How many people here became their own Mustang mechanics?

[Briebee72]

I ask because in my history I always took my cars to be worked on. Then I bought a performance car a few years ago and wanted to mod it . well the parts were nt cheap and then i found out anyone who did work on these cars wanted a flippin arm and leg to do what seemed like very easy things. So My first performance car I looked up videos and watched and watched and I was like man this stuff is not hard. So my first car I modded was a civic. I did my own inter cooler, exhaust, engine mounts, front pipe, brakes and tune among other things. I saved thousands on mechanics.

What got me started was I wanted someone to put the exhaust on it and on that car it is literally 3 bolts and 5 slide off hangers no welds and whole thing comes off and goes on in under 45 mins. They wanted 400 plus dollars to do this... I was like come on man that crazy. so i just got jack stands and did it myself in under an hour.

Sold the car and a buddy of mine had one and he paid 600 to have all his mods removed. I was screw that I removed my own over 2 days and put back to oem.

Fast forward to the mustang. I have done same . I watched videos and researched and bought some basic tools. (specialty tools can be borrowed form auto parts stores) I have dont my own intake, throttle body and tune. Lowering springs, tail lights, subwoofer install, sound damping and body pieces. I have many more mods coming many of which require the dash be disabled. I also got under my car and hand cut and worked on my own exhaust.

IM almost 50 I know a young one LOL, and I never touched a tool before a few years ago. I guess im making this post to say take some time and do some of this work yourself instead of lining over priced mechanics pockets for stuff that is really fairly simple. Its not hard just do a little research and save yourself thousands.

Another example my 2007 ford focus. It blew a gasket and oil was everywhere and smoking .. I was oh great isnt this crap hundreds to fix if not more... I researched a bit... and i bought a 20 dollar gasket kit, it took about 45 mins to fix and take apart the top of the engine and put back. runs perfect. everyone I called wanted 700 to do it. ridiculous. I have since also done its mounts and entire suspension.

You dont need fancy stuff, I have done all this work on all these cars with basic tools for most part and jack stands on a gravel drive way.


Who else has stories and have you become your own mechanic cause of the crazy prices? IM about to buy my own tire changing machine cause its getting to be stupid pricing on changing tires as well. 2 years ago got a full tire swap and sensors changed for 59 dollars. Got the same thing done on mustang and it was now 187 dollars at the same place for the same service.

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[Ghost50]

I used to do most of my work on my Fox Body cars with the exception of a few things. I won't do rear end gears nor will I mess with electrical stuff. Those cars were relatively easy to work on.

The s550 platform is challenging to me because I am not used to them. Everything being computerized has changed how I look at cars. However I am willing to do most of my stuff. If I screw it up? At least I am learning. Sometimes I will pay to have it done for time's sake. But for the most part my goal is to do most of the work on this car myself. Especially now that I have more room in which to work on it.

I don't think I will mess with the internals on the engine though. That I will pay for.

 

[oneheadlite]

After open-heart surgery and a motorcycle wreck, I'll pay someone for work.

 

[Hack]

I hate to pay big bucks to have someone else do what I could take care of myself. I started working on cars in my teens when I couldn't afford to pay for the work. Now I do it partially because I enjoy it, but also as a matter of principle.

Once you know what you're doing, part of the trick is figuring out which jobs not to do. I won't do exhaust on an old car, for example. The pros can do it so cheaply it's worth paying someone. But I refuse to pay someone to do brakes. They are so easy and shops charge way too much.

 

[ice445]

I learned the basics on much cheaper cars, and then learned some of the hard stuff on Euro cars (Fiat, Volkswagen). I've already done a few little things on my S550, it's pretty easy to work on overall. There's a few things that I can tell suck, like removing the rear diff, doing a clutch, or doing headers. But it's all fairly straightforward, even if time consuming. I don't know everything but I'm fairly comfortable with most stuff.

 

[jpro]

Great thread. Most guys, even novice mechanics, have forgotten more about cars than I currently know. I'm not mechanically inclined and I get frustrated easily. That said, I have done a few things to my car: CAI and tune with a handheld tuner, installed a chin spoiler (that was on my 2006 GT when I had it), Steeda clutch pedal spring (actually did that today).

I want to do more. The Big Ten just cancelled football season and I am a huge Buckeye fan (we were winning the title this year no doubt) so I am throwing myself into my car even more than usual now. I want to install a Cobra Jet intake manifold, larger TB and CAI. I have watched a few vids and I'm skeptical that I can do it...

 

[L454S]

I did mechanic work for a living for most of my life, retired now. Not much modding anymore, just a lot of driving and enjoying.
I still do the upkeep on my stuff, and my daughters stuff, and my son's stuff, daughter in law, son in law......my boat, son's boat, 2 generators, ZTR mower, ........dam, I thought I was retired?

 

[71Rcode]

Oneheadlite, im sorry about your motorcycle wreck and heart surgery.. my comments don't apply to you,, my friend!

Wondering if its a generational thing. My sons are teenagers and I don't think any of their friends have ever wrenched on a car. At that age, my friends and me all wrenched on cars. Simpler times and interests? Points and condenser ignition and carburetor necessity? Back then, NO INTERNET OR YOUTUBE...you had to find a mentor in town and beg, borrow and steal tips on how to take on a project.

With that said, only a handful of guys my age (50s) I know today even mow their own lawn or maintain their vehicles.

I chalk it up to partial laziness, partial financial comfort. Id rather take care of my house and vehicles than spend the time playing golf.

Totally admire you younger guys taking on all the DIYs on your Mustangs. Keep it up!

 

[Fly2High]

When I was young, I was rather poor and so it was a necessity to do much of the car work myself. I was also lucky to have a '73 Olds 98 as my first car since it was simpler to work on. Next was the heavily problematic '86 Daytona Turbo Z. Annually, it had a $2,000 repair. Luckily it had a warranty being a test car. That only lasted 4 years and I was stuck doing those jobs myself. As I grew, that work moved from necessity to interest. Now, I just enjoy laying on the ground under the car. I like working on the car. Most jobs I will do are finished in a single day so knowing you will get some satisfaction at the end of a day is a big motivator to pushing through difficult jobs.

At the same time, I have an uncle who says that if you can make more, per hour, than it costs, it is better to pay someone to do the job. The problem I find with this thinking is that I seldom make money during the times I pay someone else for work but I respect the thinking. it is a way to draw a line in the sand. When I do not have the tools and buying them is expensive or borrowing tools is not an option, I tend to pay someone. When the tools are already here or cheap I tend to do it myself. Money in my pocket is still better than in someone else's.

This thinking is counter to the thought that buying nothing saves you more money than buying something on sale. You are still spending money even when it is on sale.

Now, all basic work - oil, belts, hoses, brakes, tire rotation, spark plugs, install most new goodies, etc. I do myself. Only the big ticket items like engine and tranny will I pay someone else. I will say though that my father and I did do a tranny and clutches from an '83 RX-7 and a '86 Celica (both manual) so there is always the possibility I would do tranny work on this car. I also have replaced axles on a '86 Daytona and did some body work on that car too. You would think the 80's car must have been terrible with all the work we did on cars from those years!!

A day spent working on the car is far better than anything else on the 'Honey Do' list!!!

 

[Brian@BMVK]

I do all my own work. I've now racked up enough tools and specialty tools that I can do pretty much any job outside of an engine pull.

 

[BimmerDriver]

I do all my own work. I've now racked up enough tools and specialty tools that I can do pretty much any job outside of an engine pull.

Buy good quality tools once, and they'll last you the rest of your life.

Once you know what you're doing, part of the trick is figuring out which jobs not to do. I won't do exhaust on an old car, for example. The pros can do it so cheaply it's worth paying someone.

That's my attitude as well. As Clint once famously said, "A man's gotta know his limitations."

Wondering if its a generational thing. My sons are teenagers and I don't think any of their friends have ever wrenched on a car. At that age, my friends and me all wrenched on cars.

I think there's some of that as well. My boys hate working on their cars, but I insisted when they were younger, that they learn (I taught them) how to find, remove and install the spare tire themselves, and how to change the oil. I've also shown/helped them do the brakes on their cars. What I told them is that you don't have to do it yourself, but if you know how, and what's involved, then maybe you can make a good decision on whether or not it's worth it to pay someone for it. Now, they're both on their own and poor enough to try to do things (with my help) by themselves. And using my tools. And my driveway.

Who else has stories and have you become your own mechanic cause of the crazy prices?

I grew up helping my dad work on his cars, and I was rarely intimidated to not at least try to work on my own cars, even when I was alone. I did the water pump on my car when I was 18-19, and had to do it three times before it stopped leaking. I got better... LOL

My biggest was doing the 15K service on my 993 Porsche 911. The dealer wanted $1600 to do it (this was back in 2000, I believe). Oil change (12 quarts, two filters, PITA), plug change (12), air filters, etc. and it took me two weekends in my garage, as there are a few plugs that are really hard to get to. I swore that I'd sell the car before I put another 15K on it, and I did. But I spent about $150 in parts and it felt justified to me.

On the S550, I've already done full brakes and fluid flush (for the track) and there's nothing special or difficult about this car other than the typical annoying Ford habit of using different size fasteners for everything.

 

[Briebee72]

there's nothing special or difficult about this car other than the typical annoying Ford habit of using different size fasteners for everything.

Oh my god yes, everytime I do something I need 5 different fasteners. Hell there is 3 different ones in the tire well alone and I dont really see why. And just about everyone I know has lost the front lower one in the tire well that push to release one. Its gone on just about all newer mustangs i see and ford wants 5 bucks for one of those. Mine are sitting empty with no plugs.

 

[Sivi70980]

Dad is a retired mechanic so it's in my DNA to tinker with things. Always doing something with my hands and although my love is carpentry (garage hobby), I'm not afraid of wrenching on cars. Always been the one to do my own mods but really didn't go too crazy till my last car. 2009 Mini Cooper JCW, I put a lot of work into that car. Lowered, turbo, down pipe, intercooler, stage 2 tune, and many more. Had it dyno at 276 to the wheels and it was a 2700lbs car with me in it. Sold it to a friend and we of course had to visit Mexico with the stang. It was bitter sweet to keep looking to my right to see that both cars were even up to about 130 before we let up. If not for my love for the stang, I would have had a bad case of sellers remorse. My friend has plans to take the Mini farther and so it's going to be a fun back and forth when mods start to happen on both cars. So far all I've done to the stang is the x pipe and some cosmetic stuff. Black 5.0 badges and grille and deck lid replacements to remove the pony and GT. It would look better a little lower but the plastic oil pan and current comfort has me putting that so far down the list it may never happen. Really, all that's on the docket is some Borla touring axle backs I hear sound great with the x pipe and some 4.09 gears that I'll pay to have done. I plan to have this car 100k miles and beyond so thinking to keep it NA although if I do go FI, twin turbo looks the most appealing to me. I want to do a CAI but read its a waste of money so even though I'd love the sound and throttle response, it's also on the back burner.

 

[71Rcode]

Great backgrounds and insight and advice. Always say the two most valuable HS courses I took in the 1980s were typing and auto shop. Set me up to tackle life.

Bimmer, we are alike. My boys work on their cars and other house projects. They may not like it but they do it. Gives them appreciation and understanding of how things work, confidence they are not helpless, etc. Humility goes a long way in my home.

 

[Blue Moon]

I rarely did any more than oil changes on my cars until I bought my Stang. For 14 years in the Air Force, I was a C-130 mechanic, and I got enough wrenching at work, didn't feel like more when I got home. Now that I'm retired I'm glad I learned how to use hand tools right, and I'm willing to do a lot to my car. But I still don't have a good garage or toolkit of my own, so big jobs still go to the pros.

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