Learning..

Where did you guys start with your knowledge base in being able to perform your own maintenance and upgrades? Never grew up working on my vehicles or had someone around who knew a whole lot about cars and would like to learn to be a little more self reliant.. Whats a good starting point? Other than youtube, what resources are out there? Any Colorado guys/girls want to help show a young guy the ropes?! I'm a sponge over here... Thanks!

 

I wish you luck! I'm sure there are folks near buy who will be willing to help you out. I'm slowly finding people near me for this exact reason! Some folks on here are so comfortable and knowledgeable about working on their vehicles. I know the basics but not much else. YouTube can be helpful but not everyone is doing things right. Many members here have videos or links for the mods they did, if you find mods you like just ask, most will share any info they have.

 

You are in the right place!

Since your truck is brand new, no maintenance for quite some time.....upgrades on the other hand are something else. Whats the first thing about your truck that you'd like to change? Suspension? Wheels? Stereo? Lights?

 

Couldnt agree more. This community is great! There is some stuff I am okay watching videos and getting done. On the whole though I tend to learn things much better doing them and having someone show me the correct way to do it.

 

there are lots of us around. i'm always up for answering questions. sometimes, the answers are even valid...

 

Yeah I might be taking it easy on the Tundra for a bit . At some point I would like to swap out the grill and chipping away at the chrome. I think I could do that stuff myself! There are some great videos. The parts where I am still super uncomfortable are working on the suspension or really anything mechanically on vehicles (I will admit even changing the oil :/).

I have an 01 Land Cruiser that I was thinking would be a good place to start taking over and doing my own maintenance on, oil changes and such! Part of the problem is I dont even really know where to start in terms of tools and things like that..

 

I might have to take you up on that as I start to mess things up haha

 

I'm 22 and have lucked out with growing up working on vehicles and having a dad to help me out when I get stuck. I like to think of it as lego's, don't overthink it and do your research. Youtube is your best friend too. Happy learning !

 

My Dad showed me some basic stuff when I was a teen - oil change, plugs/wires/distributor cap (at the time), belts, hoses, brake pads/rotors, etc. These are pretty simple/basic things (well, they WERE when I was learning to drive lol ). I also took a small engines class in HS, and that was helpful just in understanding the basics of the Internal Combustion Engine and becoming more comfortable intaking things apart and putting them back together.

Other things were learned out of the immediate need to fix a broken down vehicle when I didn't have the funds (or time) to pay someone else to do it. Like when I replaced a leaking fuel pump on the street after "using" 15 gals of gas to go 30 miles. Or, in the same street (same car), replacing the fan blower motor when it was 20° and sleeting so my windshield defroster would work. Or, again same car, overheating on the side of the road - putting a thrown water pump belt back on.

I was more resilient and confident when I was younger, because I had to be. These days I pick and choose what I'm willing to attempt because 1) my vehicles are newer and nicer, and I'm more afraid of messing them up (this was NOT a concern with the junker I drove in HS/College), and 2) I now have the means to pay someone to do it when I don't want to - aka I get lazy.

In some ways, younger people have it easier these days - someone on youtube has usually posted a video step by step tutorial through almost any repair imagineable. We had to buy books specific to our car and decipher basic diagrams to figure it out. You were in trouble if facing some odd issue that wasn't covered in the Haynes/Chilton manual. On the otherhand, vehicles are more complex and require more specialized tools than they used to, so maybe it's not easier, just different...

All this to say, basically, you learn by jumping in and doing it, making mistakes, and from the satisfaction when it finally fires off and the repair works!

 

I know you said other than YouTube, but YouTube is a great resource. There are lots of great contributors on this site that make how-to videos. A great example is @2020Platinum with easy to follow, high-quality videos.

 

Luckily black friday is coming up, its my favorite time to buy tools. You should start building a collection of tools (dont buy one of those "mechanics kits". Get yourself a set of screwdrivers, socket wrench, sockets (with a couple extra 10mm's), box ended wrenches, screwdrivers......pick a drill/driver brand, i'm a makita guy, but milwaukee, dewalt, rigid, ryobi should all be ok

 

Thats awesome man! Definitely lucky you had a dad to impart that knowledge on you!

 

Im no stranger to his channel. Excellent resource for sure! I think his are probably the best I have found for Tundras

 

Ah good point about Black Friday on the horizon. I should start putting together that list of must haves now and get ahead of it

 

Thanks for the kind words, that’s awesome to hear!!...I try to make my videos easy to follow, I really appreciate the feedback!!...if I can help anyone with anything, shoot me a message, I have a ton of “how to’s” and reviews on my 2020 Platinum, always happy to answer any questions!
www.youtube.com/NitroZ18Fishing

 

I've leaned on this site a whole lot since i joined. (almost) everyone has been very welcoming and very very helpful with all level of questions that i have asked. you always have your outliers but it's been a great place for me to learn. Agree that YouTube is better than just about anything for most common tasks. so, no matter how "entry level" the questions might be, just ask and i think you'll be pleased with the support here

 

Thanks for the advice! I wish I would have made more an effort to learn this stuff when I was younger. I dont think any of the high schools I went to offered such a class.. That would have been awesome! I think you are right though it sounds like i need to just jump in. Id like to find someone who knows what the hell they are doing to point me in the right direction though, Ha!

 

Routine maintenance is a great place to start. As mentioned lots of videos out there. Some other mods for sure. As far as the suspension; other than changing rear shocks, the front end is a bit more than most will attempt. Extra tools are needed and an alignment is often needed as well.
Start small and work your way up.

 

Welcome from Aurora. I took auto shop and metal shop all 4 years in high school back in the early 70's. I wish high schools still offered those programs!

 

Thanks Max, I greatly appreciate that!!

 

but why?

i had 5 but i'm down to one. pretty sure if i find my missing socks, that's where i'll find the sockets...

 

Many of our high school's still offer auto shop, not sure about metal or wood shop.
I didn't take auto shop in High School but all my friends hot rods. We were always wrenching on someone's car. Did everything but frontend work and transmissions. Good old Holly 4 barrel days.......

 

Were you at bro? I'm in FoCo if you want to hang out doing a Tundra project...

 

Side bar :
I was raised in a small logging town in western Orygun after my dad retired from flying Marine Corps birds. Drain. Many of my friends in high school had no aspirations beyond high school. No interest in college at all. They basically planned on working for a local hi lead logging outfit, plywood mill, sawmill, or chip truck/logging truck driver. Good paying jobs until the Spotted Owl screwed things up. Some of my friends that took auto shop and/or metal shop actually went on to have a decent career as metal fabbers, welders, and mechanics. I still remember by shop teacher. Ex Navy. Mr DICK! True..ha ha

 

Just a thought...

Maybe start out with a project rebuilding an old lawnmower to gain a little experience and confidence? It would be low risk, wouldn't take up too much room (assuming you have access to a garage), and you wouldn't be walking everywhere if it doesn't work. If it turns out good you might even be able to sell for a little profit.

 

Were are you located? Want to learn how to install a lift???

 

Oh forgot, one thing that actually helped me learn and gain some basic knowledge was RC cars. Super fun hobby too if you are interested. Everything works the same.

 

I didn't grow up working on cars either. When I learned that the dealer was overfilling my Silverado on every oil change, I decided to do it myself. That was my first foray in to maintenance. Just about everything I've learned was from a YT video and/or forums dedicated to the vehicle at hand. Now I've never pulled an engine or anything that involved, but I've done what the average owner would have the dealer do for periodic maintenance. Start with oil and go from there.

 

Great! Also changing diff and transfercase fluids is fairly easy. Greasing up the drive shaft zeke's too. Just lubed my U joints Sunday. Not too hard at all. The OP has a new tunny so not ready for that yet but will be coming up eventually!

 

As these guys all said, you are in the right place. Definitely start here, especially when buying parts or upgrades. We have awesome vendors here with discounts, as well as a large amount of product reviews from many members. There are some extremely knowledgeable members here that have been with Tundras since they came out. You will see plenty of mod ideas that you will want for sure. Everyone in this forum has been really helpful to anything from mod assistance or questions about mods, to general daily chats about whats on the grill. Hell someone here even helped me troubleshoot my washing machine. You will enjoy your time here, and the truck. Just remember, when you have questions, all you have to do is ask.