Hi all, shroompy here, located in VA and I'm new to car repairs. Any advice or tips would be awesome! <3
I bought a 2000 Dakota 3.9 v6 with 280k on it for cheap. Yes it has a number of problems and some rust, for the mileage it could be MUCH worse.
I'm new to fixing cars/DIY, i've done oil and trans fluid changes, little stuff but I want to know more so I can keep this baby as long as possible.
Glad to be here!

 

Welcome to DF! You wanna wander on down to the second gen Dak section. LOTS of useful information there, and helpful folks as well. There might even be a service manual for your truck available for download.... (not sure though...)

 

Don't be afraid or ashamed to pay a visit to the UofY. (Youtube) The best way to learn is by doing. Just keep in mind the late Will Rogers said there are three types of people.

#1, those who can learn by reading a book.

#2, those who can learn by watching somebody else.

#3, those who have to pee on the electric fence themselves.

Take it easy, get a manual and ask questions.

 

THANK YOU! Great quote. I drive for my job so I have this (perhaps unfounded) fear that I’ll work on something and somehow mess it up and therefore my paycheck LOL. So far a lot of things are easier than I thought they were going to be. But I still don’t know exactly HOW engines work. Like it hasn’t clicked in my brain yet. But I hope that will happen soon 😁

 

Look at it as a giant air pump. All the rest is simply supporting that aspect.

 

Google 4 stroke engine and how they work, Intake, compression, power and exhaust are the names of the strokes. This is engines 101 on the first page.

 

That's why I usually have 2 or more drivers. In case one goes down, I can use the other to keep going as well as do parts runs. The 4 stroke engine is pretty much what you'll work on. Yes, there have been 2 stroke diesel engines as well as small 2 stroke gas engines but those are fading away. The rule of thumb for 4 stroke is "suck, squeeze, bang, blow". 4 stroke engines ALL use this process.

Keep in mind, how that is done varies. I have one late model car and everything else is year 2000 or earlier. Newer engines get great power from small displacements but are much more complex and, in my opinion, less robust than older ones. Dual overhead cams, complex timing chain or belt setups make them more complex to work on. I personally prefer to get cars or pickups from 1996 to 2000 as with the advent of OBD II, the vehicles have matured. Everything since is just tweaks.

One thing I like to do is have a PAPER manual for a vehicle. The older stuff I don't need it for more than specification details. Things like spark plug gap and such, it's just easier than using a cell phone with a itty bitty screen or hauling a lap top out to the vehicle. I just bought a scooter and know nothing about it mechanically but it came with a nice paper manual so I'm pretty sure I'm okay there.

 

Working on cars is fun, and it saves you a ton of money. I learned WAY before the internet, so books and lucky enough to have friends of my father's who were great mechanics and were willing to teach me. I also worked part time in an auto repair shop, but kept my full time job, which was a tremendous way to learn. In addition to YouTube, see if there is a local car club that you can join. They have a lot of guys that wrench on their own stuff so it is a great place to find some mentors.