Long story short, a few years ago I experienced an injury that ended my planned career (oh well, it was only ten years wasted in college. . . ). Now I find myself working in a parts store with a decent chance of advancement, and what-the-heck, it is actually rather enjoyable.

The problem is that I know little of modern vehicles. I'm about 25-50 years behind the times. The last truck I worked on much was my '87 Toyota. I'm more comfortable with the stuff from the '60s, in a pinch I can even pour babbitt--but my '98 Blazer is the first fuel-injected vehicle I've ever owned. I need to get up to speed on this stuff as quick as I can.

Vehicles to tear apart and work on aren't a problem, but I lack the background to understand much of what I'm seeing. Can you suggest a starting point for reading/studying, maybe beginning with some sort of "idiot's guide?"

Thanks!

 

I would suggest reading various vehicle repair forums. This forum will give you a good grounding in small trucks. There are other forums for other vehicles that will give out some good information about how those vehicles work and how one would go about fixing them.

 

youtube also

 

+1 on checking Youtube. Just pick any topic from changing headlight bulbs to rebuilding a transmission and I'm certain that there will be a walk-through on YouTube. The benefit to that over a manual is you get a full video along with the instructions to help you visualize the task.

 

Rebuilt my transmission with youtube. Prior experience, oil changes

 

Thanks guys.

I should have been more clear. I'm looking for references to understand systems in general (and the theory behind them) rather than in specific applications. For instance, I don't understand fuel injection at all, not just on my Blazer but on anything. ABS is a similar mystery (and don't get me started on TPMS . . . ).

 

I still think that YouTube and Google would be my first place to start. Just search for "how does a fuel injector work" or "how does ABS work" or for whatever other topic you want to understand. Looking to know how a differential allows the wheels to spin at different speeds? There's a YouTube video for that. Actually there's dozens of great ones. Like Newguy, I have no formal training in auto repair but through this forum and searching online I feel comfortable doing most repairs on my truck.

 

Thanks.

I found time last night to visit Amazon, and ordered copies of Auto Repair for Dummies (so I can determine the extent of my ignorance) and Automotive Technology: A Systems Approach (so maybe I can address that ignorance). That should give me a starting point.