B5 mechanics - where did you learn to wrench?

Hi,
 
I've been wanting to mod my 2000 1.8T A4 and have been looking at a few options (some easy, some hard). Considering the labour costs for mod work are high and the fact I have always wanted to learn to wrench myself I am wondering if taking some courses will help me achieve both my cost + learning goals.
 
Of course I have questions:
I work full time and this would be a hobby thing, so I need night courses, is this a common thing that is offered?
I don't want a full on 2+ year course as this is just a hobby thing, is there anything out there to suit my needs?
Does anyone know of anything in the Vancouver, BC. area?
 
Lastly, and why I have posted in the B5 area, would I need to take more intensive training to work on my car, I don't want to take a bunch of training courses and find out the electronics are so complicated that even doing simple things requires years of training? (I don't think this is the case, but figured I'd better ask)
 
Glen
 
PS. Any advice is appreciated on types of courses that may be helpful
 

I've been working on cars since I was old enough to turn a screwdriver. Some people are just mechanically inclined.

Everything I have done to my car (turbo swap, timing belt, FMIC x2, and a bunch of other things) I learned on my own from reading DIY's and asking lots of questions. I learn really quickly and am able to figure stuff out on my own easily.

Josh

Most stuff is pretty easy to do with a DIY.  All you really need to know is what parts are what and where everything goes.  Just stick to basics and dont attempt anything you dont think you can do (suspension or clutch) and can screw up or have to tow to somewhere else.

I think I can do the easy stuff like exhaust, and would like to try the fmic (don't know how I'll get the welding done though).
 
But in the long term I'd like to try more adventurous stuff like doing a bt upgrade myself, but for something like that I don't want to just follow the DIY, I'd like to have more knowledge so I don't mess things up, I figured maybe taking some training would help as I might get a little hands on experience before I pull apart my audi. Also if I do mod stuff and later on it breaks down, I'll know how to fix it myself. Maybe even do the timing belt

I cut my teeth on Nissans, and after 9 years of owning and modding/maintaining my Z, I moved to the Audi and it was a natural transition.  There are things to learn about this car for sure - much more computer control of so many features compared to a 1990 Nissan - but I take it in stride.  Best way to learn is to do - print some DIY upgrades and maintenance, get your parts, and do the work. And read, read, read - everything you can find on Audis and cars in general.  If you have members from AudiForums that live nearby, get in touch with them and see if they'll work on the car with you so you can get familiar with it - most enthusiasts (which most of us here are) are cool like that and leap at the chance to turn wrenches (I know I do anyhow).

if you get a ic kit with pre bent piping kit (not just random bends) you can install it yourself pretty easy.  As for a BT install, its really not that hard.  Its basically a bunch of small steps but nothing that takes more than a basic socket set of tools cant handle.  I think it just over welms most to even attempt it.

most of the things you can learn by just working on the car. i had very little experience working on cars before my audi, but now i can do most jobs with ease. you just cant be intimidated by it. i make a killing off my friends just cause they dont wana work on their own cars lol

if you want to learn how to work on cars in general, you can take a few classes at the local community college. it'll get you more familiar with how the engine works and the basic components. that plus working on your own car and that should be plenty if your just making this a hobby.

Sport Compact Car did an excellent 10-12 part series on engines a few years ago, called Suck, Squish, Bang, Blow, which went from the very basics (what is an engine?) to advanced concepts like tuning for boost, nitrous, high compression, or combinations of them.  They went through turbos, superchargers, spray, cylinder head, block, rotating assembly, fueling systems, you name it.  Go to www.sportcompactcarweb.com and see if they have the series posted - it'll give you a lot of foundation when it comes to understanding engines.

i think i learned cause ive been into cars since i could talk and wanted a tool set for like my 5th birthday. ever since then ive just been around other people that know what there doing and just ask them questions for everything i didnt know, i think thats really the best way to learn to work on cars, is with someone thats done it. so far most of the mods ive done though have actually been with a buddy of mine, and neither of had done the mods before and i would say they can deff. be done by someone with almost no experience of turning a wrench. the main thing when attempting to mod your own car is have plenty of time and like others have said read the DIY's, they help.

+1 for working with a friend.  You'll look at the same problem two different ways and one of you will figure out how to handle it.  And, having a friend there usually means access to a running vehicle for the virtually-inevitable trips to the parts store for something you break, or find during the job that is broken, or to get that one tool you meant to buy but didn't, and find out you need after the car is partially taken apart.  Plus, it's someone to help you drink the beer lol. 

i have been working on cars pretty much my whole life, started with carbs and now working on CAN networks  (btw, i am 29) when i was younger, no one would give me the time of day, so i started wrenching. when it came time, i would just teach myself. (welding, painting, etc)  i went to a technical high school (worthless) but it did help get a decent job as a volvo tech. if i had any advise to give, it would be ask questions, have a good eye for detail, be proud of your work and don't be a hack. here is a picture of a jetta i built from the ground up....engine, paint, etc. have faith and remember, YOU are SMARTER than it is
 
 
 

Nice work on the Jetta bro - looks good!

And don't forget the 10% rule - you gotta be at least 10% smarter than the tools you're using.

i'm asian, what don't i know hehehe

I started wrenching on boats when i was small, my dad has a fleet and half of them are classics...when i turned 16 I started ditching class and hanging in the schools autoshop all day

I took a few auto classes at el camino college, and a year ago I took a welding class at shasta college (just oxy-ac and arc)...

have always been really into cars!


that jetta is the two door version of my first car!

I still have mine, it has a perfect body, and only 100k on the clock

the interior is original and flawless!

I love my jetta soo much!...I don't think I could ever sell it, though it is an auto

the jetta was my intro into the vag world...then I had two more after it...then took a dip in the muscle car pool (only fun for soo long)...then after the miata I was addicted to handling....Quattro FTW! full circle back to the Vag scene.

At 47, I've been at this car thing quite a while.  Started by fixing the lawnmower when I was a kid.  Bought dirt bikes that didn't run because I didn't have funds to get something that ran.  Same with cars.  Had a bug in HS put glass flared fenders on it, trick wheels, hahaha Borani steelies.  Worked as a lot boy at the BMW store from the time I was 15 until I graduated.  Learned a bunch there.  Still buying cars and bikes that don't run well and fixing them.  Over the years I've compiled an extensive collection of tools, yet I still need to buy more.  It's a sickness.  Now, I work in a machine shop as a Tool Maker which gives me a place to make cool parts.

To be honest with you its just alot of reading and reserch. I am 17 and i have done full cutom exhuast systems, belts and bunches of other stuff. Go to your local library and see if they have a repair manual for your car. Get that read it front to back and then go from there.

For me it was trial and error. It really sucks if that error becomes a big part of your mods. I worked on my first car I inherited when I was 15 15. I did my first turbo swap when I turned 16. I just turned 17. I was lucky enough to get an eclipse gsx. As said above dont be intimidated by the car do alot of research and question asking. Usually stuff is easier than it looks when you are actually doing it. As for me there are too things that I wont touch as of now and thats a clutch or engine internal. For some reason that stuff scares me as well as electrical.

I got started on 4G63 Mitsubishi cars. Those are easy because 2 wrenches will nearly disassemble the entire car! (10mm and 17mm are the most common on them). When I made the switch, I made sure to buy a Haynes manual. It will walk through the disassembly of nearly every component of the car, as well as letting you know of any problem areas. That is my first and foremost reccommendation before anyone touches their car for the first time. Haynes Manual will answer 95% of all questions you might have about your car. You don't need to take classes to learn how to wrench, because you will most likely start on a Small Block Chevy or a Big Block Ford engine, then work to SOHC and DOHC 4 Cylinders (Honda and Mitsubishi most likely). I doubt you would ever see a Torx fastner or anything close to German engineering. Get a Haynes Manual and find a friend with a project car. Offer to buy the beer and you will learn tons.

I would be your friend, but I'm in Missouri! =)

-Cory

I picked up a Bently Manual, read the DIY's, and just threw myself into it. Nobody in my family is into cars so the only place I learned was from reading on AZ/AF and actually doing the work.


In the last year and a half I've changed my timing belt, control arms, installed coilovers, replaced my abs module, replaced my front brakes, changed a spindle, installed a stereo, installed a boost gauge, changed axles, and installed a short shifter. Before that I had absolutely no automotive experience.

quote:

ORIGINAL: crsf29

I got started on 4G63 Mitsubishi cars. Those are easy because 2 wrenches will nearly disassemble the entire car! (10mm and 17mm are the most common on them). When I made the switch, I made sure to buy a Haynes manual. It will walk through the disassembly of nearly every component of the car, as well as letting you know of any problem areas. That is my first and foremost reccommendation before anyone touches their car for the first time. Haynes Manual will answer 95% of all questions you might have about your car. You don't need to take classes to learn how to wrench, because you will most likely start on a Small Block Chevy or a Big Block Ford engine, then work to SOHC and DOHC 4 Cylinders (Honda and Mitsubishi most likely). I doubt you would ever see a Torx fastner or anything close to German engineering. Get a Haynes Manual and find a friend with a project car. Offer to buy the beer and you will learn tons.

I would be your friend, but I'm in Missouri! =)

-Cory

4G63 FTW! +1 on finding a friend with a project car.

started just as a go-for at a small shop near my house, mostly old japanese imports. Then got into the whole honda scene, no I was never a ricer. Then joined the army and began working on damn near everything with a diesel engine. Along the way I've dabbled in machine work and welding. I work at a shop but use little of my skills. Still, I never pass up the chance to tear down a motor and putting it back together.

i started by just taking stuff apart and seeing how it all goes back together. from there on out i try to do most of the stuff my self or with a friend when it comes to heavy lifting like removing a transmission

my grandfather was a mechanic, i learned from watching him and listening to his storys, i eventuly started runnig in demo derbys, and from there have worked on everything from broken down jeeps to drag cars (not mine)