With the loss of the corner service station, the ineptness of the chain store (tire for the most part but others) repair facilities and to some extent the complexities of todays vehicles leading to people leasing them rather than purchasing them and never making repairs I wonder where the back yard mechanic is going to get any knowledge.
Yesterday while waiting for Valerie to go to a medical appointment parked in the Hospital Ramp Garage the shuttle vehicles operated by an out side contractor which are glorified golf carts. A small Gas engine driving the rear wheels, no brakes on the front and a fancy paint scheme. One pulled up next to where I was parked on the 4th floor. Apparently a point where tools were kept and minor repairs could be made.
The problem?
A flat tire.
The Solution?
To change it.
I was eating breakfast sitting in the door of my Van, a cup of coffee, a doughnut, a sandwich and listening to satellite radio when it dawned on me I had heard the driver running a battery operated impact wrench for an awfully long time. This is not rocket science, four lug nuts, no brakes so no drums or rotors to muddy up the view. The back side of the studs in plain sight. And one was pushed through. Don't know how as they were press fit and the impact gun would be put on it and the stud would turn and this guy was running and running and running the bloody gun and pulling lug nuts off and tightening and re-tightening the others. Some how the lug nut was cross threaded on the loose stud. Have no idea how the thing got knocked out, it was press fitted in. And I'll be he messed with it for a half an hour. There were no available tools and the repair person had no idea how to use the lug nut to draw the stud back in. I went to help the person but it was a waste of time.
It must be from this class of mechanic that the tire repair stores obtain their "repair administrators" from! One does not want to embarrass them by referring to then as mechanics.
Of course this might be the reason more and more late model cars are ending up in DIY junk yards with no visible reason as to why they are there. Some minor item has broken and the owner is clueless as to how to us a tool with out injuring them selves.

 

I would love to find one person interested in becoming a mechanic. I would train them if they were interested. I have made a good living being a mechanic. I have never been unemployed for very long there are always jobs out there. I work for a major electric utility and I make $38 per hour + generous benefits. That is $78,000 per year plus there is lots of overtime available.

 

I grew up poor, so we had to do alot of backyard mechanic work. Even now I do most of what I can on my cars, mostly out of affordability, and I like the idea of being self sufficient. My step dad was a mechanic for a long time and he showed us alot. I plan to pass what I can on to my kids , if nothing more them to get them to appreciate the things they have. Sadly though the back yard mechanic is slowly being phased out by the modern car as well. So much is non servicable, or at least not with out special tools and programs. You can't just unhook things spray them out with brakeclean bang on it and out it back and get a few more thousand miles before it's really and truly broke and needing to be replaced .
If I was closer And I would take you up on that offer to learn more

 

Come train me. Granted, you might have to take a nice beautiful WV vacation, but I'm 1000% interested... I'm learning, and posess the desire to learn, but no teacher... Learning from the University of Hard Knocks may work, but it's damn expensive...

 

I think there are two other factors in play here, Unc. Kids nowadays don't want to get their hands dirty because Daddy and Mommy have handed them everything and never made them work for anything at all. That and the ones that might be interested simply can't afford the ridiculously overpriced specialty tools that it takes for diagnosing and getting started. I had 1,400 hours training as an engine mechanic back in 1974/75. While engines have changed a LOT since then with all of the computers and electronics, the basics have NOT changed. We all know the 4 things it takes for an engine to run. BUT, I can't afford the equipment needed to properly diagnose things nowadays. I keep my own vehicles running from 45+ years of experience. But sometimes, I have to have help. And I HATE that.

 

FORGET WV. Andy -- come live at my house outside Pittsburgh PA. I have access to a full height lift about an hour away, and I would invest in one that you bolt to the floor in my garage if the ceilings are high enough.

I have an incomplete set of crappy tools but I do have 1 wobble socket so it makes me feel special (for 3 seconds at a time). Used air ratchet and impact gun, wussy twin stack compressor.

I'm on the verge of getting one of those bluetooth readers (the nice ones not the chinese fake crap) so I can read CANbus vehicles

I have no manual dexterity left of the none I never really had, and a slight tremor to boot just for fun.

Never opened an engine, but been dying to for years on end--never had anyone near me in NJ to teach ne.

And yes, being a mechanic involves knowing more than just how to piece together an engine.

It involves a sadly very rare skill in today's world: LISTENING.
To the car and to the customer.
Troubleshooting/diagnosis is a skill; the more you know/understand, the more other non obvious
root causes can be considered when you've exhausted the normal testing.
Willing and ready.