Obviously I'm aware it all depends on your comfort zone + skill level, but what are things you don't bother to do yourself because they're either too time consuming, difficult, frustrating, etc?

I ask because I want to get my coolant flushed, but after doing research via Google, I'm seeing that it isn't as easy as I had originally hoped. I'm thinking I'll just go to either the local Chevy dealership or a local mechanic to get it done.
Of course, there's also the recent issue I posted about that I had with my stock catted DP. After frustrating myself for several hours the other day + ending up stripping a bolt, I've given in and decided to take it to a mechanic soon.

I feel like the only things I should bother with doing myself are oil changes, spark plugs and maybe brake pads/rotors. Everything else seems out of my comfort zone.

How about you guys? Do you draw the line anywhere or are you a hardened DIYer and do everything yourself, no matter what?

 

I refuse to pay someone to work on my car. If I don't know, I research and dive in. But I'm fairly mechanically inclined. At the end of the day it really does come down to your skill level and time you want to invest yourself.

 

the only thing I didn't do myself so far is change my clutch and pressure plate. my buddy is a mechanic and owns his own garage so I got him to help and used his lift also.

 

I do everything. If you can't seem to get something done on your car, you aren't telling your car to go **** itself enough. My car knows better.

 

It all comes down to skill level and equipment available

 

True. I only did my first oil change ever back in Nov 2014. I'm sure I just need time to get used to more difficult work.
I've changed the brake pads + rotors, starter, spark plugs and serpentine belt on my Toyota Matrix all this year, but that car is a hell of a lot easier to work on.
Practice makes perfect, though.
Anybody got a more helpful how-to for coolant flush? I only found the LNF video on YouTube, but it seems overly complicated.

 

I will not do Body work and I will not.. absoLUTLY NOT attempt a clutch job

 

Everything ...been working on lsj for 4 years.

 

Honestly I trust most mechanics less with working on my car than myself. I'm also a lot cheaper.

 

My idea of a coolant flush unhook hose let coolant come out in bucket fill back up lol

 

i think you are pretty much out of luck if you need an alignment, unless you know somebody with a rack

 

Coolant flushing at home is fairly easy. You don't need any fancy equipment. Just take out the
thermostat, put a plain thick o-ring from the parts store in its place, run the car till it gets slight
ly warm. not full temp, more like 140* or so, take off the resivior cap, pull the radiator drain.
while it drains fill the resivior with distilled water (walmart sells it by the gal, itl take about 5-6 gal or so) until the draining fluid from the radiator becomes crystal clear. cut the engine off, let the radiator drain the rest of the way, put your thermostat back in. fill with 70/30 coolant. 70%
being coolant and 30% distilled water.

and your good to go.

as far as doing work on my own car, I do everything, but im also a gm dealer tech lol.

 

Positives about working in a shop. I can do everything I ever need to do myself.

 

Sounds easy enough, but I've seen the video called "LNF Coolant Refill on Ecotec Engines" and it seems slightly complicated beyond my mechanical level. I might give it a try later in the summer, though.

 

If its the video from dmm I wouldn't pay any attention to them too much from the fact they
put the wrong coolant into the car lol. do you have a lnf cobalt or lnf solstice/sky?

 

He has a cobalt lnf

 

Yeah, I have a Cobalt. No Sky/Solstice.

 

i and my friends have done just about everything. i am a novice by most standards and managed to do my clutch on the floor alone this winter, granted it took me a few months and lots of aggravation. my cars official name is 'you f***ing c*nt' far as im concerned lmao.

the good thing is the wealth of information we have these days. so really the only things limiting you are number of tools and work area to an extent.

i cant diagnose issues though and should just leave anything wiring related alone haha

 

A few months? Oh, no! lol
I use my Cobalt SS regularly. I wouldn't be able to keep it parked in my garage for months on end without buying a beater, which isn't a bad idea now that I think about it. I would like to use my LNF less so it lasts me longer.

 

Apparently what takes rice a couple of months takes the rest of us novices a weekend:-P

Seriously though, for most jobs the difference between it taking a day and taking weeks is the preparation. If you have all of the parts or tools you need before you start then you can do most anything in a day or two. Even swap an engine. It's when you start and realize that you need a weird seal, or fluid, or a tool, etc that makes jobs last a long time.

 

70% coolant? Why?

 

Yeah that was my main issue. not knowing what parts were needed, then saving for parts, waiting for parts, returning parts for different parts etc haha

But still it was just me except for lifting the trans back into the car. Took me ehh probably 48 hours total time.

 

your gonna have some residual water in the jackets and in the heater core after flushing with distilled water. Optimum mix is about 60/40 rather than 50/50 for best high and low temp protection (if your using gm dexcool). 50/50 is just a easy to achieve baseline. Each reputable brand will have a chart on the back
of the jug showing the best ratio.

 

Same here.

 

Honestly with the 2 drains for coolant in these cars, I wouldn't even worry about a flush. I just fully drain and refill. Pull the drain plug out of the radiator and also the one out of the water pump and you should be able to get nearly all of it out. That's just my 2 cents. As for your question, there's nothing I haven't tackled so far on this car and I get elected to do all things mechanical on family's cars also. Most recently, replacing the injectors in a powerstroke. Everything is a learning experience