Funny, after 25 years of wrenching to put food on my plate, I still enjoy the working part of it. It is the business end that I despise. Fixing one of your own cars on the weekend, and trying to make a living at it are two completely different ball games. Can't just walk away when you have a broken/stripped bolt that you cant get out. Someone is waiting anxiously for that car, and your paycheck depends on it.
Nothing better than hanging out in the shop on a Saturday afternoon, with a pot of coffee on , some good tunes on the radio, and spinning bolts on one of my own projects.

Cars have become to difficult for me to work on and actually enjoy the task. I still do the easy stuff like fluids though. Fortunately I can afford to enrich those that must do it for their living.

I'm 55 years old and have been DIY wrenching since I was about 14. Worked on everything from RV's, boats , motorcycles and too many cars to count :D. I have put together a good amount of tools and have honed my skills where I can do pretty much everything. But I have noticed the past year or so I am losing interest in the wrenching and just want to enjoy the various toys. I don't mind doing the every day maintenance but no longer want to get involved with any major projects. I am currently working on the restoration of a 1968 RV and I truly believe this will be my last major project I'm just not feeling it anymore. I have a great garage setup with a scissor lift, welders and industrial air compressor but just don't want to use them anymore :(. Maybe it's just about getting a little older with more disposable income than in years past. Tweezers you are always welcome in my garage but not sure we'd get much wrenching done :D. But seriously my wife has never been into my wrenching, she doesn't/didn't mind that I did it but she just wasn't into it. I have passed on to my oldest son the DIY spirit and he will carry the torch, my youngest the closest he'll get to a wrench is if there is an " app " for it ;). And that's OK. Sorry for the long reply........gotta go work on the camper :D

I don't enjoy being a mechanic as much as I did 15 years ago. The complexity, propriety, and engineering scope of vehicles today which don't include serviceability (you mean I have to do WHAT to remove that water pump?!) have certainly dulled my enthusiasm. Things on the horizon look even worse.

I would like to help. I guess I am at the beginning of the learning curve. I don't know much and I am a visual person so the thought of helping somebody wrench seems very appropriate for me. Thing is, I don't necessarily have the car or the man. My father was an engineer, had the Porsche, and fixed all our cars. I used to hang outside with him occasionally but I felt like I was bugging him more than helping him. I ask a lot of questions. :) I have considered joining a female automotive club or something but can't seem to find one in the area. California has several. Another thing is time. My boys are still young and it's difficult to even fathom having time. My ex wasn't a car guy AT ALL. I always teased him that his hands were prettier than mine. I would hate my boys growing up with the same set of skills as him. I would at least want them to know how to do basic things or how things worked, partially why I want to get comfortable with it.

Offer still stands. Bring the boys!

I still enjoy the process and the satisfaction of solving a problem and completing a job successfully. It's the getting up, getting down, twisting and wrenching my body that I don't like anymore. Plus, I've found I enjoy working on vehicles I know well - 356s, old Dodges, and air cooled VWs than learning how to do something new.

I find wrenching on stuff "for necessity" is not fun anymore. Yesterday's job was to replace a leaky valve cover gasket and change oil on my A6. No fun whatsoever, and a 4.5 hour job to boot. That's 4.5 hours away from working on the 911!. I no longer like climbing under cars, either. Also no fun.

didn't you put the old Zetec engine in a couple of years ago?

what happened to it?

also, "muggles"??

Yup, I did. What happened? F--k Jiffy Lube. The lic plate is not my idea.

Update:

All accessories shifted from old engine to new (used) engine, except I need to order a pilot bearing which should be here by next weekend. Hopefully next Saturday I can tap in the bearing, bolt on the flywheel, clutch, engine cradle and get the engine into the bay and mated back up w/ the transaxle. I can recruit a neighbor to help w/ the mating.

I go on vacation the next day, so reconnecting all the lines etc and seeing if it starts will have to wait for my return. I'm nervous about a used engine, but I don't see any way to reassure myself beyond crossing my fingers. I did remove the plugs and turn it by hand, and, yup, it turns . . . Dismantler has 6 mo warranty and tested compression 180-190, engine 50K miles.

What's the rule of thumb for when to replace a clutch - what thickness of friction material says "replace"? Or do you routinely put in a new clutch every time the engine is dropped?

There are some other "while your in there" things I've noticed, so will be ordering stuff like shift linkage boots, new plugs, etc. Also taking the opportunity to power wash engine bay and all contents, take wire wheel and black paint to any rusty steel, pretty up all rubber and plastic. I enjoy the "primping" aspect of working on cars, just not the "hardcore" stuff.

I know exactly what you mean. The '74 is sitting in the workshop with a blown airbox and needs new heat exchangers. For the first time in over 25 years I think more and more I will checkbook mechanic it rather then DIY.

In the house we sold a bit over a year ago, I had completely remodeled the kitchen, baths, replaced ever ft2 of flooring, repainted every room, etc. I will be hard pressed in this current house to get the energy to just repaint a room..

Maybe social security and Medicare start to diminish that DIY attitude ??? Something did.

Tweezers there must be a local high school, college or vocational school near you that you can get involved in. I think you wanting to learn and have your boys learn is commendable. If nothing else it gets you smarter so you are harder to rip off when getting estimates for repair. If nothing else get some local girlfriends/wives to have their boyfriends/husbands start an informal gear head meeting. Make it fun and start with the basics, I would love to do some training like that. Start with basic maintenance like oil and filter changes and progress to spark plugs and brakes. Once a week at different houses would be a blast, add some BBQ and some booze and you have a training party ! There has to be some gear heads in your area willing to do this.

ok, as an homage, I just went and crawled under the Vanagon with a flashlight - the coolant pies seem not be coming loose any further than last year, and I can't reach the vent pipe for the passenger side aux. battery box to shove some stainless steel wool and peppermint soaked cotton balls up there

I thought about taking the wheel off and jacking the thing up to reach in there, but then I thought... No! jyl has INSPIRED me to not do this - I'll wait until I rotate the tires. :D

I would probably farm out more of my needed work if only I could find mechanics and shops that I trust. Fear of the Ripoff is a far stronger motivator than the discomfort of banged knuckles, a few choice cuss words, and sweat on the brow (especially in Texas Summers)

Just finished replacing the air dryer on my LR3, what a pain. Suspension works (for now) and it cost me 1/100th of the dealer cost. But the fact that I need to drive it tomorrow killed all the "fun."

replace the thermostat.

install the hot crank relay fix

make all the grounds shiny clean

there is a molded insulation blanket in there too - make sure it isn't falling out or falling apart

you could start a Samba thread too

That's a good point too. I don't care who did the work; the only way you know it's done right is to do it yourself. I've cleaned, wire brushed, powder coated, used anti-seize and inch pound torque wrenches on the little stuff... I don't care who you use, they're not going to do it like that. They can't because you would never pay the extra $$ for the time it takes.

I still love wrenching, but I don't have time for projects any more. I do repair whatever I can on the family fleet. I'd love to buy a car or two with blown clutch or head gasket, fix it, drive it around for a while, then sell. Used to do that a lot. But that was when I had no offspring, no demanding job and less other hobbies in general. I am looking forward to picking this up again once I am semi-retired.

G

I have been taking apart and fixing (sometimes successfully :D) things since I was 5. I just spent 2 very long days on a 1964 Wurlitzer juke box and that might be the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm sure I'd rather be drunk on a beach somewhere with a fishing pole in one hand and a fat Pacific island girl in the other.

For sure starting tomorrow the trash can is going to get heavy each week. If it needs fixing, it's getting tossed.

Actually, I started that in June. I sold my truck of 24 years rather than spin a wrench on it. It didn't need insurmountable work, just too much for me.

I'm done buying tools. Bought a whole metal shop worth in '11 and '12. Made a few things and lost interest. I've got one table saw out of 3 I've never heard run. Yeah, I know what you mean.