I am not a car person. In fact I know next to nothing about them. I've decided I want to learn. I want to be able to change my own oil or a headlight or something without running to some man in my life for help.

what should I do to start? are there books out there or websites that could help me read up on stuff. how did you people learn all this stuff you know about cars?

8/11/2011 12:29:11 PM

I am sure Popular Mechanics or something has a book about how cars work and how to fix basic car problems

Once thing i know, TDub garage is NOT a good place to start

Although being a female your chances of success do increase

8/11/2011 12:33:28 PM

well really I was just looking for book recommendations and learn from there. thanks

8/11/2011 12:37:05 PM

Owner's manual.

8/11/2011 1:06:34 PM

1 - buy one of these books for your specific vehicle: http://www.haynes.com/
2 - ...
3 - profit

8/11/2011 1:19:21 PM

^that, and intarwebs.

8/11/2011 1:31:44 PM

Haynes actually is a good place to start. It also helps to look at howstuffworks.com 's auto section.

8/11/2011 1:34:21 PM

Quote :

"Owner's manual"

i don't think she is looking to learn how to operate the stereo and how to turn on windshield wipers.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_33?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=popular+mechanics+car+care+manual&sprefix=popular+mechanics+car+care+manual
to get the general idea of how all the components of a car work together

+haynes or similar manual for your specific car model

lol they even got one for wimminz http://www.amazon.com/Garage-Girls-Guide-Everything-About/dp/1581825196/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1313085576&sr=8-9
The Garage Girl's Guide to Everything You Need to Know About Your Car


[Edited on August 11, 2011 at 2:00 PM. Reason : .]

8/11/2011 1:58:43 PM

Pretty sure they tell you how to replace the headlight bulb... which she specifically asked for

8/11/2011 2:13:23 PM

^^ oh thanks!

and idk my owners manual was kinda worthless. i kinda gave up on it after it couldn't even tell me how to get to the input for the audio system. i mean there's a button for it but it isn't brought up in the manual at all

i googled it and it turns out it's behind the entire cd player/clock thing and i'm not even going to fuck with that right now

[Edited on August 11, 2011 at 2:23 PM. Reason : add fail]

8/11/2011 2:18:28 PM

Youtube and google have served me very well to learn some basic stuff that i had not done before. Most major car manufacturers and models will have some sort of message board that users will sometimes upload step by step instructions on how to preform services. You will quickly find out that it just involves gathering a few tools and following directions.

also some specialty or expensive tools can be had through loaner programs. Advance auto and Auto Zone for example. You just pay for the tool kit and you get all of your money refunded when you return it.

mostly it is following directions and keeping track of what you have done. For example, if you want to remove the radio to get to the back of it, make sure you grab some plastic baggies, a marker and a camera. Document each step as you take it apart with the camera, so you know how it is supposed to go back together and label the parts you take off and store in baggies to keep organized*

*i never do this shit, but there are many cases where i wish i had. Sucks to end up with extra parts and sitting there wondering "is this important"

[Edited on August 11, 2011 at 2:46 PM. Reason : tools]

8/11/2011 2:42:53 PM

Yea that's definitely a great idea I'll keep that in mind when I eventually get around to messing with the audio.

8/11/2011 11:11:49 PM

I had so many extra bolts after my motor swap

8/12/2011 10:22:08 AM

^^ You will be wasting your time taking the radio out. You will not find an audio input on the back of any factory radio. They are proprietary and you will need the manufacturers part to make it work. Your iPod wont just plug in back there. Just FYI

8/12/2011 10:39:47 AM

Quote :

"how did you people learn all this stuff you know about cars"

a series of POS cars that weren't worth paying someone else to work on.

8/12/2011 11:46:28 AM

^^ oh i know that. i wanted to buy an adaptor piece but gave up trying to figure out where to attach said adaptor

^ the car i want is kinda old and i feel will probably need to be worked on constantly so thats kinda i guess the same situation? i just want to be able to fix it myself if it's going to need constant attention

[Edited on August 12, 2011 at 12:51 PM. Reason : .]

8/12/2011 12:51:01 PM

Quote :

"a series of POS cars that weren't worth paying someone else to work on."

I couldn't have said it better. That and I learned a LOT from one of my former employers starting back in '95 or so when I went to work for him swapping engines at night. We worked on a lot of hunks of shit that none of the other shops in the area would touch...and I installed a shit-ton of junkyard engines.

And I have always read a lot...as much as I could get my hands on...starting from a very early age (like 10 years old reading car repair books).

8/12/2011 12:59:08 PM

Things to look out for, bad muffler bearings and cars that have been run with low blinker fluid. Cars with those two issues are guaranteed money pits.

8/12/2011 8:43:29 PM

^^^ yeah.. just learn how to do one thing at a time. it is a lot less frustrating if you have a reliable car and the second car is the one that constantly needs work.

what car did you have in mind? finding something where the parts are cheap and easy to find helps out a lot.

8/13/2011 7:52:01 AM

Quote :

"a series of POS cars that weren't worth paying someone else to work on."

Ding ding ding
66 buick special, 88 mazda 323, 89 toyota corolla, 96 saturn, 97 jeep wrangler and an 85 toyota mr2. all this in just over 10 years of driving...
The best suggestion is to not be too afraid of trying to fix stuff yourself. If you are fairly logical and somewhat mechanically inclined most stuff is pretty damn simple.

8/13/2011 8:34:42 AM

buying a pos and trying to make it really fast. getting way over my head and having no other source of transportation forced me to learn with the quickness. i will likely never own or modify a car again outside of brakes, suspension, or interior mods.

i have learned it's generally not worth your time to polish a turd and to either build a fast car from the ground up or buy one that started fast. I know enough to maintain a convenient level of maintenance but the more money I make at my day job, the less it's worth my time to do most things that aren't trivial.

just food for thought if you are interested in this for any kind of cost savings or you have a desire to do more than routine stuff

8/13/2011 9:31:27 AM

Quote :

"what car did you have in mind? finding something where the parts are cheap and easy to find helps out a lot."

well...... i kinda wanted a bmw E30. an 86 or 87 to be more precise. got dragged to a racing event and ended up really enjoying it.

the plan would probably be to get a daily car and then work on the bmw so I could learn to race in it. assuming i can somehow magically fund this endeavor

[Edited on August 14, 2011 at 6:42 PM. Reason : .]

8/14/2011 6:41:42 PM

hahahaha

8/14/2011 6:45:06 PM

hater

8/14/2011 7:16:33 PM

Ive learned a lot from wrenching on my not anymore daily driver e30. Ive done just about everything to it after help mainly from reading online articles and learning how to think like a German. I had an Explorer before it and the most I did to it was brake work and minor tune up stuff. Ive been through a subframe failure, rear suspension rebuild, a head gasket replacement, rack swaps, everything brakes, everything cooling, suspension overhauls, interior shenanigans, etc. I can say some really bad words now.

Ive found it useful to find explosion diagrams of what you are working on. For instance, for BMW use realoem.com.

8/14/2011 9:38:40 PM

I miss my 88 e30 with the 89 color matched bumpers.

8/14/2011 10:42:44 PM

i think i'm giving up on getting an e30 since i can't find a decent one near me e46 it is

8/14/2011 11:01:18 PM

e30s are not as cheap as they should be

8/15/2011 12:50:53 AM

+1

11/18/2024 4:57:15 AM