aight guys I just wanna kno something .....how do some of u guys kno so much about the mechanic's of mustang?!? like Dan03GT and some other of the guys that r on this forum... can u guys like help me out cuz I wanna b able to pop the hood and kno what I'm lookin at and 2 kno my car inside and out...I kno its gonna take a long time 2 learn that much but can someone tell me if theres books 2 read r just tips on how u guys got started....thanks guys!

 

im not a genius here either, but to know what's going on know this...</P>


www.howstuffworks.com</P>


also, just ask questions. read up. go on stangnet, anywhere. just ask questions and read up on websites, in magazines, everything. i dont even have a hood to pop open and id say im pretty well acquainted with what i would see if i did. you just have to want to learn. if someone says something you dont know what it means, ask.</P>

 

Most of it comes from just messing around with the car. A few guys have gone to school about it. Im 18 and I've loved cars and worked on them since I was 12, just wanted to learn everything in sight. I guess just reading about stuff; you really educate yourself when it comes to cars.</P>


Go buy a haynes repair manual, and you'll learn tons.</P>

 

I thought I knew alot about engines and drivetrain, etc., until I bought my "street stock" dirt car. The guy I bought the car from was also my crew chief. He made me spend a whole weekend (my car, you understand) pulling and reinstalling the engine by myself.

Then he gives me a 400m block with crank, rods and pistons and says: figure out what you need to get cam wise, etc., figure out the clearances, clean up this block and get this thing running in two weeks, because we're going racing. Now THAT was a learning experience.

 

I learned from working on a Dirt Modified 467 big block car. I startedworking on it 4 years ago with my brother in-law. He pointed to the front suspension and said use the tools in that box over there and take it apart, clean it and then put it back together how you found it and he refused to answer any questions I had, I had to figure it out for myself and then if I was wrong I had to take it apart and try again without being told what was wrong...</P>


Believe it or not, working on a street car intimidates me far more than a race car does. Working room is smaller, parts are far more complicated and sensors simply are a pain in the *****.</P>


The most you can do is start with changing your own oil, changing your air filter, taking apart your intake...look around, pop a valve cover off..etc. Get your car up on jack stands and take the wheels off, take a look at the suspension and braking system. Bring a manual with you and start identifying parts, that alone will make any work you do really easy.</P>


And a rule to always remember...if you fixsomething without any problems, take it apart and start over because you did something wrong LOL. One of the biggest tricks working on cars, things rarely ever go the way they should, you really need an imagination and you need to be able to see how your going to do the work before hand. Strange thingsand sometimes frustration that could cause a heart attack arise at the worst time working on your car. </P>


Generally the stuff you read in books or tech articles are good, but you should always double or triple the estimated job completion time. Normally they are all trained mechanics with lifts and all the tools you could imagine.</P>

 

I guess I learned the most from ripping apart the 455 goat, and putting it back together. I mean once you have the basics, everything else comes easy.

 

<FONT size=2>Hooked on Phonics Worked for Me!!!<IMG src=smileys/smiley2.gif border="0"></FONT>

 

I've learned from just messing around with cars, plus I took it in school, and now i'm learning bout them in college

 

what you go to wyotech or something or you just have a class</P>

 

i'm working on my associates in automotive maintenance technology at Ranken Tech.