MX-3.com

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?

just go for it.....lol....thats what i did more or less....

read, look at pics, and of course hands-on experience is best

ya the best way to learn something is hands on. learn from your mistakes.

did is a mechanic, so i learned from there

Mom is a mechanic thats how i learned.

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

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.

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.

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.

First 2 things I got for my ride 10 years ago was a K&N filter and a shop manual. Invaluable investment.

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

thnx for all the advice guys! keep em coming... i just didnt want anyone to think i wasn't reading all your suggestions.