My First Repair!
06-29-2009, 01:27 PM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
My First Repair!
Drove to do a delivery for work last week and car was steaming when I got there. Temp gauge was normal so I didn't worry. Drove back to work and it overheated really bad. Put Prestone in and found a leak in the heater hose back by the distributor. I don't even own a set of wrenches but, I wanted to drive instead of wait for somebody to fix it so I went to Advance and showed it to them and lucky they had a hose( it's molded). While I was working on that I had to take the air filter cover off so i could get to it and found the gasket that seals the lid to the filter had stretched and was no longer fitting. I got some Permatex black silicone and cut it so it fits again and got it sealed better than new. Moral of the story, check your air filter regularly and yes you can do things yourself.
06-29-2009, 01:59 PM
#4
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-‘19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
Congrats Astroman. There is a satisfaction in doing a repair yourself. You feel good, and you also don't have to pay someone else to do it. And even if you mess it up, you learn from the process and know more the next time.
Start buying yourself some tools. Don't scrimp. Get Craftsman from Sears, if you break something take it back and they will replace it free. And there IS a difference in the quality - you can find a big shiny tool set at Dollar Store but it will seem like it's made of plastic the first time you use it. You don't have to buy all the tools at once, but little by little you will get what you need.
Also spring for a FSM - Factory Service Manual. NOT cheap. seems like it was about $100 or so - but you will save that much very quickly by not paying someone else.
It will grow on you - many of us sincerely enjoy getting under the hood and skinning our knuckles!
Start buying yourself some tools. Don't scrimp. Get Craftsman from Sears, if you break something take it back and they will replace it free. And there IS a difference in the quality - you can find a big shiny tool set at Dollar Store but it will seem like it's made of plastic the first time you use it. You don't have to buy all the tools at once, but little by little you will get what you need.
Also spring for a FSM - Factory Service Manual. NOT cheap. seems like it was about $100 or so - but you will save that much very quickly by not paying someone else.
It will grow on you - many of us sincerely enjoy getting under the hood and skinning our knuckles!
06-29-2009, 02:11 PM
#5
Congrats Astroman. There is a satisfaction in doing a repair yourself. You feel good, and you also don't have to pay someone else to do it. And even if you mess it up, you learn from the process and know more the next time.
Start buying yourself some tools. Don't scrimp. Get Craftsman from Sears, if you break something take it back and they will replace it free. And there IS a difference in the quality - you can find a big shiny tool set at Dollar Store but it will seem like it's made of plastic the first time you use it. You don't have to buy all the tools at once, but little by little you will get what you need.
Also spring for a FSM - Factory Service Manual. NOT cheap. seems like it was about $100 or so - but you will save that much very quickly by not paying someone else.
It will grow on you - many of us sincerely enjoy getting under the hood and skinning our knuckles!
Start buying yourself some tools. Don't scrimp. Get Craftsman from Sears, if you break something take it back and they will replace it free. And there IS a difference in the quality - you can find a big shiny tool set at Dollar Store but it will seem like it's made of plastic the first time you use it. You don't have to buy all the tools at once, but little by little you will get what you need.
Also spring for a FSM - Factory Service Manual. NOT cheap. seems like it was about $100 or so - but you will save that much very quickly by not paying someone else.
It will grow on you - many of us sincerely enjoy getting under the hood and skinning our knuckles!
06-30-2009, 01:18 AM
#10
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06-30-2009, 03:57 AM
#11
Le Mans Master
Yeah, check those heater hoses. I blew one on the freeway, overheated, and blew the engine on my Audi.
All over a $3.00 hose I did not change as preventive maintenance. It started cracking from the inside out, so
the hose always looked fine to me so I never felt the need to change it. WRONG...
All over a $3.00 hose I did not change as preventive maintenance. It started cracking from the inside out, so
the hose always looked fine to me so I never felt the need to change it. WRONG...
06-30-2009, 07:59 AM
#12
Instructor
Thread Starter
This repair was for a Crossfire and I'm sure those gaskets on the air filter covers are getting bad on a lot of cars. More hoses will have to be replaced. Man that magnesium cover is nice. The car runs a lot better off throttle now and doesn't hesitate as much at parking lot driving speeds. Seems to be getting better fuel milage and it doesn't downshift as quickly. Maybe seems slower too but, I'm glad to be running with the air filter, pretty sure it was getting bypassed. Those filter lids are tricky to get on too, I know how to do it now!
Last edited by AstroMan1; 06-30-2009 at 08:05 AM. Reason: more text
06-30-2009, 10:26 AM
#14
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Good job. Now the madness will start setting in. The thoughts of what you'd like to see on your car will invade your every waking hour. Can't wait to see what's the next challenge you take on. Copper
Copper
