I have ordered books that are suggested in the first part of the question. Since this year i will be 50 and i decided to give myself a new hope and goal for my “2nd part of my life”: i want to know everything and anything on how car works. i am thinking to buy a cheap used car $500-$1000 and the accopanying Haynes manual then, break it apart and assemble it again.
do you guys think it is a good idea? what kind of car i should be looking for? maybe, the goal should be to replace the engine and i think it should cover everything.
again, tx much for your comments.
Decide if you want your practice car to be a OBD1 or OBD2 car or truck (the change was made on a limited basis in 1995 but fully by 1996) My opinion is don’t even mess with Haynes get the FSM. From books4cars a 4 book set for say 98 GM C/K pickups is $100.00. I found a 3 book set for 98 GM U-Vans for $8.00 a book at my used book store (this was a really good deal). My next piece of advice is get a one car Alldata subscribtion. Alldata is not perfect but good and learning how to navigate Alldata is good.
There is a tremendous amount of work to be done on cars that does not involve internal engine repair. Perhaps concentrate just going as far as timing belt replacement with your hands on and limit yourself to theory with the machine sop stuff. You can stay very busy with electrical and AC work and compliment this light line experience with interior trim items. Include power window work perhaps sunroof work (you will have to teach your self this) Then there is steering colum work along with turn signal replacement and ignition switch work. And then there is driveability. Personally I don’t think spending time on internal engine items will pay off.
Not wanting to start this up again but take a look at the ASE prep books AS A LEARNING TOOL you don’t need to take the tests. You can check them out at the library or buy them for $25.00 each.
Keep your eyes open for links that other Forum members post and remember the Autozone site.
As your learning vehicle best bang for buck will be a full size pickup or mini van. Lots out there low prices and you can actually use them for something else.
Get and read every type of automotive book (including encyclopedias) you can find. Online, go to places like Wikipedia and MOTOR Magazine (excellent articles). Go to your public library and ask them about going online to alldata.com and ARRC (Automobile Research and Repair Service) sites.
Use Haynes and Chilton’s Repair Manuals. The factory manual and alldata.com are good, but, they aren’t really for beginners. You won’t have the special tools and scanners they are written to. They don’t give you alternative means and tools like Haynes and Chilton’s do.
To learn on, you want an old (about 12 years) vehicle which has been neglected; but, you want it to still drive. You learn little from a vehicle which has NO problems. You want a vehicle which has a lot of spare parts in the “you-get-it” salvage yard. You WANT it to have problems; but, not too many.
As you strive to fix one problem at a time, you can study and research the specific information which is directly concerned with that problem. Fix a problem, learn something. Fix the next problem, learn more. Continue.
Besides the knowledge you gain, think of all the money you save by doing it your self!
I did something like this years ago and opted for the air-cooled VW for simplicity. I bought a bunch of books at car shows (there are lots of VW car nuts out there) but the best was something like “How to Keep You Volkswagon Alive” . . . a step by step walk through every aspect of the repair of that type of car. I bought a few dead bugs and basically ripped them down and rebuilt one from the parts of three. Hard to find one today that survived the rust which attacks their bodies and “frame” but easy to find parts. Good luck . . sounds like fun! Rocketman
Thanks much guys.
i drop in every 3 months or so and keep you guys updated. :-).
If you really want to get into something, find a 2WD Chevy pickup that has a 4.8 or 5.3 motor. 5.3’s are a very popular junkyard motor. They are being bought and not even rebuilt, they are getting some add ons installed and old pickups are getting modern engines. There is a company that makes the new computer for that setup. The other engine is the SOHC Ford 4.6 which looks like it has six feet of timing chain or more. You will love the looks of that one. In a van, that engine has some kind of power.
Here are some links for you guys. Probably 30+ links. Link to Gates and that site is full. I use disposable e-mail adresss when I register for these sites. Why should I put out my personal e-mail adress?
http://www.delmarlearning.com/ase/weblinks.htm
More stuff here than I realised. The Brake and Front End link has material on every system. Sorry about the electrical links,none are current(pun intended).
Thank you very much!