Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for October 05, 2021

It’s been many, many years since cars were open enough for a hopeful do-it-yourselfer to fiddle around in looking for a loose “connection”

Those videos have saved me a lot of money on repairs.

Watch for things in several videos. Ignore the ones that are using standard wrenches on metric cars. Ignore the ones that don’t have floor lifts or floor jacks and jack stands. Ignore the ones that are holding their hands over their eyes while arc welding. Skip the ones that are not an exact match to your car. Sometimes you need an arbor press instead of a hammer and punch. Technology has leveled the playing field for mechanics with a $6000 scanner and interface machine to send signals to everything that is now computer servo fly by wire.

I like the diy home repair videos. They always show you with brand new fittings or a fresh install. Then you go to remove a brass ring from a 30 year old oxidized pipe, and it doesn’t exactly slip right off. Or the tile adhesive has petrified and doesn’t exactly fall away with a light tap of a chisel.

Was the YouTuber Vice Grip Garage? Samcrac? Tavarish?

I did most of my own repair work for 35 years. The last 15 years the cars are too sophisticated for a shade tree mechanic.

I’ve found Youtube videos helpful at times. They help me decide between “Hey, I can do that” or “Time to call someone”.

I too used the videos for home repairs but had to go through a lot of them for the same project to find the one that was understandable, effective and efficient. Pick the wrong one and you probably will incur additional expense to rectify the errors just to get back to your starting point.

While components are often times difficult to physically access, I find the biggest problem the modern shade tree mechanic faces is diagnosing the problem in the first place.

With a $20 Bluetooth OBD connector and freely available software you can diagnose a lot of “check engine” stuff with your phone. If you dig a little deeper you can actually find software out there to tell you things like which wheel-speed sensor is bad. My dashboard lit up like a Christmas Tree the other day with ABS, Traction Control, Etc. I was able to pinpoint the problem to a $20 wheel speed sensor that will be here this afternoon from that online place named after a river.

I’ve saved a ton of cash over the years replacing inexpensive sensors simply by having the ability to diagnose which one is the problem. That saved money comes in handy when I need a mechanic to fix a REAL problem like a blown head-gasket. I put a job like that under “A man has GOT to know his limitations.”

Anyone remember the old spark plug adjuster that fit on your key ring?

Ah the “shade tree mechanic”days. Rebuilding carburetors, changing plugs and points, changing oil. My buddies and I became fairly proficient at pulling engines and transmissions. These days I leave all auto mechanics to the professionals.

Last time I bothered, I stripped a screw in the distributor and had to buy a new one just for the backplate. After that never again.

Since the late 90’s I can’t even see the engine what with all the covers, shielding and computer gobbly-gook.

I don’t even change the oil & filter in my cars any more. Tough enough squirming under the car as it is and now mine have this big panel that has to be dropped to access the drain plug.

The last truck I worked on was a Power Ram 50. I replaced the electronic carburetor with a two-barrel Holley. Boosted the mpg about 15% and had way better performance. But that was around 2007. I don’t even change the oil in our vehicles now.

That’s me.

Is it on fire yet? I set my wife’s car on fire. That was only an extra $75 on the &1200 repair bill.

Evidently, technology has passed Arlo by?

Suckered by Siri?

The guy who made the Youtube video was probably a mechanic. He’s going to chuckle when you call him to come get it to fix it :)

I have fixed countless things by watching “how to” videos on YouTube.

Who knew you had to remove the fender to change the battery? YouTube knew…

Definitely not as easy as the days of keeping a Chilton’s manual in the car (which my friend did for his VW Beetle). The extent of my at-home repairs stop at wiper blades and headlamps, the latter of which on my Mazda 5 is no easy task – basically a skin-ripper. That being said, my 2010 Mazda 5 has been an extremely mechanically sound vehicle. Easily one of my best purchases. As a result of less time driving it due to work-from-home etc., I am starting to wonder if I can get 15-20 years ownership of it.

The line I don’t cross is when the instructions begin “install a brace for the rear of the engine and remove the engine mounts”. Nothing good will come of that in my garage.

Last time I tried that stuff, my Dodge Dart had a carburetor in it!

Relax people.

We said the same things back in the 50’s and 60’s when transistors replaced the vacuum tubes in our radios and TVs. We could no longer go the drug store and test our own tubes when the appliance malfunctioned.

Thing is………..the new solid state generation almost never needed repairs.

I am just finishing up replacing the bands in the transmission. But it’s a 1926 Ford Model T.

Cell phone camera. Perfect for repairs. Take a picture of everything as you remove the parts so you will know where the parts go when you try to put it back together. Don’t forget to take pictures of where the wires were connected.

I bet it was some mechanic drumming up business…

I thought he said he was going to fix it…it looks like he dismantled the thing.

I once had troubles starting my Ford Pinto. Sometimes it would crank ok but other times a high pitched spinning or whining sound. Friend told me, “Its the bendix in the starter.”OK, how hard is that to fix? “Easy. Crawl underneath and remove the bolts holding the starter to the car. Remove the starter. Remove the two long bolts holding the cap on. Take the lid off the starter, pull out the bendix, put the new on in and reassemble.” EASY RIGHT?? WRONG!!

Despite my best efforts I could not get the starter out of the car, from the bottom, from thee top, nothing worked. OK Idea!! laid on the ground and took the two long bolts out and took the lid off the starter SPROONGGGG!! Parts and springs flew out and i didn’t see where from.

After getting it towed to the shop. I asked the guy what I did wrong. Nothing he replied (besides laying under the car and taking the end cap off the starter.). I just didn’t know the trick. Seems on the Pinto back then, you had to loosen the motor mounts and jack the engine up 1.5 to 2" to get the starter out.

It was easy – IF you knew the trick!!!

On what used to be Speed Channel there was a show on Saturday mornings called Stacey David’s GEARZ (sic).

Saw a lot of demonstrations of some repairs, watching them I was able to do the work myself instead of paying a mechanic.

It COMPLETELY depends on not only the make and model, but also the quality and clarity of the video producer’s work.

There is one specific YouTube “mechanic” producer, “richpin06a”, who videos on specific aspects of maintaining Saturn S-series cars have saved me hundreds, possibly thousands, of dollars (that I don’t have) in car repairs. Simple, concise, well-lit, no mumbling, and accurate! I’m forced to laugh at other videos purporting to show the same repairs!

Back in “The Day” the new vehicle owners manual told how to change a tire, adjust the valves etc. The new manuals warn you not to drink from the battery.Makes you wonder who they think they are selling cars to

In a very important way regulations have led cars to where they are now. Some of it is safety regulations, but fuel economy and fuel efficiency regulations have done far more. I am surprised CARB states (California Air Resource Board compliance) allow home mechanics to touch cars now. Anyway, I remember when 25 mpg was respectable fuel economy for a small car and when I could not clearly make out houses at the other end of the block because of the smog. I am not a fan of that level of intrusion into automobiles but I have to say it has worked pretty well.

LOL….