Rebuilding Engines and Car Mechanic Stuff

[shunyadragon]

Yeah, when they started adding all that pollution control stuff, you had to be a plumber and pipefitter besides an electrician and mechanic!

My favorite engine was a 351 Cleveland in my '69 Mercury Cyclone -- it had power, and very little of that "extra" stuff.

I am still able to work with late 1990s and early 2000s stuff. I find Toyotas and Nissans of that period relatively easy to work on. I admit I have lost Patience with Fix Or Repair Daily, and GM except early stuff.

British cars have always been in fog, and ruled by Lucas the 'Prince of Darkness.'

Car joke of the day: "What is the difference between [Jeeps] and babies."

Answer: "Babies eventually stop leaking."

Same joke substitute [Jaguars]

[Cow Poke]

Well a good mechanic is easier to find in a small town like Hillsborough, NC where in a population of less then 10,000 including the surrounding area, where bad reputations insure a quick and mercyless death.

Since I was in Junior High my brothers and I worked on my father's used cars to got to market. I have rebuilt engines in the past and a few standard transmissions, but at present I do not do as much. I will change oil on occasion and do relatively simple repairs, but my hard work days on car repair are gone, in part due the fact that high tech cars need special equipment.

Yeah, when they started adding all that pollution control stuff, you had to be a plumber and pipefitter besides an electrician and mechanic!

My favorite engine was a 351 Cleveland in my '69 Mercury Cyclone -- it had power, and very little of that "extra" stuff.

[shunyadragon]

Well a good mechanic is easier to find in a small town like Hillsborough, NC where in a population of less then 10,000 including the surrounding area, where bad reputations insure a quick and mercyless death.

Since I was in Junior High my brothers and I worked on my father's used cars to got to market. I also lived on a farm that belonged to my mother and uncles working on farm equipment. I have rebuilt engines in the past and a few standard transmissions, but at present I do not do as much, except offer cheap advice. I will change oil on occasion and do relatively simple repairs, but my hard work days on car repair are gone, in part due the fact that high tech cars need special equipment.

[Cow Poke]

The problem is finding a good mechanic you can trust.

Recently, I had some transmission trouble -- one guy told me I needed a total rebuild, but he didn't do transmissions. So he directed me to another guy who "was really honest, and would take care of me". I took a chance, and THAT guy told me a total rebuild would be about $2600 to $3000. My Mountaineer has 252,000 miles on it, so I thought - well, if that's what it takes.....

Three hours later, the transmission guy told me "I think it just needed transmission service and a modulator valve - which is gonna be about $120". He said he couldn't guarantee that would fix the problem, but he suggested we try that first.

That was about 3 weeks ago, and it's running GREAT!

[robrecht]

I used to do a lot more (never rebuilt an engine 'though), still do some stuff, but don't usually have much time or patience anymore.

[Cow Poke]

I used to do this a lot. When I was younger, I did my own oil changes and all sorts of mechanic stuff, including rebuilding at least 3 engines.

Does anybody do this anymore? I pretty much quit changing my own oil when it stopped making economic sense -- "10 minute oil change" places started popping up, the price of oil per can increased, and it became a hassle to dispose of the old oil.....

Does anybody still do their own car mechanic stuff?