Have ya ever met a guy(kid) that don`t know how to change a tyre?

***Who the hell told you that? It's British English spelling, knucklehead.

 

Actually, stuff like that story underscores to me that I am not a total jacktard waste of time. Right now I have nothing to bring to a car club so I'm not actively trying to join one or start one. '90's vans are not what I want to work on but it's my 'learner' right now.

My dad didn't know much about cars and freely admitted it. For a while he didn't nkow much about mechanics and the last one he went to got shut down by the state for tax evasion. Now he buys cars from dealerships and takes them to them for work. I decided to go the other route and learn as much about working on cars as I could to lower the cost of labor. Then I went and got this cross-mounted V6-powered van and need to get a shop jack...

I made bad decisions in HS and skipped out on taking any classes that would have helped me today. No computer programming, no auto or metal shop. Fortunately, I do know how to learn from folks and also how to thank them for helping me out.

I may be 34 and have the knowledge of cars that a 15 year old gear head does I am willing to learn and help out on other cars to learn how to do it myself. Next step is welding...

 

One of the shops I worked at hired a kid as a helper/go-fer.
I had finished a brake job & had him put the stock,steel wheels back on the car(with a 1/2" gun that I taught him how to use).
Just before he banged the last hubcap on,I noticed all 5 lug nuts(stock acorns) were on backwards.
I asked him "WTF is this?" & explained why they went on a certain way.
His reply was,,"I understand now,but they looked better my way"

This is all I could do,,,,,,,,,

 

I was wondering why I was seeing a lot of closed-end lug nuts for Tuned cars...that may just explain it.

 

I'm a young guy still living at home...I think the aim of most kids now is to get a job that pays well so they don't have to do manual labor themselves. I can't say I really blame them, they wouldn't enjoy it anyway. What got me into cars was having to pay for a few expensive repairs during high school. After paying $240 for a head gasket fix, I figured...shit...I can do this myself! What my parents taught me was that I could do anything I set my mind to. So, over time, I've absorbed tons of information, had lots of fun, and saved lots of money! Y'all know time IS money. At my stage in life, I have much more time than money, and I'd say that's the same for many HAMBers. But a lawyer, doctor, etc, has much more money than time, so why would they waste an hour changing oil when they could be making $100-200/hr at their job?

 

there are three things wrong with your comment:

1) i'm not a knucklehead..if you think i am , we have a problem...i do not like being called names from someone i've never met

2) it was a joke...lighten up

3) that had already been pointed out to me without calling me names , if you would have taken the time to read the thread

 

Haha! I thought it was funny considering you are IN Minnesota!

I don't know what all the fuss is ABOOT! Stu

 

My dad owns a towing business and once a driver told me a story about a lady that was in a bigger hurry than anyone else in the world apparently and threw a brick through her window while he was getting her door unlocked. This guy could break into any car I saw put in front of him in less than 5 minutes.

 

Actually yes I do know guys who cannot change a tire. Matter of fact, I have had to change both of my nephews tires in the last few months, they are 23 and 20. They did not have a clue what to do, even though I showed them both when I installed "Bling" tires and wheels on their Hondas last year. The funny part of the whole thing is that last Thursday, my fiance called me and asked me what way to turn the lug nuts on he sisters Mustang, as her sister had a flat. I told her to hold off and that I would be on my way to change it for her. She insisted that she could do it, and she had her sister take pictures of her doing it to prove it to me. She was wearing high heels at the time also!! My fiance is 23 and her sister is 18 and they had the tire changed in 15 minutes!!

 

When I was 18 I owned a Phillip 66 gas station. I hired a kid to pump gas and work the driveway for me...he was 16. About his third day I asked him to put a gallon of antifreeze in a car that was parked at the gas pump. About 30 minutes later...while I was asking him if he had problems... he told me that he had poured it in the gas tank. What a deal that turned out to be.

 

I worked at a parts store part-time and had a guy in his 40's ask me (I'm 29) how to change the oil in his car. He just moved here and had always had the changes done by somebody else. Somehow his move inspired some self reliance.

 

I've got a killer .wmv clip on tire changing. Funny as hell. Is there a way to post this type of file?

 

I don't understand how you NOT know how to cange a car tire. I was working on one of those new Mini Coopers at work the other day. I had to take a wheel off to be sent for repairs, so instead of having a "dead" car in the way all the time, I put the spare on so it could be moved around. All the instructions are VERY CLEARLY shown with pPISCURES, not words. You don't even need to know how to READ. It SHOWS you exactly how to do it. Get this...It even comes with a shower cutrain looking thing so you don't have to get dirty..

 

Yes, I did meet a guy who couldn't change his own tire. He was the service advisor at the first shop I worked at. No shit.

But even he wouldn't have been this clueless:

I haven't even read to the bottom of the stack, but I'm guessing that it must take the cake!

But damned if Brad didn't hit it on the head. I bet he knows the service writer!

OBD I is.

According to people who don't lump all OHV engines together as 'late model'.

BTW, I didn't find anything dumber than the 'drip pan master' in the whole thread.

And there are days I think I'm not doing so hot?

 

On the subject of tire changing, my kids and wife can chage a tire, but the other thing I taught them is "don't".

If they have a flat, they are instructed to slow down and drive the car as far as they need to to get to a safe, occupied location. You can drive a LONG ways on just a rim if need be. Screw the tire and wheel. I can always get new ones. Changing a flat on the side of the road around here is an invitation to get hit or worse by some asshole.

 

Is she single? Got any pics?

 

i hate my generation. send me back to the 50s please.

 

Some of these stories remind me of another one:
At the end of the day on friday, my dads boss asks him "what are you doing this weekend" my dad says "digging up potatoes". boss says "I though potatoes grew on trees?" dad says "havent you ever noticed they have dirt on them?" boss says "no". My dad later found out they never cook. Eat out every day! Once on thanksgiving they bought a "meal kit"? they just throw it in the oven, turkey, potatoes, stuffing and all. They were impressed that they cooked, even had to tell my dad about it. Sorry for the off topic, I cant believe some people can make it through life.

 

This thread is right up my alley.
I work for a dealership and I have had cars towed in becase the low washer fluid light was on and the people were scared to drive it. When I tell them its just low washer fluid and top it off in 10 seconds, they have the nerve to give me shit like I did something wrong to them when they were too fucking lazy to read their manual of their car to know what the light meant.
Also, I answer phone calls on a weekly basis where people say they have a flat tire and they are on the side of the road and asking what they need to do. Are you fucking kidding me? Im not talking about 18 year old kids. I mean 30, 40 and 50 year old people that dont know what to do when they get a flat tire????? How the fuck did they make it this far in life????
Sorry. Just staggers the imagination.....

 

yup! my old man always said"stupidity should be painfull" and "stupidity kills , but no-where near enough!" This is why I got out of the retail autoparts bizz! I just got tired of people who basically wanted me to think for them! Hell!, I have trouble enough doing it for myself.

 

I'm the 'car guy' among my friends, comical as that is if you know me. Anyhow, at least once every 6 months, one of my friends' brake pads start squealling and they complain to me about it. I always tell them that I'll show them how to change them and that (here's the part that always peaks their interest) we can do it for ~$20. Then, I get the tools together and change the one side as they watch. Then, they do the second side with me watching. I've never had someone unable to do it. I don't know that they'll never go to Midas again, but I sure hope they don't...