As others have said, it can be frustrating. Keep at it! Count me among those that have needed a moment or even a month to get over the frustration of a project not going according to plan. It's part of the process.
Are you doing any prep before turning wrenches? If so, never mind, please stop reading.
If not, and forgive me if this is simple or obvious:
Hitting all of the nuts (or pins) with penetrating oil before you work on them is a great idea, even if they don't seem rusty.
If you can reach them, hit the threads beyond the nut with a wire brush to remove the surface rust and dirt after the penetrating oils has had a chance to work on it. I was pleasantly surprised when I started doing this. It's amazing how much dirt the threads will attract and how difficult that dirt can make it to get things apart.
Acetone and transmission fluid mixed 50/50 works wonders if your regular PB Blaster and the like aren't working, too.
I’m sure we all have stories that are now amusing but at the time were infuriating especially early on. My first tow truck was a tired F450. One night I lost a rear hub seal. I started taking it apart on the sidewalk in front of the shop and did ok until it was time to remove the hub nut. It refused to loosen, and actually felt like it was getting tighter the more I tried to move it. I spent half the night beating it to pieces with a hammer and chisel until it fell off and I could remove the hub. The next morning I went to Ford for the seal, nut and outer bearing that was damaged in the process when the parts guy asked which side I needed the nut for. Turns out the left side one has reversed threads so I spent hours beating it the wrong way. Sometimes it helps to walk away for a few minutes or let out a expletives. Also don’t be afraid to ask questions. Everyone started out somewhere and asking someone for advice can often turn up a shortcut or at least help you think things out.
Oh, if you're dealing with rust, ALWAYS tighten the bolt/nut a smidge before you loosen. This alone will save 50%+ of the bolts you would have stripped or snapped. Pair that with a 50/50 acetone/atf mix, and you'll be removing most New England exhaust bolts!
In reply to WonkoTheSane :
Ha! Just came back to say that. It seems counterintuitive, but I swear it works.
"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." - Archimedes - The original GRMer.
Yep, couldn't tell you how many times I have cussed myself out for being "to weak, stupid, or whatever" when I have trouble with something. It's normal and seems to go along with learning new things. As said before, you are waaaaay ahead of most people for even trying to to this stuff. Keep at it. Take that class you mentioned.
Exactly what kind of car are you working on?
Oh, we've all been there. There is huge personal satisfaction in "winning" over the stupid inanimate object, and sometimes the price you pay for the satisfaction is the angst you experience.
This whole mechanic process really requires an apprenticeship. There are so many little things you pick up with experience or watching someone. Happens with my boys all the time. Sometimes it's as simple as repositioning a wrench that makes life so much easier. I had a good friend that was a pro - tech at Saturn. I loved to watch him and work with him. I would struggle to get a hidden bolt threaded. He would shuffle over, look for a minute, and then take 5 minutes to remove a totally unrelated component and voila, clear access. I never would have learned to look at the bigger picture if it weren't for Mike the Mechanic.
Hang in there and keep coming back for moral support. Aside from us, the internet is a great resource for common cars. Definitely take a class. And find locals that can help in a pinch and vice versa. You can't do a two person brake bleed without a helper, so grow a network.
STM317 said:
Sometimes they fight you every step of the way. The more experience you have, the easier it is to get through those times. As others have said, most of these jobs can be achieved other ways if you think about it. Brute force is not always the easiest or best method. For the times when you need more force than you can muster on your own, use leverage to your benefit.
This. Times eleventy. Some projects are just cursed from the get-go.
Also, wrench with other people as much as you can. You might not learn every trick in the book, but you might learn how to think differently to “solve the problem.”
914Driver said:
Sometimes I think Bowling should be my real hobby.
I used to say I gave up bowling for sex because the balls are lighter and I don't have to change my shoes, but even that became an infrequent hobby.
rob_lewis said:
Just don't work on it today. With a high of 108, nobody should be working on their car today.....
-Rob
It hit 110 at my mom's place in Liberty Hill. Honestly, I love the heat, and can handle hundred and hundred-teens heat just fine as long as I have water. Once you've been to the Middle East, Texas heat is a cakewalk.
akamcfly said:
deannathegeek said:
and it caused me to break down and just sob on the ground next to my half-torn-apart car
I've been there with cars, houses, pets, recipes, relationships and several million dozen other things. And I know I'll be there again, and again, and again.
Take a pause and cry it out when you need to. If I had your caliper pin situation, after crying of harrumphing or whatever it is I do, I would search the make/model specific forum for posts from people with similar heartaches. I would read and see how they managed. It may be force, it may be finesse. It's almost always finesse.
Also, I was able to get a Nissan Frontier .pdf service manual on ebay for $10US and it's complete. You may want to look into that. I would recommend it. Print what you need when you need it - or drag your laptop or tablet out to the worksite. Research ahead of time and decide what's within your time and talent limit (and budget). The same guy had it for the Xterra too.
I try not to cry, as all it usually does is make my eyes itch and my head hurt. I've taught my kids to just scream "DAMMIT!" and keep pushing through, like I learned. But yeah, sometimes a good cry is needed.
As for the manual, I actually have my Chilton manual in my backpack; I carry it everywhere with me so I always have reading material.
WonkoTheSane said:
Yep to what everyone else said..
In addition, I do see there's two entries in your area on the GRM "on the road assist list," I wouldn't hesitate to reach out and see if over of them can pop in with more leverage :)
Wait, what? What's a GRM "on the road assist list"?
Gearheadotaku said:
Exactly what kind of car are you working on?
Working on a 2005 Nissan Xterra, 6 cyl 4WD.
deannathegeek said:
WonkoTheSane said:
Yep to what everyone else said..
In addition, I do see there's two entries in your area on the GRM "on the road assist list," I wouldn't hesitate to reach out and see if over of them can pop in with more leverage :)
Wait, what? What's a GRM "on the road assist list"?
Navigate back to the Grassroots Motorsport forum heading, third sticky down from the top. It's the GRM in person help desk.
Wally said:
I’m sure we all have stories that are now amusing but at the time were infuriating especially early on. My first tow truck was a tired F450. One night I lost a rear hub seal. I started taking it apart on the sidewalk in front of the shop and did ok until it was time to remove the hub nut. It refused to loosen, and actually felt like it was getting tighter the more I tried to move it. I spent half the night beating it to pieces with a hammer and chisel until it fell off and I could remove the hub. The next morning I went to Ford for the seal, nut and outer bearing that was damaged in the process when the parts guy asked which side I needed the nut for. Turns out the left side one has reversed threads so I spent hours beating it the wrong way. Sometimes it helps to walk away for a few minutes or let out a expletives. Also don’t be afraid to ask questions. Everyone started out somewhere and asking someone for advice can often turn up a shortcut or at least help you think things out.
Reminds me of my Dodge Dart - it took a while for me to figure out that it used reverse threaded lug nuts on one side.
oldopelguy said:
deannathegeek said:
WonkoTheSane said:
Yep to what everyone else said..
In addition, I do see there's two entries in your area on the GRM "on the road assist list," I wouldn't hesitate to reach out and see if over of them can pop in with more leverage :)
Wait, what? What's a GRM "on the road assist list"?
Navigate back to the Grassroots Motorsport forum heading, third sticky down from the top. It's the GRM in person help desk.
Awesome! Went and put my info in there as well.
deannathegeek said:
oldopelguy said:
deannathegeek said:
WonkoTheSane said:
Awesome! Went and put my info in there as well.
I almost tapped this resource on Sunday, when I would have annoyed Nonack with an alternator failure, but luckily it failed within 20 miles of two other buddies, so I went to hang out with one of them instead. He's dropping an LS engine into his Dakota, so it gave me a great excuse to check out his project :)
It's one of the best ideas I've ever seen, and further evidence of the decency of civilization and the greatness of GRM.
Finally beat the brakes-thank you all again for the support & encouragement 
Glad to see you made your way through it. Don’t feel too bad about not being able to get through something sometimes. Even being tall has its disadvantages when working on a car or truck. My big ass gorilla hands start to hurt after a while using wrenches and I have to take frequent breaks. Leaning over a car engine compartment kills my lower back. I crack my scull on at least one thing when under a vehicle.
Keep at it and you will find yourself being able to do more than you ever did.
deannathegeek said:
Finally beat the brakes-thank you all again for the support & encouragement
Huzzah! I hope you anti-seized the heck outta everything so you'll never have to deal with that problem again :)
I was going to say you need to invest is some PB Blaster or similar solvent and some anti-seize.
This thread has SO MUCH AUSOM in it!!!!
Deanna Just keep at it. I have been messing with cars for years. I like to say I have learned so much by screwing up so many times. I have cost myself lots of $$$$ by "leaning" . Don't let it get you down. Keep at it. The satisfaction of getting it done is a great thing!!!
deannathegeek said:
Working on a 2005 Nissan Xterra, 6 cyl 4WD.
Oh, lordy. I replaced the engine in an Xterra. There seems to be the bare minimum of clearance on every part everywhere.
The Xterra struck me as a particularly annoying project to work on, so keep that in mind.
I did a victory dance when I got the front differential out of the thing. Unwieldy doesn't begin to describe it.
The exhaust manifold nuts also required a very long assembly of wobble joints and extension bars. At one point in time I was laying back by the rear differential torquing on the bolts. Having a lift would have helped a bunch, as using a creeper really limited the angles available. Having a second pair of hands and eyes would've helped a bunch in lots of places, too.
The wrecked donor was never going to drive again. Using a sawzall to remove large sections certainly made working on everything easier.
I guess what I'm saying is that Xterras are hateful, aggravating and designed to be serviced on a lift. Repeat that ten times before you try to do anything to it, including taking the stupid skid plate off to change the oil.
including taking the stupid skid plate off to change the oil.
The D40 (2005 and newer) generation has a little cat flap to get at the oil filter.
