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

Yup. It's gonna break when they are applying the most force.

All the kinky tools I just smile at when I see them in the store.

Basic stuff for me.

The only kinky things I need are the slimmer wrenches, the longer ones, the curved ones, the angled ones, etc., all of which are for the toughest jobs and where I generally buy them as oneoffs as needed.

Adjustable wrenches should be banned as a menace to society.

I have a logic tester for TTL circuits (TI 7100 series stuff, as I recall), but nothing for a car's "logic".

A good Fluke DMM is de rigueur though, I agree, for any homeowner.

And an attachment to measure the starter amperage.

But my point is that there doesn't seem to be a lot of "new fangled" tools that we need to work on for a car.

It's the same old tools, with minor exceptions of emissions and ECU/DMU/ABS control, isn't it?

The whole viscosity thing is a red herring where I live. You probably live in really cold areas, where it matters.

Where I live, a straight 30 or 40 would work just fine.

The whole "W" thing only lasts for a minute or two so it's gotta be cold to matter even the slightest bit.

Funny, but I never had any of them. I never had a truck though. Just cars and vans and SUVs, and, oh, yeah, station wagons in the days of yore.

Yeah. Plugs got easier. a. They last forever b. You don't gap them anymore (except in home tools)

And they're still cheap as they always were.

Yup. High voltage is nice. You'd think it would wear the metal, but with platinum, it doesn't.

The I4 and V6 engines are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT engines. Take Toyota's 3RZFE and the 5RZFE (from memory). Completely different engines. Both last forever.

Sure, one makes for more BHP, but in reality the gearing handles all that. Besides, did I mention they are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT engines?

You can't say one "lasts longer" than the other when all you're comparing is the external size of the engine.

All I'm saying is that the I4 leaves more room in the engine bay than does the V6. You don't argue with that, so we can accept that as a fact.

Now you're saying the I4 works harder and hence won't last as long, but I just don't take that on face value because I might not have mentioned this yet, but they're completely different engines.

Whether they last longer or not will depend on those billion completely different things, and not on whether they're working harder cruising at

60mph on the freeway or pulling into or out of your driveway.

How long an engine lasts has more to do with how many cold starts it has than what you call "working harder".

Besides, I might not have mentioned this, but they're completely different engines, so you can't compare one thing and say that one thing will make one last longer or shorter. You just can't.

At least not with a serious look on your face you can't.

Nope. Not gonna buy that elixer today. Logic prevails.

There are so many OTHER factors that matter far more to engine life than the size of the engine displacement.

Just too many.

I'm not gonna argue that the V6 has develops more BHP than the I4 but I am gonna let you know a little secret.

Two little secrets in fact.

1. They are completely different engines.
2. Even if they were the same engine, there are so many factors that matter MORE to engine life than displacement that displacement isn't a major factor in engine life anyway.

Now if you told me one engine had 10K cold starts and 20K short trips, while the other only had 1K cold starts and had mostly long trips, then

*that* would be a factor in engine life.

But even then, it would only be one of a zillion factors. Displacement is just not gonna be a major determinant in engine life.

You can sell that one to other people. Just not to me. Displacement is just not gonna be a major determinant in engine life.

And even then, you still get no service. :)

Good to know, I didn't even know to *think* about how they did it. Thanks!

I agree also. I used to patch the junction between the pipes with that white stuff. Yuck. Never worked for more than a week (to get through inspection).

I did patch a holed gas tank once. Amazingly, it worked for the remaining life of the car.

My experience exactly.

I agree with you on this. I haven't had, AFAIK, a non SS exhaust in decades.

If it's that simple, what happened to the "UV coating" someone suggested?

Anyway, if it's that simple, I'm all for it.

Just like getting oil is simple (you aim for the lowest spread in viscosity and the highest SX rating alphabetically) and just like getting pads is simple (you aim for the highest cold/hot friction you can get) I'm all for simplicity in specifications.

So your recommendation is: a. Polypropylene or Polyethylene b. but not ABS or Polyvinylchloride

If that works, I'm ok with that. Simplicity is good. When it exists.

Still ... what about UV coating?

For example, eyeglasses get complex when it comes to UV coatings because some plastics don't need it while others do (although I always argue that naked eyeballs don't come with UV coatings so why do people with glasses need them when people without glasses don't need them?).

I'd have to do a little digging, but it's not an impossible question to answer. Google is your friend, but more importantly, you won't get a useful answer unless you can find out what plastic the table is made of before you buy it.

I am currently designing something that will be used outside and needs to be clear. Initially I was going to use polycarbonate as it is very strong. But it is not very tolerant of UV light unless coated, so I'm going with acrylic which withstands UV without coatings.

I know, I returned a lawn mower 10 years later. In my defense, it actually quit after two years and I got ticked off and shoved it in a shed. I couldn't find anyone I trusted who could work on a Honda mower, so I hired someone to mow the lawn. Eventually I cleaned out the shed and took the mower back to Costco. They didn't accept it back without... discussion, but I repeatedly referred them to their own policy written on the wall I was facing. So don't think Costco will honor the return policy completely.

Maybe they used stainless, but you paid for it, no?

--

Rick C 

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms, 
on the centerline of totality since 1998

A 20 year old Toyota T100 with 240,000 miles. Is that your typical crap?

--

Rick C 

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms, 
on the centerline of totality since 1998

I may have seen a tool like that somewhere and wondered what it was for :-(

I could only move the wrench in a

That's my point. I have bought stuff from TAP Plastics for example, and that's all they sell, and even THEY often have trouble telling me what the plastic is that I'm buying.

Not only do you have to know what plastic (and coating) you want, but you also have to ask someone who knows what they are selling.

It works for eyeglasses, for some reason, but I doubt it's gonna be easy to figure out the plastic on anything else that easily (at least not when you're in the store).

I get your point, which is that there are plastics which handle the sunlight (which I agree since my garbage cans handle it better than anythin else I've ever seen that is stored outside).

You just have to know the answer. And the people who sell the stuff have to know the answer.

Just an aside.

It might have happened a little on my mom's (end eventually mine) 88 Caddy. Slight vibration when braking, but they felt OK. Until 2 of the calipers seized 8 years later, of course :-( POS, I'll never own another GM product.

These looked like a high-school first-time lathe project. Each of the steel projections on the backing plate had dug out its own trench. Godawful noise, but the brakes still worked fine so I figured I could wait another month :-( (Not the Caddy, this was a 68/9 LTD.)

--
Cheers, Bev 
    "The almost universal access to higher education here in the US  has 
    ruined a lot of potentially good manual laborers."      -- Bob Hunt

Do some research. Polyethylene is an incomplete description. It can be high density (milk cartons and canoes/kayaks and some lawn furniture) or low density (and a few other newer, specialty forms). Both types are susceptible to UV damage unless stabilizers are added.

I'm not so familiar with polypropylene and UV. I know most plastics are susceptible unless additives are used. There are lots of references available... read!

--

Rick C 

Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms, 
on the centerline of totality since 1998

Toe is last. Adjustments to camber will alter toe. Adjustments to toe will not alter camber.

--

Xeno

BTW, how's the camber scrub issue going with your vehicle?

Get it sorted yet?

--

Xeno

Positive crankcase ventilation systems were the start of the improvements that led to long oil life, hence longer engine life. Add to that better metals, better combustion processes, fuel injection, computer control, electronic ignition systems.

Getting rid of the carburetor was a big improvement.

--

Xeno

Better seals, better greases, better bearing materials - they allcombine.

What can allow grease out can let contaminants in. Also, ball joints are made of much better materials these days.

A u-joint that doesn't have angular movement *will* need lubricating. The needle rollers in a u-joint must roll a little else the grease will dry up.

Better seals.

--

Xeno

They control the spark timing to prevent detonation and pre-ignition. The small amount of combustion detonation sufficient to trigger the knock sensor serves to remove potentially harmful combustion chamber deposits.

--

Xeno