Wrenching at home...
03-30-2014, 12:30 PM
#16
Nordschleife Master
RE Disposal of oil, coolant and parts:
I don't know what the rules are where you are, but here in the US, while reasonably stringent, they are manageable.
I have a friend who owns a shop. I can dump my used oil at his place. He actually ends up selling it to a recycler (for something like $0.25/gal) so he comes out ahead. My local municipal garage (where the city work trucks are based) also has a place to dump it. I don't know what they do with it.
I can get rid of old filters and such type of "contaminated" parts once or twice a year when the county landfill has it's "Clean Sweep" where they accept hazardous wastes for free. Iit costs them to get rid of it, but cheaper and better in the long run than having people sneak it into the trash.
They will take old coolant too.
I don't know what the rules are where you are, but here in the US, while reasonably stringent, they are manageable.
I have a friend who owns a shop. I can dump my used oil at his place. He actually ends up selling it to a recycler (for something like $0.25/gal) so he comes out ahead. My local municipal garage (where the city work trucks are based) also has a place to dump it. I don't know what they do with it.
I can get rid of old filters and such type of "contaminated" parts once or twice a year when the county landfill has it's "Clean Sweep" where they accept hazardous wastes for free. Iit costs them to get rid of it, but cheaper and better in the long run than having people sneak it into the trash.
They will take old coolant too.
03-30-2014, 02:42 PM
#17
Instructor
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Wrenching on your own cars only saves you money if a mechanics time is worth more than your's. If you make $20/hr and you mechanic charges $60/hr then you can come out ahead. Everyone I know around here that turns their own wrenches on a strictly cost effective basis, would be better off paying someone else to do it. We turn our own for numerous other reasons, logical or not. I've never touched a thing on my wife's Sequoia, I have no interest in it so I leave it to Toyota. No one other than myself ever works on "my" cars.
There are several sources to help the DIY guy. First is your local Autozone, mine will accept used oil and filters but not coolant. The local Jiffy lube type place in my town will take oil, filters, coolant, brake fluid, hydraulic oil or transmission fluid. They'll dispose of pretty much anything short of a spent plutonium fuel rod or a Boeing 777. I've also heard of people dropping off hazardous waste at the automotive department of their walmart, but I have never tried.
Napa is always a big help as well. The more rural the Napa the more they do it seems. Mine has an excellent selection of fasteners and can make hydraulic, power steering and ac hoses. Some Napa's, if you provide a paint code or sample can mix paint for you in a rattle can which is cool.
Hydraulic shops are yet another big help. Parker stores in particular can do lots of stuff. From making pretty much any line you could want to rebuilding power steering pumps.
We should be encouraging guys to get their hands dirty on these things. Instead of bashing a guy who wants to take an engine apart and rebuild it for the heck of it.
There are several sources to help the DIY guy. First is your local Autozone, mine will accept used oil and filters but not coolant. The local Jiffy lube type place in my town will take oil, filters, coolant, brake fluid, hydraulic oil or transmission fluid. They'll dispose of pretty much anything short of a spent plutonium fuel rod or a Boeing 777. I've also heard of people dropping off hazardous waste at the automotive department of their walmart, but I have never tried.
Napa is always a big help as well. The more rural the Napa the more they do it seems. Mine has an excellent selection of fasteners and can make hydraulic, power steering and ac hoses. Some Napa's, if you provide a paint code or sample can mix paint for you in a rattle can which is cool.
Hydraulic shops are yet another big help. Parker stores in particular can do lots of stuff. From making pretty much any line you could want to rebuilding power steering pumps.
We should be encouraging guys to get their hands dirty on these things. Instead of bashing a guy who wants to take an engine apart and rebuild it for the heck of it.
03-31-2014, 07:24 AM
#18
Burning Brakes
...saves a lot of money
...provides a lot of insight and satisfaction
...allows for a lot of cleaning
...provides certainty that things are done well (within one's own limit)
...makes one's car truly his own
but...
...requires time to research parts, write ups and do's/don'ts
...requires waiting time for parts
...requires time for wrenching
...requires the weirdest body movements
...leaves one with scraped knuckles
...leaves you with tons of oil, coolant and old parts not simply put in the trash due to environment regulations
I'm starting to wonder what is smarter.
...provides a lot of insight and satisfaction
...allows for a lot of cleaning
...provides certainty that things are done well (within one's own limit)
...makes one's car truly his own
but...
...requires time to research parts, write ups and do's/don'ts
...requires waiting time for parts
...requires time for wrenching
...requires the weirdest body movements
...leaves one with scraped knuckles
...leaves you with tons of oil, coolant and old parts not simply put in the trash due to environment regulations
I'm starting to wonder what is smarter.
my 2 cents about DIY wrenching theory
Francesco
03-31-2014, 12:27 PM
#19
Drifting
...saves a lot of money
...provides a lot of insight and satisfaction
...allows for a lot of cleaning
...provides certainty that things are done well (within one's own limit)
...makes one's car truly his own
but...
...requires time to research parts, write ups and do's/don'ts
...requires waiting time for parts
...requires time for wrenching
...requires the weirdest body movements
...leaves one with scraped knuckles
...leaves you with tons of oil, coolant and old parts not simply put in the trash due to environment regulations
I'm starting to wonder what is smarter.
928 content
...provides a lot of insight and satisfaction
...allows for a lot of cleaning
...provides certainty that things are done well (within one's own limit)
...makes one's car truly his own
but...
...requires time to research parts, write ups and do's/don'ts
...requires waiting time for parts
...requires time for wrenching
...requires the weirdest body movements
...leaves one with scraped knuckles
...leaves you with tons of oil, coolant and old parts not simply put in the trash due to environment regulations
I'm starting to wonder what is smarter.
928 content
Also the more you do on your car, the more you are in position to help others in 928 owner community and so enjoy being part of that all the more.
Lots of other side benefits too. For example you understand your car so much better, so you're far less likely to be stranded or to be deprived of some useful function of the car on the road if/when problems occur (which are probably less frequent anyway as when you work on one part of the car you often spot preventive maintenance needed on another part)?
I think we are agreed that it's not as simple an equation as cost of my time vs mechanic's time anyway!
03-31-2014, 01:14 PM
#20
Shameful Thread Killer
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
I wrench on my stuff(cars, boats, airplanes) mainly cause I'm a cheap SOB. At $100 an hour, even relatively simple jobs go sideways pretty fast. I had my wife's Mini in for a repair on the exhaust, they found the balancer loose on the shaft, and a leak in the PS hose which I knew about from filling it up every few months. By the time we got out of the shop the bill was > $1000. For a $6000 car, this is all stuff I could have done for parts cost of maybe $250 from rockauto.com. She wanted the shop to take care of it. Blech. The good part is she had the car back for about 3 weeks, and the car started to vibrate badly. I took it back to the same shop, and waited while they put it on the rack. They forgot to tighten one of the motor mount bolts, the torque pulled the mount off the flange, and it was metal to metal contact causing the vibration. I should have asked for my money back for the "repair".
03-31-2014, 01:44 PM
#21
Rennlist Member
Jim: OT
I thought you were going to complain about being taxed on the repair bill too. Tax complaints are really about return on investment: next time around, vote against a war and save 3 trillion dollars, which does not include all those lost limbs and prosthetic devices. 
Back to our regular programming.
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If you factor in the income taxes you have to pay on what you make
Tax complaints are really about return on investment: next time around, vote against a war and save 3 trillion dollars, which does not include all those lost limbs and prosthetic devices. Back to our regular programming.
03-31-2014, 05:45 PM
#22
Chronic Tool Dropper
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
That's three trillion that would, in theory anyway, tinkle down through the economy eventually. Usually, by the time it gets to me, it's just depreciated tinkle though.
Wars have been the biggest causes of inflation in this country's history. It's the phantom, hidden tax that bleeds value from everything already done.
Back to our regular programming.
Wars have been the biggest causes of inflation in this country's history. It's the phantom, hidden tax that bleeds value from everything already done.
Back to our regular programming.
03-31-2014, 07:26 PM
#23
Rennlist Member
Of course it would trickle down...into China, Switzerland, Cayman Islands...
But fixing a 928 is lots of fun and well worth it
It allows you to be able to fix it in a roadside emergency and to know it inside and out.
But fixing a 928 is lots of fun and well worth it
It allows you to be able to fix it in a roadside emergency and to know it inside and out.
04-01-2014, 03:53 AM
#24
Instructor
Thanx to some research I can fix my shifting problem. Most "specialists" wanted to open my gearbox at a cost that would make my head spin. Thanx to the DIY attitude from others I'm able to save up a few 1000 of dollars. My faith in local specialists, and they are hard to find in Belgium, is below zero…
Satisfaction and knowledge gained are a big plus. Ok it's time and beer consuming and one can't work without cursing but a garage and a crate of beer to wrench away is a plus that comes with owning a shark.
Satisfaction and knowledge gained are a big plus. Ok it's time and beer consuming and one can't work without cursing but a garage and a crate of beer to wrench away is a plus that comes with owning a shark.
04-01-2014, 09:01 PM
#26
Pro
