10 car repairs that you should never try to do yourself unless you are mad and drunk

A lot of people will look at this one and think “Please, I can install my own radio.” The problem here is that installing  a radio involves electrical wiring. If you’re going to take this task on yourself, you had better know what you are doing. There is definitely a risk of doing some serious damage to your vehicle.

Dangers include short circuiting the electrical system in your car or causing an electrical fire in the vehicle. There’s also the frustration of wiring the whole system up and then finding out it doesn’t work. Taking your car to a mechanic and getting them to sort out the mess you created will be more expensive than if you just had a qualified professional to the work in the first place. 

If you own your car long enough, eventually the timing belt will need to be replaced. While some people attempt to do this replacement themselves, it is never advisable. There are two good reasons not to tackle this yourself. The first is that the timing belt is an essential component that keeps your engine operating. The second is that it will require about half of your car’s engine to be disassembled to get to the timing belt that needs replacing.

Even if you manage to successfully replace the timing belt, the chances of you reassembling the engine perfectly are slim at best. The slightest mistake could do long-term and irreparable harm to your engine. Replacing a timing belt before it breaks usually costs Ksh700 to 4,000. Replacing a timing belt after it breaks could cost ksh 20,000 or more, if it has led to damage with the valves, pistons, or water pump. The cost to fix an engine you screwed up while replacing the timing belt yourself could be significantly more money than you can imagine.

A lot of “do it yourself” junkies like to think they can fix the suspension on their car and replace the shock absorbers themselves. Don’t do it! First of all, if you get this repair wrong it could be a serious safety for your vehicle and make it dangerous to drive. Second, climbing underneath your car to replace the shock absorbers can be risky in itself.

Many amateur mechanics have had their hand crushed trying to remove old shock absorbers or install new ones. Also, a lot of people crawl under their car and get into this repair, only to realize that they can’t tell a shock absorber from a strut. Remember that caution should always be exercised when a repair on a car involves jacking the vehicle up and crawling underneath it. The cost to have new shock absorbers installed at a garage is typically about Ksh8,550, including labor. That is money well spent.

The social media commercials make it look so easy. You just squirt a little gel into a chip or crack in your car’s windshield and it magically looks brand new again. Anyone can do that by themselves, right? Wrong.

A cracked or chipped windshield is a serious issue and safety concern. People who experience a crack or chip in their windshield should get it fixed immediately and by a professional. Taking action quickly can save the windshield from needing to be replaced entirely. This could potentially save you lots of money.

However, attempting to fix it yourself make the crack or chip larger, or end up requiring a whole new windshield. Sure, buying a can of stuff off the shelf at a hardware shop and trying to fix it yourself will only cost about Ksh 750. However, the same repair at a licensed garage is only about Ksh 2,000. Plus you’ll rest easy knowing it was done properly. Replacing the entire windshield costs roughly Ksh8,500. Do the math and make the right.

When the “check engine” light pops up on the dashboard of our car, amateurs love to try and figure out why the light has come on. What problem may be lurking under the hood? It can also cause serious anxiety, as the prospect of a potentially expensive repair bill looms.

A lot of damage can be done poking around under the hood of a car. The reality is that unless you own very advanced automotive diagnostic equipment and are trained to use it, the chances of you getting to the bottom of the mystery are bleak . Truth is that the light could be mean anything. Maybe your fuel cap isn’t screwed on tight enough. Or maybe your car is overheating and the engine is about to blow. The range of reasons is so wide and dramatic. It’s much better to get a specialist to hook your car up to a diagnostic machine and single out the problem for you. A diagnostic test on a car typically runs about Ksh 1,500 to 4,500.

The radiator in your car falls into the category of “key component.” Without the radiator, your car will overheat. That can lead to major engine malfunctions and expensive repairs. The radiator is the heart of your car’s cooling system. When not working properly, you’re in trouble.

There are a ton of YouTube videos and articles online that explain how you can replace the radiator in your car like a pro in 11 to 16 easy steps. Be careful. Replacing a car radiator is not as easy as the YouTubbers  would like you to believe.

The biggest problem encountered with these home repairs is that the hoses connecting the radiator to the engine are not secure enough and could come loose, leading to significant problems. Also, if you mess up a radiator replacement it could cause your engine to blow. A new engine costs between  Ksh 150,000 and 1.5M in most cars. Having a mechanic replace your radiator typically costs between Ksh8,000 and 25,000 cost and labour. Not cheap, but still much cheaper than a new engine.

The fuel pump supplies fuel at the correct pressure to the injector in the engine. This is an extremely sensitive and precise piece of equipment. As such, it’s very expensive to repair or replace if it breaks. A newly installed fuel pump typically costs Ksh 15,000 to 100,000. I remember inquiring about a fuel pump for Nissan pickup NP200 at DT Dobie the cost came to Ksh 45,000 and had to wait 2 weeks for imports from South Africa. With such a hefty price tag, it’s not surprising that many people attempt to fix the fuel pump on their own.

However, getting this repair wrong can lead to a catastrophic failure in a vehicle. You car may need to be completely scraped. If you want to hold onto your car for a lot longer, it would be best to get a mechanic to do this job. Keep in mind that a fuel pump can be kept in good condition simply by using quality fuel in the vehicle.

To be fair, you can replace your own brakes. Many people have done this, and it is by no means the most complicated car repair on this list. That said, if you do replace the brakes on your car yourself, you had better do a clean job. Few safety problems with a vehicle are as dire as malfunctioning brakes.

Keep in mind that a brake job is more than brake pads. It also involves callipers, rotors, wheel bearings, and brake fluid. Get any one of these wrong and you could be putting yourself and your family in jeopardy. If you feel confident to undertake this job yourself, that’s fine. But for peace of mind alone, it might be best to have a professional change your brakes. In most areas, it costs about Ksh 3,500 to replace the brake pads in a vehicle. Not the most expensive repair, but one of the most important for safety.

A blown head gasket is as bad as it gets for most car owners. It can take 2 to 3 days of labour for a qualified mechanic to replace a blown head gasket in a car. That’s half a week (or more) spent working on one head gasket. The cost for this repair can easily top Ksh 30,000 if the vehicle overheated and stalled on the road had to be towed and destroyed other components.

The head gasket is critically important. It seals in the internal combustion process of an engine, and keeps coolant and oil from mixing together as the two fluids travel from the engine block to the cylinder head. When a head gasket blows, you will not be able to operate your vehicle.

Trying to tackle this major repair on your own is never a good idea. If it takes a professionally trained mechanic half a week to tackle this problem, imagine how long it will take you to fix it at home? This is another one of those repairs that, if you get it wrong, could permanently say bye to your car’s engine.

The transmission is  probable the most complex part of a car. It is the Rubik’s Cube of the motoring world. Containing thousands of complex parts, a transmission serves a very crucial role to engage the car in forward drive or reverse. Owing to its complications, a transmission can almost never be repaired or replaced by the average roadside mechanic.

Yet, many people try to repair it themselves—usually with disastrous results. Even changing the transmission fluid in some cars is complicated and a specialized procedure must be undertaken by a mechanic. Repairing or rebuilding a transmission can cost Ksh 9,000 to 20,000. Fully replacing a transmission costs anywhere from Ksh 80,000 to 1M. Despite the high cost, trying to do this complicated job yourself is truly the suicide mission of home repairs. Do yourself a favour and take the car to a specialized garage for the repair not makanika. Or begin talking to your nearest scrap metal dealer.

Source: How Stuff Works