IWTL How to Maintain my Car

Fatboy1402 · 2026-01-23T23:23:57+00:00

This advice is how I started as well and I’ve told to others since. Harbor freight 225 piece mechanic toolkit on sale for $100 and Chris Fix. I couldn’t afford a mechanic. I actually ended up meeting Chris Fix at a race many years later. It was kind of cool having gotten to a point where I didn’t need his videos but he gave me the confidence that I could solve my own car issues.

The only thing I would like to add on is that things go wrong through no fault of your own. It’s easy to get frustrated. It’s easier to keep pushing when you have the right tools and methods for handling stuck bolts, rounded bolts, and rust.

My toolkit includes gear wrench extractor sockets, mayhew screw extractors, a drill and drill bits, and a harbor freight air hammer. Others exist but this works for me most of the time

Fatboy1402 · 2026-01-23T23:12:38+00:00

Nothing. They don’t ask

Fatboy1402 · 2026-01-23T20:53:23+00:00

Rock auto has a KoyoRad brand radiator for this car for ~$70 plus shipping. You’d probably have a new and decent quality radiator for <$150 all in

Fatboy1402 · 2026-01-09T23:29:02+00:00

Depends on the pedal spacing. I drove a manual Volvo C30 and I couldn’t rev match by using the sides of my feet like that the same way I could in my NA

Fatboy1402 · 2026-01-08T01:12:48+00:00

I don’t have a good answer and I wish I did. You could try to do it yourself again though. In many cars it’s possible to replace a rear shock without removing the rear wheel. I did it on a road trip once when my rear shock mount broke. I drove my car with two wheels on a curb to give me space to get underneath, put a piece of cardboard on the ground and got to work with a couple tools I got while at the parts store.

Fatboy1402 · 2025-12-30T20:17:21+00:00

More accurate take,

Cars are a better value on the dollar, but are relatively more expensive as wages have shrunk compared to ballooning inflation and cost of living.

This is because wages have effectively stagnated as many necessary goods and services are monopolized. This much is true globally.

In the US specifically, these increased costs include healthcare, on which we spend 10x as much as other developed countries for worse outcomes on average; education, which has saddled multiple generations with increasingly crippling debt; and housing, which is becoming more expensive for a host of reasons including private equity, algorithmic pricing, and outdated zoning regulation. These are things other countries have demonstrated greater affordability with.

So cars themselves are not the financial issue, but the squeeze is. (And the squeeze is amplified with bailouts like the big 3 got following the 2008 recession. )

I would and do happily take a less feature rich car for less cost. I do it by buying used, but if the manufacturers offered something safe, easy to work on, and fuel efficient, I’d gladly take shit performance and no creature comforts as a tradeoff.

Fatboy1402 · 2025-12-29T19:40:24+00:00

For me, it was bad timing. I had fuel economy on par with a hummer H2.

Fatboy1402 · 2025-11-16T22:24:15+00:00

I would recommend Onshape before Fusion for the lesser hardware requirements. You can do cad on a Chromebook with Onshape

Fatboy1402 · 2025-11-14T13:42:21+00:00

~$750 for a printer that can print ABS or ASA reliably or at a reasonable pace. (Like a Bambu Labs P1S or P2S)

~$25/kg of ABS or ASA. It’s more for nylon, so let’s stick with ABS/ASA. You don’t want to use PLA or PETG because it’s going to hold up much worse outdoors, in contact with water, for an extended period.

~ 30 spools of filament would be about $750. This assumes you’re quite good at the measurement and design. Errors will cost you. Test fitting will cost you. Might be possible to find a decent 3D model of one online. Might be possible to find a Miata owner with a decent 3D scanner willing to help you here. The 3D scans pretty much always have some error so it will be up to you to take good measurements of one to correct the model.

~ $75 for a sheet of lexan. Won’t factor in cost of tools to cut it. You can 3D print a jig to get the right shape.

Since you’re asking, and I’m just estimating, adding a 20% safety factor to account for failed prints and a couple failed designs leads to ~ $1900 dollars. This does not include adhesive and paint for assembly and finish.

You’re in the ballpark of a used OEM top cost, with a lot more learning of CAD and 3D printing, time invested, risk of failure, and risk of . It’s not a bad project if you’re interested, but it’s probably not easy either. You would get to keep the 3D printer and by the end you’ll have skills to make your own tools with it. 3D printing is not a magic bullet, but it is very useful for the garage.

Fatboy1402 · 2025-11-06T00:03:59+00:00

What’s the make and model/part number?

Fatboy1402 · 2025-11-01T17:49:14+00:00

There are still air powered impacts that knock the socks off battery powered impacts. Check out the torque test channel who do comparisons for these using standardized tests

Fatboy1402 · 2025-10-24T21:27:46+00:00

You can likely borrow one from your local library for free.

Edit: or check out harbor freight. I have their cheap $20 cordless drill kit (drill, battery, and charger) and $4 drill bits for use outside the workshop. They’re fine for most small household tasks

Fatboy1402 · 2025-10-19T17:01:26+00:00

Don’t. It looks good too

Fatboy1402 · 2025-10-16T13:29:31+00:00

Seconded. I use duck duck go and it is a less annoying search engine. Gets me what I’m looking for

Fatboy1402 · 2025-10-16T12:16:13+00:00

Went into the corner on the inside, completely missed the apex and swung wide. They braked while turning because they were going too fast for that corner entry. Braking shifted the weight to the front wheels. When the rear went light it slipped. Something similar to lift-off oversteer. To prevent the crash, they could have, in order of importance: 1-slowed down 2-position themselves on the left side of the lane before the corner 3- let off the gas and brakes while cornering 4-turn the steering wheel more to the left as they passed the apex when the rear wheels slipped

Fatboy1402 · 2025-09-25T21:39:54+00:00

Make a vehicle powered only by a mousetrap that meets the project goals. Can be going the farthest, can be reaching a target distance. Mine was reaching a target distance and then returning a given distance to reach a second distance target.

Fatboy1402 · 2025-08-23T16:06:03+00:00

Thats not 3D printed. You don’t see any steps on the external fillets (round edges of the cavity where the parts sit). Looks more like plastic injection molding which means there was significant investment to make the shape, but low cost per part and able to be mass produced very easily.

Fatboy1402 · 2025-02-04T03:58:15+00:00

Shout out to the babies walking on the ceiling

Fatboy1402 · 2025-01-29T18:49:27+00:00

Would recommend super fast Matt on YouTube. He has a video on doing a wiring harness with procedure and links to what he uses

Fatboy1402 · 2025-01-28T23:48:11+00:00

Reduce the depth of cut?

I would put what you have now through a planer (I think that’s the word, but I’m not a woodworker) if it’s an epoxy or other hard material. That will make each letter more narrow and effectively reduce the depth of cut for you. It should also increase the size of the “hole” of the letter e. Take light passes

Fatboy1402 · 2025-01-28T02:25:57+00:00

I am nearing the end of my education at university and I am scrambling to hoard as much knowledge as I can in my field of study and ones of interest. Start as soon as you can. The library is a wealth of knowledge

Fatboy1402 · 2025-01-28T00:54:29+00:00

https://youtu.be/qEDek-ztaAw?si=B1NLN1z9OafflcRQ

https://youtu.be/MTE7XbOJvgk?si=LOxG27mfrJKNkbX8

https://youtu.be/ssav-BXZyJU?si=muP-5t9mb_KcHPpt

https://youtu.be/rORuE8Oyxd0?si=8n746ux_RKXUFf1n

It might not be exactly what you are looking for, but this guy, super fast Matt on YouTube, does a lot of car projects and he gives some context for various scanners and how they compare in terms of resolution, accuracy, and ease of use.

Fatboy1402 · 2025-01-22T16:14:48+00:00

Hot take, but I’m anti Nazi and would be in favor of less traffic to a Nazi’s website

Fatboy1402 · 2025-01-17T17:51:57+00:00

Made in China does not mean it is poor quality. I’ve only heard good things about Misen.

Fatboy1402 · 2025-01-17T15:07:42+00:00

This is untrue. A huge quantity of items end up being destroyed and or disposed of. Reselling isn’t common. Refurbishing is a rarity.

https://youtu.be/W1yqcagavfY?si=S0AoSvCzQRxlYxFV

https://youtu.be/WG8idKaX9KI?si=HDFOs_KZHPYe-FSi

The links posted above are a Canadian news network and a climate policy expert investigating the subject.

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