For me, it's not so much that I don't like getting my hands dirty, but what is my time worth? Every single project on that truck seems to take hours and hours. I spent 4 very long days doing the front and rear brakes, front bearings, U-joints and seals. It was frustrating, painful and wasted a lot of my time. I broke off a spark plug doing a tune-up that ended up costing me nearly $2000 anyway and when that very same plug cracked and started misfiring, I just took it to the shop and let them deal with it--if it went to hell, it was their problem.

In my advancing age, I'm finding that anything more time-consuming than an oil change just isn't worth it. I've got better things to do than fix it just to get back to 0 (mods are fun work, replacing water pumps isn't). I don't enjoy working on this truck at all, not like restoring old cars or wrenching on the race car. It's a tool, not a hobby to me.

 

When I was in my teens and early twenty's my old man would get on me something fierce. I'd never do anything myself except mods. Oil changes at the quickie lube, anything to not have to be bothered.

I think it was a rebellious thing, although a welder and fabricator by trade, he worked weekends in a garage, for an owner that also had teams at the local track, so he'd also work many Friday nights at the speedway. Even though he and my mother were divorced when I was six, anytime he "had me" he was always working and since he had me every other weekend, it was always at the track or garage, where I'd sit, bored to death.

Funny thing, as I got older and moved far away from home, got a good job in technology, I guess I came back to my roots. Started picking up tools for modding my own trucks in my late 20's and as I started my own business and worked long hours with lots of pressure, working on my trucks (and suv's) became a "release". Much to my wife's (now ex) displeasure, if I was not in the woods or fishing, I was working on my truck. Now that I'm not working to take care of my parents, it's become huge, as for the better part of a year and a half, I had to stay close, like within minutes of the house, so working on or modding my truck or Grand Cherokee in the driveway or landscape work around the yard were the only things I could do to keep from going nuts.

Now I do almost all the work myself, mods and maintenance, or most of it. I may do a complete tune up but take it in for the tranny fluid change every other time or so, because of the mess, but for the most part, I do everything myself.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head there. There are those who drive a truck, and for others, the truck drives them. I know my truck drives me. Shoot... im patiently waiting to gather up enough money for this gear swap/ locker/ and 33's I've been dreaming of. The more work you do yourself, the more you save in labor = more $ for mods. Thats how I have always looked at things.

 

It's not just the truck that I don't like working on it's getting to be vehicles in general. We have 4 of them so it's all of those. Dirtbikes are the same way. I have 2 dirtbikes and a 4 wheeler and the 4 wheeler needs a engine rebuild and the bikes need oil changes. Well one transmission fluid and one oil. I just keep putting them off as I just dread working on them so basically they just sit there.

I got like this about cars when I worked at a shop and had to do it everyday. I hated it and it took all the fun of working on our own vehicles out so that when I got home working on my own vehicle was the last thing I wanted to do. Not a lot seemed to get done then. I also dreaded going into work everyday as I never wanted to work on another car again. A while after I quit working there I got to where I didn't mine working on our vehicles again as it wasn't an everyday thing but I'm starting to get to where I just want to drive them and not work on them any. Unless like you guys said it's a mod I'm doing or something.

My problem isn't a shortage of tools as I have most basic tools and quite a few specialty tools. I have a ton of tools for most jobs I just am getting to where I don't want to use them.

It's not just working on them mechanically though yesterday I took some tint off of a vehicle and it was just a pain even though it only took an hour to an hour and a half it just wasn't something I cared to be doing. Now when it comes to wiring or something that I enjoy I don't mind it.

The only job I can think of I ever tried to do that I regretted and ended up being hard was trying to pull the valve body out of the transmission. I had lots of directions and never figured it out so gave up and had it towed to a shop. That was back on my old transmission before I got my APS. I wouldn't dare try to take anything apart on that.

 

Thats funny because I feel just the opposite. Anything less time consuming than an oil change isnt worth my time. Id be willing to bet to date Iv saved myself about $20,000 in labor on all 6 cars that I work on (4 mine 2 fam). Most of that would be my cars

 

love workin on the truck. i agree with indy, its a real simple vehicle to work on. It does get frustrating at times, but once its done you sit back and say ahhhh wow look at it.

 

I only hate it when it's god awful beatdown hot down here. I replaced the Driveshaft U joints in July and about passed out in the heat. Unfortunately, summer's the only time i have for those bigger projects. If something goes wrong, I gotta get it fixed as this is my DD.