Ok I'm going to stop being a gay and start working on my car myself

Ok I'm going to stop being a gay and start working on my car myself.

I've never done any of this before

what tools do I need to start off with? and what are some good beginner jobs to learn to do first

All you need is some good duct tape and a hammer, then you're set.

Me too, user. Hopefully this thread helps us.

Get deep and shallow sockets i use 1/2 sets but also keep a 1/4 set of shallow ones with 2 ratchets. Jack and jackstands. 6 quart oil catcher. Start doing basic shit oil changes. Diff oil change. Brake pads and rotors. You can then graduate to doing alternator battery and small shit. If rear end dies or tranny gives out lose all hope. You can pretty much learn to do anything else with the exception of engine related thing.

OP here. I have a 2004 WRX.

how fucked am I as a beginner

my last service I had the timing belt major service done. my next minor service is due in the next couple of months.

should I attempt to do it myself? besides changing the oil is there anything I need to do?

...

Who lied to you and told you shit has to be done in x ammount of months? Get your god damn subaru standard issued manual and see what needs service at what mileage! Then thats how you know how fucked you are.

I don't get why people think changing the battery is harder than an oil change.

Have you ever played with legos before?

serious question.

It wasn't in particular order. Just examples. Point was to start somewhat easy and then graduate to harder shit. I started doing simple shit, now i just finished rebuilding my entire rear diff. Will be replacing my tranny pump soon. Should be easier than a diff.

trips of truth

I would guess probably just a concern of shocking themselves.
That and on i think alot of modern cars now you need to do a reset on computers to take the new battery

well I thought you got to service your car at least every 6 months.

I don't drive much cos work is close. since January I have probably only put on like 3000+km

so at the rate I'm going it would take 3-4 years to hit 10000km

I'm guessing you wouldn't wait that long to service your car?

Well oil changes are recommended every 6 months if you dont drive the 3-5K miles. Could go longer but I would just go with twice a year. Besides that just keep the other fluids in check. As long as you arent letting the shitbox sit for weeks on end you will be fine. Coolant is overlooked by most ppl. I think its changed every 2.5 years or 5 if it uses dex cool here in the US. Idk what you all fags use in EU. Keep an eye on fluids and if nothing is wrong just keep living life.

Common sense I dont think i need to say this but keep an eye on tires and brakes. Thats the most important components of a car. Lots of ppl cheap out when it comes to tires. Then they wonder why they lost traction the snow.

nah first thing I did was get new tyre.

went with Michelin pilot sport 4

with brakes what the best way to check and do them? when doing other fluids do I need to drain them before topping up?

Good tires I my self have new michelin defenders ms. To check them for sure take a wheel off and inspect the pads, see how much meat you got. But usually they will develop the that chirping sound to let you know they need replacement. As far as fluid if they dont appear degraded just top them off. I will be doing coolant flush soon but at the same time I will change the water pump as a preemtive measure since my SUV has 220k miles. I will also do new steering fluid since i will replace the power steering pump. Those type of fluids I replace when something related to them fails to keep it fresh and since it wont do harm to have new fluid.

Sounds like your shitbox has been kept maintained so i would just read the manual and see whats next on the check list. That is really what you should be looking at. It will tell you exactly what fluid type your shitbox needs.

will taking off my wheels to inspect them fuck up wheel allignment and stuff?

No only time thats gets messed is either when you fuck a curve hard, or you change control arms, tie rods or shit that controls steering. You can rotate tires and wont do shit to the alignment.

I learned almost all of what I know watching stuff on YouTube. ErictheCarGuy, Jafromobile, TheCarPassionChannel, BisforBuild, Engineering Explained, Ratchets and Wrenches. For fun Haggard Garage, Ricer Miata, Boostedbois. Basically watch all their videos. Then download the factory service manual for your car and read all of that. Then sign up for your car's forum and read all the stickies on that. You should be able to do most of everything on your car by then.

For tools, 3/8in ratchet, shallow and deep set metric only. 1/2in breaker bar, deep impact sockets for it. 1/4in ratchet, shallow socket set. Extensions and swivels for all of them. Wrench set metric only. Crecent wrench. Screwdrivers, long, regular,zuniga stubby. Needlenose plyers, regular and long angled. Magnet trays. Gloves. Jack and at least 2 stands. Flashlight and work light. Drain pan. Torque wrench. Multimeter. Wiring stuff and crimpers. PBlaster. Gojo. That's about it.

Watch Chrisfix videos. Also dont forget a torque wrench.

Get a socket set and spanner set and a big fucking breaker bar. Pliers and stuff come on very hand too, as does a hammer. Start off with breaks and jobs like those and work up. Read up before the job, save yourself the time and frustration of trying to figure out what to do.

Also, what do you drive?

Only things I ever did were fan clutch, water pump, radiator on a 1983 mercedes and a 1984 ZK Fairlane

>If tranny gives out, lose all hope
>Start with brake pads
>Tfw I was confident enough to do a transmission swap but too worried I'll fuck up doing brakes
Some topsy turvey shit right here

if youre in Canada, get starter tools from Princess Auto or Canadian Tire. if youre from the US, harbor freight. i was a tech for nearly a decade and all my tools but my air gun and air ratchet were Princess Auto. all you really need to start is a full set of screwdrivers, sockets, and wrenches. maybe a breaker bar. i still have a ton of specialty tools from when i was a mechanic in my garage that rarely get used

easiest beginner jobs are brakes, exhaust, spark plugs and wires, etc. once you get more comfortable you can get into intake manifold gasket replacement etc where you have to organize hoses and bolts

torque wrench is subjective, i think they stress them more now but back in the day how i learned was you dont go to books and the computer to fuck around for torque specs and learn to feel it. all i ever use torque spec for is cylinder head bolts, everything else i just know from experience how much to torque it to

>You can rotate tires and wont do shit to the alignment.

many times i saw a split front tire cause a bad wheel pull, if a car came in with a pull first thing i would do is rotate the front wheels to the back to see if the pull went away. then i knew it was a tire issue and not an alignment issue likely

Buy a workshop manual and a socket set, imp or metric depending. Then just buy shit as you need it. Also torque spanners are a meme unless you're doing gaskets.

In lieu of things to fix, what are some mods to add that make for a good learning experience ? Upgraded sway bars ? Or what? What makes the biggest direct impact on the drive in a positive way? Talking in terms of shot box

Get a good socket set and for god's sake, always keep your sockets organized. If you take one out of the drawer/toolbox then put it right the fuck back when you are done, every single time. The best way to make your toolbox clean and neat is to make sure it never gets disorganized in the first place. Don't let the drawer become a sea of sockets that you have to dig through for 10 minutes every time you need a different size.

OP here. how difficult is a catback exhaust job and what tools would I need for that?

is there any welding involved

But quakity jack stands. Don't cheap out on those.

what's a good brand or price range.

I definitely dont want to compromise safety

Follow this OP

Tranny swaps are easy just time consuming. I was referring to a tranny rebuild. Since that is what i would do.

As long as they arent chinese you'll be good. Anything jap.us,german or any other well developed eu country should suffice. I got me 4 6 ton jack stands for my suv. Over kill but I rather be safe.

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