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Old 08-11-2013, 05:43 AM   #1
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Worth the money....

We all may not like it, but I now have a better idea why repair labor costs are so high on our TV (and other vehicles). The past 2 days my son (soon to graduate as a diesel mechanic) and I spent 11 hours changing both front wheel bearings, left upper ball joint, left lower control arm, and the right front u-joint. NOTHING was easy to remove! We spent 3 hours alone removing the right side wheel bearing housing. I swear some of those parts were the originals.

On the positive...the truck is good to go, safe, and he saved me $800 with discount on the parts (being an UNOH student, he gets a discount) and labor costs.

And my body will recover...eventually.
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Old 08-11-2013, 11:01 PM   #2
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Mechanicing is not always plug and play with a computer. Some jobs are just plane nasty.
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Old 08-12-2013, 03:38 AM   #3
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Contrary to some young whippersnapper's opinions, there are still some jobs that computers won't do, and you actually have to get dirt under your fingernails. In a body shop recently, when I heard a young fella saying he just couldn't see how he was going to sand around some trim without the air sander damaging said trim, I said "what - are your hands painted on ? You don't know how to sand a body by hand ??" Sheesh. JMHO, of course.
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Old 08-12-2013, 04:21 AM   #4
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I'm patiently waiting for the day when Machine Repairmen get paid handsomely because all the children listened to the school counselor and went to college instead of serving an apprenticeship for the trades. The day is approaching when there will be very few souls around that know how to fix stuff and are experts at it.
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Old 08-12-2013, 06:20 AM   #5
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Mechanicing is not always plug and play with a computer. Some jobs are just plane nasty.
Very true. Just getting increasingly difficult to find technicians that are more than "code readers" and parts changers..........
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Old 08-12-2013, 08:01 AM   #6
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I'm patiently waiting for the day when Machine Repairmen get paid handsomely because all the children listened to the school counselor and went to college instead of serving an apprenticeship for the trades. The day is approaching when there will be very few souls around that know how to fix stuff and are experts at it.
mcfarmall, I'm not being a smart-aleck, but could you enlighten me as to why you feel it is an advantage to go to college? I am glad my son went to college, but some kids are competent, just not "college material".
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Old 08-12-2013, 10:48 AM   #7
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Glad to hear you and your son could do this work. Working on modern vehicles is something I know very little about. I have said if I ever won the lottery, I would go to a trade school for automotive repair and machining.

As for schooling I did it the hard way. Two year community college, as I knew schooling was important, but I had no focus. Worked a few dead end jobs. Then got smart and went back for my engineering degree. Funnest job I ever had was working as a Campus Security Officer at a major private university while working on my engineering degree.
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Old 08-12-2013, 11:12 AM   #8
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In germany mechanics are paid like the professionals they are. It seems to only be a north american thing to under pay our trades people. Now having said that, I know a couple of dry wallers and plumbers make more in a year then I do and I have 2 degrees.
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Old 08-12-2013, 02:01 PM   #9
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I have saved a lot of money over the years by doing my own work. My most recent project was not one that had to be done, but I did because I wanted to. I upgraded my transmission with a transmission kit, which was not a bolt on item. It consisted of pulling the valve body and replacing some of the valves and lot of the springs, as well as replacing the separator plate. Wow! What a difference! A 5 hour job for me, and one that transmission shops charge about $500 for. I paid $100 for the parts. It was fun and I learned a lot. Oh, yea, and my day job? I sit at a desk and support computer systems. A computer is just a machine that uses software instead of moving parts. They are all machines to me. Skill is needed for for both.
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Old 08-12-2013, 02:34 PM   #10
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mcfarmall, I'm not being a smart-aleck, but could you enlighten me as to why you feel it is an advantage to go to college? I am glad my son went to college, but some kids are competent, just not "college material".
Hey Soul, I think he was making the opposite point.
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Old 08-12-2013, 05:14 PM   #11
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Hey Soul, I think he was making the opposite point.
Yup, I was. I believe that "the system" perpetuates the notion that every student must get a four + year degree to be successful. I disagree with "the system" as not all students can be made into college graduates. The world needs people who are clueless when it comes to quantum physics but can listen to a piece of equipment, tell you what's wrong with it and fix it. If all the kids go to college and get business and psychology degrees, who is going to wire up the office building or lay the bricks on the outside?
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Old 08-12-2013, 05:35 PM   #12
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My daughter just graduated from university and I say she has a Google major. Kids think they are smart because they have a degree. I learned from the school of hard knocks. I think kids are missing out on real world experience.
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Old 08-12-2013, 06:00 PM   #13
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I learned by the school of hard knocks, but I also have a degree. (back when a credit hour was $50 and the GI Bill helped pay for it)
Also do most of my own vehicle and TT maintance and all house upkeep except I don't mess with anything that runs on natural gas.
Jack of all trades, master of none. Would I try to rebuild an engine or transmission? No. Was my degree worth it. Yep.
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Old 08-12-2013, 10:36 PM   #14
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WOW, this thread certainly has strayed off topic...so let me add.

I went to college and graduated with a bachelor's degree. As a graduate I for one don't think colleges' purpose was to prepare me for job. In fact very few degrees really prepare anyone for their eventual role in the work force. The education I received was as much about how to live on you own, get along with roommates, strech you money to meet expenses as well as enjoy youself a little. My degree however was the ticket to admission for my professional life. It demonstrated many things; I learned to accomplish a major goal, I received "worldly exposure" to many things and ideas I may not have otherwise, I learned hard and important life lessons.

Sure not everyone needs to go to college to be successful. I know several folks that have degrees and still bounce from dead-end job to dead-end job -- maybe they didn't learn the same lessons I did. I also know several folks with degrees that are successful in in careers that in no way required the education they recieved. And to that end I know lots of folks with no degrees have found themselves to be very successful in life and career.

Personally I think that it is very unreasonable to look a at a 18 year old kid fresh out of highschool and say "OK, now what do you want to do with the rest of your life". Sure some kids know already, but far more are like me and need a few more years of life to help develop that path. For many, college provides this, others maybe its the military, and yet some bounce between trades till they settle into what they want.

My point is college isn't for everyone, but more importantly shame on the parents who push their kids and then think just because their kid did attend and hopefully graduated that they should have it all figured and instantly start realizing a return on the money spent for college.

By the way my degree is in Social Science, a very unemployable degree :-) -- However I have a very successful carear in the medical field made possible in part becasue of learning how to get along life while earning a degree.
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Old 08-13-2013, 04:25 AM   #15
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I am not super experienced as a mechanic, but I try to do as much of my own work as I can too.

Suspension/wheel parts like these (control arms and such) usually require special tools that mechanics carry and they aren't cheap. So when you're able to accomplish something that requires a $300 tool to do without said tool, that's quite a feat imho. Good on both of you!

I recently put a Timbren SES on my Kia Sedona minivan, which required that it go under the coil spring. I had to remove the lower control arm (under spring tension) to do it. Took me 4 hours by myself. After figuring out how to loosen the nuts holding the control arms on, I had an easy time of it until it was time to put it back together. Lining up two screw holes while fighting spring tension (without a spring compressor) is not fun! But I did it. Twice.
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Old 08-13-2013, 08:05 AM   #16
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I am not super experienced as a mechanic, but I try to do as much of my own work as I can too.

Suspension/wheel parts like these (control arms and such) usually require special tools that mechanics carry and they aren't cheap. So when you're able to accomplish something that requires a $300 tool to do without said tool, that's quite a feat imho. Good on both of you!

I recently put a Timbren SES on my Kia Sedona minivan, which required that it go under the coil spring. I had to remove the lower control arm (under spring tension) to do it. Took me 4 hours by myself. After figuring out how to loosen the nuts holding the control arms on, I had an easy time of it until it was time to put it back together. Lining up two screw holes while fighting spring tension (without a spring compressor) is not fun! But I did it. Twice.
Why struggle? Make friends with your local auto parts stores. Many have free or very cheap tool rentals. AutoZone is one. Your 4 hour job could have been a 1 1/2 hour job with a rented spring compressor and an air impact wrench. You do have a compressor, right?

The other issue is safety. No way would I attempt what you did without the right tools.
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Old 08-13-2013, 01:14 PM   #17
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Yup, I was. I believe that "the system" perpetuates the notion that every student must get a four + year degree to be successful. I disagree with "the system" as not all students can be made into college graduates. The world needs people who are clueless when it comes to quantum physics but can listen to a piece of equipment, tell you what's wrong with it and fix it. If all the kids go to college and get business and psychology degrees, who is going to wire up the office building or lay the bricks on the outside?
Got it now ! Thanks! I agree 100%....
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Old 08-13-2013, 01:22 PM   #18
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I am not super experienced as a mechanic, but I try to do as much of my own work as I can too.

Suspension/wheel parts like these (control arms and such) usually require special tools that mechanics carry and they aren't cheap. So when you're able to accomplish something that requires a $300 tool to do without said tool, that's quite a feat imho. Good on both of you!

I recently put a Timbren SES on my Kia Sedona minivan, which required that it go under the coil spring. I had to remove the lower control arm (under spring tension) to do it. Took me 4 hours by myself. After figuring out how to loosen the nuts holding the control arms on, I had an easy time of it until it was time to put it back together. Lining up two screw holes while fighting spring tension (without a spring compressor) is not fun! But I did it. Twice.
You're right about needing special tools and the high price for them. My son has started pricing the tools he will need. The tool box (or should I say garage - 6' long and 4' tall ) he wants is $2000 alone and about $8-9 grand for the tools. Holy Smokes! As DocBrown said, there can be easier ways of doing certain jobs. The ball joint we put on was made MUCH easier with the tool we rented for $100 at AutoZone.
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Old 08-13-2013, 09:52 PM   #19
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My neighbour is a mechanic at Dodge. He was telling me the other day that one of the new, young guys on apprenticeship stopped what he was doing and was asking another mechanic what the heck was that thing he was working on...the mechanic replied...you mean the carburetor?
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Old 08-14-2013, 05:33 AM   #20
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I went to college for 2 years for music education. I took a year off after I got my associates degree to work and make some money. I just bought a car and wanted to work on getting that paid off and such. I started working for an independent garage and haven't looked back since. That was 20 years ago. I am now a master technician for a Lexus dealership and have been here for 9 years. I have spent well over $50K for my tools and storage for them over the years. I have made a darn good career doing something I love to do. No, college isn't for everybody. Sometimes I look back and wish I finished but then I look at what I have now and smile.

And yes, I know what a carburetor is...
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