Anyone wrenching this weekend?

[Pulgasari]

So... had an incident last weekend where I broke some stuff on my truck, which kind of internalized my lack of mechanical skills and experience. Definitely want to get better, and I need more hands-on time, so figured I'd put it out there -

If anyone within roughly 1 hour of DC is working on a Toyota/Lexus 4x4 this weekend and could use a hand, hit me up. Happy to just pass tools, hold skid plates, whatever. Just want to get some practice.

There are a few small things I want to do at some point (checking my diff/transfer case fluids and potentially replacing them, maybe installing some breathers) that I'd appreciate some guidance on, but those are a secondary concern.

 

[rrc swb]

Be careful what you wish for Just kidding...

That's pretty cool of you.

Check the Tech Day thread. They're having a "wrenching day" soon.

 

[CrabCake]

So... had an incident last weekend where I broke some stuff on my truck, which kind of internalized my lack of mechanical skills and experience. Definitely want to get better, and I need more hands-on time, so figured I'd put it out there -

If anyone within roughly 1 hour of DC is working on a Toyota/Lexus 4x4 this weekend and could use a hand, hit me up. Happy to just pass tools, hold skid plates, whatever. Just want to get some practice.

There are a few small things I want to do at some point (checking my diff/transfer case fluids and potentially replacing them, maybe installing some breathers) that I'd appreciate some guidance on, but those are a secondary concern.

I totally get where you are coming from...I was fortunate enough to grow up in the auto repair business, and family business in general. Started working for my dad at his 3 bay Shell service station in College Park, MD when I was 12 back in 1982 pumping gas (when there used to be a full service lane), checking oil, etc. Worked my way up to oil changes, tune ups, brake jobs, state inspections, suspension stuff, exhaust work, etc. before I was old enough to even get a learner's permit. Mind you, my house also had the best tool collection around, so my garage/basement was always the neighborhood pit stop for everyone with BMX bike building/repairs, skate boards, mopeds, boats, building ramps, etc.

Fast forward to 2009 and my oldest son was 15...bought his own truck with his own $$ from working a real job at the hardware store, a 93 Bronco, and helped him (did not do it for him) build the suspension/lift, brakes, gears, etc. Then in 2011, my younger son was old enough at 15 to buy his first car, again with his own $$ from working at the same hardware store, a 92 Golf GTI...have pics of him installing air suspension, full front facelift, head build, brakes, stereo, etc....all using the Snap On tools that I inherited from my dad when he retired. Both of my boys, now 27 & 29 are in the commercial electricians world...my older son got his master's license at 28 and now has his own business, my younger son works for a large shop as a project manager. They work together on the side and will eventually be in business together, killing it at 30 years old and making bank while using both family business and tool skills that I'm proud to say my wife and I taught them both.

Sorry for the ramble...I guess what I was going to say is if you need a hand with any projects, or just want to come my way to borrow some tools and have a little guidance with your projects, I'm happy to help!

 

[Pulgasari]

Sorry for the ramble...I guess what I was going to say is if you need a hand with any projects, or just want to come my way to borrow some tools and have a little guidance with your projects, I'm happy to help!

Thank you so much, seriously. I don't have any crazy projects coming up beyond just fluid changes etc, but if something complicated unexpectedly breaks and I don't end up going to OTRAMM, I very well might take you up on the offer.

 

[jht3]

So... had an incident last weekend where I broke some stuff on my truck, which kind of internalized my lack of mechanical skills and experience. Definitely want to get better, and I need more hands-on time, so figured I'd put it out there -

If anyone within roughly 1 hour of DC is working on a Toyota/Lexus 4x4 this weekend and could use a hand, hit me up. Happy to just pass tools, hold skid plates, whatever. Just want to get some practice.

There are a few small things I want to do at some point (checking my diff/transfer case fluids and potentially replacing them, maybe installing some breathers) that I'd appreciate some guidance on, but those are a secondary concern.

just dive in. what's the worst that could happen

counter to etcruiser, i was taught nothing mechanical by my dad nor did i inherit any worthwhile tools. how to write a research paper and cite my sources...sure. but that doesn't help rebuild a front end.

bought a starter tool set at Sears in college and got to work with general maintenance, brake jobs, etc. friend and his dad were big in the british car hobby and hanging with them i picked up more confidence. then tagged along with other BMW shop owning friends into the race car world, and got to enjoy a well equipped shop while wrenching on my track car. so basically got a bit lucky there to have others to lean on when i was over my head. but now with sites like 'mud and youtube there isn't much i feel i can't do, so long as i have enough time which is the scarce resource with kids activities consuming nearly every waking moment. every job now i use as an excuse to buy the right tools to make the job easier. helps to have a couple other cars and a garage/driveway so i can take my time.

 

[Pulgasari]

just dive in. what's the worst that could happen

counter to etcruiser, i was taught nothing mechanical by my dad nor did i inherit any worthwhile tools. how to write a research paper and cite my sources...sure. but that doesn't help rebuild a front end.

bought a starter tool set at Sears in college and got to work with general maintenance, brake jobs, etc. friend and his dad were big in the british car hobby and hanging with them i picked up more confidence. then tagged along with other BMW shop owning friends into the race car world, and got to enjoy a well equipped shop while wrenching on my track car. so basically got a bit lucky there to have others to lean on when i was over my head. but now with sites like 'mud and youtube there isn't much i feel i can't do, so long as i have enough time which is the scarce resource with kids activities consuming nearly every waking moment. every job now i use as an excuse to buy the right tools to make the job easier. helps to have a couple other cars and a garage/driveway so i can take my time.

Good point. I can probably eventually figure stuff out with the help of YouTube and MUD, but I'm not very confident in what I'm doing since I don't have a lot of experience. I also don't think I'm great at diagnosis (i.e. I don't know what different fluids smell like, what general components should or shouldn't have play, so on). I think my biggest weakness is that I don't have a great sense of how relatively important different components of the vehicle are.

For example, last weekend, we cracked the fan shroud while pulling it out. By myself, I wouldn't really have known what to do, other than just replacing it. But, since I was with much more experienced mechanics, I learned that a "perfect" fan shroud wasn't that important, and that we just needed to "fix" the cracks somehow. We ended up heating a flathead screwdriver with a blowtorch, melting holes in the plastic, and stitching the cracks together with zipties. I would have never thought of a bush repair like that - I wouldn't even know what to look up online - but it saved a lot of time, money, and helped get me home just fine.

I picked up so much passive knowledge just from actually working on the radiator/alternator hands on that I wouldn't have taken away from just watching videos or doing everything by myself and kind of realized that watching/working with more experienced people is probably the fastest and best way for me to improve, which is why I made the post.

Long term, I'd love to do some longer road trips - Tuktoyaktuk, Pan-American Highway, stuff like that, where the consequences of breaking down could be a lot higher. I want to put myself in a position where I feel like I can confidently diagnose most potential failures, and if necessary, get (towed) to an auto parts store and replace whatever's broken myself, instead of being at the mercy of whatever mechanic the tow truck takes me to.