Sigh. Really not in the mood for work.

I bought all my stuff except trans oil for my Miata clutch job. Looking at the work and the temperature and my garage... ugh. Sometimes, do you ever just not want to have to do this stuff anymore?

In reply to Lugnut:

In the words of P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves, "The feeling will pass, sir."

Quartz heater for the garage makes a HUGE difference.

As for the effort of replacing a clutch--can't help you there.

The ends always justify the means.

As with most things, I love cars as the mechanical machines they are. But if I wasn't into competition with them, I'd:

1. Own a nice one to drive on the street
2. Pay someone to work on it as I wouldn't be sinking all of my money into racing

As someone pointed out, a heater is CHEAP to purchase and CHEAP to run. We have a harbour freight heater that runs on diesel, 10 minutes on, 30 minutes off, keeps the 24x24 uninsulated garage warm in -30*C weather. Do eet!

It always takes me a while to get started on a project. Once going, I'm golden, but that first step is a pain. I've got to do the engine in the RX-7 at some point and getting going on it is taking some time.

Good Luck!

I know the feeling Toyman. I have the engine for my saab already to come out ('it's actually hanging in the engine bay) but have not gotten around to it in a week.

I've been meaning to take the Flyin Miata rear sway off and replace it with the stock one all season to combat my horrendous snap oversteer, but I've been too lazy all year. Still on my to do list; it has been on there since April. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll get to it over winter break.

We could form a club.

Let's schedule a meeting. Someday... sooner or later.

I absolutely feel that way. I have rebuild parts for a MTN bike shock sitting in the garage waiting for a rebuild, and that's NOWHERE near the work you're talking. Part of the reason I bought my Mustang and sold all my junkers was that I wnat to be able to work on cars when i WANT to , not when I HAVE to. It's worked fairly well.

Here's some things I've found helpful:

Make the work space as comfortable and livable as possible. Cold? get a heater. Get a radio and some good tunes. Get some padding to lay on if you crawl around under the car a lot. Everything you do to be comfortable helps move your project forward and makes you a better mechanic because you're not tired, pissed off and uncomfortable. I think if you could study it enough, comfortable mechanics probably build more reliable cars because they don't miss the little stuff.

If it's possible, approach the project at a relaxed pace. Not every repair has to be a deathmarch. In some cases it's unavoidable, but one of the greatest luxuries I've found in having a dedicated shop is the ability to put the tools down and walk away when I've reached my limit. I know not every project has this option, but if you can work it out that way it sure is great.

When you can, get the right tool for the job. All those specialty tools make awkward, tough jobs much easier and are worth the money in exchange for keeping my sanity. Most parts shops have free or cheap rental of the stuff that doesn't make sense to buy. In another thread I was ranting about gimmick tools, but that's not what I mean here. I mean things like brake caliper piston presses, balljoint presses, and pullers. Not busting knuckles, screwing up parts and generally doing things the hard way goes a long way toward making me want to turn a wrench.

I know not all of these are possible in every situation, especially when it's a DD that's down. As long as it's the hobby vehicle, remember it's a hobby. If you don't feel like it, screw it - go have a beer. Do it when you want to.

Because you will sooner or later.

My problem is I reasurch things to death. I can spend weeks on the interweb seeing how to do somthing.

I only get that way when it's really hot outside. Cold doesn't bother me that much, when it comes to working on cars. But when it's 85* and humid and the sun has only been up for 2 hours, then I REALLY get into procrastination mode about fixing the car...

I don't enjoy working on cars anywhere near as much as I enjoy driving them. It's really only out of frugality that I do any of my own work at all. Although, after a while you do develop a certain sense of pride, and even intimacy (or rather, a bond) between you and your vehicle.

Today I have to replace a caliper on my DD. It's 29*F and there is an inch of snow on the ground. There is no light in the garage, so fun choices.

Yeah sometimes I really suck as an amateur mechanic. My Volvo has been sitting for a year with its head off because I don't have a crank lock tool.

I had a dream where I junked all of these old projects and bought a Camry. It wasn't as terrifying a dream as I thought it would be.

Lugnut wrote: I bought all my stuff except trans oil for my Miata clutch job. Looking at the work and the temperature and my garage... ugh. Sometimes, do you ever just not want to have to do this stuff anymore?

Always. I HATE wrenching with a passion.

And yet... i do it. Constantly.

I tried to fix an oil leak on my Sentra last weekend; lost oil pressure. Figured it was the o-ring on the oil pickup, so I replaced it. That wasn't it. So now I'm taking it apart for the third time tonight. At least I know what it is - an improperly installed (by me, of course) balance shaft removal kit. I've got the blocking plate for the balance shaft oil port in the wrong orientation. Sigh.

I'm okay with wrenching when I know what I'm doing or fighting with. Right now I've got any number of causes of multiple CEL's in my Mustang and am waiting on a code reader to show up and even then I'm really not looking forward to sorting this stuff out.

Lugnut wrote: Yeah sometimes I really suck as an amateur mechanic. My Volvo has been sitting for a year with its head off because I don't have a crank lock tool. I had a dream where I junked all of these old projects and bought a Camry. It wasn't as terrifying a dream as I thought it would be.

so what is the crank lock tool for exactly?... I realize you don't have lh2.4 (which makes it super easy to do without one) but with a quick blip of the starter you can easily get the bolt OFF (can be done even with the head off)

that being said... my volvo has sat not running for about a month now due to a blown HG... took me a week or so to pull it all apart (more so then I needed)... another to get it to order the HG kit, another week to get the head to the machine shop and another week to get it together... then I stripped the stud from in the head... now waiting to get a 90* drill adapter so I can helicoil the stupid thing...

would be done if it was that important... but whatever :)...

I'm in the club - I have coilovers, brakes, OMP pedal covers and a few other misc. parts for the M3 sitting in its trunk. It's napping next to the house probably until Spring. Too busy with the kids around the holidays now, and even though the unheated attached garage will stay in the high 40s/low 50s even when it's really cold outside the concrete floor is damn cold, and now that I'm on the other side of 40 my knees and back ache lots more after wrenching in the cold. Waaaahhhhhhhh

I enjoy working on cars if they aren't my daily driver.

pigeon wrote: the concrete floor is damn cold

Yoga mat on top of corrugated cardboard.

I only get tired of wrenching when a lot of things are broken on all of my cars and I have to spend my time fixing trivial or annoying inconvenient E36 M3 instead of making them more fun to drive.

I'm tired of wrenching right now.

I'll confess, all three primary cars just had their oil changed by someone other than me. First time that's happened since I started driving.

The first one was embarassing. But as a friend warned me, it becomes far easier.

I'm sure I'll get back to doing that sort of work myself again when the weather is warmer. But when it's cold, the ground is wet, I'm busy with other things, jobs like an oil change either slide or I'm going to let someone else do them.

I'm not all bad. Last weekend I did brakes all around on the wife's car. Did it with my son, so it took far longer, but was fun.

mtn wrote:

pigeon wrote: the concrete floor is damn cold

Yoga mat on top of corrugated cardboard.

Left over carpet for me.

This thread makes me feel better. I thought all the guys on this website thought nothing of laying under a car in the snow, in a T-shirt, swapping out a transmission.

My lame procrast-o-laziness is the reason it took me 8 years to put my 3rd-gen. RX-7 on the road. Well that, and the fact that I don't have much money and those cars are expensive to build properly.