I used to weigh the cost of tools to do my own work against the cost of having the work done by a professional. I have a socket set, feeler gauges, a few open end and box end combination wrenches, a set of ramps, a voltmeter and the usual assortment of screwdrivers, vise grips and pliers. On my old cars, my ignition tune-ups consisted of changing the spark plugs, replacing the ignition points and setting them with a feeler gauge and timing the engine by taking the car out for a drive and listening for spark knock. I would advance the timing until I would get a spark knock and then back off the timing just a little. I know that a dwell meter and a good timing light would have been good, but I didn’t have the money.
I also did my own “body work” with a fiberglass repair kit and a can of spray paint. From a distance, the cars looked better after the repair than they did with the rust holes.
I had a friend, Wes, who attended the same country school I attended and years later wound up teaching at the same university where I was teaching and ironically, lived on the next block in back of where I lived. I was putting a water pump on the car one Saturday afternoon and he came walking around the block as I was turning the air blue. He said, “Why are you doing that? You obviously aren’t enjoying it. Do what I do. I look at a job and if it going to take me more than half an hour, I have someone else do it”. My wife and I call it Wes’s rule. Even though Wes and I were in different departments at the university, we did some inter-disciplinary projects together. Wes was 2 years younger than me and quite a bit smarter because he retired 8 years ago, while I hung on until a year ago. Wes died two years ago of cancer. I am glad that I spent the time with him on our research projects instead of using the time to do time consuming repairs on the car such as replacing water pumps.
AlanY, what are some of your favorite tools you’d recomend to a new DIY’er?
So far, I love the following:
Headband Light,
Magnetic pickup tool,
Extension bars
Universal “wobble” joints
Thumb wheel ratchet
Stubby screwdriver
Oil suction gun
X-LONG needlenose pliers.
X-LONG screwdrivers
HondaBill, at 82, you’re at inspiration!
What life advice would you give to younger generations?
Glad you are here triedaq, What Advice? do not buy a car with windows os.
triedaq,
You sounds like you’re not a fan of DIY anymore
What brings you to this forum?
@UsedEconobox2UsedBMW–I like reading about automotive problems and how they are solved. If I have a possible solution, I’ll post it to try to help out. I have music interests–I play in 2 bands and a chamber orchestra and am president of the chamber orchestra. I spend a lot of time writing grant proposals for this latter group. Even though I retired a year ago, I still spend some time in the library of the university where I was employed working on a couple of papers. I grow a vegetable garden every summer and do repairs around the house. Working on the car is lower down on my priority list.
I did spend Thursday, Friday and Saturday doing plumbing repairs and replacing ballast coils in flourescent lights at my church. At the same time, I had the 30,000 miles service done on my 2011 Toyota Sienna which cost me over $200. I find myself doing free work for others and paying to have my own work done.
At any rate, I enjoy this forum and trying to match wits with the real mechanics that post on this board.
To answer your question from many posts back as to what I do now, I work in a plastics factory doing repairs and maintenance to plastic blowmolding, grinding, and trimming equipment. As unbelievable as it may be, for doing this I am paid twice what I was making as an ASE certified technician, have excellent medical benefits (that are actually affordable), and can do just about any job with a hammer, a set of Allen wrenches, a set of feeler gauges, and a set of standard combination wrenches. Working on cars is a lot more fun, though, and fortunately I have plenty of time to do that as well. I work 7-3 M-F and have a tendency to fill my afternoons and evenings with side jobs to keep myself busy.
Working on cars can be fun no doubt about it. It’s the BS often associated with what one could call “The System” that make it a royal pain in the neck.
Nothing would bore me to tears more than doing oil changes and air filters all day long. Granted, those jobs can be botched but there’s absolutely no mental challenge to it at all.
@UsedEconobox2UsedBMW, for non-power hand tools some of my often used tools include (in addition to your list):
3/8" dr. long and short handled flex head ratchets. The long handle for leverage and the short for tight spots in crowded engine compartments.
Crankshaft pulley holding tools for Hondas and Toyotas (if you are going to change the timing belt or do related work). I have both factory and aftermarket versions. While there are often alternate methods of pulley removal, you still need to torque the crank bolt back on.
1/2" dr. breaker bars of various lengths but especially one 24" long
Cheater bar (pipe) for breaker bars. You don’t really need a long breaker bar when you use a cheater.
Magnetic pickup tool. I know this is on your list but it is such a time saver. I have 4 different types.
Cotter pin remover (the kind with a screwdriver handle and “L” shape). If you know what this is, you know you can use this to break loose radiator, heater and other hoses without damaging them in case you want to reuse them. They also sell similar design, purpose built hose removers (from Snap-on for example).
Locking extension bars. Especially useful with spark plug sockets at the bottom of spark plug tubes.
Rethreading set or tap and die set. Not absolutely essential but will save time by repairing damaged threads on sometimes hard to replace fasteners.
Torque wrench. Various torque ranges and drive sizes. For new DIYers, don’t guess.
There are so many great tools. I’m sure I left out a bunch but I have to stop somewhere.
I’m 50 and just starting a rebuild on a 1975 dodge w100 with a 440 and four barrel. So I’ll keep playing around until I’m 6 feet under and even then I think I’ll push up some daises.
I’m 65 y/o, and still do my own brakes, oil changes, tire rotations, spark plugs - the little stuff. I still use repair shops for the bigger things or for things that require a lift. I plan to keep doing so until my health otherwise prohibits me from doing so.
The important part of all this is that I have learned enough over the years that I can usually diagnose stuff myself and this keeps me form being taken advantage of when I do have someone else work on my vehicles.
I also do all my stuff around the house - even bought a used bucket lift off e-bay so I don;t have to use ladders much anymore. Like Tom and Ray have always said - Every project is an excuse to buy another tool.
I’m gonna do whatever my back will allow me to do until I either die or meet a hot, rich woman, whichever comes first. I just plain enjoy fixing things, modifying things, and improving things.
I’m in my early 50’s and changed a clutch a year ago. Why would you ever stop? Power tools, impact wrenches and extenders all help when muscles get weaker. I’ve been working on cars since I was 15 and although I’m a bit slower to get out from under a car, I can still do anything I could in my 30’s. Rebuild motors, trans, rear ends, brakes, body and paint, I’ve done it.
A few things I haven’t seen mentioned on the tool list that I really like and often come in handy are ratcheting open end, box end wrenches, ratcheting open end, box end wrenches with pivoting heads, and both sets in stubby type as well for the tight spots. As for buying those wrenches if you’ll watch sales at Sears they often run them on sale for $50-$70 per set instead of the $90-$140 regular price. For years I fought with regular open end box end type wrenches often in places my 3/8 ratchet wouldn’t fit in, sometimes only able to turn the wrench 1/8 of turn of less then remove it and re-position the wrench which is really a pain if you’re in a tight place or can’t see the bolt you’re trying to get the wrench on. With the ratchet types you get it on once and forget it. Those wrenches were one of the tool upgrades I mentioned in my other post. I’d also suggest 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" drive ratchet and socket sets with deep well socket in 1/4" drive and either the 3/8" or 1/2 drive or both. Crows foot wrenches can also sometimes be very handy to have. I went for years without a set then one day they were on sale and I decided to buy a set, within about month I was working on something with a bolt that I tried every other type ratchet/socket/wrench I had on and couldn’t get to it. Those crowfoot wrenches had already paid for themselves. If you have an air compressor things like an air impact and air cutoff tools are good to have. If you don’t have an air compressor an electric impact will be great for those extremely tight crankshaft bolts that often have to be removed in order to do a timing belt or simply removing lug nuts. If you decide on an impact wrench, Harbor Freight has a 1/2" drive electric impact that they often run on sale for $45-$55. I have one of them that I’ve had for about 15 years and for a cheaper tool has really be great and still as good today as it was the day I brought it home. I’d also recommend a hydraulic floor jack and if you’re going to be working under a car, be sure to have a good safe set of jack stands and drive up ramps.
Wow, I no longer feel so old! I am 59 and have been trying to keep our vehicles maintained since I was in my 20’s. The hubby is a nurse and has no clue so I (the little woman) get all greasy and filthy changing the oil in HIS car! Am keeping myself busy right now trying to fix his dumb volvo…it’s not that i don’t like the car (I do…sort of) it’s just that it’s his therefore it’s dumb. Much rather work on MY car!
Interesting thought that someone would rather work on their own car. I can’t stand working on my own car and would much rather work on someone else’s car, perhaps because if I’m working on my own car, it is out of my own necessity to regain my own mobility. I drive old, $500 junk that tends to need attention on a fairly regular basis.
I tip my hat to you and think it’s great that a female gets involved with their vehicle, or vehicles. My daughter is in her mid 20s and she’s always had an interest in knowing how automotive widgets work while performing at least basic repair jobs. She likes changing her own oil and with only a minimum of guidance she’s even done her own tire rotations, brake jobs, and so on.
Let me add this. If you’re working underneath a car ALWAYS use some good jackstands and keep the jack in place at the same time.
Last summer the wife of a long time friend of mine died when her antique Thunderbird fell and crushed her to death. She thought she had the bases covered with some heavy duty supports and Murphy’s Law reared its ugly head. The point is to never assume anything when there’s a safety issue.
It’s a shame to hear of another death related to vehicle repair gone awry. I have been fortunate that my worst vehicle repair related injuries have been rather minor: flashburn from welding 3X (incredibly painful) and various cuts that needed stitches but never got them. On the other hand, a friend of mine had a car fall on him while he was working on it. Luckily (luckily???) the car landed only on one of his legs, which needed three surgeries to put back together. Unfortunately, he passed away last Christmas at the ripe young age of 36 from a brain aneurysm, which pretty much killed him instantly and with no warning whatsoever. Safety first. The weight of a car makes it very dangerous to work around without proper precautions.
I’ll never forget the time I was working on an elderly man’s car. The man was standing by watching. He had a very deformed face. As we began talking, he explained how he once got under a car supported by cinder blocks - and the blocks suddenly gave way - crushing his face.
I’m 53 and I don’t pay anyone to do something I can do myself. I like to tackle new stuff just to learn how to do it. Last year I changed gears in the rear end and learned how to set that up. I picked up a $50 digital level and with a few household items learned how to do my own alignments. For some computer and A/C issues I go to a shop but that’s about it. Right now I’m doing a cam and headers in my Camaro.
Good points above and a reminder that safety knows no season. Never skimp on jack stands, the floor jack you buy or any safety equipment.