Cooler to start the day, but hot enough to boil the brains in your head if you are a mad dog or an Englishman… Or decide to cut the grass in the middle of the afternoon. Yeah, it was plenty hot and humid by midday yesterday, and probably will be again. We’re on the edge of a T-storm zone in the national forecast, but I’m hoping we don’t get rain. Although… today wouldn’t be too bad a day for it based on my plans.
I did mostly indoor things yesterday, auction stuff and watching the lots go by on a live auction. I bought a small gas powered gennie, and another that was in rough shape but very cheap, since I have to go pick them up anyway. If it runs or is easy to repair, I’ll either hold it in reserve or give it to someone. They are both headed to the BOL once running.
The outdoor stuff involved brain baking and cutting the grass. It needed to be done, and it was still cooler than 3 weeks ago.
Today should be paperwork, bill paying, cleaning, laundry, and other domestic bliss.
It’s weird to have a weekend without scheduled events or obligations. I’ll take it though.
Normal everyday stuff is pretty important too, if not as sexy as buying a new gub, or stacking freezedrieds…
Life is what happens to you while you wait for other things. Stack some life too.
nick
Right click on the desktop → “Display settings” -→ Multiple displays -→ “Extend these displays” doesn’t appear on Windows 10?
Delaware would be the Biden Family Crime Syndicate going back to Corn Pop being sworn in to the US Senate seat in that hospital room.
CVS and Walgreens pharmacists, even in places like Tennessee which made that ‘I’ medicine available over the counter at pharmacist’s discretion.
I know the intent of that last bit was probably to avoid arbitrage, but corporate policy is to deny filling prescriptions except for the specific FDA-approved uses for the medication so pharmacists follow the agenda.
Publix probably doesn’t care, like HEB here in Texas, but those chains are privately held and not wards of Black Rock, State Street, and Vanguard like the newly-combined Safeway/Albertsons/Kroger calls itself these days. The Geico Gecko is in that mix too, which would also shape policy, but he’s more selective with his equity holdings.
I didn’t test Publix policy when I was in Nashville.
Epic DIY fail yesterday – replacing the spark plugs in the Solara went smoothy until I got to the final swap out. It looks like something broke off from inside in the spark plug wire when I pulled the plug connection and I can’t get any of my 5/8 sockets down around the base to extract the plug from the very deep recess.
No Sears means what is most likely the right tool – a 6-8 inch deep manetized 5/8 socket – is not available within driving distance at 3 PM on a Saturday afternoon.
The car is in the driveway, blocking the garage access to the Exploder slot.
Lesson learned – I don’t think the dealer replaced the cables in WA State the last time the spark plugs were replaced after the car rolled over 100,000 miles. When I pulled the cable, a cloud of dust particles briefly surrounded the recess.
The mobile mechanic appointment is at noon. It was either that or pay for a tow and a complete plug replacement at the independent shop where the timing belt was swapped.
So frustrating. Amazon has what is probably the right socket but can’t deliver until Tuesday.
Giving up Sears for the Brown Truck Store was such a brilliant idea. Most of 20th century retail will have to be relearned at significant cost.
At least I know now why the OBD port was throwing P301 — misfire Cylinder 1 — periodically … and the location of “Cylinder 1”.
The good car news yesterday was that the water pump on the Exploder is not leaking again as I feared, confirmed by the stealer who replaced the pump last year.
The cost of that confirmation was $70 for an oil change/tire rotation and my wife receiving a recommendation on replacement of the front strut mounts for $1400 as well as rear shocks for $1100.
Yeah, right, but it freaked out my wife who is still mad about the almost $4000 water pump replacement last year.
Search “2016 Explorer water pump” for an idea of the magnitude of the issue and the labor costs involved. Another problem for Tommy Boy, since this also affects the cop car V6 Exploders 5-6 years ago, many of which are still on the road.
The dealer could have tried again for the replacement since the warranty on the water pump replacement was 12 months, and we are about 30 days past that guarantee ending.
The CVS pharmacists here are still in masks based on what I saw Friday night when we picked up a regular medication for my wife.
I switched to self pay at HEB for my meds. Self pay is cheaper than insurance and I’m not restricted to 30 days supply at a time like my employer’s CVS Caremark prescription plan requires unless I mail order.
You forgot the $2000 outerwear, but, admittedly, it is the wrong time of year for that.
Go back and watch the videos of the CHAZ/CHOP leadership in Seattle from 2020/21. Pay attention to the coats and then try pricing a few.
I’m probably low on the estimate, but the point is that the jackets/parkas are always pricey with that crowd.
Agreed.
I’ve been replacing the calipers, rotors, soft lines, and parking brake components on my 71 Corvette over the last couple weeks. It’s understandable to have to order parts – it’s an old car after all. But just getting a tool you need to do the job is a monumental task sometimes.
I rebuilt the front calipers, and I needed a big socket to press in the front caliper piston seals. I didn’t have anything nearly big enough. In the old days, I’d drive to Sears and they would almost certainly have what i need. Luckily, Lowes had a Kobalt 32mm socket that I was able to make work (really needed a 33mm, but 32 was the biggest they had).
At least I’m at the stage of only needing to buy a specialty tool now. I have a good assortment for most jobs.
Oh, and I bought my first pro hand tools (well, aside from my CDL torque wrench) for the Corvette brake job – a set of Snap-On flare wrenches. I had some in SAE from Craftsman, but they were still beginning to round over the soft brass nuts. I got the set off ebay for $120 (half of new), and had to wait 4 days to get them. Luckily I had other tasks to complete while waiting. The wrenches arrived and I was able to get the problem line off easily.
Our local Lowes has a decent tool assortment. I’ve switched to buying Kobalt for most of my general needs (from Craftsman). They also carry Craftsman, or the reincarnated version at least. I’ve yet to test the lifetime warranty for Craftsman at Lowes. There is also an Ace Hardware close by I could theoretically try it at too.
The 2001 Solara and, I assume, that same gen Camry has really weird/tight access to the spark plugs, and the local Autozone was where I found the exact right combination of socket/extender with a ball joint to easily extract the plugs, replace them without cross threading or using a piece of rubber hose, and torque to factory spec.
Hecho en China Duralast, but it was worth every penny. Still, it took two trips to the store to buy the tool in the correct length.
Toyota.
My wife brought her car to Firestone a few months ago for the annual safety inspection. As they do every time she goes there, they found “critical problems”, including the car needing an all-round brake replacement – pads, rotors, and two of the calipers, IIRC. I had checked the brakes the day before and confirmed that everything was good. Lies. Moreover, it was obvious that they hadn’t even taken off two of the tires during the inspection, so their claims that calipers were bad were, at the least, based on insufficient data. I reminded my wife of why she shouldn’t go to Firestone for inspections or other work. I also sent photos and a detailed complaint to Firestone headquarters and the NYS DMV. Never got a reply from either, so I imagine that the fraud will continue.
re: Duralast
I’ve purchased a number of Duralast-branded parts from AutoZone in the last 6-7 years, influenced in large part by my perception that the nearest and next-nearest locations have good staff.
Five years ago I had a Ford Taurus that started throwing a “Check charging system” warning that was consistent with other behavior. My preferred local shop diagnosed a bad factory alternator at 110,000 miles. The shop could not get a replacement that day or the next, and when I found out that the nearest AutoZone had Duralast in stock I took the vehicle home and did it myself. Had to unbolt some other shiite and I was working low down near the firewall by feel.
Wrapped it up and took it for a test drive. “Check charging system” came on within a mile. I could see voltage fluctuation in the headlights. Pulled the new alternator, took it back to AZ, and it tested good. I explained what I had done and the manager–not a spring chicken–gave me a new alternator with the comment that sometimes the tester didn’t catch all the problems.
Installed the new alternator and again got “Check charging system” on the test drive. Excepting a bit of headlight fluctuation the car was driving normally and the battery was charging. My shop checked my work and cleaned the electrical connections but still got an intermittent warning.
Lived with it until last month when the alternator failed. OEM alternator was $600, a “factory” alternator was $500. Went with the $500, which I thought was obscene enough. Haven’t had a warning since.
Battery, btw, is the Walmart brand that has been discussed here before. That one is ten months old and looks new, without a hint of corrosion on the top terminals.
Re: Firestone. We went back to get a replacement set of tires for my son’s Tacoma. We had an appointment, but still had to wait almost half an hour before they pulled the truck in – par for the course. I noticed they had the hood up and were poking around in the engine compartment. I asked the service advisor what was going on, and he gave me the “we are doing our complimentary inspection”. I told him no thanks, I’m only here for tires. You would have thought I killed his puppy by the look on his face. I held firm.
Oh, I’ve also noticed tire places are now pushing wiper replacements. Hard. They must have good success getting people to bite on that one.
Biden to Sign Bipartisan Bill Reversing His Administration’s Targeting of Hunting & Archery Classes
The support for the reversal was overwhelming in the House of Representatives.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2023/10/biden-to-sign-bipartisan-bill-reversing-his-administrations-targeting-of-hunting-archery-classes/
Hindbrains detected live rail.
If you live in a place where they salt the roads, the brakes will accumulate a lot of superficial rust, and that might escalate to real rust and become a problem if you don’t keep up with maintenance.
The local Firestone indicated that the Jetta needs brakes when we went for tires, but, considering that my wife’s nephew never even changed the factory air filter (!) in 68,000 miles, the undercarriage has a lot of minor rust, and the car went to Munich for three years, I doubt they’re exaggerating the problem.
I went over the Ford stealer’s recommendation carefully. It is overpriced, especially labor, but they weren’t wrong. I’ve heard the noises for a while, and the strut mount job looks like a pain in the a**, particularly the spring compression, so I can understand replacing the entire assembly. Leaking wear shocks are a wear thing – the rear struts on the Solara have been leaking for ~ 60,000 miles. Debatable regarding urgency, but ok.
The dealer did us a huge solid when we were still early in the ownership of the SUV and they found a throttle body — a chronic early 2016 Exploder problem — saving us a month wait on a warranty replacement. We didn’t buy the vehicle there, and my wife was back driving the vehicle in a few days.
Leaking rear socks.
Multitasking this morning again.
Archery is popular thanks to “The Hunger Games”, which has Libertarian themes from what I understand.
When my son played soccer in the Northwest and “The Hunger Games” was huge because of the movies being new at the time, a girl on his team who wore a “mockingbird” pin on her uniform like the one on the cover of the book was cited for being out of uniform by the league.
Maybe it was believable as a safety issue, but the officials didn’t even try to spin it that way. They wanted to send a message to the players and the parents.
Groupthink.
What really frosts West Coast libs about archery is that one of the biggest and most prestigious programs in the country is at … gasp … Texas A&M. Oh, the horror!
Yes, with a BS Chem Eng, which includes Thermodynamics (heat transfer and energy conversion), Mass Transfer and Fluid Mechanics, I am qualified. I’ll soon be obtaining a Concealed Carry Permit.
re the Firestone safety inspection, I forgot to mention two things: First, they were going to hit my wife for about $1400 for parts, labor, tax, and some service charge I don’t remember. “Emergency priority charge”, maybe. Second, they were trying to convince her that the car wasn’t safe to drive and they weren’t sure that they should allow her to take it out of their parking lot. Luckily, she was able to reach me on the phone and believed me when I said that the brakes were good, the car was safe, and she could bring it home for me to check again. I stopped at the auto parts store on the way home and got a full set of pads, shoes (for the combination disk-drum rear brakes) and rotors, just in case. Found, as expected, that everything was fine. One rear rotor had very light surface rust, which came off with a paper towel and a squirt of 3-in-1. Took the car to another shop for the inspection, asked them to be really critical when looking at the brakes just in case, and it passed, no problem.
As noted, I’d looked the car over before my wife took it to the first shop and it was good. I was being careful in checking it afterward juuuuust in case they broke something in order to justify the “emergency” work. I’ve witnessed that happen at car shops, though not that Firestone branch.
Machine gun:
Elon Musk infuriates liberals with viral video of him hip-firing his enormous Barrett .50-caliber machine gun… to the joy of Republicans who brand him ‘the best billionaire out there’
Engage narrative!!! A real M2 “Ma Deuce” is awesome.
Well, it is the UK.
Do we really have two parties:
Matt Gaetz OUTS McCarthy for quietly making side-deal with Democrats on Ukraine to avoid shutdown
No more fracking money and weapons for Ukraine!
I hope they do oust him over this.
I graduated as a bachelor of electrical engineering in 1968. I had to take thermodynamics, strength of materials, statics, dynamics, and fluid mechanics. Most of these are not considered necessary by some programs. I liked all of them, but struggled with statics a bit. I also had power stuff, and got lots of polyphase motor math. Never needed that. Also never needed advanced calculus, which almost killed me… or so I thought. Loved physics.
I must be well rounded.
If you don’t already have one, get a cheap brake fluid checker from the ‘zon and check the moisture content before you take the vehicle in for routine service. Much like paint thickness scanners, everyone has one of those gadgets now, and the techs may try the brake system overhaul if they suspect that you aren’t paying attention to the numbers.
After I nearly got suckered into a brake fluid replacement at the stealer last time, I bought a good meter from an auto parts store and checked every vehicle in the house. Generally, the rule about clear, non-amber brake fluid is good, but everyone is feeling the pinch these days.
Gaetz is playing to voters in The Villages as he ramps up to run for Florida Governor to succeed DeSantis.
Gaetz’ district is FL-1, which I would argue is possibly the Congressional district which is most dependent on military/war spending in the entire country. Two Air Force bases, a Naval Air Station (Pensacola), and the weapons development lab at Eglin which proudly built The MOAB and displays one outside their museum.
Schtick. Don’t buy it beyond the current stand off.
Machine gun? -facepalm- Just when I thought that my respect for urinalists couldn’t get any lower.
I have a couple acquaintances in the UK who are very interested in firearms and have on tap all sorts of facts about the history of the STEN and the relative merits of the variants of the AK-47 … and who have never fired a firearm. I’ve offered to take them shooting if they ever get to somewhere near where I am, but one can’t afford the travel and the other is unlikely to come here for whatever other reason. (I’m just as glad, actually, what with the cost of ammo as well as prices in general outstripping my income.)
@nick, is this the same as a reserve? Or something different?
– sorta. the reserve is generally declared in advance so bidders know that there is a secret (usually) number they need to get past. Bidders hate reserves because it wastes their time. Some auctions allow the consignment sellers to approve the sale. This most often happens with a bankruptcy, where a bank rep or other fiduciary needs to get a certain amount for an item, usually one that is very expensive but with limited appeal- like a liquid chromatography machine used by a barely legal caffeine supplement maker…
Some auctioneers will say in their terms that “every item will sell, every item will change hands” and some won’t. Some even tell you that they shill bid (although not in so many words.) It’s worth reading the terms.
Last year or the year before I was bidding in a farm/machinery auction, won a half dozen items that went REALLY CHEAP, but then the seller declined to sell. THE WHOLE F-ING AUCTION- nothing actually sold. Seller wasted everyone’s time, and the auctioneer’s money as well. I was STEAMING mad. Several angry emails were exchanged with the auctioneer. He was pissed too and vented to me, which mollified my a bit. Stuff never did sell, it’s probably still sitting in the field or barn getting rustier every day.
Stuff is only worth what a buyer will pay, not what YOU paid. That value changes with time, and circumstance. This is one of the hardest mental challenges to overcome when selling.
n
88F at the moment with clear skies and a decent breeze.
Kids are all up (D2 had an extra with us overnight) fed (bacon and waffles) and moving around. I put my clothes in the drier so I might have something to wear in about 20 minutes. After that challenge is met and bested, I’ll start doing stuff.
Lazy morning.
n
https://www.dhs.gov/publication/homeland-threat-assessment
n
>> Epic DIY fail yesterday – replacing the spark plugs in the Solara went smoothy until I got to the final swap out. It looks like something broke off from inside in the spark plug wire when I pulled the plug connection and I can’t get any of my 5/8 sockets down around the base to extract the plug from the very deep recess.
No Sears means what is most likely the right tool – a 6-8 inch deep manetized 5/8 socket – is not available within driving distance at 3 PM on a Saturday afternoon.
The car is in the driveway, blocking the garage access to the Exploder slot.
@Greg, would sticking the hose of a shop vac down around the plug possibly suck up the debris blocking your socket?
For odd-ball automotive tools, is there a NAPA store near you? I recall finding something there I needed on short notice back in Tampa (on Henderson Ave?)
I complete the spark plug replacement on my own this afternoon after the mobile mechanic called and cancelled citing his lack of the appropriate tools.
Not wanting to deal with a tow truck and having the vehicle out of commission another day, I went to Home Depot, found the narrowest/longest pair of Hecho en China/Vietnam needlenose pliers in the store, and headed home. After 30 minutes of playing with the pliers, I pulled the broken bit of cable out of the recess and quickly replaced the plug.
Now the car just looks like cr*p. It runs extremely well. The plugs were badly corroded.
A new set of Denso spark plug cables are on order.
I live in Austin now after a detour through WA State.
Henderson has changed a lot in recent years. I doubt the NAPA is even there anymore.
Filthy lucre. Plus, repair parts for gasoline cars? How quaint.
Some more “tab clearing” although it’s really inbox…
since the introduction of the 911 system and unified dispatch, we’ve come part-circle…
think about what it means for our current society and situation that the primary point of service, the 911 call center, is in that condition.
Couple that with the ongoing losses in police departments… and you have a coming state of anarchy that I think most people are either unaware of, or unwilling to admit even to themselves how bad it could be.
n
Ah, plug replacement stories!
My father had a (1970?) Pontiac Le Mans that he occasionally let me drive. Fun.
I had to change the plugs on it once, ugh. Probably the 350ci, though after 40+ years I don’t really recall. An all day chore.
Some things don’t change.
Eventually it overheated in traffic and was never the same again.
He traded it in on a boat of an El Camino that had even less room to work with under the hood.
A webcam on a USB cord is very useful in seeing the back of an engine or other tight spot. I also have, er, a giant endoscope. There’s another word for it, which is escaping me. A camera on the end of a long, flexible cord. (I don’t use it often enough to have been worth buying but it was one of the things I got for the price of reviewing it, so it’s worth it to me.)
The gal who runs the Chickanic youtube channel claims her endoscope is one of the most important tools she has. She and her husband run a garden equipment sales and service (mostly service) shop. She does all the small engine work.
With the endoscope, she doesn’t have to remove the head from a 2 stroke to see that the cylinder is scored beyond all repair, and declare it DOA. Just pull the plug and peek inside. Saves lots of time, since she needs to look at the plug anyway.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/09/29/climate-wars-heating-up-in-rural-australia/
So nice that friendly governments test our crowd-control weapons before they are rolled out for use at home.
Need I mention Rule 308 ?
Borescope?
“Hi. I got a tape I want to play.”
40 years. Geesh.
We’re going Wednesday night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rjMwSTeVeo
Whether or not is is “the greatest concert movie of all time”, no “Stop Making Sense”, no Jonathan Demme directing “Silence of the Lambs”.
Today was Big Excitement. Not to me, though.
The kids (they are pushing 50) came out to tend to their deer feeders. I had a window open because it war 66f this morning. Anyway. They started the side by side and it died. And kept dying . Not normal. But they loaded their corn and puttered away.
They got out somewhere in the woods and the thing died and would not start. “The battery went bad.” I had the riding mower battery sitting out to charge. Yep. You know where this is going already.
It has pull start but the rope broke. On the first pull. They swapped the battery. That didn’t work.
They pushed it a bit and it was too hard to push out of the creek bed. Fun times with a tow strap happened.
They got it back to the shed and pushed it to the parking place. “Man, that thing is hard to push!”
I went out with the volt meter a couple of hours ago. The battery they swapped in has all of 2.5 volts. The old battery showed 12.5. I hate dealing with the battery on that thing, it makes my back hurt.
Hard to push? Maybe put it neutral. Won’t run? Push the choke in.
I gave it 20 minutes on the 6 amp charger and it started right up. Runs fine.
Fixing the pull start is just four or five bolts and a piece of rope. The fuel shut-off on the carb is dripping. The drip stops when I slide the handle to off. I’ll have to figure that out. But that explains why it seems be out of gas all of the time… a drop every few minutes adds up.
They tried. They did the best they knew. Good on them. Last I heard they are sweating having to replace the side by side. Because they broke it.
Meh. It has all of 102 hours on the meter. I think we need to have an oil changing party for the side by side.
Greg, I have accumulated lots of tools that could have helped with your spark plug problem. Most were things I made or acquired in advance of need. Although I don’t have a borescope, I do have an assortment of mirrors, ranging from surplus dental mirrors to an assortment of small unmounted mirrors I bought at a hobby store for a cheap price. The latter are particularly handy when they are hot glued to some stiff wire. The other end of the wire is glued to a small magnet or just a weight, such as a rock. I use these with a narrow beam flashlight to see into confined spaces. I also have some small magnets fastened to wires.
Hot melt glue is wonderful for all sorts of temporary tricks. I have fastened crude wire extensions to pliers to reach into difficult places. It sets up quickly, and is stronger than tape. If I find that I use something like this much, I will try to buy a similar tool, or weld or braze my own.
Another trick is something sticky such as masking tape on a wire or stick, or just a screwdriver. That could also be some clay, which is handy for other uses.
For your recessed spark plugs, a shot of compressed air might have been appropriate. This is also a good idea before removing the plug to keep debris from falling through the plug hole. Some engines have tight fitting covers, but some don’t, and sand and grit can accumulate. I wouldn’t want that inside the cylinder.
If you don’t have a socket that can grip the plug, inserting a piece of paper or masking tape between the plug and an ordinary deep socket can work. I have also heard of using superglue, but I have never resorted to that. I have some spark plug sockets that have a rubber grip inside; I like those better than magnets, which tend to accumulate magnetic debris. Look for spark plug sockets that have a hex on the top: comes in handy sometimes.
I have a telescoping socket extension for those really close quarters. It is seldom needed, but when it is, Bob’s your uncle.
I use an assortment of plugs or just some newspaper or tape to block any holes left open during disassembly. You never know what might fall into an engine. Even a small rodent or bugs can cause havoc in wrong places.
If you work outside, don’t leave small fasteners or parts on the driveway. I have heard of packrats taking these. Imagine if it is something hard to replace…
Finally, you know you could have moved that car by pushing it or letting it roll if the place is sloped.
Hope some of this helps. Hat tips to many mechanics, going all the way back to Gus of the Model Garage. 🙂
Well, whaddaya know, all the Gus stories:
https://www.gus-stories.org/
I read a lot of them in Pop Science as a kid. Fun stuff.
I could see the wire fragment just fine if I aimed a flashlight into the recess. The trick was either reaching it with a narrow pair of pliers and pulling it off of the spark plug electrode or getting a deep enough socket where the extra couple of inches the wire protruded wouldn’t be a problem.
I finally found a suitable set of pliers at Home Depot this afternoon.
Changing the plugs ended up consuming most of the weekend, requiring:
I did manage to mow the front yard today while waiting for the mobile mechanic service.
I let the mechanic shop do the spark plug change on my old Expy. They are famous for breaking off. There is a special tool and even a knock off version of the special tool it’s so common… nothing I wanted to deal with.
I’ve told the story of my 73 New Yorker that dad changed the plugs on, found the one that took a couple hours of swearing and creativity to get out had never been changed in 10 years…
I like my Milwaukee camera boroscope. I got it to treasure hunt mom’s house after dad died, but I have used it to look in other walls, to check that there aren’t firestops in walls I need to snake cable thru, etc. Easy to pull a light switch or outlet and poke it into the wall. Easy to drill a small hole and poke it thru the top plate. You don’t need it often, but when you do it can save a lot of work.
Jeez, I better get some dinner going.
n
The pliers which solved today’s problem. Chinesium by way of Vietnam, but they saved me a $200 mobile mechanic bill or a similiar outlay for a tow to a trustworthy mechanic and the bill for him to spend an afternoon experimenting like I did.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Crescent-13-in-x-2-Long-Nose-Pliers-with-Dual-Material-Handle-PSX200C-06/319108290
I see people replacing brake drums and rotors. Newer cars tend to have smaller brake rotors and drums to reduce weight, and some friction material wears the cast iron fast. I avoid such pads and shoes whenever possible. Making hard stops wears friction materials, including the cast iron, much faster than more gentle stops. I worked on a project to adapt a retired police car to road racing, and at first the front brake pads only lasted about 20 laps. Going to metallic pads and water spray to lower temperature raised that to something over 100 laps. It is that extreme.
My now retired 97 Chrysler Town & Country has over 200k miles, and the rear drums and shoes are original. I have replaced the front pads about every 30k miles, but the rotors are original and still meet thickness specs. I replaced the original front pads of my now retired 69 Chrysler New Yorker at about 100k miles, and the discs had the original Blanchard grinding marks still visible, which means very little wear. This was mostly because I drove both cars on long trips a lot. I replaced the rear shoes at about 150k miles.
Go easy on brakes. Find better lining materials. I am about to try some ceramic linings on a newer car. Some of these are claimed to be longer lasting and easier on cast iron wear than the more common semi metallic linings. Sure are expensive. I bought those front pads for my 69 Chrysler from a dealer for less than $10 for all four.
@JimB
“Well, whaddaya know, all the Gus stories:”
Hey! Cool! Thanks!
“If you don’t have a socket that can grip the plug, inserting a piece of paper or masking tape between the plug and an ordinary deep socket can work.”
A roll of double-face transparent tape is useful, too.
“If you work outside, don’t leave small fasteners or parts on the driveway”
For small jobs I use a magnetic parts holder.
For bigger jobs I use a clean pizza box, a method I first used on a front-end clip on a pickup about ten years ago. Drew an outline of the front end with the quarter panels below . Every time I pulled a fastener I made a hole with an awl in the approximate location, pushed the bolt or screw through, and labelled it, including a sequence number. Anything not 8 or 10mm got the size noted. Attached nuts with a u-shaped piece cut from a paper clip, after turning a barb on one leg with pliers, so it wouldn’t slip out. Sometimes I take a photo with a 3×5 card note explaining what future-self needs to know if he comes back in a couple days and doesn’t remember “the trick”–it’s always a shame to break the hidden clip or whatever to learn “the trick’ of where to pry or slip the knife blade and then not remember after you get pulled away for couple days to fight other fires.
“Go easy on brakes. ”
Most people go directly from the gas to the brake. Lifting your foot off the gas a bit early and letting the car slow down before applying the brake is better for gas mileage and the life of the brakes.
I’ve never been able to figure out the dumasses that insist on riding your bumper into a stop sign, then speeding to catch up to you in a hundred yards, only to repeat again for the next stop sign.
Oh, the irony of how the game ended for the Saints today.
“Former Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston came in for one play and threw an interception to Dee Delaney.”
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bucs/2023/10/01/baker-mayfield-nfc-south-saints-antoine-winfield-deven-thompkins/
Lovie took Jimbo’s word that Jameis would work out in Tampa. How did that work out for Lovie?
The jury is still out on Jimbo, but, as up and down as his career has been, Jameis is the last proven pro quarterback Jimbo had any part of developing.
>> The CVS pharmacists here are still in masks based on what I saw Friday night when we picked up a regular medication for my wife.
No masks (yet) at our CVS, but as we’ve seen at other stores (search CVS Kansas City,) being short-staffed is now the norm. So short-staffed that they regularly close the drive-thru window and attribute it to “technical difficulties.” I stopped Friday afternoon to pick up some scrips for the wife and there was just the pharmacist, two pharm-techs and one clerk. That’s at least two techs and one clerk short of what I usually see. And of course the drive-thru was closed. Luckily there was no line when I got to the Rx counter, but as I left seven people were waiting and the pharmacist was busy with two Covid jabs. To top it off, they are regularly so busy the they’re constantly at least a day behind on anything new and they tell you they’ll fill it ‘now’ and that will take 15 minutes, “please wait.”
As we know, just another instance of the “normal” world slowly falling to pieces.
Work with your physician(s) to get creative so that you can, where feasible, start to stockpile Rx meds. Ask which pills can safely be split and where you “need” to double your dosage. And Jase is still advertising FOX (or FOXNEWS) as a discount code.
>> I’ll soon be obtaining a Concealed Carry Permit.
Consider joining us here as a wheel gub convert. No struggling with a hard to rack slide for us ‘old farts.’
I have those. Don’t need them often, but when I do…
I also have a couple pair of these:
https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/pliers/locking-pliers/15-inch-long-reach-locking-pliers-97609.html
Very handy for spring hose clamps in tight places. I loooove locking pliers, AKA Vise Grips. Have a bunch, some modified. Some are welding clamps, but have other uses.
>> Battery, btw, is the Walmart brand that has been discussed here before. That one is ten months old and looks new, without a hint of corrosion on the top terminals.
Are any of the OEMs using side-terminal batteries anymore?
@Greg
“The pliers which solved today’s problem.”
I have one pair of something similar. In each car tool box I have a magnetic pickup tool, a pair of stens forceps or hemostats, and a pair of 12″ general application forceps. The latter probably came from Fisher Scientific back in the day, but their list price is now an obscene $50 for basically the same thing you can find on eBay or elsewhaere for $15 (up fom $8 three years ago).
Added:
Took another look, found:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/254729376840
>> Oh, I’ve also noticed tire places are now pushing wiper replacements. Hard. They must have good success getting people to bite on that one.
You can include Discount Tire in this group, but not sure if it’s a hard sell.
What – no flex grabbers?
@greg, dunno about best ever concert movie, but I love the Talking Heads. That album rocked. Absolutely defined the 80s.
n
David Byrne’s solo albums are also interesting.
I saw Byrne on tour for “Look Into The Eyeball”. He brought a backing string sextet, and they provided a unique take on the percussion for “Once in a Lifetime”.
Nothing to see here folks, really, he’s just mimicking ‘ole Mitch…
https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1708522816348307812
Stick a fork in him. It’s beyond elder abuse at this point.
n
Re my post about Laptop issues and the helpful answers:
I had two problems – first, the new transceiver for the Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse solved my problem. Speccy can see both of them, but neither will send input to the system. Wired keyboard/mouse work as they should. Second, the mouse button were reversed so using any mouse was driving me nuts. At one point I had three mice and three keyboards visible in Speccy. The display problem was solvable once I got the mouse problems fixed.
Worked on installing a wall mount for my large shop TV. Didn’t drill any holes, but I know where to drill tomorrow. I think I will make a cover for the TV when it is not in use. I don’t watch TV a lot so protecting the screen may be a good idea. I can build a frame that hooks over the top and fill the frame foam board and put a poster on it. The TV has 2 inch top margin so I can probably set the cover on top of the TV when I’m want to watch something
reposting a comment from AoSHQ:
ITGuy1998 – you have a Harbor Frieght store in your area? They have tons of sockets/tools. May not be the highest quality, but that could be OK for the limited use of a tool.
Ummmm…. Doesn’t “AR” stand for ARMALITE Rifle?
@Ken Mitchell
Armalite bid but did not get any contracts for the AR-15, and sold the rights to Colt
just did my mileage totals for taxes. Driving back and forth to the BOL doubled my miles for the year. Yikes.
n
In the 1960s, I had a commute that included six miles on Woodward Ave, which in 1923 was the nation’s first “super highway.” Woodward was an eight-lane divided highway with a 40-foot median between Detroit and Pontiac:
https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/about/history/transportation-national-firsts
The speed limit on that stretch was 45mph, and the traffic signals were set to 43mph. With light to moderate traffic, I could drive at a constant speed with all green lights. I would watch about two thirds of the traffic zoom from red light to red light.
San Diego surface streets are timed, so that if you do the speed limit, you can surf the green from one side of town to the other. After about 10 blocks or so the timing gets harder to keep and you will usually get stuck for one cycle.
Houston’s former mayor got elected on a single issue, timing the lights in downtown. City traffic said it couldn’t be done, he insisted that if they didn’t he’d bring someone who could, and lo! they found a way. It makes a huge difference.
n
>> Henderson has changed a lot in recent years. I doubt the NAPA is even there anymore.
@Greg, yup, gone from Henderson, one now on Hillsborough…
https://maps.app.goo.gl/x3VSgjXPMQyhhjuh6
Hmm…pricy though…
https://www.taurususa.com/revolvers/taurus-judge/taurus-judge-home-defender-410-ga-alloy-steel-13-00-in
I just thought to mention that I have bought a few specialty automotive tools at auto parts stores and other places. Usually these are from branded displays such as KD. The brand I have liked the most is Lisle: https://www.lislecorp.com/. Their tools seem to be well designed, and are often suggested by mechanics.
I have had two different Lisle items fail in early use. In both cases, I just called Lisle and described the problem. They sent a replacement free of charge, no questions asked. That is smart customer care.
Two thoughts: I haven’t had many tools break, although the two Lisle tools didn’t appear to have manufacturing defects. Getting others replaced was more involved than dealing with Lisle. My sample size is too small to draw any conclusions, but I still like Lisle tools. They seem to take good care of their customers.