How'd you guys learn how to work on cars?

Forums? Who uses Forums?

 

I was born with skills to be able to wrench on cars. JK

I learned from tearing apart the truck AND making a lot of foolish mistakes. haha

 

my father is a master mechanic ASE certified. he also has built cars as a hobby. He used to own a shop while he worked as a mechanical engineer and a machinist instructor for GE's jet turbine division. I learned alot from him but didnt understand the things he used to teach me until i myself went to school for engineering. I didnt learn by fixing certain things one at a time. The best way to learn is to learn how each component works and how and why it works together.

i've always been brought up with knowing if one man can build it another man can fix it.

"old man" tricks help ALOT!!! too. Simple things like freeing a stuck bolt or ways to separate a stuck ball joint or using different tools different ways to achieve what you want to do.

 

i've grown up watching my dad wrench on cars. he's a mechanical engineer and always liked getting his hands dirty working on cars. i definitely inherited that interest. i've spent the last 2 years teaching my roommate how to work on his motorcycle and ford explorer, doing progressively more involved jobs.

 

My primary job as a kid was holding the trouble light for my dad. He could fix anything. He gave me the inspiration that I don't hardly ever have to call on someone else to fix my stuff. He was a mechanic, farmer, car painter, home remodeler, small appliance repair guru, square dance caller, you get the picture. I try to do the same. for the most part it's true. But today, things are a bit more complicated. I still don't have to call many people though, I just Git-R-Done....

 

I'm a research junky. I am very mechanically inclined to begin with, but I have learned most through extensive research.

 

Wise man once say:

Two ways to learn: have someone teach you, or break a lot of stuff.

Guess which one I did (am still doing)?

 

Tacos are relatively easy to work on, especially when new. Engine bay is spacious. Often working under the vehicle doesn't require jacking, thanks to good ground clearance.

I absolutely hate fixing up older cars with seized parts, rusted bolts, etc.