Car mechanics

Hi there,

Any car mechanics here? I am also a car mechanic here in Germany .


cheers,

Thomas

 

Not a mechanic, but I fix what I can when possible to save $$. :-D

 

Same here lol Like i got to pull the 2.3L out of my Old Isuzu P'UP and rebuild from the bottom up.:-D

 

My thoughts exactly :-D , because a lot of the times when you have to pay they take your eyes out anyway, and then come back for the sockets !

 

I'm a service manager at an auto dealership. I still turn wrenches almost daily though, due to the fact that I can't stay out of the shop.

Been wrenching for almost 29 years.

 

im in my third and final year in collage doing mechanical engineering, although i love working on / researching cars and bikes i couldn't do it for a living,it just gets so tedious some times. i think in the future it will just be a very long training period for a hobby :-D

also the motor industry is on its arse in the U.K, what about where you guys are? >.<

 

your letting your woman go near your truck?! i hope you can live without it R.I.P, i salute you sir. :-D

 

My son (our 15 year old, yikes) just picked up a 1978 Chevy Nova. It had a straight 6 in it originally, but it was pulled & an 8 cyl. 350 was put in its place.

It had sat in a barn for years and untouched, some mechanical prob's, I think??
We towed it home & it is now a project that the two of us will attempt to tackle.

Our plan is to completely overhaul:

• engine
• tranny
• rear end
• interior
• and, some body work
• with, final paint

He is hoping for a dream car! :drool
So, that he can be :cool , with the girls! rolleyes

We'll see if we can just get it running, first.

Oh, reason for this post:

None of us are mechanics! I dabble with minor things like changing alternators & belts; changing oil & replaced a radiator once or twice. And I also changed a water pump once. Many, many years ago on a Datsun 1200 (my college days) I replaced the pistons, bearings & rings, and had the head milled. But a Datsun 1200? That was a go kart - LOL

 

As long as their are still muscle cars around I will always be happy.

I've done quite a few rebuilds myself. My dad had me rebuilding engines
when I was like 16 years old. My first was a 327 that I took out of a
1968 Chevrolet Caprice. We rebuilt it and put it in my 1981 RS Camaro.

That thing would scoot.

 

I'm not a mechanic, but I have changed a few motors, and just rebuilt the motor in my 97' nissan pickup. Ka24e. 2.4L 4-cyl.
As long as it's not electrical or sensor related. But Tim couldn't have said it better.

 

Used to be a really good "shadetree" mechanic on the older,pre-computer cars.
Built a 4-bolt 327CID engine up to 450 rear wheel HP.
Bored .040 over, shaved heads, ported and polished, oversized valves, high-domed pistons took it to 12:1 comp. ratio. Roller lifters and rockers, high lift long duration cam, timing gears(not the chain type), dual point distributer, 4-bbl Holley double pumper, and headers.
Connected to a 2-speed Powerglide and a 2.73 rear-end in a 1972 Pont. Ventura.(Nova clone).
Top speed was over 150mph on the Interstate. And still got 18mpg in the city, 24 highway.(on regular leaded)

 

I am also from the old school of mechanics (pre computer) i serviced my own trucks and have been known to shoehorn an oversized motor into a small car.

I once got a Buick V8 into a car the size of a mini and to drive it we had to sit on the rear seats but it sure was fun at a stop light when it left a Porsche standing.

I would listen to a motor and try to define the problem (anyone done the screwdriver on the block and in your ear to listen for problems with the crank)

I have Just bought a new Toyota Rav4 and the Auto technician (mechanic) does not have to search for a problem he just plugs the computer in and that does the job for him.

 

Yeah Bill, over here, they have to use the computer to find out what is wrong with the car, and they charge $100... :confused

 

Getting like that here too.
In the UK, pre 1992 registered cars don't have to pass strict emissions tests at the annual MOT test, so I tend to buy cars registered pior to that year.
On Tuesday, I did even better. Bought a 1986 Ford Fiesta with a genuine 24,000 miles on it. Still drives like new. I used to buy and sell them many years ago, and although they are quite sparse in most respects, I love how basic they are. It hasn't got electric windows, or an electric sunroof, no central locking, no factory immobiliser, no fuel injection, or an ecu. All it's got is a carburretor and a distributor with contact breaker points in.
Things have changed massively since they used to make cars like that, and I don't think necessarily for the better. Certainly not in terms of how labour intensive the newer cars are. Cars made now are made to be thrown away at the slightest hint of a problem, or just because it isn't new or trendy anymore. I bet a lot of cars that are new now will never get as old as the one I bought the other day.

 

Insurance companies now "total loss" a vehicle for no more than a creased fender and headlight housing.

Great deal on that Fiesta. Great for getting around town with fantastic MPG figures.

 

Yeah, the Mercedes are bad about the O2 sensor going bad. Trips the check engine light. $300 for the parts (sensor in a plastic tube), .5 to 1 hour labor, plus $100 computer diagnostic fee.

What they don't tell you: It is pretty common, just the sensor can be bought and put in the old plastic tube, costs around $80, and I can do the parts swap in about 10 mins, hook up the Computer, reset the code, and have it out of the shop in half an hour or less. :-D

My truck is so old and banged up, I often haul stuff around that is worth more than the truck is.

 

Mechanic, huh? In Germany? I sure could use some help, especially with the buffers that go between the frame and subframe of a 1994 Mercedes S500. I think I can handle the accumulators replacement, as long as I'm not under the car when I release the pressure!! I do know that if I am under the car when the pressure is relieved, I'm going to have a very bad day!!:cry Do you know of any sites that could point me in the right direction? I used to do all the work on my '86 300ZX, but this Mercedes is truly a complicated automobile. Still, with only a 115000 miles on Her, I figure I need to learn to do some of this stuff for myself.

 

I agree with Tim W and Keylogger the shade tree mechanics are all but extinct. I learned alot from them over the years. people that have forgot more stuff than we will ever learn about it. pre comp mech myself. went to Lincoln tech in the early 90's to learn how to work on the comp vehicles. didnt last long what I learned was outdated 3 years later.

 

i agree with migs =)

 

Hi Thomas!

Rebuilt my first engine at the age of 12, many decades ago! By golly, it ran! Wrenching ever since.

I left you a 450SLC, a Bimmer 5'r and a Super Beetle somewhere over there in Deutschland to play with, have fun....