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The 7 reasons you can't work on your own car

radcen said:
The 7 reasons you can't work on your own car

https://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/the-7-reasons-you-can-t-work-on-your-own-car-173540850.html
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I'm sort of in disagreement with the article citing OBD-II being the turning point in a vehicles longevity. I think tighter engine tolerances and improved engine fluids have done that. Year ago you could get 100,000 miles out of an engine, since the mid 90's, seeing vehicles in excess of 100,000 miles and the engines not dripping fluids, knocking and tapping, or burning oil, car makers have come a long ways since the early days. It's sort of perfection in engine, and drive train technology.
 
Goshin said:
I would agree that is SOME of it.... such as the increased complexity of fuel injection engines and emissions control, and electronics.

But there are also things that seem to be either malicious attempts to discourage shade-tree mechanics, or else sheer stupidity... like one car where you had to literally jack the engine up to remove the last spark plug, and another where you had to remove the entire front wheel and a panel behind it to change the fanbelt.
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Ford vans have been like that for 30 years. :lol:
 
Goshin said:
I would agree that is SOME of it.... such as the increased complexity of fuel injection engines and emissions control, and electronics.

But there are also things that seem to be either malicious attempts to discourage shade-tree mechanics, or else sheer stupidity... like one car where you had to literally jack the engine up to remove the last spark plug, and another where you had to remove the entire front wheel and a panel behind it to change the fanbelt.
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Ah yes, my very first Ford Aerostar tuneup, how can I forget that one.
 
rabbitcaebannog said:
My husband changes his own (and my) rotors and brake pads. It saves us tons of money.
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Tons of money? My normal labor charge for front or rear brakes is $65. That includes measuring drums and rotors, and if they are within spec turning them on my lathe. So your pads last longer and there is no pulse or chatter. The contact points get antiseize, the slides are cleaned and get dielectric gel, your rear brakes are cleaned and adjusted and tires are rotated if needed and tire pressures are checked. Does you husband do all that? How often, and how long does it take? Because if he spends half a day on the weekend and doesn't do all that, you are going backward. And if he is not truing those rotors your pads are wearing out faster. My time is valuable, especially my down time.
 
Cephus said:
Personally, I'd rather just pay someone to do it. I can do it. I might even save money doing it. I just happen to make plenty of money and have no problem whatsoever having a professional do it. That's why we become successful in the first place.
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I agree. I can do my own accounting too, but for what my accountant charges, if it takes me more than 2 hours a month I'm going backward, and she will back me up if I get audited.
 
tech30528 said:
I agree. I can do my own accounting too, but for what my accountant charges, if it takes me more than 2 hours a month I'm going backward, and she will back me up if I get audited.
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Exactly. I can do my own taxes too, but I still have a professional do it. My time is worth more than what I'm paying some other guy, I'd rather let someone with the training, tools and time get the job done right the first time, where the work is guaranteed if something goes wrong.
 
tech30528 said:
Tons of money? My normal labor charge for front or rear brakes is $65. That includes measuring drums and rotors, and if they are within spec turning them on my lathe. So your pads last longer and there is no pulse or chatter. The contact points get antiseize, the slides are cleaned and get dielectric gel, your rear brakes are cleaned and adjusted and tires are rotated if needed and tire pressures are checked. Does you husband do all that? How often, and how long does it take? Because if he spends half a day on the weekend and doesn't do all that, you are going backward. And if he is not truing those rotors your pads are wearing out faster. My time is valuable, especially my down time.
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Absolutely, enough in our minds for him to do it himself.
 
tech30528 said:
Tons of money? My normal labor charge for front or rear brakes is $65. That includes measuring drums and rotors, and if they are within spec turning them on my lathe. So your pads last longer and there is no pulse or chatter. The contact points get antiseize, the slides are cleaned and get dielectric gel, your rear brakes are cleaned and adjusted and tires are rotated if needed and tire pressures are checked. Does you husband do all that? How often, and how long does it take? Because if he spends half a day on the weekend and doesn't do all that, you are going backward. And if he is not truing those rotors your pads are wearing out faster. My time is valuable, especially my down time.
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It seems like nowadays rotors are never turned, they always seem to be out of tolerance for that, so they have to be replaced and that is expensive. I heard that is because they are made thinner to reduce production costs.
 
Porchev said:
It seems like nowadays rotors are never turned, they always seem to be out of tolerance for that, so they have to be replaced and that is expensive. I heard that is because they are made thinner to reduce production costs.
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I just looked and brake rotors average about $40 for the vehicles I looked at. That's not expensive.
 
Cephus said:
I just looked and brake rotors average about $40 for the vehicles I looked at. That's not expensive.
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What is the labor costs on installing them?
 
First off, Steven Lang must have been asleep the last 30 years, because most of his gripes would be understandable if we still all drove 1984 Oldsmobiles, Ford Tempos or Toyota Coronas.

Even today's materials like oil, coolant and hydraulic fluids are not what we used back then. We used to have use leaded gasoline too.

This statement illustrates the ignorance:

oil change deals were often as cheap as $5. Those deals are long gone; the basic ones now run more than $20, and more advanced synthetic oils can run $5 a quart, quickly erasing any cost advantage for DIYers over the local quick-lube place.

Synthetic oil like Mobil 1 used in today's typical used car is good for 15,000 miles. That's 5 times as long, making it a bargain compared conventional oils. Other synthetics liks Amsoil boast up to 25,000 miles under certain conditions.

There's not much for DIY'ers to do on these newer cars and trucks, but.... why would you want to, when the old tune up and oil change is no longer necessary every 6 - 12 months?

If you really NEED to work on something, I'd suggest something along these lines:

1964_gto.jpg
 
Cephus said:
Exactly. I can do my own taxes too, but I still have a professional do it. My time is worth more than what I'm paying some other guy, I'd rather let someone with the training, tools and time get the job done right the first time, where the work is guaranteed if something goes wrong.
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Exactly.
 
I still work on both my vehicles: Volvo S80 and Toyota Tacoma. The volvo is really easy; plastic shrouds and gravel shields and all. The TAcoma is - in line - so it's a piece of cake as well. What's getting tough to get used to though is the cost of motor oil: it's actually the same cost as having it done for you! A case of oil in the SF Bay Area is now $72.00! 5 quarts and a filter still add up to around $50 so it's damned if you do, damned if you don't.
 
jet57 said:
I still work on both my vehicles: Volvo S80 and Toyota Tacoma. The volvo is really easy; plastic shrouds and gravel shields and all. The TAcoma is - in line - so it's a piece of cake as well. What's getting tough to get used to though is the cost of motor oil: it's actually the same cost as having it done for you! A case of oil in the SF Bay Area is now $72.00! 5 quarts and a filter still add up to around $50 so it's damned if you do, damned if you don't.
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Part of the reason I stopped changing my oil was the cost savings wasn't there anymore.
 
I maintain our vehicles myself and will replace anything that is "bolt on" like brake rotors and so on. If you have a service engine light on, you can order a 12 dollar bluetooth adapter for your cars ODBII port. With that you can get the codes with a smartphone app or reset them if needed.
 
radcen said:
Part of the reason I stopped changing my oil was the cost savings wasn't there anymore.
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I run full synthetic and change my vehicle's oil twice a year. The oil in this case Quaker State Ultimate Durability Synthetic 5w20 is 21 dollars for a 5 quart jug at Walmart. A Purelator Pureone Premium Filter is about 5 dollars or so depending on the size you need. So for 26 dollars I get an oil change that would cost me 50 dollars minimum at a shop. Of course, if you are going to change your oil every 3000 miles, synthetic is a waste of money. You can run the cheapest SN dino oil you can find then.
 
Porchev said:
What is the labor costs on installing them?
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I'm sure it's no more expensive than the brake service you're already getting.
 
Porchev said:
What is the labor costs on installing them?
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Brake rotors are super easy to change yourself. New pads and rotors will cost you about 40 to 50 dollars per wheel. That is less than half what a shop will charge you. All you need is a wrench and a big c-clamp to push the piston back in with easily. You may need a bolt with a couple of nuts to force the old rotor off if its rusted on.
 
SouthernDemocrat said:
Brake rotors are super easy to change yourself. New pads and rotors will cost you about 40 to 50 dollars per wheel. That is less than half what a shop will charge you. All you need is a wrench and a big c-clamp to push the piston back in with easily. You may need a bolt with a couple of nuts to force the old rotor off if its rusted on.
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Last time I had brakes done, it was at a shop and I don't remember the exact price, but I remember it being expensive...it was for rotors and brake pads plus the labor. I have done brake pads a few times myself in the past, and I need to do at the least the front rotors and pads on one of my vehicles right now, so I was just watching this video:

 
SouthernDemocrat said:
I run full synthetic and change my vehicle's oil twice a year. The oil in this case Quaker State Ultimate Durability Synthetic 5w20 is 21 dollars for a 5 quart jug at Walmart. A Purelator Pureone Premium Filter is about 5 dollars or so depending on the size you need. So for 26 dollars I get an oil change that would cost me 50 dollars minimum at a shop.
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Perfect.

Of course, if you are going to change your oil every 3000 miles, synthetic is a waste of money. You can run the cheapest SN dino oil you can find then.
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Why would anyone do such a dumb thing?
 
radcen said:
Part of the reason I stopped changing my oil was the cost savings wasn't there anymore.
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Yeah, that's why I choose to do as much work on my cars as I can. At the shop you pay twice what the part's worth plus $110 an hour or more for labor. Two hours and already in for $220! On my Volvo I changed crank case breather system and put in a new # 3 coil for about $125. Just educate yourself a bit and nothing's too difficult.
 
jet57 said:
Yeah, that's why I choose to do as much work on my cars as I can. At the shop you pay twice what the part's worth plus $110 an hour or more for labor. Two hours and already in for $220! On my Volvo I changed crank case breather system and put in a new # 3 coil for about $125. Just educate yourself a bit and nothing's too difficult.
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I do what I can, but it has to be feasible both economically and time-wise. For example, oil changes are no longer economically feasible, but brakes still are. Just to give two examples.
 
radcen said:
I do what I can, but it has to be feasible both economically and time-wise. For example, oil changes are no longer economically feasible, but brakes still are. Just to give two examples.
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Yeah, I agree.
 
Porchev said:
Last time I had brakes done, it was at a shop and I don't remember the exact price, but I remember it being expensive...it was for rotors and brake pads plus the labor. I have done brake pads a few times myself in the past, and I need to do at the least the front rotors and pads on one of my vehicles right now, so I was just watching this video:

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What's sad is I've had to go and show professional mechanics how to put together brakes before, I had a car, way back when, with drum brakes and they took the mechanism apart and couldn't figure out how to put it back together. I had to go show them how. It was the last time I ever took my car there.
 
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