Hi, my name is George, I am a DIYer. (Long)

[George2615]

Congrats George. I too am a DIY'er. Started when I was 14 helping my Dad working on his cars. Just think, it could have been worse. Maybe not where you are but if you lived further north it could have been a different time of year, snowing and 10 below. Been there, done that. That's how it was for me for many years. As Newbury mentioned you need a garage with a lift.

 

[newbury]

Good one George..
I'm w/ you.. I love to DIY.. & I'm in the same boat.. I can throw down the card or reach in my pocket.. but why, when "I" can do it.. lol
I live out in the country & BEFORE I do ANYTHING.. & I MEAN ANYTHING.. I have to sit & think about "the what if's"..
Something always goes wrong.. & I MEAN ALWAYS.. a broken bolt, a cut line..something.. & there isn't a Lowes or NAPA to run down the street to. So I end up planning for a 100.00 brake job & end up w/ 250.00 worth of parts, JUST IN CASE.. lol

I used to do that often. But now I've built up such a stock of "extra parts" that I often have the parts in stock.

Ha! you sound like me!
Yeah, except it wouldn't have been $200... more like $8-900 for those high end brakes... Now what do you think?

My thoughts exactly.

I hear you loud and clear. Just came in from lying on my back under my 93 Suburban in the driveway replacing blown rusty brake line to rear wheel. Got the old one out. Found a compression fitting repair from previous owner. Grrr... rusty, dirty, gritty.... Grrrr..... :laughing:

I had the same problem. Compression fitting repair that doesn't pass state inspection.
And when you DIY you can often notice other potential problems.

 

[turnkey4099]

My worst one was on a 62 Chev PU. It went throu gh the Mt. St. Helens ash. Took a total rebuild, reground crank, bore cylinders, etc. Inserting it into the PU was no problem, the problem arose when I grabbed the wrong bolt when installing the water pump. Broke it off. Never one to let a good screw-up go untouched I managed to snap off the drill bit when drilling for the easy out. A couple hours later after picking aat it with dental pics I had the drill part out, easy out in and dstub of bolt out. Took the rest of the day off and finished the next day.
Nowadays the checkbook handles most of it. At 83 anything requiring getting on my knees or crawling around and the checkbook volunteers.

 

[KubotainNH]

Sounds like you had one of those days when it's just better to walk away and finish another day. I DIY most everything, mainly because I hate paying for work that is not up to the caliber I expect of myself. Whether it be working on a car or painting a wall. I also hate paying a ton for an auto repair job that ends up with low quality parts when I can put high quality or OEM in for less. Too many hacks out there, how the heck do you break a lug nut off a car and leave it for the owner? Sorry, that past mechanic snafu still irks me.

 

[RalphVa]

I hear you loud and clear. Just came in from lying on my back under my 93 Suburban in the driveway replacing blown rusty brake line to rear wheel. Got the old one out. Found a compression fitting repair from previous owner. Grrr... rusty, dirty, gritty.... Grrrr..... :laughing:

That's scary: 5500 # of rusty junk with leaky brakes on the road.

Ralph

 

[PILOON]

When U do your own car mechanics U need a second car to fetch parts.
If U buy everything U think U need it is once all apart that U find you need another part but the auto parts is either closed or they don't deliver.
Hello neighbor!

Nah, I'll work on my tractor but the car I leave to the shops.
Fortunately I am favored with a couple of capable 'back yard' types that really know how to repair cars without the aid of a computer.
Besides the computer generally just changes parts until it gets lucky.

 

[MossRoad]

That's scary: 5500 # of rusty junk with leaky brakes on the road.

Ralph

It's only scary if I'm behind you.

 

[N80]

Yes, I need a garage and a lift. Not going to happen. I live in town. No room. There are plans deep in the back of my mind of building one down at my cabin place.

As for walking away, wasn't really an option with the car sitting in the driveway and schedule tight.

As for wife being ticked off, well, in my case, its here prerogative. She puts up with lot from me and would have happily taken the car to a shop for the brake job. And remember, she wasn't mad about going to get the fluid, it was going back to get the right fluid because I told her the wrong type.

Mixing 3 and 4 might be okay, I don't know. I think I have done so before, but on that morning, with EVERYTHING going wrong and the filler cap saying DOT 3 Only and not to mix them........I wasn't going to tempt fate any further than I already had.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Great story.

My brother is an accomplished mechanic. Has worked on them all his life, even though he could easily pay to get it done. He's approaching 60 and has FINALLY decided the wear and tear on his body isn't worth saving a few hundred bucks. Apparently this revelation happened while he was toiling in the summer heat to do a brake job w/ no lift. Sweatin' like a pig, back aching, he looked down at his skinned knuckles and black fingernails and asked himself: WHY AM I DOING THIS? (Of course he made up for it by repainting his entire house a couple months later. :laughing: This DIY stuff is a lifelong affliction.)

If I could go back in time I would go a lot easier on all the landscaping. Trouble is, while you're still fit and pain-free you never think about it. I was never *injured* so I NEVER thought I'd pay a price. The doc says it's cumulative damage over the years that you don't notice 'til you're older. I mean, I love the feeling of accomplishment of a project done, the pride, but when I think of all the apartments and houses I remodeled over the years, the mountains of dirt I moved with a shovel.... was it really worth it???

Smartest thing I ever did was buy a tractor. My body will thank me. Worth every penny.

 

[N80]

(Of course he made up for it by repainting his entire house a couple months later. :laughing: This DIY stuff is a lifelong affliction.)

I did that several summers ago too, including all the scraping and prep work. (Let a painter do the back side of the house which is 3 stories up. Even the painter had to rent a man lift). I'm not doing that job again either.

Smartest thing I ever did was buy a tractor. My body will thank me. Worth every penny.

I joined this web site when I bought my first and only tractor almost 14 years ago. When I look back at the things I've spent good serious money for my tractor is close to the top of the list.....plus TBN has been an invaluable resource as well.