working on your car alone?

[89hatchman]

Anyone else in the same position? I essentially work on my car by myself, no one to lend a hand, no one to give advice, no one.

Not to mention no one to hook me up with deals, this build is gonna be pricey and probably a bit difficult...

[Jayycob]

i'd start out by going to local meets, there are a few threads here that you can find to meet up with local 240 owners. I'm sure they could help you out. Also, there's plenty of DIY threads that you can look up here.

[89hatchman]

i'd start out by going to local meets, there are a few threads here that you can find to meet up with local 240 owners. I'm sure they could help you out. Also, there's plenty of DIY threads that you can look up here.

thats what I'm doing, looking at DIY and build threads for the time being. But its confusing as hell wiring for engine swaps, mods, rust repair, all the numbers that go with building a drift car, etc. People say that an SR swap is pretty easy but as its looking right now I'm confused.

[Tearlessj]

Make more friends!

[theronin]

i did pretty much everything on both my 240's barring pulling n dropping a new engine in the 2nd by myself. and the only thing i used 1 friend for was to help in lining up the engine as we shoehorned it into the bay. noone will ever be as meticulous or care as much as you do about your car. quite frankly... i don't trust anyone to work on my car but me. pretty great feeling to know you did everything on your car by yourself.

[shiftdrift]

I do almost all work on my car by myself, granted I'm a fabricator/mechanic by trade, but there are a few things in which I will let people help me with, but not just anyone.

[Rich260z]

I started out watching my brother work on his car with his friends, then I got a car asked his friends for help and the rest is history.

[badbob2121]

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j390/foxcrew11/alone.jpg

[DS562]

i did pretty much everything on both my 240's barring pulling n dropping a new engine in the 2nd by myself. and the only thing i used 1 friend for was to help in lining up the engine as we shoehorned it into the bay. noone will ever be as meticulous or care as much as you do about your car. quite frankly... i don't trust anyone to work on my car but me. pretty great feeling to know you did everything on your car by yourself.


QFT. the more hands you have in an engine bay, the more nuts and bolts go missing -_- and i can never be sure that the other person torqued everything right.

[KiLLeR2001]

All you really need is one good friend who knows his shit.

[roboticnissan]

All you really need is one good friend who knows his shit.

This!!!! The less ppl the better, cuz more ppl mean more fooling around and less work gets done. You need two ppl for certain things like trannys and engine swaps.

Also it doesnt hurt to bounce ideas off eachother and whatnot.

[Sleepiedaze]

one good friend who knows what hes doing is usually all you need. most of the time at car meets out of the 10 people there only 1 person really knows what they are talking about.

[dontxploitme]

http://cdn.dailychillout.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Hey-Pal-You-Alone.jpg

[HyperTek]

Alot of people don't work on cars correctly, I never seen my friends with torque wrenches applying proper torque to their wheels.

[Homeboyx]

Alot of people don't work on cars correctly, I never seen my friends with torque wrenches applying proper torque to their wheels.

This! x10000

[89hatchman]

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j390/foxcrew11/alone.jpg

Exactly what's happening

[rednissan180]

Personally I'd rather work on my car alone

[surge s14]

i work alone most of the time, I feel your most likely to goof off of you have ppl helping.

[ManoNegra]

Could have been worse, it's not the early 2000s when my generation got started on these cars.
Internet, magazines, FSMs, DVDs... there are tons of resources at hand nowadays.

[Driftpretty]

i honestly prefer being alone working on my car. gives me time to escape real life. Lol

[ghoti]

Alot of people don't work on cars correctly, I never seen my friends with torque wrenches applying proper torque to their wheels.

I use to use a torque wrench all the time but now I feel like I can sense by hand if it torqued down properly

[Chuki_KA24e]

Alot of people don't work on cars correctly, I never seen my friends with torque wrenches applying proper torque to their wheels.

People actually torque their wheels to spec? I've never seen anyone use a torque wrench on lug nuts, ever....

[roboticnissan]

I use to use a torque wrench all the time but now I feel like I can sense by hand if it torqued down properly



I stopped using one aswell

[Jtuned_andy]

Ive had a friend or two offer to help me with my projects, they were even mechanically inclined, but I prefer to work by myself unless I absolutely need extra hands. I did an entire engine swap by myself in the driveway on my civic. It also helps to be a mechanic by trade.

Its also true that its hard to trust people working on your car. I would trust maybe one other person and even then its only for certain things. I need to have my hands on everything in my car to know for sure its the way I want it.

[Bmxer300zx]

story of my life
Only person i trust is me and when something goes wrong i can only blame myself and not say "if only i payed attention to what he was doing".

[MadScientist]

I only work on the car by myself and rarely ever ask for help.
Never trust anyone unless its something I can't do like Machine work, and even then its a shop i reserched and been to 1000 times!
If its wrong or if something happens to the car I can figure it out faster because I know what was touched.

However, I'm also the person that everyone knows to fix their shit!
It gets old when you have 3 (non car guy) friends asking you to do simple shit like Altenators.

Just do lots of research... years and years of reseach, and trust yourself so you can learn from your mistakes!

[dawagarage]

all you need is forums, fsms, more forums, youtube videos, etc
the only problem i have with working on my car alone is what would happen
if i get injured/knocked unconscious/car dropping on me.
i must include that i always use ppe (faceshield, eye protection, ear plugs, breathing protection, jackstands & usually back up jack stands AND the jack still in place.)
it's still scary to be under a car and realize that if somehow it dropped i would be fucked

[MadScientist]

Ha.... Yeah ^^^^^ the only fear is that!!

Doing a rear subframe swap, got my hand pierced and trapped between the Chassis bolt & subframe... significant amount of wieght. Girlfriend and buddy just left to get drinks. 15mins. trapped like that makes you think some wicked shit!!

[collegekid]

I only have 2 friends that mess with cars. When we were pulling my ka, my one friend stood there holding his dick while my other friend was under the car with me breakin bolts loose.
Moral of the story- find someone who is as motivated as you to do shit, it is a bonus if they know what theyre diong.

for some things, you need extra hands (like dropping in motors,installing/removing windows,hoods)
A lot of things you can do on your own but you hsould always try to be safe which I will try to elaborate on

-avoid working on things that could go shitty fast. Always have someone within earshot so they can atleast call 911 and LOL @ you when the car falls on you.
-Keep a fire extinguisher nearby
-keep your phone nearby
-when jacking up the car, have a backup support. When I jack the car up, I still put cinder blocks under the wheels and under the frame rails.
-be careful with chemicals, always read the safety labels on shit, they are there for a reason
-double and triple check everything
-dont blast lil wayne while attempting to drop in your sr by yourself. No one will hear you scream and you will die listening to some alien versus predator "got raped in prison" lookin motherfucker
- when using jackstands, always put support wood under the stand and inside the housing in case the little piece cracks off
-always buy stronger than necessary jack stands and jack
-when you put the car on stands, make sure you push it to make sure it is securely on the stand
-never rush with anything. no drift/racing event or car show is worth the damage you might cause to yourself

Now that I think of it, my mom is more help than my friend who stood there. She couldn't tell me which gear was which on a manual transmission but she would gladly help in any way she can. I love my mom

[Shouldahadav8]

pretty much the more friends you have working on it the more nuts and bolts you will lose.

[fliprayzin240sx]

Shit, I put my S14 together on my own and did my first RB25 swap by myself. Well, take that back, I had one of my coworker help me when I was physically putting in the RB. I wasnt about to kill myself trying to wedge it in there by myself.

[silviaNC]

Same here most of everything was installed by myself, furst timer and I had wifey help me put my swap on car and other things. Sexy tho

[StryfeS13]

I don't let anyone really work on my car. I work on all my friends cars for them but I would never let them install anything on my own car.

I'm too worried it won't be done the way I want it to be done. Maybe I'd let someone else help if they were holding wires while I was soldering, or helping me drop a motor in with an engine crane or something since that's generally a 2-3 person job.

[Bumpkin203]

i honestly prefer being alone working on my car. gives me time to escape real life. Lol

this all day^

[Renelovesnike]

Love working on my car alone!! that and a good playlist is always fun, having friends over but they just keep company/drink alcohol so the countless jokes while im wrenching away is always fun but they dont touch the car since they really dont even know the difference from a wrench and a ratchet...

just started getting caught onto the jack stands and not trusting a 20 year old jack or a 100 jack with my life.

haha started using torque wrenches on wheels lately too and would also on my suspension but ill do that after i get a second set of stands to be able to put weight on the suspension "lift to lowered ride height"before torquing to spec*

only thing i hate is loosing a nut/bolt and not being able to find the socket i need when every other time i didnt need it i find it..... -___-

[CleanAndLegit]

for the past 8 months I've been building my whole car from the ground up all by myself including dropping front and rear subframes, pulling engine out, putting front and rear subframes back up, everything you can think of I've done myself, not the easiest nor safest thing to do but fuck it when you ain't got nobody thats the way it is. I do though need to invest in 2 extra sets of jack stands and a new low pro jack. As for torquing everything to spec, I'll be going over every single bolt before I start driving it again. I've had bolts shear off from being a tiny bit loose.

[Aroddalobster]

I prefer to work on MY cars alone. I feel like I have more time and freedom to trial and error my way through processes if necessary, do things my way, and the feeling of accomplishment at the end is so much bigger. Also, tools, nuts, and bolts don't end up on the other side of the car when you need them the most. I also work on my cars on impulse, so they'll be at eccentric times, i.e. 2AM.

That being said, there have been numerous situations where I've thought, "Gee, a helping hand would really help out." (i.e. First time dropping the tranny with no spare jack/tranny jack. After that, doing it alone has become the norm) I will also help out any friend, without hesitation, if they're working on their car.

[cchondro]

I work on my car alone
when I had friends help build with me it was never done to my satisfaction so I work on all my cars by myself
I know enough people that I get pretty decent deals but sometimes it get lonely working alone, but you don't get as distracted.

[conrad_s13.5]

Some of my most productive nights,.. it just me.

Most of my friends are into cars,...but when we get together,...we just end up talkin about them in someway, or just getting distracted...lol

not that its a problem,....unless i reallllllllly need to get shit done...haha

[ghoti]

... I had one of my coworker help me when I was physically putting in the RB. I wasnt about to kill myself trying to wedge it in there by myself.

When I was underneath the car guiding the SOHC out of the bay while my friend was lifting it with the engine hoist the left side of the chain snapped and the engine almost fell on my hand.:doh:

[LB 180SX]

The less ppl the better, cuz more ppl mean more fooling around and less work gets done..

haha very true. having company is cool, but u gotta stay focused. im guilty of inviting friends over and we start drinking and i end up saying fuk it lets drink.

[jamg]

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j390/foxcrew11/alone.jpg

that feel...

friday night, and i spend 5 hours installing my rear subframe. by myself :(

honestly though, i enjoy fast cars, driving fast cars, and i like cars, but i also like having other people who share the same interest around, and just being able to do it with another.

i've been collecting everything i need for an SR swap, but so many people are busy and have no time, i'm almost at the point where i'm going to sell everything off and get my money back.

[KA24DESOneThree]

Only thing really done with someone else was my first trans swap.

Since then, at least one more trans swap, complete suspension swap a couple times, full strip, etc.

There's enough DIY write-ups to do damn near anything. Suspension choices and setups were done with the help of a couple hundred dollars worth of books.

I've dropped engines out of multiple-hundred-thousand-dollar cars by myself, so I'm okay doing damn near anything to my hoopties.

[Gizmo_S13]

I don't mind helping people work on their cars but I always tell them I'm not liable for anything. I prefer working on my own car by myself. Every once and a while a friend will stop by and offer help but I only ask for it if I really need it. Plus, if you fuck something up it's on you, not somebody else.

[DS562]

Pretty much ^^ in addition to my first respons, I also don't usually offer to help with smaller things because there just isn't enough room for 2 people in an engine bay.

[rednissan180]

When I was underneath the car guiding the SOHC out of the bay while my friend was lifting it with the engine hoist the left side of the chain snapped and the engine almost fell on my hand.:doh:

Ha yeaaa... I've had an experience like this

[cgtdream]

These days i prefer to work alone, as if anything is fucked up, and secondly i put just that much effort into my work so i dont have that self shame and it kinda sorta gives me a little pride in joy in this little hobby of mine.

But overall its just that i dont trust others..On one car i owned, someone was helping me install a clutch, and as we were finishing up the job we had to install the front driveshafts (awd car yo!) and they didnt install the left one on all the way....Needless to say ever since ive been doing it on my own. Even engine installs...

But as one person said earlier, there is that fear of a car dropping on me, or something pinning me to where i cant get out on my own...

[wangan_cruiser]

Wanted to work alone because i dont like people snooping around my place.


The more people you invited in your house the higher the risk of your shit getting stolen

[codyace]

Could have been worse, it's not the early 2000s when my generation got started on these cars.
Internet, magazines, FSMs, DVDs... there are tons of resources at hand nowadays.

Preach On

I can remember MANY long night in AOL chat rooms with guys I didn't even know, all trying to sort out the best way to turbo our Altimas. There wasn't diddily poo back then!

[jesse_s13]

I only have 2 friends that mess with cars. When we were pulling my ka, my one friend stood there holding his dick while my other friend was under the car with me breakin bolts loose.
Moral of the story- find someone who is as motivated as you to do shit, it is a bonus if they know what theyre diong.

for some things, you need extra hands (like dropping in motors,installing/removing windows,hoods)
A lot of things you can do on your own but you hsould always try to be safe which I will try to elaborate on

-avoid working on things that could go shitty fast. Always have someone within earshot so they can atleast call 911 and LOL @ you when the car falls on you.
-Keep a fire extinguisher nearby
-keep your phone nearby
-when jacking up the car, have a backup support. When I jack the car up, I still put cinder blocks under the wheels and under the frame rails.
-be careful with chemicals, always read the safety labels on shit, they are there for a reason
-double and triple check everything
-dont blast lil wayne while attempting to drop in your sr by yourself. No one will hear you scream and you will die listening to some alien versus predator "got raped in prison" lookin motherfucker
- when using jackstands, always put support wood under the stand and inside the housing in case the little piece cracks off
-always buy stronger than necessary jack stands and jack
-when you put the car on stands, make sure you push it to make sure it is securely on the stand
-never rush with anything. no drift/racing event or car show is worth the damage you might cause to yourself

Now that I think of it, my mom is more help than my friend who stood there. She couldn't tell me which gear was which on a manual transmission but she would gladly help in any way she can. I love my mom
lmfaoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooo:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:

[Ayy_mo]

IMO it feels better to work on your car alone..unless you really need help. When you do need help find someone that actually will help and not just play around with your jack...

[zerodameaon]

I have very few people I trust with my life(what it really comes down to when under a car) and most of them live out of state so I end up doing most things myself, which is a great time to unwind.

I do on occasion have one of my mechanic friends drop by to give a hand when she is free.

[ONYX S-13]

98% of the time I work on my car by myself but sometimes I recruit my daughter to help me. She enjoys it and it makes my life easier.

For some of the easier stuff I have her do it herself just so she can learn (granted she's 9). I don't want to raise chicks that don't know anything about under the hood of the car and who aren't afraid to get dirty.

[Irresistible]

I prefer to work on it alone. If I need help, I'll ask someone I trust enough to help me. When there's too many people around, shit goes missing, and work doesn't get done.

[Bobafreak]

haha very true. having company is cool, but u gotta stay focused. im guilty of inviting friends over and we start drinking and i end up saying fuk it lets drink.
^
THIS!!

Or the 3-4hr break then they go home while your car is still not finished.
"what bro? your having a install sr party?!" fuck yeah ill make the lushes liquid well come down and have that thing done in no time"...

6hrs later... ahhh man its getting late... lol

[1990 sr hatch]

whe're your friends and most of us know what whe're talking about :)

[4-20sx]

i prefer to work on cars alone cuz im anal lol.

i do have help from my wife at times though when its really needed!

[EhrikETFG]

you guys are lame. all i have is bros helping me out and shit. its awesome when you have friends you can rely on you to not die, make you laugh when the car pisses you off, etc.

you guys need to get new friends or move, or both idk

[No 240.. No id]

Anyone else in the same position? I essentially work on my car by myself, no one to lend a hand, no one to give advice, no one.

Not to mention no one to hook me up with deals, this build is gonna be pricey and probably a bit difficult...

I'm always like that, it came to the point where i only feel comfortable. But past years my cat joined me and keep me company. He sit and watch, Never get tired or bored.

[pacotaco345]

It's really fun to own a drift car in college when you have to do simple stuff (oil changes, pull wheels off, brakes, etc.) in a parking lot a mile from your dorm..

I usually prefer doing most of my stuff on my own but I enjoy having a friend around to talk to while I work. When I redid my pan gasket I had a friend help hand me tools and stuff while I was cussing at the oil pickup tube because another friend suggested that my pan gasket was leaking after I thought it was the front main seal. Turns out it was the front main seal after all... Oh, and I let a friend install a clutch once. I put the whole car back together and took it apart twice before realizing that he put the clutch disc on backwards.

[4-20sx]

you guys are lame. all i have is bros helping me out and shit. its awesome when you have friends you can rely on you to not die, make you laugh when the car pisses you off, etc.

you guys need to get new friends or move, or both idk



Well speaking from expierence, I do have friends who I can rely on but they dont do the best job when you want things the way you do.... Trust me it's not the same when you do it yOurself.

[bc.]

Only reason I want other peoples help is if I need it. I had a stuck tie rod end that I needed an extra hand for the other day. I also ask for help when moving anything heavy on the car like the diff, transmission or engine. Don't be stupid, ask for help or you could really get hurt.

[g00se]

I am always weary of working on my cars alone. I usually have that little nagging fear while your crawling under your car that it might just come down on you even though you have it on 6 jack stands, especially on my heavily slanted driveway >.>

So i found a place in Fremont to just rent a lift for an hourly rate and do most work there. Also like to have people around be in case I do something stupid.. which happens to be pretty often when Im by myself. I found it also helps to have an extra set of hands and eyes to double check your work instead of stripping bolts and breaking things.

[JaredNoel]

i honestly prefer being alone working on my car. gives me time to escape real life. Lol

THIS. That's one of the reasons why I choose picking up a project car as opposed to a brand new one.