What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done?

Did that, along with minor bodywork repair. Sprayed orange lacquer on my MC tank and chain guard (with a REAL sprayer, not cans), which came out really nice. Fixed a few rust holes on the 55 Chevy with fiberglas and bondo before letting Earl Scheib paint it. The Clymer bodywork manual was definitely worth the money.

Does a MC count?

Did all the work except milling the heads and final torquing down of head bolts -- I just wasn't strong enough and didn't have a long enough cheater. What's a vcg?

Alternators, generators, starters, water pumps, motor mounts, brake pads/drums, hoses, belts.

NONE! I did this stuff because it was cheaper to do it myself. Now I have a used 2013 Corolla and I only looked under the hood when I bought it because someone else lifted it. One of the tires has a slow leak (indicated by a sensor so I don't even have to check!) which I pump back up every month or so, and I do that with a certain amount of resentment.

Don't get the cheap $10 Harbor Freight compressor, splurge on the $35 one; trust me.)

I tried to re-wind a MC alternator. Local electrical shop loaned me a spool of wire and said to pay for what I used. I gave up after only a few ounces. The guy said that he knew tiny Hispanic women who could do that. They're heroes.

GMC = GarageMan's Companion. I almost got 100000kn (62000 miles) on a GM "crate" 3800 in my TranSport.

I rebuilt the 850 Mini at something lihe 196000 miles. The '53 Coronet Hemi had almost exactly 100,000 miles on it when I got it with a "dead" engine - I rebuilt it. The '57 Fatgo flathead six got a new cyl head (the old one cracked) at about 250,000 miles. I totally rebuilt the 2.6 Mitsu engine in the '85 LeBaron at about

Some engines didn't last vert well at all - and others just wouldn't quit

A vulcan engine was almost guaranteed to outlast the body and/or front sub-frame on any Taurus - - -

Actually generally the easiest to change - after you get the tie-rod sleaves un-siezed - - -

I almost always ELIMINATE the friction by jackin the weight off the tire. I'm too "thick" to fit under the car with the wheels on the gr turn the tie-rod sleeves.

Most definitely. Even with the best equipment (Which I HAVE used)

That's why my guys were NEVER on Flat Rate - and why independent shops where the owner is "on the floor" are generally the best.

From customers, dealer principal., AND my mechanics!!!

The "better" clutch may be better for drag racing or towing a trailer,but may be HELL on your knees in heavy traffic - - - - There is "better" and there is "better" - really depends on what you are looking for.

Doesn't sound like it.

They sure make cars a lot better - experience and technology have made a lot of difference. ( Remember, in 1959, the automobile, as an object, was not as old as a 1959 car is today!!!!

The reason just about anything else you buy today is NOT better is everyone wants it CHEAPER and expects to upgrade long before anything with any QUALITY would require replacement. Everything is changing SO FAST.

Most people want to buy the latest and greatest even before today's JUNK is worn out.

Oh? used to be the rings and bearings, oil pump, lifters, and half the other moving parts in an engine required replacement within 60,000 miles. And the fuel and ignition system parts in less than half that.

Even timing CHAINS and GEARS often required replacement in roughly that time frame. I replaced LOTS of GM timing sprockets long before

The timing chains on Mitsubishi (Chrysler) 2.6 engines seldom made

They are a LOT easier to access than they used to be on many engines. Transverse engines make EVERYTHING harder to change - even on an old Mini.

There are a lot of engines that I can change a timing belt on in less than 2 hours - even on my driveway.

Many motorcycles run and ride so rough you wouldn't feel the vibration of an out-of-balance tire - and on many of the "cruiser" and "bagger" class of MCs, the tires DO get balanced to provide a smooth ride.

I'm guessing Valve Cover Gasket

Given an air compressor of decent size, a vapor condenser on the end, and a well regulated flow, it would seem to me that the paint will come out evenly where the trick is technique.

Given that we said the trick with alignment is knowledge, and the trick with car tires is tools, the trick with welding and painting seems to be technique.

Clymer. I remember them. Hanes too. And of course, the FSM which always seemed to be written in the japinish or germinish language.

Nowadays I use the Internet for the DIYs.

Maybe. But a master cylinder rebuild/replace is not on the same scale.

An alignement takes a few tools and a lot of thinking. An engine rebuild takes a lot of tools most of all the instructions.

A clutch, by way of comparison, is easier than those two as it only needs one or two special tools and the instructions are pretty simple by way of comparison.

Ain't you one of 'dem dat dere long-haired long-fingernailed high-heel wearing members of society?

If so, you 'jes needs yo'self a bigger breaker bar!

Valve cover gasket. It's like doing a head gasket, only a lot easier.

I think almost everyone has done that, where we can throw in voltage regulators and batteries to alternators, and we can add starters and batteries to that list.

With water pumps goes the entire assemblage of while-you're-there jobs such as belts and fan clutches and radiators and harmonic balancers.

With motor mounts there isn't much ancillary work that people do, but with brakes there's the whole shebang from pads and sensors to calipers and rotors and bearings and speed sensors, and abs intricacies.

I get a satisfaction out of understanding what it takes. I can't get that understanding by reading a book. If we haven't done the job at least once, I think we can't understand it at all.

Sure we think we understand it, but until we've actually done an alignment or changed a tire or painted a car or replaced an engine, we really don't know all that much IMHO.

We can just guess but guessing is 1/4 right and 3/4 wrong for most of us.

I understand which is that as we get older, we do less often. That's why I think I missed my chance on these half-dozen "big" jobs.

Harbor Freight is something that you have to get used to since sometimes they're the only place to get cheap-enough tools (like a transmission or motorcycle stand) while other times they're the worst place to get tools at any price (like any of their linesman pliers or drill bits).

Motorcyles used to have a rotating magnet inside three static coils of about 50 feet of copper wire coated with a baked-on heat resistant enamel. Without that enamel, the wires will short (ask me how I know).

The winding is pretty hard by hand because you only have three wires but you have something like 24 posts, where that post has a cap which overhangs and when you get to the last few windings, if you didn't wind it tightly enough, there's no room for the windings on the next post (again, ask me how I know this).

I'm _glad_ I wound my first motorcycle coil (which failed in just 100 miles by shorting out) and I'm glad I replaced the entire sulfuric acid content of my battery (which also lasted for only about 1/2 year), but neither are things I'd do again.

Then again, I'm glad I hiked (I don't remember the names exactly) the Kaibob to the Colorado River and then back up from Bright Angel to the top but it's not something I'll ever do again.

rbowman posted for all of us...

From the paint?

That might be the reason because I don't know anyone (BMW bikes) who balances their tires and they all mount them at home.

I think maybe another reason might be that almost no bike has crappy rims but I don't know why motorcycle tires seem to work fine on beamers without dynamic balancing. But they do.

The static balance is easily done with a horizontal axle.

I don't understand how it would work to lift the tire off the ground, so I assume you just remove some of the weight off the tire.

But isn't the alignment spec with the tires weighted with full load?

How can you do a proper alignment if you don't load the suspension?

Do you (a) load, (b) measure, (c) unload, (d) adjust, (e) load (f) measure?

(Of course I know all about loading for a driver and I know all about the BMW-style loading to "normal" conditions which is defined by BMW as a distance from the centerline of the hubcap to the middle of the fender flare and which typically requires about five hundred pounds spread out evenly - but I'm just talking about the generic loading of the suspension here with a full tank and no people in the car.)

I can't count the number of times I've seen someone use a screwdriver as a prybar on, say, plastic twist-off hubcaps, or who used a pair of pliers instead of a socket, or who used an adjustable wrench instead of a socket.

The only time I use a screwdriver, is as a screwdriver. The only time I use pliers on hex nuts is when simply holding down one end. The only time I use an adjustable wrench is ... well ... almost never.

(I can't imagine what an adjustable wrench does that the properly sized wrench doesn't do, unless you're climbing a lighthouse tower or something where you just can't come down to get the right tool for the bolt.)

Now vise grips. They're useful. But for different reasons.

But the point is that many mechanics use the fastest method. Not the right method.

Hence, that's why I think we always do a better job at home.

I wonder if Japan had something to do with Detroit making cars better?

That's what I don't get.

Why is everything but cars and computers cheaper and less reliable?

Cars are not cheaper but more reliable. Computers are both cheaper and more reliable.

I understand the magic of computers getting more reliable but what's the magic in cars getting more reliable?

I hear you that engines used to last only about 100K miles in those days, but is that true.

Are engines really far more reliable today? Why?

Is it because they're mostly Japanese?

I do agree that PCV valves and condensers and points and carbs required maintenance basically yearly or every two years at the longest.

Now, they're "almost" lifetime parts because they don't exist.

I'll agree with you that engines seem more reliable today than in yesteryear.

But why? What's the magic that makes a 150K-mile engine into a 300K-mile engine?

That's bad. I have never replaced a timing belt or a timing chain. And I've gone well over 150K miles on cars with chains.

I never had a FWD car in my life. Nor a 4WD.

Luckily, 2WD RWD cars spread out the "stuff" in manageable ways.

I don't even do an oil change in 2 hours. I take my sweet time.

I think for a home mechanic, time only matters when the car is still on blocks on Monday morning when you have to get to work (if you still work).

Otherwise, time isn't the issue.

.. don't get me started on major appliances ! If I was a billionaire manufacturer - I would build a line of simple major appliances - with zero electronics - - and a 5 or 10 year warranty .. My son is currently replacing an 8 year old washer - - very good brand and build quality - except - .. a small solder connection on the control module is wonky .. geeeze ! How can anyone justify the expense of spending ~ $ 500. on an 8 year old washer ! An electronics guy - with a steady hand for fine soldering - - might be able to fix it - I'm not him. .. of course - a new dryer is required - just to match .. ... AARRRrrggghh ! Who - in God's green earth - ever asked for a friggin' WiFi enabled washer .. my head is exploding. John T.

I should expound that time is the major factor in a shop where time isn't at all a factor at home.

That reality ends up making a huge difference in everything.

For example, dumb people say you can't align a car at home because you don't have the $100K (or whatever) to spend on equipment that a shop spends, but the equation is completely different for them than it is for you.

You don't have to handle all cars. Just your cars.

You can take three weeks to do your alignment. They have to do it in 1/2 hour.

My oil changes easily take me a couple of hours. A two-hour oil change at a shop would be unheard of.

I admit that on Monday morning, the car better be road ready if you need to get to work, and, if you have to match parts, you'd better get that part to the dealer or parts store before they close at 6pm, but other than those two circumstances, why would time matter to a home mechanic?

What I mean here is that the weight of tool factors is completely different for shops than it is for home users. I'll bet almost every job we mentioned can be done at home with a cost investment of just a few hundred bucks.

Sure, it takes longer to do an alignment or change a tire or put a new clutch in with only three hundred dollars worth of additional tools for each job, but I'll bet we can do the job BETTER at home simply because we care more.

So the tradeoff, I think, is TIME QUALITY

I think only in painting, will the quality of results probably never match that of a shop (because we just can't afford the tools they use and they have too much experience that we will never have).

There is an outfit, I think in RTP or somewhere very east coastish, that rebuilds your boards for you.

We can google it if he's interested.