Becomming a hobbyist-mechanic?

shakenbake

Right ... My ignorance of cars/engines simply defies belief and its one thing I'm lusting to know more about.

I'm about to hit my 30's and have already settled nicely into my career, so I'm not looking to change, but I want to get my hands dirty on the weekends. I'm willing to dedicate myself to doing whatever is necessary to learn more about cars, so what do I do?

Can I enroll myself as a mature-night student somewhere to do a course? Or would you reckon simply employing someone to let me do a few projects under supervision to enough to get me started?

Anyone want to tutour me?

Ratchet

do you have garage and looking for some project car or just thinking about doing some work on you current car?

Con9903

Buy an old car to work on, something simple. You don't want to go screwing up your good car . Then buy a workshop manual for that car and get cracking

ds20prefecture

shakenbake wrote:

Can I enroll myself as a mature-night student somewhere to do a course?

New Park school in Blackrock have a beginners car maintenace course. There's a guide to night courses available for Dublin (which is where I am assuming you are from).

Are you interested in classics or modern cars? You might be better off getting into electronics if the latter - that way you have a niche that might be marketable as cars become more heavily reliant on electronics.

For a classic, you might want to join a club of a particular marque and attend "technical weekends" for want of a better description. I ran one last year (purely in the hope of learning something and getting my hands dirty) and everyone who attended learned a lot. We had one expert showing us how to do things on our cars. It is important to have a project car as Ratchet suggests, otherwise you'll lack focus/direction. Once you are familiar with that car, most others are the same.

Anyone want to tutor me?

If you find someone, will you let me know?

Ratchet

ds20prefecture wrote:

.............

If you find someone, will you let me know?

looks like i have 2 customers already

shakenbake

My current car is a 5th gen civic which I was intending to hold onto when I get my new car. I'd hope to able to get to the stage where I could confidently pull the engine apart and put it back together. Tall order I know

The things is, I have a haynes manual already and I'm not very bright at understanding the instructions tbh, unless their pop-up ones I'm lost !

I'm a very very hands on style of learner and kinda need to the guidance of someone to say 'no, don't do that, you'll kill yourself' or 'yea thats right' !

I suppose where theirs a will, theirs a way. Cars have intimidated for long enough, its definitly time to get cracking !

Ratchet

there will be not much repairs with the Honda but you can start with general maintenance.

anyway, brother is still waiting for the parts from Japan but soon as he gets them we are going to rebuild one of the Honda Beat engines.
Well, if you want to drop by and have quick look while we are doing open heart surgery then let me know. It is not something that you will be able to do straight away but i suppose would be interesting to see adn will allow you to ask some questions

in the mean time if you need any help or info about your civic let me know. I have Honda service manuals in pdf format for it , which you can have

it just happens i do like and work on Honda's

BrianD3

I am in a similar position, I'm gradually teaching myself how to do various mechanical jobs. I'll only attempt pretty simple stuff really which doesn't require much specialist equipment (eg engine hoists, presses, lifts etc.) I also have an old car to practice on.

Haynes manuals are often very poor at explaining things and assume that you know what various terminology means. Eg the other day I was reading up how to service drum brakes and the haynes manual was mentioning various clips, sprockets, springs and adjusters which meant nothing to me. In these cases you really need someone to describe to you in an "idiot proof" way EXACTLY what to do. Or better still show you.

Anyhow there are some good forums on the internet for describing what to do. My interest is renault cars and I have found some good advice and articles (including photos) on www.retro-renault.com Also try the newsgroup uk.rec.cars.maintenance - but be aware that there are a lot of pompous gits on there who think they know it all.

I don't think night courses are much good TBH as they are too basic. They'll teach you how to change oil and filter and very little else. A haynes manual would be sufficent for this.

BrianD3

Dades

shakenbake,

I posted a similar request a few months back, and am now doing the last two weeks of a "car maintenance" course.

The course is in Stillorgan College, and is running for 8 weeks. I don't know if there is a summer course, but I'll ask tonight. You could give them a call too. I'd recommend the course as we actually cover the mechanicals in much more depth than oil changes and filling the tank. (The tutor brings in a car in boxes!)

I've just bought a classic, and like you knew little about nothing. But it's amazing how stuff you read about becomes clear when somebody hands you the part and explains how it works.

Try this site too...

http://www.nightcourses.com/

G'luck!

BrianD3

That sounds very interesting Athiest. I would be up for doing that course if it is on in the summer. Can you list out some of the things that are covered in the course - must be quite comprehensive if it runs for 8 weeks.

BrianD3

buzz

F.a.s

ds20prefecture

Ratchet wrote:

anyway, brother is still waiting for the parts from Japan but soon as he gets them we are going to rebuild one of the Honda Beat engines.
Well, if you want to drop by and have quick look while we are doing open heart surgery then let me know.

Is this an open offer Ratchet? I love the Beat ( saw a cracking 93 red one the other day on Gardiner St. ) but I would really love to see/be involved an engine rebuild. I have 2 old DS engines and would love to rebuild them or at least understand some of the components.

ds20prefecture

BrianD3 wrote:

That sounds very interesting Athiest. I would be up for doing that course if it is on in the summer. Can you list out some of the things that are covered in the course - must be quite comprehensive if it runs for 8 weeks.

BrianD3

Ditto. Would love to know the syllabus/course plan.

Silvera

As somebody who knows quite a bit about cars (I worked as a panel beater for 6.5 years), I understand that it can be a bit daunting for beginners.

I started learning at a very young age - my father operated heavy plant machinery (HyMac's, JCB's, etc.) and did all his own car repairs (even though he never formally trained as a mechanic!)

I would suggest getting used to doing basic jobs first of all, e.g. spark plug and oil changes, before moving on to things like front brake pad changes, etc. etc.

If you can do a course, all the better.


I would also HIGHLY recommend that you start buying the monthly mag 'Car Mechanics'.

It's a super magazine, full of info for all levels of competence.
It's even excellent for anybody who just wants to read about servicing, vehicle faults, etc. and so avoid getting ripped-off when having work done on their cars.

They also have an excellent forum at - www.carmechanicsmag.co.uk

Silvera.

mike65

I've found the internets the best place to learn stuff. Since I bought the Merc the 5 (I think) major english language message boards for the marque have been an endless sourse of knowledge. There are ppl on them who clearly do nothing except eat sleep and drink Mercedes which is great as they tend to help newbies so's to convert them for good!

Sadly I have never had a spare hobby car to learn on...and I'd kill to have a 2 tonne lift and barn...oh well.

Mike.

Ratchet

ds20prefecture wrote:

Is this an open offer Ratchet? I love the Beat ( saw a cracking 93 red one the other day on Gardiner St. ) but I would really love to see/be involved an engine rebuild. I have 2 old DS engines and would love to rebuild them or at least understand some of the components.

well, parts were just ordered , so will take some time before they arrive here but I will keep you and shakenbake updated.

Old engines are fun so you definitely should think about rebuilding at least one DS engine.

JohnCleary

Buy yourself some old dodgy car that has no chance of NCT, no tax etc...
Drive it to your garage and start stripping. Then try and re-assemble

Thats how I learned!

Dades

BrianD3 wrote:

That sounds very interesting Athiest. I would be up for doing that course if it is on in the summer. Can you list out some of the things that are covered in the course - must be quite comprehensive if it runs for 8 weeks.

Okay, for BrianD3, ds20prefecture, and anyone else...

I asked last night and there won't be another course staring till September. So it runs twice a year, and I believe the Sept course is going to be 10 weeks. (I paid €81 for the 8 week course - bargain).

On my course anyway, there's just one lecturer and a class of about 10 (though attendance average is about 7-8) so it's pretty close knit. It's very casual, but the guy knows his stuff so it's up to you to get the most out of the course.

I think the "syllabus" was roughly as follows:

Basics of a combustion engine
Lubrication
Cooling systems
Braking systems
Steering & Transmission/Clutch
Electrics
Wheels & Tyres
Actual service of a car

For each lecture there's car parts to look at and handle, e.g. an engine head, pistons, clutch, brake sets etc.

You won't be a mechanic afterwards but if you're keen, a lot of mystery will be revealed regarding whats under your bonnet. Also because of the casual nature of the course, you've effectively a mechanic there every week to put your questions to. And if you drive up he'll probably have no problem bringing the class out to diagnose your problems!

G'luck!

shakenbake

Thats great ! Thanks alot for that info, I'll definitely check that out in september.

Dagon

I'm in the same boat as shakenbake in that I want to learn much more about my car, and want to be able to service it myself and possibly tune it and replace parts.

Would love to get those service manuals off you Ratchet! Would they be ok for a 98 Civic? And will I be safe enough using them and doing it myself (or could I do damage)?

Ratchet

Dagon wrote:

I'm in the same boat as shakenbake in that I want to learn much more about my car, and want to be able to service it myself and possibly tune it and replace parts.

Would love to get those service manuals off you Ratchet! Would they be ok for a 98 Civic? And will I be safe enough using them and doing it myself (or could I do damage)?

i should have the manual for you model too. It all depends what you are want to do with the car. There are always things that will make you uncomfortable or need special equipment, so you will not be able to do it yourself but still you will find lots of things which will be nice to know and be able to repair.

i can see Honda meeting coming up

blastman

Hey Ratchet, will the class include hotwiring techniques?

ds20prefecture

The Atheist wrote:

You won't be a mechanic afterwards but if you're keen, a lot of mystery will be revealed regarding whats under your bonnet. Also because of the casual nature of the course, you've effectively a mechanic there every week to put your questions to. And if you drive up he'll probably have no problem bringing the class out to diagnose your problems!

Sounds great, thanks. I've requested info.

Ratchet

blastman wrote:

Hey Ratchet, will the class include hotwiring techniques?

bring your own screwdrivers as you are not breaking my new set

Alfasudcrazy

The banger to practice on sounds like a good idea if you have the space to store it. But I would caution about experimenting on your regular car. Its ok to do the servicing and to fix problems as they arise but ripping it up just to see how to do it would be quite a bad idea.
The old maxim 'if its not broke' etc applies here

Seth Brundle

I know people who attended night classes in car maintenance and didn't learn much tbh.
Personally, I would look up the interweb on how to do the following:-
change engine oil - what is the best grade, what tools (socket/wrench, sump washer, drain pan, funnel for pouring in new oil), where to dispose of spent oil.
change oil filter - brand, tools (oil filter remover), technique
change spark plugs - brand, tools (plug socket, feeler gauge)
change brake discs & pads & shoes - tools (jack or pref axle stands, allen key, wire), brand, technique
and work from there

Dades

kbannon wrote:

I know people who attended night classes in car maintenance and didn't learn much tbh.
Personally, I would look up the interweb

There are people on my course that took away very little. If you have a 05 car in fact, that hardly a point in doing it - everything on your car is controlled by a computer, or is made very difficult to access. But for those with older cars that favour the home mechanic it's different. You get out of it what you want to get.

The interweb can be great for diagnosing stuff and telling you what needs to be done, but if you're a first-timer you'd be a LOT more comfortable having handled a few parts under an expert's eye first.

There is no substitute for hands on tuition.

AMurphy

JohnCleary wrote:

Buy yourself some old dodgy car that has no chance of NCT, no tax etc...
Drive it to your garage and start stripping. Then try and re-assemble

Thats how I learned!

I'd go along with this suggestion, or maybe a little better than totally shot, cause an engine that is incapable of running will probably frustrate the hell out of you and you'll give up.

Might also add a few months at some Community college/evening class etc, to speed up the process and quick learn some diagnostic methods.
And maybe get some pointers on which tools to not/get, etc. Avoid more than a few busted knuckles.

Unfortunately Haynes manuals are not the worlds best.
Benteley Publishing tend to be US/VW/AUDI/Bosch centric. They do some very good Bosch centric but no particular car Fuel/Electronig/Engine management books, excellent reading.
And OEM manuals seem to be classed as a state secret in ROI.

Internet is great for specific problems on specific makes/models.