Hi,

I can share your feeling too. What I have found to be very useful is to understand an engine's operation well and to render that understanding into what you see under the hood. Not just at a conceptual level but to take into consideration the various nitty-gritties.

For instance, you brought up the point of the various hoses and pipes and attachments. If you understand an engine, you can almost "follow the flow" and can guesstimate at a part's name and/or function.

BTW, I too am amazed at how familiar many posters are with various minutae of a brick. I hope I can get there someday too...


George