Attention All Automotive Experts.

[Ryan]

this:

You don't always have to go about it that way... I have found tickets/degree doesn't always help or mean you know what your doing as a mechanic... Some people I have gone to school with or guys I have worked with have really made me question the licensing system...

I find a lot people around here can be better then some licensed mechanics I have worked with....

and this:

I think most of us just read as much as we can.. then wing the F out of it.

As far as I can tell, mechanics that didn't grow up working on cars this age don't know how to actually do anything useful.
They plug in the computer and then follow the list of things to try.

If you're a 40-something or 50-something mechanic, you actually know whats going on. I respect these guys. The younger ones? Not so much. Rather do it myself.

The other thing we need to consider is, sure, a mechanic needs a few thousand hours to be acredited, but I have a few thousands hours in MX-3's ALONE. I can't tell you much about your cavalier, but I know my MX-3's pretty well.

[wytbishop]

My Mechanics training was in Motorcycles. I was a certified bike mechanic back in the early 90's when automobiles in general were less electronic. Back then i think there were maybe 2 mass produced FI motorcycles in the world.

I started working on cars on my own after that and found that most things...internal combustion, cooling, ignition, are virtually the same as bikes. Once you have a solid base of knowledge in automotives, regardless of it's origin, the misteries just sort of explain themselves. My Engineering education has helped me understand things at a deeper level and improved my diagnostic skills, but really it all started with the bikes.

I would totally recommend that anyone just getting into cars these days go sign op for an evening class at the local college or something just to get an introduction to it. It's amazing how much sense it all makes when you have the basics.

[MrMazda92]

My local college only permits it if you're an automotive major.

[mitmaks]

My local college only permits it if you're an automotive major.

same here, you can't just take classes that YOU want, they tell you what you might take.

[fowljesse]

I am far from any kind of expert, but I literally started working on cars at 5 years old. My Dad is a mechanic, and when he'd watch us, we'd turn wrenches. When my parents divorced, I moved in with my Dad, into the shop. We slept under the lift with a car on it, and showered in the parts cleaning booth. I rebuilt my first car from the rod out when I was 14-15. I touched every single nut/ bolt on that '66 VW microbus. I had to work on cars my entire childhood, and then started working on Muscle cars, Motorcycles, Mopeds.. etc... there's always something to learn! I've worked on 0,1,2,3,4,5,6, and 8 cylinder vehicles, and have hotrodded every motor I've used. I've tuned using all 5 senses (yep, really).
Now I have to figure out MegaSquirt.
My theory is this; An engine is a glorified air pump. The more efficient you make it, the more power you get. From there, it gets complicated. The math part of my brain is broken, so i rely on other parts..

[SuperK]

Most kids nowadays don't know their limits. one of my roommates had the attitude of, "I've done it once, I'm a master ______"

So I made a joke about it. I've never done any type of painting; car, house, you name it, haven't done it... I researched it and understood the concept. I decided, "I can do that."

Now the joke: I go around telling people, whenever the subject is brought up, "Yeah, I've painted a wall before. Painted it green. I'm a master painter."

It's a parody of, "Just because you've done something before, doesn't mean you're good at it." No matter how much research or confidence you have. It would take me dozens of projects to be a proper professional. I have also met people who have been in a profession for years, and they're just bad at what they do!

putting that to practice here, just because we've DONE something, doesn't mean we're masters, so put on your learning caps, we're not teachers.

I got my first KL-ZE pulled out and am rebuilding it from the ground up, doing aluminum polish, and a super secret project! When I am finished, I'll have certain "focuses" and "angles" that I learned from this project that will benefit people. But in no way am I an unequivocal source.



... I'm just kidding, SuperK is always an unequivocal source.

[MrMazda92]

same here, you can't just take classes that YOU want, they tell you what you might take.

Yeah, it bugs me a fair bit TBH. Automotive majors have no problem flooding the math and applied science courses. It's pretty much a one way street. I've been thinking about swapping my second major over, to take advantage of a class or two this summer.

Jesse,
No wonder you think outside the box! I'm jealous of your automotive upbringing :O My family is hardcore into sailing, and racing boats; which while fun, wasn't quite enough for me. Cars + boats though, now I'm a happy camper.