Vehicles, you can fix?

[weekender7]

Pre 1996, before the computers. I wish you luck with your Jeep, Cherokee. I had two and they were the worst vehicles I ever owned. 75' and a 79'

 

[Geewhiz]

I've got an 02 f150 that seams relatively easy to work on. Haven't torn into the motor but I've replaced belts and hoses, ac compressor, brakes, brake lines, ball joints, control arms, wheel hub assembly, tirod ends, pittman arm. Nothing was overly difficult to do.

 

[CorbLand]

I have tested and know my limits, and there are some things that don't make sense for me to take the risk. Good example is brakes. I'm sure it's not difficult at all, but I can get brakes done very cheap at my local guy and he does thousands of them a year.

I actually enjoy the problem solving, and it's pretty satisfying to save a hundred bucks or more by DIY, especially when that check engine light goes off for good.

Brakes are weird. Some places will do them for 100-150 more than DIY (well worth paying them) and some places want an arm and a leg for them. Took my old 01 Tundra in to get some quotes and the two places wanted ~600 to replace the front brakes. I did it for 75 bucks and an hour of my time.

My buddy and I use to play mechanic on our pickups but he moved so I dont know how much more I will be able to do. He had the shop, tools and his dad was a mechanic so we had some back up know how. My wife and I both have 2017 vehicles now. I dont know that I could do much on them.

 

[Wrench]

X2 on the 7.3 PSD. I've got 2 of em. An '03 F350 and an '03 Excursion. They'll go for a million miles if you treat them right and keep up on regular maintenance.

I never worked on my own vehicles until I got these two. Youtube has endless resources on the 7.3s.

I have a 7.3 as well. They are reliable.....but they do have about 12 million miles of important wires in them. If you stay up on batteries and glow plugs they are pretty reliable....no comparison to my 12v in simplicity....but reliable.

 

[S.Clancy]

My 2001 F-350 7.3L PSD is pretty easy to work on. My '89 Toyota 4x4 would be easy to work on.......if I had kid's hands.

I feel pretty comfortable working on my '97 7.3L for most maintenance items. I've had shops do work as well and been pleasantly surprised that the cost is pretty reasonable. I just got four 10 ply tires installed for $540.....

 

[Silent_Matt]

Pre 1996, before the computers. I wish you luck with your Jeep, Cherokee. I had two and they were the worst vehicles I ever owned. 75' and a 79.

The majority of cars were fuel injected in 1986 and they didn't even start making the Xj Cherokee until '83. The 4.0 is well known to last over 250k miles.

 

[Westernduck]

I do all my own work, but I’m our company mechanic so…

As a ford truck guy, when I think cheap and easy I think 1982-2003 diesel’s. The IDI’s and 7.3 powerstrokes are simple and reliable.

 

[Billy Goat]

Brakes are weird. Some places will do them for 100-150 more that DIY (well worth paying them) and some places want an arm and a leg for them.

For liability a lot of places won't turn the rotors anymore, I'm sure some just swap pads on too.

But if replacing rotors, they can be pricey on some vehicles.

 

[fmyth]

Brakes are weird. Some places will do them for 100-150 more that DIY (well worth paying them) and some places want an arm and a leg for them. Took my old 01 Tundra in to get some quotes and the two places wanted ~600 to replace the front brakes. I did it for 75 bucks and an hour of my time.

My buddy and I use to play mechanic on our pickups but he moved so I dont know how much more I will be able to do. He had the shop, tools and his dad was a mechanic so we had some back up know how. My wife and I both have 2017 vehicles now. I dont know that I could do much on them.

A few years ago my daughter took her Lexus IS 250 to the dealer for an oil change. She called to tell me that the service advisor said she needed new front and rear brakes for $1,500 and new control arm bushings for $2,100 that he claimed were "deteriorated". I told her to bring it to my house. Turns out the rear brakes were 95% of spec and the fronts were 30%. The control arm bushings were new as she had recently hit a piece of a cement trucks transmission on the hwy and the control arms and bushings were replaced along with a bunch of other stuff. The front brakes pads and rotors were all under $200 for high end replacements. They were the same part numbers as a 2010 Camry. It took longer to remove the front wheels/tires than it did to change the brakes. You only had to remove one bolt on the caliper and it swung away, lift off the rotor and replace then pull out the pads and replace the bolt. Easiest brake job I've ever done. Saved $3,400. They don't call them "stealerships" for nothin.

 

[CorbLand]

A few years ago my daughter took her Lexus IS 250 to the dealer for an oil change. She called to tell me that the service advisor said she needed new front and rear brakes for $1,500 and new control arm bushings for $2,100 that he claimed were "deteriorated". I told her to bring it to my house. Turns out the rear brakes were 95% of spec and the fronts were 30%. The control arm bushings were new as she had recently hit a piece of a cement trucks transmission on the hwy and the control arms and bushings were replaced along with a bunch of other stuff. The front brakes pads and rotors were all under $200 for high end replacements. They were the same part numbers as a 2010 Camry. It took longer to remove the front wheels/tires than it did to change the brakes. You only had to remove one bolt on the caliper and it swung away, lift off the rotor and replace then pull out the pads and replace the bolt. Easiest brake job I've ever done. Saved $3,400. They don't call them "stealerships" for nothin.

Finding a good mechanic that you can trust is hard to do. I took my old pickup to a guy here to have him look at putting a new exhaust on it. He was really up front about not having the tools to do it right and told me to take it to someone else. I will give him a shot the next time I need something. Seemed like an up front, honest dude.

Took it to the other dude and put a 530 dollar exhaust under it and my wife totaled it 6 weeks later. Great ROI on that one.

 

[CorbLand]

For liability a lot of places won't turn the rotors anymore, I'm sure some just swap pads on too.

But if replacing rotors, they can be pricey on some vehicles.

Rotors for 01 are like 60-80 a piece. Still outrageous to pay 600 bucks for two rotors and a set of brake pads.

 

[Billy Goat]

Rotors for 01 are like 60-80 a piece. Still outrageous to pay 600 bucks for two rotors and a set of brake pads.

I'm not saying rotors for an '01 tundra are $300, but many vehicles are well north of $100 a piece, then pads.


I don't pay for someone to do brakes on my stuff, or much of anything else.

But I also know it's not cheap to run a business, any mechanic that is getting paid $20 an hour is going to be cost the shop owner more than $60.
And I don't know if I want someone getting paid the same as a burger flipper working on my vehicle.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

For liability a lot of places won't turn the rotors anymore, I'm sure some just swap pads on too.

But if replacing rotors, they can be pricey on some vehicles.

A lot of OEM rotors can't be turned anymore. I found this out on my 2000 Silverado. GM starting putting composite rotors on in 2000, and they will fall apart like plywood if they try to turn them. Swapped to all steel aftermarket after that.

 

[isItFallYet]

This depends on the person’s willingness to tackle things themselves. My daily is a L5P Silverado that I do all of the maintenance on, including tune/delete by myself. I’ve owned many other vehicles over the years where I have performed the maintenance myself (Audi, Ford, GM). A good scan tool, mechanic’s tools, a lift, and the internet will allow you to do 90% of anything you’d ever need to do.

 

[CorbLand]

I'm not saying rotors for an '01 tundra are $300, but many vehicles are well north of $100 a piece, then pads.


I don't pay for someone to do brakes on my stuff, or much of anything else.

But I also know it's not cheap to run a business, any mechanic that is getting paid $20 an hour is going to be cost the shop owner more than $60.
And I don't know if I want someone getting paid the same as a burger flipper working on my vehicle.

Oh I know, that is why I said its outrageous to PAY not CHARGE.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

'86 S10 GMC Jimmy. I loved that thing. I fixed almost everything myself. Cheap parts, easy as heck to fix.

 

[Thinkingman]

With internet? I can fix literally anything. It's ridiculous.

I even dabbled with a hybrid camry back in the day.

Now, to the OPs point, there is tech out there that requires serious diagnostic equipment and draws the line in the sand. Usually you can tell just by looking at it if it's in your wheel house.

A buddy had a Audi TT Quattro, I'd guess 2010 ish. He came over for an oil change, I popped the hood, and closed it right back up.

Man's got to know his limitations.

I've done dozens of VW/Audi oil changes with a vacuum extractor. Need a 36mm socket for the cartridge oil filter.

 

[Ucsdryder]

I have tested and know my limits, and there are some things that don't make sense for me to take the risk. Good example is brakes. I'm sure it's not difficult at all, but I can get brakes done very cheap at my local guy and he does thousands of them a year.

I actually enjoy the problem solving, and it's pretty satisfying to save a hundred bucks or more by DIY, especially when that check engine light goes off for good.

Try brakes. It’s possibly the easiest thing that you can do on a car. I did the front pads on the wife’s armada. 4 pads (2 on each rotor), I even bled them (thanks YouTube), cost 36 dollars and took me less than an hour. Yes I test drove it before I gave it back to her.

 

[Fatcamp]

'94 F250 extended cab with 460 5-speed
'03 Impala 3.8 V6 (one of the best motors GM ever made)

'13 Buick LaCrosse 4cyl hybrid, although I was absolutely disgusted that I had to remove the entire front end just to replace a headlight assembly. Literally like a dozen push clips under the hood, a dozen or so small bolts in the fender wells and under the front end, and voila, the bumper cover, grille, etc..., all pulled off to get to the headlight assembly bolts. I was amazed and pleased with myself that when I put it back together I didn't have any extra clips, screws, or bolts!

Any Buick is a mistake.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

The majority of cars were fuel injected in 1986 and they didn't even start making the Xj Cherokee until '83. The 4.0 is well known to last over 250k miles.

First year for the xj was 1985 but it didn't come equipped with the 4.0 until 1987. The first 2 years had the avoidable 2.8L motor.

I'm going to compare 4.0 Jeeps to Mid 90's Toyotas as they are the 2 types of vehicles that, in the spirit of this thread, I would want to have for the ability to fix them without a mechanic. Toyotas aren't terrible to work on but as somebody mentioned earlier you will have scraped up bloody hands from reaching into the engine bays, and parts are a bit more expensive and harder to find at places like junkyards. You work on them less in general, but when you do it will test your resolve as a shade tree mechanic. I like the older Jeeps because they are so easy to fix that I don't mind things breaking or wearing out more often. I can replace the head gasket on a 4.0 in a day and find just about any stock or aftermarket part on rock auto or eBay. I have newer vehicles and I don't even try to work on them. It's not fun, and auto manufacturers have made it increasingly difficult to wrench on them in the garage. Planned obsolescence in the auto industry is getting more sophisticated every year. My XJ will probably outlast all of my vehicles because of my ability to replace and fix everything on it.

Shout out to the 7.3 for diesel fans. I Don't have one but my old man has 2, an excursion and an f250, both with over 300k and he never has to do a damn thing on those.