14 Year Old Mechanic

[Freedom Motorsports]

Ok, so he isn't technically a mechanic yet, but he is well on his way...lol My son wants to be a mechanic, he is leaning toward diesels. Well, yesterday he/we worked on his first DIY. Removing the turbo from a 2003 Duramax. He did an excellent job, and although he needed help with a few things like downpipe bolts, uppipe bolts, draining the coolant, etc. He did 99% of the work while I supervised.

Just thought I would share, below is a link to the DIY picks taken.

http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk102/bigdaddydiesel_photos/Truck projects/Cullens Projects/

 

[fire730]

That's pretty cool.

When I was younger my dad tried to get me to help him work on the family vehicles but I didn't want anything to do with it. And now I've been a mechanic for almost 15 years. Go figure!

 

[07Burb]

awesome man! If he likes doing it encourage him to go into that field man. That way when they get older it doesn't seem like they have a JOB so much but rather enjoy what they do for a living.

 

[Freedom Motorsports]

Thanks guys, yeah, he wants to be a mechanic and is already planning his high school and college/Technical school to make it happen. Honestly, I wish I had been as level headed when I was his age. We are putting the turbo back in this morning, so he gets to learn how to use a Torque Wrench, etc.

 

[jdpber]

I learned from dad and i also took apart the lawn equipment and rebuilt it most of the time.. i killed a few weed eater pull cord recoils the first couple times when i was like 12 or so.. and then built my own gocart motors after blowing them up..

your boy is on his way.. diesel it a different beast from gas.. and 2 strokes..

what was reason for turbo removal??

 

[Freedom Motorsports]

I learned from dad and i also took apart the lawn equipment and rebuilt it most of the time.. i killed a few weed eater pull cord recoils the first couple times when i was like 12 or so.. and then built my own gocart motors after blowing them up..

your boy is on his way.. diesel it a different beast from gas.. and 2 strokes..

what was reason for turbo removal??

Yeah, he wants to work on diesels mainly. But I told him that if he wanted to make a career of it that he needed to take auto mechanics and machine shop in high school and then move on to technical school for diesel mechanics. That way when he enters the work force he can come in trained and ready to go to work for any dealer he wants. Work for a dealer for a while to gawin some real world experience and then open a shop of his own later on. So far he is listening.

I actually had a lot goin' on with my truck since the end of november. But in short I replaced the injectors, injector sleeves, glow plugs, strap fuse for the glow plugs, map sensor, cp3 high pressure injection pump, manifolds, custom built super stocker turbo, intake mouthpiece (with a ported version), rebuilt south bend dual disc clutch, slave cylinder, clutch master cylinder, throttle pedal, clutch pedal, rear seal in the tranny, pump rub kit in the transfer case, rebuilt fuel filter housing, a few new fuel lines, all gaskets and seals, new main bearing cap bolts, new oil cooler, new pcv valve, new coolant temp sensor, new fuel rail pressure sensor, new hummer h2 rims wrapped in nitto terra grapplers, and one new battery. And six months before that all started I replaced the brake calipers, and installed drilled and slotted rotors w/ ceramic pads. And of course ALL of my fluids are Amsoil and have been flushed.

But, the bearings came apart in the turbo I put on it and I am having another super stocker built. But I put a used stocker on it so I can run it until the new custom one arrives.

IT has been quite the ride. I told Michelle I couldn't wait for the truck to be done to my satisfaction so I could start on the Yukon....

Below is a link to a good number of the pics we have taken of the process.

http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk102/bigdaddydiesel_photos/Truck%20projects/

 

[purple 'hoe]

That's AWESOME!! If he's serious about becoming a Tech, I'd say he should take whatever he can in high school. My high school never offered Automotive Classes, so I had a slight disadvantage. But landing a job at a GM Dealer, I started at the way bottom, just doing basic work. Now I'm up to doing more complex things, and still working my way up. He'll learn a lot from Technicians, and most of us are always willing to teach new, or younger people

 

[2005yukonxl]

reminds me of when I was younger...i replaced a motor in my first truck at 15 yrs old...(with the direction of my dad's cousin, but for some reason most of the "work" wasnt done by the adults) and by the time i was 16 i had replaced my starter, master cylinder, power steering pump and a radiator by myself. helped to have some cars in the family that needed some "coaxing" once in a while...i guess it was more of a "if you want to drive you have to fix it and fix it cheap" mentality.

 

[sumo]

its great to hear that someone his age already knows what they want to do.

 

[gdddup]

congrats on the future mechanic