To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

They Quit Making It

To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Robby321

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 22, 2015
Messages
607
Location
Olympia, WA
Seems I find something I like, go to buy again and its "unobtainium". Now seems I but two of something I like!
 

Lassen Forge

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 26, 2014
Messages
15,056
Location
The romantic hills of central Umbria, Italy,


And Oldsmobiles. While we're on it, Packards. Damned... Fine... American... Vehicles.

Cheap motorcycles. like buck a cc bikes. People think the old **** we used to trash, because they were cheap and trashable, like the Honda 350, are somehow now multi-thousand dollar "classics", never mind they made a hundred gazillion of them.
 

liliysdad

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2008
Messages
5,378
Yes, but it's just an electric motor taking over shifting duties for the driver, still very similar to a regular manual. No torque converter = less to fail and less to turn fuel into heat vs. into motive power.

This is not exactly true...there are "automated" transmissions which operate like you describe, but there are absolutely true automatic transmissions with torque converters used in Class 8 trucks...and used quite commonly.
 

ovilla

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
2,342
Location
Plainfield, IL
MAPP gas


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



As soon as that happened I went out and got myself an Oxy/Act torch set up. I’m never going to cut anything with it. Just need it to remove rusted on parts and to bend metal sometimes. Chicago winters rust everything.
 
Last edited:

bwringer

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Messages
10,250
Location
Indianapolis
I was going to wax poetic about the original and dearly departed Hylomar -- a super-thick bright blue goo that withstands just about everything including gasoline and never hardens. It's indispensable to anyone who deals with old or tired machinery, and in some situations like imprecise fits, or parts that expand at different rates, it's damn near the only thing that will keep the squicky stuff where it belongs.

Anyway, original Hylomar departed the market years back, and I sadly extracted the last few scraps from my last tube a few years later.

The "new" Hylomar was a filthy lie; a solvent based goo that turned into a rubbery, easily peeled solid worse than RTV.



So here I was ready to rant, when I discovered that the original Hylomar appears to be available again.

We'll see.

I ordered up a tube from Amazon and will report back. It claims to be the original non-hardening blue goo, and the reviews seem legit. If they really have resurrected the Hylomar I knew and loved, this will become a much-needed bright spot in my whole year.
 

03.

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2017
Messages
561
Location
MNC. N.S.W. AUSTRALIA
Last bottle of Mexican coke I looked at listed ingredients as "sugar and or HFCS"
One of the things we get right, at least for the time being, in Australia.
All our Coca Cola in made with good old cane sugar. Even in aluminium cans or those dreadful plastic bottles.
It still tastes best in the glass bottles though!

It's all our pop brands too Mountain Dew Pepsi everything.
I don't believe we use HFCS in this country thank the lord.
 

MushCreek

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 14, 2015
Messages
9,748
Location
Upstate South Carolina
Small, basic pick-up trucks. The new Ranger is probably about the same size as my '72 F-250. Over the years, I had an old Datsun, a Toyota, and a first generation Ranger. Handy, tough, cheap little trucks. Not everyone needs a big, comfy pick-up that seats six and has more electronics than Silicon Valley.
 

liliysdad

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2008
Messages
5,378
Small, basic pick-up trucks. The new Ranger is probably about the same size as my '72 F-250. Over the years, I had an old Datsun, a Toyota, and a first generation Ranger. Handy, tough, cheap little trucks. Not everyone needs a big, comfy pick-up that seats six and has more electronics than Silicon Valley.

The Frontier is still, for the time being, a truly compact truck.

That being said...if there was a viable market for those types of trucks, they would be for sale. Everyone says they want a basic, no frills, no options truck...yet they languish on lots while up optioned trucks sell like hotcakes.
 

Ton ton

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 16, 2019
Messages
4,592
Location
Page County,VA
I would like a small no frills pickup with ac and a stick shift ******. I have not seen too many compact pickup trucks languishing in the dealerships.
 

GrantCee

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 23, 2010
Messages
808
Location
Willamette Valley, Oregon
Root beer cool aid, disappeared in the 60’s

After Kool Aid stopped making it, Wylers and FlavorAid were both widely available until at least the '90s. They've both since discontinued the root beer flavor.

However, in searching I discovered that both A&W and Dads now sell their own version.
 

liliysdad

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2008
Messages
5,378
I would like a small no frills pickup with ac and a stick shift ******. I have not seen too many compact pickup trucks languishing in the dealerships.

Because they languished years ago to the point where manufacturers stopped building them. If there was a profitable market for them, the manufacturers would be building them.

Again, Nissan will sell you a stripped out, manual trans 2wd compact truck, at a very reasonable price. You know who buys them? Fleets and no one else.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Bigblockyeti

Banned
Joined
Feb 1, 2018
Messages
2,550
Location
Upstate, SC
This is not exactly true...there are "automated" transmissions which operate like you describe, but there are absolutely true automatic transmissions with torque converters used in Class 8 trucks...and used quite commonly.

I realize they exist, used commonly means something different to you than it does me. Adding cost, weight, complexity, failure points, inefficiency & service intervals to a fleet would be a hard sell to anyone in procurement.
 

liliysdad

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2008
Messages
5,378
I realize they exist, used commonly means something different to you than it does me. Adding cost, weight, complexity, failure points, inefficiency & service intervals to a fleet would be a hard sell to anyone in procurement.

I've a feeling current numbers would be the inverse of your belief. Fully automatic transmissions, not automated, are becoming the rule, not the exception. It won't be long before fuel efficient and emissions requirements mandate almost universal adoption.

Much like modern light truck automatic transmissions are stronger and more efficient than any manual, heavy trucks are trending the same way.
 

bonneyman

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
8,759
Location
Desert SW
A brand called "Burnworth" were continuity lights,a AA cell inside the case, and a incandescent bulb,with a wire lead with alligator clip,and a sharp pointed probe was great for troubleshooting.

:thumbup:

I have two that I found at garage sales. One needed repair. (I think I may try and upgrade it with a superbrite LED bulb).
They are alot nicer than most continuity testers.
 

justintendo

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 5, 2020
Messages
152
Location
pennsylvania
Because they languished years ago to the point where manufacturers stopped building them. If there was a profitable market for them, the manufacturers would be building them.

Again, Nissan will sell you a stripped out, manual trans 2wd compact truck, at a very reasonable price. You know who buys them? Fleets and no one else.

could also be because they are nissans and do not have the build quality or general feel of the older rangers or dakotas
 

liliysdad

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2008
Messages
5,378
I've owned Rangers, and loved them....but the Nissan Frontier is better in every single way. They are rock solid, if not sophisticated, little trucks.

To even mention "build quality" and "Dodge Dakota" in the same sentence is hilarious.
 

Bigblockyeti

Banned
Joined
Feb 1, 2018
Messages
2,550
Location
Upstate, SC
could also be because they are nissans and do not have the build quality or general feel of the older rangers or dakotas

My dad still has his '01 Ranger, my brother long ago traded his '94 Ranger, I had a '98 Dakota and an '02 Dakota. The Ranger's were meh, quality was ok, feel was non-existant. The '98 Dakota was a lease and at some point the 2nd generation was awarded best in initial quality, but compared to what? It was ok only because it was gone in 3 years, the AX15 transmission felt great when new and like it needed to be replaced after 3 years. The '02 Dakota had a better interior but the NV3500 was rough and difficult to shift when new, 15K miles later it was finally broken in and felt great until it was sold in '18. I now have a '12 Suzuki Equator (Nissan Frontier) and it is absolutely better in every single way than any of those 4 other trucks.
 

bwringer

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Messages
10,250
Location
Indianapolis
Super-specific, but...

Quite a few vintage Suzuki motorcycles use NGK B8-ES spark plugs, stock number 2411. There's a pretty active community of vintage Suzuki owners, and we've found over many years and miles that these OEM plugs consistently function the best.

They were cheap, available just about anywhere, and worked beautifully.

Aaaaaand of course they seem to have stopped making them. There are a few still on shelves here and there, so I have a few sets stashed.

What's a bit irritating is that NGK is now specifying the BR8-ES, a resistor plug. It fits and works, but it's not correct. There's also an OEM correct Denso (ND) plug, W24ES-U, that also seems to have been discontinued. It's also gotten pretty hard to find, anyway.

I'm sure lots of other vintage machinery folks feel a similar pain, and probably worse.
 

Bigblockyeti

Banned
Joined
Feb 1, 2018
Messages
2,550
Location
Upstate, SC
I've a feeling current numbers would be the inverse of your belief. Fully automatic transmissions, not automated, are becoming the rule, not the exception. It won't be long before fuel efficient and emissions requirements mandate almost universal adoption.

Much like modern light truck automatic transmissions are stronger and more efficient than any manual, heavy trucks are trending the same way.

My cousin works for Freightliner, those buying trucks for fleets want manuals. They are, in class 8 application, more fuel efficient and represent a lower cost of ownership.

Light truck automatics now are stronger due to development, they are more emissions friendly as they remove control of the shift points from the driver. I have only found information indicating they are less efficient than manual counterparts when compared to a vehicle of the same weight, ride height, driven axles, tires and axle gear ratio. Manuals are lighter and make less heat, there's no getting around that fact.
 

liliysdad

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2008
Messages
5,378
Ok..funny that every large fleet I have direct contact with has gone predominantly automatic...to include a couple of very large, very hard service oilfield companies. I'm sure you're right though.
 

Ign

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 7, 2006
Messages
12,769
Location
Butte Peak ND
Humans like old **** because it is familiar. It gets worse with age.

The OP question might have been phrased: What tools that are no longer made do you wish were still made because the ones available today are shittier?

Meh, it's not just about shittier but sometimes vanishing altogether. I have a regular job where I have to grind the seam outta 4"x3/16" sq tube. The piece is only 6" long so I can come at it easily from both ends.....with a 2" pneumatic angle grinder. Sunex used to make one as well as CP and maybe someone else I can't recall. Sunex discontinued theirs so AFAIK only CP makes a 2" angle grinder now. I actually ordered one to have a spare in case my existing Sunex dies.

So my vote for the thread is a "near extinction" endangered species: 2" angle grinders.

Incidentally the best wheels for these are a 25pk from Canadian Tool & Supply....but unfortunately the Amazon link now "can't be found."
 

bwringer

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Messages
10,250
Location
Indianapolis
I was going to wax poetic about the original and dearly departed Hylomar -- a super-thick bright blue goo that withstands just about everything including gasoline and never hardens. It's indispensable to anyone who deals with old or tired machinery, and in some situations like imprecise fits, or parts that expand at different rates, it's damn near the only thing that will keep the squicky stuff where it belongs.

Anyway, original Hylomar departed the market years back, and I sadly extracted the last few scraps from my last tube a few years later.

The "new" Hylomar was a filthy lie; a solvent based goo that turned into a rubbery, easily peeled solid worse than RTV.



So here I was ready to rant, when I discovered that the original Hylomar appears to be available again.

We'll see.

I ordered up a tube from Amazon and will report back. It claims to be the original non-hardening blue goo, and the reviews seem legit. If they really have resurrected the Hylomar I knew and loved, this will become a much-needed bright spot in my whole year.



Welp, I got my tube something marked "Hylomar" today, but it ain't Hylomar. :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

:dunno:

What I got comes out of the tube as a blue goo; at least they got the color right. However, it's a solvent based sticky stuff that spreads into a thin layer. The solvent evaporates, and then you're left with a mostly useless very thin coating that's hardly even sticky.

I can't imagine what this **** is good for.

I'm trying to decide whether it's some sort of counterfeit, or I'm ordering the wrong stuff, or what.

In any case, a scathing review has been left behind.

I want the old original Hylomar, dammit. No solvents, no real smell, very thick sticky blue goo that never hardened or changed state, insoluble in gasoline, oil, antifreeze, etc.

Where the hell did it go? :confused:
 

liliysdad

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2008
Messages
5,378
If fleets wanted manuals, they'd buy them. 90% of the trucks Freightliner sold in 2019 had a transmission that did its own shifting.

Funny how reality doesn't jive with what someone's buddy's neighbor's dad said.
 

03.

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2017
Messages
561
Location
MNC. N.S.W. AUSTRALIA
LED one will do anything an incandescent one will, as long as the voltage is more than about 2v. :dunno:

Probably he is an electrician. Talking about test lamps. Led cannot do what an incandescent can, which in Australia is put the globes in series to give a different intensity of the globes on 240v and 415v. I guess in the USA it would be 120 and 220 volts :dunno:
 

Bigblockyeti

Banned
Joined
Feb 1, 2018
Messages
2,550
Location
Upstate, SC
If fleets wanted manuals, they'd buy them. 90% of the trucks Freightliner sold in 2019 had a transmission that did its own shifting.

I'm intimately aware of what they sold when, how it was optioned and to whom it was sold. What a company wants is but one aspect defining what they ultimately order, lazy/unskilled drivers are a major consideration among many in what fleets are comprised of. I haven't the desire nor the time to educate any one (for free) on all the intricacies of how logistics procurement operates.
 
Last edited:
OP
J

Jmellc

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 28, 2019
Messages
276
Location
Durham, NC
There's an easy solution...find something you like, buy several of them. May not be cheap but you'll thank yourself later.

Sometimes a good idea if the item isn’t too expensive. I could have easily done it with the drill box from HD and the bucket tool liner.

I should have also tried fabricating my own bucket carrier. Time would be the major there but I could probably make a decent one with PVC or PEX tubing. Make it all interior & keep weatherproof with a lid.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom