By Jeff Glucker
I pulled out the center console of my Montero. My plan was to remove the old aftermarket stereo with an updated one. It was easy to get inside, just four bolts held the plastic trim in place. A few knobs from the HVAC system needed to be pulled off. And that was it. I now had full access to guts of the center stack.
And then I failed. I was rushing for time, but I assumed this to be an easy job. The Internet assures me that it is, but I wasn’t properly prepared. That preparation goes a long way, and I’m going to rectify my steps this afternoon. I’ll have a wrench redemption party, though this one is more of a wire-stripper/crimper shindig.
What part of car repair or general automotive DIY is easier than people think? I see wires and I start to sweat. Even if they’re just slim, audio wires, I have a brain meltdown when it comes to all things electrical. But a few videos and how-to’s online have given me a new plan of attack. I think this might actually be easier than I initially imagined. A trip to the local auto parts store will allow me to come armed with the right connectors. Tips on determining which bit of old wiring goes where is also great, and easy, knowledge.
So I’ll dive back in today and see if this truly is an easy job.
What other easy automotive repair/upgrade jobs are out there?
Body work. Paint isn’t very difficult, either, if you have the appropriate facilities and equipment.
But…the caramel sickness always comes back.
Caramel sickness?
The artist formerly known as rust.
Anything you’ve done a few times.
You definitely don’t want to do something you haven’t done before.
LOL. That’s not what I meant. Just that jobs become easier with repetition.
After my last few adventures in DIY nothing is easy. Swapping the front cylinder head of my son’s 2003 Buick LeSabre was two days of banging and cursing, culminating in a late night run to Walmart for a new battery, since the old battery expired during the weekend. Swapping the front lower control arms was less oily but still a full day of hammering and imprecations. On the bright side, the misfire and high fuel consumption was cured by replacing the head (low compression on #3) and the front end vibration and abnormal tire wear was fixed by the fresh bushings and ball joints.
Most of the usuals (brakes, shocks/struts, etc.) are usually pretty easy once you know the steps and surprise a lot of people when they learn how “this isn’t so bad…” it can be.
And then the same jobs when combined with several winters worth of underbody oxidation turns into… “Why is this taking so long? And why is that priest in the corner over there waving a cross and chanting ‘The power of christ compels you’ at the car?”
Brakes usually aren’t too bad. Drums are fiddly. Water pumps, it depends. Belts usually aren’t too bad with the right tools.
I know that the repair instructions for a 6 cylinder Trailblazer water pump should have something in big red letters about the bolts being stretch to torque. Why the hell doesn’t the replacement pump include new bolts! Also it will hold just fine with one less bolt after you snap one off in the block.
I absolutely hate working on drum brakes. HATE IT. I’d rather do a disc conversion than replace the shoes.
Got to have one of these doo hickeys.
https://goo.gl/images/339qAM
I’ve long since thrown those into a dark corner, in anger.
It occurred to me at some point that brakes are stone-axe simple to assemble because if they were overly complicated, there’d be more chance of someone getting it wrong, at that could have mortal consequences.
I absolutely agree on brakes. I tell anyone with reasonable mechanical aptitude that they’ll save enough on their first brake job to pay for the tools they needed to buy. After that they’ll be shocked at how cheap they can do brakes.
Developing an extensive accumulation of parts cars has proven to be far easier than I’d originally thought.
Reviewing one’s lexicon of expletives in singular expressions, multiple adjective strings, and use as both noun and verb within the same sentence.
I’ve learned in the presence of masters.
Shocks and struts. Hardest part is getting over the apprehension regarding the use of strut compressors, but if you have an impact gun the job goes quickly.
I’m gonna go with U-joints, provided you have a bench vise on hand.
Two wheel Tuesday answer: tire replacement. I had a few years with my KLR650 where the rear tire at the end of the riding season was the 3rd tire that had been on that wheel in 12 months. (But, I only got 3000-5000 miles out of rear tires in my usage & conditions, about double that for fronts, with “50/50” [street/dirt] dual-sport tires. …dangit now I miss riding the forest roads just to the west of Lake Itasca.)
I tend to find the basics of what I want to do aren’t that hard, but a lot of jobs end up turning into sagas on old cars because of rusted bolts, other decay and previous owner bodges.