Nobody teaches you this, but its 'Mechanics Basics 101' Don't learn this the hard way

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[stroys]

I’m a diy guy, not a mechanic. This is excellent advice.
For us diy guys I would add:
“Don’t take it apart unless you know how to put it back together.”
I tell myself, “I’ll remember this.” But then I don’t and it takes forever to figure out.
Simple tip: take pictures at each stage of disassembly.
Did this just yesterday rebuilding the mower deck on my riding mower. While replacing the drive spindles I decided to remove everything to clean rusty spots and rust proof. The orientation of the springs and brake brackets are not obvious. Fortunately. I took pictures of several stages of disassembly - it really helped!

[darrellepickering]

As a long-time mechanic I remember a story a local farmer told me. His adopted son decided to change the oil in their family van. After he did that he realized there wasn't any oil to refill so he drove it to town for oil. He didn't make it a mile down the road before it seized. His father, I'm sure, questioned why that boy was in the family. When he told me the story he got mad all over again.

[clinte]

Another reason to open the hood first is to check the oil level before draining. This can give a heads up on oil consumption or possible leaks.

[brandonhavis]

when i was 17 i decided to change the oil in my 80's model chevy pickup. i drained the oil and swapped the filter, i opened the hooks and started dumping oil into the filler port. after I got close to the amount that should be in the motor, I pulled the dipstick and couldn't get any oil on the stick, walked around the other side of the truck I found my oil running all down the driveway and down the gutter and it made an absolute mess that took FOREVER to clean up. I never had a problem remembering to replace the drain plug after that.

[nobodynoone]

I was always taught to break the fill plug first, BEFORE the drain plug. Saves many headaches.

[tyronemarcucci]

Being a retired mech, he is dead on. Better learn from a master than by bad experience. Cheaper too.

[JBlooey]

Valvoline peon here. I feel like the guy that designed our procedures watched this exact video, because that's exactly how I was trained. We need more people like you, giving these simple nuggets of advice out to the world!

[chrisdzisiak]

Great advice, 47 years farming and I’ve learned the hard way too often! A second piece of advice is have the filter before starting! (Dam, I was sure I had bought 2)

[gregdowd]

It's nice to see a fellow older mechanic spreading some knowledge that took years for him to learn ..you are doing a great service to many sir..

[joelboutier]

Yup. You & Eric the car guy are the only mechanics I've heard mention this. It's something u learn from a bad experience & then never forget it again. Then you spread the knowledge so that someone doesn't have to learn it the same way u did! Thank u

[boomerguy]

I've had many troubleshooting classes over the last decades in my job as production supervisor. The best advice ever, applies in all situations including these. "Don't be like Barney, be like Andy." In other words, BEFORE you do anything, step back, take a breath and look at the whole situation of what you need to do. Invest a few minutes just like a chess game and think about what the next few steps would be AFTER taking the first one.
DURING the oil change, look at everything. One time - when I was much younger - I removed the old oil filter and didn't notice that the gasket did not come off the engine with the oil filter. I installed the new oil filter on top of the old gasket and ended up with a leak. Fortunately, I caught it in time and no harm was done. I had been in a hurry and just ASSUMED that nothing would go wrong.
MURPHY'S LAW is always present. Get your tools, fluids, parts and everything else staged and ready BEFORE you start the job.
It's a shame that these lessons have to be taught but it is great that videos like this one are around to protect those of us who haven't learned yet.
Thank you for a great video!

[vincentrobinette]

excellent advice. I always remove the fill plug before draining, just to make sure I know where it is, and, that I can actually remove it.

[Slugg-O]

This man speaks the truth right there. Not sure why or when I learned to do that first but I do and it paid off not long ago when I was changing fluids in a running 74 C10 pickup that I bought as a project. The fill plug in the rear-end wouldn't budge even with a breaker bar. Had to use an impact and sacrifice an extension to get it out.

[ricksweetser]

100% correct...As an add-on...open your hood if you are doing any work underneath the vehicle...added light and won't have to lower the car (or worst) crawl out from underneath to open it...

[flyonbyya]

Great point!
As a non-mechanic…
I would never think about it

[bigghouse]

The voice of experience. My father was an auto mechanic and taught me similar things.

[keltecshooter]

I was taught exactly this over 30 years ago, and to this day i pop the hood and put the cap on the latch first.
Being a great tech requires a good deal of common sense .

[Boltius]

After working 11 years in workshops, I still keep seeing mechanics with way more experience than me not opening the fill plug before draining the fluids.
Drives me nuts, but it is impossible to correct some people and try to give them advice, especially being the "younger" person.

[bullitthead]

Good, real world, advice. I like where you store your fill cap during the oil change, it almost guarantees that you can't close the hood without noticing you haven't filled the engine with oil. One thing I like to tell new techs is to get into the habit of doing a visual scan under the hood including: cowl, fenders and radiator core support areas before closing the hood after service. It seems like common sense but it's surprising how often it's overlooked, and things are forgotten.

[JamesKelly]

I love that you teach something that you'd usually only learn with experience. Most YT mechanics jump over this little stuff.