How would you rate your mechanical ability?

[LUXO_8]

i service my car, do my brakes all that kinda stuff. would possibly attmet things like diff swaps, shocks etc.

as mentioned i could probably do more if i had more tools

[FRDMSL]

i rebuilt my car from pretty much nothing last year. with the help of my dad we did everything from having nothing in the engine bay to getting it registered except for the LPG system(we installed the system taken from my old car just got pro to hook it all up) and exhaust. Roadworthy picked up NOTHING! I also resprayed it myself (not brilliant but will do until im out of school and have some cash for pro respray)

car will only go to mechanic if it absolutely has to.

[svo347]

EFI ..Hmm have a good understanding , from cars to mining equipment.
Engines, well having built alot of diesels, Yes that includes detroit & MTU V16's and V8 diesel 2 strokes, Im pretty competent and confident from measuring to reconditioning.
I have alot of milling & lathe machine work luckily we have been getting into cnc lathes & mills.
this is all at work & in Perth I'd get all the machining done by others & just check clearances myself...

[needturbo6]

there are few things i cant do myself, i have given pretty much everything a shot and succeeded, ranging from head jobs, LSD centre install, mikuni twin carby rebuild (easier than i thought), 186 rebuild, gearbox/clutches in and out, rebuild alternators/starter motors to other stuff such as amps, cds, etc.

i dont mind working on cars sometimes, i was going to be an auto lecky but that path has swayed slightly to something WAY better which is installing cbs, two ways, data units, full taxi equip installs, stereos, etc. Its also a job where if i can advance my skills they will pay me more plus there minesite work (big $$), so im stoked with it.

i have (imo..) a very good kowledge of performance, thanks greatly to 100's of street machine, zoom, perforamnce build ups.etc magazines and one book that i would recommend VERY highly is FORCED INDUCTION Performance tuning by A. Graham Bell (2002) it also has a huge amount of info on every other part of engine performance.
If u want to learn about Performance and you have a good basic knowledge of engines then go out and get it, its worth every penny. I may sound like a bloody ad but its the truth...

When working on cars the biggest thing is TOOLS, TOOLS and little bits and peices - bolts,tek screws, washers, spacers, brackets,etc. "Your only as good as your tools" and make sure your tools are good or it may cause even more dramas....

I also know a few good and very reliable mechanics in perth if anyone needs em.

[Captain Stubing]

sorry, needturbo6... you've opened yourself up... someone's going to have the signature...
i have given pretty much everything a shot and succeeded, ranging from head jobs

[LUXO_8]

Lmao!

[Timmeh]

We'll soon find out how good I am when (if? haha) the RS2000 gets back on the road and onto a dyno!

Tim

[Tickford Kid]

Well I've just finished my handbook service on the mighty TS50. Found a couple loose bolts on the exhaust system tighten them up and checked the spare tyre aswell. One happy customer here.

[cs123]

Done every thing except diff centre and autotrans rebuild. That's just due to lack of tools. Being trained as a technician all those years ago make diagnostics and analysis easy.

These days with a leased vehicle it's easier to do dealer servicing but I still get a few requests from family and friends.

[buickman]

Do most work myself more into the older cars. Rebuild many motors over the years. Became a very knowledgable person with Escort 2lt mtrs having pulled then down and assm many times.Bastard putting the gearbox back in after blowing clutches on the 2ltr mtrs. Can do body work as well.

Weak point is Iam a novice with computers so leave any ecu chips or programing to people that know what they are doing in that field.

buickman

[ef5l]

i chose other as i am a qualified mechanic, nice to see what you all think of us;). but one thing needturbo6 no matter how many books you read there is no substitute for hands on experiance.

[needturbo6]

Originally Posted by ef5l

but one thing needturbo6 no matter how many books you read there is no substitute for hands on experiance.

AMEN to that!! I coundnt agree more I have learnt much more from working on cars than reading books, hands on experience is a must to continue learning and gettin a grasp of things.

But on the other hand, if i didnt have a book/manual to go by, in most cases, fixing up cars woulda been much harder and in some cases impossible eg. self diagnostics on a new car.... so in some cases u can be rooted without a book.

[big_pete]

i can do alot of things but i havent done that much

i tend to get worried that ill stuff it up and it will cost me even more to fix then.

i also tend to forget things really easily, which doesnt help

[needturbo6]

Originally Posted by swanny

sorry, needturbo6... you've opened yourself up... someone's going to have the signature...
i have given pretty much everything a shot and succeeded, ranging from head jobs

lol, yeh well u know...... it was there for the taking, and at least someone took the oppurtunity. i will be eagerly awaiting you upcoming posts, careful now

[xdclevo]

I build my own heads/motors, and fit them. The only thing i get a mechanic to do is build my auto's and 9 inch diff centres, but i pull them and refit them at home. Also, do all my own carby tuning with an Autronic gas anylizer.

[b2tf]

In a word - ****poor.

I can do the easy stuff like changing a tyre and bolt ons (and by that i mean simply undoing stuff and swapping it over), but for big things i just like to leave it to someone who knows what theyre doing. Id love to learn but if i do it myself i have nobody to yell at and demand a refund from if it goes wrong.

[Bearman]

I can do most basic maintenance things and that's about it but in the end I'm not that handy on the spanners. That as well as middle aged laziness and an intense dislike of skun knuckles ensure I get a workshop to do what I need.

[montyv8]

i'll have a go at anything. i'm fairly good with the mechanical stuff. i'm building my coupe basically from scratch, i would'nt try it if i didn't know what i was doing lol.
and if i don't have the right tool, i'll go and buy it. you can never have too many tools....
i'll quite happily get stuck into new cars aswell.

[M14A-Mclaren]

I'm in my first year of Auto Electrical training, I can overhaul Ineria, pre-engage and gear reduction type starter motors now, just learnt it this past week. Lots more to learn though

[BJ]

I chose other because have been a qualified mechanic for over twenty- twenty five years (God has it been that long) owened my own workshop for the last 10 -15 years. So yes i will do anything that needs to be done from gear box (auot or manual) diffs full engine rebuilds and machine work as well if need be. And i do agree the more you do the more you learn, and you dont need a ship load of expensive tools just a good set to do the job at hand.

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Originally Posted by ef5l

i chose other as i am a qualified mechanic, nice to see what you all think of us;). but one thing needturbo6 no matter how many books you read there is no substitute for hands on experiance.

It's not you personally mate, it's just so many of us have delt with dodgy mechanics who attempt to screw every last cent out of customers, I know not all mechanics are like that, but it's a case of bad apples, it only takes one bad apple to spoil the entire barrel.

Personally, if I knew a mechanic I KNOW I can trust, I'm more likely to take my car to them if it's something I have never worked on before, or if it's something I think they could do better then I could (such as tuning my carby, for example). Only thing is, it's hard to find a mechanic that you KNOW you can trust, unless they are a family member (who is in the trade), a good friend or yourself.

Ok, ok, I'll stop ranting now.

[xf_vanner]

I can do things like servicing but prefer to leave to a mechanic work is guaranteed thats what the missus says anyway have changed a v8 over but other then that not much.

[Quadcams]

Can do most things, have built a few motors in my mechanic days worked on alot of turbo cars in the past also my father had a mechanic shop for about 25 years but as a few people have said couldn't be bothered now in a different trade would rather pay the pro's and keep my hands clean.

[Quadcams]

Originally Posted by The MaDDeSTMaN

It's not you personally mate, it's just so many of us have delt with dodgy mechanics who attempt to screw every last cent out of customers, I know not all mechanics are like that, but it's a case of bad apples, it only takes one bad apple to spoil the entire barrel.

Personally, if I knew a mechanic I KNOW I can trust, I'm more likely to take my car to them if it's something I have never worked on before, or if it's something I think they could do better then I could (such as tuning my carby, for example). Only thing is, it's hard to find a mechanic that you KNOW you can trust, unless they are a family member (who is in the trade), a good friend or yourself.

Ok, ok, I'll stop ranting now.

Mate have to agree with that, as i'm a mechanic by trade(was) and now a cabinetmaker(was that first but went back to it-greener grass) and knowing the trade well makes it even harder to find a good mechanic to trust.

[Kev_BLNXR8_Ute]

I would reconmend G&D Performance in Cranbourne to anyone. Basic service or full engine rebuild. They do it right the first time. You may have to wait a week to get booked in due to the amount of cars that go in and out of the place.
Like I said earlyer i can do most things but now I would rather pay G&D coz I cant be bothered and I know I can trust them....


Cheers........Kev

[XRchic]

I can do the basics, nothing more. I have a really good mechanic/performance centre I go to near me who do really good work, charge reasonable prices and who have never done my or my family wrong.

Also, now that Eamon has moved in, I dont have to worry about anything really, him being a Ford dealership mechanic and all...

[Trevor 57]

I can do most things, there are only a few things I couldn't do myself

that's me, that only thing that slows me up is gearbox's and these modern fan-dangled electrical thing-a-me whats-its!

Basics here as well. Have Gambit and xr330 to help, so I'm covered :

[Steffo]

Basics here.

[Paris Hilton]

sk-sk-skrewdri-i-i-ver?