Ok, I talked to my friend and he is holding a spot for me at his mechanic shop. So, now that i have a job, and a place to stay. (with my friend that owns the shop) what do I still need to do to become a perminent resident?

a working visa

after that, i will be ok? how long do i have to work, before i can get rid of my visa and just become a perminent resident

So your friend's mechanic shop is going to be your visa sponsor? That means the owner of the shop will fill out that paper work at the government office explaining why you, a foreigner, have special skills a Japanese citizen doesn't have, and that's why his company wants to hire you and bring you to Japan.
The government must agree that indeed you have special skills a Japanese citizen doesn't have, and deserve to be accepted into the country.

This is why 99% of legal foreigners in Japan are teachers.

yeah im thinking leasing through my university is cheaper than just renting an apartment from someone. hachioji is pretty far west of central tokyo. it takes me about 1 hour to get from tama center to shinjuku using the 準特急 and 急行 that the keio line has. im at chuo finishing some of my general ed credits for my college in the us.

yes, exactly. why do you want to go through the trouble of being a mechanic in japan? ur idea makes no sense really...

you can't just 'get rid' of your visa and become a permanant resident...even if you married a Japanese girl, I'm pretty sure that you will still be on a spousal visa

I think that you can go for a permanent residense after 5 years (married) and 10 years (un married)

As far as getting a working visa I just do not see that happening because of what MMM said.

Maybe if your friend owned like a store that does like custom stuff and they wanted to bring you in an America (not sure if you are) for your taste and style from over here.

I not moving there just to become a mechanic. My friend and I orig. opened the shop here in the US, but he moved to Japan. He has been there for 6 years no problem and he asked if i can come work with him again. I wasnt using the Mechanic job as a free pass, but i was just saying i will have a job when i go there.

How will you get to stay in Japan though. I don't know what type of visa you can even get. You can't really get a work one I think because of what MMM said.

Do you have a bachelors degree? You could try job hunting elsewere I guess.