Google, Amazon & the art of automobile maintenance

[LittleJon]

Though I fall into the category of a boy raised by a single mom, not to mention three older sisters, I somehow have managed to handle my own vehicle maintenance, house remodeling, and the like. In fact, any time my mom has a problem with her vehicle, she calls me first. YouTube and Google are a HUGE help when I walk into unfamiliar territory.

I tried to learn how to play the piano, but didn't have the drive.

And I have a serious dislike for cats.

 

[Fred W]

So, YouTube is the modern-day surrogate father?

I hope nobody has taken offense to my tongue in cheek musings. It is true that more and more men are mechanically inept these days, but I doubt it has much to do with how (or where) their Dads were.

It probably has more to do with the advancements of mechanical devices. and there being less need to master them to survive. There are plenty of other skills that need mastering these days that don't contribute to one's mechanical aptitude, and the required mechanical things are made to be far more reliable, and cheap enough to be disposable when they do finally break down.

It is nice to not have to bring a car or bike to a mechanic when you have a problem, but with the infrequency of needing to these days, it's not that big of a deal if you do have to.

 

[LittleJon]

Surrogate FSM, or How-To manual, I think is more accurate. Or when identifying an odd noise, surrogate mechanic. I don't think my father has ever so much as changed the oil in a vehicle.

But that's just semantics.

I use to do it because I couldn't afford to pay somebody else. Now I do it because I don't want to pay somebody else. I've found myself more and more often sitting down and searching for videos, or threads, to help walk me through it.

 

[thewrenchbender]

A lot of it for me is personal preference. In my previous life I only flew an airplane that I hadn't been inspecting and maintaining one time. Didn't like it. At all.

At times, pulling over and parking with a mechanical issue is about as problematic on a bike as it is in an airplane.

 

[Knifemaker]

I didn't have a father either to school me on how to use a wrench either, for the most part, I figured it all out myself. Yes, I was one of those kids that took stuff apart just to see how it worked...and was quite good at putting it back together so it would continue to do so. Just have always had a high mechinical aptitude.

I called the shop to ask how much they charged to put new front brake pads in my Miata...$200.00+ they said, and no, they don't turn the rotor unless it's real bad. Went to Autozone and bought a set of pads and did the job myself...for $19.68. I prefer to do all the work on my bike if I can....mostly cause it's my *** on the line and I don't trust anyone.

That said....I don't change the oil in the cars... I can have one if those "oil shops" or Wal mart do it for almost what it would cost me to buy the oil and filter and do it myself, and they'll top off all the other fluids and check my tire pressure. Other major work I'll take it to the shop....or just sell the thing

But Fred's right, stuff nowadays is very dependable or inexpensive that one doesn't really need to know how to do home repairs. Many cars have extended warranties so there's not much impetus to learn the mechinical skills. My son doesn't know squat about fixing cars, but he can build a computer from scratch...

It's just the world changing, no big deal

 

[ionbeam]

Time does move on for some things. When I first started working on motor vehicles (all types including farm equipment) the ignition system was breaker points, there was a carb with screws & linkages, mechanical fuel pump, you had to polarize the generator and the headlight switch on the floor always failed. Bob could put his nose in the tail pipe and Billy would twiddle screws on the carb until it smelled and sounded good. It rarely made a difference to the 8 mpg or the way the car actually ran. When it was hot you mechanically rolled down the window. When it was cold, well, I hope you ordered the optional heater. When the fan stopped you replaced the resistor assembly.

I never had computer problems.

I was good at moving the antenna on the TV to get the three channels. Drug stores had tube testers to keep the TV running.

My radio had THREE transistors. The toaster had no clock or buttons, just a dial and ejector button. The coffee pot went on the stove.

Almost everything was made in the USA and needed SAE type tools.

My current motorcycle has computer controlled ignition, computer controlled fuel injection, an oxygen sensor, a crank position sensor, cylinder identification sensor, throttle position sensor, intake air pressure sensor, etc. The ECU sends out a 5 volt reference voltage, receives back some amount of the 5 volts, runs it through a signal processor and evaluates the signal through software. The results of the evaluation is run back through a signal processor and outputs timed streams of pulses to the fuel injection and timed streams of pulses trigger the coils. The ECU sends a serial stream of coded pulses on one wire to the meter assembly where the meter assembly puts the pulses together to create addresses and values which gets sent to decoders which drive the needles and alphanumeric displays. When all that BS stops working whattcha gonna do? Call Fred W, or mcatrophy of course.

In many ways things are much more complicated than they use to be and require more specialized skills -- but other things like disk brakes are a world better to work on than old school drums

Much more often today, when it stops working why even phuck with it, just chuck it and replace it

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Due to the awesomeness of FJRFarrier's Ride Report I am out of "Likes" for the day already. I would have thrown a couple here, certainly to ionbeam's excellent post above.

One thing that I have carried over from the antiquated methods of yesterday is that I do not buy the cheapest or least expensive components I can. I make every effort to buy the best available. Sometimes "the best" is also the cheapest. Sometimes I am wrong about what "the best" is. But I make every effort to research what I buy and Google is my friend in this also.

 

[gixxerjasen]

and those precious shop manuals are almost forgotten. They gather dust on the shelves and in our memories but they were a precious resource in their time.

Almost forgotten...but not quite.

My current motorcycle has computer controlled ignition, computer controlled fuel injection, an oxygen sensor, a crank position sensor, cylinder identification sensor, throttle position sensor, intake air pressure sensor, etc. The ECU sends out a 5 volt reference voltage, receives back some amount of the 5 volts, runs it through a signal processor and evaluates the signal through software. The results of the evaluation is run back through a signal processor and outputs timed streams of pulses to the fuel injection and timed streams of pulses trigger the coils. The ECU sends a serial stream of coded pulses on one wire to the meter assembly where the meter assembly puts the pulses together to create addresses and values which gets sent to decoders which drive the needles and alphanumeric displays. When all that BS stops working whattcha gonna do? Call Fred W, or mcatrophy of course.

All that and no computer controlled clutch and shifting system? Bah.

 

[1911]

This thread SUX! I make my living as an auto mechanic. I used to have knowledge and access to info that wasn't easy to come by. The harder something is to come by the more you can charge for it. Now amateurs with Google and Youtube have their fingers all in my pie

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

This thread ROCKS! The last time my fridge laid down I Googled the model and symptoms and found a forum with the info to fix it and a Youtube link showing how. Saved me money, time, and food. I've even used the web to fix a motorcycle issue or two

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

Seriously though-

I'm not angry. I moved from the retail side of auto repair to fleet maintenance some time ago. My friends in shops that are run with competence and integrity are still going strong. And they are a respected and appreciated group. Knowledgeable, informed customers are easier to deal with than clueless ones. All this internet stuff helps weed out some of the sorry shops and benefits the good folks. You lose a few gigs to DIYers. You get some of it back fixing what DIYers screw up. Technique, "feel", mechanical aptitude and "holding your mouth just right" still matter.

 

[gixxerjasen]

1911, I used to own a MINI Cooper. Our local MINI club is embraced by the local dealership with their DIY days. First Saturday of the month is DIY day and they open up lifts and bays for the club to use. They also have three techs on hand to assist and answer questions. I did all my oil changes that way.

I have no idea how they got it past insurance, but it's genius. 60% of us were going to change our oil at home anyway. 30% were going to take it somewhere third party. 10% were going to take it to a dealer and not necessarily that one. Nearly all of us showed up with tools and a credit card to spend using our club discount at the parts desk where they had boxes prefilled with the oil and filters needed. Others were doing more involved maintenance and were buying their stuff too. Sales at the parts desk were higher than if they weren't doing the DIY day.

Having the techs on hand was good to have the knowledge, but it helped them too. Getting your car up on the lift and seeing some leak and talking it over with the tech usually resulted in him going over and getting that owner scheduled for service right away. That guaranteed the service was going to be done at their shop.

Also, many times an owner would be there, put their car up on the lift, then go back to the sales folks and pick up their brand new car and roll it into the shop and put it on the lift next to their old car and start swapping out parts. The DIY day probably influenced their decision on where to buy.

Overall, I'd say the internet and DIY folks haven't taken much from the pie, because as stated previously, there's plenty of people who aren't willing to pick up a wrench and learn. But if a shop can find a way to embrace the DIY community, there's also much to be gained there.

 

[1911]

1911, I used to own a MINI Cooper. Our local MINI club is embraced by the local dealership with their DIY days. First Saturday of the month is DIY day and they open up lifts and bays for the club to use. They also have three techs on hand to assist and answer questions. I did all my oil changes that way.
I have no idea how they got it past insurance, but it's genius. 60% of us were going to change our oil at home anyway. 30% were going to take it somewhere third party. 10% were going to take it to a dealer and not necessarily that one. Nearly all of us showed up with tools and a credit card to spend using our club discount at the parts desk where they had boxes prefilled with the oil and filters needed. Others were doing more involved maintenance and were buying their stuff too. Sales at the parts desk were higher than if they weren't doing the DIY day.

Having the techs on hand was good to have the knowledge, but it helped them too. Getting your car up on the lift and seeing some leak and talking it over with the tech usually resulted in him going over and getting that owner scheduled for service right away. That guaranteed the service was going to be done at their shop.

Also, many times an owner would be there, put their car up on the lift, then go back to the sales folks and pick up their brand new car and roll it into the shop and put it on the lift next to their old car and start swapping out parts. The DIY day probably influenced their decision on where to buy.

Overall, I'd say the internet and DIY folks haven't taken much from the pie, because as stated previously, there's plenty of people who aren't willing to pick up a wrench and learn. But if a shop can find a way to embrace the DIY community, there's also much to be gained there.

I'm betting that dealership was an enjoyable place to work too. I went to work at a Honda dealer in 1986, when Honda really started to come on strong. The owner was an enthusiast, not just in it for the $. There were a couple CRXs that came straight off the truck and went to the shop to meet up with a pile of Jackson Racing or Mugen goodies. It's nothing now, but in 1986 a 150hp CRX was a hoot.

 

[gixxerjasen]

I drove my friends CRX back in the day. I can't imagine it with a little work done to it.

 

[LittleJon]

1911, I used to own a MINI Cooper. Our local MINI club is embraced by the local dealership with their DIY days. First Saturday of the month is DIY day and they open up lifts and bays for the club to use. They also have three techs on hand to assist and answer questions. I did all my oil changes that way.

This is marketing genius. I've never heard of this happening, and I think it's awesome. Beneficial to all involved.

Only downside I see is the Tech Days that I have taken part in, I tend to twist more bottle caps than wrenches. I'm guessing that would be frowned upon at a dealership.

 

[juniorfjr]

We recycled our 2003 ford escape to our daughter. At 120k ome of the coil packs went out, the dealer told us to replace them all with new plugs and it'd be a 7 to 12 hundred dollar job. Said they had to remove the intake manifold. I called b.s. and researched it on you tube. By god you do have to remove the manifold, but after the 4th or 5th video it didn't look too hard. Shoped the parts online and in 2 to 3 hours it was together and running great for less than a couple hundred.

These newer vehicles just look intimidating, with a little help it can be done.

 

[gixxerjasen]

We recycled our 2003 ford escape to our daughter. At 120k ome of the coil packs went out, the dealer told us to replace them all with new plugs and it'd be a 7 to 12 hundred dollar job. Said they had to remove the intake manifold. I called b.s. and researched it on you tube. By god you do have to remove the manifold, but after the 4th or 5th video it didn't look too hard. Shoped the parts online and in 2 to 3 hours it was together and running great for less than a couple hundred. These newer vehicles just look intimidating, with a little help it can be done.

$1300 from the dealer to replace two oil lines. Did it myself for $100. Another chunk of change spent after I realized the previous owner cross threaded the O2 sensor. Also cost me two weekends, 172 curse words as I tried to get to bolts where hands don't fit well, and some blood.

Those two in the middle.