What should i do

Im taking auto tech this year and we get to work on our cars so far ive decided. im going to change my own tires, put on lowering springs, replace head gaskets, adjust brakes, do the big 3, and maybe put on a new crank pully and cut of resignators(SP?)

What ideas do you guys have for me to do. Keep in mind its first year so we dont rip the engines out and we arnt allowed to do body work.

Good luck with the tires....you're gonna need it.

Tires are super easy...as long as you have a tire machine

Most schools have tire machines - so those are easy as pie. Everything else is easy as ****, upgrading the big 3 you will LOVE. I still need to do it on my pala...

Oh yah, as far as the head gaskets - that will take more then an hour

more then an hr? ha ya right. maybe on a carb'd 4 banger. all those items u mentioned are infact easy but take time. trust me im in school for auto technology and most of the work is easy but tedious and time comsuming. the hardest thing is diagnosis of newer cars and electrical circuits (and not simple wiring up of a cathode or LEDs).

as far as what u should do? replace the brakes if needed, ball joints, struts/shocks, good tune of, compression test engine, run a cylinder leak down test, change the tranny fluid, test the charging system...basically anything u can, lol...especially since u have a wide variety of tools, lifts, and the instructors...

good luck and hope it works out for u.

I'm sure i can find something to stay busy with on my car.

The nice thing about our program is its ran though a college and if we need any tool even if it is a thing that they probley wont use again that costs $500 they will get it. We have a tire machine and pretty much anything a professional shop would have. We have a Hunter wheel alinment computer that we might use at the end of the first year. if my rotor need replaced im going to get some sloted rotors i want a big brake conversion for my rear drums and big brakes kit for the front but it costs $2000

I wish my school had that kind of program. If you bring your can into the shop, people steal things out of it and sometimes key it. I wouldn't get any headgasket replacements done with all that goin on.

In the end those schools pay off.. im ASE certified thru the Ford Assest program, i learned alot. Transmission checking and brakes are the biggest ***** next to alignments... try aligning a 88 thunderchicken.. 2 hoursflat rate.

Im kind of a little into the knowledge for brakes because i took care of the wheel part of our schools electric car program.

thestimp wrote:

In the end those schools pay off.. im ASE certified thru the Ford Assest program, i learned alot. Transmission checking and brakes are the biggest ***** next to alignments... try aligning a 88 thunderchicken.. 2 hoursflat rate.

I dunno about that, brakes are easy for me. Less then 2 hours to replace rotors / pads on any GM vehicle. I am god.

DragonJeep wrote:

Tires are super easy...as long as you have a tire machine

TRU DAT BRODDA!

pOrk wrote:

thestimp wrote: In the end those schools pay off.. im ASE certified thru the Ford Assest program, i learned alot. Transmission checking and brakes are the biggest ***** next to alignments... try aligning a 88 thunderchicken.. 2 hoursflat rate. I dunno about that, brakes are easy for me. Less then 2 hours to replace rotors / pads on any GM vehicle. I am god.

Disc brakes are very easy to work on. Only thing that requires a lot of time is if you upgrade the entire braking system with something like a wilwood kit.

I wish my school had a shop program. God damn college prep school. Well I guess I do good on my SAT's....but I wanna learn about fixing my car! I guess they figure, if you do good on SAT's, get into a good college, get a good job and pay somebody to do all of this. Instead of learning how to do it.

Why do you need school to learn about your car? ****, everything that i've learned how to do myself on my car has either been taught to me by my dad, the internet, or myself. Like they say: practice, practice, practice. Two years ago, i wouldn't have had a clue how to wire up a set of cathodes, or solder LEDs, but through trial-and-error and a **** of reading message boards online, i have really learned alot...

Duct tape and a hammer... im tellin ya all you need in life.. Maybe a beer. and some money... and ... hoes...car? ...nevermind..

so far i've rebuilt an automatic tranny for my truck, working on rebuilding the engine. i also learned a lot aobut electrical systems and i have another class on them and AC. brakes are easy if they're discs, drums are harder and i dont have the patience for them. allignments are time consuming but when u get good u can clean up good with em.

i would say BY FAR the worst and hardest thing is engine diagnosis. there are so many factors to look into especially on the newer computer controlled cars. OBD-2 vehicles arent so bad but when u get an electrical glitch its usually a few hrs tracing wires and testing.

easiest i have found is engine rebuilding, just have to know how to use the measuring tools. i cant wait till i graduate because ill be an ASE certified master tech and will probaly be ASE certified in diesel as well.

oh and flat rate sucks donkey **** when ur just begining. after a few times u can usually beat the time. thats one of the things i dont like about most dealerships and garages...

pOrk wrote:

thestimp wrote: In the end those schools pay off.. im ASE certified thru the Ford Assest program, i learned alot. Transmission checking and brakes are the biggest ***** next to alignments... try aligning a 88 thunderchicken.. 2 hoursflat rate. I dunno about that, brakes are easy for me. Less then 2 hours to replace rotors / pads on any GM vehicle. I am god.

took me a hour and a half to do the rotors/pads on my truck at school