Yeah...I'm heavily pissed off at my dad because of it. If he would have paid it, I wouldn't care. But this is my money that I work really hard for. I told him straight up I could have done this job myself in an afternoon for the cost of parts since we have a nice tool collection. He insisted that this was over my head and there was "a lot more to it than I thought". When in all actuality, I watched the guys do it and it was exactly what I thought it was going to be: simple. My dad took my car yesterday saying he was taking it to the body shop for the damage done to my car from a hit-and-run accident. He calls me today telling me to go pick it up for the push-rod fix and I end up having to pay $481 for a job I could have done in a couple of hours. I don't have $300 to just toss away...I am still in high school with a part-time job.

 

Dude, let me guess you have red hair and your dad has black hair. Changing pushrods are on the difficulty order of changing your oil- does daddy let you do that yet? One big advantage an aspiring mechanic has today is all the info, good and bad that can be found right here. Take this as a learning experience in it'self. What sucked more, losing the money or the self respect knowing that in this case a reasource was made plainly availible to you and your dad with the LS1Howto link and you guys cheesed out. Sorry for being harsh but if you really do wish to turn wrenches you really need to work on trusting yourself to seek out the right info make a decision based on it.

 

In physics it's called the Law of Impenetrability: Two objects can not ocupy the same space at the same time. The cam was telling the pushrod to move Upward while the rocker arm with help from the valve spring was telling it to move Downward. The pushrod said "ouch" and bent in the middle. Your dad is holding you back big time! The day after you graduate from high school, MOVE OUT! In the meantime wait till Sears has a sale on one of those big tools sets and go buy it. Get Craftsman metric. Lifetime warranty! You'll need 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 drive wratchets with extensions and all sizes of sockets in both standard depth and deep well. You'll also need all sizes of metric COMBINATION wrenches. The GearWrench types are the best for the price and they're a time saver. With the money you WASTED at the mechanic shop you could already be the proud owner of the entire Craftsman tools set. So sad. Once you decide to start doing your own work asK questions on this website BEFORE you screw something up if you're not sure about a job you've never done before. Always ask questions before doing a job for the first time, but done be afraid to try to do it yourself like your dad and end up getting ripped off. Now go out and get your hands greasy.

 

Yes, you got screwed but there's not a whole lot you could do about it. Some day, your dad will realized "holy ****, my son has grown up and is a capable person!"

 

At what age does this happen? Sometimes I feel like Im still waiting...

 

NEVER!!! That will never happen. Your dad will "always" know more than you so dont even wait for it. When it comes to working on your car just do it.You will have to prove him wrong but showing that you can do it. Only then will he realize you are capable of doing things on your own.

 

The other end of the spectrum is me. My daughter is 16, has a racing helmet and has been driving autox with me since 13. I plan to let her drive this year. Oh and I show her how to work on the car so she understands the mechanics of it.

 

I'm waiting for that day myself! Thats an awesome way to put it!

 

Exactly. and if you don't ask for permission to do something, technically, you aren't disobeying when you do it.

 

Confusious say: It is always easier to ask for forgiveness than to beg for permission.

 

Dude, let me guess you didn't read that my father forced me to take the car to the shop. In fact, he took it when I wasn't even aware. I easily could have done this myself, but too late now...

 

Hey I don't want to sound like a jerk but all I had in highschool was a piece of crap that was totally mine. I only dreamed about getting an Fbody for years. I joined the Navy 5 months before the first Gulf War fully knowing I where I was going / doing. My dad hated it. He thought I was completely wasting my time and future. 2 years after I joined when all my old highschool buddies got pinched for stupid crap my dad finally realized that I knew what I was doing. I bought my first house when I was 24 and my first Fbody when I was 25. Bottom line, your'e in highschool with an Fbody must be nice. If you bought it with your own money- my hat is off to you. But then the whole dad made me thing doesn't hold up. Now if it's really his car...