you can fix it

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » February 11, 2008, 12:07 pm

this is for those of you who have bought a older vehicle like a slick and need to work on it and consider yourself inexperienced in mechanics.

i never went to mechanical school but i can fix just about anything.

the first obstacle is you. you must believe in yourself and that it is not beyond your ability.you cannot be afraid.

the second is reading. i have read more repair manuals on every type of thing than i can remember and try to gain as much info as possible before diving into a previously unknown procedure. good books have complete info and detailed diagrams, beg, borrow or buy all that you need to help. you need professional quality info to do the job right.

third thing is why did it break? i have to take everything apart to investigate why and how it works even if i have a replacement part. once i see whats in its guts and what went wrong i have effectively learned the system.

now we come to tools
i have a lot, but not everything , all accumulated over many years.
these days you can rent just about any tool you dont have or is out of your budget for owning. if you wish to repair things you need good tools. not necessarily snap-on, but made in USA and guaranteed for life are 2 requirements i have.

finally, this is not physics or calculus, it is nuts , bolts and steel. it was assembled in a factory by people , many with no more formal education than you or i, therefore it can be dissassembled and reworked / repaired by you or i if we are willing to take a little time to research and study.

now the last thing
safety and common sense
some things can be heavy, spring or strain loaded and in funky positions to access. be careful and think about the consequences beforehand.

you are always free to ask in the forum or PM me , no question is considered dumb as at one point in life i did not know either but i wanted to and made it so i could work on whatever i wanted.
good luck and happy wrenching.
nothing like the feeling you get after doing something yourself that someone else would charge good $ to do.

Max · Post by **Max** » February 11, 2008, 12:54 pm

Amen to that! :clap:

douglloyd · Post by **douglloyd** » February 11, 2008, 12:58 pm

Got that right. You can spend more time than the professional can afford to. Plus, as Ice mentioned, all that fixing practice and reading manuals spills over into confidence when you DON'T have a manual or much experience. Case in point:

The kids overloaded our washing machine yesterday, and it quit. I've fixed other appliances, but never one this large. After figuring out how to take it apart, then watching it run with the hood off, I managed to get to the problem - loose nuts on the transmission frame where the motor bolts up from the waterpump. No manual or diagrams. but years of wrenching on all kinds of stuff pays off. No repair bill either.

Doug

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » February 11, 2008, 1:09 pm

home appliances are definitely a look , see and learn as none of the manufacturers will give you a technical manual. went thru this with our clothes dryer a few years ago , sears would not send me any diagrams, they said it was not possible for them due to legal reasons and there were no user servicable parts. i went into it blind , looked at the guts and ordered the parts i needed from an appliance repair outfit .
sadly most of the home appliances are disposable items now and the parts may cost more than a new model.

Red62Uni · Post by **Red62Uni** » February 11, 2008, 1:25 pm

iceman you got that right. i hate to read unless its about cars.
i cant tell you how many times i have had a problem with a car and my father digs out the old ford manuals and says well if you got a problem find out how to fix it. i have learned a lot through this. i do not consider myself a mechanic in anyway but there is a great feeling when you fix it yourself and it has taught me so much. my father is there for guidance but his rule of thumb is if you figure it out yourself though manuals and knowing how things work you will remember it better. i agree 100% about questions. i will ask 1000 because if you do right the first time it always better. Quality tools make one heck of a difference.

Phil · Post by **Phil** » February 11, 2008, 1:36 pm

New sig, This is what I have been telling people for years when they look at me like I'm daft for working on cars as a hobby/necessity.

l
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V

"Whitey Ford" · Post by **"Whitey Ford"** » February 11, 2008, 3:03 pm

I completely agree with this and trust me I love working on my truck and learning new things...however I know in my siuation its just not that easy. I dont have a garage and I share a driveway with my next door neighbor so in some situations (like the rear end problem) I cant just start breaking something down and then when I dont have any sunlight left leave the axle, parts, ect. around the front yard. My girlfriend lets me put tools, car jack and such in my bedroom but I highly doubt she would let me sit a trnasmission, rear end, valve covers on the hard wood floor and carpet. So with that sometimes due to space and certain circumstances (girlfriend who is a clean freak) we cannot just learn as we go. My dream is to have a garage and more than 200 dollars worth of tools but till then I may have to just let others have at it. I do have an engineering degree so its not the fact that I cannot learn or dont want to learn but more of a have no place to learn. Im like a kid that owns books but the school is 200 miles away and the bus doesnt go through this part of town.
Hopefully one day I will be able to learn more through everyones else process but till then I will just have to ask those who know.

Mercules · Post by **Mercules** » February 11, 2008, 3:42 pm

What I tell them. " somebody did it. I'm somebody"

Motocentro · Post by **Motocentro** » February 11, 2008, 3:54 pm

Couldn't agree more. All it takes is time.

The best encouragement I ever got from one of the best carpenters I ever worked with was: "I'm not really any better at this than you. . .I've just F*^ked it up a lot more. . ."

:lol:

Never give up, and don't be afraid to admit it when you are whipped - 'cause that's just temporary anyway.

I reassembled a motorcycle engine with duct tape and wormgear clamps down in mexico, rebuilt an ignition on another in honduras and the charging system for a third in the middle of the jungle in guatemala (not to mention various breakdowns in El Salvador and the Bearing replacement in Costa Rica). . .Believe me when I say "anything is possible!" You'd be surprised what a little know-how and will power will pull off.

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » February 11, 2008, 5:16 pm

where there is a will there is a way.
i guess i am like the post office
neither rain nor snow...
or even cold or dark matter much , what needs done gets done.
however, pi$$ing off neighbors is not a good plan, and too much hassle with a gf or wife will leave you without. lucky for me i have no neighbors to complain and my wife is mostly agreeable to my ways.

FORDMANLCRACKEL · Post by **FORDMANLCRACKEL** » February 11, 2008, 5:28 pm

Well said ICEMAN and everyone else.

Lonnie

ras4434 · Post by **ras4434** » February 11, 2008, 7:23 pm

If the worst situation is that I have to pay someone to fix something, then everything I CAN fix puts me that much ahead. If in the end I cant fix it I have not lost anything byu sending it out, but have gained so much. Like Whitey Ford I have a one car (smaller than my F100) garage and the drive way gets really wet alot here in Oregon

Slick Fan · Post by **Slick Fan** » February 11, 2008, 7:49 pm

I wondered where HH's new sig line came from, guess I found it. :lol:

Great post, Ice. :cheers:

Being the only person in my family with any automotive interest, I ended up being a self-taught gearhead too. Other than some of the basics I picked up in high school auto shop, I've never had any real schooling on the matter. I've read tons of stuff pertaining to automotive things through the years & have since forgotten a bunch of it. :lol:

The absolute best way to learn something new is by hands on experience & a little common sense. This internet thingy can be a pretty good source for info, too.

Now & then, I'll cave in & take something to a "pro"...like reassembling a friggin' A4LD tranny for instance. :lol:

Otherwise, I'm the only one that fixes everything I own.

Whitey Ford, I hope you get a garage one day soon, I'm sure you'd enjoy tinkering on your Slick a whole lot more. :wink:

BMJ's 65 · Post by **BMJ's 65** » February 11, 2008, 10:08 pm

This fits so well. the day I turned sixteen(1990) I bought Grandpa's 65 stepside. He bought the truck new in 65 and used it to death. I was fearless with it. By the time high school was over, I had rebuilt/upgraded the 352, gone through the rear end and hung nicer sheet metal on the front from a parts truck I bought near Raymond. I hoarded over every assembly manual, wiring diagram and body assembly book I could get my hands on. I let the truck go shortly after tech school for lack of funds, among other beverage related things. Long story short,,,,,, I get a call 6 months ago from the guy that had the truck. He had done a little work and lost interest. I got the 65 back for next to nothing. So here I am, 10 years later, collecting parts for a frame up resto-mod and scared stupid. I guess what I'm getting at is that is was great to see all these posts reminding me that I know I can do the work, I just gotta brush up on those manuals a bit.

needmoretime · Post by **needmoretime** » February 11, 2008, 10:24 pm

Nice article Iceman!

Everything you say is correct! Now the internet and groups like this make fixing things even more enjoyable.

WK

Rosati · Post by **Rosati** » February 11, 2008, 10:31 pm

I'm with you 100% Iceman. I've learned many things from just tinkering and taking things apart over the last 30 years. Mostly out of necessecity, but more recently just for the fun or to settle my curiousity.
Since I have been a go to guy for many years,
I usually do the work free of charge, but I always MAKE them help. I mean really get in there and do the work. That way, they understand the satisfaction of getting the job done and realize it just ain't as hard as they thought it was.
Just a few weeks ago, this kid who works with a friend of mine had a broken distribiutor collar on his Vortec engine. He was stressing about removing the top of the intake, wiring, hoses, etc and getting the timing back in correctly. We removed everything, I machined a new collar for the dizzy and replaced everything and fired it up in less than 45 minutes. My friend says he did nothing but talk about how easy it was all week after.
His cost: nothing.
His knowledge: priceless.

Casey · Post by **Casey** » February 12, 2008, 2:16 am

This is great encouragement and so true. And goes to show why these trucks are so great because you can figure it out and fix it yourself. I will never forget many years ago working on an H.D. shovelhead, getting so stoked to have figured out a problem only to go to the dealer and be told that they will not sell me the special tool shown in the manual, oh and will not work on a bike that old either! I have the same problem these days with commercial appliances in my pub. I can figure out the problem but nobody will sell me the parts. Makes working on the truck just that much more fun.
Casey

greythorn3 · Post by **greythorn3** » February 12, 2008, 5:56 am

i learned everything pretty much myself also been working on cars for a long time, still have pleanty to learn.. but im not afraid to do anything mechanically.. allot of guys are scared to set up gears.. i find it easy im self taught and installed several sets without fail..

ray

66fordtrucknut · Post by **66fordtrucknut** » February 12, 2008, 6:50 am

Well said Ice, those who know me, know that I'm no mechanic, but when something broke I became one. The internet has become a great source of info. Just fixed my dryer with the help of a appliance repair forum, figured out my outboard problems on I-boats, it's just funny how much stuff you can do when you put your mind to it.
Charlie

oldtrucks · Post by **oldtrucks** » February 13, 2008, 3:55 am

Great article ICE. I to am a self taught fixer. I did apprentice in a body shop when I was just out of high school in the early 60's worked there about 3 years untill I went into the Air Force. I trained at Amirillo AFB to be an airframe mechanic. My real training in mechanics was when I was about 12. My brother and I were "learning" how to drive the old 37 chev pickup and we broke it. Well after dad got over being mad "we" fixed it. He got out the book and made us read it and then he would demonstrate how to do something and then brother and I would take our turns at fixing the truck. Before it was over that summer we had overhauled the engine on that old truck and have been "fixin" stuff ever since.

BMJ's 65

Don't be scared stupid it is only nuts and bolts. Read, read, ask questions, ask questions give me a call if you get stuck just don't be afraid. Figure on about 2 years unless that is all you are going to be doing and you have unlimited funds. Make a plan and take a lot of pictures and notes as you go. When you are finished you will have become fearless and will be able to do anything. Remember that this is going to be one of the best learning experences of your life. Have fun with it.