Hey all,

I am wondering how to learn about auto work. I am self taught in many things but this subject evades me somewhat. It seems like the kind of thing that someone would teach to you directly but most of my learning comes from self study interacting with things directly and reading texts.

My brakes are starting to make a squeaking noise when I come to a stop and as a result I have gained an interest in learning about some basic auto work.

Does anyone have any good resources where you can learn about these things in a sequential manner? That is to say, learning the most basic concepts up to the more advanced concepts?

Thanks.

  • Boomer Humor Doomergod@lemmy.worldEnglish
    13·
    6 days ago

    YouTube University mainly. Plus getting the service manuals for my cars.

    With these I managed a turbo swap in my garage. Brake pads (which it sounds like you need) are waaaay easier.

  • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
    7·
    6 days ago

    As others have said, get a manual for your car if its available (typically Haynes or even a factory service manual if its cheap). Aside from this i think ChrisFix on YouTube does one of the absolute best jobs of explaining tasks such as replacing your brakes in a way that even someone without any knowledge can follow along and using basic hand tools. A lot of other channels can show you similar tasks but he can explain it all without leaving knowledge gaps as many others assume you already know how to turn wrenches.

    I learn similar to you and do almost all my own services on my vehicles and have quite a bit of experience working on cars, but even still I like to Google to find specific videos on services that I haven’t done before and watch them several times in the days leading up to performing the service. This helps me absorb all the steps, so I feel more confident that I’m not going to miss something or get overwhelmed and put myself into a bad situation (like breaking some ancillary part or getting halfway into something it turns out I don’t have the skills/tools for).

    I would pay special attention to how things work so that you can transfer and reuse what you’ve learned across different makes and models even if they’re put together differently as well as helping you with future repairs that might share similar components.

  • chillpanzee@lemmy.mlEnglish
    3·
    5 days ago

    Training courses and apprenticeships; there are a lot of specialized tools, techniques, and diagnostic procedures that aren’t obvious. Self guided usually results in doing a lot of things the wrong way.

  • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
    4·
    6 days ago

    Replacing brake pads (not shoes for drum brakes) is a fairly straight forward activity and possibly one of the best (besides perhaps changing engine oil) to perform yourself. Youtube is a great place to start. You can likely even find a full video of pad replacement for your exact model of car.

    What is your current knowledge with using basic hand tools such as screwdrivers, hammers, and wrenches (for hex head fasteners)? Do you know how to replace a flat tire? There’s lots of overlap with that procedure and changing brake pads.

    • golden_zealot@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
      2·
      6 days ago

      I can replace a flat fine, I understand how to use a jack and a torque wrench and have tangential knowledge regarding a little bit of mechanical engineering from a previous job.

      The feeling I get is that auto work goes much much deeper though, and I am interested in resources that offer that knowledge.

      • chillpanzee@lemmy.mlEnglish
        2·
        5 days ago

        You’re right… it does go a lot deeper. If you’re in the USA, your local community college might have classes. Consider starting with some formal instruction. The problem with YouTube is that you (the one lacking knowledge) has to decide whether the YouTuber knows what they’re doing. There’s a lot of great stuff on YouTube, but there’s plenty of wrong and unsafe stuff too.

        Also, avoid super cheap tools for the tools that interface with screws, nuts, and bolts, like wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, hex and torx drivers. Cheap tools make it wasier to damage screw heads and bolts.

      • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
        2·
        6 days ago

        If you know not only what a torque wrench is, but how to use it properly you will likely have no trouble changing brake pads.

        The feeling I get is that auto work goes much much deeper though, and I am interested in resources that offer that knowledge.

        Full engine rebuilds, or even troubleshooting intermittent CANbus issues, sure. But basic maintenance like brake pads or changing out a failed alternator just require basic hand tools and some minor knowledge you can get from youtube.