From: ignatz@chinet.chi.il.us (Dave Ihnat)
Subject: Re: DIY, save Mega$$ (was: Re: I think SEARS AUTO. is trying.....)
Summary: Yes, it's a ripoff.  Self-work feasibility varies, though.
Organization: Chinet - Public Access UNIX
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 15:35:58 GMT

In article <1992Jul30.071807.4883@cbfsb.cb.att.com> cooper@cbnewsg.cb.att.com
(Ralph 'Hairy' Moonen) writes:
>
>If you have the time (and it won't really take a lot) then get yourself a
>book on the car you have. If you have a European car, or one of the 
>more mainstream American cars, Olyslager is a very good publisher of
>instraction books on car repair. Then start doing the small repairs
>yourself.

This is quite true; although you do have to figure in the cost of minimal
equipment and tools you're probably going to have to buy to do this. (Why do
I suspect you'd have to buy these?  Because if you already had them, you're
probably already working on your car...)  Figure an English and metric socket
set, if you've an American vehicle; you may get by with only metric if you've
an all-Euro or Japanese car.  The usual small stuff--screwdrivers, open-end and
box wrenches, regular pliers, vice grips, slip-joint pliers.  Don't try to save
money getting the K-mart blue-light special; they're sure to annoy in the short
run with poor fit and frangible blades and sockets, and in the long run will
wear out/break.  On the other hand, you needn't buy Snap-On, either; Sears
Craftsman is probably the best bargain for the home mechanic, with reasonable
prices and a lifetime warranty.  You usually can get a starter mechanic's kit
on sale for $100-$200, depending on how crazy you want to get.  They're also
quite useful around the house, so it's not a luxury just for the car.

Jackstands are a must; working on a car with a bumper or screw jack is asking
for an embarassing and damaging fall, at best, and serious injury at worst.
Ramps are needed for most recent vintage vehicles, as they're too low-slung
to get under for the oil filter.  Figure something in the range of $30-$50
for both.

>Things that you usually can do straight off, without any problems
>are:
>
>Oil replacement

Yep.  With ramps, you can do an oil change in < 10 minutes; better than Jiffy
Lube, and for only about $7-$9.

>Spark plug cleaning or replacement

Careful; if you've a high-performance vehicle, such as my Toyota Supra Turbo,
this is non-trivial.  They're 60,000 mile platinum plugs, which is good; you
have to pull the intercooler and a *lot* of wiring and tubing, which is bad,
and beyond most neos.

>Adjustment of ignition timing. 

Again, you're going to need a timing light to do this; a one-time cost of
between $30-$60.

>This alone can save you over $150 per year. 

Once you've bought the tools.

>Then when you get more experienced, things like brakes, clutch, fuel system,
>and actually everything that doesnt need highly specialised equipment  could
>be done by you.

Brakes, absolutely.  Frankly, I'd be hard-pressed to spend $300 on parts to
replace a full brake system, including all calipers and/or pistons, and the
master cylinder.  Water pumps, thermostats, hoses, fuel pumps--all are easy
grist if you're patient and follow directions.  BUT.  I won't recommend
clutch repair for neos these days.  Getting to manual clutch on a high-
performance car probably requires more equipment and understanding of the
ancillary systems they've stuck on vehicles today than most shade-tree
mechanics are suited to deal with.  (Ah, for the days when I lay on my back
under that '72 Chevy bench-pressing the tranny back in after a clutch job...
on second thought, no.  Not.)

>In this way, over the course of 2 years, I have done all
>these things, and saved myself at least $2000 in repairs and maintainance.
>And you really learn something in the process!

After all that, I agree--do it!  At the least, you get the satisfaction of
knowing exactly what's going on under the hood, and being able to speak
knowledgably with the mechanic for the jobs which are too much for your
equipment.  (If you're not obnoxious about it, it really puts a damper on
these bogus repairs.  Believe me.) At best, it's also a hobby--Saturday
morning, a cold beer or hot coffee on the side, the inevitable kibitzers
standing by snickering as you cuss that onery bolt that was designed to
be gotten only by a person with hands 3" wide and an corkscrew-shaped wrench...

		Dave Ihnat
		ignatz@homebru.chi.il.us (preferred return address)
		ignatz@chinet.chi.il.us