How many of you complete your own work?
 

Just curious how many people actually do everything to their truck themselves...??? Now that I have a real job, I'll be having shops do work on my truck. Although, I would prefer to do everything myself---I am too picky and it takes me forever to complete anything as a result. So, I'm having a shop bag' my truck now instead. :)

depends on what it is, if i dont have the tools or the space to do it. then i will take it somewhere.. when i get a garage and a larger set of tools then maybe things will be different.

i try to do everything i can, but i'm gonna have somebody else change out my flexplate since i have such limited space under my truck now.

Me. I won't dare let anyone touch my truck. Of course there is the things I can't do (re: without making a mess), like upholstery and painting. But anything mechanical, I do it.

i prefer to do it all besides alignments and paint. and any painting will be done by my uncle who has 30+ years of expireance. if i don't know how to do it i'll invite some buddies over to assist. i did have my tranny built/installed by a local shop though, b/c at the time i didn't have time to do it.

If I don't do it my brother does. :D

I spin every bolt myself, I can't deal with people messing up my ride. Only oil changes/certifications done at a mechanical shops.

The more I do and have others do with my trucks, the more I don't want anyone else to touch them. The so called experts that I see working in the shops around here really have no formal training in what they are doing.

For example, I had a tranny rebuilt this summer and had trouble with it shifting after I put it in. I looked at the troubleshooting in the GM service manual and found the line pressure was way too high and never changed. I told the tranny guy this, and he wouldn't believe me. He said "I don't know what so called procedure you used or what port you used or what gage you used." I tried to explain, but the dude wouldn't listen. He claimed for a week it was my TV cable bracket (it never was) and had me running around buying a new one and modifying it to his specs. The problem finally turned out to be the governor was stuck because of debris they failed to keep out of the tranny when they rebuilt it.

I find that nobody cares about my trucks like I do so nobody will do as good a job as I want them too. I'd rather do everything I can myself, at least then I at least didn't pay for someone else to do it less than perfectly...

To me there's no satisfaction in having someone else do my work.

Plus I stay away from the DEQ stations.

You never know what shops are going to do.

Prime example, the truck I currently have was previously owned by someone who wasn't mechanically inclined. And believe me it shows.

I've had to redo so much since acquiring the vehicle.

But then again, I'm retired due to disability. Can't afford shops.

my problem is, that I get easly sidetracked with making everything perfect, that I lose the prime objective. As a result not much get done................:(
Yes, I try do do mechanical stuff myself. Shops are expensive and before they solve any problem, they want to replace half the components.......kind of like me....well, the reason behind it is different

I would love to learn body work, and rebuilding automatic transmissions

I do everything myself. Honestly, I even do the alignment myself these days. I can't stand for someone else to work on my truck.

So you have a real job - big deal. Keep doing the work yourself and with your real job you can buy cooler stuff to put on...yourself. :)

If I don't have the tool to do the job, I don't take it to a shop. I buy the tool.
When I did the gear set-up on my rear axle, I checked out how much professional labor would cost (about $250 - 300) and then bought the necessary tools to do it myself and still came out ahead. Plus, one of the tool was a 12 ton hydr. press that has come in pretty darn handy for other jobs.

The only thing I have had done is the exhaust. I put on the ram horns and drove it to the exhaust shop. I briefly considered buying a tubing bender and using my mig to weld it up, but I guess we all have our limits and the bender was just too much $$


-- Mike

The only time somebody else does anything to my trucks is alignment, emissions, or paint. I even make them let me drive my truck up when they put on new tires. Everything else is me. The only things on my trucks that I havent completly torn apart and made sure it was built correctly is the 2004R on my 79.

I'll do as much as I can mechanically. If it's something like rear end setup, or tranny rebuild I'll send it to a reputable place. Even then I'm cautios.

damnit, now you guys are making me want to install my new flexplate:mad:


that means i'm gonna have to borrow my friends big jack!

I do everything i can myself, if i need help my dads always there, but if its something verycomplicated like when i had my rearend rebuilt. Ill take it to a shop. other than that no one touches my truck.

I did notch the frame and install my current rear static drop setup this past year. It went from lowering the truck---To painting everything, replacing all the hardware, and much more! At this point, I don't have the experience, time, or the proper tools to bag' the rear. (Weld-in 4-link and a custom C-notch). I do everything else myself aside from bodywork, exhaust, and major overhaul tasks. It's easier to have a shop just bag' the entire truck at once though. :)

Hey, we all have buddies that work @ dealerships or service centers & have heard some of the stories (or witnessed them first hand) about taking customer cars for joyrides.....no 'F'ing way some dumb'a' is getting his fingers on my ride. I'm there (worse than stink on sh!t) if anyone does anything to my rides that I can't do @ home myself. I try & do everything possible w/my vehicles, but truth be told I'm running out of room @ home since my tool selection is growing. A mig welder is my next purchase so I can do more fabbing @ home.

TX Mudder, that is my next goal, I want to know how to set up rear gears (properly) @ home. My brother works @ a dealership & 3 or 4 guys up there said thay could do it 'no prob', but when I asked them about checking backlash & pinion pre-load they didn't know what I was talking about... SCARY!

Whenever I can I do my own work. :)

Same here. Body and suspension I can do but drivetrain is left to the pros. :D

BUT... I will be letting this clown do my bags!! hehe

Everything that has been done to my truck since I bought it has been done by either me alone or by me and some friends. The only instance where I left my truck at a shop was when I had my pipes and mufflers installed, but I did install the headers. :) I can't afford for anyone else to work on my truck! :D

BTW hurry up the 98 will be bagged before your rig. :D

I bought my truck from my dad so everything he didn't fix or the things that weren't fixed from the crash I have to deal with. My dad isn't that mechanically inclined. I do everything I CAN do. I don't have the tools for some stuff so I take it to shops. I have all my buds in Auto Shop or my grandpa who knows everything about anything that's mechanical. I'm learning more and more from all my sources. I LOVE taking things apart and fixing things. I'm not so wild about the put back together part though. ;) If ya know what I mean.

I try and fix everything myself. I bought the 406 for my 68 already rebuilt, but it was rebuilt by a good friend, so I know it was done correctly. Just a heads up, when you buy a truck, don't ever trust the PMO's (previous moron owner's) work. My 68 has bondo on EVERY panel. The guy that owned it before me put it everywhere, and the kicker is, the truck is solid! The only rust on the truck, is now coming up from under the bondo, due to moisture being trapped in behind it...:mad: Sorry for the long-windedness.

/rant off

Damn Izzy....Can I visit the Money tree you seem to have found???

Ask Uncle Sam. Plus it's gonna have 3 tone paint in about a month. I've got a type of sponsorship for the front mounts. Might be able to swing you something as well. :D

I try to do as much as possible on my own. I do it partly to save money, but mostly because I enjoy it - it's my hobby. After spending the day in the office, I like to come home and get my hands dirty. Not to mention the satisfaction one gets from taking something that's not working and fixing it.

So far, my biggest job was dismembering my Dad's '77 in my driveway (it went to the recycler in pieces) and installing it's HD rearend and springs onto my '86 - sweet.

That's my $.02. :D


:canada: :bowtie: :flag:

I love to do the work myself if I can. It gives me a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, plus I know exactly what is in my truck too.

So far I've done absolutely everything except rebuild the rear-end. When I'm close to finishing the only thing I won't do will be paint and clearcoat. I don't have the setup...

hi man
 

bout the only thing i cant do is put a tire on a rim. my little brother does tho. he's 6'6 280lbs. he can put one on one in about 3 minutes manually! he uses joy and tire spoons.lol.

but ever since i got alot of tools most of them for free. ie 14.5 cfm,curtis toledo air compressor, alot of proto sockets wrenches from a guy that got a divorce and sold them dirt cheap to me! engine stand. got access to a lift.

knowledge is another thing though. thats why i am on here. you guys a great!