Some men can't turn a screwdriver !

[junker39]

I've got a nephew-in-law that went to a big national trade school and got his ASE certification in some sort of diesel repair. The boy can't even change his own brake pads. His Dad just shakes his head and mumbles something about wasting 40,000 bucks. I do all the families' auto repairs. So, for sure, you've got to have a little smarts to start with before an education does any good.
I learned the same way a lot of you did. I rebuilt a Honda 65 when I was 14. Of course, there was a cup of extra parts when I was done. But, it ran and ran good. Nothing feel apart. I worked at a Ford tractor dealership my senior year of high school. My first job was to rebuild a 10 speed Select-o-Speed automatic. It took a while and the shop manager helped a bit but he made me do most of the work. Of course, I did have the shop manual. But, that was one heck of a job for a 17 year old. I think I'd turn that job down now after turning wrenches for 40 years. My ole brain don't work like it used to.

 

[billy]

Then again, for all the people that are in the "I can't or won't" category, I have to say thanks. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have or had a job.

darn tootin!
you guys make the hotrod world go around.
i spend most of my life in over my head with my various projects.
it seems the only way i am gonna learn something is to spend a large chunk of my life out of my comfort zone.[S[P

 

[cycledog]

"Some men can't turn a screwdriver !"

Some women can't cook!

Is it supposed to be gender specific?

 

[Willowbilly3]

Well, maybe lots of guys can't wrench, but that doesn't stop many of them from trying and totally mucking something up before they bring it in to get fixed right.

 

[ronnysplymouth]

"Some men can't turn a screwdriver !"

Some women can't cook!

Is it supposed to be gender specific?

It used to be

 

[BigIrish]

My stepdad is a perfect example of this. His brain cannot comprehend even the most basic mechanical concepts. Some of my favorites from growing up:

- He refused to drive/park his car on the grass. Some other genius told him at some point that driving on grass is "hard on the wheels". Being a smarty britches teenager, I asked. "what part, the tires, the rims, the bearings??" All he could do was repeat "hard on the wheels"

- He used to inflate the riding lawmower tires to 32 psi, even though they should be like 10-15 psi to aborb the bumps. I tried to explain this to him several times. I used to love watching him drive around our lumpy yard, bouncing out of the seat

- He took his old Camry to Earl Schieb to get a $325 paint job in order to "increase it's value" in order to sell it. It came back and they had literally painted over dirt. It may have been the first "satin" paint job!

- He used to shift gears at 1500 rpm and lug the crap out of his poor 4 banger. He thought anything over 2,000 RPMs would quickly destroy an engine and could not be convinced otherwise.

 

[dmw56]

Well, then there's guys that don't know crap about computers. [ddd

 

[Willowbilly3]

Well, then there's guys that don't know crap about computers. [ddd

Haha, lots of people are always asking me computer questions when they find out I spend time on here. Doesn't mean I'm a programmer. It's about the same as thinking someone knows how to work on a car just because they drive one.

 

[Coffee Freak]

He didn't even understand how to open the fuse holder to inspect the fuse, and finally our guy gave up and gave him the business card for one of the local boat mechanics. How did these guys get through life this far, do they pay someone to replace anything that breaks in their home or on their car ?

You can't make this stuff up.

Don

In a word, yes.... that's exactly how they have made it through life thus far.

I went to an all-boys Catholic High School that was renowned for excellence in academics, a 96%+ university placement as well as all-star caliber athletics. I asked one of my teachers once why there was no "Auto Shop" class, to which he responded, "When you leave here, you will go to a college or university and should be placed in a field where you will be able to afford to have your vehicle fixed by the people who went to the other schools in the area."

I really didn't like that answer. I felt as though since the school was in the Metro Detroit area and the guys that were learning how to be automotive engineers should also know how to take apart existing cars, not just the theory behind them.

I was always more on the creative side, though. My father and brother are both engineers, but I liked the design side. At 41, I'm finally learning the stuff I should have known in High School. How to rebuild an engine, change a blown head gasket, troubleshoot and diagnose bad valves, etc.

I HATE paying someone to do anything that I could do with my own hands.