i want to learn more about my cars engine?

Question

i wanna be quite self sufficient on the road i past my driving test just over a year ago now and got my first car but dont want to sound like a right girly girl and keep asking my bf to help my do things with my car. so i was told best way to learn about whats under the hood is to take things out bit by biit and then put them back again but no idea where to start or if this is a good idea at all so any advise would be good ta.

Answer 1

Leave well alone! today's cars are manufactured in such a way that there is very little an unqualified person could fix. Just learn the basics from the manual.

Answer 2

Nothing lasts forever; any car eventually will start having problems. However, while some cars may provide you with few hundred thousands miles of trouble-free driving, others start having problems from the beginning. Why there is such a huge difference?
Sometimes cars start having problems after accidents. Sometimes it may be a factory defect or design flaw. Heavy conditions like, for example, driving only short trips without letting the engine to warm up fully also make the engine life shorter.
Corrosion is another factor - for example, park the car for a few months in place with high humidity and later it will probably have more problems than the vehicle driven all this time on daily basis.
Yet, lack of maintenance is one of the most often reason for a car to break down.
Here is a visual example:
Compare the two images below: the left Mazda's engine hasn't been maintained well. Looks like it the engine oil hasn't been changed for long time. This engine has relatively low mileage and already needs serious and costly repair. On the right, the Mercedes-Benz engine that has been maintained well. After 310,000 km (192,000 miles) it's still in a very good condition, and needs no repair at all. Can you see the difference?

Answer 3

Your best bet is to work out where the really necessary things are, like battery, oil filler, oil dipstick, brake fluid container, cooling system cap, windscreen washer container and fusebox are. You will probably recognize some of these things anyway. Also you should learn how to change a tire and maybe jump start a car with leads.

If your car has not got an owner's manual, go to a dealer and ask for one. It may not be cheap, but you also might get one on an auction site.

Here are sites that will give you some of the basics and a bit more -

http://www.samarins.com/maintenance/simple.html

http://www.ehow.com/list_1005.html

Answer 4

Don't take it apart if it isnt broken!

My suggestions would be either

1: Get a Haynes manual, available at decent car spares shops.

2: If you really want to, and it's an old & cheap car, get a spare engine & take that apart at your leisure.

When i had my citroen 2cv6, with an engine which is about as basic as you can get - 602cc, two cylinders - i got an old engine for £60 and stripped it down partially & cleaned the parts so that i could see how they worked.

Well done @ being an independent girly and not wanting to rely on bloke who would rather watch the footy & drink beer

:o)

xxx

Answer 5

Since you don't know much about cars, I don't suggest you start taking your car's engine apart, and putting it back together, it takes many years to be able to correctly do everything involved in tearing down and rebuilding an engine, plus everytime you take the engine apart, you have to replace seals, gaskets, oil, coolant, etc, so its not very cost effective to tear apart your car and put it back together.

My suggestion is that the next time something needs replaced or fixed on your car, go buy the part(s) and then get your self a Haynes, or Chilton manual and follow the instructions in the manual to replace the parts.

Answer 6

That's probably not a good idea.
At some point you'll take something off, and not be able to put it back on again.

Find a local college offering an evening class in car maintenance, and enrol. You won't learn how to design an engine, but you will learn how to do most regular maintenance jobs (oil & filter changes, wheel changes, brake pad/shoe replacement, fluid checks & top-ups) on your car.
You'll be more self-sufficient than most non-mechanics after only a few weeks.

Answer 7

Don't start pulling things apart without someone there to guide you.

Look to see if any local repair shops or dealers are running any 'Car Care Clinics' When I ran shops for both Goodyear Certified Auto Service and Midas we used to have these clinics all the time for those who new little to nothing about taking care of their automobiles. Some clinics were for woman only so they would feel more comfortable asking questions. Check with any local auto part supply store to see if they know of any of these clinics.
Also try www.midas.com and click on the link at the top of the page for Auto Education to start to understand some of the basics about automobiles.

Answer 8

That is the worst thing you can do.
If you want to learn about youre engine, buy a workshop manual and look at the same engine that was taken apart.

If you want to be able to repair things, look at the basics.
Battery, ignition system etc. What are the chances of you fixing an engine without the proper equipment? If you take everything apart you will never remember where it went, because there are very intricate parts.

Answer 9

Good for you, but I wouldn't try to dismantle anything difficult, they're so complex and delicate these days you can get into deep trouble. Get a Haynes manual for your car, that'll give you an idea of what's involved. A lot of colleges do car-maintenance evening classes too.

Answer 10

If you want to take a car apart start with an old junker that barely runs. Maybe even try fixing it up and resale it. the experience will be great and you won't chance messing up your main means of transportation. Who knows you may actually make money when you resale the junker.