Finally registering in Maine

[toolsForCharlie]

Hey all,

I finally decided that I should probably just register. After being led here several times via web searches, I suppose it's time to accept that y'all are a wealth of knowledge and perhaps one day I'll be able to contribute to someone else's project as well.

Some tid bits:

• Grew up in the US west coast, specifically CA and HI.
• Spent some time working in finish carpentry.
• I usually enjoy wrenching on vehicles.
• Recently moved to New England.
  • Now thoroughly enjoying dealing with rusty bits with cars and leaky basements

Looking forward to the conversations.
-Mike

 

[nadogail]

Welcome aboard.

 

[ConCretin]

Welcome to the GJ Mike, where we hope summer falls on a weekend and winters drag on forever. lol. Maine is a great place to live and the GJ is a great place to wile away those snowy days.

 

[65ranchero]

Happy to have you on here!
Rust is just a speed bump and snow is evil.

 

[toolsForCharlie]

Welcome to the GJ Mike, where we hope summer falls on a weekend and winters drag on forever. lol. Maine is a great place to live and the GJ is a great place to wile away those snowy days.

Yeah in 2011 my employer at the time sent me out to Maine a few times. Reminded me of my favorite parts of California (Tahoe and Mammoth: mountains and trees) but just all over. Even though I've lived in them for years, I'm not a big city guy. Maine just seems to fit better.

Happy to have you on here!
Rust is just a speed bump and snow is evil.

Man that rust. We've only been through 5 New England winters and it already sure's hell did a number on the lady's disc brakes. I don't remember the last time I cursed out loud so much.

 

[65ranchero]

Yeah in 2011 my employer at the time sent me out to Maine a few times. Reminded me of my favorite parts of California (Tahoe and Mammoth: mountains and trees) but just all over. Even though I've lived in them for years, I'm not a big city guy. Maine just seems to fit better.

Man that rust. We've only been through 5 New England winters and it already sure's hell did a number on the lady's disc brakes. I don't remember the last time I cursed out loud so much.

Remember to flush the chassis and all hidden areas to keep the salt down, and use a good brake lube on all the slides and contact areas.
keep a file handy when changing pads to knock down the seasonal corrosion.
And get yourself a good wire wheel to fit your drill and clean the mating area on the hubs then apply a dose of grease to the hub then install rotors.
Aluminum alloy rims can weld them selves to the hub especially if the wheels a hub centric

 

[toolsForCharlie]

...use a good brake lube on all the slides and contact areas. keep a file handy when changing pads to knock down the seasonal corrosion.

Yeah I think I'm going to have to start going through her brakes now every time I swap over the Winter/Summer wheels, just to make sure everything is moving well. It's only been a year or so since we used to let the dealership take care of routine service on her car, but I was pretty shocked to see how bad they were just a few weeks ago, during a wheel swap. The pads ears were so fused that even after taking the caliper brackets off, direct hammer blows to the pads wouldn't knock them loose. I was not expecting a simple tire swap to turn into a complete brake job and then some.

Aluminum alloy rims can weld them selves to the hub especially if the wheels a hub centric

I learned this the hard way with Winter wheel swaps on my own vehicle. It's amazing what a difference some anti-seize makes.

Remember to flush the chassis and all hidden areas to keep the salt down

Yeah I gotta be more adamant about doing this for our cars. Do you actually keep a spigot and hose available for this? Or go through a touchless wash with the undercarriage spray?

 

[65ranchero]

Yeah I gotta be more adamant about doing this for our cars. Do you actually keep a spigot and hose available for this? Or go through a touchless wash with the undercarriage spray?

If they had a good under carriage drive thru wash in my area I would do it.
Best I have in my area is a DYI car wash with a pressure washer attached but it's hard on the hands when cold out.
In the spring I have hot water in the garage and a long hose and do a complete job of flushing.