PILOT SPIN
Spin Zone => Spin Zone => Topic started by: Mr Pou on December 29, 2016, 07:41:17 AM
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Woman across the hall from me asks about quickie lube oil changes. Her high school age son's car[1] needs to have an oil change and asked me about synthetic vs regular, etc. My reply is "Why doesn't the boy do it himself?" Her reply is a sarcastic "Because HE doesn't HAVE to!"[2]
[1] Late model car given to boy by grandparents
[2] Woman ensures both of her kids have the latest phones, beats headphones, Vinyard Vines clothes, etc.
Am I wrong to roll my eyes?
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Nope, no favors being done for that kid.
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I still change my own oil. I have heard horror stories where these place don't tighten the oil pan bolt, and the oil drains out, and seizes the engine.
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Once you know how to do it, an oil change is actually one of the least worthwhile things to do yourself on your car. I will regularly do it, but I have been known to take it to a place in occasion.
Doing your own brake job, however, is worth it in my opinion.
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I still change my own oil. I have heard horror stories where these place don't tighten the oil pan bolt, and the oil drains out, and seizes the engine.
Back in my Navy days a friend took his new Trooper to a quickie place. They checked the manual tranny fluid, but forgot to put the check bolt back in. In a few days enough oil had pumped out to seize the transmission. Dealer wouldn't honor the warranty, as the bolt had been clearly removed. Quickie place said "Prove that it was our fault." He ended up paying $2k for a new transmission for his new vehicle.
I also rotate my own tires, I can do it just as quickly as I can drive/wait at the tire store, and I like to put an eyeball on all the brakes/hoses/bearings/shocks/joints, etc. Gives me piece of mind since I pretty much drive them into the ground.
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I always do mine on the bikes, but almost never on the cars. Takes ramps or a floor jack of which I own neither. And my convertible can be broken if not jacked properly.
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Once you know how to do it, an oil change is actually one of the least worthwhile things to do yourself on your car. I will regularly do it, but I have been known to take it to a place in occasion.
Doing your own brake job, however, is worth it in my opinion.
I do both, and yes, doing an oil change myself hardly saves any money. What I DO like is regularly putting on eyeball on everything under there.
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I do both, and yes, doing an oil change myself hardly saves any money. What I DO like is regularly putting on eyeball on everything under there.
That is why I do it. Plus I know what oil, and filter I am getting, and everything is tightened up correctly.
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When I was young and poor I did almost all the maintenance on my first car - a much used Chevy Vega - including replacing the head gaskets (twice, as I recall) once in the dead of winter in a f'ing cold garage. Have had to replace radiators and hoses and brake pads and disks, among other things, on that and other cars I owned.
Now that I am old and middle class I pay someone else to do that stuff, including oil changes and lubrication. Wouldn't want it any other way and would not roll my eyes at anyone who paid to do something allegedly simple like an oil change, regardless of their age. I don't see the point of disdaining anyone who takes advantage of whatever good fortune happens to come their way.
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Wouldn't want it any other way and would not roll my eyes at anyone who paid to do something allegedly simple like an oil change, regardless of their age. I don't see the point of disdaining anyone who takes advantage of whatever good fortune happens to come their way.
I see your point, but I was thinking more along the lines of what boys do. I suppose that's changed over the years, but back when I was a teen most boys were usually wrenching on their cars or helping their old man wrench the car. It was something most high school boys were interested in.
Times change, many teens don't even drive let alone work on the car.
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I see your point, but I was thinking more along the lines of what boys do. I suppose that's changed over the years, but back when I was a teen most boys were usually wrenching on their cars or helping their old man wrench the car. It was something most high school boys were interested in.
Times change, many teens don't even drive let alone work on the car.
Never wrenched as a wee Steinspawn, taught myself to do it later. Wisdom is the ability to see past the lens of your own experience.
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I haven't changed my own oil in fifteen years. The dealership I use charges $20, much less than I can even buy the oil and filter for. They do that so that they can inspect the truck for other problems, which is yet another huge bonus for me. And unlike Jiffy Lube, they don't come out every time telling me I'm going to die if my cabin filter isn't replaced or something like that. They're very good. In return, when I need tires I don't even bother shopping around trying to save $20. I just have them do it.
Like someone else said, brakes are another matter. $310/axle for them to do it, or I can buy the pads from the parts store for $30 and 20 minutes later I'm done. And the dealer doesn't mind at all that I do minor things myself.
Funny story is that I was putting brakes on my daughter's car this weekend. The front went fine, but the back...the caliper piston just would not compress no matter how much pressure I put on it. I put the old brakes back on and took it to the dealer. Fifteen minutes (and $310) later it was ready. I told the guy I couldn't get the piston compressed. "Oh, it spins on. You can get the tool at Auto Zone for $10 for next time." It's one of those things that you don't know what you don't know. I'd never heard of a spin-on caliper piston before.
As for kids not knowing the basics today, I agree. I've tried to teach my wife, 18YO daughter and 15YO son everything from changing oil in the mowers, using sockets, hammer, etc. but they have no interest. They do, however, have their own areas of expertise of which I have no interest at all, so I figure it's kind of a wash. My son remembers more math than I've forgotten in a lifetime, he's musically talented, etc. but has no interest in what we would call the basics. So I don't try to keep putting a square peg in a round hole.
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Funny story is that I was putting brakes on my daughter's car this weekend. The front went fine, but the back...the caliper piston just would not compress no matter how much pressure I put on it. I put the old brakes back on and took it to the dealer. Fifteen minutes (and $310) later it was ready. I told the guy I couldn't get the piston compressed. "Oh, it spins on. You can get the tool at Auto Zone for $10 for next time."
Honda? Did the pistons have any cutouts around the edges? I've had good luck putting the ends of open needle nose pliers in the cutouts and spinning them in.
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Wisdom is the ability to see past the lens of your own experience.
And then some.
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Kids should know how to change their oil and spark plugs and how to change a tire.
I, on the other hand, have changed more oil, serviced more transmissions, changed and gapped more spark plugs points than I care to remember.
I have rebuilt 4 barrel holley carburetors and swapped out more starters, generators and master cylinders than I can count. And I am done with all that. If my car starts running rough, my took kit consists of a cell phone, on which I have my mechanics number pre-programmed. I plan to never crawl under a car on jacks or ramps again and I am fine with that.
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I've changed my oil and tires in the past, but I don't very often anymore. I just don't want to. I do think kids learning to drive should know how, especially changing tires, should they find themselves on the side of the road with a flat.
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I don't have a problem with this because the kid doesn't change his oil, some if not many people should never pick up a wrench unless they are supervised by someone who knows what they are doing.
I roll my eyes at the lady's response that it's "because he doesn't have to", then the description of a kid who has been given everything. There is nothing worse for a kid than a parent who never says no to him, then makes sure he always has the latest fad no matter the cost. These kids end up bankrupting the parent if the parent isn't wealthy, the kid turns into an adult that expects parental support, some even though they can easily support themselves. It also turns the kid into an entitled little prick who thinks he is owed everything.
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I never wrenched on anything nor changed a tire under the supervision of anyone. First tire I changed was when I had a blowout on an interstate on a cold December day. I've done more difficult things in my day. I taught myself to wrench on the first bike I ever bought, didn't have much choice. I still do all the routine stuff on the bikes.
Not everyone like to wrench, nor does everyone have parents/shop/tools to learn to do it in their youth. I wish I had done it in my youth, I like having more useful skills. Doesn't make a child defective if they don't do this stuff. Get over yourselves.
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I took each of my kids out to the car after they got their license, made them find the jack, jack up the car, take the lug nuts off, remove the wheel, put it back on, tighten the lug nuts, lower the car, then put everything away. One boy and two girls here. Every driver should know how to do that.
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I also was never taught to wrench. What I do know, I learned myself. It all started maybe 10 years ago, when my old Corolla started clicking when I turned. It was the front struts, and the dealership estimated $600 for the replacement. I called up a new friend of mine who is a parts manager at a dealership. He priced out the parts cost for two struts: $90 for nice ones. That was the day I got pissed off enough to just start diving into these things myself. My friend and I replaced the struts together, and outside of some trouble with a rented spring compression tool, it was no sweat.
Know what I learned that day? I can do almost anything if I take Nike's advice and Just Do It. The hardest part was that realization.
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I took each of my kids out to the car after they got their license, made them find the jack, jack up the car, take the lug nuts off, remove the wheel, put it back on, tighten the lug nuts, lower the car, then put everything away. One boy and two girls here. Every driver should know how to do that.
By the time I was of driving age I had helped change plenty of wheels. Remember the days before all season radials? The twice a year changeover to put the studded winters on, then back to summer tires in the spring.
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I also was never taught to wrench. What I do know, I learned myself. It all started maybe 10 years ago, when my old Corolla started clicking when I turned. It was the front struts, and the dealership estimated $600 for the replacement. I called up a new friend of mine who is a parts manager at a dealership. He priced out the parts cost for two struts: $90 for nice ones. That was the day I got pissed off enough to just start diving into these things myself. My friend and I replaced the struts together, and outside of some trouble with a rented spring compression tool, it was no sweat.
Know what I learned that day? I can do almost anything if I take Nike's advice and Just Do It. The hardest part was that realization.
and the other thing you may have already known: when you don't know what you are doing, it's good to get help from someone who does....
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and the other thing you may have already known: when you don't know what you are doing, it's good to get help from someone who does....
True. And a big advantage these days is the internet. A truly amazing resource if used correctly.
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Things are SO much easier now that we have Youtube.
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True. And a big advantage these days is the internet. A truly amazing resource if used correctly.
Definitely. I'm by no means a mechanical expert so if I need to do something a little more advanced I'll consult Google and YouTube to get a better idea of what needs to be done. Chances are pretty high someone else has already done it and recorded it for other's benefit.
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Trust me, there are people who should never be let near a wrench. I've had to clean up and fix stuff after a few of them. If you want to learn and are able to get it back together after you've taken it apart, good for you. But there are people who are just incapable of getting it right, and there is no shame in that.
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The caution is to know which video is actually correct. I've seen more than a few videos that are complete crap.
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The caution is to know which video is actually correct. I've seen more than a few videos that are complete crap.
Fair point. I'll usually watch a few and try to gauge which is the good one.
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Something else to keep in mind is that when most of us turned 16 cars were not nearly as reliable as they are now. The same with tires. If a kid can't change a tire it's not like he's stuck on the road with no help. He pushes a few buttons on a phone and an hour later a guy shows up to put his spare on for him. If that option had existed 40 years ago 1/2 of us on this forum still wouldn't know how to change a tire.
But I haven't had a flat tire since I was 17... 34 years ago.
And engines are so much more durable, as is engine oil. 50 years ago a new engine would have seized if you didn't add oil or change it for 2 years. I know a few women who have done that in the last few years and had no idea there was a problem looming...and their cars are still running just fine.
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But I haven't had a flat tire since I was 17... 34 years ago.
ooooooooooooooooo, you are tempting the tire gods!!!
:-)
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Fifteen minutes (and $310) later it was ready. I told the guy I couldn't get the piston compressed. "Oh, it spins on. You can get the tool at Auto Zone for $10 for next time."
Sounds like the brake job I tried to do on my Lincoln LS. Required a tool to spin the caliper back into place.
Fun car, and great at the time. But the shop manual and amount of effort to wrench it..fuggehdaboutit.
Sent from my iPhone . Squirrel!!
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I still change the oil in my vehicles/equipment/toys. I also do everything else that isn't automatic transmission-related. I grew up wrenching on stuff with my father, and generally enjoy tinkering with stuff. The opportunity to take a look under the vehicles every 7,500 miles can save some major headaches, not to mention the peace of mind for running my preferred oil/filter.
My wife grew up helping her father build some muscle cars. My children will be able to identify the major components under a vehicle and in the engine bay at a minimum. For me, it's about empowering them with a mechanical skill set and a knowledge that they understand more about their vehicle than 90% of others.
It's truly amazing what kind of ingenuity you rely on when trying to make repairs, especially when the "specialty tool" isn't available.
Sent from my iPhone . Squirrel!!
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Kid will grow up to be a soft-handed snowflake.