Why so few DIYers

[new2subaru]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Oh the repairs I have made on the side of the road. They were needed and not one of the fun parts of the hobby though.

Trying to keep junk running was not a hobby haha!

[Sapphireho]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Oh the repairs I have made on the side of the road. They were needed and not one of the fun parts of the hobby though.

I've put in a timing belt on the side of the highway before.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

I've put in a timing belt on the side of the highway before.

Yuk.

[Sapphireho]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Yuk.

It actually wasn't that bad. It was my VW GTI. I had taken off all the shrouds around the belt, and with the cis injection, they had to have mild cams, so no pistons hitting valves. I was on my way home from work when it broke. This was before cell phones. I caught a ride off the freeway to a phone booth, called my roommate, grabbed the tools and another belt, got back to the car and lined everything up and was out of there before CHP came by.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

It actually wasn't that bad.

I've never seen an easy one on a transverse-mounted engine. Always so tight in there.

[Sapphireho]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

I've never seen an easy one on a transverse-mounted engine. Always so tight in there.

I had put like 3 engines in it, everything not needed was long removed. I could put the crank and cam on their timing mark, put a wrench on the tensioner and put a belt on in minutes.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

I had put like 3 engines in it, everything not needed was long removed. I could put the crank and cam on their timing mark, put a wrench on the tensioner and put a belt on in minutes.

Yeah, I know that feeling. I'm not quite there with any of my machines now.

[Sapphireho]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Yeah, I know that feeling. I'm not quite there with any of my machines now.

I was much younger, and our machines were more simple, and less plastic and more accessible.

[rice_classic]

Safety regulations of the last 15 years combined with new technologies have caused even entry level cars to become very complex. Added complexity alienates "would-be" diy'ers more.

Add to that fact that America, as a nation after 2008, went from a "home-owner nation" to a "renter nation" and for anyone who has lived in both a Single family home and an Apt, can attest... that the Apt life is not as conducive to DIY. There's not a lot of Self-Serve garages around either because their business model doesn't work - partly because people DIY much less - but heck, even the fellas on NPR's "Click and Clack" tried to run a self-serve garage in the 1970s and were met with failure forcing them to convert it into a full serve garage solely.

Considering everything I just said - the converse argument can be made as well. All of those economic reasons should MAKE the case for being a DIYer! More people renting, More people are taking 7+ year loans on cars, more cars are more expensive to repair due to their complexity. Therefore it stands to reason that there is no better time than now, financially, to know how to maintain and fix things yourself to a reasonable degree. That also applies to home repair, cooking, etc.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

I've put in a timing belt on the side of the highway before.

I have done a clutch and it was about the worst. Probably did 12 or so fuel pumps on the Coronet since it would rip them apart in weeks (or sometimes days). I got really good at that one until somebody introduced me to the magic of electric pumps.
Oh almost forgot the rad and water pump on the Nomad. That one was actually pretty easy once I got the parts.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Safety regulations of the last 15 years combined with new technologies have caused even entry level cars to become very complex. Added complexity alienates "would-be" diy'ers more.

Add to that fact that America, as a nation after 2008, went from a "home-owner nation" to a "renter nation" and for anyone who has lived in both a Single family home and an Apt, can attest... that the Apt life is not as conducive to DIY. There's not a lot of Self-Serve garages around either because their business model doesn't work - partly because people DIY much less - but heck, even the fellas on NPR's "Click and Clack" tried to run a self-serve garage in the 1970s and were met with failure forcing them to convert it into a full serve garage solely.

Considering everything I just said - the converse argument can be made as well. All of those economic reasons should MAKE the case for being a DIYer! More people renting, More people are taking 7+ year loans on cars, more cars are more expensive to repair due to their complexity. Therefore it stands to reason that there is no better time than now, financially, to know how to maintain and fix things yourself to a reasonable degree. That also applies to home repair, cooking, etc.

We had a very good do it yourself shop here back in the 70s. Was worth every penny since they had every piece of equipment and tools you could ask for. They even had a paint booth and welding shop. Unfortunately they only lasted about 5 years.

[rice_classic]

So I just replaced the engine wiring harness and coil packs on my FRS (upgrade from 2013 to 2015 -because racecar).

This is a great DIY car. Replacing the exhaust was easy, removing the header, removing the front bumper was incredibly easy (same with rear) and even removing the intake manifold was easy.

The only reason the manifold/harness job took me more than a day is A) I was learning and B) there are SO many plugs on that damn harness!

The point is - this is a fantastic car for the DYI folks - like it truly spoils the amateur mechanic with how easy some things are (not everything).

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

it truly spoils the amateur mechanic with how easy some things are (not everything).

10/10

[unhappymeal]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Safety regulations of the last 15 years combined with new technologies have caused even entry level cars to become very complex. Added complexity alienates "would-be" diy'ers more.

Add to that fact that America, as a nation after 2008, went from a "home-owner nation" to a "renter nation" and for anyone who has lived in both a Single family home and an Apt, can attest... that the Apt life is not as conducive to DIY. There's not a lot of Self-Serve garages around either because their business model doesn't work - partly because people DIY much less - but heck, even the fellas on NPR's "Click and Clack" tried to run a self-serve garage in the 1970s and were met with failure forcing them to convert it into a full serve garage solely.

Considering everything I just said - the converse argument can be made as well. All of those economic reasons should MAKE the case for being a DIYer! More people renting, More people are taking 7+ year loans on cars, more cars are more expensive to repair due to their complexity. Therefore it stands to reason that there is no better time than now, financially, to know how to maintain and fix things yourself to a reasonable degree. That also applies to home repair, cooking, etc.

Bang on. The last car I seriously wrenched on was my '88 MR-2. My 2002 M3 was a glimpse into what cars would become. Most modern cars are so complex that it's not worth my time to do any serious work myself. For example, the new Mazda 3 is putting the tweeters and woofers behind the fender in the wheel well. Remember when all you needed to do was pull the double DIN head unit and every electrical system was there at your finger tips? Those days are long gone.

Then, there's the logistics of working on the car. On top of needing garage space, you need something for interacting with the ECU and sometimes brand-specific tools (Hi, German Brands). The average person is better off going to a reputable independent than trying to kit themselves up and gain the knowledge to do it themselves.