Mechanics: Tips and tricks you've learned

[bubinga]

Ain't that the truth. Land cruiser radiator pays like 4.5. I do them in less than half that, even on rusty crusty examples. Why? 24 inch extensions, 1/4 nut grip sockets on universals, and 12inch 1/4 ratchets to crank on. Let the inductive heater fight the rust, no front clip removal required.

Pilot ac condenser is another example, they take 15min if you have the right tools. Being that every car seems to be wrecked in the front, I do what I can to work around pulling clips and bumpers unless I have to.

I guess they can't be wrecked for too long or too badly, with PA inspection?
maybe between inspections?
you're not in Ohio LOL like I am now......
Okay I'm going to try to shut up and finish reading this thread and go to sleep
(Are you doing state inspections also, second gear)?

 

[bubinga]

My buddy, who runs his own shop, reminded me of one. If you wrench for a living, your pen is your most important tool. Whether to explain what needs to be done or what's been done and why, to either your service adviser or customer depending on your situation. (Of course in more digital shops, the pen may be replaced with a keyboard.)

Anything questionable be sure to note it on the repair order.
Especially recommendations that the customer declined also anything that will pass state inspection but will need addressed possibly before next inspection.
CYA

 

[bubinga]

Electrical Tip.

Trying to track down short circuit? Replace the fuse with a light bulb and proceed.

Absolutely!
The electricians used to do that in the old style house screw in a regular incandescent light bulb into the old Edison base fuse boxes the light will glow bright while the short is present and very dim when the not shorted
I did that on my motorcycle years back when the battery post broke and took out just about every light on the motorcycle and shorted out the turn signal module that was instantly blowing the fuse.
oddly enough the goofy module fixed itself and was no longer shorted later that day.
craziest thing I ever seen!

 

[RedneckWelder]

Using a Heat gun on radiator and air piping hoses makes them pop off easy 99% of the time. A lot better than fighting them and punching holes in them with picks.

 

[bubinga]

And it's worth the money after the first use. Great tool even though I very rarely use it. Wiring diagram, amp clamp, and the fuse-saver is king.



Another tip - when doing things on both sides of the car, tear down both sides at the same time.

For instance, I put two control arms in a Cobalt today, arms laying on the subframe as usual from torn out bushings. Normally I'd just put bushings in, but I assumed (correctly) I'd be cutting one of the arms out with the torch.

Anyways, do everything you can with the socket on your gun, on both sides, before switching. Minimizes time wasted on swapping sockets and keeps you organized. 30mm, pull both axle nuts. Grab punch, knock both axles free. 15mm, pull the 2 bolts for the forward bushings, both sides - etc.



Don't waste time swapping tools and sockets. I likely saved close to 5min on this job between minimizing tool swapping, looking for sockets, etc. That more or less ate the additional time I spent cutting the one arm out with the torch, so I could free up the vertical bolt.

Very good advice when I read that I remembered I used to do that pretty sure I remember the follow that taught me that too cuz he said why you got your tool in your hand it's quicker anyways yes very good advice here's a link to a circuit tester if you want to build your own.
It shows you the principle too.

Google Search

www.google.com

 

[bubinga]

Why is one called a screw driver and the other a chisel when they are the exact same tool?

Hell just use a butter knife

 

[bubinga]

And it's worth the money after the first use. Great tool even though I very rarely use it. Wiring diagram, amp clamp, and the fuse-saver is king.



Another tip - when doing things on both sides of the car, tear down both sides at the same time.

For instance, I put two control arms in a Cobalt today, arms laying on the subframe as usual from torn out bushings. Normally I'd just put bushings in, but I assumed (correctly) I'd be cutting one of the arms out with the torch.

Anyways, do everything you can with the socket on your gun, on both sides, before switching. Minimizes time wasted on swapping sockets and keeps you organized. 30mm, pull both axle nuts. Grab punch, knock both axles free. 15mm, pull the 2 bolts for the forward bushings, both sides - etc.



Don't waste time swapping tools and sockets. I likely saved close to 5min on this job between minimizing tool swapping, looking for sockets, etc. That more or less ate the additional time I spent cutting the one arm out with the torch, so I could free up the vertical bolt.

Do you have to pop the axles free when changing the control arms on a cobalt? I'm doing my 01 Grand Prix right now long story but I didn't have to pop the axles.

 

[bubinga]

You touch on something very important here: time is money, and you can sometimes save a LOT of both and do a better, longer-lasting repair by replacing assemblies instead of components.

In your example, control arms with all the bushings and ball joints already installed mean that you're installing all fresh components and that you can get as destructive as you need to remove the old control arm.

There was a time, back when front wheel drive was regarded as some vague commie plot, when you often had to rebuild or re-boot CV axles because complete replacements weren't available. Overall, most of the polymer technology of the '80s was so terrible that the original and replacement boots never lasted very long. (For a long time, Honda and Toyota were the only FWD cars where the original CV boots lasted past 80,000 miles.)

Same goes for things like quick-struts; unless there's absolutely no other option, replacing the whole shebang with fresh bits is a complete no-brainer.

And pretty much no one rebuilds automotive brake calipers on the bench any more unless it's some antique or exotic application with no other option.

Very true as long as we know we are replacing it with a good component and not some kind of junk from China as mentioned before sometimes you think you're buying OEM and you're getting something reboxed from China?

 

[bubinga]

Very much so. Time and place to save things, I like to do bushings on lower mileage components to save the customer money. It also makes the work much more likely to be approved.


Doing an inner tie-rod is a great example of your point. Just buy an outer as well, chop the inner in half, and save the aggravation. I won't do them any other way, it just isn't worth it in the world of rust.

A lot of times, we used to just chop the inner tie rod off close to the inner ball and socket and hit the inner tie rod socket assembly with a deep impact socket.

 

[bubinga]

The above is why I hate working on old cars. Parts are a massive PITA to get, and typically low quality. Which has me chasing faults a second time, to re-confirm the new part is bad.

Latest example:
I have a 60 yo British car no spark. I ordered (quality I thought) points and condenser. A test drive down our road, turn around going back it cuts off. I push it along then up driveway (thankfully almost level [emoji2]).
Guess what...no spark, Lucas ignition. I check condenser and it's open! Take it apart and inside the coiled capacitor was just laying inside. When I pushed meter probe into it, it was 0.2ufd. Assembled they relied on top touching cap to "work"!
I had some original Lucas caps 60 years old new in boxes that still checked good.
Works fine now.
I bet most people would say they tried, it didn't work, I'll switch it to electronic ignition.

Sent from my SM-S205DL using Tapatalk

A bit OT but we used to ditch a lot of GM V8 points distributors and drop in junk yard HEI distributors.
Couple cars I did it too I say they ran better after all it was my car had a couple Old timers tell me it was my imagination okay buddy whatever.
Had a beater 70 Monte Carlo always had a little bit of a flat spot when I first backed out of the driveway and went up the hill with the old 2 barall carburetor and points distributor,
Dropped in the HEI unit no more flat spot.

 

[Ricky Joe]

That's what those guys used to do at the State Road all the time second gear they made me so mad although we were all hourly so it really wasn't no skin off my back but instead of ordering your parts first we're seeing if we had them in the back room no they would Jag-around draining the oil doing everything else,
One guy would sit on his *** when we were on midnights and say he couldn't do anything cuz the parts stores weren't open yet.
Hello! you can't drop your oil and drop your transmission pan and check your wheels and check your brakes?
nope got to wait for the parts store to open
But I was always the jag-off for some reason.
You want to talk about a Jag-off?

First of all it was none of his business he was just another mechanic but I did a modified x on a rotation he comes over running his mouth
"You never Criss-Cross radial tires"
I got tired of hearing his mouth I went in the car and got the owner's manual and went in the office when he was sitting on his *** in front of the foreman and said "here you want to read this"? ( the manual was showing a modified X)
He said "oh they must have changed it they told us at goodyear you never crisscross radial tires"
So I said when was this?
Old Uncle Jesse says oh.... 20 years ago I said that's old school damn it!



They used to give us a paper for the p.m.'s or once I got computer assessed I printed my own but that was the first thing I did was print that paper and order my parts.
Anyways you guys are probably tired of my mouth by tonight I'm somewhat long waiting tonight I didn't sleep last night I'm going to try to shut up now LOL
Just out of curiosity I used to live in Pittsburgh where do you work in the Pittsburgh area if you don't mind I'm just curious?

When I first got out of the Navy I worked at the Texaco in McKees Rocks. Same guy operated the one when you first crossed the line into Pittsburgh.

 

[bubinga]

Just changed the pads and rotors on my daughters ‘10 Charger. I didn’t notice the lug caps were rounded when I slightly tightened them. When I lowered the car and tried to really tighten them they just would spin. Of course they wouldn’t come out either. The lugs are 21 mm, so I took a 21 mm deep 12 point socket and pounded into the lug with a 5 Lb sledge until it wouldn’t go anymore. Put a 1/2 breaker bar on the socket and it came right out. Had to do it with 4 of 10. I replaced them all. Pics are of one that came out without the 12 point socket, and one with.

Sometimes those caps used to come clean off on general motors lug nuts that were 19 mm.
When the cap came clean off 18 mm fix it perfect.

 

[bwringer]

Regarding hot oil I always thought it was best to drain it when it was hot cuz it flowed out better and more thoroughly though?

If you can find something else to do for, like, two minutes, there's no difference in the amount of oil that you'll get out cold vs. hot. Especially when you're dealing with late model cars with 5W-30 and thinner oils. In fact, if you can do the job in the morning before starting the car, you'll get the maximum amount of oil out because it's had time to drain from the engine into the pan.

There's also a school of thought that you'll get more contaminants cold, because they settle to the bottom. I don't think that's very applicable; oils are designed to keep contaminants in suspension, plus unless the engine is extremely worn out and neglected, there's not much at all contaminating the oil in the first place.

I never do oil changes hot. It hurts. But I only have that luxury because I'm a home gamer.

So if you're a LOF tech at a dealer or Bubba's Oil Shack, you have to develop the skills and perhaps use things like gloves and drain plug grabbers so you don't burn yourself constantly.

 

[bubinga]

Good thread, I can’t remember all of mine at once. Might have more.

-First thing I do with a test light, put it on the battery to make sure it works. Otherwise you potentially waste a lot of time.

-To test weak spark caused by either weak plug or coil pack, I take the spark plug out and put it in the coil pack if I can (in bolt the coil back) and use a jumper cable to put a ground from the battery (-) to the body (wrench flat) of the spark plug. I position the spark plug such that I can see it from the drivers seat between the cowl and hood. Wait until night time and look at the spark. Depending on the car, I can test more than one at a time and can tell which one is weak. Swap plugs and you know if the plug or coil pack is the problem. Friend took a minivan to an independent shop, and then dealer, neither could find the running a little rough sometimes condition. Thats because the spark plug was still sparking but weak, so it never threw a code. Yes you can use a spark gap tester, but the method I mention can test more at one time (depending on the car) and I’m looking for the delta in spark quality anyway.

-Removing rear axle housing bearing on a GM, remove axles and spider gears, and get a long 1/2” rod that goes all the way from the opposite side to the bearing you want to remove. Take a pry bar to hold the end of the 1/2” rod on the back of the bearing and have friend hit the other end. Remove pry bar and reposition pry bar 180 degrees from the last hit, tell friend to hit it. This is the fastest way I’ve found to remove those axle tube bearings.

-For replacing distributor gears, put the distributor in the freezer and the gear in the oven before assembly. Makes assembly easier.

-For a floppy u-joint (the tool, not the car part) you want to stiffen, wrap it in tape.

-Basics, basics, basics-don’t forget mechanical troubleshooting on newer cars. Gas engine has to have compression, fuel, and spark at the right timing. Diesel has to have compression and fuel at the right timing. If you don’t have that, forget the computer stuff. Example: Friend’s wife’s car running so rough, won’t get out of its own way. Exhaust stinky. (This should already be telling you something.) He takes it to dealer, they run codes and they tell him the codes, he buys a mass air flow sensor. Still running rough. I run the codes, idle air control circuit, mass air flow, and oxygen sensor popped up. I told him, you can try the mass air flow sensor but be prepared to take it back. Too many codes, something else is going on. I will be out of town for work for a couple days, I’ll look at it more this weekend. He takes it back to the dealer, this time they tell him it’s throwing the codes because of the non-OEM parts he put on it. I trailer it to my shop, took out all 4 plugs. 2 are wet 2 are not. Compression test showed dry plug cylinders have normal compression, wet plug cylinders do not. Was going to pull the valve cover, but oil cap was in the middle. With oil cap removed, and engine running, with a flashlight, I could look in the valve cover and see one rocker arm moving and the other side of the cap rocker arm not moving. The cam shaft was broke in the middle! Well of course the mass air flow threw a code, not because the sensor is bad, because it is out of limit, only flowing half what it should. Of course the idle air circuit threw a code, and of course the oxygen sensor threw a code - unburned fuel, ratio was off. Of course that’s the rotten egg smell, because the catalytic converter was working extra due to the unburned fuel........ Basics, basics, basics.

Good job bud!
Yeah mechanic told me that a long time ago always check your basics first visual inspection when I worked in the tune-up shop they had procedure you followed visual inspection was number one.
I work for a mechanic one time he was pretty sharp actually it's a good mechanic but unbeknownst to me at the time he's walking around the shop drinking Pepsi all the time well it had whiskey in it and he got into some other stuff Coke I think or crack but he was a good mechanic and he was good with the computer systems at the time this was circa early '90s anyways we had a car towed in computer control I'm not sure what year it still had high energy ignition and a carburetor wouldn't run.......... "well lets unplug this sensor and try it unplug that sensor and try it unplug this sensor and try it unplug that sensor and try it"
And he was one of the mechanics that also told me check your basics first don't get over tech savvy don't try to get too technical too soon scanning for codes unplug and sensors "use the "KISS" system"....LOL....
SO I get to thinking we've had a lot of rain these past four or five days,
He's in the office drinking his Jack Daniels and Pepsi,
So I goes over and sprays everything down with WD-40 all the secondary ignition components let it sit about 20 minutes went over started the car right up he come running out "what you do what you do what you do"
I said what we should have done two days ago I said we had a lot of rain Judd,
I sprayed everything down with WD-40 and there you have it.
He was a good wrench he just got ahead of himself.
Off topic but it was a shame he got into drinking and I understand Coke and crack lost his wife and everything last I heard was living in a crack house

 

[bubinga]

Blaster is good for rusted fasteners, but I think Kroil is better. I will pre-spray with Kroil something I plan to work on in the future. I do that especially on older cars, stuff that hasn’t been loose for 30 years.

I think you're right kroil is better..........
I still want to try that acetone and ATF mix everybody's talking about, I still got all my stuff in storage I don't even have any acetone or ATF here where I'm at but I got PB blaster this last time on Amazon cuz it was a good price but I don't think I'm that crazy about it to be honest.
My one buddy he's a dynamite wrench he swears by Kerr oil

 

[bubinga]

Find something else to do.

mechanics life: work all day out in the heat/humidity for a few pennies. Go home, eat, relax, go to bed, do it the next day. You get up in the morning and dread the fact that your customers think of you as always too expensive, always too slow, and always the bad guy. You get to work, and sure enough that vehicle that left the shop yesterday is back and the customer is bent out of shape because you left a smudge on the door frame. If you're lucky your boss will stick up for you. If you're like me and your boss is a jerk, the vehicle will go through detail and YOU get charged for it (out of your commission).

I no longer work for that boss. He was a boss. He was not a manager. My first boss was a super guy. He was the type that would bring you down when needed, but at the same time build you back up. If you had a problem whether it be personal or professional, he'd talk you through it such that you had a good idea which direction to go, but he never gave a clear-cut answer to your problem-he only helped you decide, and 99.9% of the time the right way. He built us all up to be good techs and our customers actually enjoyed coming to see. Then 2 1/2 years ago the new company took over and I got a boss and that was IT. They hired a crankhead for a service manager who doesn't know his **** from a hole in the ground when it comes to mechanic'ing, don't know how to handle good customers or bad customers or any customers for that matter, can't manage his own time, can't show up for work on time, can't go home on time, yet he's the one who gets a raise ever 30 days because the departments numbers are up. Well guess what the numbers don't come up because of the service manager they come up because the mechanics that are actually doing the work are working. Duh! But--the "boss" (I can think of many words to describe him), being a dyckhead who grew up just like the service manager, doesn't see things that way....mechanics are grease monkeys that don't get a thank you, kiss my ****, nothing-they're just behind-the-scenes necessary employees that, in that old boss's eyes, were a number that was easily replaceable. I heard that statement out of his mouth and set my sights on moving to another employer which I did and liking almost everything about the move. 26 years at the old place, 2 1/2 at the "new" place, and now coming up on a year at the most recent.

If you're dead set on mechanicing get yourself good at what you do such that you become an asset to the company you're working for. Then when the shop up the road wants you to go to work for them, you have a lot of leverage and a good reputation. I ain't gloating or anything but that's exactly what I did for 26 years, built the company service dept up from basically nothing to an award winning and customer-friendly profitable business that fell to an unappreciated back story when the new company took over. The day I left, for the next week (5 days) I had over 70 phone calls of former customers calling my cellphone wanting me to work on their stuff, side work. SEVENTY! I was humbled, and overwhelmed. The majority of them all say the same thing, that the "new" service manager is a jerk, and can't get anything right. With that, in the 28 1/2 years I was with both of the companies combined, I never did side work on equipment that we sold. In the few weeks of my leaving, I did more side work in that small amount of time than I ever did in 28 1/2 years prior, and made really good money doing it. Along with that came getting to know a more personal side of some of these folks and I have several that have expressed interest in helping me open up a place of my own which ain't out of the question. Another suggestion don't set foot on the tool trucks unless they have a tool that you need right now to do a job. IF it can wait til tomorrow pick that tool up after work, or on your lunch break, from somewhere else. My box is mostly off branded stuff with decent quality, but nothing snap on or mac or matco or cornwell-I have a very few matco tools that I had to buy for jobs I was doing, but it's like a special sized wrench or whatever. A 8mm ratcheting wrench with 15 degree offset comes to mind, doing recalls and broke the old one, had to have it right then. On the subject of side work, don't do it unless you KNOW them quite well. YOu get married to the equipment-and the customer. If there's a problem, and there will be if you do enough, you're (1) gonna have to eat some parts and labor and (2) may end up in a courtroom without much to stand on since you're not a business. So just don't do side work, period.

Yeah I can second a lot of what you're saying if I had it to do over again I would not work in garages I was a good general mechanic albeit not high tech it's a tough field there's just too many variables customers want to blame me for stuff he didn't do. Ever since you did this now it's doing that it never did that before..........
My experience side works okay if you do certain things easy stuff big jobs that can be a problem and I usually underbid them.
I made some bad decisions I had a chance to get in the electrical union as an apprentice when I was about 21 but I didn't want to do it my love was in the automotive field made bad decisions I could have been happily retired but you can't go back if I could go on a magic carpet and go back in time no one what I know now but don't listen to me I think maybe there's still money to be made in it if you're good and today you have to be high-tech.
I always dreamed of having my own garage but after working for several people I think you are better off working somewhere because I've seen the headaches they go through but some have done well so it just depends.

 

[bubinga]

I am just a shade-tree hillbilly, but here are a couple of my tips:

- I work alone, so this one might not work if others are around - When I take a tool out of my box, I leave the drawer open. That way, at the end of the job, when I am putting tools back, if a drawer is still open, I know something from that drawer is still out there somewhere. Obviously if your box is in a high-traffic area, or you work with others, this isn't practical. But I do one job at a time, and my box is in the corner out of the way, so it works for me.

- Another one for those "working alone" - Don't be afraid to talk to yourself, lol. I'm serious. Some times I'll be stuck on a problem and I'll just talk it out, out loud. It forces me slow down mentally. I used to talk to my brother-in-law (RIP), he was a little slow mentally, but he liked to watch me work. When I was in a jam, I'd explain the problem to him slowly, and the answer would usually come to me. He'd be excited because he got to see my "Dr. House" ah-ha moment, lol. But now I just talk to myself, and it still helps the thought process.

- Another one my "actual mechanic" friend taught me- persistent linear torque isn't the best thing for turning stuck bolts. When I was just starting out, I used to use a long-*** breaker bar when things got tough, and I would be breaking studs and snapping bolt heads off left and right (and taking the project to him whimpering for help). He showed me how with just a short breaker and a couple raps with his grisly fist it would break free. This was before every home mechanic had their own impact gun of some sort, of course. Now I only break out the massive breaker bar and cheater pipe on huge bolts or things I am trying to break on purpose. It's amazing how much less effort it takes to break a bolt loose with a short breaker, put pressure on it, and give it a couple whacks with a hammer (my grisly fists have carpal tunnel, so beating things with my fists was over a long time ago, lol).

- One more - I do a lot of electronics work, so this will apply to automotive and electronics. Make up some test jumpers with inline fuse holders. They come in handy in a lot of instances. For circuit board/SMD work, if you have a blown SMD fuse and want to see if it's just the fuse, jumper across it with your handy-dandy inline-fuse jumper. Use a glass fuse of the same value. If it blows, you know you have another issue. If it doesn't, then replace the SMD fuse. This is handy for me since I have GOBS of glass fuses. It's also handy when doing temporary bypasses on relays and such. It can save you if you accidentally ground out your power source, or energize something that draws a ton of current. Like that time I underestimated how much current an old electric radiator fan motor pulls... It wasn't coming on, and I wanted to bypass the controller to see if the motor was good. I disconnected the harness, and grounded the black motor lead. Then I used a small jumper from the battery to the red. POW! My jumper welded itself to the contact the instant I touched it, and in about 2 seconds got so hot it melted the insulation off the wire (hey-hey, the motor is good though!). If I would have been using a fused jumper it would have just popped and there would have been less heart palpitations for me, lol.

That's all for now. I might think of more.

I talk to myself constantly........
It's just thinking out loud.

 

[bubinga]

I keep an old sealed beam around for this exact purpose. Living in northernish MO, there is lots of corrosion and rust. I find my fluke will tell me 12v all day long but with any load the voltage drops. Hook up the sealed beam and see it dim I know we have a corroded connection somewhere.

Absolutely!

 

[bubinga]

Best advice I got as a mechanic came from the more senior guy watching me whale away on a part with a hammer. “If you have to use that much force, you are probably doing it wrong. “. He was correct, when I turned the part around and stopped trying to install it upside down, it went in much easier. This advice can also apply to non shop related situations.

Years I go I heard tell that German apprentices were forbidden to have hammers in their toolkit for that reason.

 

[bubinga]

Damn guys I didn't realize I was so long-winded that'll teach me to stay up all night hope you're not too sick of me yet......... .....

 

[bubinga]

If you can find something else to do for, like, two minutes, there's no difference in the amount of oil that you'll get out cold vs. hot. Especially when you're dealing with late model cars with 5W-30 and thinner oils. In fact, if you can do the job in the morning before starting the car, you'll get the maximum amount of oil out because it's had time to drain from the engine into the pan.

There's also a school of thought that you'll get more contaminants cold, because they settle to the bottom. I don't think that's very applicable; oils are designed to keep contaminants in suspension, plus unless the engine is extremely worn out and neglected, there's not much at all contaminating the oil in the first place.

I never do oil changes hot. It hurts. But I only have that luxury because I'm a home gamer.

So if you're a LOF tech at a dealer or Bubba's Oil Shack, you have to develop the skills and perhaps use things like gloves and drain plug grabbers so you don't burn yourself constantly.

Well that makes sense oh I know oil can get mighty hot I was reading online a little bit ago if the motor is hot to let it sit about 20 minutes if you can and yes the school of thought about the contaminants draining back into the pan how do I say this? I agree that contaminant should stay in suspension yes.
I've had to do them a lot of times when the oil was pretty hot but at the same time if the car was sitting outside for half a day at the shop waiting to get in I did not necessarily warm it up or anything I just dumped it cold
Thanks

 

[bcschief]

I always dreamed of having my own garage but after working for several people I think you are better off working somewhere because I've seen the headaches they go through but some have done well so it just depends.

I personally think your better off buying and selling cars and to be more specific inexpensive cars and repairing the faults and making good basic transportation out of them and reselling them for a profit. My preference would be rust free, not wrecked with mechanical issues and get your parts from the u pullit yards of course it needs to be something common. Basically just make it a reliable car that runs good doesn't leak anything and the AC / heat work and has decent tires. But you must be very picky with what you start with. I have a personal saying that in the future only rich people and mechanics will have cars all the rest will ride the bus.

 

[bubinga]

I personally think your better off buying and selling cars and to be more specific inexpensive cars and repairing the faults and making good basic transportation out of them and reselling them for a profit. My preference would be rust free, not wrecked with mechanical issues and get your parts from the u pullit yards of course it needs to be something common. Basically just make it a reliable car that runs good doesn't leak anything and the AC / heat work and has decent tires. But you must be very picky with what you start with. I have a personal saying that in the future only rich people and mechanics will have cars all the rest will ride the bus.

Well, I think that's a good idea!
I always said years ago there's too many variables in the automotive repair business and the way the customers are and they think we are the bad guys a lot of them do not everyone, I said years ago if I was to start a business I think I would start a restaurant or a pizza business pizza shop you make good pizza they come in they eat it it's gone and that's that.......

 

[zmotorsports]

Explain??

The bulb will light. When you find the short and remove it, the bulb will go out.

Here is what I made up for testing voltage drops and/or shorts to put a load on the circuit.

That, and the bulb limits current. Say a typical test light is going to pull .250amps max, a tail lamp bulb 2 to 2.5. If it's a dead short, this is a lot easier. All you need to know is that current can flow to ground. The fact that a 20amp fuse is popping instantly is irrelevant.

Circuit breakers are nice as well.

^^Agreed. The few that I made up use different bulbs therefore different amp draws. They work well for testing circuits giving a visual indicator as well.

 

[bcschief]

Here is what I made up for testing voltage drops and/or shorts to put a load on the circuit.






^^Agreed. The few that I made up use different bulbs therefore different amp draws. They work well for testing circuits giving a visual indicator as well.

The only caution I would give is do not do this with computer circuits. Long time ago when I took Fords basic electrical course they taught us to test electrical circuits intact and not to open the circuit and test it in parts until you identified the failed part of the complete circuit.

 

[zmotorsports]

The only caution I would give is do not do this with computer circuits. Long time ago when I took Fords basic electrical course they taught us to test electrical circuits intact and not to open the circuit and test it in parts until you identified the failed part of the complete circuit.

Agreed, but generally you're not testing loads on the low voltage reference type circuits that feed ECM's/TCM's. This is used for actually testing load circuits. You still have to know what you're testing, don't think this is one type test for all electrical circuits.

 

[Copymutt]

Not a trick, but a habit worth developing.
Anytime something needs to come apart, mechanical, electrical,plumbing, doesnt matter.
Take a set of pics w/ your phone. Sometimes even what appears to be a simple disassembly poses questions on reassembly.

 

[bwringer]

Here is what I made up for testing voltage drops and/or shorts to put a load on the circuit.

^^Agreed. The few that I made up use different bulbs therefore different amp draws. They work well for testing circuits giving a visual indicator as well.

I've asked this before on this site, and never received a good answer: I've never figured out why someone hasn't made a box with a 12V light bulb and some resistors inside of it, along with a dial you can use to change the test load. Throw in a beeper, maybe add a voltage and current display...

Instead, everyone collects old bulbs and rigs up their own assortment of load testers.

 

[CoogarXR]

I've asked this before on this site, and never received a good answer: I've never figured out why someone hasn't made a box with a 12V light bulb and some resistors inside of it, along with a dial you can use to change the test load. Throw in a beeper, maybe add a voltage and current display...

Instead, everyone collects old bulbs and rigs up their own assortment of load testers.

Because collecting old bulbs is free! lol

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I remember when w bodies first came out early 90s? They sold the whole kit for the rear calibers.
It had the punch adapter for the air hammer, and the ball home maybe something else I can't remember I probably still have it somewhere probably never use it again.

I'm actually a 1990 model myself, most of those were rotten away by the time I got in the biz. With any frozen slide pin of any style, I just punch it out with an air hammer, then hone, flush with brake clean, and install new. I charge $20/caliper bracket to do this, pays for my hones as I'm getting $4 of that, plus the pins. On the exceedingly rare situation I can't walk it out with an air hammer, it's getting a caliper since brackets as stand alone items are tough to get.

Regarding hot oil I always thought it was best to drain it when it was hot cuz it flowed out better and more thoroughly though?

If your oil is so unacceptably dirty and/or messed up that leaving 1% of it behind is detrimental, I'd recommend shopping for a donor motor rather than ******* around draining hot oil. I get enough burns from torches and slag that I don't need boomer-joe idling his waiter LOF to maximize draining efficiency.

Never understood that mindset. If the oil is so bad that it needs every last drop out, why are we running that oil change interval in the first place? And if it's so bad, why are we not popping off the valve cover to **** out the lifter pools? Oh, yeah, that costs money and people just want to do LOF rituals to pretend they take care of their vehicle. LOL

 

[Magnum440d100]

If you can’t fix it with a hammer, it’s an electrical problem.
Also, get a 1/4” hex impact. It doesn’t have to be top of the line. They help when having to rapidly disassemble stuff ie: at the junkyard, you’ll save time pulling junk apart with an impact, vs wrench or ratchet/socket. The wrench or ratchet/socket is only to break it free.

Also, if you have a cordless tool in the junkyard, you can use the battery to test electrical components, move power seats forward/back to access the bolts, and move power windows up/down for removal.
A lot of stuff cannot be told, it has to be shown or learned. I had been going to the junkyard for almost 15 years, then went to the junkyard with my friend Ben. He showed me the battery trick, and I was FLOORED!

Good luck everyone reading this thread and learning something!

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I guess they can't be wrecked for too long or too badly, with PA inspection?
maybe between inspections?
you're not in Ohio LOL like I am now......
Okay I'm going to try to shut up and finish reading this thread and go to sleep
(Are you doing state inspections also, second gear)?

Cars can't be completely destroyed, but so long as nothing is loose and indicator lamps are securely mounted it passes. Technically you don't even need the plastic bumper cover on IF there are no sharp or protruding edges exposed. The litmus test I was given by Penndot is - if kids are playing football in the street, the vehicle is street parked, and a kid falls into it, will it cut them? And just because the bumper cover is "on" and "secured" doesn't mean you can remove it in one piece. The smashed up radiator support being bent into the base of the headlight assembly is all holding the bumper on after all of the locking tabs on the bumper were broken 2 wrecks ago.

I'm a PA state and emissions inspector. Most non-goobers are IME.

Do you have to pop the axles free when changing the control arms on a cobalt? I'm doing my 01 Grand Prix right now long story but I didn't have to pop the axles

Technically no, IMO it makes it much easier to remove the ball joint from the knuckle, and makes it easier to get the arm out of the subframe. FWIW I remove axle nuts anytime I do basically any front suspension work, as it removes any risk of hurting the axle and lets me tug and pull the knuckle around to work on stuff. Takes 1 minute to remove, knock free, reinstall, look up torque, torque.

The only caution I would give is do not do this with computer circuits. Long time ago when I took Fords basic electrical course they taught us to test electrical circuits intact and not to open the circuit and test it in parts until you identified the failed part of the complete circuit.

IMO that's an old wives tail from factory engineers who don't understand their own circuits. Ask them for an example of a circuit where this could happen, they can't draw you one. It's always tangents about their dentists half brothers uncles friend who smoked a ECU in 1992 with a test light. 250ma can go right into a CAN line with zero issues; not gonna do anything but set comm codes or reset a module. HID headlights can backfeed enough to knock a module offline when they power up. You can stick that 250ma where ever you like with impunity. If a 2amp test light can smoke a computer, than any shorted component will smoke a computer. Any wire that touches ground will kill a computer. Any 5v ref circuit pulled to ground will fry the computer. A 02 sensor with the signal going above 1v due to a leaking heater circuit would fry a computer every time. And yet, how many computers are we changing? Not for corrosion, leaking caps, etc. But the vent valve shorted and wiped the driver out? Come on.


The only way I can think of damaging a circuit with a test light, is the same way one could kill a ground switched driver with a shorted component. The driver would need to be non-current limiting, and the ECU have no ability to sense on-time or current load to kill the circuit entirely. The circuit would also need to have a power supply from a fuse rated high enough not to trip from the load, but high enough to kill the driver. The driver would then need shorted to ground through the light or component until it thermally failed. I will concede, if you take a 5amp light, hook it to a COP coil power wire on a two wire coil with the key on, and let it sit there for hours you might have an issue. Doing a typical circuit check does nothing when you're exposing a circuit to current for seconds at a time max.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I've asked this before on this site, and never received a good answer: I've never figured out why someone hasn't made a box with a 12V light bulb and some resistors inside of it, along with a dial you can use to change the test load. Throw in a beeper, maybe add a voltage and current display...

Instead, everyone collects old bulbs and rigs up their own assortment of load testers.

Because such a product would imply that:

A: Companies making tools actually understand electricity.
B: Techs actually understand electricity.


People look at a labscope like a novelty. Uh, HELLO? I thought we wanted to test circuits? Nah, but LED test lights fly off the shelf and nobody knows what voltage drop is.

 

[bubinga]

When installing radiator hose, I use Permatex Aviation Form A Gasket #3 on the inside of the hose

Non hardening correct?

 

[mark#3]

Non hardening correct?

yes

 

[CS454]

Because such a product would imply that:

A: Companies making tools actually understand electricity.
B: Techs actually understand electricity.


People look at a labscope like a novelty. Uh, HELLO? I thought we wanted to test circuits? Nah, but LED test lights fly off the shelf and nobody knows what voltage drop is.

Some of our newest equipment has 10 CAN lines and 1300 rungs of ladder logic across 14 modules. Split 12/24V system. Labscopes and software like Canalyzer are going to become the norm. The big talk is switching from J1939 to Ethernet due to data rate/speeds necessary to keep everything happy. So it'll be a whole new game all over again.

 

[setfocus]

Well that ***** I'm a little bit out of the loop my friend
Is that thermostat built into the housing or were you just generically calling the housing a thermostat or are they all one unit?
forgive me I'm a bit out of the loop .
So if I understand correctly that also has an electronic heater built into it and not just a sensor?
I do know quite well what you mean about bosses not wanting to listen though.
And a lot of times they are pennywise and dollar foolish.
I work for this too bit outfit part time for a while instead of stalking a couple popular oil filters and a couple cases of oil every time he did an oil change he had to send one of us to the parts store for oil and a filter I told him flat out he was pennywise and dollar foolish.

The housing is plastic, has t-stat and heater in it. I think you can technically remove the actual t-stat from the housing but new housings come with a new t-stat already installed and I don't think there's a part listing for just the t-stat. The rad hose connects to the housing by way of a some kind of gasket in the hose end and retaining clip instead of a hose clamp. I've seen similar designs on bmw's

 

[gearhead1]

I've asked this before on this site, and never received a good answer: I've never figured out why someone hasn't made a box with a 12V light bulb and some resistors inside of it, along with a dial you can use to change the test load. Throw in a beeper, maybe add a voltage and current display...

Instead, everyone collects old bulbs and rigs up their own assortment of load testers.

I don’t think a power probe lets you change resistance, but have you ever used one?

 

[gearhead1]

I think you're right kroil is better..........
I still want to try that acetone and ATF mix everybody's talking about, I still got all my stuff in storage I don't even have any acetone or ATF here where I'm at but I got PB blaster this last time on Amazon cuz it was a good price but I don't think I'm that crazy about it to be honest.
My one buddy he's a dynamite wrench he swears by Kerr oil

I made some up and put it in a plastic WD-40 bottle and it would separate. I would shake it well before using it and I don’t think it was any better than kroil.

 

[gearhead1]

Here is what I made up for testing voltage drops and/or shorts to put a load on the circuit.






^^Agreed. The few that I made up use different bulbs therefore different amp draws. They work well for testing circuits giving a visual indicator as well.

Now that’s cool. I’m going to do that! Thanks for posting!