4 ms·

> I've been teaching myself car repair so I can do more and more myself because I know it will be done right and with extreme care. Is there a book you’d recom

> I've been teaching myself car repair so I can do more and more myself because I know it will be done right and with extreme care. Is there a book you’d recommend? I want to learn car repair as well.

dghlsakjg 4y ago
YouTube is actually pretty good. Whoever made your car published a huge book for mechanics to use on that specific model. That can also be a great resource depending on the manufacturer
nebula8804 4y ago
I HIGHLY recommend the Chrisfix Youtube channel. This guy just goes above and beyond in providing an entertaining format to do many of the easy fixes and maintenance item on your car. He deserves every subscription he gets. The videos are so entertaining, I just watch them even if I don't have anything broken on my car. Here is a video on how to change every fluid in a typical car, he makes it look so easy and it turns out, its not that hard. This alone can extend the reliable life of most modern cars yet many people skip out on many of these fluids because it seems too hard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7JCh7PHoDc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7JCh7PHoDc Another great video is the five fundamental things a car needs to work. He eloquently explains how he managed to repair a free car he got just by following a diagnosis procedure that ensures these five items are operational: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNhuDCVIydw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNhuDCVIydw Some models of cars are much more user friendly than others and every car seems to have a unique set of design quirks that make some parts tricky to work on. Thats where more experienced mechanics must unfortunately do the work. In my case I have learned many common jobs and just leave the more complex stuff to the mechanic(still if you maintain a car well these become less common). If I had a full garage, you bet I'd buy a cheap car and just take the whole thing apart and put it back together to learn how to fix everything. Chrisfix actually has videos on doing more complex stuff like replacing a transmission or repairing rust on your car but its the lack of tools that prevents me from attempting the more complex stuff. One piece of advice my mechanic gave me was that you want to get a car that is popular with younger people as that results in multiple people uploading Youtube videos on fixing everything on that car. My main car is a first Gen Mazda 3 and it seems like every nook and cranny of this car is documented on Youtube. My late father drove a 2005 Chevy Equinox and I have had a lot harder time fixing things on this car because it is just not as well documented. After watching a lot of the ChrisFix videos and getting the confidence to work on a car ( If I mess up the car I still have other one right?) I bought the Haynes manual for each car. This manual has a lot of essential info and repair procedures for each model. If you can, I'd recommend getting the specific manual for your car. Finally there was also a campaign years back to create a comprehensive course detailing everything about how a car works. I had pre-ordered the course and it was delivered in 2020. IU haven't started it yet because I just haven't had the urge to(too busy fixing my car with Chrisfix videos and then dealing with other maintenance items around the house). If you are interested in more detailed structured content, check it out: https://www.howacarworks.com/ https://www.howacarworks.com/
- bigtunacan 4y ago
  The older cars like the 2005 Chevy Equinox are great for repairs. You can just buy a Chilton or Haynes manual for most of these which gives a complete vehicle tear down and details step by step almost all repairs.
  - nebula8804 4y ago
    Hard disagree. This car is a nightmare. Off the top of my head: 1. Transmission dipstick requires removing the engine mount to get access and is also held down with a bolt. 2. Various electrical issues with wiring cause premature failure and "gremlin" like issues. You could end up on the side of the road and not be able to diagnose the issue. 3. The transmission on some trims are solid while others are this terrible Aisin unit that used Toyota trans fluid and has a high failure rate. 4. A smaller issue but annoying nonetheless: No easy way to add AUX in to the stock stereo. It is bare bones and they didn't even add any header. :/ The Mazda I referenced predated AUX input but they exposed an input for SatelliteRadio/Cassette/Minidisc and that gives you the option of removing something to replace with AUX. The GM Unit? Nothing. While I recommend the repair manual in my comment above, in this case the real lesson it will teach you is how much headache you will begin to encounter should you choose to repair this car. But to clarify, in terms of documentation, there is a lack of Youtube videos going into deep detail about every little issue on this car like the Mazda has. The Mazda has tons of channels covering it. The Chevy? Not so much. The Manual tells you how to fix subsystems but would never cover little things like the window switch not working and the fix being to stuff a bit of a q-tip stick in the rubber pressure button to permanently resolve the issue. The manual would just tell you to replace the part altogether. Thats what I mean by the car being documented inside and out. It has been studied so much that there are actual practical fixes to specific parts.
    - bigtunacan 4y ago
      You completely missed the point. Manufacturer manuals can be hard to come by, but with older vehicles there are often after market manuals that were reasonably priced and quite exhaustive in details down to the proper torque of a bolt. YouTube generally covers just enough to have destroyed the market for real repair manuals and over half of the top YouTube results are someone that figured out how to do something, but doesn't really know what they are doing so they are like, "Just shove a q-tip in there it fixed it for me." SMH
digdugdirk 4y ago
Get yourself a service manual for the car you own. Make sure it's the one produced for their own dealer mechanics. It'll be pricey, but it'll pay for itself the first job you do yourself.
Fradow 4y ago
I had the urge to get into car repairs (despite not owning one) and so far Youtube and Google has served me well to do some simple repairs/maintenance. While manuals are good, there is nothing better than a video precisely showing how it's done. Even better if it's a good quality video where the author explains all the details you might not know that are not mentioned in the manuals because a mechanic reading those manuals is supposed to know that. I also love ChrisFix videos to acquire some general knowledge about repairs/maintenance, but if you can find videos for your particular model and job, it's much better.

dghlsakjg 4y ago

YouTube is actually pretty good. Whoever made your car published a huge book for mechanics to use on that specific model. That can also be a great resource depending on the manufacturer

nebula8804 4y ago

I HIGHLY recommend the Chrisfix Youtube channel. This guy just goes above and beyond in providing an entertaining format to do many of the easy fixes and maintenance item on your car. He deserves every subscription he gets. The videos are so entertaining, I just watch them even if I don't have anything broken on my car. Here is a video on how to change every fluid in a typical car, he makes it look so easy and it turns out, its not that hard. This alone can extend the reliable life of most modern cars yet many people skip out on many of these fluids because it seems too hard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7JCh7PHoDc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7JCh7PHoDc Another great video is the five fundamental things a car needs to work. He eloquently explains how he managed to repair a free car he got just by following a diagnosis procedure that ensures these five items are operational: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNhuDCVIydw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNhuDCVIydw Some models of cars are much more user friendly than others and every car seems to have a unique set of design quirks that make some parts tricky to work on. Thats where more experienced mechanics must unfortunately do the work. In my case I have learned many common jobs and just leave the more complex stuff to the mechanic(still if you maintain a car well these become less common). If I had a full garage, you bet I'd buy a cheap car and just take the whole thing apart and put it back together to learn how to fix everything. Chrisfix actually has videos on doing more complex stuff like replacing a transmission or repairing rust on your car but its the lack of tools that prevents me from attempting the more complex stuff. One piece of advice my mechanic gave me was that you want to get a car that is popular with younger people as that results in multiple people uploading Youtube videos on fixing everything on that car. My main car is a first Gen Mazda 3 and it seems like every nook and cranny of this car is documented on Youtube. My late father drove a 2005 Chevy Equinox and I have had a lot harder time fixing things on this car because it is just not as well documented. After watching a lot of the ChrisFix videos and getting the confidence to work on a car ( If I mess up the car I still have other one right?) I bought the Haynes manual for each car. This manual has a lot of essential info and repair procedures for each model. If you can, I'd recommend getting the specific manual for your car. Finally there was also a campaign years back to create a comprehensive course detailing everything about how a car works. I had pre-ordered the course and it was delivered in 2020. IU haven't started it yet because I just haven't had the urge to(too busy fixing my car with Chrisfix videos and then dealing with other maintenance items around the house). If you are interested in more detailed structured content, check it out: https://www.howacarworks.com/ https://www.howacarworks.com/

bigtunacan 4y ago
The older cars like the 2005 Chevy Equinox are great for repairs. You can just buy a Chilton or Haynes manual for most of these which gives a complete vehicle tear down and details step by step almost all repairs.
- nebula8804 4y ago
  Hard disagree. This car is a nightmare. Off the top of my head: 1. Transmission dipstick requires removing the engine mount to get access and is also held down with a bolt. 2. Various electrical issues with wiring cause premature failure and "gremlin" like issues. You could end up on the side of the road and not be able to diagnose the issue. 3. The transmission on some trims are solid while others are this terrible Aisin unit that used Toyota trans fluid and has a high failure rate. 4. A smaller issue but annoying nonetheless: No easy way to add AUX in to the stock stereo. It is bare bones and they didn't even add any header. :/ The Mazda I referenced predated AUX input but they exposed an input for SatelliteRadio/Cassette/Minidisc and that gives you the option of removing something to replace with AUX. The GM Unit? Nothing. While I recommend the repair manual in my comment above, in this case the real lesson it will teach you is how much headache you will begin to encounter should you choose to repair this car. But to clarify, in terms of documentation, there is a lack of Youtube videos going into deep detail about every little issue on this car like the Mazda has. The Mazda has tons of channels covering it. The Chevy? Not so much. The Manual tells you how to fix subsystems but would never cover little things like the window switch not working and the fix being to stuff a bit of a q-tip stick in the rubber pressure button to permanently resolve the issue. The manual would just tell you to replace the part altogether. Thats what I mean by the car being documented inside and out. It has been studied so much that there are actual practical fixes to specific parts.
  - bigtunacan 4y ago
    You completely missed the point. Manufacturer manuals can be hard to come by, but with older vehicles there are often after market manuals that were reasonably priced and quite exhaustive in details down to the proper torque of a bolt. YouTube generally covers just enough to have destroyed the market for real repair manuals and over half of the top YouTube results are someone that figured out how to do something, but doesn't really know what they are doing so they are like, "Just shove a q-tip in there it fixed it for me." SMH

digdugdirk 4y ago

Get yourself a service manual for the car you own. Make sure it's the one produced for their own dealer mechanics. It'll be pricey, but it'll pay for itself the first job you do yourself.

Fradow 4y ago

I had the urge to get into car repairs (despite not owning one) and so far Youtube and Google has served me well to do some simple repairs/maintenance. While manuals are good, there is nothing better than a video precisely showing how it's done. Even better if it's a good quality video where the author explains all the details you might not know that are not mentioned in the manuals because a mechanic reading those manuals is supposed to know that. I also love ChrisFix videos to acquire some general knowledge about repairs/maintenance, but if you can find videos for your particular model and job, it's much better.