how do you know so much about cars??
how do you know so much about cars??
how do you go about learning how to do all this stuff??
i mean.. reading can only take you so far. i would love to be able to drop in my own klze, but i wouldnt have the first idea where to start.
i'd like to just jump in and do it, but it's my main mode of transport, so i can't really just have it sit around for weeks while i figure stuff out.
how'd you guys get to be so knoweledgeable?
i mean.. reading can only take you so far. i would love to be able to drop in my own klze, but i wouldnt have the first idea where to start.
i'd like to just jump in and do it, but it's my main mode of transport, so i can't really just have it sit around for weeks while i figure stuff out.
how'd you guys get to be so knoweledgeable?
- David Witherow
- Regular Member
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- mitmaks
- Senior Member
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read, look at pics, and of course hands-on experience is best
Magnum s/s lines, strut bars, carbon fiber bezel, indiglow gauge, Sony Xplod, inverted c/f hood, SRD lower tie bar '93 GS SE '95 Cobra SVT #2722 '68 Charger R/T 440
http://www.cardomain.com/id/mitmaks
http://www.cardomain.com/id/mitmaks
- fry_81
- Regular Member
- Posts: 1898
- Joined: April 22nd, 2004, 2:01 am
- Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada
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ya the best way to learn something is hands on. learn from your mistakes.
1994 5spd GS Parts Car For Sale 800obo. e-mail for details. fry_81@hotmail.com
- papa roached
- Senior Member
- Posts: 2761
- Joined: December 10th, 2002, 2:01 am
- Location: Montgomery, WVa
did is a mechanic, so i learned from there
93 MX-3 GS (collecting parts for Eunos Presso conversion), 94 626 Transmission (4.10 gears), KL31 camed KL-ZE, Millenia intake, Millenia TB, SSAutochrome V2 headers, Magnaflow cat, 2 1/4 in pipe, Top Speed Pro 1 muffler, 9lb Fidanza Flywheel, ACT clutch, Corksport SS clutch line, Corksport SS brake lines, Unorthadox UDP, 255 lph fuel pump, HEI mod, ghetto-charger intake, KL36 ECU, SRD transverse crossmember bushings, SRD shifter extention bushing, SRD crossmember, Corksport bronzoil shifter bushings, Brembo Crossdrilled and Slotted rotors, 15 inch Konig Heliums, ZX-2 S/R struts, Eibach lowering springs, OEM front strut bar, Ebay rear strut bar, BFGoodrich G-Force T/A KDWs
Parts needing installed: turbo kit from BB (if i ever get it), 9.0:1 CR Diamond pistons, 4340 forged H beam rods, C/J-Spec spoiler, Nissan red tops in KL rails
http://www.cardomain.com/id/blazejeremy
Parts needing installed: turbo kit from BB (if i ever get it), 9.0:1 CR Diamond pistons, 4340 forged H beam rods, C/J-Spec spoiler, Nissan red tops in KL rails
http://www.cardomain.com/id/blazejeremy
- Dali
- Supporting Member
- Posts: 1621
- Joined: January 28th, 2003, 2:01 am
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- Location: Williams lake, BC
just jump in and do the work, last year did the first motor swap, just make sure to take pics, mark everything, lots of zip lock baggies, SEARCH and read as many posts as possible. in a month i get to pull the klze out to do a 5 speed tranny swap followed buy upgrading a rs to gs body wise, then frankenstiening a gs with a rs and mx6. i must say thanks to everyone on this site for helping with anything that i wasnt sure of.
If yer worried about the car being down for a while, just take a few hundered bucks from your swap fund and get a beater to drive around, or better yet you live in chi-town just get a cta pass. When I started working on cars the only thing I ever took apart was my bicycle. I got a job as an apprentice and they just handed me a wrench and said "do it!" If you wanna really learn, do it. There is a wealth of resources available on this site, for which even the most uneducated can follow and learn. And it's like they say, if at first you don't succeed, try try again. Theres always the bus
93SE-KLDE Theres a big peice of metal inside my other peice of metal now...weird???
- neutral
- Supporting Member
- Posts: 1770
- Joined: December 27th, 2004, 10:19 am
- Location: U.S. Mid Atlantic
I never did anything beyond tune up stuff until a head gasket blew on my my only car at that time. Professional repair cost was more than the whole car was worth. Talked to a cousin who had replaced a cylinder head on his car that year and asked him how he figured his way through it. His reply was, "I bought a shop manual, took a deep breath and just did it. Slow and steady, step by step, takings lots of pics and careful labeling of all parts, bolts etc. as they were removed."
I hung up the phone and thought, hey, this particular cousin is by no means an "Einstein" so if he could do this so can I. That was pre-Internet days. Nowdays you have the bonus back-up resource of a board like this one plus all kinds of info on the Web. If you can post a question with pics when you're stuck on some repair procedure, ppl will jump to give advice and help you through stuff.
It's also advisable to budget for buying the right tools, both the basic stuff and occaisionally specialized tools (buy or borrow) when you need em fo a particular repair. You'll still come out ahead compared to a mech's repair charges and you'll use those tools again and again.
I hung up the phone and thought, hey, this particular cousin is by no means an "Einstein" so if he could do this so can I. That was pre-Internet days. Nowdays you have the bonus back-up resource of a board like this one plus all kinds of info on the Web. If you can post a question with pics when you're stuck on some repair procedure, ppl will jump to give advice and help you through stuff.
It's also advisable to budget for buying the right tools, both the basic stuff and occaisionally specialized tools (buy or borrow) when you need em fo a particular repair. You'll still come out ahead compared to a mech's repair charges and you'll use those tools again and again.
-
- Supporting Member
- Posts: 730
- Joined: January 11th, 2003, 2:01 am
- Location: Jacksonville, FL Area
Yeah, my RS was my first car, and I knew nothing until this site. Alot of reading/researching has helped immensely. But, most of all, I learned alot by taking stuff apart myself.
'93 GS sporting 31 ZE, 36 ECU, Millenia IM & TB, Beefed up tranny, Fidanza FW, CM Stage II-R, Al UDP, HS Headers, MF Hi-Flow CAT, 2.5" Piping, CAI, MGC Wires, MS Mounts, B&M SS, Bronzoils, SS B & C Lines, Brembos...more.
Oh yeah, I have a stock ATX 92 RS too.
"Everyone wants to live life in the fast lane; I have more fun weaving through traffic."
Oh yeah, I have a stock ATX 92 RS too.
"Everyone wants to live life in the fast lane; I have more fun weaving through traffic."
- Custommx3
- Site Administrator
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I agree its all about reading up on something and attempting to do it yourself. Not only is the hands-on a good learning too, but also asking questions when your stuck or unsure about something. Id suggest getting a manual, or reading the online manual. Also good tools help out alot, and knowing how to use them (Tq wrenches and specialty tools for example.) The one thing that keeps alot of people from doing their own work is being afraid they'll mess something up. Just do it, and if you get stick or think your going to mess something up, then ask someone.
Learn enough so you can start to sort out what's crap and who is full of it...
Start doing more and more things on your car yourself, and research each thing you do... even if it's an oil change, learn something about it.
Try to surround yourself with and get help from knowledgeable people with experience and a willingness to impart wisdom, not 'an answer'. People who focus on doing the job right, and have enough foresight to overdo tasks are great. I've learned a great deal on my own, but I've also learned sooo much from working with some of the best.
In the trades, the bottom line is generally about money and doing a job quickly, not always about 'the best way'. In Europe, apprenticeships are a far cry from the bang, bang 'your my new lacky' style apprenticeships you get here. If you are lucky enough to find people, or a situation where time is available to be taught properly, you should be better off than some other guy who does one task 10 times a day. Good advice and help is worth money. I took a severe pay cut to be in a situation with valuable experience.
And of course, be passionate about learning, be open, and don't get angry when things don't go 100%. You don't start at the top, you don't know it all, and yes.... there are advantages and useful knowledge with experience that you won't find on forums or books.
Start doing more and more things on your car yourself, and research each thing you do... even if it's an oil change, learn something about it.
Try to surround yourself with and get help from knowledgeable people with experience and a willingness to impart wisdom, not 'an answer'. People who focus on doing the job right, and have enough foresight to overdo tasks are great. I've learned a great deal on my own, but I've also learned sooo much from working with some of the best.
In the trades, the bottom line is generally about money and doing a job quickly, not always about 'the best way'. In Europe, apprenticeships are a far cry from the bang, bang 'your my new lacky' style apprenticeships you get here. If you are lucky enough to find people, or a situation where time is available to be taught properly, you should be better off than some other guy who does one task 10 times a day. Good advice and help is worth money. I took a severe pay cut to be in a situation with valuable experience.
And of course, be passionate about learning, be open, and don't get angry when things don't go 100%. You don't start at the top, you don't know it all, and yes.... there are advantages and useful knowledge with experience that you won't find on forums or books.
- jschrauwen
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- Senior Member
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yup I agree... firt thing to m get ois a shop manual and read it all. Experience counts alot...also I learned almost evrything here, and if thers something I dont know, i just ask or search the forums. All the information is here. I love it here. I would be SO SO lost without
mx-3.com
mx-3.com
-hec
MX-3 w/ curved neck millenia klde, boosted @ 5 psi. /bov and wastegate are good!/ nitto drag radial/ gutted interior/ millenia red top injectors, vortech fmu/aem wideband/ all bolts ons/ Car put together 100% by me. Mechanic? who needs a mechanic? ew.. real men work on their own cars!
MX-3 w/ curved neck millenia klde, boosted @ 5 psi. /bov and wastegate are good!/ nitto drag radial/ gutted interior/ millenia red top injectors, vortech fmu/aem wideband/ all bolts ons/ Car put together 100% by me. Mechanic? who needs a mechanic? ew.. real men work on their own cars!