DO you Remember When?????

[gizmo_21]

Do you guys remember the first time you wrenched on your truck, without a guru or your pops showing you how to do things, the only thing you may or may not have had is some hints from here and your manual!!!

AND The feeling of peer accomplishment of finishing such a simple task or not so simple at the time!

Share your First Wrench Time (Sorry i'm bored!!):

My First was the Water pump on my Ranger, the old man was sick so he was no help, so i grabbed some tools asked a few questions here (felt like a noob), grabbed my manual... and away i went, took me all day on a Saturday (yes the whole day) However aferwards man did i feel Great, i was 17!!! a new future was awaiting of many Saturdays spent fixing my truck!!!!

RY

I stole this from a vw site but Since my First Wrench was on my Truck i couldn't respond... so let's see what you guys Remember!!!

 

[Jimmeh]

Well, I don't actually remember the first time I've wrenched solo on my truck, as I have done so several times.

In fact, I need to once again, but laziness is actually keeping me in front of the computer.

 

[BlackBII]

Hmmmm...

I remember having to put a starter in my '89 Geo Spectrum(my first car). That sucked. Behind the motor next to the firewall, only took me like 4 hours

 

[KELLY88]

First wrenching on this truck was me bored one afternoon so I pulled and cleaned the throttle body, checked some of the top end sensors and just basically gave it a look through.

Very first solo wrenching was probably my first brake job on my S-10 Blazer. Pads had worn down to nothing, went to swap them out and could not for the life of me get the calipers back on. A trip to the parts store got me educated on what a sticky caliper was. Oh ya that was fun.

 

[Crunchy]

First time:

Barely knew how to change a spare tire...and what did I get myself into? I changed my lower balljoints. What did I learn? Proper tools make all the difference. And also, if the cost of tools + parts is still lower than a mechanic to do it, you still win in the end, and have new tools to boot! That project made me the owner, well, most of my tools (impact gun, sockets, ratchets, good plier set - and of course a BFH).

Second time: Brakes! Also made me learn how to change brake lines and bleed them suckers - never saw that one coming.

 

[Hazmat Ranger]

The first "vehicle" I wrenched on by myself was either a 72 Pinto or a 74 Vega GT. We had both of them at the time and the wrenching was mostly piddly stuff nothing major. I was 15 or 16 then, YEAH that was a long time ago - so what!
My dad ALWAYS had me in the garage if I didn't have homework - thanks Dad! . I say thanks now, but cussed him under my breath every which way when I was forced to be in the garage LOL. If not for him, I would be paying for modifications today.

400 posts - woo hoo - LOL

 

[97BlackBetty]

First big job I did that wasnt maintenance would be u-joints on the D35 TTB. Three days and a lot of damnit tools later, I got it all back together. Now I can tear the front end out completely and put it back together in a couple hours.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

My first time wrenching alone was when i took the front of my 1990 apart and replaced all the ball joints, steering linkage, pivot arm bushings and radius arm bushings, shocks and coil springs. up until then i had always had my dad to supervise me and be my personal "service manual" but he was out of town on a boyscout campout with my youngest brother. it took me two days and alot of heating up bolts and swearing at them to get it all apart but it was a weekend i will always remember (i took pictures). two weekends later and i decided to tackle the whole rear end. i replaced the rear leaf spring bushings with energy suspension bushings, put KYB shocks on it and changed the outer axle bearings and seals and changed the fluid. the sense of accomplishment is great and its whats got me restoring my 94 ranger all by myself.

 

[99RangerKrazy]

My first wrenching was on my 99 Ranger, replacing the alternator (apparently muddy water isn't good for it? Who woulda thought?). Prob took a couple hours, didn't have the proper socket for the pulley tensioner so I could loosen it to get the belt on the new alternator.

 

[dburton07]

the two years and a half years ive had my truck last weekend was the first time i did somthing without my dads help.... besides oil changes. i live in maine and my parents live in NH so its not like i can just hop over to their house easily and get shit done. so i went to my buddys house and used his garage and my tools that i keep in my truck to replace a section of front brake line. i did have nicks help bleeding the brakes though......other than that the lots of work that ive done its been on the chance that i was at my parents house for the weekends lol, so my dad was there as my personal manual. BUT, i do all the work he just stands there with a bud light and tells me what to do. ive done: water pump, ball joints, u joints, front springs, rear leafs, f/r brakes, brake lines, t-case motor, wheel bearings, axle seals, t-stat, manifolds (a little assistance from pops), egr tube, and im sure theres more, but hey, its the best way to learn.

OH! and i took the rear diff cover off my jeep to inspect the gears and put it back on BY MYSELF....does that count?!

 

[86_cookiemonster]

First time i wrenched on a truck myself was when i started my resto project. I probably should have warned my dad i was starting though. He was very p.oed with he came home and found my truck in the garage with the seat torn out of it. I was patching up wholes in the floor.

although that has no wrench involved so i guess my first solo wrenching expedition was when i under went several projects. I replaced a water pump, shocks and the front breaks on my truck.

 

[rat_ranger]

first big thing for me was when I was 13. I bought a kawasaki 100cc dual purpose that was a basketcase for $20. My dad said I would never get it running, the case was split and everything was off the shafts. 2 hours after getting home with it I called him and let him hear it run over the phone. it was a fun bike, would have been easier to get together if I had had a manual.

 

[holyford86]

first time wrenching on my truck was when I had to get it started to drive it home on december 23rd 2003. I taught myself almost everything I have done so far. I've changed 4 or 5 motors, clutches, transmissions, front axles, rear axles, changed wheel bearings, ball joints, brakes, done top end rebuilds, changed cabs, etc... I work as a mechanic now and I never went to school for it, the ranger taught me alot. There are still a few people that may remember me when I first started posting on here in mid 2004 and how inept I was.

 

[Mutant Pony]

The first thing I remember doing to a car was disconnecting the speedo cable on my aunt's car so that my female cousin could take it and her mom wouldn't know. I connected it when she got back and my aunt never knew anything. I was 13.
One of my brothers gave me a Pinto, If I could fix it, when I was 15. I replaced the trans within the week. All by myself, with nothing but junk hand tools. I think the first tool I bought was a 10mm wrench. Metrics were rare back then, mostly just foreign cars had them. The Pinto's motor and trans came from Germany so all the fasteners on the motor and trans were metric and everything else was SAE.
Anyway I fixed the Pinto and I've had one (or two) ever since. I presently have 4.

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

1st car70 buick skylark,air shocks and b&m shifter
2nd 74 vw bug........went baja crazy on it!loved that little car,left many a 4x4 in its wake.