How many of you actually work on your cars??

When I do any work on cars I wear latex gloves, a long sleeve turtle neck and a bandana on my head. These three things keep me from spending hours cleaning up. Working on a diesel motor is like working with printers ink.

65 Mustang fastback a complete rebuild. "Frame off" except its actually unibody construction.

Mercedes, so far anything but Transmission and Injection Pump rebuilds.

Dave

PS I have to ask what is a KRL1003 ???????

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1970 220D, owned 1980-1990
1980 240D, owned 1990-1992
1982 300TD, owned 1992-1993
1986 300SDL, owned 1993-2004
1999 E300, owned 1999-2003
1982 300TD, 213,880mi, owned since Nov 18, 1991- Aug 4, 2010 SOLD
1988 560SL, 100,000mi, owned since 1995
1965 Mustang Fastback Mileage Unknown(My sons)
1983 240D, 176,000mi (My daughers) owned since 2004
2007 Honda Accord EX-L I4 auto, the new daily driver
1985 300D 264,000mi Son's new daily driver.(sold)
2008 Hyundai Tiberon. Daughters new car

Tune up of the injection system is done by Paul Wurm, the crash repair was done by a body shop (insurance paid for it )

Besides that I do pretty much myself



And if I don't have the right tools, I build them myself.


Kind regards
Eberhard

I'm somewhere between prevenative maintance and try any repair. Some things I just don't want to mess with because I don't have a lot of room to do them, and I'd rather let the "experts" do it anyway.

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past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

I've changed tires before with the set of tire irons for my motorcycle, and decided it was worth the $5 for someone else to do it. Alignment (toe) I've done. Cylinder head work I don't, but I will take one off. I've taken transmissions apart, AND gotten them back together.

The few times I've taken my car in to have work done has been disapointing. The quality has been less than mine which makes me wonder. I guess their skills are with speed.

ALLRIGHT I'LL LOOK IT UP MYSELF.

My freinds at Google always get me an answer right away. *G*

I don't think Ive spent that much on the car let alone a tool cabinet.

Dave

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__________________
1970 220D, owned 1980-1990
1980 240D, owned 1990-1992
1982 300TD, owned 1992-1993
1986 300SDL, owned 1993-2004
1999 E300, owned 1999-2003
1982 300TD, 213,880mi, owned since Nov 18, 1991- Aug 4, 2010 SOLD
1988 560SL, 100,000mi, owned since 1995
1965 Mustang Fastback Mileage Unknown(My sons)
1983 240D, 176,000mi (My daughers) owned since 2004
2007 Honda Accord EX-L I4 auto, the new daily driver
1985 300D 264,000mi Son's new daily driver.(sold)
2008 Hyundai Tiberon. Daughters new car

Jeeze! Does it come with an air compressor and lift??

__________________
past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

I have done everything on the BMW's so far but now that the shocks are going to have to be changed it will have to go into the mechanic because I don't feel comfortable with the spring compressor.
After doing transmission work I changed my mind about ever wanting to be a mechanic.

I'll do whatever I can within my means, get help if I get stuck on something more difficult, and worst case have it done. While being worked on, I insist on being able to observe so I can learn how to do it myself the next time.

Not alot I have not done. As a matter of fact I just took delivery of a new Lincoln welding machine (MIG) yesterday.

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Jim

Some things yes, some things no. Most of the latter because I either don't have the tools or the time. I'm not progressing very fast with the 02 for lack of time, certainly not for lack of interest. Also, there are some critical interior trim parts that are not readily available currently.

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David

His:
2003 Dodge Durango SLT
2002 BMW E39 530i Sport
1988 Mercedes 300TE
Hers:
2003 Chevrolet Suburban
1999 E430

...shop manual?

Sure: I try to do just about everything I can do, or have done in the past. With some exceptions...

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'91 420 SEL @ 199K, '92 SVX @ 181K, '93 SC400 @ 86K, '93 Kaw ZX-11 @ 30K, '87 F250 @ 181K , 2001 Valkyrie Interstate @ 6K, Y2K Honda NightHawk 250 with 1.5K, '88 420SEL I.@ 179K & the 2nd latest, an '88 420SEL II.@ 210K runnin' parts car, '85 F150 300/NP435

When I got my first job out of college I thought I could finaly afford to have my work done by a shop. Not only was it too expensive but the work was also incompetent. I learned three lessons:

1- Find a car you enjoy working on
2- Do everything you reasonably can yourself (all those little repairs and maintainence add up to huge numbers if you have them done)
3- Find a really good specialist for when you can't

Its obvious advice but I'm embarassed how long it took me to figure it out.

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1988 420SEL 170K

So far, the only work I've not done myself was when the ignition key tumbler seized up ($$$!!). That sounds more impressive than it is. All I've had to do is the heater monovalve, auxilluary water pump, replace a hose and fix the power window switch.

Next up is to replace the front shocks, if the weather ever improves. In the past 8 weeks, we've had 2 days that did not have precipitation. I am not exaggerating.

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1981 Mercedes 300D - 300 000 km
1980 Camaro Z28