"Good wrench"... OH, really?

[Gary - K7GLD]

Perceptions and attitudes can be hard to figure sometimes.



Guy buys a new truck, wants to "improve" it's performance, so checks out a few specialty shops, chooses one - settles on the mods he wants done and writes out a big check. He didn't even touch a wrench, or do any of the basic research or development of what was done to his truck - but he gains instant recognition by many of his peers as a "good wrench" - a knowledgeable mechanic, an "automotive expert"...



Another guy does lots of reading, does significant testing and experimenting on his own with mixed results, and does essentially all his own work and mods, and ends up with a vehicle that meets the goals he sought to achieve. His vehicle may well fall WAAaaay below the first guy's in terms of technology and actual power - so is he less of a "wrench"?



There are other extremes that fall outside and in between the above 2 examples - what is YOUR yardstick as to what constitutes a "good wrench", or respected "automotive expert"?



Is "automotive expertise" something you can get by writing a check or copying work and development OTHERS have already done, or is it more related to trial and error development guys do on their own?

 

[MA2LA]

Coming from a hot rod and jeep world can give you all sorts of ways to judge that. Basicaly in the off road world its easy to tell who builds thier own or who pays some one to do it. I have noth against those who fork out the money to have some one do it for them , in fact many times they have paid me to do such work. but when some one shows up on the trail with all the latest and greatest stuff that some shop said was the way to go and then they have all sorts fof problems and have no clue what is going on they enoy the crap out of me. most of the time its the humble guy with modest stuff that is the person that knows his stuff but that isn't alway the rule. I'm prteey good with jeeps and know quite a bit but all of my stuff is pretty much junk and beat to heck but it normaly wount break and does what i want it to do. I'm not sure if i answered anything but I got to vent.

 

[CDyksman]

A "good wrench" to me implies that you actually use a wrench.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

AH, hot rods - my first love!



I've built several ground up rods - the last was a '67 Datsun pickup with a B&M blown SB Chevy I built up - had a chevy OD transmission and Ford 8 inch differential - a real fast and fun ride, and what fun shoe-horning that SB into where the 4-banger used to be! :-laf



YUP - in many cases, the guy who simply does all his own routine vehicle maintenance may well be a better "wrench" than the guy with the big wallet - at least they'll get far more of my respect...

 

[AMink]

I think a "good" wrench is someone who knows the basics about vehicles. How to change filters etc. Also, the ability to follow directions for minor add ons, adjustments, etc. I also think a good wrench knows when it's time to step aside and let a "very good" or "great" wrench to step in! :-laf



I consider myself a "good" wrench, but I also know that for all the good things I do right the first time, I goof up too. But I like to learn! On my 97, with direction from this forum, I was able to do a lot of things that I wouldn't have tried before. Even simple (simple now) things like changing a fuel filter or adjusting the p-pump. However, I don't think I could build my own set of twins!

 

[bagd99dak]

i think a "good wrench" is someone who knows their vehicle enough to find problems, solutions, knows how to fix and does as much work as possible on their own and is willing to do the research and play games to get that vehicle the way they want it. custom make stuff and think of new creative stuff for that vehicle and apply them is what i feel makes up a "good wrench". anyone can write a check, its no big deal.

 

[keimmmo]

My daughter's neighbor was telling me about a friend of his who owns a Dodge diesel and is a great mechanic. When I met him, all he could talk about was the great recycled motor oil he had found and was using in his truck!!! The guy didn't even know how to change his own motor oil... but he was a great mechanic!!!



Both of them kind of wilted when I started talking about changing injection pumps and rebuilding motors.



Steve Keim

 

[DavidC]

The "Good Wrench" is broke down on the side of the road, hood up thrashing away with what ever can be found to make the vehicle run to get to where they are going or get parts. The "Not a Good Wrench" is laimlessly sitting on the side of the road staring at the traffic going by. My favorite is the guy with the flat tire, he has the trunk open, spare tire out and does not seem to have the foggiest idea of what comes next so he waits for assistance, meanwhile he stares at the traffic going by.



Dave

 

[Dl5treez]

Time, Money, Talent... .



More of one equals less of the other two.



Some people are fortunate enough to have #2 and #3--Chip Foose, Jay Leno, etc. I'd actually consider Jay Leno in all his celebrity glory a much better mechanic than many folks who actually do it for a living... . he's good, but back on topic.



The people who bother me the most are the ones who read a few magazine articles and all of a sudden are an automotive engineer of iconic proportions.



The internet, particularly discussion forums, have a way of breeding such individuals from time to time. Car magazines and the media do it as well.



When Wes Rydell's 'Grandmaster' won the Ridler Award in 2002, everyone was quick to praise Wes as a master car builder/owner. Chip Foose did most of the design work, but Doug Peterson (Rydell employee) and his crew at Rydell's Grand Forks shop performed the actual work on the car. Rydell and Foose were quick to acknowledge Peterson has the true artist behind the construction, even though most people completely will ignore him and focus the attention on the multi-millionare owner and design legend.



No negativity towards Wes or Bob Rydell, as they're great folks who know they just finance the awesome projects they are lucky to be able to afford, and are quick to make sure their craftsmen are appreciated and acknowledged..... but how many owners with huge wallets really would take the ego dent to admit they can't pump their own gas?



A "good wrench" to me is someone who can work on anything..... cars, trucks, bikes, mowers, bulldozers, gearboxes, etc. They can weld, cut, fab, perform a variety of mechanical tasks. They may not be an expert at any one thing but are very good at a wide variety of things. Being a mechanic by profession myself, I take the 'wrench' term to heart and sometimes don't appreciate folks who can follow directions off a website tech article forum to change nozzles on a ISB Cummins and believe they are somehow an ace mechanic. Mechanics and parts changers are very different..... Sorry for venting. :-laf

 

[WDixon27]

i %&*#ing hate mopping up other peoples mechanical abortions, way too many screwed up butcher jobs come though my bay to get ironed out for my liking from "mechanics", unfortunately me and the guy i work with have become some of the goto guys in town when you reduce your euro car to door stop status, just got done with a 96 960 volvo that someone severely screwed up a head job, now i have a nasty 850 turbo volvo that someone screwed up a engine install, and waiting in the wings a late v8 bimmer that someone assed up a engine "rebuild" and my best guess is got the cams in way wrong, lucky lucky me

Mechanics and parts changers are very different..... Sorry for venting. :-laf

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Mechanics and parts changers are very different..... Sorry for venting.

No apology needed - though I would have included "copycat engineers" in that analysis as well...



And yeah, I'm venting too - been under and into WAY too many vehicles and related mechanical devices in my 70+ years, too many skinned knuckles and grease under my fingernails, to simply grin and accept the insult-intended title "armchair mechanic"...

 

[NIsaacs]

Must be able to troubleshoot/diagnose problems and make temporary repairs if at all possible.





"NICK"

 

[Turbo Tim 1]

To me a mechanic can do every thing, even if not so good, he should be able to machine, align, trouble shoot, weld, figure out electrical diagrams, etc.

I work at a 750 megawatt powerplant as a control room operator and a supervisor but I fancy myself as being pretty good at many things, unfortunantely the plant is union and I don't get to do maintenance work anymore, our maintenance people make really good money and it amazes me when a mechanic at the plant brings his car to a dealer for a brake job at a really high price or a plant electrician hires an electrician to put a new service in his house. It would be one thing if the electrician he hired was someone other than his co-worker and the job was done on a weekend so he could look over his shoulder!!!

 

[nickleinonen]

A "good wrench" to me implies that you actually use a wrench.

i wouldn't quite use that wording. . there are plenty of guys at my work who can use a wrench, but are definately not a "good wrench". . i think i am a good wrench. . i can do mechanical work, fabricating, welding, electrical work, troubleshooting, drafting...



i am not the best at everything... and i will be the first to admit that. .

 

[y-knot]

A GOOD WRENCH... ... A GOOD WRENCH... ... A GOOD WRENCH... ... A GOOD WRENCH... ... A GOOD WRENCH... ... A GOOD WRENCH... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .



To me a Good Wrench has to be someone that of coarse actually turns the wrench... . While he need not be the smartest of the bunch, I would think he should be one of the best informed, meaning he reads, listens and observes very well. He also tackles projects with hesitation, he knows he's not the best "Wrench", so he makes up for it with a mix of quite confidence, boyish enthusiasm and a determination to get it right. . While there may be a few mistakes made along the way, they only strengthen his resolve to do a better job next time and he knows he's a better mechanic because of them. The task gets finished and while it may have taken a "Pro Wrench" less time, he knows his truck has been in the right hands all along. Everything is back where it should be, fluids have been toped off and all bolts torqued. Because this is HIS truck, and he is the one that must depend on it everyday, special time is devoted to looking over things, double checking the obvious and making sure nothing has been left to chance..... He's a Good Wrench.

But there is more then just being a good wrench..... there are some that ascend to a high level. These types not only know and work on there own truck or cars, they have a thirst for knowledge that can't be quenched, or forefilled by any one single act or hobby. These people have various talents that mark them as more then just passive automotive enthusiast. Talents like Welding, Metal Work, Machinist, Auto Body, Mill Wright, or any of the other many talents associated with the automotive field. This isn't to say a Machinist is automaticly a "Super Wrench", nor would any body in any of these fields be considered this, if they just simple chose this profession and end it there. The "Super Wrench" knows many disciplines, and uses them all to improve his automotive skills to a level only reached by few. The super wrench does not have to be a professional in any one field, they are free to work in what ever profession they desire, but most enter the fields that interest them most.

Many suggest that hot roddders are a good wrench and while this may be true, it does not make them a super wrench. We do have many super wrenches here on this forums, those that are, do not need to be recogized, they know who they are and most do not proclaim it. It's been my experience that whose that seek acknowledgement the most, are those that know the least, the one that likes to toot there own horn. Those that seek the knowledge for them selves and not the glory of others are the truest of wrenches.

 

[ACoyle]

First comes the Talkin part. When you are sitting around and talking. The guy with the big checkbook usually does not have much to say, because they don't understand what they did or why.



Yeah, then comes the doin'. I am not an off raader, but, it would seem to me that the guys that finish might know mor than the guys that don't and don't know why they broke. A good wrench would fix what's broke, if possible and get through it.



All the mods in my '99 were thought out and done by me. It was as much fun as driving it. When I made the mistake of trading it, the dealer called me to tell me that it was the fastest Dodge that they had ever driven. I just told them that they should see what some of my TDR brothers have.



AC