- What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done? - 17 Updates
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| RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>: Nov 04 02:42AM What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done? Mine are, in this order of "I wish I could do it" order 1. painting 2. alignment 3. replace/rebuild engine 4. clutch replacement 5. tire mounting and balancing 6. timing belt 7. head gasket and vcg I've done electrical, brakes, shocks, cooling systems, alternators, ujoints, pitman/idler arms & tie-rod ends and ball joints, tuneups, emissions hoses and sensors, exhaust, electrical components, fuel pumps, and fluids, but not the six things above. What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done? |
| rbowman <bowman@montana.com>: Nov 03 09:04PM -0600 On 11/03/2017 08:42 PM, RS Wood wrote: > What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never > done? Painting is something I have done and wish I never had... The best paint guy I ever knew was someone you had to catch in the zone between sober but shaky and falling down drunk. The runner up was a complete stoner. |
| Bob F <bobnospam@gmail.com>: Nov 03 08:06PM -0700 On 11/3/2017 7:42 PM, RS Wood wrote: > Mine are, in this order of "I wish I could do it" order > 1. paintingDid it. > 2. alignment Bought Firestone "lifetime alignment" for each vehicle. > 3. replace/rebuild engine Did it. > 4. clutch replacement Did it. > 5. tire mounting and balancing I've thought about this one > 6. timing belt Never had a vehicle with one. > 7. head gasket and vcg On the rebuild - Honda 600 Sedan > ujoints, pitman/idler arms & tie-rod ends and ball joints, tuneups, > emissions hoses and sensors, exhaust, electrical components, fuel pumps, > and fluids, but not the six things above. Ditto, plus a ring replacement on the 66 Chevy van. > What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never > done? Replace transmission - I did pay someone else to replace an automatic with a manual transmission I provided, on a 66 Chevy van. Glad I did it - got 3 mpg out of it and way better performance (repl. power glide). The shop that did it said "never again. a |
| clare@snyder.on.ca: Nov 03 11:08PM -0400 On Sat, 4 Nov 2017 02:42:59 +0000 (UTC), RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid> wrote: >and fluids, but not the six things above. >What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never >done? Done just about all of it. My painting left a bit to be desired, and I don't really like rust repair bodywork. I've installed AC, installed oversized brakes, totally rebuilt a few cars - engine, suspension, electrics - the works. I've done some automatic trans work - but never a FULL rebuild. What I'd really LIKE to do is build a complete car from scratch - but after taking 16 years on the plane, and it's not done yet - at 65 that likely won't happen |
| rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com>: Nov 04 12:55AM -0400 RS Wood wrote on 11/3/2017 10:42 PM: > and fluids, but not the six things above. > What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never > done? None, I've done a bunch of work on cars in my day, but I'm fed up with it now. I wish I could find someone who has half a brain who would do a decent job fixing my truck. It's old and has issues, but the repair people I seem to find these days fix one thing and break something else. -- Rick C Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms, on the centerline of totality since 1998 |
| John-Del <ohger1s@gmail.com>: Nov 04 03:26AM -0700 On Friday, November 3, 2017 at 11:02:05 PM UTC-4, rbowman wrote: > paint guy I ever knew was someone you had to catch in the zone between > sober but shaky and falling down drunk. The runner up was a complete > stoner. I've done all those jobs OP mentioned, but painting (once mastered) is the easiest. Anyone can paint. It's the prep work that's daunting. The metal work, the skim coats of filler, the half dozen or more alternate coats of red and gray primer all block sanded off and the seal coat. The color and clear coats are easy. The problem today is the enormous cost of paints, clears and other coatings. |
| RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>: Nov 04 01:00PM rickman wrote: > now. I wish I could find someone who has half a brain who would do a decent > job fixing my truck. It's old and has issues, but the repair people I seem > to find these days fix one thing and break something else. My observation with repair people is that it's hard to find one who cares to do what he was trained to do. Recently a bolt was missing from a repair job and when I came back to ask why, the guy told me it didn't do anything. I reflected that the car still works fine without the bolt, but there is no way they put that bolt there in the first place if it didn't do anything. He didn't believe me. |
| RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>: Nov 04 01:00PM > Done just about all of it. You may be the only lucky one here! > My painting left a bit to be desired, and > I don't really like rust repair bodywork. Nobody expects a home job to be as good as the pros, but it still would be nice to do. > oversized brakes, totally rebuilt a few cars - engine, suspension, > electrics - the works. I've done some automatic trans work - but never > a FULL rebuild. I was thinking manual. An automatic might be too much for a home job due to the potential equipment requirement. For a manual, all you need is a good jack, some tools for tight places, clutch alignment tool, snapring pliers, and everything else you probably already have. > What I'd really LIKE to do is build a complete car from scratch - but > after taking 16 years on the plane, and it's not done yet - at 65 that > likely won't happen I'm older than you, so I know what you mean that it probably will never happen. We lost our chance. I too would love to have built my "own" car, which, by that, I mean I would have taken my very first car or maybe one of the cars from the 60s, or 70s, or maybe as late as the 80s, and then rebuilt it "my way", whatever that would mean, such that it would be unique. My advice to a kid in his twenties or thirties would be to save the car he likes best, probably it's a simple one, manual, inline six perhaps, and then just learn it, work it, and repair it, and make it what you want it to be. |
| RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>: Nov 04 01:00PM Bob F wrote: >> 3. replace/rebuild engine > Did it. The closest I came to for the engine was an Infiniti Q45 I had where my wife holed the oil pan somehow (she said it wasn't her fault). To replace the oil pan, I had to buy an engine "holder" where I unbolted the engine mounts and jacked it up from underneath and then hung it on a hook over this crossbar which bolted into the shock bolts. But I've never replaced an engine mostly because I never drove an engine into the ground that needed to be replaced. I envy people who have done it because it must feel great to put a new engine in yourself. >> 4. clutch replacement > Did it. I haven't had a manual for so long that I think I lost my chance to do the clutch and pressure plate. The one chance I had in the 80s, I blew it by paying someone else to do it. That was my mistake because that turned out to be my last chance in life to learn how to do it and experience it. >> 6. timing belt > Never had a vehicle with one. I know what you mean. All mine have been chains, where some have plastic chain guides or tensioners which need replacing - but I've never needed to replace a belt - but belts are pretty common on cars nowadays, aren't they? >> 7. head gasket and vcg > On the rebuild - Honda 600 Sedan I may get my chance yet on at least the valve cover gasket as mine has a few spots of oil on the edges. :) > Ditto, plus a ring replacement on the 66 Chevy van. As in piston ring? If so, I think that qualifies as a "engine", at least to me, since you have to open her up pretty deep to get to the pistons. > with a manual transmission I provided, on a 66 Chevy van. Glad I did it > - got 3 mpg out of it and way better performance (repl. power glide). > The shop that did it said "never again. Replacing the transmission would also be something I wish I had done, along the lines of putting in a clutch, which is I think essentially the same thing since the transmission has to come out anyway. In fact, unless it's a swap (like yours was), I would think replacing the transmission one to one would be easier than replacing just the clutch, and pressure plate. I may have lost my chance on most of the things above though, just like I can't hike in the Grand Canyon anymore (due to being old). |
| RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>: Nov 04 01:00PM rbowman wrote: > paint guy I ever knew was someone you had to catch in the zone between > sober but shaky and falling down drunk. The runner up was a complete > stoner. Long ago, in the 80's, at Sears, I bought the compressor, the sprayer, and the sandblaster, and the welder (but I bought gas welding equipment which turned out to be a mistake because the skill set needed is great compared to arc welding on thin metal with wires below them). Not wishing to merely fill with bondo, I cut out the rust, and welded steel plates (melting the harness bundle below the rocker panels by mistake but repairing that easily enough). I was still working on it, when it was totalled after I lent it to a friend, so the only thing I have left is the memory and the tools. What I learned from all that was never lend your car to a friend, and in the end, I never learned how to paint it because I never needed to paint a car ever again. Ever since then, I farmed out my painting, but I wish I had finished that one job. |
| tabbypurr@gmail.com: Nov 04 06:12AM -0700 On Saturday, 4 November 2017 02:43:02 UTC, RS Wood wrote: > and fluids, but not the six things above. > What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never > done? Major engine mods to get a lot more mpg, and obviously I'm not talking about fitting aftermarket crap. And build my own from scratch. NT |
| RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>: Nov 04 01:23PM RS Wood wrote: >> I don't really like rust repair bodywork. > Nobody expects a home job to be as good as the pros, but it still would be > nice to do. I'm thinking that can be misconstrued just like the alignment can be misconstrued. What I really think about home jobs is that you _care_ more than the guy doing your work for you for pay. He has more experience and better equipment. You care more about the results where your equipment just has to be good enough. Recently I brought a car back to the shop because a bolt was missing where the guy insisted the bolt didn't do anything. That's what I mean about caring about the job. When they mount my tires, they don't align the dots to get the least amount of weight. They say it doesn't matter. Maybe they're right. I don't know, but it doesn't seem like the right way to do the job to me. When they do the clutch, they put in whatever they put in but I doubt it's Redline. That's what I mean more so than they don't know more than we do. They know. But they might not care as much as we do about the results. |
| clare@snyder.on.ca: Nov 04 09:42AM -0400 On Sat, 4 Nov 2017 13:00:16 +0000 (UTC), RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid> wrote: >have taken my very first car or maybe one of the cars from the 60s, or 70s, >or maybe as late as the 80s, and then rebuilt it "my way", whatever that >would mean, such that it would be unique. Done that many times. >likes best, probably it's a simple one, manual, inline six perhaps, and >then just learn it, work it, and repair it, and make it what you want it to >be. My '63 Valiant (170 slant six, push-button automatic) had lowered suspension so it cornered like it was on rails, and put 206HP to the rear wheels. 60 in 1st, 90 in second, and bury the needle in drive. The 69 Dart wasn't quite as radical but would do 104 all day long (225 slant six) the 1953 Coronet Sierra (241 Red Ram Hemi Overdrive) was a complete rebuild, as was the custom 1957 (Dodge) Fargo Express. Wish I still had those 2. The Coronet was one of my paint jobs. "\'69 Chevelle and 72 VW Beetle were 2 others. Both turned out nice except for one "sag" on each. The Coronet had no sags, but not much shine either. |
| clare@snyder.on.ca: Nov 04 09:58AM -0400 On Sat, 4 Nov 2017 13:23:54 +0000 (UTC), RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid> wrote: >He has more experience and better equipment. >You care more about the results where your equipment just has to be good >enough. A GOOD tech cares as much as you do - mabee more - because a poor job reflects badly on him and can cost him BIG TIME if he gets a bed reputation. I cared more about most of my customers' vehicles than they did for the 25+ years I was actively in the trade. >but it doesn't seem like the right way to do the job to me. >When they do the clutch, they put in whatever they put in but I doubt it's >Redline. And "redline" isn't necessarily the best or any better for your application/ use than what they put in. >That's what I mean more so than they don't know more than we do. >They know. But they might not care as much as we do about the results. Or they might. You just need the right shop, and the right technician. |
| Mike_Duffy <mqduffy001@bell.net>: Nov 04 10:02AM -0400 On Fri, 3 Nov 2017 21:04:42 -0600, rbowman wrote: > The best paint guy I ever knew was someone you had to catch in > the zone between sober but shaky and falling down drunk. I know who you mean. My Dad took care of his dog while he did a few months in the slammer for DUI. |
| Ed Pawlowski <esp@snet.net>: Nov 04 10:09AM -0400 On 11/3/2017 10:42 PM, RS Wood wrote: > 5. tire mounting and balancing > 6. timing belt > 7. head gasket and vcg I've done or assisted in most of those and a bunch of others except #6. These days I buy new cars and don't even do oil changes. If you really want to tackle #3, it is easy enough to do. Buy a new Corvette and for an extra $5000 you can go to the plant and assemble your own engine. Of course, they have a pro with you. |
| rbowman <bowman@montana.com>: Nov 04 08:15AM -0600 On 11/04/2017 07:00 AM, RS Wood wrote: > I know what you mean. All mine have been chains, where some have plastic > chain guides or tensioners which need replacing - but I've never needed to > replace a belt - but belts are pretty common on cars nowadays, aren't they? Serpentine belts are common, as are interference engines. I replaced the belt on my Geo when it got up around 100,000 miles. I didn't know the maintenance history on the car and assumed it had never been replaced. iirc, the belt was around $40 and the job took a couple of hours. The biggest problem was the limited space. |
| micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com>: Nov 04 03:12AM -0400 In sci.electronics.repair, on Mon, 30 Oct 2017 19:01:27 -0400, Bob >> when he accidentally pops the top at highway speed. >A big problem in today's consumer market is the effort manufactures put >into idiot-proofing stuff. Let the damn idiots do it & fuck 'em. You have to unlatch two latches, and if you do that, even if you don't touch the motor switch, at highway speed, the wind will likely get under the top and lift it up and rip the fabric from its metal frame. I have driven at 10 or 20 and on a couple occasions for short distances at 30 or 40 with one latch undone, but only in cars where where the top stayed sitting on the windshield. Even if the fabric doesn't rip off, the metal could get bent, and it would be really hard to know where to bend it back. |
| micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com>: Nov 04 03:15AM -0400 In sci.electronics.repair, on Tue, 31 Oct 2017 16:53:52 -0700 (PDT), >> is good stuff for many uses. >yes - denim is not of course like most cloth. >It's good for cleaning soldering iron tips too. One time I polished plastic with it. Probably easier ways but it was a circle about an inch in diameter and I got the scraches out just rubbing it on my thigh. |
| micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com>: Nov 04 03:15AM -0400 In sci.electronics.repair, on Wed, 1 Nov 2017 23:09:36 -0700 (PDT), >> Whatever. I use pieces of old jeans and have not had any problems. Denim >> is good stuff for many uses. >I think I remember reading that you can soak your clothes in Pepsi or Coke to remove oil stains. Didn't RC Cola originally stand for Removes Crud. |
| micky <NONONOmisc07@bigfoot.com>: Nov 04 03:17AM -0400 In sci.electronics.repair, on Mon, 30 Oct 2017 10:11:31 -0700 (PDT), >> > bought doesn't have a hex nut for the top nut but a round serrated ring >> > to hold the switch in place. >The old-timers way is to tighten the hex nut on the rear of the switch shaft once you have the knurled nut flush with the panel. There are angled wrenches just for this. I've a few but (as an old-timer) I don't remember where I bought them. Seems to me they were a part from a switch or pot manufacturer. Well, it's been a week and so far it still looks good. BTW I later noticed that the one that is only $10 is made of plastic, one end English and one end Metric |
| crickethomecams@gmail.com: Nov 03 10:50AM -0700 On Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 11:56:50 AM UTC-4, M.Joshi wrote: > regularly? > -- > M.Joshi s-video cables are cheap... buy a new one |
| Foxs Mercantile <jdangus@att.net>: Nov 03 01:22PM -0500 > Does anyone know of an easy method to detect where the break might be > in the cable before I cut the other connector? A time domain reflectometer would be nice if it had inch resolution. -- Jeff-1.0 wa6fwi http://www.foxsmercantile.com |
| Jon Elson <jmelson@wustl.edu>: Nov 03 01:30PM -0500 Foxs Mercantile wrote: >> Does anyone know of an easy method to detect where the break might be >> in the cable before I cut the other connector? > A time domain reflectometer would be nice if it had inch resolution. You can get pretty close to that with a fast risetime step, and a decent scope bandwidth. I've used it to detect where a break was, but (cheat, cheat) I know it would be where the wire was soldered to the connector, I just needed to know which end to do surgery on. Jon |
| "pfjw@aol.com" <pfjw@aol.com>: Nov 03 01:47PM -0700 On Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 11:56:50 AM UTC-4, M.Joshi wrote: > regularly? > -- > M.Joshi This is a US$5 item. You will expend more than that in time, effort and tooling to make the repair. Buy a new one and be sure that it will work. Buy a couple. |
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