My car defeated me today.

The alternator on my car went kaput. Nowhere in my area would do the job for less than $800-something, and most places were quoting $900-$1k.

So I looked up how-tos on YouTube and it looked like something I, a woman with zero experience or knowledge of working on cars, could do.

I got a remanufactured alternator for $180 and got to work following the tutorials I’d found.

It certainly did not go smoothly, but I managed it. It took me 6 hours to get the alternator out, mainly because every goddamn bolt holding the parts in place were basically cemented in. I had to use my foot to stomp one loose because I didn’t have the strength in my arms.

Today I spent another 4 hours trying to put in the new one and all the parts back in place. And I did it!!

Except for the power steering belt. That fucker would not go into place, and trying to force the belt tensioner back took every ounce of strength I could muster.

All that work. All that time and effort and THE VERY LAST STEP to get my car up and running defeated me today. I had to get a task rabbit guy. He’s coming tomorrow to get my belt back on.

On one hand I feel proud that I made it this far. On the other I feel like a complete failure because it turns out I couldn’t complete the task myself.

Anyway, how was your weekend?

rouxdoo,
@rouxdoo@lemmy.world avatar

I’m going to be an outlier in my comment here but, for myself (an elderly dude who has done what you just did) I, personally, prefer to hire it done. You paid 2-3 hundred on parts and tools, put in 10+ hours of work and still have not got it working. I have come to appreciate the skill and ability of trades…they do that for a living - let them.

I’m really good at my chosen trade and I laugh at those that think they can just do my job because the watched a YouTube video about it. I fix their problems every day and charge them no more than someone who didn’t fuck it up first because I can appreciate the effort but I don’t charge them less because they did part of the work incorrectly.

partial_accumen,

I’m going to be an outlier in my comment here but, for myself (an elderly dude who has done what you just did) I, personally, prefer to hire it done.

I think the “elderly” part may be biasing your decision. There are times in our lives when we have more time than money. Usually when we get older it flips to more money than time. There are still lots of things I do I could hire out (I still mow my own lawn as an example), but for skill trades for plumbing or complicated electrical I hire professionals.

OceanSoap,

Yup, it’s a lack of money for me at the moment. Had an event drain my emergency fund last week, this was just bad timing.

partial_accumen,

I’ve been there. You did wonderfully getting as far as you did. Especially as this sounds like close to your first time trying to accomplish something like this. You’ll continue to improve. You’ve got that extra money in your pocket as evidence that you did well.

Bob_Robertson_IX,

I don’t know… ~$600 saved with 10 hours of work, that’s $60/hr. Even if she ends up paying someone $50 to put the belt back on, that’s still not a bad way to spend some time on a holiday weekend.

OceanSoap,

That was my thought. I had $500 in my emergency fund, and needed to figure out how to do it for at most that amount. I’ve spent around $345 so far.

OceanSoap,

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the work and skill of mechanics. I dont even think the price is that outrageous. I’ve had years of taking my cars in to get fixed, including an alternator replacement years and years ago. Would it have been easier than doing it this way? Yup.

But my small emergency fund was drained for something last week, and I went in to the shop with $500 to spare in total until I get paid on Thursday. The reality of my current situation is that I’m one of the millions of Americans that is one emergency away (okay, two) from financial failure, and I can’t afford a $900 fix until my emergency fund is replenished. It’d just awful timing.

I’m a Substation Designer, I get what it feels like to have people who don’t know your trade think it’s simple or should be quick or whatever, but that wasn’t my thought process. My thought process was to get more info on what I was asking mechanics to do, and when I watched the videos, it didn’t look like a complicated fix in terms of parts and where they go.

I don’t think I’ve fucked up the fix, I just don’t have the strength to get the belt on. The guy coming tomorrow said he can do it, and he charges $45/hr, so we’ll see how it goes then.

Album,
@Album@lemmy.ca avatar

With car stuff it’s always “easy” in basic steps but it’s the knowledge and expertise how to handle all the exceptions to the process that is why labour costs what it does.

There’s tips and tricks for different car models but stuff like what to deal with a stuck bolt where even if I know what to do I probably don’t have the right tools.

I’m not sure getting the tools is worth the once every few years job.

It’s not too dissimilar from electronics work. Like laptop or cellphone repair. It’s easy… But what’s hard is troubleshooting when it all goes sideways on you.

Corkyskog,

Fuck 0’ model VW Beetles… that’s all I got to say. Shittiest electrical ever, and the entire car is held together by friggin plastic clips.

ulemmyagain,

That’s really most european shit. Toyota and honda are the best.

x_ray_rabbit,

Good for you for even trying!! I’m a middle-aged man and I am an avid handyman, even though I have an office job as a profession. Like you, it started because I didn’t want to pay someone else (I’m cheap that way). These days I am very adept at woodworking, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, felling trees, some car repair, and more. The way I look at it is “if THAT person can do it, so can I!”.

You didn’t fail today, simply for the reason that you attempted to do it. Don’t stop there! Your confidence and your finances will thank you down the road.

Zerlyna,
@Zerlyna@lemmy.world avatar

I think you did an amazing job!

whelk,
@whelk@lemm.ee avatar

You got further than I’ve ever gotten trying to fix anything car-related. Good job! I feel like technology’s in such a complicated place at this point that nobody’s expected to be able to handle every single step of every situation on their own. You did awesome.

elscallr,
@elscallr@lemmy.world avatar

You got pretty damn far. Those tensioners can be a bitch, I usually call a buddy whenever I have to muck with one because it’s easier to manipulate either the tensioner or the belt. Good job!

UltraMagnus0001,

experience gained is priceless

Crozekiel,

In some cars you really just need an extra set of hands to get a belt back on. One person on the tensioner and another actually moving the belt into place. Don’t feel bad, feel good. You did great.

FluorideMind,

Exactly what ^ said. Be proud.

ulemmyagain,

A longer wrench helps too. Leverage baby!

jhoward,

There’s a belt tensioner tool that can be rented from the auto parts store. This helps greatly to pull back the belt pulley to get a belt on. Had to do it once and having that tool made a big difference.

CADmonkey,

This is how it starts. Soon, you’ll start putting together a small collection of tools, and more knowledge about how the car is put together, and you will be driving a perfectly maintained and operational car that has a ton of miles on it, and it won’t give you any trouble - or at least, it won’t give you trouble you can’t solve.

SoleInvictus, (edited )
@SoleInvictus@lemmy.world avatar

That’s how I got started. I took the few hundred dollars I saved on my first project and bought a ratchet set, a hydraulic jack, and jack stands. The second repair I bought an air compressor and impact driver set because fuck, working on cars is hard! All that allows me to fix about 95% of my car’s issues and I can borrow tools for free from the parts store for the odd 5%.

CADmonkey,

The parts store tool rental program is a lifesaver. I don’t need to keep a bunch of obscure and expensive weird special tools around, and I don’t have to do sketchy or dangerous things that risk tearing up another part, or hurting myself.

I maintain that the best way to learn to mechanic is a 20 year old truck (any make) and a Harbor Freight socket set.

Stanwich,

Looks like you could have done it with a little leverage. Im sure the belt tensioner would have been tough to move as well. Spend that money on better tools. A big breaker bar seems to be a good start. Proper tools make everything easier. Welcome to the ill fix this shit myself club!

Etterra,

Congrats on saving $800! Sure you had to bust your ass and in the end pay whatever task rabbit is - what, a 1-hour minimum for under a further $100. Take that $700 you didn’t need to spend on car repairs, and and if you have it, save it. If you don’t have it, think of all that credit interest you don’t have to pay. And go order yourself a pizza.

Motorhead1066,

Dude, I’m super proud of you! Tackling something like that with almost zero experience is fucking awesome, and the fact that you almost completely fnished it by yourself–100% solo, no less–is bad ass as hell.

Illecors,

Props on getting so much done!

trying to force the belt tensioner back took every ounce of strength I could muster.

You need a breaker bar. Already have one? You need a breaker bar and a pipe 😀

Illuminostro,

+1 for the “Breaker Extender” lead pipe.

cokane_88,

Something I learned as I got a little bit older. It’s worth paying for things to save yourself the pain in the ass. I trade a dude weed to mow my lawn.

hughperman,

Grass 4 grass

WhipTheLlama,

It’s worth paying for things to save yourself the pain in the ass

Agreed, but it’s also worth knowing how to do things yourself, so you have the choice. On a car, the cost for some jobs is almost all labor, so having the option to do it yourself is great, plus it’s a skill you can teach your kids.

With a breaker bar, OP could have had the alternator out and the new one bolted in place in an hour. The belt might still be a problem, but spending an hour, then paying someone $100 to do the belt, feels a lot better than spending 10 hours, then paying someone $100 to do the belt.

ElderWendigo,

Yeah, and because I know how to properly change the oil in my car, I’m happy to pay someone else to do it

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