Fix it myself

[JohnRippert]

As a former service tech for Xerox I do a lot of my own 'fixing things'. One of my favorite things to do is look up 'how to' videos on Youtube and see if I think I am up to it. I have issues with both Mom's '06 Honda Odyssey and my KIA Sportage.

The Odyssey has had a problem with the blend door actuator motor for a while. The passenger side works fine but you can be driving down the road and the drivers side will start blowing hot air with the AC on.

I picked up the part off Amazon a while back and decided that the weather today was perfect. I spent 30 minutes getting a comfortable base just outside the door so I would not have to turn myself into a pretzel to crawl under the dash to do this job. Only took another 30 minutes after that to swap out the part and now I get AC instead of heat on the driver's side. Yay.

Next job, maybe tomorrow is to pull the right front tire and wheel well cover to get to the washer motor on my KIA. The rear works fine but the front tosses a small spit of water and then stops.

It is nicely satisfying to take care of problems yourself, when you can.

 

[llowry61]

Totally agree, congratulations to you on your success.

I do the same thing with YouTube. A great resource I wish I had when growing up.

You can watch a few videos and determine if it is within your skill set and more importantly if you have the tools and disposition to complete the job.

 

[lihpster]

Feels good, don't it, John?
I wonder if primitive man felt the same when they made fire?

 

[grover99]

I often use U Tube to find out how to do something and feel lucky when I find someone who shows me how to do the job rather than just listen to himself talk. I get these people who take 45 minutes to tell me how to do something that takes 10 minutes to do.

 

[wood714]

YouTube is one of the best things around for a do it yourself kinda person.

It sure beats one of these that I had to use growing up!

 

[yaktamer]

Satan's Curse on Mankind: TikTok
God's Greatest Gift to Mankind: YouTube

 

[Rule3]

You got to find the right video though.
So many are filled with BS dramatic music, please hit like and subscribe, Oh here meet my wife, , oh look there is my dog and cat


Come on just get to the part I want to fix!

 

[30-30remchester]

I do everything myself. From logging to roofing. None of it expertly done but will pass for fair to good. Being 6-4 and 250 lbs, crawling under the dash on cars is a bad experience. I soften the blow by using a 2x12 about 5' long. I put one end on the floorboard and the other outside the car resting on a step latter. This way I have something to lay on while working overhead.

 

[Golddollar]

It is nicely satisfying to take care of problems yourself, when you can.

I had a latch break which was my usual way in and out of the house. It made the door impossible to open. I went to YouTube to see if I could learn how to replace the lock. There was a locksmith in the next town who carried the replacement lock.

I brought the new lock home and went to work on the door . It took time to get the frozen lock out of the door. I'm sure that I took 3 times longer than a professional locksmith to install the new lock, particularly since I put it in backward the first time, but eventually I got the new lock installed and working. That did feel good to be able to do it myself because I never considered myself very handy before.

 

[Goldstar225]

I do as much as I can myself as well while not tying into a project beyond my abilities and making it worse (and more expensive). For example I've saved a few thousand working on my Harley's. Between the service manuals, youtube and helpful folks on a Harley forum I've mostly stayed out of the dealership service department.

 

[Rustyt1953]

My oldest SIL is a millwright. My younger SIL is a certified fleet mechanic. Logan is a budding mechanic and welder.

I'm covered.

 

[oldbrownhat]

As a former service tech for Xerox I do a lot of my own 'fixing things'.

...It is nicely satisfying to take care of problems yourself, when you can.

Copy that

I spent 30 minutes getting a comfortable base just outside the door so I would not have to turn myself into a pretzel to crawl under the dash to do this job.

This is what I hate about working on cars. Often you have to be the size of a garden gnome and have the flexibility of Harry Houdini to do some things. The repair shops have carefully-sourced technicians with those qualities, which justifies charging $155/hr.

Current DIY challenge: I had my dash cam plugged into the passenger side cigarette lighter on my Ford Ranger but recently the plastic ring that secures the lighter broke. Fixing plastic is another problem in itself but first I have to fish the lighter assembly out of the inside it the console where it went to sulk. I can just - but not quite - reach it with some long tongs. I think a piece of bent wire may at least make it possible to get it to the surface where I can figure out how much duct tape/bailing wire /epoxy will be required to keep it in place. In the meantime the dash cam is plugged into the driver's side lighter socket where I can conveniently hit it when I change gears.

x2 on YouTube videos although the quality varies from unwatchable to brilliant.

 

[Xfuzz]

I envy guys like y'all.
I'm a six fingered dipstick.

 

[Muley Gil]

I can do some things but am mostly a parts changer.

Recently, my portable generator died. My buddy, who can fix most everything, came over & diagnosed the problem as a bad coil. Ordered one over the 'Net. It wasn't quite the same one but changing a few parts and a little Dremel work and the old Champion was running again!

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

YouTube is one of the best things around for a do it yourself kinda person.

It sure beats one of these that I had to use growing up!

In the 60's through the later 80's those manuals were "gospel" for vehicles...Those and JC Whitney to order from.

 

[pawngal]

Seems that none of my husbands were handy around the house. I've pulled the squirrel cage blower on a furnace to remove a dead mouse in the middle of the night, replaced innards in toilets, fixed leaky faucets, replaced a bathroom sink (no thanks to the idiot that sold me the wrong flange)
When my fairly new fridge quit making ice I had Service Guard out twice only to have it quit again in a month or two. So, off to YouTube, the fixes were the same as what Service Guard was doing, but, lo and behold! Found one that stated this was a known problem for this model, phone number to call Samsung. Company completely replaced the icemaker at no cost.
Cars, I did keep an Austin Healey Sprite running for about 5 years.

 

[arjay]

I miss doing things myself. My back went permanently south in my 50s and that was the end of that!!

 

[oldbrownhat]

...I did keep an Austin Healey Sprite running for about 5 years.

From what I've heard, anyone who can keep a classic British car running is a genius.

 

[Marshwheeling]

My son gave me a nice compliment the other day: “Pop, thanks for teaching me not to be afraid to dig into a problem and see what’s going on.” Unfortunately, this came in the middle of a conversation about this 3-valve F-150 that was giving him fits. I don’t know anything about that motor, but I did pass along the Car Wizard’s warning: “Never buy a Ford with this motor, no matter how cheap.” That came too late. He already had it.

 

[Rustyt1953]

My dad and brother were gifted nut turners. They operated on the premise that if humans built it they could fix it.

I learned what I could from them.