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Home study engine repair courses.


ProGard

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Hi all, hope you all are having some great mowing opportunities! My question is related to tractors. Having 3 now, (2, 6216's and 1, Case 446) I want to learn more about repairing small engines. I mailed for info from several "correspondence schools" and received several replies. The question for you all is; do any of you have any info or recommendations on any of these schools? (Foley Belsaw, Education Direct/Thomson Education, Stratford Education) They all have complete programs and the costs are about equal. So thats it, let me know what any of you think, good or bad, better or worse. Thanks Kevin
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my two cents remember I'm Cheap.... Ask yourself 1) what are you getting for your money 2) can you do it cheaper/better. my answers are 1) a techumseh engine to rebuild over and over (practice is good) a set of socket wrenches, and probably very good instructions. 2) yes I can do better for less, I can get all the practice engines i want at the landfill, or with an ad in the paper wanted lawnmowers will take away FREE, I can purchase a cheapy set of wrenches, (you don't learn to drive in a new mercedes why spend $200 on a set of Snap ons), any other specialty tools you can find at PRECO 800-428-8004 or PRECOPARTS.COM (ask for a catalog), the library has all the instruction manuals you could ask for (lawn mowers, outboards, tillers, snowblowers, etc) or purchase the Haynes small engine repair manual from the local auto parts store (about $15.00). Now dont get me wrong these are probably fine courses, but they are interested in you starting a small business and eventually purchasing your inventory from them... I think you biggest purchase will be a torque wrench and you may find one at the local pawn shop.. Now Im not trying to crush any ones dreams, If you have your heart set on startng a repair shop than instructional courses may be the way to go, however i would do my homework first by taking the cheap route... I hate spending money even if it's not mine... ok. ok.. my three cents worth (sorry) Cheap Dave P.S I wish you all the luck on your new adventures with the mysteries and knowledge f small engines (i'm still learning).
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I agree with Dave. I have worked on many types of engines, from lawn mower gas engines to the V8 in my truck to desiel tractor engines (3-6 cyl) and have never taken a course. A good Chilton or Haynes manual, $30 worth of wrenches and several hours to disassemble SLOWLY so that I can remember where all the springs go is all I have ever used. Roy Wooten
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heres another 2-center This is somthing i have just started to do, recently I purchased a digital camera. Having a few projects going on i decided to take a few pics to catalog my project. After putting one aspect of it away for about 2weeks, ill tell you those pictures came in handy for re-assembly. Although these cameras arent cheap, many people do have them. john
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I forgot to mention one more import resource for learnin and so far i have not seen anyone turned away for asking because you probably have 1000+ years of combined knowledge.... right here at Simple Tractors. Ask questions, no matter how many times its been asked before, someone will take the time to point out the solution or brain storm to help, to them it may be something so simple. But to you its the biggest question in the world. I'm 41 years old and have been asking questions all my life and try to learn something new every day, unfortunately the more i learn the more i learn i don't know anything. Cheap thoughts from Cheap Dave
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A digital camera and the internet go along way as far as gaining and preserving information . I do not have any personal experiance with the type of course that you are describing but anytime I have had a question,it has always been answered right here.(Quickly) Besides where else can you have this much fun and actually get reliable help. Have a good day and good luck with whatever you decide. Mechanical things must not upset me.(repeat 100 times a day)
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Also, agree with Cheap Dave, and would recommend monitoring the Perr. site. You can get a pretty good grasp of the common problems, associated with the "durn thins", and their fixes. BTW, wonder what makes Cheap Dave, so darn "Cheap". Check link. http://bbs.cartserver.com/bbs/a/5624/index.cgi
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Dave has it right!! Why pay all that money for something you are going to do anyway. Library, Internet, Wonderful friends (close and at the end of a modem) are all I have ever needed. Hav'nt rebuild too many but have managed to get a few running that I never thought I would. If it is already broke the worst you can do is break it some more. HAVE FUN. TAKE IT APART. TRY! What have you got to lose Will
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A lot of good answers here. I would suggest you go and get a manual for the engine you are interested in. A good Briggs manual for all the L head single cylinder engines is under $10.00 and this will give you all the info and specs you will need. I agree with some of the others and do not recomend a "formal school" such as corspodence or other forms. Sometimes the local JR colleges have good small engines classes but I have found that most of them are as good or as bad as the instructor. Every one learns at a different speed and by doing it hands on you will retain what you learn plus will learn from the mistakes you make in the process. I would recomend you take about a year and learn what you can. Then if you are really interested in learning more comtact one of the MGF schools and see about attending. All of these schools are based on the fact that you have a basic knowlege of small engines. Most are one week at the factory or the distributor and are very intense in a perticular brand of engine. You will learn as much from the other students as you will from the course. LarryC
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Thanks all! You have helped me make a decision. I already have the manuals for the engines on my tractors and I do have a digital camera. This site is the absolute best! (Thanks Kent!) Kevin
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