Whether it was fitting a spare wheel or changing a headlamp bulb, everyone’s wrenching journey has to start somewhere. And we thought it would be a great time to find out where your interest in repairing your ailing cars came from.
So to do this, we asked what was the first thing you learned to fix on your car? And we were inundated with excellent stories about your first project cars.
Flick through the following pages to read some of the most popular stories we were sent.
“I don’t do major wrenching, I’m impatient and snapping off spark plugs is not a happy mistake. That said, I grew up with a family that bought a lot of problem cars, so at a young age I was helping diagnose issues left and right, and took on a DIY attitude for some stuff, even heading down to parts-picking junkyards.
“When I got my own car, it was a used Mazda MX-6 and the door inner panels were both coming off when you’d close the door, they were long doors and the panels couldn’t take the force. So I tracked down the tech sheet for the door, ordered the clips to the local Mazda dealership (which in a delightful surprise when I arrived to get my parts happened to be the dealer that Clark Griswold picks up the Family Truckster from in National Lampoon’s Vacation), sat on the ground and yanked out the door panels, changed all the clips, and popped those panels back on. It was very empowering.
“Not long after, I picked up a replacement set of taillight housings from Pick Your Parts and swapped them in as well, the old ones had begun leaking. Then it was changing the hood struts and little stuff like that ever since.”
Small repairs like this are the gateway drug. Once you’ve popped on a new door panel it’s only a matter of time before you’re knee-deep in ailing school buses crying out for your attention.
Suggested by: burnersbabyburners
“First wrenching job was an oil change on my first ever car (1988 Escort GT).
“I had the whole nine back then. Jack stands and everything. I was so nervous, it took me three hours to do it. LOL
“But I didn’t start wrenching for real until MUCH later when I had a ‘94 Explorer starting with a thermostat replacement, then out of necessity when I started racing my 1st Gen CRX-Si. Nonstop ever since, but I don’t do oil changes anymore.”
All the gear and all the idea… that works, right? Sounds like this poster started off on the right foot with their wrenching adventures.
Suggested by: sounbwoy
“The first major repair I ever did was an alternator replacement on a 1995 Nissan Sentra. (I’m sure we all did oil and wipers before a major repair.)
“The car actually died on me coming home from my job, since I had no sense being 17 and all, and left me stranded on some backroads in rural PA. I had it towed to the local mechanic who quoted my broke teenage ass $400 to replace it.
“Being the idiot I was at that age, I called the local parts store and found out the part cost ~$100. So I had the shop charge the battery, drove the Sentra home, bought a Haynes manual and an alternator, then replaced it with my Dad’s ancient SK round head socket set.
“I miss that car. It was gutless, slightly water damaged, and had no tach. But it was manual and felt like you were going a million miles an hour everywhere because you could drive it at 10/10 without breaking any laws. Plus, parts were cheap, and the pick-a-part yards were full of them.
“My dad used to tell stories about modifying a GTO back in the day but never worked on his cars when I was growing up. I assisted with a lot of other things like finishing carpentry and electrical work around the house though. Which is why I figured I could replace something like the alternator.
“That repair is also what I credit with kickstarting my post college career as an A&P (that and a global recession. An A&P and a pulse will get you work no matter what.) Machines just fly instead of roll and the repair documentation is a whole lot better.”
Outlandish repair bills can lead many to a life of self reliance, and this poster is one of those people. And, it’s amazing how skills like this can shape your future, what a great story.
Suggested by: theoretics
“In 2004 I was hired to a shop with zero experience as an oil/tire/bitch guy while I was in college. They hired me with no experience so they could train me to do things their way instead of trying to retrain potential bad habits.
“I had an amazing mentor who taught me the initial basics for oil and tires, let me use his tools, and let me shadow and help him on more complex projects i.e. brake replacement and surfacing, brake/trans/coolant/steering flushes, suspension, fuel and evap systems, and occasionally more in-depth engine repair. The more I shadowed and helped him the more I could do things on my own.
“I still keep in touch with him (he’s literally the only reason I still have Facebook). Those couple of years working in that shop gave me the confidence and experience to do all of the work on all of my vehicles ever since. Not only did the job give me the money I needed to live while in college, but it has quite literally saved me tens of thousands of dollars since due to the knowledge and skills it gave me. To this day if my job gets hard or stressful or I’m feeling overworked I daydream about going back to being a grease monkey at a shop.
“But, to answer your actual question, the first thing I did to my car was lift it by replacing the struts with those from an Outback. Being able to do it with my mentor in the shop on the lift was a lifesaver.”
If there’s one thing today’s QOTD has taught me, it’s that you’ve all had some fascinating introductions to wrenching. Thanks for sharing tales like this.
Suggested by: steveschwinghammer
“Drum Brakes as a 12 year old kid.
“Dad knew that mom would never attempt to change a tire, so that was the first lesson. A few days later, he parked mom’s car in the driveway and told me to go out and pull the right, rear wheel off like I had been taught, then to come get him when that was done.
“Dad comes out and pulls out his old (to me anyway, I was born on base so the tool rolls and I are the same age) green, US Army tool rolls. He removed only the tools that were going to be needed for the job. Showed me how to do one side, then I had to do the other on my own.
“Dad passed away a few years ago but I kept those tool rolls and US Army supplied wrenches, they were part of a ‘back to civilian life’ class on Volkswagen repair he took during his service during the Vietnam War. The roll of metric Craftsman tools now lives in the spare tire well of my VW GTI.”
Great to hear that this treasured roll of tools is still in use to this day!
Suggested by: negativeed
“I changed a serpentine belt!
“Something about the way it weaves in and around your engine is initially mysterious - but when you take a second to observe it, intuitively logical; you can see power leave the crankshaft, head to your alternator, A/C compressor, and pumps for water/power steering.
“Take a second to understand what it does and you’ll want to learn more about an engine and how it functions, I know I did.”
This would be a daunting task for me, but one Skipp seems to have taken it in their stride! It’s also great to hear how completing one task gives you a greater appreciation for the workings of your car.
Suggested by: skipp
“I learned how to drive in 2006... but before I was allowed to drive, my father required that I know how to fix an engine first....
“So what better engine to service than a 1937 Buick Special Series 40 with the straight-8, and 3 on the floor? That had been sitting in the garage since 1994
“So that meant learning what it takes to turn an old engine over (not just charging the battery and hitting the starter), rebuilding the carb and fuel pump... checking distributor, etc… that was also the car I learned how to drive on.
“My father is gone now, but the car along with all the memories are still with me. I can still hear him from time to time ‘Slow down, it’s an old car. It’s Not about how fast you get there.... It’s all about how Good you look getting there’.”
An encouraging parent seems the key to an early induction into the world of wrenching.
Suggested by: redneckrob
“First things I remember:
“A freeze plug on a Ford Pinto with a Lima engine after a winter trip to the mountains. I was too young to realize it at the time but now knowing my cheap Dad I’ll bet he had straight hose water in the radiator.
“Second was the clutch on that same Pinto. That was the day I got my baptism. “Remove transmission” said the Chilton’s manual but in classic Chilton’s style it neglected to mention draining the transmission first. Turns out the rear seal on that transmission wasn’t so much of a seal as a sieve so all that oil ended up spilling right onto my head.
“Fun fact for the kids - old gear oil used extract of sperm whale and oil, whether gear, motor, crude or whale does NOT wash out of hair.”
I didn’t know what a freeze plug did until today. So for anyone else as clueless as me, they are small plugs used to fill the gaps left by the sand cores during the production of a new engine. They protect against leaks and, if they fail, can cause lasting damage to the engine.
Suggested by: cheap-bastard
“I started off by messing with a perfectly good car. Like many, I suspect, I started my wrenching journey circa 2003 by installing a ‘cold air intake.’ I used only the finest Ebay-sourced components, but in my defense I did buy a K&N air filter rather than the ebay-supplied one.
“30 minutes with a couple of screwdrivers in a parking lot, and I was the proud owner of a ‘modded’ car, now with gratuitous sucking sounds!
“I’ve grown more sophisticated as my skills and budget have grown, but the fact remains that at the end of the day, I’ve spent many more hours messing with perfectly good cars than repairing ones that are actually broken.”
While not necessarily fixing an issue with your car, modifying your vehicle is also an important way to leave your mark on the car. Just try to steer clear of modifications that might ruin an otherwise great car.
Suggested by: golfball
“When I was in high school, in 1992, my generous father got me a 1990 Mustang GT. I was so in love with the car, I wanted everything to be perfect, so a broken piece of trim behind the inside driver’s door handle bothered me enough that it became my very first wrenching project. I got the part from the dealer and did the extremely easy fix myself.
“Don’t worry, I got way more involved when I bought myself a 1968 Cutlass in college and managed to wrench on just about every piece of it. But hey, it all started with a piece of crappy Mustang trim.”
It starts with a little repair that you think won’t take a minute. Then it’s something slightly more ambitious that might improve the ride. Before you know it, you’re browsing Craigslist for your 15th project car this year.
Suggested by: sidbridge