How'd you learn to take care of your vehicle?

[Choff]

I Grew up with a Dad that did not know ******* about cars or mechanical, he was a wood man and a (good man), Architect and lumber business, know a lot about wood working though.
With that said I am 62 years young and have had a lot of experience with working on cars.
It starts with working with other buddies and hanging around other men working on autos, I was pulling engines and working on cars in the driveway at 15 years old, and still working on my GMC Savana Van, just did a break job and had to redo some work!!! ( that *******will never end , just keep on working till you get it right if it takes more time. YOU DID IT YOUR SELF SATISFACTION !!!
YOU-Tube is my source and the internet for repairs.
Also good tools ( not cheap *******)

 

[dstn2bdoa]

Necessity is the best teacher. Owning a vehicle that needs work and being unable pay shop labor rates is a good motivator.

Haynes
YouTube
FSM (most can be found online for <$30, even YouTube has them)
Forums...you must be able to sift through the BS. Read a lot of opinions before settling on a decision.
$99 on Fathers Day will get you a good starter set of tools. I own craftsman now, but Home Depot's Husky is just fine.
HF for jack stands is good.

One last thing, ok two things... These are probably the most important in my opinion.

1) Right tool for the job, rent specialized tools from local Autoparts store
2) It's better to take 5 min to remove one or two things in your way to get easy access to the part you want to work on, than spend hours fighting a tight space.
Ok one more...
3) Put bolts back in the hole they came out of, it helps me keep organized it's easier to reassemble everything.

 

[pray4surf]

Sat there with my dad and got greasy/dirty...

The internet has been a boon to us that DIY, I wouldn't have tackled a 2wd -> 4wd conversion without it - course, without the internet, I would've been happy with 2wd...

 

[Rachmaninoff]

Thank you all for the advice! The van is a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan SE. The space in the rear is excellent with the bench seats taken out. I can load up a 29er MTB, road bike, full sized digital keyboard, laundry basket, a suitcase and another bag, not try to make it compacted at all and it's literally like 20% capacity.

The advice I'll give is get with a group or some folks who are regular wrenchers ...

How would I find some people? I'm not into the customization crowd, I'm interested in off roading but lack a rig to do that. So... A group of people who would help me learn on this minivan? Lol. I'm in Tucson, maybe some overlanders living around here might be up for it. I took a day trip up to the Overland Expo near Flagstaff - so far I can say I very much liked the people.

Poverty. Great motivator.

Had access to older guys who were willing to help, but not do. By in large people are very willing to help them that help themselves. Be gracious. Be thankful.

It is not as tough as you might think. Besides, if it is broken, chances are you will not break it more. As stated above, start small, work to bigger things. It all builds on itself. Learn as much as you can - interwebs makes it easy to look up, videos, etc.

I do have some safety net, but I actually do need this vehicle to last me the semester without costing a fortune - otherwise I won't have it and it could really mess things up for me academically. So, basically, I need to get this thing in solid condition by the end of summer. It's been a recent development of mine to put myself in situations where I have to work hard or face unacceptable consequences of some sort.

Specifically the brakes are acting up - sometimes they have full force and the pedal can be pressed easily - until you push it past a certain point and then it returns to its relatively hard to depress state. I think I didn't fully connect the battery terminals when I changed the battery, because it's giving one single click when I start it, and I have to finagle it a bit to get the thing to start (though sometimes it starts perfectly). Basically, I have to turn the key back rapidly several times before it will start, like I'm building voltage on some surface (like, perhaps the starter? either bad terminal connection or bad starter? It didn't do it before the battery died, which is why I think I just didn't properly attach the terminals).

I should add: I'm a physics major, so that might give me an edge in some ways. Lol.

Anyways, even if I didn't reply to you directly, I did read everything. I really do appreciate all of the input from every person here.

 

[OffGridCamper]

Thank you all for the advice! The van is a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan SE. The space in the rear is excellent with the bench seats taken out. I can load up a 29er MTB, road bike, full sized digital keyboard, laundry basket, a suitcase and another bag, not try to make it compacted at all and it's literally like 20% capacity.



How would I find some people? I'm not into the customization crowd, I'm interested in off roading but lack a rig to do that. So... A group of people who would help me learn on this minivan? Lol. I'm in Tucson, maybe some overlanders living around here might be up for it. I took a day trip up to the Overland Expo near Flagstaff - so far I can say I very much liked the people.

The forums are the best place to find meet-ups, I know AZ has the Overland show every year so it's right in the neighborhood. You don't "have" to have an overland vehicle to meet the folks just have the same mindset they do and you'll fit right in. You can find great deals on an overland rig of your own; whether it be bare bones or decked out by going to the meets, getting one that needs some TLC will help you learn how to wrench on stuff and you can make it exactly how "you" want it. For your van I would recommend getting on the forum specific for it where everyone on there has the same van and you'll pick up a lot from there.

 

[eggman918]

The wrenching will help with your physics major as well as the physics major helping your wrenching.
I'm just north of Prescott and am disabled/retired not as close could be but you need a brain to pick shoot me a PM.

 

[Buddha.]

For the starting problem I'd say loose or dirty connections for the battery cables. Could be at the battery end or the starter end. Be careful not to let the positive cable(or the wrench that's on it) touch ground(the frame). Always have the negative cable be the one that makes or breaks the connection.

For the brakes I'm not sure. Hard pedal should be the vacuum booster usually. Check the big rubber hose going to it for vacuum leak.


As far as how as how I became interested in mechanics. I always wondered how things work. I took apart my toys, the electric can opener, my moms hair dryer etc to try to figure them out. I've worked on my moms vehicle since I was a kid. Nothing big at first just oil changes and light bulbs. Also the lawn mowers snow blowers that kind of thing. My middle school and high school had pretty good shop programs, welding, automotive, small engine that kind of thing. I took every shop class, sometimes twice just so I could use the shop to work on my own junk. I rebuilt cylinder heads and a couple car engines. By the time I went on to get to tech school for automotive I knew more than some guys did when they came out of tech school. I was top of my class but level one techs don't make squat so I went back to my cushy union factory gig putting engines in buses.

Also I've also never spent more than 4k on a car which has made for lots of maintenance opportunities. lol

 

[cruiserdude80]

I worked for a Chevy dealer and a Cadillac dealer in my teens and early college years. I learned a lot being a gofer, parts chaser, washing cars, and doing light mechanic work. I asked the mechanics questions and for the most part they were more than happy to explain to me what they were doing. Plus, I got to drive a wide variety of brand new cars almost every day. I learned to take care of and maintain cars working for those two dealerships. Valuable learning experience for me.

 

[Rachmaninoff]

I joined a caravan specific forum (took a while for the email to go through).

I'll sort of repeat what I said there:

I want to put slightly bigger tires on it for a little bit more clearance, but still basically highway tires.
Suspension that can handle bumpier roads without as much damage.
Any upgrades to the steering that would prevent bumpy roads from causing it to go out of alignment.
Roof rack.

So, I'm not really looking to go off-roading off-road due to budgetary constraints, but I do not want to be overly hindered by roads that have a few bumps in them that I have to take carefully.

Anyways, this has been an exceptionally useful thread, thank you all again. Eggman, I might take you up on your offer! Prescott is beautiful, so it would be worth the drive anyways!

 

[calicamper]

Dirt roads are no biggie for mini vans. Tires just go with a good solid AT tire. I have BFG At Touring tires on the Subaru. Possibly the best Tire Ive ever run on it. Strong side walls no impact on highway mileage and have held up really well on dirt. Traction on wet, dry and dirt has been good. Snow they arent great given not as much siping, but thats probably why they have held up reall well on dirt.

Good friend and big custom drag car builder once told me, reliability stick with stock stuff it just works. An old college buddy always used beater Mini vans for his Surfing trips South of the boarder, no mods just solid quality rubber and making sure its mechanically solid in stock form.

 

[Rachmaninoff]

Dirt roads are no biggie for mini vans. Tires just go with a good solid AT tire. I have BFG At Touring tires on the Subaru. Possibly the best Tire Ive ever run on it. Strong side walls no impact on highway mileage and have held up really well on dirt. Traction on wet, dry and dirt has been good. Snow they arent great given not as much siping, but thats probably why they have held up reall well on dirt.

Good friend and big custom drag car builder once told me, reliability stick with stock stuff it just works. An old college buddy always used beater Mini vans for his Surfing trips South of the boarder, no mods just solid quality rubber and making sure its mechanically solid in stock form.

Perfect. I basically plan to keep it as stock as possible, good trail tires.

What about suspension?

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I'm looking to drastically boost my ability to take care of a vehicle. I have a hand-me-down minivan in my possession, and my budget is low. But, I'm more or less looking to learn the general basics.

So, how'd you all get your start? And, what advice could you offer me in terms of what resources to use in terms of learning to maintain a vehicle? I view this as a life skill that I'm willing to put a decent amount of effort into to get that fluid skill level. Books, ways of getting mentored, etc. would all be appreciated.

Between google and youtube there really isn't anything that you cannot find information about how to fix, it really is that easy. Back in the day we actually had to read books/manuals to learn how to fix things, but you have technology to aid in your search for help that has already been figured out by many other people.

 

[exmilitary]

I'd spend time at the auto wreckers. I ended up working there for a few years before I re-enlisted. Learned tons. And pulling your own parts at the wreckers teaches you how to remove the fragile plastic pieces of your vehicle without breaking yours

 

[anickode]

Suspension might be a bit of a stumbling block. Not a whole lot of aftermarket for minivans, especially in the lifting direction. Sometimes vans are based off a car chassis and share some suspension and drive train parts, but again, not much after market for lifting mid size FWD sedans. You'll also have to look out for the usual stuff like suspension geometery, CV shaft angles and stuff. Trucks are genrrally designed with more suspension travel, so doing things like TB cranks, longer shackles, etc don't cut in to suspension travel too much. Lifting a van that has itty Bitty control arms and McPherson struts could wind up making the vehicle worse off road and on, by stiffening spring rates and sacrificing suspension travel for ground clearance.

It's too bad they went away from full frame minivans. The Chevy astro and ford aerostar were built on s-10 and ranger chassis, respectively. Most chassis components were interchangeable with little to no modification.

 

[anickode]

Just had a light bulb moment... look up the US version of Top Gear, season 2, episode 12. They crossed the continental divide mule trail in minivans. One of them was a Dodge caravan if I remember correctly. They didn't go into much detail about the modifications, but you can see the basics of what they did. Perhaps some inspiration and optimism for you! I was pretty impressed with what they were able to get those vans through.