To those of you who do your own work

u155282

I've always wanted to be my own mechanic, but none of my friends or family members know much about working on cars. It seems like a lot of the members on this forum are pretty knowledgeable (very knowledgeable in some cases) and yet don't do car maintenance for a living. So I'm wondering, if you are one of those people, how did you come to know what you know? Do you have friends and family that are into it? did you take ROP classes? auto-shop in highschool, or what?

Can you give me any suggestions for how to get started?

I've picked up quite a bit from online forums with DIY sections like this one. I also had one of those Haynes (I think that's right?) service manuals that walks you through pretty well everything you could do maintenance-wise to a stock car. But the problem with DIY threads and service manuals is that you still can't get anywhere without tools. So here's my next question - if I was going to start doing my own work, what would be some necessary tools to pick up? If someone could be so kind as to make a list I would really appreciate it (and I'm sure others would too). Obviously if you could prioritize by your opinion of order of importance and throw in some price estimates that would be even better.

Josh@STILLEN

It's a lot easier when the car isn't your daily driver.. and you're not pinned to a time-sensitive deadline such as "I have to get to work tomorrow".. but I suppose sometimes that can help the "I've got to figure it out factor".

Ultimately it just takes getting in there and doing it. The simple installs like CAI and engine parts with good instructions are the easiest. The replacement stuff is usually covered by the Haynes as you mentioned.

99% of things you can get by with a decent 150pc starter kit from Sears. Nice part about Craftsman is the replacement factor if you break something trying something you probably shouldn't have with that tool or socket.

More often than not the tool adding is driven by necessity.. crap I don't have that tool.. time to jump in the (again.. hopefully not the only) car and run down there and pick it up.

Going out and getting a full toolset, especially from a higher end mfg like a snapon can break you right there, before even considering a tool chest to hold them in.

Just get in there and do it. And if you want the respect from the boards and have some extra time, go the extra step and document everything, so someone else later can benefit from your exploits, and learn from the things you did... there is almost NEVER a circumstance where once you've done an install you wouldn't do it significantly faster the second time knowing the tricks..

Not to long ago I did the same thing.. instead of just having our techs install some camber/toe arms, grabbed a couple guys from marketing and decided to knock it out on a Saturday in a driveway.. I now know a lot more about the Z33 suspension..

Rear Camber & Toe Arms Installation - G35 Coupe | STILLEN
Front Adjustable Upper Control Arm Installation - G35 Coupe | STILLEN

wstar

As for background:

First off, my father was a mechanic most of his life. He grew up modding musclecars for 1/4 mile tracks and general mayhem during his high school years. Poor family in south texas, small town, etc. It's easy to fill in the cliche picture Now he's a bigwig at a major oil company, but he worked his way up from working in their maintenance shop on deisels. As you can imagine, my childhood was filled with hanging out in the garage watching my dad do maintenance on the family car, and restore random project cars that were constantly traded off for new ones. I learned a lot from him. My first few car projects on my own, he was my go-to resource when I ran into things I couldn't figure out, but these days I rarely have to bug him anymore, although I still consider his opinion invaluable sometimes.

Professionally, I'm a computer programmer/engineer/hacker/ whatever-you-want-to-call it. It's really the same kind of brain activity, just different specific field of knowledge. I draw a lot of mental parallels between hacking on cars and hacking on source code (and hacking on everything else around me).

If you're coming from not working in any kind of related activity and have no background knowledge to draw on, mechanic stuff is actually pretty hard, and it's pretty easy to get yourself into a mess you can't fix, so be cautious in what you take on. As for learning: your best bet is to start making friends with mechanically-inclined people in your area. Once you find them, hang out at their place on the weekend and help them out on projects and observe, etc. Then get them to help you out on yours

Tools get quite expensive in the long run. A full suite of quality tools could run many thousands of dollars, and is generally something you slowly build up over time. I really like buying my basic hand tools at Sears (Craftsman), because they come with a lifetime warranty. If you break a socket or a wrench, you can take it back to any Sears anywhere and get a replacement. However, there are plenty of good tool companies out there, and you'll find lots of differing opinions on that stuff. Just don't go for the ultra-cheap $13.99 socket set from AutoZone that comes from a no-name manufacturer. They're made from cheap cast metal, and you will break those regularly doing any real work, and they won't replace them.

(Actually, just to contradict myself, sometimes I buy cheap sets too, just to have throwaway tools for in-car emergency kits, or because I know I'm going to intentionally grind down a tool and customize it for one job and I don't care if it breaks, but that's a whole other matter).

So, for the super basic list of tools, here's a good starting point:

A decent pre-packaged socket set in 3/8" drive (they come in 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" drive commonly). For the Z, everything is metric (mm sizes), but it's nice to have standard sizes on hand as well (fractional inch sizes) if you're building out a set of general tools. This socket set should contain at least a 3/8" drive ratchet, and a set of basic sockets ranging from say 8 to 18-ish mm at the minimum.

A half-inch drive socket set could come in handy at times too, it allows more force to be applied on bigger jobs. Generally you won't need small sockets with it though, you're looking for sockets more in the range of 14 -> mid 20's mm on the half-inch drive. For really hard bolts (like our crankshaft pulley), you'll want to buy large breaker bar in half-inch drive, which will fit these sockets as well (a breaker bar doesn't ratchet, it's simply a giant long handle that can attach to sockets).

You'll also want some combination wrenches. These are the basic non-mechanical flat wrenches with a closed ("box") end and an open end. You may want to pick up two of the more common sizes, as you may need to use a pair of the same size together on some jobs.

GearWrench-style wrenches are really hand too (they have a ratchet built into the box end, but otherwise look like plain combination wrenches), but you still need the plain ones as well. Gearwrenches alone are not a good substitute for the plain ones at times.

A quality torque wrench or two (1/2" drive and 3/8") is essential for many tasks as well, as it allows you to re-tighten bolts to precision levels of torque. As you become more experienced, you don't use it as often on "less-critical" bolts when you think you can guestimate pretty close by feel, but knowing which torque values aren't very critical and having a feel for torque values is something that won't come for a long time.

A prepackaged set of several flat and phillips screwdrivers is also a must, as well as a few good sets of various kinds of pliers (needle nose of a few different sizes, locking, slip-joint, groove-joint being among the common ones).

Of course, for working on a car you'll also need equipment to lift it. This means a low-profile floor jack, a set of 4 jack-stands, and an extra bottle jack or two can be handy at times as well. Be sure to check the ratings on these, to make sure they can hold the weight of the car reliably. Never work under a car supported by just jacks, as the hydraulics could let loose without warning (not to mention they're on wheels in the floor jack case). Just use the jack to get the jack stands into position, then remove the jack. Be sure to get some wheel blocks too, to block the wheels from rolling while you're jacking the car up.

From there, the list starts getting a whole lot longer, more expensive, and more involved, but just getting the above will get you started out. Expect to have to make lots of last-minute runs back to a tool store in mid-project to buy more tools you're missing as you go though (so have a backup car to do that in while your car is on jackstands).

I'm sure I'm forgetting a million things too, it's hard to summarize years of aggregated tools and info into a random off-the-cuff posting

One thing that's nice about tools on the 370Z: For 95% of all tasks, all you need are 10mm and 14mm sized tools. Virtually everything is one of those sizes, although here and there I've run into a few 12mm, and the crankshaft pulley was either 19mm or 20mm, I forget which.

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wstar

Heh I didn't see Josh's post till I got done with mine, but I like his suggestion too about the giant combination packages at Sears, I had kinda forgotten about those. You can find some of those kits that have everything I mentioned and more all in one giant package. It's not a bad deal if you want to drop some $$ and start out well pretty easily.

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Josh@STILLEN

Actually I'm kinda freaked by our almost mirrored response on most things.. and we've never even met.

I think your post is dead on.. and way more detailed than mine.. nice!

Josh@STILLEN

Something in this range for the basics on sockets.. it's really not that expensive.. you can shop for what you think you need.. but this is a LOT of stuff..

Craftsman 154 pc. Mechanics Tool Set - Model 35154 at Sears.com

axio

What wstar said is great. Very thorough. As for your Haynes manual, I'd personally toss that. The Haynes and Chilton manuals aren't that good, IMO. It might cost a bit more -- ok it costs a few times more -- for the factory service manuals for the cars you'll be working on, but that's probably the best way. On my Prelude, I had a Chilton's manual which was complete garbage. Went out and ordered the factory Honda manual and wow, the difference is night and day. You can literally do anything by following the factory manual.

As wstar and Josh have said already, the tool collection gets built up over the years and and is mainly built from necessity.

I'm an accounting manager at a venture capital firm. My dad is a pharmacist. I didn't start working on cars until the end of college when my friends were into fixing up Hondas. I knew absolutely nothing about working on cars at all. But by looking through message board DIY write-ups and by looking through the factory service manual, I basically learned everything I know. I can do timing belt jobs, water pump replacements, valve adjustments, replacing camshafts, oil pans, etc. So honestly, just take your time when you while learning to work on a new part of the car. Once you get up in there and see how things work, you'll figure it out in no time.

Some things I'd like to point out are that torque wrenches can be your best friend. Until you get a good enough feel for how tight most bolts should be, just look up the torque spec and use the torque wrench for the final tightening step. Get a good quality one. Husky and Craftsman ones are definitely good enough, although expect to spend in the $60-$70 range for these.

A good jack is your friend. Those small floor jacks are great for just changing tires or working on brakes, but when you need to really get underneath a car, nothing beats those low-profile racing jacks. But when you buy these, look up the specs. Make sure the maximum height is pretty tall. Some cheaper makers only get them up to the 14" range. And ALWAYS USE JACKSTANDS. It would suck to end your life underneath your car cuz you wanted to change the oil or something like that.

Can't go wrong with Husky and Craftsman tools. Obviously they're at Home Depot and Sears, respectively. For the Craftsman tools, if you're building up your tool collection and you have time, just buy them when they're on sale. They tend to go on sale quite often, so if there's a decent wrench set, ratcheting wrench set, or socket set, go ahead and pick em up on sale cuz you'll be needing them anyways.

Get 3/8" tools. You'll use them a lot. But for heavier-duty stuff, you really do need 1/2" drive.

To save some money on tools, there's nothing wrong with buying the Pittsburg Professional pliers from Harbor Freight. They'll work fine. Same with screw-drivers, etc. I've even heard their Pittsburg line of wrenches and sockets are actually pretty decent, but I can only comment on their black chrome vanadium impact sockets. Those are actually quite decent and I use them for the 1/2" drive sockets. For ratchets, I do like using Craftsman and Husky ones as I believe their quality is good, and the distance between each racheting-click is pretty small, especially on the Husky micro-click ones, although I haven't seen one in-store in a while. I wouldn't go cheap on ratchets.

For things like bleeding brakes, you can look up some kits online. The kind at the local Kragen sucks. You're gonna want something like those Flo-Master garden sprayers, but that have been adapted to brake-bleeding instead. Just make sure your gaskets are good though -- mine has started to not sit well after 7 years and it leaks fluid all over the place haha

Gojo is your friend for cleaning up. You can find it at Home Depot, Kragen and occassionally Costco. Speaking of Costco, you can find some decent low-profile racing jacks there as well. I've heard bad things about the Craftsman ones, such as the oil seals going after a year, but i'm sure it's just the luck of the draw.

Get a set of Mechanix gloves. You can find em at Kragen. I don't use em when I don't need to as I like to have the dexterity of being glove-less, but when you're working in a tight area wrenching away, it does help to prevent some knicks and cuts.

Air tools are great. When you're looking at an air compressor, don't just look at the maximum PSI (150 psi shoudl be fine), but look at the SCFM (Standard Cubic Feet per Minute) rating. This is the real "power number". The higher the better to run air tools. You can check what the impact gun or air ratchet's requirements are before you buy the tool and the compressor. The smaller compressors are more for contractors/woodworkers (woodworking is another hobby of mine...) and are definitely not suitable for powering an impact gun. Be carefuly using an impact on lugs though if you have nice rims. And to be honest, I only use the impact to loosen, not to tighten, since I like to do the torqueing with a torque wrench. I'm afraid the impact gun will just overtighten whatever it is i'm using it on.

Good luck!

wstar

More good stuff axio I wanted to comment one little esoteric thing here:

There's actually a difference in the type of metal used in the black impact sockets versus the normal chrome-looking ones you use with hand tools. The chrome-looking hand-tool sockets are made from a very hard metal that's good at resisting slow deformation when you pry on them hard, but they are "brittle" and can easily shatter from impact loads if you use them with an impact wrench. Conversely, the black ones for impact wrenches are made thicker out of a softer alloy. They resist shattering from impacts, but are easier to tear up when using them as hand tools (you'll see the inside edges deform slowly over time from hand-use). Ideally you only want to use the right type of socket for each situation.

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axio

Hmm... i never noticed any deformation on the impact tools when i used them by hand, not that i'm doubting you... i'll have to go check em out sometime haha. It does make sense that since they are a softer metal, they're more likely to deform via hand use. But yeah, i agree, never use normal sockets with impact wrenches. That could be a bad thing!

as for the 1/2" sockets, maybe i'll just go but a set next time I see em on sale in the Sears ad

u155282

Wow. When I posted I had really hoped for some solid replies, but I didn't expect that kind of quality at all! Thanks Josh, wstar, and axio. Rep points added

I looked at the stuff you guys recommended... Not as expensive as I thought, thankfully - and Sears has some good deals!

I do have one follow-up question for now and that is what kind of applications is it typical to need an impact wrench for? When I was checking them out, even the small ones seemed too big to fit in the limited spaces in today's jam-packed engine bays. Am I wrong about that? Or do they come in handy other places?

Josh@STILLEN

Impact wrenches are good for lug nuts and the random big giant bolts, not really for inside the engine bay.

When you get to the point of having a compressor, you can get some air tools that will make your life super easy.



Sears: Automotive Air Tools

u155282

^^ Cool, thanks!

Caravanshaka

The above posts hit on most of the points I would talk about.

As far as where I learned it, most everything was from my father or my own online reasearch. first car was a 1990 240sx that was bone stock when I got it. Went to change the spark plugs with my dad and realized the idiot before me stripped out the head putting in one of the plugs. So that require a full head job. Started learning about engines form there and got into how to make more power out of them. Ended up with a 300 horsepower 12 psi boosted SR20DET in that car, running 12.8 in the quarter mile and still getting 28mpg as a daily driver. Was sad to see the car go when they got strict on emissions around here =(

Since then, I've done ALL my own work on cars, from full engine builds to suspension installs, wiring, brakes...I've done everything but transmissions and rear ends now.

My father used to work on cars in his younger days, hot rodding and such. We ended up getting a '55 chevy truck together while I was in high school, and started the restoration. It is now 80% complete waiting on a cooling system and transmission, then it's off to paint & a upholstry to be finished (although, I might tackle paint myself). I also recently bought a '66 mustang GT to restore at home when I got my 3-car garage last year, and am in the process of replacing all the floorboards and working on the body.

As others have said, my toolbox has grown susbstantially since I left my parents house. I started it with a nice socket set, probably the exact craftsman one linked above, that my dad got me for high school graduation (which I still use). Since then I have slowly acquired more and more as I went, buying them as I needed them. I still have access to a lot of my dads tools since we only live 5 miles apart, so that helps in some of the cases when I need a tool quickly.

The only tool I can think of that hasn't been mentioned yet that you may want early on is what I call "The Enforcer". I have about an 18" long metal tube that will slide over the handle of a ratchet/breaker bar that gives me more leverage for breaking a rusty bolt loose. Get a pipe jacket that fits that pipe for a nice foam cover that adds some cushion that has saved my knuckles more than a few times. There have been a TON of bolts I couldn't break with a breaker bar alone, and I just slipped The enforcer over the end of it and broke it immediately. sometimes home-made tools are the best =)

molamann

Other than the basic preventive maintenance, I try not to do my own maintenance. Cars these days are just so damn complex and frankly I'm quite scared to break something, especially a new car.

Josh@STILLEN

Ah.. you mean "Susan".. I have one of those.. she's a keeper