What's the best way to go about learning the actual mechanics of automotive vehicles, short of going to a trade school?

What's the best way to go about learning the actual mechanics of automotive vehicles, short of going to a trade school?

Your question is ambigous. Do you mean working on vehicles or understanding their movement.

and buy a car and its manual, start wrenching.

Working on vehicles, actually understanding what every part is, what it does, and how to fix it.

As user said, buy a beater car and start fixing it up.
Also you can offer up your time for free at a local mechanic. Often they like to have a helping hand and even if you cost them a little time, they may be willing to if they don't have to pay you. Once you know a decent amount you could request pay.

Not user op, but I seriously thought of doing that. Didnt know its a thing. Im gonna do it .

I mean it's a thing if you make it a thing. You might get turned down by a couple mechanics but I bet one of them wouldn't mind an extra helping hand, and just explain your situation to them.

I'd walk in and be like, I really want to learn about cars and how to fix them but I don't know where to start. I figured it would be better to come and learn from someone who does this every day and knows what they're doing in real life situations vs going to some trade school.
Especially if you flatter them a little with something like that and appeal to their "old man, old ways" side.

>repair shit as it breaks

A perquisite is having a lockable garage and concrete floor + good jacks and tools

Only thing that holds me back is a lockable garage out of the elements.

Working on dirt is hell

Thats how I imagined it too.

Can't wait to start... Gotta take care of some other things now, but as soon as thats done, Im finding a mech and Im gonna release all this pent up mechanical frustration.

no homo tho.

cooninksegg shoulda used the solid rear axle like stangs had before '15.
Now THAT was innovative engineering

Or just offer to clean the shop for them. Instead of acting like a fag with daddy issues.

Good for you. It would have been best to start doing this sort of thing in highschool because you probably could have gotten a full time job by graduation.

I would love to have gone into automotive but the money just isn't there for me. I'm majoring in Aerospace Engineering. I figured rockets and space ships are the next best thing to cars with a much higher salary.

lol I learned how to fix cars in a god damn apartment complex parking lot. All my tools I got for free (family or Craigslist) or from pawn shops for less than $100. All you really need is time and determination yo. Start by learing how to fix your own shit, then tel your friends: "hey, lemme know when you need X on your car changed, I'll do it for cheap"

If you go to uni join its SAE team

Literally just building a scaled down formula car that you race against other schools

did you miss the part where i have to work on dirt and only have a single floorstand jack?

did you miss the part where I said pawn shops and determination?

Cool, fellow Godmode user.

Im MD.

Right now between jobs so until I move Im pausing mech.

Always knew I'd be fixing things up.

Did you also miss the part where i have to make a new concrete floor by hand ?

Fixing, building, and upgrading. Who would ever think it's so fun?

The most fun I've had this past year was buying an R61 Thinkpad on ebay listed for parts, upgrading the bios, CPU, ram, and cooling. Throwing in an SSD, Windows 10, and overclocking the CPU and GPU. Things a fucking little beast for under $100. And who really needs anything more than dual core for daily tasks anyways...

oh my god by using your bare hands??!!

faggot

Yeah, nothing better than giving something new life. People often sit on gold mines but dont realize it because they arent informed. Thats what knowledge gives you - the ability to get more out of less.

>Fixing, building, and upgrading. Who would ever think it's so fun?

I dont get anyone who wouldnt. There is not a thing under the Sun I dont view and think to myself - could I make this better in some way?

It sucks when you try to apply it to people tho hahah

Im into pcs too, tried some programming few weeks ago, some python basics. I feel there is so little time to learn or try everything Im into. And the more you learn/try other things, the more parallels you can draw between all of it.

I remember going to visit a mechanic with my dad, the guy was fixing up older BMW's and there were engine blocks lying all over the place, various other parts, heads, cams... At that point I was last year at Uni, and I fucking had a little doubt I chose the right profession.

I know I could be happy fixing up cars listening to some good music all day long.

But as you've said, the mechanic's curse is you do what you love but you dont have the $$$ to invest in it properly or buy the car you want. If its not a familiy business at best you can hope to one day open your own garage.

Im into lifting and human body too tho, so I capitalize on that.

It takes years to acquire that knowledge through experience only. There's literally no shame in going to a trade school and fast tracking the learning time frame.

>working for free
lol fuck off.

Also you're not going to learn about chassis and suspension dynamics in trade school.
Or even engine theory/design.

engineer =/= mechanic

you can learn a lot by yourself, and get some hands on with mechanic. Again no homo.

Thanks to internet you have all you want.

I never was the type to sit trough lectures so if op is tht kind of man he can learn from books.

maybe you should get some better equipment, and you can put a wooden board under your jackstands

So br/o/s, I've been really thinking lately [insert /pol/ here]. What if one were to go to a u-pull it and dismantle/reassemble shitboxes all day for fun, would this be a good way to learn how to wrench? I ask because I literally do nothing productive with my days off, and it only costs like 2 shekels to get inside my local wrecking yards

And that's the conflict. I think I'm going to really enjoy working in the Aerospace industry and there's even a possibility of moving into the auto industry for aerodynamic work. But the pay double if not triple that of a mechanic and it will allow me to work less, retire earlier, and own better cars.

>Make mud
>lay 2x4 as wide and as long as you want
Jesus dude have you never been dirt poor?

Yeah, that's a pretty good idea.

>drive beater car
>buy haynes manual and browse a forum
> when problems arise get to solving them

My neighbor was fined for changing his wiper blades at my complex, such is life in socal

What? He was fined for changing a really simple part that needs no tools or Anything?

I can understand an oil change but fucking wiper blades?

>There's literally no shame in going to a trade school

No one said there was shame, fucker, it's about money.

I hardly can make rent from month to month, let alone go to fucking school.

Do what I did

>Be 17
>Start working construction since no money
>Fuck, need truck
>Browse Craigslist looking for diamond in the rough
>See 94 GMC Jimmy for 5 bills
>Grab meager savings and catch a ride with aunts new husband
>Check it out, runs alright, minimal rust for NE US
>Gonna haul some tools and then some bitches with all this time
>Get title, drive 30 mins home with puckered bung since no plates
>Get registering, inspection, insurance (fuck New York)
>All good for a few months, making bank and enjoying young freedom
>Then the gremlins
>Radiator take a dump, search YouTube and forums at 1 am crying
>Buy new rad and install it myself, steering oil line and have to get it repaired, learned to use 2 wrenches on compression fittings.
>Repeat with idler pulley, egr, fuel pump and finally fuel tank

Scrapped her after that. Got my money's worth and quit working construction after that. Learned every aspect of mechanics minus tranny work on that thing. I miss her but I like to think she lives on as a cold steel strap-on for some lesbians somewhere.

As someone that thinks rules like that are insane. It's understandable in the mind of the rule makers, because you could have easily changed those blades in the parking lot where you bought them.

They're not going to like you hanging out and doing that like a weirdo. Just get a job part time at a they pull it.

You'll learn more faster watching videos on youtube and wrenching on an older car than you will taking a class that goes at the pace of the dumbest student, and is just plain padded with nonsense to try and make students think they've gotten their moneys worth (they didn't).

Unless that dumbest student is you.

What is the bar connecting to the center of the suspension and only going off toward the right rear wheel?

Also wait.. That whole like pyramid shaped bits of metal attached to the wheels moves?

Holy fucking unsprung weight. That looks so awful.

abduct an master technician, forced him to teach you everything he knows before you kill, dismember and eat his flesh so that you will instantly have the knowledge AND the soul of a mechanic!!!!

dont take the advice of half of Veeky Forums or youtube mechanics. Half of the stuff I know I figured out by doing myself and figuring out what works and what doesnt.

Oh quit bitching I pull motors and am constantly under cars and I work in fucking dirt, go buy some goddamn plywood you pansy.

Get a mechanical engineering degree, not an auto mechanic cert.

Study computer vision as well. Take Udacity self driving car course (not free).

There, now you'll get to work on cars.

My first car is a fukin jap Xterra thats a huge hunk of shit. Its always broken but now i know how to work on cars. Every guys first car should be shitty so they learn a little mechanic shit.