How to know Camry working by getting hands dirty ?

If you are serious about learning the basics, follow the tasks outlined in your workshop manual (oil-changing, airfilter etc) at the time or mileage intervals indicated. They should tell you which basic tools to have on hand. If you have problems, ask back here.

Jason

See if you can find a course on automotive maintenance at a local adult school to get controlled hands on experience. I took auto shop in High School and that was all I needed to get started. Any Haynes manual should have a good introductory section. Read and understand what they are saying about tools, chemicals and basic safety procedures. Your first concern should always be to stay safe and avoid doing damage to the vehicle. The Toyota (4 cyl.) is not difficult to work on, but you need to understand and follow all procedures. Many tolerance are precise. You should use and follow all torque figures. If they say a gasket or spring clip is not re usable, replace it. The best thing is to take an interest and understand how things work. Try this link for starters:

to comprehend how the basic systems work, then try to identifythem under the hood and under the car.Go slowly and carefully. Find the control arms, brake calipers, sparkplugs, differential and so forth.Factory Service Manuals are the final authority:

Great website for toyota camry manuals, but how about corrolla and other toyota models?

Do you guys maybe know similar manuals for other car manufacturers? I am mostly interested in manuals for nissans, hondas and other Japaneese brands.

=== Don't have any information there, but in regard to Diwa's original question wanted to add:

Diwa wrote:

=== Excuse me if some find this off topic, but always prior to work on the car, I affirm the presence of divine guidance and recognize my susceptibility to injury and the risk of damage to the car. Helps create the right state of mind to create a successful outcome. It is actually not at all difficult to create wounds that bleed, (or worse) and also to omit some small procedure that creates some significant fault in the car's operation. You're working on a vehicle that weighs several tons, and contains much complex and sophisticated machinery, so you need some proper degree of respect for what you're attempting, but I find the care and precision with which the Toyotas are designed and assembled make them a joy to work on. Just be sure to exercise appropriate caution, especially when first starting out, go slowly, carefully and intelligently and you should be fine.

Thanks Jason and Daniel for your responses. The day I start poking under the hood, I will come back here with my questions, as suggested by you guys.

Thanks a lot and have a good day

-- Diwakar

A couple more suggestions for Diwa...

1. do NOT make friends with a local mechanic and look over his shoulder while he works. You may put his liability insurance in jeopardy by doing so (even if he allows it, which he shouldn't) and you'll be slowing him down at his job. He's in business to make a living, not to show you how to be a mechanic. Take a class in automotive skills at a community college, they are usually excellent at teaching basics and beyond.

1. Get yourself a GOOD set of tools...not a dime store pliers and crescent wrench and a couple of screwdrivers. More wouldbe mechanics are failed by inadequate tools than almost anything besides ignorance of the subject.

And good luck !

Thanks Mack. Thanks to Daniel and you, I am now aware of the fact that there are community colleges or adult schools where I can make a start. Local mechanic route was anyway never going to work out for me because I am quite introvert by nature.

Which brands would you recommend for tools ? Or would any do so long as they are good ?

Thanks Diwakar

You have to walk before you can run, the basic things you can start with are, changing the engine oil, spark plugs, replacing light bulbs, air cleaners, wiper blades and rotating your tires. These are straight forward maintenance and easy repairs for your vehicle, if you can't handle doing these, then you will have a hard time with your transmission, EGRs, IAC, power steering which is step 2 the advanced repair. Besides the tools, purchase some decent car ramps or jack stands, you'll find them very usefull when you spend a long time underneath your car.

Ill jump in here too....... Mechanics spend a considerable ammount of time and money learning their trade.It is NOT somthing that can be learned from books and manuals.The "BASICS" are just that BASICS>

So I would also suggest that you dont try and make freinds with your local mechanic.If you can ,do a course in automotive maintenance,and you will be taught just that maintenance........REPAIRS carried out by backyarders often are UNSAFE ,and costly when the have to be reworked by a professional.In my workshop we call this IDIOT TAX and rarely do we get involved in the aftermath of haome repairs.I wish you all the best and am hapy to help if I can, to a point......... Regards, Dave Strachan AIAME Toyota Master tech Australia.

Hello Dave S, just curious are you currently working for Toyota?

no have my own workshop now

Two years ago, I knew nothing about cars. I just didn't have the interest. My dad took care of most car maintenance.

Then just before my daughter was born, I had a radiator blow out on me. Guess I neglected the coolant. Took my '96 camry over to the dealership: US$1,000 later, I had a new radiator and water pump. The next morning, the car wouldn't even start. Looked under the hood. The Toyota mechanic didn't tighten the battery cable.

After that, I resolved to learn more about cars, to avoid paying out $1,000 in the future to mechanics who couldn't even tighten a battery cable.

Slowly, over 2 years, with my Haynes manual and the stuff at

I learned more and more. Transmission fluid change. Transmission pan gasket change. Radiator fluid change. Power steering fluid change. Brake fluid change. Spark plug change. Coolant hose change. Throttle body removal and cleaning. PCV cleaning. IAC valve removal and cleaning (with help from you guys). And just last night, EGR removal (had to remove it from the engine, after removing the throttle body first).

Not sure if you consider these "Basics" or "Intermediate" stuff. But I pretty much learned all I know from books and from the web.

Take care,

Michael

atwww.turboninjas.com/camry, I learned more and more. Transmission

Ain't that the truth!

I used to get the next least expensive set of tools I could, and then get mad at rounded nuts, rounded screw heads, etc.

Bought a nice set of Craftsman. Maybe still not the best (S-K or Snap-On) but I saved a leg and at least half my arm!

Where are you at? In the US?

Craftsman (Sears) are OK, best bet for low $$$. They are ALWAYS on sale. I have the 155 piece kit for $99. I also had some halfway decent tools before that, so the 155 was a good basic set to supplant what I already had.

If you want GOOD tools, go with S-K or Snap-On. These are professional tools, and carry a lifetime warranty. But then again, so does Craftsman.

For light work a Craftsman set should do you OK.

Cheap tools are just that. They break, they ruin bolt and screw heads and can cause more trouble than they are worth.

I would be glad to hear from you what do you consider "light work". Where is the border line? What is the work a Craftsman tool cannot handle and you HAVE TO HAVE something "better", like Snap-On or S-K.

I have had good luck with Craftsman tools. Let me tell you, I abuse the hell out of them. The one Craftsman tool I hate are their ratchet handles. They slip. The old Craftsman handled did not slip like the new ones.

My wish was to learn what kind of work is impossible to be acomplished with Craftsman tools and you HAVE to have Snap-On :-) I do not know one, but maybe I am wrong :-))) I am sure Hachiroku will explain here soon what job was he taling about.