1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: I'm a terrrible mechanic

Don't feel bad.. at least you are DIY.....

I don't touch my car... I'd like it to run :cornut:

 

Even mechanic's routinely must purchase or make "one time tools". Tool collecting is a hobby all to itself.

 

This thread reminds me of a guy I worked with who decided that he would change the oil in his car. (Something he had never done before.) Kurt got under the car and pulled on the wrench to loosen the drain plug. The wrench slipped, hit himself in the mouth and chipped a front tooth. After paying several hundred dollars to the dentist, he took the car to the shop for the oil change.

Some people should stick to the things that they know how to do!

 

Somethings I do myself and its fun but if I need an expert I give Eric a call at Helix.

 

heh, people ask me all the time how much fo the work I have performed on my car.

My standard reply.. "I wrote the check"

 

20 years ago I was a fairly decent wrench, but since my back went south I can still do most things myself but it does take me longer(I installed a DDMworks Cold Air Intake that should have been a 1-2 hour job that turned into a 4 hour job). But when it comes time to do a major job, I know that I usually won't have all the special tools I'm smart enough to know when to employ a Certified Mechanic as when I do the Supercharger pulley and Crank pulley change and add the belt tensioner stop as he will have it in the shop anyway. so the small things I'll still try and take on and the more involved jobs will be done by a Professional. And back in the day when I was a fairly decent wrench was before everything had a computer on it!

 

Heck everyone who works on cars has a story about something they wish they never would have started.:mad2: It happens, we deal with it & move on. There is a huge amount of satisfaction completing a job yourself. I know it is not for everyone, but it makes me smile. As I become older I'm finding more of the jobs I used to tackle are now being farmed out to the experts.

 

I think we've all BTDT.

I know that I've gotten myself into a few situations on more than one occasion...thankfully I've had support from M/A to help me get to the other side.

 

It's more fun when you break something trying to fix something else.

Fix fading brakes by adding brake ducts? Shred a CV boot when the brake ducts fail.
Fix the failed axle and pop the ball joints off? Destroy a ball joint and replace both.

Fix the broken cat with aftermarket headers? Throw a check engine light.
Fix the check engine light with an O2 sim? Throw a different CEL.

See? More fun that way.:idea:

 

The bad thing about being mechanically inclined, you end up with lots of "one time" tools. Most of the time the tools are cheaper than taking the car to a shop. The downside of course is spending 5-6 hours on a 1-2 hour project and you have to make room in the toy-box for your new toys. The upside, you generally only have to clean those toys one time.

 

I have a drawer on my rollaway that is full of home made tools from when I was working on Harley's and Triumphs Motorcycles.:cornut:

 

I'm no mechanic either. I've only ever tried to do the oil on my (previous) cars twice. Well actually my GF at the time did my first oil change. The second time I stripped the oil pan bolt. That was it for me. Lesson learned. :frown2:

 

That's precisely why I only work on my '88 F250, the GP goes in for all her work. I'm just. Glad you found a 10 year old to hold things for you, I don't know how grown ups fit their hands in there

 

And all this time I thought I was the only one.....

 

Tool collection, and what it leads toooooooooo!

I like many like tools.....if you're not careful this is what you end up with. :wink:

 

You're not a bad mechanic, you just lack experience!

Next time shoot me an email, I can do way better than 180 bucks for that intake tube.