lost our chance.

I too would love to have built my "own" car, which, by that, I mean I would
have taken my very first car or maybe one of the cars from the 60s, or 70s,
or maybe as late as the 80s, and then rebuilt it "my way", whatever that
would mean, such that it would be unique.

My advice to a kid in his twenties or thirties would be to save the car he
likes best, probably it's a simple one, manual, inline six perhaps, and
then just learn it, work it, and repair it, and make it what you want it to
be.
  #9  
Old November 4th 17, 02:00 PM posted to alt.home.repair,rec.autos.tech,sci.electronics.repair
RS Wood[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 191
Default What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done?

Bob F wrote:

>> 3. replace/rebuild engine

> Did it.


The closest I came to for the engine was an Infiniti Q45 I had where my
wife holed the oil pan somehow (she said it wasn't her fault).

To replace the oil pan, I had to buy an engine "holder" where I unbolted
the engine mounts and jacked it up from underneath and then hung it on a
hook over this crossbar which bolted into the shock bolts.

But I've never replaced an engine mostly because I never drove an engine
into the ground that needed to be replaced. I envy people who have done it
because it must feel great to put a new engine in yourself.

>> 4. clutch replacement

> Did it.


I haven't had a manual for so long that I think I lost my chance to do the
clutch and pressure plate. The one chance I had in the 80s, I blew it by
paying someone else to do it. That was my mistake because that turned out
to be my last chance in life to learn how to do it and experience it.

>> 6. timing belt

> Never had a vehicle with one.


I know what you mean. All mine have been chains, where some have plastic
chain guides or tensioners which need replacing - but I've never needed to
replace a belt - but belts are pretty common on cars nowadays, aren't they?

>> 7. head gasket and vcg

> On the rebuild - Honda 600 Sedan


I may get my chance yet on at least the valve cover gasket as mine has a
few spots of oil on the edges.

> Ditto, plus a ring replacement on the 66 Chevy van.


As in piston ring?
If so, I think that qualifies as a "engine", at least to me, since you have
to open her up pretty deep to get to the pistons.

>> What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
>> done?

> Replace transmission - I did pay someone else to replace an automatic
> with a manual transmission I provided, on a 66 Chevy van. Glad I did it
> - got 3 mpg out of it and way better performance (repl. power glide).
> The shop that did it said "never again.


Replacing the transmission would also be something I wish I had done, along
the lines of putting in a clutch, which is I think essentially the same
thing since the transmission has to come out anyway. In fact, unless it's a
swap (like yours was), I would think replacing the transmission one to one
would be easier than replacing just the clutch, and pressure plate.

I may have lost my chance on most of the things above though, just like I
can't hike in the Grand Canyon anymore (due to being old).
  #10  
Old November 4th 17, 02:00 PM posted to alt.home.repair,rec.autos.tech,sci.electronics.repair
RS Wood[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 191
Default What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done?

rbowman wrote:

>> What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
>> done?

>
> Painting is something I have done and wish I never had... The best
> paint guy I ever knew was someone you had to catch in the zone between
> sober but shaky and falling down drunk. The runner up was a complete
> stoner.


Long ago, in the 80's, at Sears, I bought the compressor, the sprayer, and
the sandblaster, and the welder (but I bought gas welding equipment which
turned out to be a mistake because the skill set needed is great compared
to arc welding on thin metal with wires below them).

Not wishing to merely fill with bondo, I cut out the rust, and welded steel
plates (melting the harness bundle below the rocker panels by mistake but
repairing that easily enough).

I was still working on it, when it was totalled after I lent it to a
friend, so the only thing I have left is the memory and the tools.

What I learned from all that was never lend your car to a friend, and in
the end, I never learned how to paint it because I never needed to paint a
car ever again.

Ever since then, I farmed out my painting, but I wish I had finished that
one job.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Automotive repair information, auto repair data and diagnostics, auto repair manuals, auto maintenance, labor estimating, integrated repair, estimating, shop management software solutions, Alldata, Mitchell, year 2007 [email protected] Ford Explorer 0 May 3rd 07 09:00 PM
Automotive repair information, auto repair data and diagnostics, auto repair manuals, auto maintenance, labor estimating, integrated repair, estimating, shop management software solutions, Alldata, Mitchell, year 2007 [email protected] 4x4 0 May 3rd 07 08:57 PM
Automotive repair information, auto repair data and diagnostics, auto repair manuals, auto maintenance, labor estimating, integrated repair, estimating, shop management software solutions, Alldata, Mitchell, year 2007 [email protected] Saturn 0 May 3rd 07 08:53 PM
Automotive repair information, auto repair data and diagnostics, auto repair manuals, auto maintenance, labor estimating, integrated repair, estimating, shop management software solutions, Alldata, Mitchell, year 2007 [email protected] Honda 0 May 3rd 07 02:34 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 10:29 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 AutoBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.