What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done?

On Tuesday, November 7, 2017 at 9:00:47 AM UTC-6, RS Wood wrote:
> Frank wrote:
>
> >> Then you could have good handling 99% of the year and sufficient deep
> >> snow traction when you need it 1% of the year.
> >
> > With FWD I have good handling 100% of the year. Rear wheel drive
> > handling is OK 99% of the year.
> >
> > What logic says that 99% is better than 100%?
> >
> > What logic says that continually installing and removing tire chains to
> > get that 99% to 100% is better than being happy with the 100% without
> > chains?
>
> Nothing you have said (or even can say) isn't something they said 30 years
> ago, so, just like with brake warp and drilled/slotted rotors, there's
> nothing new that you provided that wasn't already logically debunked 30
> years ago.
>
> You keep believing it, since logic clearly isn't working within you.

Southwest Rod and Custom I want to build a SHOP in my backyard! Redneck style Youtube ...Pete does a lot of cussin, but he is a real good guy.

On 11/06/2017 08:49 AM, RS Wood wrote:
> The Real Bev wrote:
>
>> I regard dust as a protective coating.
>
> That was a good one.
> Mind if I borrow it when my wife asks me to clean up the house?

Enjoy!

--
Cheers, Bev
It's 95% of the lawyers making the other 5% look bad.

On 11/07/2017 07:00 AM, RS Wood wrote:

> * alignment (takes a TON of THINKING that would explode most heads)

Especially if you have an old car/truck. The one local shop that said
they could do it on the 1970 Dodge pickup couldn't. I found another
shop 20 miles away that said they could and actually did it -- I could
feel it in the vastly-improved steering afterward.

I watched the guy do it. He used Channellocks during one of the
procedures and was amused when I called them water-pump pliers. Is
there an actual difference?

--
Cheers, Bev
Polish loan sharks: they loan you money and then skip town.

On 11/07/2017 07:00 AM, RS Wood wrote:
> Xeno wrote:

>> Missed the imprinted *L* on the end of the stud, did you?
>
> Yes. I didn't even *think* that one side of the car was R and the other
> side of the car was L. I had cars before that, and cars after that, but
> only this one had reverse-threaded lug bolts and nuts - so I never tested
> lugbolt strength since then (which was in the sixties or maybe very early
> seventies as I recall).

I thought that Dodge (and maybe the rest of the Chrysler line) was the
only one that did that.

--
Cheers, Bev
Polish loan sharks: they loan you money and then skip town.

On 11/7/2017 12:55 PM, The Real Bev wrote:
> On 11/07/2017 07:00 AM, RS Wood wrote:
>> Xeno wrote:
>
>>> Missed the imprinted *L* on the end of the stud, did you?
>>
>> Yes. I didn't even *think* that one side of the car was R
>> and the other
>> side of the car was L. I had cars before that, and cars
>> after that, but
>> only this one had reverse-threaded lug bolts and nuts - so
>> I never tested
>> lugbolt strength since then (which was in the sixties or
>> maybe very early
>> seventies as I recall).
>
> I thought that Dodge (and maybe the rest of the Chrysler
> line) was the only one that did that.
>

My Rambler did, as many cars before lugnuts were shaped
conical on the rim side to prevent precession.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

The Real Bev posted for all of us...


> > When's the last time you saw a roll-down window?
>
> Our 70 Dodge pickup has them. What you can't get is the stuff that
> keeps the windows from rattling.
>

Have you tried a place like Classic car parts? You may be able to get the
weatherstripping or clips from them.

--
Tekkie

posted for all of us...


>
> On Mon, 6 Nov 2017 04:48:30 +0000 (UTC), RS Wood >
> wrote:
>
> >Xeno wrote:
> >
> >> Any scoring on a rotor will fail it. As you say, there might be less
> >> than 50% of the pad surface in contact with the rotor surface. No way
> >> will that bed in properly. You will get localised overheating both on
> >> the pad and on the rotor.
> >
> >I'm not gonna argue vehemently because, in practice, while I've seen those
> >"wavy" rotors too, my rotors tend to be smooth so I don't deal with
> >"scoring".
> >
> >However, anyone who says "any scoring of rotors will fail it" has NOT looke
> >up the manufacturer's spec for scoring tests.
> >
> >I have. Long ago.
> >
> >The result was shockingly huge.
> >
> >I don't remember the actual number but I remember being shocked at how huge
> >it is. Something like tens of thousanths of an inch in width huge.
> >
> >We're talking Grand Canyon in rotors.
> >
> >I may be wrong but if someone says "any" scoring, that's just preposterous.
> >Let's see a manufacturer's spec for anyone who says that.
> >
> >Sorry. It's just not logical that 'any' scoring fails a rotor.
> ANY mechanical damage fails the rotor on DOT test. Some smoth wear is
> allowed - but you NEVER install new pads on rotors that have an uneven
> friction surface because it is virtually impossible to properly bed
> the new pads to the uneven rotor withot localized overheating
>
> At the price of rotors today even on your Bimmer, it just is not
> worth it. The pads cost more than the rotors on MOST vehicles today.
> No reputable shop will do it because comebacks are expensive - and
> real mechanics KNOW the comebacks will happen if they do something
> stupid like installing new pads on badly worn rotors.

+75 and gaining... I am just reading along here and getting a few chuckles
as well...

--
Tekkie

On 8/11/2017 5:55 AM, The Real Bev wrote:
> On 11/07/2017 07:00 AM, RS Wood wrote:
>> Xeno wrote:
>
>>> Missed the imprinted *L* on the end of the stud, did you?
>>
>> Yes. I didn't even *think* that one side of the car was R and the other
>> side of the car was L. I had cars before that, and cars after that, but
>> only this one had reverse-threaded lug bolts and nuts - so I never tested
>> lugbolt strength since then (which was in the sixties or maybe very early
>> seventies as I recall).
>
> I thought that Dodge (and maybe the rest of the Chrysler line) was the
> only one that did that.
>
All Chrysler stuff, as far as I am aware.

--

Xeno

On 7/11/2017 4:09 PM, RS Wood wrote:
> Frank wrote:
>
>>> Never once in my life have I found a single person who has *measured*
>>> the warp.
>>
>> Does eyeballing it count? I bought a used car in which I could see about
>> 1/16" of warp as I rotated the rotor and looked through the top of the
>> caliper. It was one of those cars with the rotor captured behind the hub
>> and the shop price for the repair probably contributed to the previous
>> owners desire to get rid of the car.
>
> Doesn't anyone here know the difference between runout and warp?
>
Warp *creates* runout.

--

Xeno

The Real Bev wrote:

> Especially if you have an old car/truck.

Thanks for commenting on my hypothetical summary of WHY most of us don't do
those five jobs that most of us don't do at home.

1. transmission (auto more so than manual) +knowledge
2. alignment +thinking
3. engine +time
4. tires +lazy
5. paint +skill

> The one local shop that said
> they could do it on the 1970 Dodge pickup couldn't. I found another
> shop 20 miles away that said they could and actually did it -- I could
> feel it in the vastly-improved steering afterward.

Since I never did an alignment in the days of old, nor today, I have
trouble feeling that inherently. I know most of my vehicles don't have
caster, camber, and toe adjustments on all four wheels, so from that
standpoint, alignment may be easier today.

But why would alignment be harder in days of yore, than today?
(I'm not arguing ... I'm asking.)

> I watched the guy do it. He used Channellocks during one of the
> procedures and was amused when I called them water-pump pliers. Is
> there an actual difference?

That's an age-old question too (the name, not the use).
Nobody has any business using them for alignment, but as for the name, I
think we all come up with some kind of name for them.

Channellocks is named by a particular brand, I think (although I use
Craftsman brand pliers).

The other is named by a particular use, although my bimmer takes a special
tool to hold down the waterpump.

There must be a good name for those slip-joint long-handled pliers that we
can all agree on though.