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The Pub For General Automotive Related Talk |
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#1 | ||
Starter Motor
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 7
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Hey everyone names Pete and I was wondering what advice you guys have about learning on how to work on cars. Based in n Melbourne and keen just to be able to chop someone out and learn a few things hands on
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#2 | ||
Kicking back
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Western sydney
Posts: 8,576
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Hi Pete, what kind of repairs do you want to get hands on about? Maintenance work, like changing oil, spark plugs etc only requires semi basic tools. Im no mechanic, but basics arent difficult to get your head around and work out. The cars manual tells you a fair bit for that. The slightly more advanced stuff, thats when its best to, even if its your free time, observe and be the helping hand for someone in the know. There are night courses for car maintenance at technical colleges. The advanced stuff, you need more advanced tools, but i wouldnt recommend attempting advanced stuff unless completely confident. There's a reason mechanics do apprenticeships for 4 years and are mechanics.
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#3 | ||
BLUE OVAL INC.
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 8,645
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First thing you'll need is some tools etc.
My suggestion, apart from the obvious is a left handed screwdriver, long wait and a box of spots for spot welding just incase. |
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#4 | ||
DIY Tragic
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Sydney, more than not. I hate it.
Posts: 21,974
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There’s more money in other trades, is the desire to learn for a hobby or to make money?
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#5 | ||
Kicking back
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Western sydney
Posts: 8,576
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Dont be discouraging, if the bloke wants to learn, be encouraging. Dont send him to a VW dealer for a radiator hose for an air cooled beetle. Just try and point in the right direction. Something like a Haynes manuel will assist. Yeah, tools are required. But for myself, i personally learn better from observation then what a book says. I can read, but i personally find you learn faster with a person on your back telling you when you **** up. Well, a person in the know. Learn it once learn it right. Basic maintenance isnt rocket surgery or brain sciaence. Most of that, you can do yourself. The first time you drop the oil plug in the pan, miss the pan, coat your hands in oil. Thats a lesson.
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#6 | ||
Guest
Posts: n/a
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First step is to join forums and watch plenty of how to's on youtube
![]() Next is decide how much you want to actually do yourself and on what vehicles and then budget accordingly for tools/ TAFE courses etc Good Luck Daz |
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#7 | ||
Starter Motor
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 7
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Cheers for the advice everyone, i just want to learn how to do my own service, get a rough idea on how each part works and how to identify issues for when it needs to get changed and then hopefully start to get into doing a few mods by myself. I’m a second year apprentice plumber but yeah more just looking to get into the car scene and learn a thing or two
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#8 | ||
Starter Motor
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 7
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#9 | ||
DIY Tragic
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Sydney, more than not. I hate it.
Posts: 21,974
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Definitely more money in plumbing (eventually!) unless you have specialised car skills like used in building hot rods.
Two posts from an apprentice with no “lols”. I’ll pay that - you’re serious. |
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#10 | |||
BLUE OVAL INC.
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 8,645
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Quote:
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#11 | ||
Guest
Posts: n/a
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For years i payed a lot of money to workshops for even basic maintenance items and tuning and then one day i actually believed in myself.
After an eternity i finally built my own Barra and did my own airbrushing and if someone like me can do it mate with all my demons then you sure can as well ![]() ![]() |
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#12 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: In Front of a Monitor
Posts: 1,646
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If I was game, I would find a cheap Nugget that nobody wants / loves anymore and resurrect it.
In doing so you would learn a lot along the way and save a vehicle from the wrecker.
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2004 Mercury Silver Falcon XR6T - 5 Speed 2017 Platinum White Mustang GT - 6 Speed 2022 Blue Thai-Special for Daily Duties - Auto |
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#13 | |||
Starter Motor
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 7
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Quote:
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#14 | ||
Starter Motor
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 7
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I feel like I’m no where near close to having a crack at that, personally I kinda just want to help someone who’s fixing up a b series xr6 since i don’t really learn to well unless I do something hands On
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#15 | ||
Starter Motor
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 7
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After copping a used tampons and some other bits n pieces unblocking drains ya really tend to question what you’re doing with life
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#16 | ||
Kicking back
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Western sydney
Posts: 8,576
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Whats up with the xr6? If you dont ask the question you wont get an answer.
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#17 | ||
Starter Motor
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 7
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Nah I was replying to someone else who suggested to fix up an old nugget as a way to learn how to fix up cars. But I don’t feel confident committing to that and rather just help someone who knows what they’re doing and can explain a few things along the way
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#18 | |||
Where to next??
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Sydney
Posts: 8,893
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Quote:
I watched people at work. My Festiva constantly cooked rear bearings. The 2nd or 3rd time I took it in to get done I watched them like a hawk and went home straight away and stripped them out and re-installed them. Never needed to pay for those to be installed again. Same with front pads, taught myself on YouTube how to replace them. Most basic servicing is straight forward and you can actually do much of the non technical stuff yourself - replacing filters, changing oil, coolant, plugs, leads, wiper blades etc. Rotating your tyres, replacing blown globes etc. I plug my own tyres as well - kits are cheap to buy and easy to use. You can set yourself up for a few hundred dollars spent at Supercheap - tools, jack, axle stands etc It starts to get harder when certain processes need specific tools.
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#19 | |||
Cabover nut
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Onsite Eastcoast
Posts: 10,841
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Quote:
I'm with Cyberwasp, buy a cheapie to work / learn on in your spare time.
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heritagestonemason.com/Fordlouisvillerestoration In order that the labour of centuries past may not be in vain during the centuries to come...... D. Diderot 1752
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#20 | ||
BLUE OVAL INC.
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 8,645
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Grab your tools and head for your local pick a part wreckers, we have U pull it here in SA.
For a couple of dollars you can play with all different types of cars and understand how things come apart and go back together, i do it occasionally when im not 100% sure of something rather than over commit on a running vehicle, has been very useful over the years. |
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#21 | ||
DIY Tragic
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Sydney, more than not. I hate it.
Posts: 21,974
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You haven’t lived until a fermenting sewer choke has blown back, showering you with liquefied #2 and everything else.
![]() If one were to take the “fix up a car” route, an older Cherokee or Territory would be my suggestion. Cheap enough to get into, tools are basic, hard to kill, roomy for adventures and good tow pigs. |
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#22 | ||
Mopar! But Own F6's..
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: F6DELAIDE
Posts: 3,197
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Can i give some advice? Please get a decent car jack and axle stands before you crawl under it, and never get under the car unless the stands are positioned right. Other than that go your hardest! Oil change, filter, plugs etc are not that difficult even in modern cars.
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F6 TYPHOON FPV 335 GT |
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#23 | ||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,086
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Don't do an automotive as a profession, it pays **** all.
But if you're still in the midst of your apprenticeship as a plumber , you'll probably still be eligible for government subsidies for Cert II in Automotive Mechanical at TAFE, this is basically the entire first year of schooling for a 1st year apprentice LV mechanic, you could do it concurrently with your Cert III in plumbing. It'll cost you **** all and you'll cover all the basics, 'back in my day' a decade ago when I was going through the system that first year included rebuild on a 5sp manual gearbox. It'll give you everything you're asking for and how to do it safely for around $1500 bucks with the subsidies. The catch is you have to do it before you get your Cert III otherwise you're not eligible for government subsidies and it'll probably cost circa $10K at that point ![]() If you go this route make sure it won't **** you on extra certifications at a cert II level for plumbing, with us auto tradies we did this to get our Cert II in automotive refrigeration for **** all, it basically only cost us a couple hundred bucks, the guys who did the preapprenticeship cert II prior to starting their apprenticeship got stooged and ended up paying a couple thousand bucks for their AC certification because it precluded them for government subsidies. This is also a good option for any of you oldies who have certifications that predate the universal student number system implemented circa 2014, your qualifications don't exist on the system so you could probably go do some heavily subsidized TAFE courses in something you're interested in courtesy of Australian tax payer ![]() Last edited by Franco Cozzo; 23-02-2021 at 12:32 PM. |
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#24 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,824
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you are. honestly. and I don't even know you. grab something real cheap and oldish without too much of the electronic control stuff, and it's literally nuts and bolts. even a plumber can manage that stuff
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#25 | |||
Virtuous Bogan (TM)
![]() Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: TAS
Posts: 27,567
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Quote:
Also books such as Haynes etc give fairly good step guides to work. At the end of the day many trades follow procedures so its just a matter of finding them and learning from there.
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#26 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 1,605
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I find YouTube invaluable for car learning. Chrisfix is great, as his vids are split up into individual how tos that you can search as required.
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____________________ 2019 LDV G10 2009 Mitsubishi Express-GONE 2011 Honda Jazz ____________________ |
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#27 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: In Front of a Monitor
Posts: 1,646
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Also if you buy a Nugget, post it in the project car thread on the forum.
Many people will have knowledge and help for each step of the way. I hope ebv8 doesn't mind posting a link to a recent project of their Hilux Build. I find it inspirational as it shows an excellent example of how a Nugget can be turned around and what can be achieved in the process. I sort of need to practice what I preach and jump in the deep end also. https://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11485194
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2004 Mercury Silver Falcon XR6T - 5 Speed 2017 Platinum White Mustang GT - 6 Speed 2022 Blue Thai-Special for Daily Duties - Auto |
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#28 | ||
Donating Member
![]() Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 5,510
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Hard to find someone willing to teach or even watch...a lot of legal BS these days if you get hurt over the magic line as well.
I am dismantling a wreck atm and wouldn't mind a helper but live over 4000kms from you. |
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#29 | ||
Formally FairmontPom
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 1,122
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I myself hadn’t carried out much serious car maintenance, other than stereo installs in my first few cars back in the day in England, and basic cleaning and detailing. I fixed that only a few years back (and finally got some oil under my nails and skin off some knuckles) by picking up a Falcon XH ute as a 2nd car/run around/tinkerer project, and got stuck in maintaining and improving it. Cheap as chips, plenty of parts around at the wreckers and all service items available at Repco.
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1998 XH Falcon V8 S Pack, white, couple of dents. Bogan project 2020 PX3 Ranger XLT 4x4, 10 speed BiTurbo, Tech Pack, Black wheel pack, HSP powered roller shutter, LED fogs, tailgate central locking and auto fold mirror upgrades. |
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