Your Credentials Please

Maintenance/Repairs
41

I suppose I should lay it out. I’m a little gun shy about such things b/c I’ve spent plenty of time in & around the building trades. And when you’re in the midst of people who work with their hands everyday and it comes out that you’re a PhD & associate professor of sociology the abuse is pretty much never ending. So I usually just don’t bring it up in “mixed company.”

Anyway…HB asked me about this recently in another thread. Yes, I am a sociology professor, but what that really means is that I am a learner. And I have learned mostly by necessity, but also b/c I do love to get out from under the desk and work with my hands. So I’m in the hobbyist/necessity category of car knowledge.

Growing up my father was in the motorcycle business - local Kawasaki & Bultaco sales & service. I was on a motorcycle by about 5 or 6 so I had a very early intro to the maintenance responsibilities of machinery - pretty simple on a two stroke but hey, I was about 6. I also helped out a bit in the shop but by the time I was really old enough pops had moved into the lumber business (where I did work all through high school & college).

I dabbled in my own car repairs a little as necessary through high school & college but mostly left it to others.

My real dive into it was in grad school - I had a woodstove, a chainsaw but no truck and no money. Somehow I ended up with a '64 Ford pickup for $300. It was mostly rust. It ran like crap b/c someone had rigged a Pinto carb onto it. And…it needed a clutch. …and a new steering box…and brakes… I found a company selling reproductions of factory shop manuals and bought one. And realized how great it was to sweat over a dissertation for a few hours in the morning, but then over the truck for a few hours…back to the dissertation…back to the truck…

That’s basically still what I do. I’m just hitting my spring break. My students are probably all going to the beach. I’m looking forward to spending most of a day fussing with my car. If I could go surf fishing for a few days maybe I’d do that. But I’m broke, the kids don’t have a break, and the beach is too far for a day trip (and still too early in the season). So to me, a day where I have time to just fuss with car is something like a day of fishing.

I do now own a repair manual for any car I buy. I learn huge amounts from those whenever I have to figure out something new. And now with the vast, wide-open spaces of the internet I learn a ton more there. I’ve been around to a lot of sites. This one is by far the best for the collective wisdom of its contributors. So I’ll just shut up now by saying thanks to all the nutty characters who populate it.

42

I can check my own oil, change it, change air filters, and replace headlight bulbs, though I’ll never touch my Mazda’s as that’d involve way too much work to get to, and it’s HID. That’s about as far as I have made it in the automotive field.
I’ve learned more on this website than I’d probably learn if I tried doing things myself

I build clothes dryers for a living

43

It is interesting to read about the different stories people have to tell about their past and current life experiences. This was a good idea HondaBlackbird.

I have never worked on cars “professionally”. Growing up without much money to spend I learned about cars more out of neccessity to keep mine running by working on it myself. I remember making some big mistakes in trying to figure out what was wrong with the car at times. They taught me some good lessons though. While I now can afford to have my cars repaired I still like to learn about them and do some of the minor work on them at least. I also have enjoyed reading posts and learning from the many good regulars here. My real day job is working as a telecommications technician and enjoy electronics.

This site has been a big help to a lot of people due to the good advice that comes from the folks here. Keep up the good work guys.

44

Cool! I’m predominantly a bassist so we may have the makings of the rhythm section!

I’ve never considered myself a musician because I’m never happy with anything I do. Got 2 basses (P-bass and a short scale EB-O) and 2 guitars although I find it very hard to get into the 6 string world as the mind keeps reverting to the bass line. Slide guitar has always fascinated me so I built the 3 string (fretless) and have been using that to try and teach myself a bit of Delta blues.
(I never played professionally because no one around here seemed to know anything about or even care about the music genres I was interested in which is blues, jazz, and traditional country.)

Since you’re a drummer you might get a laugh out of this! I sent it to my sister in TX the other day (she’s a drummer too and just got a new set of Yamahas!) as her boyfriend has been a drummer for decades and has played and jammed with many big name performers. Hope you get a giggle out of it.

http://forum.fendertalk.com/showthread.php?20278-Craigslist-Ad

45

Its coming…It would be well under way if I still had my shop in Bridgeport, PA…As for now I have to literally do this one in my backyard…and driveway…so I need to wait for the weather to cooperate…it will begin VERY soon…I promise. No one is more eager than me to get started.

I also need to stop farting around on here so I can start turning wrenches, but when its so cold out I really cant/dont want to do any car work with no shop…I’m gettin old.

46

Shade tree mechanic, can fix almost anything and called on often to do so, and I do not give up until it is fixed, or recommend someone with the tools and abilities to fix something outside of my scope. I also have a wealth of experience from such dealings to offer advice periodically.

47

I really never though of it that way Caddyman…but now that you mention it…I’m in a Marianas Trench deep pool apparently.

48

Interesting post and very interesting to read the stories, this should be a sticky.

So I was the kid who took everything apart, in the beginning that was it. I started driving at age 11. At age 18 decided to know more about cars and took a diploma course for 3 months, this was not in US. Then worked in the shop for a few months. This was all before computers and fuel injections, also it was in a country that rarely had an automatic transmission. So I struggle a bit with concepts surrounding these technologies.

After that I went to medical school and essentially supported myself mostly with buying used cars, fixing them and selling them. I have restored two cars. I had an uncle and two cousins who were heavy equipment mechanics and helped me.

Right now I just work on my cars on the off weekends, otherwise try to troubleshoot human beings.

This forum has been a great help on keeping my fleet of cars running with minimal cost.

49

JT, Don’t Overlook A Honda Dealer. Get Some Estimates And Then Check The Dealer. Also, Compare The Warranty On Parts / Labor. I’m Cheap, Too, But Careful Not To Be Penny Wise And Pound Foolish.

A dealer often has technicians who have done many belts on your make / model, use genuine parts, have access to the latest bulletins and revised parts (this was important for my Caravan), and usually a better selection of any Special Tools that either make the job easier, better, or simply possible.

I’ve done several timing belts myself, but have used a dealer in the past. Sometimes the cost difference isn’t much and if things ever went wrong using an independent (especially one a bit unknown) the dealer price will seem like a bargain.

Also, dealers often have more expensive equipment that other shops may not. I had the dealer power flush the cooling system with such a machine while doing a t-belt. The coolant stayed clean after the procedure.

I’m cheap, but also subject to insomnia.

CSA

50

Gee IS THAT ALL? …WOW man… Thats an impressive background…

51

Started out helping my dad at 12 at his Sunoco station. He took vehicles in on trade and stored them in the back lot. I wanted a scooter so he told me to fix one and I could have it. It was a 59’ Vespa. It took me a month but I got it running (broken driveshaft) and traded it for a nice Cushman Super Eagle with a little boot.

I finally got into tuning cars and it went from there. I fixed and sold the majority of the vehicles in his back lot. I went to school and became a certified diesel mechanic. My new wife did not like the smell of diesel fumes so I joined the Air Force. Spent 20 years working in the electronics field (missiles) on the B-52 and B-1B bombers and learned computers as well. A room size missile checkout computer is just a very large desktop computer.

I now repair computers and restore motorhomes as a hobby. I have been a mechanic for over 40 years and still learn everyday. I’ve worked on everything except for the newer hybrid models.

52

Bass player here too. :slight_smile:
-----( Ibanez SR550 5-string, 1979 Kramer DMZ4001 aluminum neck 4-string, 1972 Yamaha FG180 regular 6-string acuoustic, Carvin double stack and 1973 Acoustic 371 bass amps )-----

Been a weekend warior since 1972. Played eveything that the local clubs and weddings wanted from the disco days through playing with three bands at a time ; metal on wednesday, country & rock Thu-Sat, and mexican music on sunday .

All the minor band equipment repairs came to me ( cables, guitars, speakers, mics, etc ) and I still delve in small item repairs ( have a phone apart on my desk right now that needs a circuit ribbon )

And, youall may have seen my posts about towing the band equipment trailer all over the four corners with my 92 Explorer.

53

I have worked on cars since I was fourteen. Worked at a Sunoco Gas station and Montgomery Ward Auto Dept .,during High school. After college, I began my apprenticeship at the #1 Mercedes dealer in the nation.

Started sweeping the shop floor.Moved up to car washer. Moved up to Oil changer. Became mechanics helper for one year, rotating around to all the shops mecchanics.Spent two years helping a German mechanic{trained in machine work, German Military Trained WWII mechanic]

Went to Warranty School, became Warranty administrator. After, worked in Parts Dept.Became Parts manager. Went on to become Senior Service advisor, Service manager and Service Director.

Most dealerships had multiple franchises.I have turned a wrench on every thing from Alpha to Zephyr. I worked many years at BMW dealerships.Prior to that, mostly British and Swedish franchises.

36 years of automotive work since college. Master ASE Tech. Still turn wrenches. I have a Corvette repair and restoration shop.

54

Its funny that you mention reading old defunct manuals and tech books. I had found a VERY OLD technical book I believe in my grandfathers basement…It is a book FILLED with diagrams and drawings of a dizzying number of mechanical setups…like an assembly to turn power output of a shaft 90 degrees or something similar and MUCH more complicated.

I guess it was an Engineering technical book on how to use or apply or create mechanical systems to fill a certain need. I cant believe some of these drawings…very precise…I would think this would help any designer to create something and when they needed an idea on how to do “X-Y or Z” They look up the assembly…It is a MAJORLY cool Book… Have you guys ever seen something like this? I was really blown away. In going through this book it really gives you great ideas on how to accomplish certain tasks mechanically and they really stick with you if you have a mechanical mind. Fascinating. I am going to try and find more books like this…It seems there is no end to the different diagrams

I also agree on Having to know how something works…I have that need firmly coded in my brain. I think that type of curiosity and the Guts to put them into play really translate into almost everything in life. I mean it is a very empowering feeling to know that I can pretty much figure out anything that moves. Knowing how to repair engines has always given me a deep sense of satisfaction AND a feeling of “I can accomplish almost anything if I just try”. Knowing how to fix cars is such a great skill to have and I truly agree that it translates into other areas of life that you would never think were related…

55

I thought so since the site lacks an “About me” section for its members. HOW DO WE MAKE THIS A STICKY? I think a lot of people will want to contribute…obviously as this thread is growing rapidly. I also think many will want to know who they are getting their advice from…

56

I am to this board what Sgt. Schultz was to the television series “Hogan’s Heros”: ‘I know nothing’. I am a university professor which proves this point. When I was growing up, my family did not have a lot of money, so my brother and I learned to do many things ourselves. This was a real asset in helping us develop problem solving and reasoning skills. I was able to do many of my own car repairs as well as television and radio repairs myself in my two rounds of graduate school. I enjoy reading the board and the responses of all the really great professional mechanics which I am not. Keep in mind that any advice that I post to a problem is worth what you pay for it.

57

In reading everyones posts…I realized that my story is lacking so here goes.

It started for me with a father who was a truck driver and a lover of saving money. He never made much in any given year and I thought we were poor growing up and I realized later that nothing could have been further from the truth. My dad never made a ton of money from his careers, but he saved and invested. We wound up with two homes in Avalon, NJ, one house and an Apt in King of Prussia and another home in Port St Lucie, FL. We rented out the Apts (multiple at times) and one home in Avalon for extra income… So it was his saving mentality that drove him to repair any and everything at home and on cars and cycles…I learned how to repair homes and cars as soon as he let me near him repairing something…So I just took it from there.

My Grandfather was a Machinist and I learned too much from my experiences with him in the basement working on engines and his homemade Lathe and all sorts of mechanical projects… His favorite pastime was repairing watches and clocks…This was when he was well into his 80’s…He passed away at 99 yrs young. He was born in 1898 and never went past the 4th grade in Italy…yet he could figure out the calculus equations to determine the diameter and number of teeth to cut into a clock gear that he fabricated out of a piece of plastic he had lying around…That clock is still running and keeps perfect time…So these were the people I was “hangin out with”. I sure do miss the both of them…everyday…I think I always will.

I began fixing lawnmowers and the dirt bikes I used to ride and then race. I never knew what I wanted to study in school so…I just goofed around…I regret this now. I graduated high school and went to Temple U for Mechanical Engineering…but that didnt last long…I partied too much, chased too many girls and wanted to go surfing (started at age 7 in NJ) SO I moved to San Diego for a year to surf and gain residency for school. I never wound up going to school in SD as I moved back to K of P after 1.5yrs.

I went to Communtiy Coll and got an Assoc Degree in Science of some sort…see I dont even know in what…Applied Science maybe lol… All the while fixing cars and cycles on the side for myself and everyone else. Then I went to computer school for Networking…got a job with EMC Corp…and then ADIC and then Quantum… While at ADIC/Quantum I opened my little shop in Bridgeport, PA… Got my inspection license and did that sort of thing on the side while working as a Field Engineer on those Laser Guided Robotic Data Storage Silos I had mentioned before…

So here I am still wrenching on cars and motorcycles…I can weld and fabricate just about anything…and if I dont know enough about something I will look it up and figure it out before proceeding. I have made so many hairbrained projects and the like I cant even recall them all. I’ve always favored engine work but know the other subsystems of vehicles very very well. I can and have rebuilt over 50 engines to date ranging from High performance V8’s 6’s 4’s you name it…to the mundane…to the weed wacker… Its a great Hobby that happens to make me money from time to time when I so choose. If all else fails in the professional career world I know I can always open a repair shop.

I guess that lightly covers it… Keep the stories and background Credentials coming…ALL of us are enjoying this thread greatly I think.

58

Your dad practiced what modern industry calls “Maintenance Optimization”. As a consultant I advise industrial clients what maitenance is “must do” and what type of maintenance is subject at analysis to minimize the cost without shortening equipment life or reliability. The Japanese call this “Total Productive Maintenance” and I even have a course in Spanish called “Maintenimiento Productivo Total”.

The “fix or buy new” decision weighs heavy in optimizing maintenance costs.

This is how Toyota and Nissan and Mazda maintain their PLANTS. Toyota spends 1/3 of the amount GM used to spend to kept their plants running well.

I had the privilege of growing up on a farm with a lot of used machinery which had to be kept running. Agree that fixing a broken manure spreader is less glamerous than working on a Honda Goldwing motor bike.

59

ALL. Glad you reminded me. I did front end alignment, lawn mower fixing, car model building 1/20 scale. I disassemble $20 B&D weed wackers and make them longer with wooden parts. I know how to make ignition points work ALL THE TIME. I know about the GM 5-7 plug wire cross that I used to find on every small block Chevy. If people can do it wrong, they will. They would cross them on the 4.8 if the wires were long enough.

I knew to stop and fix the firing order on every Tempo I saw on the roadside. Most owners think the rotor can never have a clockwise rotation. After all; that’s on a CLOCK.

I was a top 20 contributor before I erased the cookies on my old laptop. I used to use JRD and Pleasedodgevan. Then I had to add a 2. That has less to do with my qualifications than it has to do with my lack of stuff to do. A lot of my comments are “humorous”.

I owned three cars with short circuits and found all of them. I wired up a fuse box on an 87 Omni because NOTHING worked. I hope they never looked down there. I took a nap, intending to dream of a solution to the wiring. As soon as it came to me I woke up immediately and got the thought down right. There was this self-improvement book I was reading that had lots of suggestions in it.

I do not have a working stargate in the garage but I don’t really need one. I wish Barbara Eisenreich, who wrote “Nickel and Dimed”, a book about minimum wage jobs, would write a book about the auto repair industry but we already know what goes on there.

ASE certification could be helpful, depending on who gets it. I am a 1985 Cadillac Computer Psychologist and can print a diploma if given half an hour to write one.

Way too much info.

60

Credentials are only to impress people who don’t know you. I see this in business where advice is valued by its cost, not its worth. Worse case of this was a foundry (cylinder heads) that implemented the ideas of a well credentialed (and expensive) consultant over the advice of the people that had worked in the industry for many years. I don’t need to tell you the results, but I’m glad I got out of there before everything went south.

Where I just retired, I had a guy that worked for me come up with a suggestion for solving a big problem we were having. It was a very simple and inexpensive idea, but since he didn’t have any credentials, the engineers tried a bunch of more expensive and complicated solutions, none of which worked. Now, with their backs to the wall, they are reluctantly giving his idea a shot. BTW, I made sure that he gets credit for this idea and I recommended him for a pay raise.

As for myself, an electric shop class in the 8th grade ignited my interest in electronics. That has been my vocation. Twenty years as an avionics technician in the Navy, graduated and taught in their most advanced courses as well as working on their most advanced aircraft at the time, and arguably would still be the most advanced if it was still in the fleet, the F14.

I got my BS in Industrial Technology while in service and worked in management in mostly electrical/electronic manufacturing, but I’ve done a couple of stints outside, cylinder heads and knee/hip replacements.

As for automotive, all self taught, starting with my 55 Chevy. I had an avid interest in cars since I got my drivers license and read just about everything automotive for many years. One of my favorite writers was Smoky Yunich. His articles in either Popular Mechanics or Popular Science, can’t remember which, opened my eyes to things automotive that were often different from conventional wisdom, but he was always right.

During my Navy career, new vehicles were simply not within my income, neither was paying for expensive repairs. I spent a lot of time in the Auto Hobby Shop. The only repairs that I have not done was a transmission repair. I’ve replaced a bunch of them, but never got inside any of them. I did adjust bands on occasion, replaced the fluid and filter quite often and an occasional external seal, but nothing serious.

But trumping all that was the fact that I once owned a Fiat. I think that pretty much trumps anyones automotive schooling or experience.