Do you maintain your own car?

I recently changed brake pads and oil on my car and was wondering how many TEers not only did it themselves but also those who can but just "don't get dirty" anymore.
By the way the whole ordeal took a little over 2 hours for front/back brakes and oil change.

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QHalo

If they're caliper style, I've done them but don't have the tools to do them anymore. My dad and I used to do this whenever I bought a new car but now that I'm older, I pay for the convenience of not having to do it plus I don't have anywhere to really do it. Living in the city is not really conducive do DIY auto-repair.

networker050184

Nope. I've changed oil, brakes and done small maintenance a few times and have never enjoyed it. I'd much rather spend the dough and keep the grease off my hands.

Bl8ckr0uter

Nope. I'd like to take a class one day but I pretty much take it to the shop. I did put in subs on one of my cars though.

msteinhilber

I do all my own work on my cars for the past decade or so. Messing with cars is a bit of a hobby of mine and certainly is a good cost saver if you run into big issues. I've swapped an engine in one of my past cars and recently had to pickup a cheap used one and rebuild that for my current vehicle and saved a fortune doing it myself.

It's a bit more grueling for me to do the casual repairs like those though even though they save me some cash. I much prefer to waste cash and have a little project car, but the economy won't accommodate such a project for me right now. Definitely wish I could jump into something to mess with a bit, haven't done much in that regard for a few years or so now since getting rid of my old project which was an 02 Saturn SC2 - little tupperware turd of a car but it moved pretty quick (though 1st gear was mostly useless and most of 2nd until I got a staged boost controller) after fabbing a custom turbo setup for it. Those are the times I don't mind rebuilding engines, when you're trying to find out how much HP stock rods or piston's can take so you can rebuild it with stronger aftermarket gear and shoot for more power

rogue2shadow

I got a decent deal on a maintenance contract with the dealer and I bought my SUV used under 17k miles. It gets me up to 4 oil changes per year and am still under the manufacturers and an extended plan.

At some point I want to learn how to fix it myself but at the moment, I let them do it haha.

kriscamaro68

I have worked on cars before I could drive. I have never taken my cars into shops to do anything. I always do my own maintenance and I do all my own upgrades on my cars as well. From full on sound system installs to rebuilding motors, turbo upgrades

and tranny installs, clutches. I take pride in knowing I did everything on my car. It helps that I have had more cars in 10 years then most will in their life time.

If anyone wants to know here is what I have owned over the years:
in order: 1970 camaro, 67 pontiac lemans, 68 pontiac firebird, 66 Chevy Nova, 94 mazda b4000, 95 civic hatchback, 67 Chevy Nova, 92 acura integra GSR, 2005 Civic Si, 2004 subaru forester xt, 2003 subaru wrx, 2004 wrx.

My brother has had even more cars then me and we have worked on all of his as well. Its fun to work on them and watch them progress to being faster as time and lots of money goes by.

Bl8ckr0uter

kriscamaro68 wrote: »

I have worked on cars before I could drive. I have never taken my cars into shops to do anything. I always do my own maintenance and I do all my own upgrades on my cars as well. From full on sound system installs to rebuilding motors, turbo upgrades and tranny installs, clutches. I take pride in knowing I did everything on my car. It helps that I have had more cars in 10 years then most will in their life time.

If anyone wants to know here is what I have owned over the years:
in order: 1970 camaro, 67 pontiac lemans, 68 pontiac firebird, 66 Chevy Nova, 94 mazda b4000, 95 civic hatchback, 67 Chevy Nova, 92 acura integra GSR, 2005 Civic Si, 2004 subaru forester xt, 2003 subaru wrx, 2004 wrx.

My brother has had even more cars then me and we have worked on all of his as well. Its fun to work on them and watch them progress to being faster as time and lots of money goes by.

You have earned my respect sir

chrisone

I do my own oil changes, I need to learn how to do my own brake pads. I have to be careful as the process is probably a little more delicate than other cars. I drive a Lexus IS350.

forkvoid

I've built engines, rebuilt differentials, swapped transmissions, countless clutch jobs, plenty of head gaskets. I own/have owned: '87 Camaro, '93 Toyota Pickup, '87 Chevy K10, '83 Firebird, '86 Firebird, '85 Nissan 300ZX, and a '99 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS.

Only work I've sent to a shop was an alignment and wheel bearings on the Subaru(hundreds of dollars in tools which couldn't be rented that turned out to be cheaper to have a shop to do it).

Automotive is what calms me down after a day of dealing with customers in IT.

msteinhilber

kriscamaro68 wrote: »

2004 subaru forester xt, 2003 subaru wrx, 2004 wrx.

I'm a Subaru guy myself now

My daily grinder is an 02 Forester S (I like the ugly older boxy looking style) and if I can find a suitable inexpensive beater to get me around after the upcoming winter I think the project bug is going to bite and I'll be swapping my lowly bone stock EJ251 and auto trans out for the V7 STI Spec C RA-R drivetrain I've had sitting in storage. I've been contemplating just listing it on eBaymotors since I could use the cash, but I'd have to travel a couple hours to where it's stored and then find a company to crate it up and then list it... so that's what I'm using to talk myself out of selling it

Sure would be a nice little sleeper though, and ugly boxy Forester

keenon

I do majority of all my car repairs. Fluid changes, brakes, axles and most of anything as long as its not major work like engines and transmissions(not that i haven't done them in the past).

I have been customizing my cb7 lately. If you know what it is i will be going to more IA meets in the future.

kriscamaro68

forkvoid wrote: »

I've built engines, rebuilt differentials, swapped transmissions, countless clutch jobs, plenty of head gaskets. I own/have owned: '87 Camaro, '93 Toyota Pickup, '87 Chevy K10, '83 Firebird, '86 Firebird, '85 Nissan 300ZX, and a '99 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS.

Only work I've sent to a shop was an alignment and wheel bearings on the Subaru(hundreds of dollars in tools which couldn't be rented that turned out to be cheaper to have a shop to do it).

Automotive is what calms me down after a day of dealing with customers in IT.

I love the 2.5rs. My brother and I are building his 2000 2.5rs at the moment. But we are doing a shop built bottom end. He is having a shop blueprint and balance a sti block and putting in forged internals. Then we are putting on the sti heads with a port&polish and valve job. Also putting on a custom 20g turbo that makes big power and then finishing it up with RA gears in a wrx 5 spd. With our first baby on the way I am probably going to be parting with my WRX and getting a 2.5rs to do a full STI swap in it down the road. Plus it makes insurance so much cheaper. I love all-wheel-drive.

msteinhilber wrote: »

I'm a Subaru guy myself now

My daily grinder is an 02 Forester S (I like the ugly older boxy looking style) and if I can find a suitable inexpensive beater to get me around after the upcoming winter I think the project bug is going to bite and I'll be swapping my lowly bone stock EJ251 and auto trans out for the V7 STI Spec C RA-R drivetrain I've had sitting in storage. I've been contemplating just listing it on eBaymotors since I could use the cash, but I'd have to travel a couple hours to where it's stored and then find a company to crate it up and then list it... so that's what I'm using to talk myself out of selling it

Sure would be a nice little sleeper though, and ugly boxy Forester

That will be cool. Sleepers are awesome. That drive train is rare and worth a lot. Don't sell it unless you have to or you will regret it. I got JDM spec RA gears in my 5 spd now on my 04 wrx. They are quite short but I get up to freeway speeds quick. Sometimes faster:) Subaru's are great. I have dealt with a lot of evo's and they are faster (stock) and respond well to upgrades but don't seem quite as reliable to me as the wrx/sti. Plus insurance is through the roof on those.

egb893

I do most of my own auto work. Usually just oil changes and brake jobs but I've done major repairs including changing heads, axles and differentials. I was taught how to work on cars by my dad and also I had two years of automotive technology in high school. It's cool to see others here work on there own cars too

kriscamaro68

egb893 wrote: »

I do most of my own auto work. Usually just oil changes and brake jobs but I've done major repairs including changing heads, axles and differentials. I was taught how to work on cars by my dad and also I had two years of automotive technology in high school. It's cool to see others here work on there own cars too

My dad got me into cars when I was really young. He would tell me about stories of him in his 66 GTO racing people. When I was 8 I got my first subscription to Road & Track and Car & Driver. Since then I have loved cars. I took 4 years of auto shop in high school as well. and spent my nights working on either my own cars or whatever my brother had at the time. On the weekends we would hit the drag strip and street races. Cars use to be my life and computers where only for gaming. Now its the other way around.

Devilsbane

I didn't do it myself, but I recently changed my breakpads with my dad. And we used to do oil all of the time too, but now its just easier to bring it somewhere. Busy lives these days.

tpatt100

I did back in my first year of college (the first time where I dropped out...) and I was really poor. Well I did my own brakes and made a total mess out of it. I let air in the lines and brake pedal went to the floor.

I would like to take a class on it someday and make rebuilding cars a hobby.

forkvoid

kriscamaro68 wrote: »

I love the 2.5rs. My brother and I are building his 2000 2.5rs at the moment. But we are doing a shop built bottom end. He is having a shop blueprint and balance a sti block and putting in forged internals. Then we are putting on the sti heads with a port&polish and valve job. Also putting on a custom 20g turbo that makes big power and then finishing it up with RA gears in a wrx 5 spd. With our first baby on the way I am probably going to be parting with my WRX and getting a 2.5rs to do a full STI swap in it down the road. Plus it makes insurance so much cheaper. I love all-wheel-drive.

That will be cool. Sleepers are awesome. That drive train is rare and worth a lot. Don't sell it unless you have to or you will regret it. I got JDM spec RA gears in my 5 spd now on my 04 wrx. They are quite short but I get up to freeway speeds quick. Sometimes faster:) Subaru's are great. I have dealt with a lot of evo's and they are faster (stock) and respond well to upgrades but don't seem quite as reliable to me as the wrx/sti. Plus insurance is through the roof on those.

The RS is the only Subaru I don't think is ugly. The engineering makes me both love and hate Subaru, though... On the plus side, I can pull an engine from it in half an hour flat... on the down side, I swapped a '96 EJ25 DOHC JDM into a buddy's '97 Legacy Outback... there's no room to swap spark plugs without pulling the engine. The SOHC had plenty of room. Sometimes I am convinced that Subaru has saki in their water fountains.

However, I LOVE my RS. It's fantastic. I haven't decided if I'm going to do an NA build on it or just a WXR/STI swap.

pitviper

I used to do all of my own maintenance (Isuzu Vehicross) - but then I learned that it was way more fun to drink beer on a Saturday afternoon at my buddies shop while he did the work in 1/2 the time

kriscamaro68

forkvoid wrote: »

The RS is the only Subaru I don't think is ugly. The engineering makes me both love and hate Subaru, though... On the plus side, I can pull an engine from it in half an hour flat... on the down side, I swapped a '96 EJ25 DOHC JDM into a buddy's '97 Legacy Outback... there's no room to swap spark plugs without pulling the engine. The SOHC had plenty of room. Sometimes I am convinced that Subaru has saki in their water fountains.

However, I LOVE my RS. It's fantastic. I haven't decided if I'm going to do an NA build on it or just a WXR/STI swap.

I hate changing spark plugs on the wrx. They are in such an awkward place. For me I love turbo's too much to ever go back unless I get another muscle car. Even then though I would probably do a turbo or roots style supercharger. I love the sound of a turbo spooling and the bov. Also roots superchargers sound awesome when you hear the whine.

jahsoul

When I owned my Supra I did all the work on it. With the Malibu, not as much...lmbo

DevilWAH

Generaly service stuff (oil, plugs, breaks) I am happy doing. And if it does not need specialised tool I will often do repairs if I have the time.

But more often than not, manufactures will use some strange shaped/size bolt, or require you to have a tool only useful for there car and that sets you back as much as getting a mechanic to do the work.

So like at the moment when I need to do some work on the engine, its just much simpler to get it done at the garage..

If I didn't have a 5 months old, new job, new house to sort out and I had a spare car to get to work in. Then I would be happy to spend the weekend playing with it.

veritas_libertas

earweed wrote: »

I recently changed brake pads and oil on my car and was wondering how many TEers not only did it themselves but also those who can but just "don't get dirty" anymore.
By the way the whole ordeal took a little over 2 hours for front/back brakes and oil change.

That is me. I just don't have time to work on a car anymore.

jamesleecoleman

My dad and I do work on my car. Some of the more difficult stuff, we take to the shop to get done. I also would like to take an automotive class but they're expensive at the CC I go to.

phantasm

I used to do all my own work but as of late my choices of residency do not permit it. However I'd done my old suspension work, rebuilt the top half of an engine and re-geared the rear end of my truck. I like doing my own work but lately it just goes to the shop.

Anonymouse

I do most of the work on my own cars 'cause I'm cheap and don't like paying people to do stuff unless I don't have the tools or the job intimidates me. Currently have a Lancer Evo and a Miata.

DevilWAH

This thread reminds me very much of the "do you build your own PC"

I can see lots of us have done, and like to. But having less time as other things take priority, and the loss of challenge (break pads are only fun the first time really).

Some times it just easy to take it to the shop. maybe one day when I am rich, daughter has left home, I will get a classic bike and rebuild it. But for now the thought of spending a day stripping an engine just does not get me fired up. Rather go walk the dogs or fly a kite

DevilWAH

tpatt100 wrote: »

I did back in my first year of college (the first time where I dropped out...) and I was really poor. Well I did my own brakes and made a total mess out of it. I let air in the lines and brake pedal went to the floor.

I would like to take a class on it someday and make rebuilding cars a hobby.

LOL that reminds me of the first time I did my brakes, I forgot to pump them to tighten them up on the disks after I had finished. Went to pull out of my drive, and ended up rolling out across a busy road pumping furiously at the peddle to stop as cars where bearing down on my at 50mph! Ended up blocking the lane of traffic and sheepishly reversing out of every ones way with a rather red face.

jamesp1983

I performed an engine and transmission swap on a 91 toyota mr2. I installed a celica gt4 motor in the mr2. I also swapped a clutch, flywheel, brakes, air intakes, and several other components. Oh, and I do my own oil changes...

Psoasman

phoeneous wrote: »

Chics dig guys that can fix cars.

Do chics dig guys that can fix computers?

I do the basic maintenance, but don't have time or much experience with major stuff. I barter with relatives for computer repair. My brother in law can rebuild a diesel engine from the frame up, so I'm in good hands.

Plantwiz

Psoasman wrote: »

Do chics dig guys that can fix computers?

It's more impressive if a guy can fix a car

It seems so rare these days and I hardly see the high schoolers tearing apart cars any more (that seemed a normal thing when I was growing up...guys (and some girls) were either tearing apart the engine or doing body work...some did both. Today, very few kids seem to work on cars and now...most take them to shops.

I do the basic maintenance, but don't have time or much experience with major stuff. I barter with relatives for computer repair. My brother in law can rebuild a diesel engine from the frame up, so I'm in good hands.

I'll do anything I can do with the tools I already have. I don't have access to a lift any longer or anyway to pull an engine block, so major stuff I have to take to a local guy I know. Otherwise, the only thing that beats working on a car is chopping wood! Dang that's a rush