Your Jeep knowledge - self taught or formal training?

TerryMason

TerryMason

Administrator
Staff member
How many of us are formally trained mechanics?

For myself, I'm a self taught guy with plenty of trial and error (emphasis on the error part). Things are much better since the internet came along (beats the heck out of a haynes manual).

So what about you guys?
 

I started in my teens hanging around with my highschool friends modifying import cars and racing for money. After moving here to the U.S. i worked part time in an automotive shop to aquaint myself with the different automobiles and learn more. My full time job is non automobile related at the time until i moved to Texas with my family. With my current job, i was sent to Chrysler Academy and travelled quite a bit until i was master certified with a level 4 achievement. I've been employed with this company now for 12yrs. and we are continuously advancing with our technology and training updates to further our skills and knowledge to keep our Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge products up to the highest quality and performance. On the side of my full time job, i build and design Jeep parts such as bumpers, roll cages, dash, etc. I have a custom steel fabrication business that i do on the weekends if i'm not out in a ranch guiding hunters.
 
I was always interested in cars, and in high school when me and my friends got cars they always talked about this and that. I found howstuffworks.com and read every auto related page, and then started tinkering with my car, along with helping my friends on their cars. I have a basic knowledge about everything that was self taught. There are certain things I don't know, and when it comes to Jeeps, there are many things I can learn, but most of the things I know is from something I read, or tried.
 

I was taught basics by my stepdad. While I was in high school he had his own semi and would come in at all hours if the night. He would give me a list of what was wrong and I would get it done. Then I went to bed so I could go to school in 2-3 hours. I learned a lot that way.
 
I'm still learning didn't have an interest in doing any work on my vehicles until I got a jeep which was a year ago but I have only had one prob I showed everyone on this website and u guys helped me out but basically I just watched YouTube videos to figure out how to swap out the part
 
my dad taught me when i was a kid to work on stuff. i watched and helped work on everything from the lawnmower to dad's backhoe. after going in the army and already have been a mechanic as a job, i decided to become an aviation mechanic. i didn't know you could test out of the school or i would've because a lot of it was review. some classes were good though because i didn't know too much about electricity.

anyways, now i have two degrees in aviation technology. one for powerplants and one for airframes. i didn't go get my license because 9-11 came about a week after graduation and the test cost about 700 bucks for the license. so i have the family taught stuff and the formal education
 

My step father is a long time over the road truck driver.When I was young he would come home on Friday night.Saturday and Sunday fix the truck and do maintenance so he can leave Monday morning.My biggest problem is over tightening and breaking bolts.Could be from being taught on 2 inch bolts using ten foot pry bars.
 
My dad and I restored a 64 ford galaxie, and that's where I learned most of the old American made cars.

All my friends have trucks and motorcycles at school, so we always work on each others vehicles. But I NEVER let anyone touch my jeep except me and my dad.

Basically my dad taught me everything. I thought it was storytime...
 
I'm taught solely from my pops. I know a lot about drive trains but not much about suspension, body work, etc.

my first car though (86 bronco) I built the motor and wired the entire car custom. been working on cars ever since.
 

Always been taking stuff apart and "helping" older family members. I did take 2 years of auto mechanics in high school that covered the basics. Everything else is self taught/learned by reading.

Nathan

Sent from my Droid using Jeepz
 
you know what is funny about aviation mechanics? if you get your license as an A&P, you can work for ferrari, porsche, lamborghini, all those makers. if you don't, you have to go to their school to work on their cars. i always thought that was interesting. after i finished A&P school, i applied at firestone because i couldn't afford to get my license yet and the manager told me he wasn't going to hire me because i was more qualified then anyone there. i didn't think so but thats what happened to being a mechanic after going to aviation school
 

My dad doesn't know how to set the time on the vcr or make a pot of coffee much less work on a car so I'm self taught. He is very intelligent just not mechanically inclined.

I had a buddy that was self taught by trial and error so I assisted him in a few engine rebuilds among other things. The internet is a great teacher as well. If it's something i've not done before I always research online first whether a jeep or computer.
 
I'm a maintenance man in a factory for a living. I work on just about everything there. I took industrial maintenance at the state voc school. I've got several welding certifications and a diploma from it. I took autobody in highschool and worked at a bodyshop at one point for a while. ( I was a gopher but tried to learn all I could, I like bodywork) I've always liked fixing things, been a sucker for a project all my life. Didn't have much growing up, if it broke had to fix it cheap. Learned alot the hard way. I've only been into Jeeps a short while. Don't know much at all about them other than I really enjoy mine.
 
me too, when i was younger. being broke makes you learn to fix things or you get to be in good shape from walking
 
My Dad taught me the basics years ago. Have been doing my own tune-ups, oil changes, and minor maintence ever since. Mostly self taught on anything beyond that, and now that I have a Jeep to play with find myself doing more. Luckily, I have a son-in-law who is a mechanic, and his Dad was a Master Mechanic for Jeep for many years. So, if I ever get too far over my head, I do have a safety net!
 
I would say self taught, but its more like Jeepz taught for now. I like figuring things out, why they aren't working, and fixing them. Actually, I do a fair bit of that at my job too, though I don't work on cars.
 
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