Here Are All Of The Wrenching Skills You Should Learn How To Do So You Don’t Have To Pay Someone Else

It goes without saying that for most people and most cars it’s less expensive to keep the one you have on the road than it is to submit to a monthly payment on a new vehicle. If you’re hoping to weather the storm of a potential economic recession, you might need to pick up a few extra skills to keep your repair bills as low as possible. At the very least, you should probably start doing your routine maintenance yourself. 

My Ducati needs a belt service, and I don’t want to pay the ridiculous price for a dealership tech to do it, so I’m going to be learning how to do it myself in the near future. I’ll be honest, it sounds like a huge pain in the butt, but somehow I’m sort of looking forward to it. I’ve got my fingers crossed that I do it right. 

Earlier this week we asked our readers what new automotive repair skills they were learning, or at least interested in learning, to avoid paying a professional to do it. The results are pretty great, and I’ve compiled a few of my favorites below. If you think something was left off the list, feel free to add to the discussion in the comments below. 

i’m about to take on walnut blasting the intake valves of my Hyundai elantra. warranty already paid 900 to do it one time and it’s time to do it again and now it’s no longer in warranty. so i’ll be doing that myself with the help of my buddy! Also i don’t think the warranty shop actually media blasted the intakes considering how soon (15k miles) it needs to be done again. Must likely the shop used a brush or just sprayed chemicals or something. Doing the job yourself ensures that it was done right!

Suggested by Bassracerx

Most of the stuff I farm out requires equipment I don’t have. I can’t mount tires and don’t have a lift. I have also done very little bodywork beyond Bondo and rattle can more because I don’t need to rather than can’t.

I would like to be able to do upholstery to fix some stuff, and while not exactly car related I want to do some bicycle wheel building.

Recently I have been digging into more advanced computer diagnostics and electrical work

Suggested by Slow Crow Joe

Removing interior trim without breaking it. I can do anything mechanical, and I have done enough bodywork to know it’s better to pay someone. Fixing anything inside a car is a nightmare. Do I pull harder, or use a special tool, or is there a hidden fastener…DAMMIT! The tab snapped off. Why can’t everything be an XJ?

Suggested by PostOMatic2000

There is nothing you need to learn to fix a car. For nearly ever make and model there is a video on Youtube that will walk you through almost step by step any project you could imagine. I have been wrenching on engines since I was 14 starting with increasing the jet size in the carburetor on my Garelli moped trying to make it go faster.

Suggested by DoItYourself

I bought an out of warranty used German sedan for “Honda Civic” money under the guise that I would do all the work myself. So far it has been brakes, adaptive dampers, oil filter housing gasket (guess what car!), plugs and coils, and in the next week or two I am swapping out the plastic valve cover and gasket with and aluminum one. It sprung a leak around 100k miles.

I wasn’t going to pay dealer price for any of it, and the only time I’ve taken it to an indie shop was to get an alignment after the shocks and struts/dampers. I hate even taking it to get tires put on, they always hit the lugs with an impact unless you specifically tell them to eff off with that.

Suggested by Markoff Chaney

I’d also like to learn how to weld, there are custom projects I’d love to do sometimes but it’s very hard to find talented welders for small jobs.

Suggested by cintocrunch1

I wish I could do my own machine shop work (including head porting). It’s not the cost so much as the fact that the machine shops here are all terrible (even the one everyone said is the best in town ruined one of my blocks). But buying a full complement of machine tools and a shop space with 3-phase power isn’t really in the realm of a hobbyist. Porting a head can be done with just rotary tools and burrs, but I’m worried that my freshman effort would result in a ruined head. Perhaps someday I can find some cracked heads to practice on.

Suggested by Neal Richards

Replacing and balancing tires. Seems like a great way to save money and even make some side cash doing it for friends if you can do it right.

Suggested by engineerthefuture

My father started driving at age 13 during WWII (they let kids drive because the men were off to war). He bought an old Model A and had to learn to repair it himself. Eventually, my mother put him through college and he taught high school auto shop then worked for Ford as a factory representative (the guy the dealers call when they can’t fix a problem). I wasn’t much interested in cars until I bought an old British sports car and Dad said “If you’re going to own a car like that you better learn how to work on it.” So we started working on my car, and he bought one that we restored over 10 years. The biggest skill I learned from him, that I have yet to perfect, is patience. You have to study the issue, amass as much knowledge as you can–YouTube is your friend–and approach it with resolution. Beyond that, acquire the basic tools: socket sets, screwdrivers, pliers, etc. so you have them on hand–Harbor Freight stuff is good enough for most jobs–you’ll lose your momentum if you have to stop and run to the store to get a tool. Get a good floor jack and jack stands. For modern cars, you need a code reader and a digital volt meter (DVM). Learn at least basic electronics.

It’s a commitment; if you’re not willing to make it just pay someone to do it. There’s plenty of info, online and not. Immerse yourself.

Suggested by BullitHitsBone

Brakes. They seem very pricey for the actual work done. I’m sure I could do it, and I did once years ago with some help from someone with experience after Midas severely botched a brake job. It’s more about having the confidence that I actually did it right and won’t lose breaks while driving down the highway that worries me the most.

I think when I had to do it myself Midas originally charged me something like $600 and when I had to redo it myself it cost around $150 in parts. This was probably 20 years ago.

Suggested by Thomas Hajicek