mattbaby is there anyway your can share alldata with the rest of us?

 

I learned from my dad, and working on my own trucks since before I could drive. While I am no expert, I've been able to do some of the more complicated stuff myself instead of taking it to a mechanic. It does help to know people who do know a lot, if you get stuck. But the big thing is, just grabbing a wrench and going for it!

 

At first I was terrified to take anything apart. But after doing some more simple things (like maintaining a hub) or swaping out a driveline on the trail - I got to be more comfortable doing something I had never done before - without live guidance. (Meaning just me and a manual or printout from a website). There are lots of great Toyota writeups (and step by step how to's) on these web sites! Still I much prefer to wrench on my junk when I have some help. LOL

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f63/
http://www.4crawler.com/4Runner.shtml
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi
http://www.ttora.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte...30k/index.html

 

I learned by doing.
I bought a vehicle and started wrenching, I like to do things myself.

 

Observe.
Search relentlessly.
Read.
Never be afraid to disassemble anything.
Take your time, haste makes waste.
Don't quit when you foul up horribly, it's good to know how not to do it, too.
Be inventive, try anything till you find a way.
Don't listen to peoples BS, most people don't know squatola.
If I can do it, you can do it.

 

Learned from my Father, who worked on Caterpillar Equipment, and his own vehicles.

Worked for a couple of Chevy dealers, worked for a Ford dealer.

Went to a General Motors Training center for a 2 year period, [ have to be employed by a dealer to go ].

Read every automotive / truck magazine I could put my hands on.

Wrench, wrench, wrench.

 

i got IT from ebay


my dad is/was a greaser/mechanic before i was born. he encouraged me to take things apart as a kid...but i had to put em back together too

HS auto shop lurned me the basics and lack of funds caused me to learn fast to do my own repairs. i have a bad habit of breaking things, so it was important to be able to fix them so the owner didnt know what i did

communtiy colleges offer similiar classes.
more people (esp women) should enroll in the basics to keep from getting screwed by a dealer/mechanic. i know of too many people who have & still do.

hanging around (guilty by association) and working with motorheads also helped my brain to absorb many nuances and details nobody 'teaches'. i even learned some tricks from A&P mechanics.

wrench on!

 

I learn by reading, watching, and doing, haha. My father knows everything about modifying...a house, but has never even changed his own oil...hell, I don't know if he even knows how, haha. I never learned a single thing about auto repair or modification when I was a kid and I never did anything to my vehicles at first. To this day I could not tell you what the engine in my first car looked like because I don't think I ever even opened the hood.

When I got my tacoma, about 5 years ago, I got a haynes manual and would try to do simple things like changing light bulbs and changing my oil. (I realize that sounds sad, but when you never do that yourself, an oil change seems like a pretty big deal) Then I discovered various different internet forums and I would just sit and read for hours on end. If I didn't have anything to do on a friday night, I might sit down at the computer with a drink at 6 and read until midnight or later. I read a ton, I still read a ton. Slowly I accumulated tools, information, and experience. I lifted and wheeled that tacoma, doing all my own repairs whenever possible, then put that truck back to stock. By the time I got rid of it, I had a learned an incredible amount and gained a lot of confidence. I am still learning now but the learning process is faster since my thinking has changed, before it would be "I don't think there is any way I can do that." and I would pay to have it done, now it is more like, "Hell yeah I can do it"...and although it has been a hassle at times, I haven't failed yet.

The main thing is gaining time with your head under a hood and your hands on some wrenches to get comfortable with it. If you know someone that works on cars, go help them, even if you are just handing them wrenches and watching. Ask people for help working on your own vehicle, basically you are never going to be comfortable doing work on your vehicle until you spend time doing it. The biggest part in my opinion is gaining enough confidence that you are willing to attempt a repair on your own. Sometimes this will cost you a lot of time and sometimes it will cost you some money while you are learning, but it is well worth it in the end.

Cliffnotes to this really long post, "keep trying things yourself and don't be afraid to ask for help, you will become confident and learn eventually"

 

I stayed at a HOLIDAY INN.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI-JsvEdjDs

 

I was totally thinking that earlier! I was wondering when someone would throw that out there!