Well guys i know im only 16 but do you guys know any sites that explain everything about a car...from like the engine to the brake line to the exhaust. I want to be able to understand everything like you guys do.

Thanks

 

hi and welcome.

 

Get a Haynes/Chiltons manual, read it from cover to cover. Thats how I learned, and from reading posts from forums like this. Here is something that "explains" alot of different stuff. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-...od-channel.htm.

 

You will learn a lot just by reading the forums and the tech articles and stickies we have.

 

pm mixedbreed, he's temporarily banned but very qualified to teach you everything you need want to know. He's also very willing to help anyone that asks, im sure he will be glad to help when he comes back.

 

honestly the best way to learn is to actually get hands on. i learned alot from my dad when i was younger, then when i turned 16 we have a vocational school that you can attend as part of high school, i spent two years in the auto mechanics program, and countless hours under the hood of my friends cars (69 chevelle, a 70 dodge dart, early 80's fox mustang, late 70's camaro's etc). basically if you have a vocational school or even a community college that offers automotive classes that is the best way to learn in a structured environment and you wont have to worry about the safety of what you have done., but for me the hands on stuff and someone to explain it as you go is priceless.

and welcome.

 

Do what I did: start working on your car.

 

Yeah and then mess something up? No thanks

 

That's why you start out simple. Do simple maintenance like oil changes, plugs, air filter, etc. Once you get comfortable w/ that, go to brake jobs. You can only learn so much from researching and the best teacher is experience. If you take something apart and feel you will mess something up if you continue, abort and put things back together.

 

Just remember there are three labor rates:

1 - The cheapest is when you do it your self.

2 - More expensive to pay someone

3 - Most expensive to pay someone to fix something you broke trying to do #1

BUT, that is the fun of it.

 

haha i did step 1 and had to jump to step 3 b/c i only got 2 out of the six spark wires in the right place lol

 

i do the things I know I can do, and some I will explore, but the big technical things I leave to a mechanic.

 

Yeah when I got my mustang I knew close to nothing about cars. After being on these forums for some time I have learned a ton just seeing what other people have to say about mechanical stuff lol. I started out with a CAI intake system that I put in myself. It took me like 4 hours :/ but it was fun and I learned about how all of that works by just taking some time to do it myself.

 

lol
damit i did the same thing when i installed my cai lol
no directions and i didnt know i had to use my own MAF sensor lol took me 4 hours to figure that one out.

 

Haha yeah i couldn't decide if i should keep that filter or just throw it. And I just looked at pictures of how its supposed to look. the directions were a pos

 

yeah im getting a cold air intake for xmas. no idea how to install. was just gonna get the parts and see where it goes from there.

 

which one u get

 

You sound alot like me at that age. It was only 2 years ago that I went for the gold and bought a 66 stang, thrashed and beaten. I dove right in, figuring i couldnt really mess things up more then they already were. 2 years later at 18 Im driving a beautifully resto/modded monster of a car. The problem most kids have is that they dont want to screw it up. but honestly, You can fix anything, So dive right in! Take things apart, figure out how it works and play with it. In no time you will be tweaking and modding things.