Comments by "spaceflight101" (@spaceflight1019) on "Rainman Ray's Repairs" channel.

  1. Helpful hint: when attempting to loosen rusted fasteners, a six-pointed socket or box end is far less likely to round the fastener off than a 12 point or adjustable wrench.
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  2. Helpful hint: if the lower control arm is horizontal, there is no side load on the rear bushing and the vertical bolt will easily drop out, especially if an uncovered floor drain is close by.
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  3. Every time you say "I'm just gonna go ahead..." I'm hearing Bill Lumbergh. When I worked at a power plant we had brass tools for working on the hydrogen and natural gas systems. Your tool man should be able to get you a brass drift for lock ring removal. One more hint: when working with flammable stuff ALWAYS have a proper fire extinguisher nearby. Things can turn to crap in a New York second with fuels.
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  4. "Oh no!" "WTF was that?!" "The motor. We've thrown a rod!" "Is that serious?" "Yup."
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  5. Not really. Ray did all of the detective work, if I owned the truck I'd replace the parts myself.
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  6.  @acheeseburger9645  Let me tell you a story. After 18 years at Westinghouse I was building gas turbine power plants for $19.50 an hour, less than J.B. Hunt was paying. When my boss told me to go drive a truck I quit without notice and, because they weren't interested in upgrading to the new ISO standards all of their customers came to my new employer. Same service, lower price, better quality. Five years later that shop closed. Sometimes you don't have to work on revenge, it just happens.
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  7. Actually, if your battery terminals are that corroded it's a good idea to clean the visible corrosion with baking soda and water, then remove the terminal clamps and clean them internally.
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  8. Anti-seize compound does the very same thing...it gets everywhere!
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  9. In the 1980s instrumentation that used a nuclear source to measure density of liquids became popular. As those plants were abandoned and eventually scrapped the sources found their way into the scrap chain. After an incident involving the radioactive contamination of a steel mill scrapyards were forced to install radiation detectors.
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  10. When the time per task books are written the vehicles used are fresh from the assembly line and have zero corrosion.
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  11. You forgot #1: make sure that the trailer frame is independently grounded via a separate ground rod. That way, if the trailer frame became energized grabbing the door handle wouldn't put you in the circuit.
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  12. It's this simple: when you're on the clock you do what your boss tells you to do. When you're off the clock then you can do whatever you want to do. Getting arrested or thrown off the jobsite and getting the company thrown off the jobsite is not cool.
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  13. Did it smell like booze when you opened the door? What us old-timers did to find which circuit was causing the problem was to connect a 12 volt test light between the battery and one of the main leads. Remove all of the fuses in case there are multiple problems. Replace them one at a time until the light illuminates. Replace the remaining fuses and troubleshoot the ones that light the light.
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  14. "I'm a doctor, Jim, not a miracle worker!"
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  15.  @noworriesmate5903  Ray needs to find a buddy who either is an electrician or knows one.
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  16.  @mikejacob3536  I can't say if the state Ray works in has any kind of state inspection for motor vehicle, but in Pennsylvania what we saw here is quite common. The emission inspection comes first. If that fails you can't get the safety inspection done. If the safety inspection fails you can either have the inspection mechanic do the work or take it to have it fixed, do the work yourself and pay for another inspection.
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  17. People have this misconception that because they bought a welder at Harbor Freight that it makes them a welder. After nearly 50 years of watching people weld everything from natural gas transmission pipelines to power station boiler tubes I can tell you that it doesn't. It takes years of practice and experience. Even at that there are various levels of certification for various jobs. Ray, you have nothing to be ashamed of. When the power station offered a welding course I declined. I was an Instrument Repairman and Electrician, and we don't lean into the arc, we make the arcing stop.
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  18.  @lgninjalo  I beg to differ with you. I used to be an E&I tech at a power station. My boss was an IBEW Local 5 member. The power station was IBEW Local 29. Before an outage, I was tasked with connection of shower trailers to 240 volt breaker panels. We ran 4 conductor feeders, black, white, red, green. All were properly connected. My boss instructed me to ground the trailer frames via a separate ground rod. He said that The Code mandated this. Doing this eliminated any possibility of the trailer body and frame becoming energized and a worker completing the circuit by grabbing the door handle.
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  19. As someone once told me, sometimes you gotta talk to the parts!
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  20. That truck was way past "rode hard and put away wet"!
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  21. Well, the "DOOO-DEE-DOOO" should be louder..
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  22. Gotta put the first dollar in the frame in the office!
    10
  23. Good luck with that! "Good Stuff Cheap" replaced "United We Stand" a long time ago.
    10
  24. Permatex makes this spray can stuff called "Hi-Tack" that's really good at keeping gaskets in place while you assemble things. Did we coat the crankshaft seal with Vaseline prior to assembling?
    10
  25. Cars turn into ovens very quickly in Florida.
    10
  26. Yes, but by replacing a CVT with another one, in the immortal words of Indiana Jones' father, our situation has not improved.
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  27. I had a light like that one when I worked at the power station. It survived three multi-floor drops. The fourth one did it in. I would have made a video of an average power station Electrical and Instrumentation tech day but the noise level was too high.
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  28. ​ @tommcintosh7241  There is a phrase, spoken by Engineer Scotty, that seriously applies to modern cars: "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain."
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  29.  @IR-nq4qv  Nitrogen is subject to the Ideal Gas Law like every other gas. Its advantage lies in the fact that it has zero moisture and the change in pressure versus temperature is predictable.
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  30. Temporal displacement is often accompanied by vibration.
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  31. 20 years ago my sister was driving a 90s Firebird with the 5.0 V8 and throttle body EFI. It had a module problem. She bought a new Pep Boys module for around $300 that didn't solve the problem. I tried troubleshooting it but took detailed notes. The mechanic at the local Pontiac dealership read the notes and told me that I needed a new module. I balked because I had already done that. When the service manager said, in writing, that they'd cover the cost of the module if it wasn't the problem I said Ok. A genuine GM Goodwrench module fixed the problem. She moved to Florida. A year later the car broke in half after crossing railroad tracks, thanks to western New York road salt.
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  32. NASA uses the name for tools used to work on the Hubble Space Telescope. They are socket drivers that have a planetary gearset system that boosts their torque output while minimizing the amount of force that a spacewalking astronaut has to put into the tool.
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  33. Did I miss where he checked the oil level?
    9
  34. "Hello, Ray's Auto Clinic. Yes, of course, he's serious. You do? You have? No kidding? Let me slot you in for tomorrow. Of course he'll be totally discreet. Thank you!" (Rings bell) "WE GOT ONE!"
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  35. Wasn't north of the Florida-Georgia line ever.
    8
  36. No, it's more like "Jeep made this easy to service...said no one ever!" These are meant to be traded in after the lease is up, nothing more.
    8
  37. Looking forward to seeing that Corvette on the lift.
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  38. That's Jack-Jack.
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  39.  @GreenAppelPie  but, like the fire ants, skeeters, love bugs, and no-see-ums, they'll be back.
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  40.  @91TITANS  Orange? I'm used to black-white-red-green for 240.
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  41. ​ @dbeckley43 Spray the bolt with freeze spray or an inverted can of canned air. -40, then spray it with PB. Repeat it a few times. I've been able to unscrew studs by hand on industrial valves.
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  42.  @KendrasEdge757  We we're listening to the STS-125 mission in the shop and when one of the astronauts asked for a "torque enhancer" and the other one asked "3 or 6 foot?" one of the guys believed that he was slipping a pipe over the end of the wrench.
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  43. Synchronicity...many miles away, a November gale is forecast to lash Lake Superior with winds to 55 knots and 18 foot wave heights...the exact same scenario that doomed the Edmund Fitzgerald and her 29 man crew on November 10th, 1975.
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  44. I vote for ctrl-alt-del with the multitude of codes. Almost looks like a power surge. "Here's the plan, here's what I'm going to do...leave the keys in it and the gate unlocked and go home!"
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  45. It's the power station paradigm, or Chuck Noll's favorite saying: "Whatever it takes!"
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  46. ​​ @jhonditch4269 Ever think that the engineering team that designed the vehicle might have known what they were doing?
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  47. 1967 Ford F-100. 352 under the hood, three on the tree. Pull out the choke knob, pump the gas pedal twice, hit the starter. When it fires push the choke knob in about halfway and let it warm up for a few minutes. Once underway push the choke knob in.
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  48. Oh yeah, especially when everyone else said "you'll never get it" just before you got it.
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  49. It all depends on the filter orientation. If you're going to spill out whatever you put in then it's not worth the effort.
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  50. Statler: "It's in mint condition!" Waldorf: "Yeah, for Pittsburgh!" (both men laughing)
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  51. Any mechanical device that needs oil needs periodic oil replacement. Industrial users frequently send oil samples to a laboratory to determine what contaminants are in the used oil. This allows them to predict wear, and ultimately, the expected life of the machine.
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  52. My neighbor called his boat "a hole in the water that you throw money into."
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  53. Hopefully, he didn't work as an aircraft mechanic.
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  54.  @jameskennedy673  We know that it was towed in, but we don't know the background story, or how it got like this. Judging by its appearance, I think that it belonged to someone who, due to health issues, stopped driving it long ago and the current owners inherited it upon the passing of its original owner. It's obviously not affected by rust issues so it's a candidate for an engine replacement. What the owners do with Grandpas truck remains to be seen. If it's part of a contested estate lunacy, in the form of "fair market value", will step in.
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  55. A solenoid valve consists of two parts: the solenoid coil and the valve assembly. Seen lots of times where the plunger wasn't connected to the plug or piston.
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  56. I saw that dozens of times. I attributed it to the Force.
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  57.  @gaiustacitus4242  This is a practical application of the Ideal Gas Law. Since I don't drive on the interstates anymore I inflate my tires 5 psi over the recommended pressure the weekend after Thanksgiving. Hitting a pothole with an underinflated tire often results in a blowout and a broken wheel or both.
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  58. ​ @annaplojharova1400 Back in the old days the self adjusting brakes required you to drive in reverse and apply the brakes. Advertising boasted that "the brakes are automatically adjusted every time you back out of your driveway or parking space."
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  59. Usually if a line is rusted that badly you can cut it off with lineman's pliers or diagonal cutters. But sometimes there isn't enough room, so...
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  60.  @KevinCoop1  I believe, contrary to a lot of the internet, we've got a lot of very good electrical safety information here this morning. Kudos to everyone who has contributed, and like a good pirate, keep to The Code. You wouldn't want a visit from Captain Teague!
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  61. At the last place I worked at before I retired, there were more than a few maintenance people who regarded any advice as "band camp stories". Arguing with someone about how to work on a device that can kill you is as foolhardy as arguing with a flight instructor, but I encountered it many times in my 43 years.
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  62. I'll bet that the election guy's eyes are still crossed...
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  63. Warranty company says that as long as it's driveable they won't pay to fix it.
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  64. Power station forklift training taught us that lifts with solid tires should only be used on concrete and asphalt surfaces. Lifts with pneumatic tires work on all surfaces. Extend-A-Booms work great for getting into tight areas but you have to pay attention to the leverage lest the steering end of the forklift come off the ground. We had a 20 ton forklift for picking up the 15 ton pulverizer mill motors.
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  65.  @camberwellcarrot420  We can thank our Federal Government and its ever more increasing Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations.
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  66. Hopefully, he disconnected the battery before working on the sunroof. As long as power exists the onboard computer can command things powered by the battery to move, and if your hand or fingers are in the line of fire, you lose. Helpful hint: before installing rubber weatherstripping soak it in hot water for a few minutes to soften it up.
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  67. ​ @JowieC Before and after, not rocket science.
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  68. ​ @Brettsharplpn  It's a requirement for that profession, along with many other trades and crafts.
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  69. The old B and RB engines were the best. They had a water pump manifold. The water pump itself bolted to the manifold with 4 bolts. Took less than an hour to change it. A and LA engines, not so nice.
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  70. I worked with mostly Swagelok brand compression fittings for over 40 years and found it ironic that they're not permitted to be used on brake lines. The problem here is that they used a brass compression fitting on a steel brake line.
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  71. The famous (not so) "Duraspark" ignition module! I used to carry a spare for my 1977 F150.
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  72. You're getting some pretty exotic cars in the bay lately. Run out of PT Cruisers?
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  73.  @Chris-hw4mq  after lunch. Blood sugar deficit. Powering down. Dooo...
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  74. We tried both kinds at Cheswick Power Station. They produced some spectacular fires that required a scissor lift to extinguish.
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  75. ​ @calvinevans8305 It takes a lot of temperature to "cook" oil, temperature commonly found on the exhaust valves and turbos. The temperature on the intake side is much lower, not enough to heat oil enough. For direct injection, use of a Top Tier gasoline is recommended to reduce deposit buildup. But... Back in the day, mechanics used Chemtool for intake manifold and valve cleaning and performed the job once a year on vehicles used in "severe service", basically low speed stop and go driving with lots of idling time.
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  76.  @johnt.848  It's a necessity! The last time I was in Fort Myers we rented a Jeep with the stop-start "feature". We were getting baked sitting at a red light! If you kick it into neutral the engine keeps running and the AC keeps going.
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  77. When I was still working at the power station I learned to look for something that I could grab onto and pull myself up. In the same vein as your comment... I miss the days when I could sit on the ground to work on the car and not get blood clots in my legs!
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  78.  @lgninjalo  I make no apologies. I was a Master Instrument and Valve tech who was a contractor at Elrama Power Station when they offered me a job. After 30 years on the trade, 26 of it in field service, I knew enough about big electricity to (a)not get killed, and (b), listen to advice from people who had experience, especially when they were my boss. One thing he had me do was test the trailers' insulation integrity with a megger. He told me that if you don't do it, and someone gets shocked, you will be asked why you didn't in court, by a lawyer, in front of a judge and jury. It made sense to me!
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  79. That plus some PB Blaster and a little patience.
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  80. The fact that they're willing to drive it with the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree speaks volumes about the mentality of the owners. Refuse to drive it because it's unsafe and get fired. Drive it and cause an accident and the driver is responsible. Just freaking marvelous!
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  81. To test for this you need a vacuum gauge. Connect the vacuum gauge to the intake manifold. Start the engine, and allow the reading to stabilize as the engine idles. Increase the engine RPMs and observe the gauge. A plugged converter will cause the vacuum gauge to drop and continue to decrease. If the converter isn't plugged the vacuum reading will increase and stabilize.
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  82. 3. Smart ballasts need to have the power shut off for about a minute after changing bulbs. Changing bulbs while energized makes the ballast go into a safe mode.
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  83.  @anthonyware4033  gee, I've changed a few bulbs and fixtures between two power stations in my career. We were replacing bulbs and ballasts on the turbine deck, working from on top of the bridge crane, and the first fixture we upgraded didn't relight. We figured that we had a bad ballast so we replaced the new one with no results. Called the boss on the radio. He called the salesman. Salesman asked if we powered down before installing the new ballast. We said no, we replaced them hot. He said to power down for a minute. The ground man powered down. When he powered up the lights came on. I don't pretend to be smart; I merely share the fruits of my experience.
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  84.  @nottelling4828  not exactly true. Ever since the first Arab oil embargo car manufacturers have known that lighter vehicles and smaller engines get better mileage. First came the move from steel and iron to aluminum alloy materials. Now it's moving from alloy to plastic. The inexpensiveness of the parts happens to dovetail nicely with the weight reduction.
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  85. Little known trick here...if you want to force the cooling fans to run just activate the air conditioner. Sometimes they have a separate fan for this but if not it helps you troubleshoot.
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  86. Fuel pumps can fail in subtle, mysterious ways. The pump in my 1993 Dakota died mere hours after a service trip to Falconer, New York, in February. It died a half mile from the house. The pump in my 1988 Caravan began failing on the way to Myrtle Beach. On the way home, it was 30 mph uphill all the way through West Virginia. It never failed completely. Sometimes, with OBD 1 cars, you just replace everything that can potentially be a problem until you strike gold.
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  87.  @mistermartin82  A long, long time ago a crusty old-timer told me that, and I quote, "Opinions are like a$$holes! Everyone has one and most of them stink!" He figured that serving in two World Wars entitled him to his observations of human nature.
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  88. With a Ford, none of it is anything good!
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  89. On most vehicles with four wheel discs the little drum brake at the rear is actually the parking brake.
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  90. The only times we cleaned off the workbenches at the power station was when food was inbound.
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  91. Mopars of the 1960s had left-hand threads on the lug nuts and studs. The letter "L" was stamped into the center of the stud. Problems came when mechanics and tire changers mixed the nuts.
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  92.  @bobhudson6659  When I worked in the power stations it usually wasn't a floor drain, but falling through the floor gratings. One magnetic flashlight survived falling four floors and somehow managed to get to the concrete floor on the ground. It didn't survive the second time. I learned to carry a magnetic collapsible retriever and a roll of bricklayers string in my toolbox. The boiler house is going to be demolished in September. I wonder how many tools will be found in the wreckage.
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  93. At your shop, at what approximate dollar value do you have the boss contact the customer?
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  94. Let me tell you a story about misdiagnosis and the internet. A few years ago my 2005 Harley -Davidson 1200 Sportster Roadster began misfiring on the way home from work. When I smelled melted plastic I shut down and saw coil juice dripping on the front cylinder. $100 to have it towed home.The next day I went to the dealership and bought a new coil. It started but would only run on one cylinder. Internet says to replace the ignition control module. Installed the new one ($250) and learned that the module and bike must be programmed at the dealership. After much discussion I bought a new Daytona Twin Tech module ($275). It told me that the crank position sensor was bad. ($60) later, the same trouble code. I walked away from it for a week before deciding to ignore the internet and be a troubleshooter. I got out the service manual schematics and the multimeter and started at the battery. 12.5 volts. Ok. Check the voltage at the ignition module...8.5 volts! Check the schematics for a resistor, none found. Pull the fuse, and the blades are covered by a calcium plaque. Remove the plaque, clean up the fuse block, and measure 12.5 volts at the module. Plug everything back in, and the bike fires right up on both cylinders. That's what I get for (a) riding to work before the spring rains wash the salt off the roads, and (b) listening to the internet.
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  95. The voice to text on here calls the car a SOB, kinda appropriate, actually.
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  96. It does have a Mr. Fusion perched on the back, so no plutonium needed.
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  97. Yes, particularly in Florida where critters called "love bugs" wreak havoc with car cooling systems and air intakes. We were on our way to Disney during love bug season and after several miles of driving through them the engine temp began to rise and the interior was getting warm. A trip to a self-service car wash and a grille net solved both problems.
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  98. They usually succeed in rounding off the flats on the top of the filter. Next stop is a band wrench. They often succeed in crushing the filter can. Next stop is to drive a large screwdriver through the can. This often results in the total destruction of the filter can! The next stop is using a chisel to dislodge the filter mounting plate. I say the next stop because the last stop is having to replace the oil filter mounting bracket. The factory filter on my 1982 Rabbit got to the chisel when I changed the oil for the first time.
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  99. Numerically higher axle ratio gives you better acceleration, lower gas mileage, and more engine rpms than a lower one.
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  100. Your statement was once true, until the advent of the locking torque converter.
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  101.  @eternaloptimist2840  Electricity isn't a hobby. There are codes that govern this kind of work. Getting shut down by the city inspectors or worse, having an insurance claim denied because you don't have the inspection certificate is a major buzzkill. My brother in law had a place in Fort Myers at Siesta Key. He tells me that Florida requires that a certified electrician does electrical work. In the park next door they've had two electrical fires from certified electric contractors calling FP&L and having them restore power. Now the utility is cracking down on these contractors.
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  102.  @randyfitz8310  The best part is that if the owner had started with the distributor advance weights they could have saved the money spent on sensors. Frozen advance weights are common in humid environmental conditions on vehicles not driven often. Timing not advancing results in unburned fuel going into the exhaust systems where it elevates temperatures.
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  103. Love bugs are particularly good at plugging things up. We were on the way to Disney World and had to visit a quarter car wash to get the engine temperature to come down. Then I found a net, and problem solved.
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  104.  @graken22  As the axle moves straight up and down, the length of the driveshaft needs to change. If the axle's movement traced an arc then the distance between the carrier bearing and the axle would remain constant.
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  105. There are a LOT of specialty code requirements that Ray will soon learn about. Fire department and local codes. State codes. EPA codes. OSHA codes. And you MUST keep track of all of the paperwork because you will be audited and if one thing is out of place they will shut you down!
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  106. Here are the basics, from the old days: Check oil and coolant levels at every fuel stop. While this may not be necessary for your daily commute, it's a good idea when you're traveling, like on vacation. Check your tire pressure at least once a month. When the temperature starts getting colder everyone's tire pressure alarm goes off. This becomes critical when the temperature turns frigid, as the combination of low temperature, low tire pressure, and a pothole can result in a blown tire and a broken wheel. Don't forget the spare, as it has a pressure sensor too. Many shops offer a Multipoint Inspection from time to time. If you're not a car geek I recommend having this done in April and October.
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  107.  @lgninjalo  How does grounding the trailer frame NOT provide a direct path to ground? I'm not seeing what you're saying.
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  108.  @lgninjalo  You are correct. NEMA Bulletin 90 details this. I would have posted the link but YT doesn't permit that.
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  109. It starts like this, innocently enough, but it soon mushrooms. Next step: hiring another mechanic because the workload justifies it. Then the other businesses complain to the landlord because Ray's customers are taking up all of the available parking spaces. Now Ray has a difficult decision to make...limit the number of cars he can work on, which leads to lost business, or expansion.
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  110. Timken bearings are no guarantee of quality. Some years ago I replaced the front hub assemblies in my 1993 Dakota and spent the extra money on Timken bearings. In less than a week they became sloppy. Auto Zone refunded the difference between the cost and the price of the generic replacement they had in stock. The Timkens, which I expected to be made in America, were imported from Italy.
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  111. They typically waterproof those with a conformal coating that makes it water and repair proof.
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  112. And not a soul is saying squat about how much CO2 these fires are dumping into the air.
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  113. More like the OnStrike update...
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  114. It also helps illuminate the inevitable creepy-crawlies that will set up shop in the shop.
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  115. I knew a guy with a squatted VW who ran a dead animal over on the PA Turnpike, and discovered that he had no brakes.
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  116. The "hot wrench" is the tool of last resort. Part of the problem here is dissimilar metals. The tubing nuts are steel and what they thread into is alloy. Better to PB Blaster it up and wait. Sometimes that doesn't work. I used to keep a can of canned air on my tool cart. Turn it upside down, and you get a blast of -40 degree juice to shrink the tubing nuts just enough to get the PB into the threads.
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  117. We used to hear Four Non Blondes but it stopped suddenly.
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  118. We typically used Gumout brand products. You'd pour a can into the gas tank and empty a spray can into the carburetor. This was the middle of a tune-up. The first thing you did was to set the ignition timing and points gap after you replaced the points, condenser, rotor, and distributor cap. Wires are optional after inspection. Do the fuel system cleaning and then replace the spark plugs. Check the idle RPM, adjust the idle mixture screws for the best idle after replacing the air filter, and you're done.
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  119. Years ago NASA was struggling to find the source of repeated hydrogen leaks on the shuttle during the runup to STS-38. They would test with liquid nitrogen with no leaks but it would leak with hydrogen due to its much colder temperature. They put refrigerant dye in and found a crushed seal in one of the engine pumps. Good stuff!
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  120. Nice job! Other than a check of the emission controls system (which your code reader would have done) you performed a Pennsylvania safety inspection, a Multipoint Safety Inspection, an oil change, and a tire inspection/rotation. Wherever you live, please have this work done on your ride once a year.
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  121. Things are going to be dicey at best for three or four days across most of Florida.
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  122. I disagree with your "parking brake, not emergency brake" opinion. When you step on the pedal and it goes to the floor the E-brake is your friend... unless the cables snap, or are rusted frozen. Been there, done that. Learning by doing is the foundation of an apprenticeship. People who never went through an apprenticeship are inclined to treat advice from experienced people as "band camp stories" and blow you off.
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  123. You buy what you need to do the work. 44 years ago I was an Instrument Repairman apprentice at Homestead Works. When the mill closed in 1981 they gave me my tool belt. It was more than sufficient to do the work until it was stolen from my company truck in Columbus, Ohio in 1992. Westinghouse bought me a toolbox that became known as "The Hernia Box" because I kept adding tools to it. Most of the tools in it are Craftsman. But the major Harbor Freight tools I use now that I'm retired are an Earthquake 3/8" cordless ratchet and a Chicago Electric plug in impact gun. They are a good value for the money.
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  124.  @paulrooster2108 , I bought it when I needed to get a front axle nut off a 2001 Ram 1500 4x4. PB and a 3 foot breaker bar didn't get it done. Chicago Electric and Duquesne Light got it off in about 5 seconds. I use it to remove lug nuts and a Pittsburgh Tools torque wrench to tighten them back up. Can't beat it.
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  125. Unless that socket is hiding or AWOL.
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  126. Here's a tip: spark plugs are made of steel. Heads are made of aluminum alloy. They have different coefficients of expansion. Heat cycles will cause galling of the threads. I always use a hand ratchet. I loosen the plug, then spray some PB Blaster and give it a minute or two to work its way down the threads. Then I begin removing the plug. If I feel it getting tight, the precursor to pulling the threads, I go clockwise a few turns, and spray more PB Blaster. When replacing the plugs, a small dab of nickel antiseize goes on the plug threads.
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  127.  @Smarterthanyou-mthrfkr  Yeah, see how fast you get "Ok Boomer."
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  128.  @tomokokuroki2506  thanks, now I see Milton saying that he's going to burn the building down...
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  129. Maybe I'm missing something, but to my eyes Ray's workload is divided into two categories: short-term jobs and extremely complex jobs that take a lot of time and tie up the working space. The short term jobs pay the daily bills. The long term jobs don't. How many oil changes can you do in a 10 hour day? At $75 per job, it makes financial sense to get 'em in, get 'em out. Tire rotations? Inspect the brakes while the wheels are off and you'll make more money on brake jobs. I used to work weekends at my neighbor's tire shop and showing the customers how sketchy their brakes were often resulted in a brake job. There is a business axiom that states "Expand, or die". Ray has quickly reached the point of having to ask himself some serious questions, beginning with this statement: this is NOT a hobby! More space, and more help.
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  130. You gotta love the electronic mother-in-law reminding him of the speed.
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  131. Well, it's the results of having a battery push current through connectors submerged in extremely conductive salt water. That one pin was completely burned off. Can't speak for modern stuff, but car modules used to be coated in a waterproof epoxy. Still, with the main power connection burned off, it's garbage.
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  132. When you ride a motorcycle, you quickly learn that giving way at an intersection is a good way to avoid becoming roadkill.
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  133. Now THAT would be ironic!
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  134. Try process instruments in Pittsburgh for torque wrench calibration.
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  135. Florida is the last refuge for the PT Cruiser.
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  136. I was a power plant electrician. If I welded something it meant that I failed to lock the power out!
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  137. That was when you had to state "original miles" when you sold it. Digital ones go to a million miles. No question of "rolling it over" any more.
    3
  138. Didn't you ever see "World's Fastest Indian"? Ole Burt used shoe polish to conceal the cracks in the tires the night before his record setting run.
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  139.  @futatn  I've lived in Pittsburgh all of my life and have seen many vehicles rendered junk because the road salt killed them. Now that PennDOT spreads fracking brine on the roads every spring brings multiple news stories about vehicle brake failures due to the lines rotting out. The second time it happened to me on a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 I got rid of it after observing severe corrosion around everything underneath the truck. The term existed 50 years ago, when owners of Mopars without inner fenders caved the fenders in while waxing them in the spring.
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  140. ​ @legogummybear5 Right on red has been around since the 1970s. It was introduced during the 1973 Arab oil embargo as a fuel saving measure.
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  141. ​ @donwyoming1936 When the transmission in my 1993 Durango went at 170k the transmission guy asked me how many times it had been replaced. I told him that it was OEM, but I had the fluid flushed and replaced around 100k. He went on to tell me that the trans dies because material from the lockup clutch clogs the filter and the pumps go dry. 170k on a CVT is a miracle!
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  142. Work, like love, is a relationship and when they fail, it's natural to wonder if it's because of something you did. As you get older, your skills improve, and when you change employers or become self-employed that doubt diminishes. It gets worse when the places you've worked at close permanently. I retired last year, and three months later came the news that the place would be closed and torn down. I took great pride in my work and wondered if it was something I'd done or not done. In the end, it was absolutely nothing that I had any control of. Here is the list: Union Switch and Signal, Swissvale, PA. Closed when operations were moved to another plant. Westinghouse East Pittsburgh. Closed when operations were moved to other plants. U.S. Steel's Homestead Works. Closed due to economic change in the steel industry. WISCO. Bought by Siemens. Closed five years later as operations were sold off or moved to other plants. Elrama Power Station. Closed after 60 years of service due to economic unviability. Cheswick Power Station. Closed after 52 years of service due to economic unviability. There was nothing that I did or didn't do that influenced any of those closures. Sure, it took time and analysis to get rid of the "maybe it's me" gremlins, and our friend Ray will move on too.
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  143. I'm going to add a few tips for us shade tree mechanics. Try to avoid disturbing as much as possible when changing plugs. Plastics get brittle over time and there's nothing quite like hearing that sickening "snap". Spark plugs are made of steel. Heads are made of aluminum. Improve your odds of NOT pulling the threads by spraying your favorite penetrating oil down the plug hole before you remove the plug. NEVER use a power tool to remove spark plugs! When you do it by hand and you feel it tightening up turning the plug back in a turn or two will give the P-oil a chance to do its job. When replacing the plugs, put a dab of antiseize on the threads. This will greatly reduce the risk of pulling the threads the next time. Contrary to popular belief, you still must replace spark plugs. My 2.4l Patriots need them every 30K miles.
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  144. Back in the day, it was conventional tire shop wisdom that adding 5 psi over the manufacturer recommended pressure would give you better vehicle control and slightly better fuel mileage. I've done it on my own vehicles for over 50 years. But in today's litigious society, deviation from manufacturers specifications will open you up to liabilities in case of an accident. Remember, "we get money from EVERYONE to blame!" is the ambulance chaser's mantra.
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  145. First cold morning brings a rash of "low tire" alarms. Time to pump 'em up, including the spare.
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  146. "The smelly smell that smells...smelly."
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  147. What did you say her name was, again? Asking for a friend...
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  148. P-oil and brake cleaner work great on spiders too. Takes the fight right out of them!
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  149.  @jmleewong  technically, in the quest to do the job right, Ray uncovered other issues unrelated to the customer complaint. He performed a "multipoint inspection" as the dealers call it. Now, if this was Pennsylvania, and the truck was being state inspected, then the customer gets a list of reasons why the vehicle failed. The owner has the right to have these issues corrected somewhere else but they must be corrected before the vehicle can be re-inspected. The reason the vehicle must be re-inspected is because other issues may have cropped up. Many are the unlucky souls who've gotten a rock across the windshield on the way to the inspection station...
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  150.  @TLM-Nathan  those have a whole lot less things to go wrong.
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  151. No personal income tax puts more money in your pocket.
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  152. When you can buy a car with your phone or from a vending machine do you think that buyers really care about a pre-purchase inspection?
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  153. The authorities issue falling lizard alerts when it gets chilly enough.
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  154. Murphy NEVER takes a day off when he can cause mayhem.
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  155. The Japanese saying for this is "same, but not same-same".
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  156.  @squiggyg.8415  The engineering term is "percussive maintenance".
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  157.  @privilegedwhitemale306  us tradesmen gotta look out for one another. When you guys came into my power station it was my job to (a) make sure you went home again at the end of your shift, and (b), make sure you had enough safe power to do your job. Even though I'm retired and the plant closed old habits are hard to break.
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  158. Dealers charge at least one hour for anything.
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  159.  @Bugdriver49  unlike my youngest son, a degreed engineer, I've never destroyed a tool...he destroyed my 1/4" ratchet handle trying to remove the oil pan drain plug on his girlfriend's car. Never replaced it either. Not like I don't have metric and SAE sockets in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2" sizes.
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  160. Although you probably should (consult your vehicle's maintenance schedule) the fact that vehicles are designed for a three-year lease period so it never gets done. I was used to doing a cooling system flush and fill every autumn until I bought two Jeep Patriots. The interval is 10 years/100,000 miles.
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  161. How common are broken camshafts? They've been around for a long time but there are a fair number of vids that feature this. I don't recall this being an issue with motorcycle engines.
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  162. That's a guard chicken to us, Sonny. Polito.
    3
  163.  @tag206  There's things that you can do, and there's things that you should do. During the short time that I moonlighted at my neighbor's tire shop he taught me that no matter what, you ALWAYS made sure that the tire pressure was where the door placard said that it was supposed to be. I'm not a lawyer, but I'm sure that the vehicle owner was advised in writing about the warning lights and the service writer explained the situation before getting a signature on the work order. That's a whole 'nother can of worms! My statement was aimed at the poor guy who has to drive it.
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  164.  @wasntme3651  I actually am an amateur fanfiction writer, and have rewritten several movie scenes here on YT.
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  165.  @wasntme3651  Thanks. The most popular fanfiction I have is "The Prometheus Legend", a Star Trek/Prometheus crossover.
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  166.  @61rampy65  Thanks. It was the first thing that came to mind. The second was Dom's Charger throwing a rod.
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  167. Better than the rag I saw the other day!
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  168. While you have the filter out, take your boroscope and look in there. You might want to get the shop vac out before you slam a filter in there and call it a day.
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  169. Murphy is always on the job..
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  170. It's all a matter of perspective. Doodley-doos? Money coming in. Obnoxious music? Four Non Blondes isn't obnoxious.
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  171. Once salt water gets into a vehicle it really never leaves. The water may leave but it leaves the salt behind and it begins doing what it does best: corrosion. Once it's gotten into the wiring and electronic devices that car is doomed. My sister in law had a place at Siesta Key near Fort Myers Beach. The water reached the roofs of the trailers. Her Chrysler convertible is wasted. Too bad, because I waxed it with Collinite last year.
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  172. It never ceases to amaze me how the addition of computer technology has screwed up a simple process: Suck. Bang. Blow. It's not rocket science! Safer troubleshooting procedure: when you turn the key to the "on" position, just before the "start" position, you should hear the whine from the fuel pump. If you don't, troubleshoot that first. Most, if not all, EFI systems have a pressure test fitting to connect a gauge. This is far safer than dumping gasoline all over the engine. But if you have to do it this way, have a good fire extinguisher close by, just in case old Murphy is on the job. Mercedes bailed out long ago. Stellantis consists of Peugeot, Fiat, and what's left of Chrysler. It wouldn't surprise me if there were bits of Yugo and Trabant in there too.
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  173. I don't know of any automotive or motorcycle shops that provide the tools. The mechanics traditionally bought their tools from one of several wagon vendors that drive big vans full of goodies. The array of tools necessary to work on modern cars is staggering, and none of them are inexpensive. Good tools are a lifetime investment. Cheap tools are disposable. The most important tool is that code reader. You simply cannot intelligently diagnose a modern car without it. Professional code readers require that you purchase a subscription to periodically update the reader with the new models. More money! The old days of a Smokey Yunick listening to your car for a minute and telling you what's wrong are long gone. Nowadays, the mechanic has to plug in the $500 code reader just to begin.
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  174.  @peted5217  most certainly. It's only fair. Around here, your choices are the dealerships and Pep Boys. Once or twice a year they'll offer a Multipoint Inspection special, where they check your car over for a flat rate.
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  175. Back in the day, most home mechanics sprayed Gumout into the induction system and called it a day. Professional mechanics used a chemical called Chemtool for carbon removal. Modern cars don't have fuel introduced into the system until it's injected above the intake valve. Tier One gasoline contains additives designed to keep things clean and reduce carbon.
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  176. A heads up for everyone regarding power lines...the highest voltages are at the very tops of the poles. Next on the way down are the feeders, 240 volts for residential, 480 for commercial. The lowest wires are Telco and cable TV and internet service. No dangerous voltages here. Still, it's always a good idea to report low-hanging wires to 911. I have heard many scanner calls where a truck snagged a low hanging wire and dragged a pole over.
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  177. I missed the part where you checked the new battery voltage before and after starting the engine?
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  178. "What wire hangers...?"
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  179. Experience wins every time...
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  180. @JG Ray has the scantool.
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  181. I had a 1977 F150 4x4 that the starter would occasionally jam on. The first time I removed it. The second time I put the truck in gear (4 speed), got in front, and pushed it backwards to unjam the starter.
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  182. I watched the power station mechanics trying to remove a stud once. After the second attempt I sprayed the stud with an inverted can of canned air, then some PB. After the second time I turned it out by hand.
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  183.  @108gk  The bosses started buying freeze spray after seeing how well the canned air worked. They didn't skimp on buying tools. After I brought my Earthquake cordless ratchet in and completed an hour job in 5 minutes they bought Milwaukee cordless ratchets for the crew. The job was a valve repair that always was a one click at a time with a standard ratchet.
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  184.  @MrSloika  that has nothing to do with it. It's tradition. Mechanics would start out working for someone else and then open up their own business, taking their tools with them.
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  185.  @timothybryowsky6937  In any large mechanical project you reach a point where everything in the warehouse has been installed and tested. Then it's time to "run it, break it, find it, fix it. Repeat as necessary".
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  186.  @eddybetanya , building spacecraft is actually easy. You're given a task to do and a work order. You discuss the task requirements with your supervisor, the engineer, and the Quality Assurance rep. The task description spells out exactly what tools you need and what you're going to be working on. You get your tools and prepare them. No greasy, dirty tools, hands, or clothes are allowed. Your supervisor reads the procedure to you while the engineer, Quality Control, and a videographer watch you work. When the task is complete everyone involved signs their names to the work order. Although it's not impossible, it's very difficult to screw up.
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  187. Love bug season begins in a month or two.
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  188.  @vilemerchant  That's the problem here...there are different degrees of "broke". If the material of the parts failed, then that's a manufacturing defect. If the tie rod end dropped out of the spindle and the threads were intact then the jury could reasonably conclude that the fastener was incorrectly installed. If the tie rod end separated from the sleeve, and the sleeve is reasonably intact, the jury can infer that the fasteners that hold the assembly together were improperly assembled and/or torqued. In industrial settings, following the manufacturer's instructions and using regularly calibrated tools is an absolute necessity.
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  189.  @tonymontana897  What you do is leave on as best terms as possible, then take all of the other guy's business. It happens on it's own once they find out the shady goings-on.
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  190. ​ @poppiarlin5612  He's going to need a bigger garage and more help soon.
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  191. Step One in troubleshooting: verify that the reported problem exists and is the actual problem. Did we run the engine until the cooling fan came on (to verify its operation) and then take the car for a drive to see how the temperature gauge reacts? Sometimes backflushing the cooling system will solve the problem. If not, at least you won't be working in antifreeze when you replace the thermostat. He didn't tell us anything about the three "failed" tire pressure sensors. Since Florida just experienced a cold snap I'm sure that a lot of stuck open thermostats and underinflated tires were revealed. Since the lone reporting sensor is showing 38 psi the odds of the pressure exceeding the sensor maximum are greater than three sensors failing at the same time.
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  192.  @petersmart1999  you almost have to revert to the old motorcycle axiom and get gas every 100 miles or so.
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  193.  @craigfin3222  You're correct, but why would you relocate the air intake and make it easier for floodwater to get in? It's not like Ray just moved to Florida from Wyoming.
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  194. Helpful power station maintenance hint: to remove a broken stud or bolt after soaking it with P oil invert a spray can of canned air and spray the exposed area of the stud with the -40 degree discharge. This will shrink the stud and allow you to remove it.
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  195. Where do the batteries go? You know, just in case your daytime project runs into the night?
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  196.  @markthompson4225  With LED lighting he can become a true Twelve-Volt Man (Jimmy Buffett song title).
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  197.  @Nighterlev  a boilermaker knows how to repair the starter mounting holes. They do it all the time in power stations.
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  198. ​ @paulconetta2264  True. When Kroil hit the market I was in field service and a lot of work was in coal preparation plants and coal-fired power plants. Coal is tough on steel, but with Kroil I was able to dismantle and repair valves we previously had to cut out and throw away. Then Liquid Wrench changed the formula and the guys who rebuild turbines and generators were all over it. The last two power stations I worked at used PB exclusively.
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  199. Always take them out of the box before leaving the parts store. I've had a few that were missing the gasket.
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  200.  @richpayton7162  "The War of the Currents".
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  201. Spray it before you turn it and the oil will carry onto the threads.
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  202. Helpful hint: inverting a can of Canned Air will give you a handy -40 blaster. Spray the stud/flange joint with PB, wait a minute for it to soak in, spray the stud with the canned air, and it will come right out without a fuss. I was hoping that you'd take a micrometer and show us the difference in diameter between the incorrect stud and the correct one.
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  203. "Well, the wind is blowing harder now, fifty knots or thereabouts. There's whitecaps on the ocean, and I'm watchin' for waterspouts..." Jimmy Buffett, "Tryin' To Reason With Hurricane Season".
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  204. I had a 1963 Cutlass that lost brake fluid through the shaft seal and into the vacuum booster. It's not hard to replace this with basic hand tools any home wrench should have. I would replace the master cylinder and vacuum booster myself unless I didn't have the time or the weather wasn't friendly. Biggest job I ever did outside was transferring a rear axle from a 1968 Coronet to a 1967 Charger.
    2
  205. Pneumatic Instruments and process controls don't like water either. They make automatic drains that work on a timer.
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  206.  @kitsuneneko2567  That too!
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  207. The next time, gets a can of canned air, invert it, and treat the broken stud to a -40 blast. Spray PB on it while it's cold. Repeat a few times. I used to repair industrial instruments and valves like Fishers and Masoneilan, and I was able to save a ton of work this way.
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  208.  @aliasfred  I think that she broke the outside handle.
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  209. Once he paints his logo on it, absolutely. It worked for Gas Monkey.
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  210. Don't forget to replace the remains of the dust shield.
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  211.  @annaplojharova1400  That actually happens, because if you don't back up occasionally the self-adjusters don't work. If they worked when driving forward they would eventually lock up.
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  212. I'm astounded that it's not a rotbox with holes in the floors!
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  213.  @olivethrush7450  I've never heard anything good about Saabs from people who worked on them.
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  214.  @Chris-hw4mq  sell flood carsvto carvana.
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  215. They are rated in cold cranking amps, but they used to be rated in Ampere-hours, or how long they can supply X Amperes. Car batteries are designed to produce a lot of current for a short time. Deep cycle batteries are designed to produce a certain amount of current (think a trolling motor on a fishing boat) for a long period of time.
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  216. Don't forget to add a teaspoon of baking soda.
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  217.  @kevinwalker1324  The first ones we tried replaced the metal halide fixtures in the forced draft fan room. They worked very well. So, we replaced the lights in the electrical and Instrument shop with 48 inch LEDs that required a power supply to replace the ballast. They worked okay but if you looked directly at them the LEDs would burn spots into your retina. The "direct replacement" LEDs we bought for the mechanics shop, "just remove the fluorescent bulb and put the LED bulbs in", they went up in flames. About a year before I retired, we replaced every fixture in the control room, offices, and cafeteria with new LEDs. Only one failed...it was working on Friday, but died over the weekend.
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  218. Some engines put the sensor as far away from the oil pump as possible. This tells the "enthusiast" that the entire oiling system is pressurized. Other engines have the sensor near the oil filter. The advantage here is that it's much easier to reach for replacement.
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  219. Humiliation comes when you lose a stoplight drag race to a split-window VW bug! I see an Ed Roth tribute here, with a blown Hemi in front and Rat Fink sticking through the roof with a ginormous Hurst shifter.
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  220. The sheer number of cars he gets with at least 150K miles on them is amazing.
    2
  221. ​ @TonicofSonic  You don't like the Four Non Blondes?
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  222. ​ @imrf  Whether you liked Carlson or not, he made bank and will continue to do so. Does Forbes have a page devoted to your net worth?
    2
  223.  @TonicofSonic  I never watched the show. Not interested in supporting his advertising.
    2
  224.  @larrybe2900  They spread the brine before and during a snow event. The brake line failures usually take place between March and June.
    2
  225. Like them or not, automatic backup cameras are mandatory on all passenger cars and trucks since the 2017 model year. They are supposed to prevent drivers from running over children who are behind the vehicle and not visible from the mirrors or turning around and looking. It was a $1000 dealer-installed option for the 2016 Jeep Patriot.
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  226. I believe that the following statement is a Yogi-ism: "You never know what your limits truly are until you've reached them."
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  227. If you don't have hills where you live you don't need a parking brake. One hazard is that you can drive to work in the morning rain, have the temperature drop while you're at work, and come out to find your car won't move because the parking brake is frozen.
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  228. My son paints houses and Flex Seal is his tool of choice here.
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  229. A few years ago I bought an Earthquake electric ratchet. I took it to work at the power station and shaved a ton of time off a valve repair thanks to the wrench. The boss was so impressed that he ordered Milwaukee electric wrenches for us. He liked my electric heated hoodie too, and bought them for us.
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  230.  @sunshinem.7741  They may not know. What was once common knowledge has faded away. One more thing people people should do is to check their tire pressure after the first frost. Cold temperatures make tires run low and hitting a pothole with an underinflated tire can cause a blowout and an accident.
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  231. Don't think that it's likely to buff out...
    2
  232. The LA series V8s were the last good motors from Mopar.
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  233.  @jsh6952  Quite true.
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  234.  @kellismith4329  That was the color code we used in two power stations to wire up 240 and 480 3 phase. 240: black and red hot. White neutral. Green ground. 480: Black, white, and red hot. Green ground.
    2
  235. It's actually a good sign, an indicator of how much business Ray is doing. He's going to need a bigger garage soon, or the landlord is going to have a little talk with him about taking up all of the parking spaces.
    2
  236.  @Trashbd  It was rusty when they installed the seat on the assembly line!
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  237. Beware anything built in Lordstown, Ohio!
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  238.  @johnt.848  I went online and found the defeat button. I wasn't going to do it while I was driving.
    2
  239. The cars that we see on here typically have so many miles on them that the customers are damn happy to find someone who knows what they are doing to work on them for a reasonable price. A lot of places won't touch cars with extremely high mileage.
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  240. It's never a good idea to disparage others' lines of work. After reading an article where famed Apollo 8 astronaut Rusty Schweikart threw shade at the oil drillers in "Armageddon", I emailed him with the above sentiments. He replied by saying that he would never say that and asked me where I saw him day that. I sent him the link to the article in a Toronto newspaper and he sheepishly apologized.
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  241. When the combustion process gets into the cooling system you get bubbles in the radiator. When the barriers between fluids are broken you get cross-contamination. That crap looks like tomato soup. The only two fluids in contact with the cooling system are transmission fluid (via the radiator intercooler) and motor oil (via passages in the engine).
    2
  242.  @stevewhite3424  I caught that, and it was just one less thing to troubleshoot.
    2
  243. I expect Bachman-Turner Overdrive will be stopping by with thanks for giving their song a bunch of hits today.
    2
  244. Just a helpful hint from a man who retired with all of his fingers intact: you should never wear rings or jewelry around electrical terminals or when spinning wrenches. Rings are conductive. When smashed on your finger they can cut blood flow and you can lose your finger. For 43 years my ring went into my lunchbox before work.
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  245.  @eternaloptimist2840  In my career, I've seen enough shoddy workmanship by so-called "professionals" to justify a chestnut my father, a Bricklayer by trade: "If you hung these guys for being bricklayers, you'd be hanging innocent men".
    2
  246. My daughter in law, who lives near Orlando, just lost her job because she was unable to see clients due to the hurricane. Assholes down there!
    2
  247. Both of you are correct. The charging voltage should reach about 14.5 volts before backing off to 13.8-14 volts as the battery charged.
    2
  248. Those tapes aren't flexible enough. Better to use one wrap of Scotch 88 electrical tape.
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  249. Does the distributor have advance weights? Rusted weights will prevent the engine from running properly. A quick check with a timing light will tell the story.
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  250. Then he'll be doing non-fun stuff like answering the phone, scheduling service, ordering parts and consumables, keeping track of hours, payroll, taxes, etc.
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  251. I still have the special socket needed to remove the bearing retainer for my 1977 F150 4x4...
    2
  252.  @1575murray  Power stations do it with pumps, motors, generators, and turbines too.
    2
  253. First rule of working on electrical systems: never, EVER work on ANYTHING hot unless it's absolutely necessary!
    2
  254. Don't be surprised if you get a traction control fault when you do that. Fortunately, it will clear itself after a few miles of regular driving.
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  255. Chlorinated stuff works great on spiders and rodents.
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  256. They don't run for very long with a windowed block and oil pan.
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  257. Here's a helpful hint if you're doing a job like this yourself: make sure that the steering wheel is centered and that the new steering components are centered when you assemble it. This will make life easier for the alignment tech. If you run a bricklayer string from the rear of the rear wheel to the front of the front wheel and all four touch points are straight on the string the alignment will be close enough to safely drive it to the alignment shop. I replaced the rack and pinion and tie rod ends on my 1988 Taurus and the alignment guy said that I had it pretty close.
    2
  258. That will be the definition of a Bad Day!
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  259. We liked to eat at the Pierside Grill in Fort Myers Beach. They have a webcam that was nice to look at when I'm not there. It took video of idiots swimming in the hurricane. It, along with the pier and the restaurant, were destroyed. They just updated their website today.
    2
  260.  @roadkillraker  That's different. It means that while I don't agree with your viewpoint I respect your viewpoint. Out in the real world, you may have an idea on how to fix something that I've never done. Since you're spinning the wrenches, I'll sit back and see if your way works better than mine.
    2
  261. Way better than "here, hold this wire while I crank it!"
    2
  262.  @lgninjalo  Yep, if you've attempted to post non-YT links they remove them.
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  263.  @georgesalyer9074  When you're an indy or self-employed you have the latitude to do that, but dealers don't give that latitude. For example, part of the 60000 mile service on a Patriot is changing the transfer case oil and rear differential oil. The dealer wanted $350 for this, two hours at $140/hour plus oil plus disposal fees. I got out the ramps, tools, and drain pan and did it myself.
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  264. I still have my metatarsal shield safety shoes from my steel mill days.
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  265. Merch, as Yogurt taught us, it's all about the merchandise!
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  266. And you never get rid of receipts. I've read horror stories about people being denied warranty repairs because the dealership "lost" their records suing and winning because they kept all of the receipts.
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  267. Brain fade?
    2
  268. I would have cleaned the filter with a brush and compressed air, verify that it's not restricted, and see if that fixes the problem. I can't tell you how many vacuum cleaners I've rescued from the trash by finding the hidden filters and cleaning them out.
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  269. It all depends upon the kind of oil that you use. There are pure synthetic, semi-synthetic, and conventional oils. The change intervals for pure synthetic oils are much longer than the other oils. There are numerous sites devoted to motor oils. But, here are the facts... Combustion generates acidic byproducts that get past the piston rings and into the crankcase. Most of them are removed by the PCV, or Positive Crankcase Ventilation system. The remaining byproducts settle in the oil. Over time, the acids attack the cam and crankshaft bearings. This is the reason why you must change the oil on a time basis. The mileage basis is due to dirt and changes in the oil chemistry. If you pull the stick and can't see the markings, you should have changed the oil long ago.
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  270. One of the smartest things ever done was to sell the strut/spring/bearing assembly as a complete unit. Not having to deal with a spring compressor is fantastic. All you have to deal with is rusty nuts and bolts, and you can replace a strut in an hour or so. The current price for my 2014 Patriot is $177.
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  271. Too many people wanting to schedule Ray to work on their cars, most likely.
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  272.  @viplegaleducation1292  I can't say if Stellantis is still using the 2.4 engine or not, but I had read enough bad things about the CVT to stick with the six speed automatic. In theory it should be a bolt-in but there isn't enough interest in the Compass and Patriot models for someone to experiment with it.
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  273. I agree. Rent pays for the fundamentals like a roof over your head.
    2
  274. YouTube doesn't permit you to post any links to non-YT sites. It took me a while to learn that.
    2
  275. In the last Just Rolled In one car had a coral snake in the radiator!
    2
  276. Many times without bothering to see what the other "team members" are doing. A great example is having to drill holes in the inner fenders to replace the spark plugs.
    2
  277. My car is the outside car. When the ambient temperature gets around 40F I fill the tires to 40 psi, 5psi over spec. Never had any problems.
    2
  278. ​ @polishhotdog933  Patience is a virtue. Patients are cash in the bank!
    2
  279. You didn't drill a hole in the floor to drain the water out...? If all 4 switches are the same I would have swapped the front drivers side to the rear drivers side.
    2
  280. Back before headlights depended on microprocessor controls we would turn them on, observe the brightness, then try to start the car. Bad batteries or flakey battery terminal connectors make the headlights go out.
    2
  281. Spray the bleeders with PB, get a cup of joe, and use a six-point socket or box wrench. New bleeders are cheap, just dab the threads with nickel antiseize and you're good to go.
    2
  282.  @Dr_V  in modern cars a mismatch in the wheel sizes will cause problems with the ABS and traction control systems. Changing all four wheels will cause inaccurate speedometer readings if the wheel and tire diameters are not identical to the factory's.
    2
  283. Permatex makes a spray adhesive called Hi-Tack just for holding gaskets in place during reassembly.
    2
  284.  @stevewhite3424  I used to go to Fort Myers until last year. Florida is much better than Australia, but watch out for gators, and the no-see-ums.
    2
  285. Often followed by "Hey y'all! Watch this!"
    2
  286. Unless you've seen this before, and I have, replacing parts is an expensive learning curve. The first thing I would have done was to put a timing light on it and see if the timing advanced as the revs came up. The cause was rusted advance weight pivots. The cure was a little oil. The price was pizza and beer.
    2
  287.  @walterwhite2270  It wasn't a Jeep; it was a 1959 Bug that the owner said "If you can fix it you can have it." Those were the days.
    2
  288. Old power station trick: one man runs the impact wrench and the other man taps on the nut end of the bolt with a hammer. The combination of the two usually gets it done
    2
  289. The list of things it needs is much longer than the list of things it doesn't need.
    2
  290. When the tranny died on my 1993 Dakota at 170K the shop owner asked me if it was the original and if it was, when did I have the oil changed. I had it done at 100K. He explained that material from the torque converter clutch eventually clogs the filter, starving the pump, and ruining the transmission.
    2
  291. I used my motorcycle jack with a plank laid across it the last time I changed a fuel pump. No surprises.
    2
  292. The rotors on my Jeep Patriots, a 2014 and a 2016, were so inferior that they needed replaced after only two years and less than 30,000 miles. The final straw was returning from vacation to find piles of rust on the garage floor where the 2016 had sat for two weeks. The big box store replacements still look new.
    2
  293.  @jimmychristensen498  They sold locking gas caps for that. Nowadays there's a plastic ball that prevents fuel spilling out in case of a rollover accident.
    2
  294. You describe what must be done when changing the filter on an Evolution Sportster. The filter is mounted horizontally at the front of the engine and right above the front motor mount. I cut an old soda bottle and use that to catch the filter and oil.
    2
  295. Back when cars were simple, there were two "bibles" for mechanics, the Chilton's and the Motor's manuals.
    2
  296.  @poppydogz  Here in Pittsburgh, the programmer of several stations likes "Linger".
    2
  297. I've found that you have to avoid having anything that may have a copyright attached to it show up in your video, lest YT flag it for a violation.
    2
  298. It's Stellantis now, not Fiat.
    2
  299.  @throttlebottle5906  I have another hint, one that works well. First, apply your favorite penetrating oil. Give it a minute or two. Next, invert a can of canned air and spray the bleeder with the -40F blast. Then try to turn the fastener. Stubborn cases required gently tapping the fastener while applying torque. It worked more often than it didn't.
    2
  300.  @throttlebottle5906  I live near Pittsburgh and worked as a field service technician in industrial instruments and process controls from 1978 until 2021. I've seen my share of massively rusted steel, and have been able to disassemble a great percentage of them. But your point about replacing the calipers if they are that badly corroded is a good one, one that I've followed many times on my own vehicles.
    2
  301. I've been using an ordinary C clamp for decades.
    2
  302. 30 years ago I was helping build and commission a natural gas pumping station for CNG near Groveport, Ohio. One of the station mechanic's toolboxes had a drawer labeled "West Virginia Socket Set". LMAO when I opened it and found 6,12, and 18 inch Crescent wrenches...
    2
  303. That would be the second bolt cutter. The acetylene torch is Number One.
    2
  304. Here's a hint to help you remove a broken stud: invert a can of canned air and spray at the stud. The -40 blast will often shrink the stud just enough to get a little P-oil on it and then it threads right out, often by hand.
    2
  305. ​ @annaplojharova1400 It only works in reverse, because the mechanism is designed to work as a ratchet.
    2
  306. It's a good rule of thumb that if there's a place for a Cotter pin then there needs to be a Cotter pin in that place when you do the job. Beats having to explain to the jury why you didn't put one in.
    2
  307. With a couple of buddies, a few cases of beer, a few pizzas, and rock music on the radio. Great times, good clean fun.
    2
  308. Sketchy grounds can cause all sorts of really strange problems, in a whole world of things. I have a Realistic TRC-459 that had an intermittent transmission squeal. Tightening the screws that hold the circuit board to the steel chassis fixed the problem.
    2
  309.  @CMDR_CLASSIFIED  I was going to say that Boilermakers repair things like this all of the time, but you beat me to it.
    2
  310. When you get old you'll leak fluids too...
    2
  311.  @Hoaxer51  I saw that when they had to scrub a few weeks ago. I wonder if anyone still working there remembers the "summer of leaks".
    2
  312.  @bradhaines3142  good information for anyone considering a career in automotive technology.
    2
  313.  @thatpyrokid  Before the unholy marriage of cars and computers a pro wrench got by with a good set of wrenches and screwdrivers, in general. Then along came metric fasteners. More wrenches. Torx fasteners. More screwdrivers and sometimes socket drivers. Bristol splines. Allen drivers. I've been working on my own cars since 1967 and there are obsolete tools for obsolete cars in my collection. But I needed that tool to do a job.
    2
  314. Just like when he tinkers with the electric outlets and lights, welding and electrician are skilled trades and those who have invested much of their lives in those trades speak up.
    2
  315.  @stevewhite3424  you never know. To your point, this truck would have failed Pennsylvania inspection. Since the state made expired inspection a secondary offense and got rid of registration stickers it's now common to see cars with expired stickers on the roads. I think that the truck owner believed that there was a warranty on the brake work.
    2
  316.  @russell4370  you should research the parts cost. Master cylinder and two new links: less than $100. No idea what tires would cost, but budget $1000 for four. The rear diff cover leakage isn't a safety issue but the axle seal will fail inspection. Budget $500 here. Judging by the front tire wear a wheel alignment is in order. What issues the alignment mechanic may find are a wild card. On a fixed income, I'd replace the tires, links, master cylinder and booster first. Next month, have the front end work done. Month after that, have the leaking rear seals replaced. You have to remove the diff cover to do this job anyway so that issue will then be resolved. Replacing the links is duck soup. So is replacing the master cylinder and booster. It's not that hard to get the axle shafts out of the diff and the local shop will press the bearings for you. You can check for bad suspension components and replace them yourself and the alignment tech will love you. They love shiny new steel.
    2
  317.  @EmbraceTheSuck  I have a photo of a sign that reads: "Warning! If you don't schedule time for equipment maintenance your equipment will schedule it for you."
    2
  318.  @aigoru8718  If they have satellite radio, the Yacht Rock channel.
    2
  319.  @RainmanRaysRepairs  Holes in the water to throw money into?
    2
  320. On the other hand, my older son paints houses and got tired of making other people rich, so he started his own business. Yes, it's a lot of work, but it's worth the effort.
    2
  321.  @anthonyware4033  Things we discovered at Cheswick...when you replaced the bulbs in a fixture with a new smart ballast you have to power the fixture down for a minute to reset the ballast.
    2
  322.  @RainmanRaysRepairs  Growing older but not up, myself.
    2
  323. "I no fixa you car"!
    2
  324. Water pump R&R procedures on B/RB Mopar engines: 1: drain radiator. 2: remove radiator shroud and upper hose (optional). 3: remove 4 bolts holding water pump to water pump manifold. 4: remove water pump and fan. 5: remove fan from old water pump and install on new water pump. 6: reverse procedures 1 thru 4. 7: fill with fresh coolant and check for leaks.
    2
  325.  @philipershler420  It might not be a bad deal if you were looking for a winter beater or a cheap car for your kids, but these shysters will tart them up and want premium prices for junk because of the car shortage.
    2
  326. Gasohol buys a lot of votes in the states that produce corn. Iowa has their primary before everyone else, so money talks, and you-know-what walks.
    2
  327. This is Florida. Removing the doors will invite all manner of critters to move in. Sharing the ride with an alligator isn't like Ricky Bobby riding with a cougar!
    2
  328. How many hours, and how long was it in the garage?
    2
  329.  @waynej747  it never ceases to amaze me how many models use the same parts.
    2
  330. Speaking from the industrial perspective, solenoids and relays will either do what they're told to do or they won't. Simple, eh? Not so fast! Contacts can weld together. This is dangerous because whatever the relay powers won't shut off. Contacts can burn out. Coils can burn out or short out. Your nose comes into play here. But it's important to know the sequence of events. Is that relay/solenoid being told what to do when it's supposed to do it? It's my guess that the ignition key solenoid is not powered up when the engine is off and the transmission is in park. It will kill the battery if it is. If the computer thinks that the car is in gear with the engine off it won't let you remove the key until it sees a valid "park" gear selector input and will kill the battery by keeping the solenoid energized. Since the key sequence is off-accessory-run-start if the key doesn't go back to off it remains in the accessory position and kills the battery.
    2
  331. If you built car or airplane models when you were a kid you'd understand the concept of patience.
    2
  332. Just remember that everything you dislodged with this goes into the cylinders and gets stuck between the compression ring and the top of the piston.
    2
  333. Sign I saw on a pro mechanic's toolbox: "I make my living with these tools. Please don't ask to borrow them."
    2
  334.  @timhurst1813  , there were plenty of times that I let my fellow techs borrow tools, especially during plant outages, because I was the "old guy" with experience they didn't have. They always returned them...except for a gas turbine power plant build in South Carolina, where my large Craftsman adjustable vanished but was replaced by two no-name wrenches.
    2
  335. I would have checked the fluids and tire pressures before driving it since it sat for a long time. If I don't drive my Patriot for a month the tire pressure monitor alarms for a few minutes before it updates.
    2
  336. Weatherstrip adhesive is for holding trim pieces in place, not around oils. Permatex Hi-Tack is the ticket for holding gaskets and such.
    2
  337. The AGM (Advance Glass Mat) batteries in my Sportster have always given me a warning before slipping me the needle. The bike just clicks the first time I thumb the starter but will start on the second try.
    2
  338. If the fixture has a smart ballast you have to power it down after replacing the bulb.
    2
  339. What you describe has been standard practice for over 50 years.
    2
  340.  @MitchGaar  The "cheap aftermarket junk" rotors I put on my two Patriots have outlasted the OEM factory ones. They rusted to unsafe conditions...they were shedding rust on the garage floor!
    2
  341.  @ShiftingSkys  It's a time and money thing. When the parts truck comes to the shop it can either leave new rotors, in which case the job is done before lunch, or it can take the old ones to the machine shop, in which case the lift is tied up until the parts return later in the day, or even the next day.
    2
  342. To quote a famous engineer: "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain."
    2
  343. Good advice. With the advent of autumn in the northern hemisphere many drivers are started by the low tire warning lights coming on that first 40 degree morning.
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  344. Trip and fall hazards.
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  345. Title washing...
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  346. NASA has a pretty good Quality Control program, but it's just as human as the rest of us. They'll drain the tanks and replace the propellants with inert gases, then test the work area. Once that's done, they'll verify that the valve's control signal is actually being sent to the valve. If that's good then they'll replace the valve and test it again. For safety reasons, they can't test with liquid hydrogen (-423 F) but can test with liquid nitrogen (-300 F). Problem is that things shrink that much more in LH2 and that has caused grief many times.
    2
  347.  @JBreeze4598  Astronauts are operators. They never actually work on or repair their spacecraft, unless they absolutely have to. Think of it this way...astronauts must be taught what ironworkers know.
    2
  348.  @jbussey5301  You're right. The first time through the procedures didn't exist, but they had procedure writers shadow the techs and engineers to document what they did. By the time of Apollo 17 they were building Saturns like they were B-17s.
    2
  349. Back to being human...in late 2010 they were preparing to launch STS-133. During a tanking test they noticed that the orange insulation covering the section between the two tanks was cracked. When they removed the insulation they discovered that the stringers that hold the two tanks together were cracked. 94 out of 108 stringers were cracked. This would have been a disaster. The root cause was improperly heat treatment of the stringers. Somehow it slipped past QC. Stringers from the same group were used to build the tank intended for STS-135. Bad stuff happens.
    2
  350. Turbo failure due to oil coking of the bearings was quite common in the 1980s and 1990s. Automakers recommended a few minutes worth of cooldown time before shutting the engine off.
    2
  351.  @popsports05  Power stations down there are looking for good people. Better pay, better benefits, better hours.
    2
  352. No sense in giving them free advertising.
    2
  353.  George  If, by "junk", you mean "imported", then yes. Unless your brakes are made by Wilwood, then you have "junk", with the lone exception of Brembo.
    2
  354. We had this discussion in Part One of this saga. The customer may have purchased the parts at the shop but had to wait for a service appointment. When my 2001 Ram died the dealer called me and said that I could wait 2 weeks for the OEM part or they could get one from the Auto Zone next door. My neighbor's family has owned a tire shop for 3 generations now. He gets really frosted when people bring Tire Rack tires and insist that he mount and balance them. When you buy his tires that's included in the price. Mail order tires pay $50 per wheel. He has to pay for the machines, he has to pay to maintain the machines, he has to provide shop space, compressed air, calibrated torque wrenches, and labor.
    2
  355. Back before cars became instrumented like the Space Shuttle one wire went from the switch to the light on the dash. Now that sensor tells the computer the oil pressure, temperature, and quality.
    2
  356. The dealer told the owner to take it to Ray's. Reputation is everything!
    2
  357.  @dragonflytoo  20 years ago I worked at a local shop that worked on Honeywell industrial controls. Devices that needed fixed began appearing that were sent by Honeywell. When the owner called them they said that they heard we did good work and they didn't have anyone to work on their stuff. They were happy and the customers were happy. They never questioned the cost because they knew what our prices were and they were good with that.
    2
  358. When I was around 30 I learned about hypoglycemia. Sugar shakes, I called it, and the cure was to take five and eat a candy bar. Nowadays it's called "hangry".
    2
  359. Playing a little BTO this morning!
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  360. They launched a big rocket last night a little after 1AM.
    2
  361.  @danjordan1979  yep. I planned to get up to watch but slept in. There's not much to see during a night launch.
    2
  362.  @danjordan1979  I was 17 in December of 1972. I stayed up to watch the broadcast moonwalk of Apollo 17 and wondered if we'd ever pass this way again. Today, we are a lot closer.
    2
  363.  @danjordan1979  It was an amazing time, the first era of space exploration, where the lone question was "How do we do this?"
    2
  364.  @danjordan1979  During the shuttle era, I accidentally discovered that if you began playing "Waiting For A Star To Fall" at T minus 16 seconds it synchronized perfectly with the events of the launch. The next song on my player is "Across The River", and those two songs carry you from launch to orbit.
    2
  365. The common cause of this is the evaporator freezing up and blocking the airflow. Check the refrigerant pressure.
    2
  366. If you remove the chrome covers the nuts are 3/4". If you use antiseize when you reinstall them rust will not be an issue.
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  367. I'd guess that they already had someone lined up, a friend of a friend of a friend, who's willing to work for less money.
    2
  368. Mechanical aptitude.
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  369. 50 years ago when you and your buddies spent a Saturday afternoon and a few cases of beer and pizza on headers it was fun. Cars had lots of extra room under the hood and the job was relatively straightforward and fun.
    2
  370. When the last shuttle mission to repair the Hubble was closing the doors an astronaut asked Houston if they should put never seize on the hinges. Houston told them no.
    2
  371. Complacency was determined to be a major factor in the losses of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles.
    2
  372.  @MarcMercier1971  They never die on an empty tank. It's a corollary to Murphy's Law.
    2
  373. It won't get fixed before it's sold at auction.
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  374. Negative 0.5.
    2
  375. You know, they make transmission jacks for jobs like that. They can also be useful for lowering gas tanks and rear axles/subframes. I use one for working on and winter storage of my motorcycle. 47 years ago I was replacing the transmission in my Plymouth and wound up with a Torqueflite on my chest! Not good!
    2
  376. We had metal halide lights at Cheswick and the first area we upgraded to LEDs was the forced draft fan room. Better light, zero maintenance, and...zero spiders. Apparently the bugs the spiders eat can't see the LEDs and don't congregate around the lights.
    2
  377.  @Fevebblefester  Pennsylvania inspects passenger vehicles once a year and testing the parking brake is part of the inspection. Removing them removes the last line of defense when the service brakes fail. Should the service brakes fail and cause an accident resulting in injury, be prepared to answer, in court, exactly why you thought that it was a good idea to remove the E-brake.
    2
  378.  @ctech14367  Many Rust Belt states, Pennsylvania included, spread brine on the roads. It gets into places regular salt didn't and is extremely detrimental to things like brake lines. You want adrenaline? You'll get it when you step on the brakes and the pedal goes to the floor. Been there, done that. Twice. It sucks!
    2
  379. I have a project for you...go through all of Ray's old videos, and cull the doodly-dos and make a "best of" video and post it on here. I kinda miss it myself. I need to use my voice notes to record a sample for a ringtone.
    2
  380. Every day you drive, you take a chance that the steering wheel, brake pedal, or gas pedal may not be connected to anything meaningful. I've done all three.
    2
  381. Try different brake pads, of a different composition.
    2
  382. Some dealerships go the extra mile and provide a Carfax report and a professional mechanical inspection report, but most of the time it's "buyer beware". There was a Goodwill auto auction next to one place I worked, and all of us gearheads would go over there on auction day. 1964 Mercury, 1967 Plymouth, cars nobody wanted. If they couldn't get one to run we jumped in and usually got it going.
    2
  383.  @technicalprecision8651  When preventive/predictive maintenance was in vogue folks used infrared cameras to look for hot spots. Now they look at Mean Time Between Failures and the odds of the plant being shuttered instead of wasting money to fix problems before they fail.
    2
  384.  @technicalprecision8651  I was an E&I tech at Cheswick Power Station for the last 8 years of my 43 year career in industrial instrumentation and process controls. The station was decommissioned this past April. When NRG was the owner they subscribed to preventive maintenance. GenOn abandoned that philosophy and ran until failure because they knew which way the wind was blowing.
    2
  385.  @572Btriode  better be careful with that nuclear secret stuff!
    2
  386.  @sheerwillsurvival2064  one thing that makes this more difficult is the extensive use of computers to control things in cars.
    2
  387.  @sheerwillsurvival2064  In 1975 the only electronics were the radio, voltage regulator, and ignition spark controller. There were various warnings about what not to do to prevent frying these devices. I started working on cars as a kid, in 1967. You did a tune-up every spring and fall. New plugs, points, condenser, distributor cap. New wires if needed. Gap the points. Gap the plugs. Set the timing. Pull all 4 wheels and inspect the drum brakes. Clean the front wheel bearings with kerosene. Repack the wheel bearings with fresh grease. Find the sweet spot with the wheel bearing nut, then put a new Cotter pin in. Check the water level in the battery. Add distilled water if necessary. Remove and clean the battery cables. Clean them and the battery top with baking soda in water. Check the ground cable's connection to the frame. Check the starter cable connection. Stuff like that. My father greatly appreciated me being able to do the work.
    2
  388.  @karisalonen8984  They've been around ever since 4x4s replaced muscle cars as the vehicle of choice for those of us buying our first new vehicles. I was one of them, picking up my new 1977 F150 the week before Star Wars hit the theaters. Most guys lifted their trucks to put much bigger tires on them. The idea was to gain ground clearance if driven in deep snow. The current trend is to build a "brodozer" with the "Carolina squat". I went the other way with my truck. It handled like a barge, with copious amounts of body roll. A few months after I bought it Ford introduced the new Bronco, based on the F150. It had front and rear anti-sway bars. A visit to a Ford truck dealership and a trip through the parts book and my F150 was upgraded. I added BFG Radial All-Terrain T/A tires on white wagon wheels and had a truck that actually handled well.
    2
  389.  @karisalonen8984  Buffalo, New York was home to snowblowers powered by motorcycle engines. As they explained it to me, you need at least a 40 foot vertical throw to get over the snowdrifts.
    2
  390. Did I miss the part where Ray hooked up the diagnostic reader?
    1
  391. I agree, since it was out of the car for most of the day.
    1
  392. IIRC, the phrase "rocket surgery" is a quote from the movie "Mystery, Alaska".
    1
  393. I used to encounter this while commissioning process Instruments and valves in new installations.
    1
  394.  @FoamCrusher  give me a few minutes to find my slide rule, and I'll be right there. 43 years worth of industrial instruments and process controls here, retired Electrical and Instrumentation tech two years ago.
    1
  395. "Fuel system cleaning" sounds like snake oil to me. Use a "Top Tier" brand of gas and don't sweat it.
    1
  396. When I replaced the ignition switch on my 2005 Sportster, I used a Western Union splice, soldered with rosin-core 60/40 solder. Then came two layers of heat-shrink tubing, followed by self-vulcanizing tape. A little more than HD recommended, but I don't like surprises that leave you stranded.
    1
  397.  @icanopen  Beer and toilet paper too.
    1
  398. Did you drive your Chevy to the levee to see if it was dry?
    1
  399. Combination of the tires and 300,000 miles.
    1
  400.  @NoWr2Run  That's a lot of miles no matter how you slice it.
    1
  401. As more Rust Belt refugees arrive in the Sunshine State, look forward to seeing more rusty scuppers.
    1
  402. Unless there's bigger problems elsewhere, Google says that a new engine is around $2500, way cheaper than a new car.
    1
  403. Loss of traction control will deactivate the ABS. Many cars have a button to deactivate the traction control; check this first. If no joy here then you'll need a code reader to intelligently troubleshoot the problem. Could be a wheel speed sensor.
    1
  404. Nobody said that it's only flat on the bottom...? My neighbor, who owns a tire shop, knocked on my door one Easter morning to tell me that a tire on my 88 Taurus was flat. I'd been buying tires from him for years. I thanked him and said I'd be by tomorrow. He said to get it off the car and he'd fix it. He took it to the shop and fixed it on Easter Sunday.
    1
  405. Florida has no-see-ums too, and they are really miserable.
    1
  406. ​@Richard Cranium They're college educated, smarter than us, and have been on a mission to deindustrialize the United States since 1970.
    1
  407. ​ @timtampa  But that will set another code because the engine never reaches the expected operating temperature within X minutes.
    1
  408. Get thee a pickle fork!
    1
  409. When my 2001 Dodge Ram 5.9 did that it set a P340 code and refused to start.
    1
  410. And not the ones that Harbor Freight sells either!
    1
  411. Nothing like a nice hot cup of car repairs in the morning. Anyone ever tell you that when you say "Good Day " you sound like Bob and Doug Mackenzie? It's all good, but the doctor says that I have to avoid Canadian bacon among other foods.
    1
  412. Good Day, eh? Today is state inspection day for my 2016 Patriot with 60K miles.
    1
  413. The last time I saw it it was in serious disrepair and the headliner was hanging down. Universal Studios and Disney do not take care of the movie cars.
    1
  414. The problem with long-term jobs like that is that they tie up a lift and valuable shop space. Tough for a small shop to lose money like that.
    1
  415. Red RTV is a power plant staple!
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  416. You got it. Back in the bad old days the garage had drums and rotors on the dock before calling the parts store. If the garage had a runner he'd be there, along with every other shop in town, with drums and rotors requiring machine work. If you were lucky you got them back and completed the job so that your customers could get the car at the end of the day. If you weren't lucky you were calling the customer to tell them that the car might be done tomorrow. Either way, you had your lift tied up with a car you couldn't move. The advent of affordable, in stock rotors and drums made it possible to get two brake jobs done in one day.
    1
  417. I stopped using the parking brake after having to ride a coworker home and back the next day. We drove to work in the rain, temperature went below freezing during the day, by quitting time the parking brake was frozen.
    1
  418. When I met my wife-to-be she was driving a 1969 Cutlass that had terrible brakes. When she finally let me look at it I was surprised to find sintered metallic shoes (4 wheel drums). I replaced them, she married me, and I'm still changing her brakes 43 years later.
    1
  419. I get better results with a 6 point socket and a little PB Blaster. The tubing wrench can open up a little.
    1
  420. This Jeep only has 111K miles on it. No rust. No transmission or driveline complaints. New engine price: about $3700. Add 2K for replacement. Replacement vehicle: over $20K.
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  421. Too late! Two guys who looked like Agent Smith went through his toolbox a few hours ago.
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  422. Pennsylvania will not allow you to register a truck for anything other than the GVWR on the door sticker.
    1
  423. Those seagulls in the garage will go after your lunch...
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  424. 5S principles...
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  425. Bogarting the gas pump is nothing new. The reason why stores like Wawa have so many pumps is that they expect you to come inside and spend more money. The problem ensues when you have 20 pumps and 20 cars just sitting while the drivers are in the store. What this person did was just rude and classless.
    1
  426. A 2009 with a mere 77,000 on the clock. Barely broken in!
    1
  427.  @grumpycarlsworld  there's nothing that can't be bought new from any auto parts store. Sway bar links are consumables. 15 minutes each. Master cylinder and vacuum booster all bolt on. I've always gone over my brakes (a) before winter and (b) before state inspection. I hate surprises.
    1
  428. Failure to account for gravity, because it cannot be locked out/tagged out, has taken its toll of lost time injuries. When I was working on big power station valves I would instruct my apprentices to think about what's going to happen when the last bolt is removed. When I was a contractor our company got a weekly contract for four techs at a paper mill for three months because two of the plant techs got their hands smashed when they removed a valve and it fell.
    1
  429. Cars are designed to be leased, not owned. The odds of having to do any major maintenance within the lease terms (typically 12,000 miles per year, 36 month period) are minimal.
    1
  430. Go-Wing, R/T stripes, can't remember what engine options were available but maybe a 340.
    1
  431. 20:20 So, you know that the pressure is low in two of the tires but you won't take 5 minutes to get them to the correct pressure? Bucking for a job at a dealership, are we?
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  432. You would be correct.
    1
  433. Yamabond, maybe?
    1
  434. ​ @dennislink7957 Mythbusters did a show about the urban legend.
    1
  435. A mixture of baking soda and water neutralizes the acid in that corrosion...
    1
  436. I read this morning that the NHTSA is recommending that automakers make breathalyzers standard equipment. Can't wait to watch Ray, or a designated person, verify its operations... It never ceases to amaze me, the number of people who bring their own parts. Years ago I saw a sign at a mechanic shop asking if you'd bring your own bacon and eggs to a restaurant. I can see bringing your own parts *if they are long lead-time parts*. For example, unless I wanted my Patriot to sit for at least a month I better have a new rear diff in the back seat.
    1
  437.  @alcarmad  Maybe today, but once upon a time you got your car repairs at a local, family-owned gas station garage. They would often refuse to install mundane parts that weren't supplied by them but they knew what parts weren't mundane. For instance, if you brought an Accel distributor, coil, wires, and plugs and asked them to install them they would, because the mechanics were enthusiasts and often knew the little tricks to make it all work perfectly. Sometimes they didn't mind you watching and learning. My neighbors' family has owned a tire shop for three generations. If you want to see him get frosty just bring some Tire Rack specials and ask him to mount and balance them.
    1
  438. As many, many others have learned, Subarus are great until they break. Find a machine shop worthy of the name and take that engine to them.
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  439. You bring up a good point... Those of us who live where it gets cold and park outside need to remember that animals seeking shelter will get into the engine compartments and be killed or injured when we start our cars. My father would bang on the hood before going to work. With a remote starter, blow the horn with the "lock" button a few times and wait a minute before hitting the start button.
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  440. Since the advent of leasing, cars and trucks are built to survive the lease terms with as minimal an amount of maintenance as possible. When the muffler and tailpipe went on a 93 Dakota I had, the replacements typically lasted no more than two years. But I had it down to a science. Cut the front clamp off the muffler. Spray the joint liberally with PB. Cut the clamps off the tailpipe after cutting the pipe with a Sawzall. Hold an oak block against the front of the muffler and smack it with a big hammer. I could replace the whole thing in 30 minutes.
    1
  441. If the water pump isn't circulating the coolant it will overheat regardless of the fans. Water pumps don't have to leak to be defective.
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  442.  @gvet47  Yes, but (tongue planted firmly in cheek) think about how much money they saved...
    1
  443. It's always a good idea to get an alignment after replacing major suspension parts.
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  444. ​ @7sedumct  unless you're making $20 million per year I wouldn't throw shade at Carlson.
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  445.  @imrf  I wouldn't know... maybe you can tell us? I still can't find the page with your net worth anywhere. They must be updating it.
    1
  446.  @7sedumct  To borrow an old quote: "Money may not be everything, but it ranks right up there with oxygen." You're entitled to your opinion, I'm equally entitled to mine.
    1
  447.  @imrf  I never watched the show. You, on the other hand, are seething with rage at anyone who is successful. Yes, he inherited $250M, but has EARNED another $390M since then. I don't know about you, but I liked working and earning my money. The dirt always washed off and the sense of accomplishment couldn't be beaten.
    1
  448.  @imrf  I'm glad that you and I think alike. I figured that YouTube would censor me if I said it.
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  449.  @imrf  And I'm laughing at you because you allowed yourself to believe in a fantasy world. Years ago I used to listen to Jim Quinn's show. I called him and asked him why he didn't run for office if he believed what he was saying. He said this: "It's not about me or what I think personally. It's all about the show." These talking heads put out what they think that people want to hear, and they laugh all the way to the bank. I've heard Howard Stern say the same things that Limbaugh said, so whatever works for them.
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  450.  @imrf  Pray tell us what you have done to advance the human condition?
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  451. If it makes you feel better ("I should have been an astronaut") there are several tasks on the Hubble Space Telescope that requires you to just stick your hand in there and let your fingers be your eyes.
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  452. With all of the work that has been done on this car, and continues to be done, it has become the poster child for the old engineering maxim: "If you haven't solved a problem you haven't thrown enough money at it."
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  453. This looks more like the driver side window was left open for a short time and not like the car was flooded. Floods leave a ton of debris and an unmistakable stench that never goes away. Since everything is controlled by a computer, and computers can "freeze", why not start by disconnecting the battery and forcing a reboot, after retrieving the codes?
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  454. Use whatever it takes to get it off. Use the same tool that you'll be changing a flat tire with on the road to tighten the lug nuts.
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  455. New belt, tensioner, idler pulleys. We came home after Christmas Eve church in our 2000 Durango 4.7 to a faint odor of burning rubber. The source was the belt slipping on a frozen idler pulley. Loosened the belt and removed the idler. Opened up the shield on the bearing and applied PB Blaster and broke it loose. Once the rust was cleaned out I packed it with lithium grease and put it back on. Did the same with the tensioner pulley. Replaced both the day after Christmas. The old parts went into the parts storage just in case Murphy made an encore.
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  456. The float became a sink. I had that happen in the dead of winter and luckily I had a warm garage to fix it in. I removed the brass float, thoroughly cleaned and dried it out, and soldered the crack. It lasted long enough for me to get a new carb.
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  457. Had one of those as a rental car in Fort Myers. Went on Google to defeat the stop-start because the interior became an oven in microseconds.
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  458. Let me tell you from experience, every time a door closes another door opens. Every time I left a job I had a better job to go to. I'm willing to bet that the new guy will work for less money. That said... I invite you to think outside of the box. Power stations are always looking for good people and they pay really good money. Check out your local utilities (electric, water, gas) and don't be afraid to hire on. Every mechanic I ever worked with started out on cars. There are two things to take a stand on: safety and quality. Do the job safely. Do the job the right way or don't do it at all. It's not you. Yes, it's a gut punch, but you'll get a better job. Let me tell you a story... I had just bought a new truck in May 1977. Someone tried to break into it. This one guy was going around bragging about trying to get into my truck so one Friday afternoon we got into a shoving match. Monday morning they fired me. It was a huge gut punch. When it went to arbitration the company admitted lying about it but since I admitted it they were firing me anyway. I said that I was okay with that and that I didn't want to work for a company of liars. I always say that if I had a time machine I'd go back there and walk into the room just after my younger self left and tell the morons that they just did that kid a big favor because five years from now this plant will be a parking lot.
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  459. Certainly is! You push the pedal and suddenly you're singing "Wolf Creek Pass" or "30,000 Pounds of Bananas".
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  460. Those tires alone are making a huge case for mandatory yearly safety inspections. Looks like "test pipes" have replaced the catcons too... super sketchy.
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  461. The owner of that Dodge made an appointment at the garage...said the A/C was blowing warm or something. Oh, and there's water on the floor, too.
    1
  462. When I replaced the drive belt on my Sportster I installed it the same way the factory installed the original. Just in case.
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  463. Fleet account coming soon! You're going to need a bigger building and more employees.
    1
  464. Second recent video featuring Four Non Blondes.
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  465. The same stuff applies to home air conditioning systems too. My elderly neighbor's system will run for 15 seconds before shutting down. He had a tech check it last month and it was low on juice. Apparently he couldn't find the leak because he recharged it and it's doing the same thing again.
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  466. ...at the end... "And if you have a PT Cruiser, or know someone who has one, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD please don't tell them that I worked on them!"
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  467. This is actually common and cars with struts or coil springs are much worse! They can travel much farther than the shocks will allow because there is nothing to stop the wheel and axle.
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  468. Up north, they do...
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  469. Out in my world of industrial instrumentation and process controls is a motor operated valve called a Limitorque. They have position reporting switches and travel limit switches built in. The convertible top drive motors should have travel limit switches built in to prevent overtravel of the top mechanism. If the mechanism is jammed the motor will not be able to provide enough power to unjam it. Manually opening the top and then operating it is recommended. The clue here is that you can hear the motor trying to operate the top to lower it when you push the down button.
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  470. I'm betting that the owner is a gearhead and will take the car home.
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  471. Automakers used to have to guarantee emissions compliance for the first 50,000 miles. That included things like spark plugs and EGR valves. But both of my Patriots require spark plug changes every 30,000 miles. Inspection of the old plugs shows that the seal between the ceramic body and the steel case had failed, as evidenced by brown staining of the white ceramic. It's not like the 2.4 is a hot-rod motorcycle engine that regularly sees the redline on the tachometer. Helpful hint: removing the fuel pump fuse is way better than chancing breakage of heat-brittled plastic underhood connectors. Old-fashioned mechanics will perform two compression tests, the first one dry, the second after pouring a few ounces of a light oil into the cylinder. Good rings will show little to no change in the pressure reading. Helpful hint #2: if you've done the repairs correctly the codes will clear themselves. My son was prepared to replace the catalytic converter because that's what the code reader said. I persuaded him to replace the sensors first and after replacing all three the error codes cleared themselves. Sensors were a lot easier and cheaper than a converter.
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  472. Superstorm Sandy?
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  473. Yeahhh... I'm gonna have to go ahead and have you come in Saturday, and Sunday too...
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  474. Ever seen "Arachnophobia"? You're doomed...
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  475.  @johnhpalmer6098  I think that you're right.
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  476. We had training on this at the power station, and finding a cable in that condition was cause for taking the crane or chainfall out of service. Management frowned on "heroes" dropping 5 ton motors.
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  477. "You didn't put it in right!" Been there, done that.
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  478. Brakleen works great on spiders and raccoons too.
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  479.  @gonzo_the_great1675  My oldest son uses Flex-Spray on them.
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  480. Don't forget to air up the spare.
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  481. Helpful hint: if you're trying to charge a tool battery and it's not playing well with the charger, get a variable power supply that puts out an amp or more. Set the supply voltage two volts higher than the battery rated voltage. Apply voltage to the battery for a minute or two, then put it into the charger. Odds are that it will begin charging again.
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  482. From 1983 to 2021 I was out the door and on my way at 6AM. I still get up and going at 5AM. Old habits are hard to break.
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  483.  @mowermonkeygarage3820  they certainly can! Where do you think Fix It Again Tony came from?
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  484. The bolt or stud threads aren't part of the seal with exhaust manifolds. Pipe dope isn't meant for the temperatures of exhaust systems.
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  485. It has never ceased to amaze me how the Star Trek merchandise folks missed out on hawking Klingon coffee, or raktagino (sp). It could have been the Carolina Reaper of coffee! But, if the regular stuff doesn't get it done, try espresso.
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  486. 2000 Durango. Power steering return line rusted through. Quoted $399.95 just for the hose from the dealer. $17.95 at the NAPA store. 30 minutes to replace it out in the driveway.
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  487. Pennsylvania emissions. My brother in law has a Smart car. The belt broke and broke the connector on the oil pressure sensor. The dealer is telling him that because it set a code one of their mechanics must drive the car at least 100 miles before they can rescan it for emissions inspection. I told him to ask the state police.
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  488.  @joeschmoe6908  Think of it as a disclaimer. Professional tradesmen are required to carry insurance. If something happens then it's your insurance company against his insurance company. You get paid for your losses.
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  489.  @shadetreemech290  PennDOT's brine is really, really good at rusting out brake lines and suspension parts in a short time.
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  490.  @stephkent2736  "Farm Use Only"
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  491. The PT and HHR had the right idea but Jeep gave the concept 4x4 with the Patriot. Neither of the first two were known as being good in snow.
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  492. "No comprende Anglis, amigo!"
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  493. As Jimmy Buffett used to sing, "if a hurricane doesn't kill you it will make you stronger". My son and his family, my brother and sister in law, got through this one... but there's no guarantees about the next one. If you really want to help after a disaster consider getting your amateur radio license and installing a VHF/UHF transceiver in your vehicle.
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  494. Ah! A subtle attempt at humor.
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  495. I had a 4.7 SOHC sludge generator in a 2000 Durango. Started using Mobil Delvac and the sludge monster was gone.
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  496. What I don't understand is that the daily CME price is for RBOB blending stock, or E0 pure gasoline. Around Pittsburgh it is typically found at stations that serve boaters. It typically sells for what diesel fuel sells for. E10 is currently $3.99, E15 $3.66.
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  497. Florida mornings that feature "falling lizard alerts" result in a ton of tire pressure alerts... "Yeah...I'm gonna need you to go ahead and come in Saturday and Sunday too."
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  498. 3.7 is 3/4 of the (in)famous 4.7L sludge generator. Replace the oil with Mobil Delvac or Shell Rotella and the sludge problem goes away.
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  499. If this goes the way I think it will go, the insurance companies will put all flood-totaled cars up for auction, starting bid is the amount owed to the finance company that actually owns the title. There will be a ton of pros and collectors falling over one another to get their hands on a rare Scat Pack Challenger. Wave bye-bye...
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  500. How many people does the factory use when they built it? In 2005: the transmission in my 1993 Dakota died, a local transmission shop replaced it, and two weeks later the starter fell off because they never tightened the bolts.
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  501. The caliper wasn't sliding properly and/or the brake pad was hanging up on the mounting bracket. Always clean and remove rust from the sliding surfaces and verify that the brake pads slide freely.
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  502. 20 years ago a local shop wanted $800 to replace the lower ball joints on my 1993 Dakota 4x4. $100 and four hours later I had all four ball joints replaced by me. What a frickin' racket!
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  503. In Pennsylvania, oil companies were not allowed to own gas stations. Consequently, all of the stations were independent, family owned businesses. Then, in 1975, I think, the law was changed. Self-service was also introduced, as you said, to save a few pennies. The indies couldn't compete and many stopped selling gas but kept their garage open for the state inspection business. As the years passed they died off and a new business model of convenience stores replaced the old garages. That local gas station family often supported local things like scouts and baseball leagues. When they ended the support dried up. They also provided starter jobs for kids. I pumped gas in high school. You learned a lot about people and cars, and sometimes made a difference... I was pumping gas overnight at a Boron gas station in Columbus in the winter and spring of 1975. A 1971 340 Barracuda with extremely dim lights rolled in. Its driver was a kid about my age, trying to get home on leave from the Army. He bought gas. I commented on the low lights. When he tried to start the car it just chattered. He was at his wits end, but I said "let me try this". The "this" was an extra voltage regulator that I kept in my Fury. Installed it. Jumped the battery. Fired right up and the ammeter needle was in the charge zone. His eyes brightened as he knew he could get home. "What do I owe you?" he asked. "Nothing" was my answer. Sometimes you do things just because you can.
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  504. The current maxim is that any empty space is wasted space.
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  505. Another factor is that because of the current from the welding a galvanic reaction between the aluminum head and steel stud is taking place, along with millions of micro-welds in the threads. This is why you have to shrink the stud.
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  506. One more tip: avoid breathing solvent vapors and as much dust as you can. Solvent vapors attack the liver and kidneys, and dust is just no good period! Those of us who worked in industrial settings knew the virtues of face diapers way before covid made them ubiquitous.
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  507. I own two Patriots, a 2014 and a 2016. The electronic throttle body has died twice on the 2014 (56,000 total miles) and once on the 2016 (62,000 total miles). When it dies you're screwed. Both have the 2.4 engine.
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  508. Let me clue you in on a secret...there are some engines, the 4.7 SOHC Mopar is a good example, that are sludge generators. I owned one from 2003 to 2014 in a 2000 Durango. I solved the problem by switching to Mobil Delvac oil. We put a fuzz over 100K miles on it and it still had OEM oil pressure when we traded it in. If you have a sludge problem that's not being caused by a head gasket leak try Delvac or Rotella and see if it works for you.
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  509. If people can do something they will do it. Sage advice, better safe than sorry.
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  510. Don't you dare bitch about the temperature! I was in Bonita Springs from the 6th until the 20th and the weather sucked canal water the whole time! Now that I'm back in Pittsburgh, your weather has returned to normal. It was 14 degrees and snowing when I got off the plane, but as I write this at 7 AM it's 60. Do you have a Falling Iguana Alert helmet?
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  511. See where he snugs up the nut that wouldn't spin when he wanted it to? Murphy's Law says that the nut will now spin...after the workaround has been completed. The higher the amount of knuckle skin shed, the higher the likelihood of this occurring.
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  512. Four Non Blondes on helium at 5:50...
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  513. It's up to the customer as to what they want on. As I read your message I had this image of some old guy's eyes glazing over.
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  514. That's the "tourist rain". Beaches until the sky darkens, then a shower and a nap, then off to the Early Bird dinner special.
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  515. I think that they have them at Harbor Freight.
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  516. It's harder than it looks, isn't it? Being unrealistic about income versus outflow is the main reason why over 90% of small businesses fail.
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  517. It's Florida. They go up in the morning and down in the evening. No big deal. Now, if he was in the Carolinas...
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  518. Someday he's going to have the last laugh when he uses a pressure washer to clean the brakes...
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  519. I just killed a spider with it this morning.
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  520.  @tonyjover  bit me and made my leg swell up like a balloon.
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  521.  @forgetfulme1719  all depends. Florida has a much wider variety of spiders than we have in Pennsylvania. I was working a gas turbine job in Lakeland and there were black widows close to the guard desk. WD-40 fixed that problem. They like to set up shop in toilets and showers. I turn the hot water on full and smack the shower curtain a few times to dislodge any eight-legged assassins that might be lurking. I always lift the seat and inspect the area around the toilet before using it. And spin the TP...nothing like getting a little arachnid buddy when you're getting the paper.
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  522.  @michaelpressman7203  , the classic definition of an oxymoron is terms that seem to contradict each other. The common example is "military intelligence".
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  523. Thanks to the Internet, I spent over a month and over $700 diagnosing why my 2005 Sportster burned up the ignition coil. After replacing the coil it would only run on one cylinder. Internet says replace the module. Bought a new module then learned that it and the bike must be matched at the dealership. Bought an aftermarket module that told me that the crank position sensor was bad. Replaced that to no avail. Got out the schematics and multimeter and started troubleshooting. Found that the fuse powering the ignition had some kind of calcium deposit on the blades. Cleaned the fuse block up and fixed the problem.
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  524.  @peted5217  It wasn't a grounding issue, it was the calcium having enough resistance to reduce the coil voltage to 8 volts.
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  525.  @peted5217  I'm way luckier that I caught it and cleaned the salt out before it had a chance to ruin the fuse block and the wiring harness. I pull every fuse every spring and verify the circuitry. That's what I get for riding to work before the spring rains wash the salt off the roads.
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  526. My sister in law will be bringing a Chrysler Sebring convertible for an eval. If she can find it. When last seen it was in water up to the windows. Tires have less than 1000 miles on them.
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  527. The Harley dealer I used to go to, three miles from my house, had a breakfast restaurant across the street. The closest dealer is now 20 miles away and has nothing within walking distance.
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  528. I thought "smoking a Kia" was the latest street jargon for...never mind.
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  529. Have to remember that it's not his personal car. When I was in field service and driving 50K miles per year I spent the money on premium parts. Now that I'm retired and driving less than 5K miles per year I just buy the first-tier parts. FYI, I put rotors like those on my 2016 Patriot five years ago and they still look minty.
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  530.  @gimmeaford9454  I've only been working on cars for sixty years now. It's more like passing along what I was taught. I was taught to remove and clean the battery terminals at every tune-up, spring and fall.
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  531.  @gimmeaford9454  Thank you, Oracle. Mmmm....fresh chocolate chip cookies just out of the oven.
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  532.  @OldBastardOnnaHarley  You're quite welcome.
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  533.  @privilegedwhitemale306  Well...you can install one GFCI breaker and protect several non-GFCI outlets or install a GFCI outlet at every location that requires it.
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  534.  @price9195  Some power stations have separate Instrumentation and Electrician trades. Duquesne Light combined the two and called it E&I. Contrary to their beliefs the trades are not the same. Instrumentation always includes valves and other sensors and controls. Electrician covers voltages from 120 volts to whatever lives in the switchyard, here it was 138kV.
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  535.  @CatsMeowington  Yep, learned that the hard way! LOL.
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  536.  @pseudocoder78  I don't know anything about connecting shore power to boats. Never had to do it.
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  537. When you get tired of those you start wearing gloves.
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  538. They don't work on no-see-ums.
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  539.  @georgesalyer9074  Travel time plus mileage.
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  540. Since you're over 100k, consider using Mobil Delvac or Shell Rotella 15W-40. It has a much better additive package than automotive oils. It eliminates the sludge monster in the Dodge 4.7.
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  541.  @larrybe2900  Never had a problem. No leaks, less consumption, no sludge in the 4.7 Durango and no problems in the 3.9 Dakota I had at the time.
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  542. I've had two cars where an overheating problem was caused by the impeller spinning freely on the shaft. Just because it isn't leaking doesn't mean that it's good.
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  543. The brake pads are supposed to grip the rotors, so if yours are wobbly you might need to see if the pistons are sticking.
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  544. I highly recommend Mobil Delvac or Shell Rotella for higher mileage non-diesel cars and trucks. It eliminated the well-known sludge issue in a 2000 Durango with the 4.7 and I used it to extend the oil change interval in a 1993 3.9 Dakota that I drove in field service.
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  545. Ray, here's a nickel's worth of free advice: your most valuable tools are your hands, start protecting them. Leather gloves will prevent the steel belt wires from puncturing your hands and maybe giving you tetanus.
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  546. Motorcycle jacks work well too. Plus, the bike is ready for the run to the parts store.
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  547. You haven't lived until you've been near a power station boiler when a tube leak happens.
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  548.  @markhammer9975  Actually, in the film "Under Siege" Tommy Lee Jones' character gets bleeding ears due to being close to a firing cannon turret.
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  549. When the threads begin to fail, you'll feel a certain feeling that isn't like when the plug is bottomed out. Then you'll have a sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach as you contemplate how long you'll be without the car and how much it will cost.
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  550. We'll see if he complains about the heat in about three months when the rest of us are hunkering down for the winter.
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  551. Polito!
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  552. They would have spec'd Whitworth fasteners. It would be funny watching Ray try out his metric and SAE tools on them...
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  553.  @williamoneal2763  I posted after I watched, and added my experience with the vacuum cleaner filters so folks can save the expense of buying a new one because the other one has a plugged HEPA filter.
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  554. When I was in field service there were numerous coal preparation plants that used pneumatic instruments and controls. The plant owners routinely allowed the air dryers to fail and the receiver tanks to completely fill up with water! We got calls for water running out of the control room panels! I would drain the water, check out the instrumentation, find the lowest spot in the system, and slightly open a valve or petcock to allow the water to drain, show the shift boss what I did and why I did it...and be back a few days later because some "hero" closed everything I left open. Then they wouldn't want to pay the bill.
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  555.  @InsideOfMyOwnMind  We pointed out that damage due to poor quality instrument air was not covered in the service contract and they paid their bills.
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  556.  @rajbeekie7124  The 3 months/3000 mile interval dates back to the 1950s, when leaded gas was used and engines had a road draft tube to exhaust blow-by. Cars not driven long enough to heat the water in the oil or not fast enough for the road draft tube to create a vacuum tended to suffer premature engine failures.
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  557. I can't find the sections on the time circuits and flux capacitor in my service manual... must be a revision I didn't get.
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  558. Back in the day, that steering gearbox had an adjustment to remove excess steering wheel play. Check it out before replacing the box. That steering linkage setup is identical to the setup on a 1977 F150 I owned. With the steering wheel centered, you set the right wheel toe with the main sleeve. Then you set the left wheel toe with the left side sleeve. So easy a caveman could do it!
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  559. If I've seen it once I've seen it a thousand times. Around Pittsburgh they're usually drug runners and are heavily armed. They're not interested in you. Don't make them get interested in you.
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  560. ​ @AccountInactive Well...
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  561. I look forward to the day when he plugs that scan tool in and it says... "Negotiating with host" "Online with host..." ...followed by a laughing Jolly Roger.
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  562. Here's the problem with a leaking CV joint boot: eventually all of the lubricant escapes and water gets inside. Nothing good can happen after that.
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  563.  @haroldh3863  true, but Murphy's Law says that it will fail (a) at the most inconvenient time, (b) at the most inconvenient place, or (c) all of the above. Say Christmas Day, with everyone in the car, out in the country.
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  564.  @haroldh3863  Thanks for asking. The short version is that after the Columbia disaster I became, thanks to some crazy circumstances, part of a strange group whose only mission was to watch over the shuttle program and prevent any more losses. We were able to persuade NASA to abort the launch of STS-133 and begin a root cause investigation into why the insulating foam had cracked and fell off the external tank during a tanking test.
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  565.  @haroldh3863  Thank you for your service! As a friend once told me, I found a way to serve our country that didn't involve guns. In 2003 I was a Senior Field Service Engineer in industrial instrumentation and process controls with 25 years of experience. Until a service call at Plum Brook I'd never been anywhere besides the tourist side of KSC. Take a look at my videos, you'll probably know many of the places.
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  566.  @haroldh3863  One more thing that you know but most people don't... NASA is unique amongst government agencies. They think of themselves as a family and encourage participation by the general public. I had been exchanging emails with a member of the CAIB since a chance encounter at the final public hearing June 12, 2003. I would suggest things to him and watch in amazement as they were used two weeks later. One frosty Sunday morning in January 2004, I wrote a missive for a blog imploring the "graybeards" to not retire until the shuttle program was completed. The next day an email from Sean O'Keefe was in my inbox! He agreed with me and sent my missive through the upper echelons. In June, Plum Brook called my employer. Seems that their Hagan Ring Balance instrument needed repair and I was the man for the job. While I was there, the conversation led to my being asked a direct question: why are you doing this? I wasn't expecting this, but my answer came from the heart: because I think that I can help and that the people in Washington would tell me if I couldn't. That opened up the floodgates. The special guided tour, being invited to Sean's farewell gathering at NASA headquarters...it's the stuff that dreams are made of. They invited me and my family to witness history, the final launch of STS-135. Everything I gave them worked. We prevented any more names from being added to the gray wall at KSC. Why me, only God knows. It was like living in a movie for eight years. It was scary. It was fun. It was worth it.
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  567. Right up there with "Hey y'all, watch this!" is "I got a really sweet deal on this at the auction!"
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  568. True, but the problem is access to an air compressor. Most convenience stores/gas stations don't have them. Many tire shops will do the job for free, and tipping the guy who does the job goes a long way.
    1
  569. There's no shame in getting out of the path of an approaching stampede...
    1
  570.  @leewatson8129  If moisture is entering the system as you describe, at ambient temperature and pressure, brake fluid will most certainly escape violently when the pedal is pressed!
    1
  571. Florida has a water table that's very close to the surface. Houses with basements are rare because they require a sump pump to be usable. Keeping water out of electric conduits is problematic at best.
    1
  572.  @beezul  I'm as puzzled as you. It looked too big to get in through the overflow tube.
    1
  573. Revenge is a dish...best served by karma.
    1
  574.  @mummifiedgamer  I completely agree with you. I never knew where Ray worked anyway so I'm not part of whatever is going on. All I'm saying is that things just have a habit of balancing themselves even if you had nothing to do with it.
    1
  575. Thermostats used to come with a bleeder hole that had to be installed at the highest point.
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  576. Helpful hint: the Compass and Patriot models use the same drivetrains, and share a lot of other things.
    1
  577.  @budlanctot3060  I was being facetious with the drill. Murphy's Law states that after you've drilled the hole, you look underneath and see that there was a drain plug 1/4" from where you drilled the hole! I would have used a shop vac to get most of the water out, then the sun will do the rest.
    1
  578. Ground clearance is your friend. Lowered cars look cool until the trailer in front of you loses a 4x4 timber and you run it over and destroy a lot of really expensive stuff.
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  579. What, you didn't use Brakleen to degrease the splines??!! No calibrated torque wrenches? Let's start the debate. My 1977 Ford F150 4x4 had a three piece driveshaft with a carrier bearing. Everything had a grease fitting that got lubed every 3000 miles as part of the oil change. That was then. Although the customer supplied a lubricant, I would have used nuclear-grade antiseize for the job. Although the copper-bearing antiseize is sufficient, the nuke stuff is inarguably superior. What are your thoughts?
    1
  580. Oh, goody...a 24 foot wasp nest/gator shader to park next to the 16 foot wasp nest/gator shader! Be careful!
    1
  581. The price of the billable hours is getting closer to the insurance value of the truck... Back to the ignition switch solenoid...I would have pulled the fuse when it wouldn't release the key and see if the problem was solved.
    1
  582. FWIW, the immobilizer in the 2014 Jeep Patriot will allow the engine to start and run for three seconds if the fob is improperly programmed.
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  583. Dollar signs flowing $$$$$$$__ Today's helpful hint: on vehicles with torsion bar front suspension unload the tension on the bar first. It makes the work a lot easier.
    1
  584. I'm disappointed...I thought that the ISS clip was from "Gravity", but it wasn't. "Gravity" would have been appropriate.
    1
  585. I can see racing this at Bonneville...
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  586. When I was working for Westinghouse in the mid eighties the catchphrase was "two weeks", as in "you'll only be gone two weeks." They sent one guy to Taiwan. When he came back six months later his car, which had been parked at the airport, needed to be taken out on a flatbed because (a)it wouldn't start, (b)the registration and inspection had expired, and (c), all of the tires were flat. He also had a ginormous parking bill receipt. Trains. Norfolk Southern and CSX trains used to routinely block the main entrance to The Waterfront, a shopping and housing complex built where the Homestead Works steel mills once stood. The police played nice for years, calling the dispatcher every time they did that and usually getting blown off. Fed up, Homestead police began citing the train drivers. The problem was fixed when they arrested a few of the drivers and charged them for obstruction of police, fire, and EMS personnel.
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  587. "Better put on your booties, campers, 'cause it's cold out there!" ...and your hard hats for the falling lizards! Merry Christmas from 3 degree Pittsburgh.
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  588.  @silaskuemmerle2505  Depends on where it's from. If it's from the Fort Myers area, run away!
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  589. As my son the painter is learning, running your own business can be satisfying...and frustrating. Dealing with taxes is Job One! Get on the wrong side of the tax man and you can lose everything! Next up is environmental compliance. Automotive repair shops must deal with all kinds of waste deemed hazardous by the federal and state EPAs. Staying in compliance with this will cost cubic dollars and time. You can get in trouble for antifreeze going on the ground or down the drain. Be careful here. Oil waste, greasy shop rags...everything must be properly disposed of. And brake cleaner...you'll be surprised how frugal you get with consumables when you're paying for them. Safety...if you think that OSHA is a small town in Wisconsin you're going to get a rude awakening.
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  590. Welcome to Pennsylvania! You have a toolbox full of the right tools and you're featuring slip-joint pliers? If you bust your knuckles you've only got yourself to blame.
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  591. In Pennsylvania, right turn on red, and the left turn on red onto a one-way street has been the law since January 1, 1977. Intersections where it's not permitted are marked with "No Turn On Red" signs. Some are "no turn on red between the hours of X and Y". A few local police chiefs were indignant about the change. The chief of the Duquesne, Pennsylvania police department huffed "I wasn't consulted about this!" and hung "No Turn" signs at every intersection. The current problem comes from drivers who only marginally slow down and sometimes stop for a car or larger vehicle. This causes problems for pedestrians and cyclists.
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  592.  @debal73  And everything that walks, crawls, swims, or flies is poisonous and will try to kill you. Paradise, eh?
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  593. My son in Davenport got his electric back about 6 hours after bringing a generator home. The entire trailer encampment in Fort Myers will be written off, I'm told, by a brother in law who has a place there. We got chased out of Myrtle Beach by Diana in 1984, out of Disney World by George in 1998. The key to getting out is to make sure that you fill your tank when you arrive. That way you glide past the gas station lines and can put 400 miles under your buns before you have to stop again. That will make the difference between spending your vacation in a storm shelter, with your family back home in a panic, and watching it on TV from your home.
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  594. Color coded too. One is red, one is blue.
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  595.  @Franklinveterinarycenter1of4  , nothing like opening up the hood and having a cat or raccoon looking back at you!
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  596.  @johnhhinton5473  okay, but there was still something wrong with the distributor that was keeping the spark timing from advancing. Either way, he found it.
    1
  597. You know, somewhere there's an actual torque value for the lug nuts that doesn't have the words "impact gun" as part of the procedure. On this truck, five feet/five seconds warranty.
    1
  598. My 1966-1973 Chilton's manual has a photo and the procedure. First, mount the master cylinder in a bench vise with one of the mounting ears. Second, thread two short lengths of tubing bent so that they empty back into the master cylinder into the outlet tubing fittings. Third, fill the master cylinder about halfway. Fourth, gently push the master cylinder piston until only fluid flows from the tubing. Replace the bleeder tubing with plugs, install the cap on the reservoir, and install the master cylinder on the car.
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  599. I would have replaced the key fob battery first. They have an a misleading ability to show 3 volts when unloaded but when the button is pushed the voltage collapses.
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  600. He dodged a bullet *this time*. Relying on luck is not a strategy.
    1
  601. Thank the EPA for the plastic cars. They keep increasing the fuel mileage demand and the manufacturers replace metal with plastic in the never ending quest to reduce weight.
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  602. "Dammit, Jim! I'm a doctor, not a welder!"
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  603. Everything on a car is designed to survive the 3 year lease terms. Plastic crap doesn't survive. It gets brittle in the heat as the volatile chemicals are boiled out over time.
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  604. I haven't seen that trapdoor in years! Neither one of my Jeeps have it, a 2014 and a 2016.
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  605. One of the "prides" of Lordstown, Ohio.
    1
  606. That truck had the V-10 motor in it. They were only available in the 2500/3500 series trucks, not the 1500.
    1
  607. I hate the plastic beauty covers on the engines. Does it have a real function?
    1
  608. Someone commented that it looked like Wolverine had tried to remove a cover. That got me thinking. If you watch the Star Wars Clone Wars movie there's a scene where Anakin Skywalker is trying to assuage his grief over being unable to prevent his mother's death by fixing a droid. He talked about how he liked fixing things and that he was really good at it. So...what if he'd taken a different path? "Ray, meet the new guy. His name is Anakin." After exchanging pleasantries, Anakin pulls a crap pile into the bay next to Ray's. Ray looks over and says "You're never gonna fix that!" Anakin looks over, smiles, and says "I find your lack of faith disturbing..."
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  609. When I worked at WISCO in 1983 I got a lot of driving jobs because I knew how to drive a stick. We'd borrow a six wheel flatbed from the Bethel Park office (pre-CDL) that had a five speed stick and a two speed rear axle. Once they replaced the truck with a tandem axle with air brakes we couldn't borrow it and had to rent flatbed trucks.
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  610. Nothing coming from Washington surprises me anymore. The government has been at war with industry since 1970, and now that enough of it has moved offshore, they're going after the ability to generate reliable electricity. ICE cars will be legislated off the roads one way or another to appease the Climate Gods.
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  611. I only remember the 1970s version, when everything ran off of engine vacuum and one-way valves ruled the roost. As various problems caused by making the gas tank a closed system presented themselves it became apparent that electronic controls and solenoid valves were required.
    1
  612. ​ @CodycoWeb  Yep, you get the check engine light if the gas cap is loose or doesn't seal. Pennsylvania used to test the gas cap separately until they proved that the OBD2 can do that job. They don't do tailpipe inspections anymore, they just plug into MU-TH-UR and scan for stored codes.
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  613. ​ @CodycoWeb  Some years ago I had the dealership replace the front fenders on my 2001 Ram 1500. While they were doing the job the inspection expired. When they rolled it from the body shop to the garage it failed inspection because it hadn't been driven 50 miles since the battery was disconnected. Welcome to OBD2! They wrote me a pass to show the cops if I was pulled over for expired stickers and sent me on my way. One trip to work and back and I was back at the dealership. They can't perform the mechanical inspection until the vehicle passes emissions.
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  614. On a tangent...I've never seen more Challengers in one place than I've seen in the Kennedy Space Center employees parking lot. It still holds a deep meaning for them. Chrysler management of the time thought that spinning off the Dodge truck line into its own division and calling it Ram Trucks was a good thing. You buy them from your local CDJR dealer, or Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram dealer. They plan to stop making Chargers and Challengers after the 2023 model year anyway. Computer language has a lot of "ifs" and "thens". Maintenance and engineering has the famous "yes or no" flow chart. If you have problem "X" and have performed the recommended action, the next question is always "did this fix the problem?" Obtaining data to support your case and presenting it in an understandable manner is how you convince the customer. In my world of industrial instrumentation and process controls it's sometimes not enough to prove to the customer that the controls aren't the source of their problems. You have to learn and understand the physics of the process to go to the next step.
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  615. Rusted advance weights are the most common cause of power loss. Weak springs will allow the timing to advance too early and will cause preignition or pinging.
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  616. Way back when...gas tanks had a vent tube that served two purposes, one, to keep the gas from overpressuring the tank on a hot day; and to let air in to equalize the pressure as the fuel level drops. Early evap systems had a charcoal canister that absorbed the fuel vapors and a valve that routed the vapors to the engine.
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  617. I'm gonna go ahead and estimate that this job cost $1000 based upon a $100 per hour shop fee. The dealership that inspected my Patriot advertised a $140 per hour shop fee.
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  618.  @KenSch2020  I didn't know that. I just thought that they were an investment group.
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  619.  @KenSch2020  No problem.
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  620. @Pete N I have tubing wrenches, and just like a conventional open end wrench they will slip.
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  621.  @totalyep  The best instrumentation are the ones that gets calibrated regularly. Otherwise, you're guessing. This applies to torque wrenches too.
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  622.  @totalyep  You're right. None of my home instruments are calibrated, but the ones I used to earn my living with were calibrated and traceable to NIST.
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  623. Automakers should change the "check engine" light to dollar signs.
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  624. Do they fall on the floor faster from the boot or the bonnet?
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  625. My 1988 Taurus 3.0 had the worst transmission on the planet... until the backup lights failed due to the transmission switch. Turns out that part of the switch tells the computer what the shifter selection is. When the switch goes bad it takes the transmission with it. After I replaced the switch the car was wonderful.
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  626. Why was it that the first thing that came to mind was the movie "The Running Man"?
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  627. Our situation will not improve...
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  628. I worked for Westinghouse from 1982 until 2000. I needed to be home for my family and they kept sending me farther away and for longer periods of time. I fired them, got a better job, and took all of their work. Less than 5 years later Siemens shut them down. Trust your skills. Every time I quit I had a better paying job waiting for me.
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  629. When I worked at the power stations Brakleen was the tool of choice for dispatching spiders too.
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  630. Hang a red OOS tag on it, go fill out the paperwork, and move on to the next job.
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  631. Well, if you're working outside of the ISS...
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  632.  @georgegonzalez2476  Regardless, you have to agree that the end result will really suck for whoever is doing the EVA. But, let's stay with air pressure. Just like water, air will move from areas of high pressure towards areas of low pressure. Therefore, it can be said that low pressure will suck air from a higher pressure until the pressures are equalized.
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  633.  @georgegonzalez2476  While I see your point, from a practical perspective what difference does it make?
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  634. Brand-new parts fail all of the time. I still remember the three trips my father made to the parts store before he got a good starter for our 1966 Delta 88. Helpful hint: keeping a carpet remnant around is a great alternative to laying on the ground to work on your car.
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  635. My BIL has a place in a park near the intersection of US19 and FL60 in Clearwater. He says that despite being ordered to leave by the police most of the residents are staying. The rationale? "It's never as bad as the 'experts' say it's going to be." It's a close race between complacency and outright stupidity as to which one kills more people.
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  636. Most Americans wouldn't understand because to us, a "bollock" is a cylindrical pillar, usually found (by accident!) protecting something in a parking lot.
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  637. There was this indication light in the Ford Pinto that just said "engine". When the light comes on, replace the engine.
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  638. I've used Brakleen for wasps and spiders and you can stand at least 10 feet away with a new can.
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  639. The universe does indeed move in mysterious ways...I wouldn't say that he Dodged a bullet, it's more like he Dodged a strain on his marriage and a drain on his bank account.
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  640. Did I miss the part where you showed us the first dollar in a frame on the office wall? It's traditional for selfies. Up here, it's common for rust to restrict the free movement of the pads. You have to use a file or a wire wheel to remove that rust and free up the pads to move. Frozen caliper pins and stuck brake pads are a bad combination.
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  641. I just had my Patriot inspected at the dealership. $140 is the current labor rate.
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  642.  @mphilleo  it's going to "administrative expenses" and the increased cost of shop supplies and disposal of things like greasy shop rags.
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  643. Don't let your guard down yet...
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  644. 4Non Blondes are OK. The pneumatic tool whine I can live without. Wonder if his neighbor is a metal fabricator shop.
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  645. Not really. Mitch did a number on Mexico in 1998. I was working near Queretaro and the only word I could grasp on the radio was "Mitch". Good thing the hotel had American TV stations.
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  646. I hate to say it, but modern cars and motorcycles encourage you to do that. My 2016 Patriot 2.4 has a cammy powerband that kicks in at 4000 rpm. To get reasonable performance from it you get used to the tachometer bouncing off the redline, just like a Japanese motorcycle.
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  647. It occurs to me that Ray is getting a lot of jobs that are time consuming. Chain shops and dealerships don't want them because of the time charges that will quickly add up to a substantial percentage of the value of the vehicle.
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  648.  @bobmartin4942  been there, done that. An old-timer told me that the trick is to use a hose from the bleed fitting into a quart glass jar partly filled with fluid and don't horse the brake pedal to activate the ABS.
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  649.  @bigsparky8888  I was thinking that, based on the lack of serious rust on the cars he works on. It's that time for love bugs and no-see-ums and the coming weeks should be interesting.
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  650.  @burningglory2373  What kills it now is that most large shops and dealers charge 1 hour minimum time for everything, and the cost is at least $100.
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  651.  @rayner226  there are a lot of landscaping companies in Florida who would outbid one another for this truck at an auction.
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  652.  @ryanpaaz  I wouldn't, but then again I'd never let my tires get that knackered. On the off-chance I did, my next stop would be my neighbor's tire shop.
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  653.  @burningglory2373  I agree with you.
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  654. In some countries the mechanic would have filled the hole with a welding machine, and redrilled and trapped the hole to the OEM size.
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  655. What kills cars out West? Rust is the main enemy east of the Mississippi.
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  656.  @cengeb  When I traveled for a living I was always able to find vintage and classic cars, with the sole exception of Clute/ Old Ocean, Texas. It was difficult to find a vehicle that was more than five years old. I suspect that the ginormous BASF plant was the reason, paying wages good enough to preclude the workers from driving junkers.
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  657. Actually, there are quite a few cars from the late 1950s that sport "six pack" carburetors. American drivers were hitting the road but there were very few four-lane highways. You often found yourself stuck in a line of traffic following a tractor-trailer. 15 mph uphill, 200 mph downhill. When the two-lane (think Route 66) gave you a passing zone it was time to drop the hammer and get down the road. The combination of an automatic transmission downshift and four extra barrels made short work of those passes.
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  658. Way back when, service managers, if not writers, were former mechanics that had the experience to understand what the customers needed. So did the parts counter guy. I was buying a torsion bar at the Dodge dealership and reminisced about the 1971 Fury ex-cop car and the oil pressure gauge that went where the clock went on a C body. The parts kid said "no way". A graybeard reached under the counter, pulled out a huge book, plopped it open, and said to the kid "right there". Nowadays parts guys just use computers, and service writers are experts in public relations. Dealers can't afford to have a bad review on social media.
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  659. ​ @aliasfred  The spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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  660. Funny how the big dodges have five lug nuts while the Dakota/Durango have six. Notice how Ray always leaves out the part where he sprays P-oil on things that have to come apart? Steering input shaft on wrong side? British, Australian, or Japanese?
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  661. When's the plastic Chevy coming inside?
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  662. JEEP: Just Empty Every Pocket!
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  663. It's like asking which is heavier, an empty compressed gas cylinder or one filled with a lighter than air gas like hydrogen.
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  664.  @radekc5325  Actually, thanks to David Bernoulli, it's the curved upper surface of the wing that provides lift and makes wing design predictable. Langley believed that the wings needed to skim the air like a stone skipping across water which was the wrong approach.
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  665. The speed of the landing gear wheels is irrelevant. Once the engine thrust begins pushing the plane is going to fly.
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  666. I've heard mechanics call them "Cotter keys" too.
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  667. The green solution would have been to get out the Harbor Freight solar system, hook it up, and go for coffee. For the rest of us, get out the good voltmeter, and connect it to the battery. Observe the battery voltage with the engine running. A dead battery, if it can still hold a charge, will make the alternator produce around 14.5 volts. Turn the headlights on and observe the voltage. If it drops below 14 voltage take a hard look at the voltage regulator and alternator. Ray's scan tool should tell the story, along with the battery load tester he uses. A bad diode in the alternator will kill a good battery overnight.
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  668. All depends on how they bought it. New car dealership, used car dealership, auto auction.
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  669. ​ @armadildo6468 Unless you're competent in the work, then by all means have it inspected by a professional mechanical technician.
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  670.  @armadildo6468  First, does the state you live in require vehicle inspection? Pennsylvania does, and it's customary to have the vehicle inspection done during the sale process. Dealers will often have the vehicle inspection done before the sale as it's a good selling point.
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  671. My 1988 Caravan did the same thing on the way home from Myrtle Beach through West Virginia. It was the fuel pump.
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  672. Looks like Murphy is on the payroll... I have a photo of the C-can door used by the scaffold builder at Cheswick. "Plan your work. Work your plan. If you fail to plan, you plan to..." The last line was lost to history by the writer failing to have planned on the Sharpee going dry, but you can probably guess what's missing.
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  673. You have promise, kid. I keep telling you to seek employment at a power station. They have apprenticeship opportunities. Check out electrical contractors too. I hear that the SW Florida area needs qualified electrical workers.
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  674. We just recently had to deal with this in Pittsburgh. Environmental activists were chapped because the usual objects of their ire, steel mills and coal power stations, have all been shuttered and/or demolished.
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  675. When the radio plays "Word Up" do you squeeze the air wrench in time to the song? It's the only song that uses an air wrench as a musical instrument. Riddle me this, Batman! This car has obviously been repaired before for something not a wear item. Leaks between sealing surfaces are caused by many things, like improper surface preparation, improper fastener torque, pressure and temperature in excess of the gasket's design parameters. The factory would never seal this with red RTV, so this leak has been an issue for quite a while now and has been addressed at least once before. I would have checked the mating surfaces with a straightedge and cast a jaded eye on the filter mounting bracket. It may have a crack or other casting/machining imperfection that only appears under heat and pressure. The sensor screwed into the bracket and its threads could have a problem. Will the repairs done solve the problem? Time will tell.
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  676. "This place is old Feels just like a beat-up truck I turn the engine But the engine doesn't turn" Uh-oh! Better call Ray! Dooo-deee-dooo's are comin'...
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  677. Hot rodders will say that the block has been "windowed".
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  678. Here's an audience participation thread: borrowed from Mike Tyson's famous "Everyone has a plan until..." and you complete the phrase with an example from your own mechanical mishaps. "Everyone has a plan until...the last bolt you need to complete the job snaps as you tighten it. And you don't have another one."
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  679. Bunkers are good in places where the water table isn't close to the surface. Homes in most of Florida don't have a basement for this reason. Way better to get out of the storm's path.
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  680. It has become an earworm!
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  681. Actually, torque wrenches should be calibrated yearly. There are legal ramifications to the use of them.
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  682. I highly recommend following the procedures in the service manual. They're not all the same, and getting it wrong can be expensive and dangerous.
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  683. Logical, but what happens with Allen heads, Bristol splines, and Torx screws?
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  684. Ever since the advent of leasing vehicles are designed to be maintenance free for three years, and no more.
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  685. Try turning the fixtures off for one minute after replacing the bulbs. Modern smart ballasts need to be reset after a bulb change.
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  686. I still remember the hot-rod days of the 50s and 60s. Racers such as Indianapolis ran alcohol because it was harder to accidentally set on fire compared to gasoline. Drag racers embraced alcohol because it tended to cool the mixture, something that's very important when you're sucking fuel through a 6-71 supercharger into a 392 Hemi or 394 Oldsmobile. In that respect, Harley's new Revolution Max engine has a stratospheric 12.5:1 compression ratio.
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  687. You mount the wheel and tire on the machine, close the shield, and push the button. The wheel spins, and the digital readouts tell you where and how much weight to apply. Then you spin it again to check your work. Like he says, boring.
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  688. Make memories with that vintage Galaxie.
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  689.  @alangreenslade1685  I can picture this..
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  690. Only a phlebotomist...or a vampire...would see that!
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  691. I'm waiting for the white Corvette to get a little love.
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  692. I did my part last week. I changed oil and filter on both Patriots, replaced all of the brake pads and rotated tires. It's summer and the Driveway Garage is open! Way back in 1974, I replaced the rear axle in a 1967 Charger with the one from a wrecked 1968 Coronet. Done in the apartment parking lot. No power tools, just a 3/8" Bernz-O-Matic socket set and a few Crescent wrenches. The "good old days"...
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  693. A Patriot with a V6? I was led to believe that they had either a 1.6 or 2.4 liter 4 cylinder. My 2014 and 2016 are both 2.4s. The fact that the Jeep owner couldn't be bothered to put gas in it tells me that they're planning on unloading it soon.
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  694. I could work all day on a JLG lift but I hated the scissors lift!
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  695. There's a Dirty Harry axiom that fits here: a man's got to know his limitations. Before I retired, I did as much of the work as I could do, unless it required special tools or I didn't have the time or, since I have to work outside in the driveway, the weather was bad. Now that I'm retired and have the time, I still will do a lot of my own work but now that I'm driving less than 5K miles per year if it's something that will not likely need attention again in my lifetime the dealer gets the job.
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  696. That's true, but every engine has a relief valve consisting of a machined passage, a ball bearing, and a spring set to relieve at a certain pressure. It's quite common for the pressure to be high enough to cause the filter bypass to open in cold weather, as the thick oil gives more pressure until it reaches operation temperature. But, the bypass can stick open. This will result in dangerously low oil pressure at idle. This happened to me twice, once on a 1967 Ford 352 and once on a 1968 Plymouth 225. If it happens to you don't panic, but reach for the Marvel Mystery Oil.
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  697. I used to service instruments at a place that made railroad wheel, axle, and bearing assemblies. Watching one man roll a railroad wheel like the rest of us roll a car tire was impressive.
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  698. The customer's name is The Ant Hill Mob.
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  699.  @RainmanRaysRepairs  And today you own the internet!
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  700. Who does that? It's been common practice for decades to add dye, repressurize the system, and use a black light to spot the leaks.
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  701. Here in the states, "exhaust manifolds" refer to the cast iron logs that come from the factory. "Headers" are a generic term that refers to a performance manifold, often constructed with tubing.
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  702. No mud dauber nest in the drain hose? Never forget: Murphy NEVER takes a day off and, like Kilroy, can be found everywhere.
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  703. I've had brake line failure twice and it results in big puddles, so if you're not seeing those and you already replaced the master cylinder the ABS module is all that's left.
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  704.  @twa2471  I'm glad that your way is working for you. Hi-Tack doesn't take "all day" to stick, and for O-rings Vaseline works well...for me. Thanks for your experience.
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  705. They're so easy to drill out, ya know?
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  706. Here's today's off-topic tip... I was replacing the spark plugs in the wife's 2014 2.4L Jeep Patriot. Three plugs came out fine because I spray some PB down the holes and back the plugs out slightly to allow it to soak in. Steel plugs, alloy heads. The problem child tightened up within 1/4 turn so I found the neutral spot and let it soak some more. After a few minutes I tried again and carefully got it out. This is why you never use a power tool to remove spark plugs or any steel fasteners threaded into alloy threads. Not pulling the threads is worth the patience.
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  707. I've used a hardware store C-clamp and an old brake pad for 50 years now, so...
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  708. The last time I was in Fort Myers the no-see-ums feasted on my ankles. Mosquitoes will get you everywhere else. Time for some seasonal background music?
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  709.  @anthonyware4033  No problem. I agree with your LED recommendations. A side benefit we saw at Cheswick was elimination of spiders because the LED fixtures didn't attract the bugs the spiders live on.
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  710. People who repair things like power station turbines and generators will mark every fastener they tighten. People who work on tubing mark the tubing nuts. Nuclear and aerospace techs have someone who reads the procedure to them, and watches them to insure that the work was performed in accordance with the procedure. A third person videorecords the work.
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  711. That white stuff is like calcium. I had an issue with my Sportster that was caused by the calcium corroding the fuse that provided power to the ignition circuit. Every one of those pins is a failure point.
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  712. The old standard answer used to be "go to college". Today, skilled tradesmen are in demand. If you have mechanical skills check out your local power station. The money and benefits are good, and they provide the tools.
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  713. The Monte has a 318 Mopar? I was expecting the display to state "Vehicle Flood Warning!" Looks like a Hurricane Ian victim. Helpful hint: never lift a car with the engine running if you can avoid it. When the engine catches fire things are going to be way too exciting while you try to lower the car, kill the engine, and extinguish the fire at the same time.
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  714. P-Touch label printer.
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  715. Ok, since everything else seems to be settled...should Ray install the outlets with the ground pointing up or down?
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  716.  @DraftySatyr  pretty much spot on.
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  717.  @Rambogner  you got it!
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  718. Plastic parts have no place on a motor vehicle engine. Too many heat cycles.
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  719. Gravity is your friend here. The master cylinder is the highest point in the system and the bleeder screw is usually the highest point of the caliper. Just make sure that the level is high before you start and let it leak down.
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  720. And check to see if the crush washer is on the plug before paying for them.
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  721. Not unless you describe what you did and then how it failed. Differentials are sensitive to the gear alignment and the lubricant.
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  722.  @kodyburrows9239  What work did you do before it broke?
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  723.  @kodyburrows9239  sounds like you did it right. I'm stumped.
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  724.  @kodyburrows9239  I wouldn't think so, but I could be wrong.
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  725. Putin doesn't seem to worry about getting back whatever he gives. This little thing called Mutual Assured Destruction? Someone send Vlad a link to the end of War Games.
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  726. Who out there wants a clean recording of "Dooo-Deee-Dooo" for a ringtone?
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  727. ​ @rodneythe3rd122  That's a Knuckle/Pan/Shovel saying...
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  728. A quick search finds lots of transmissions at reasonable prices. Didn't see any rusty metal underneath, so the owner just might spring for a replacement.
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  729. You have to fix your own stuff when you can. The problem is the work/life balance. If he's working 100 hours a week it's going to cause problems with the marriage and home life. It begins with the Wife Unit saying "You spend more time at the shop than you do with me and your kids."
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  730.  @SometimeWoodworker  It's a tough balance when you're self-employed. From 1997 to 2000 I was a traveling engineer, building gas turbine power stations for Siemens. Being away from home kills families. Most of the guys I worked with were either divorced or going through a divorce.
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  731. Anyone else notice that the shop radio is off when the camera is on?
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  732. Any engine with over 100k miles on it needs a heavier weight oil just to compensate for wear.
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  733.  @dunebasher1971  if you don't like my safety advice, feel free to not follow it.
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  734. I owned a 1988 Taurus that had the worst transmission on God's green earth! The problems were well known and owners said that replacing the transmission didn't solve the problem. Then one day the backup lights stopped working. The fuse was good. Both bulbs were good. I replaced the switch on the transaxle and that solved the problem. Driving to work the next day the transmission was suddenly acting like a transmission. When we dropped a company truck off at the Ford dealership I asked about my transmission. Turns out that the switch I replaced tells the computer what gear position the selector is in. If the switch fails the computer runs a "limp home" mode.
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  735. The last time I had rotors reconditioned was on a 1977 Ford F150 4x4. The rotors and bearing hubs were one piece. Every vehicle I've had since has had separate rotors and you're money ahead to replace them if they're warped or undersized.
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  736. No CB radios, no prepper.
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  737. Back when the heads were made of iron stripped threads were uncommon and plug thread lengths were much shorter. Japanese motorcycles started the trend to long plug threads in alloy heads.
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  738.  @Sagittarius-88  Getting fired happens. It's just a fact of life. Ever watch "Armageddon" when Stamper fires AJ? What did AJ do? He went out and started his own company. When you hear the "when your name is on the sign you can do whatever you want" whine it's past time for you to be moving onto the next phase of your life. When Chuck Noll was coaching the Steelers he sent a man called "The Turk" to deliver one message to a player about to be let go: "Coach wants to see you. Bring your playbook." Noll would deliver one line: "I think that it's time you got on with your life's work."
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  739.  @edsyphan3425  It's the current equivalent of broadcasting someone's name and address on the CB radio.
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  740.  @ionracer24  looking for it...I know it's somewhere in here...
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  741. Modern cars suck! When you turn the key you're asking for permission to start the car, just like when you mash the pedal on a fly-by-wire car you're asking for permission to go faster. Every shop I frequent has a diagnostic fee clearly visible at the service counter.
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  742. FWIW, since you had to install the correct new pump anything that happened before is irrelevant. By the way...Murphy's Law dictates that the only time that an in-tank pump will fail (it doesn't have to be only fuel) is when the tank is full. Been there, done that. Twice. One more thing...using compressed air to remove anything invites static electricity to pay a visit and make things way too interesting. Invest in some brass tools for work on flammable materials.
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  743. (with tongue planted firmly in cheek) So, the shop's closed today? My A/C is blowing warm...
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  744. Any time you have dissimilar metals, steel bolts and alloy heads, it's a good idea to use anti seize. I'm surprised that this job didn't pull at least one of the threaded holes.
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  745.  @walterwhite2270  when the headers rust out and start leaking and you get a new engine code from them.
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  746.  @MrSloika  I used the nickel antiseize for exhaust applications, and the copper for things like water pump bolts.
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  747. I've had many vacuum cleaners given to me because they quit vacuuming due to the hidden HEPA filter being completely clogged.
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  748. We used to say this at Westinghouse: there's never enough time to do it right the first time but plenty of time to do it over again...especially on Time Plus Materials.
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  749. Just like the El Faro.
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  750. PB Blaster and Kroil work much better. I have tubing wrenches, but when the tubing nuts are rusted a six-point socket or box end usually works.
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  751. If you're going to be a booster for something like this then the next time use the boroscope and show us "before and after" pictures. It should be easy to take pictures of the intake valves.
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  752. ​ @MattBlackbike  As featured in the movie "Tomorrowland".
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  753. You should have seen how they did it before Zip Ties. I wish that I had taken photos of the interior electrical panel wiring and the neat string ties and how every wire was precisely bent into position.
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  754.  @mikeznel6048  Brass Swagelok fittings are rated for 2600 psig. You would never try to use a brass fitting on a steel brake line because the brass cannot swage steel. The stainless steel fittings are rated for 11,000 psig, way more than automotive brake pressures.
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  755.  @jaykellett2327  You're partially correct. The real reason is that the brass fitting cannot swage the steel brake line to make a mechanical seal. 316 stainless fittings are commonly used with steel and stainless steel tubing. In a pinch it's permissible to use a stainless steel fitting on copper tubing.
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  756. Florida has nice roads. Chances are that it will be fine.
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  757. Crustification... Here's a helpful hint: the stuff sold as canned air will give you a handy -40 degree blast that often gets stuck things unstuck. Turn the can upside down to get the cold.
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  758. That depends upon the labor rate. If you encounter unexpected problems it kills your profits. From a time perspective you're money ahead to replace things instead of rebuilding them. Now, if you're dealing with a classic, antique, or collector car the pendulum swings the other way.
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  759.  @rhkavli  All depends on what you're charging to do the job. For my 2016 Patriot, Auto Zone has front calipers for $43 each.
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  760. The gas also cools and lubricates the pump motor. Run it dry and odds are that the motor is ruined. The other reason for not running so low that the alert comes on is that the motor is no longer being cooled and unless you give the pump time to cool off (15 minutes) the application of cold gas to a hot motor will cause the permanent magnets in the motor to crack.
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  761. God, I love the smell of Brakleen in the morning!
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  762. It's a hooptie!
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  763. For the home handyman, sometimes you can remove the remnant of a bolt or screw by inverting a can of air and carefully spraying it with the -40 that comes from the can. This will shrink it enough to get it out.
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  764. V belts had a tendency to get glazed, and once that happened no amount of tension would fix it. Sometimes you could break up the glaze with sandpaper.
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  765. Do your customer a big favor. The 4.7 was infamous as a oil sludge generator. My 2001 Durango had one. Changing the oil to Mobil Delvac or Shell Rotella eliminates the sludge monster forever.
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  766. When it's all over the parking lot will be full of PT Cruisers... On your way out pull the main breaker.
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  767. I don't know about you guys, but once the 4 NBs started singing I didn't hear anything Ray said.
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  768. When the fuel pump in my 1982 Rabbit went bad it was a snap job. The pump was outside of the tank. Took 30 minutes to replace. When the fuel pump went in my 1993 Dakota, hours after completion of a trip from Pittsburgh to Falconer and back, in late January, it was dark when I began and it was dark when I finished. Outside in the driveway, too.
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  769. ​ @tossedsalad5532  No different. I used to load and unload trucks at the power station all the time.
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  770. Way back in the good old days, a pro garage would send the axles to the parts store, and a few hours later they were returned, ready to go in. The time he spent screwing around with the press could have been better spent working on another car.
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  771. IIRC, you can do without the ground lug as long as the device is plugged into a GFCI protected outlet. Still, I believe that Ray has the necessary skills to replace the plug and make a video of it.
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  772.  @W4KG  Thanks for clearing that up. I gave my code books to the kids when I retired from the power station. There are probably OSHA regulations that cover this as well.
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  773. That's the Pittsburgh way! Two Iron City beer cans and two hose clamps will get the old Duster a sticker for another year. Now, about the hole in the passenger side floor...cookie sheets get that job done.
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  774. I spent the last 13 years of my 43 year career working as an Electrical and Instrument Technician at Elrama and Cheswick power stations. They were run by a DCS, or Distributed Control System. Many was the time that the operators would call because something wouldn't work. I quickly learned that it was important to determine if the problem was with the "something" or with what actually controlled the "something". For example, they would say that motor X won't run. I would investigate to see if the motor was actually trying to run. Break out the flow chart!
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  775. "I highly doubt that a lot of sensors failed simultaneously." A phrase spoken by the INCO (Instrumentation and Communication) flight controller seconds before the loss of communication with the space shuttle Columbia... Ironic that the last sensors to fail before the orbiter broke apart were the left side tire pressure sensors.
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  776. Old timers used to "rough up" the surfaces of new brake lining with 100 grit sandpaper before installing them.
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  777. It's always a good thing when, in the process of making repairs, collateral damage isn't required. It's a Rust Belt thing.
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  778.  @johnt.848  E-brake is shorthand for "emergency brakes", but it gets used to describe trailer brakes too.
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  779.  @johnt.848  Nomenclature.
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  780. Have you started wearing safety glasses or goggles yet? If not, why not?
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  781. It's common practice to disconnect the battery cable and connect the welding ground as close as possible to the weld site.
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  782. There is no such thing as "too many tools". Some years ago our 2000 Durango started bleeding antifreeze. I replaced the water pump. Still bleeding. I replaced the radiator. Still bleeding. One day my wife brought it home while it was bleeding. Problem was the plastic T that the radiator cap screwed onto. It had a hairline crack that only showed up when it was hot.
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  783.  @thatsmetube  Think fast, really, really fast!
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  784. One of the guys brought one of those in. In a demonstration of its power he set a fly on flypaper alight. The fun ended when the flypaper caught fire and it headed towards the ceiling! I hadn't laughed so hard since another guy set steel wool on fire by accidentally dropping a battery charger lead onto it.
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  785.  @lordbungle6235  Electric Avenue is the street in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that once led from U.S. 30 to Westinghouse Electric's massive East Pittsburgh Works. A few years ago, heavy rains caused Route 30 to slide onto Electric Avenue, and the song lyrics were altered thusly: There's been a landslide on Electric Avenue Now everything's all muddy!
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  786.  @johncergnul5509  If you're talking about knob-and-tube wiring you're correct. The postwar expansion of the suburbs forced the use of better construction materials like BX (what Ray's using here) and the development of tubing conduits. A mishmash of codes and standards led to the creation of the National Electrical Code (NEC) and, working in conjunction, the insurance companies and the IBEW worked together to drastically improve safety and fire prevention.
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  787. I wonder if the guy who brought it in just gave it to Ray after seeing the bill for the repair work to make it run right.
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  788. Look for Graveyard Cars to feature the restoration of a Daytona and SuperBird that got flooded.
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  789. ​ @troyturner8221 Must be nice. Since graduation from DeVry in 1975: IPAC Group August 1975-January 1976. Electronics assembly. Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Power Lab: January 1976-December 1976. Nuclear materials QC inspection. Union Switch and Signal Swissvale: January 1977-July 1977. QC inspection. Left after a strike. Westinghouse East Pittsburgh: February 1978-May 1978. Intermediate Rate Wireman. U.S. Steel Homestead Works. May 1978-October 1981. Instrument Repairman apprenticeship. Instrument Services, Bridgeville. February 1982-February 1983. Westinghouse Instrument Service Company (WISCO)/Siemens: February 1983-December 1999. Process Instruments, Pittsburgh: January 2000-November 2008. Elrama Power Station: November 2008-January 2013. Cheswick Power Station: January 2013-April 2021. April 2021-present: retired. See how many of those places are still in existence. Nobody works 20-30 years anywhere anymore.
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  790. Compression fittings usually have a nut and a ferrule set. Flares are made by massaging the tube end with a mandrel. I've been doing tubing for years but had to buy the special flaring tools to replace a brake line. I consider it strange that Swagelok brand fittings have been the gold standard in industry for decades yet they are not permitted to be used for brake lines in Pennsylvania.
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  791. Billboard: "You found us! Rainman Ray's auto repairs this exit." Put the phone number up, and you're ready.
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  792.  @sheerwillsurvival2064  Back in the old days, if your battery kept going dead and you knew that the alternator was good we'd disconnect one battery cable and connect a 12 volt test light between the battery and the disconnected lead. Then we'd pull one fuse at a time until the light went out. Then we'd replace all of the fuses except that one, just in case there were multiple problems. I became a hero to my future father in law when I fixed a problem in his 1973 Toronado's power seat.
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  793.  @sheerwillsurvival2064  I watch Ray scroll through the pages of sensors and readouts and wonder why cars have to have as many data points as a 747.
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  794. You're hard-pressed to find a 1996 Anything north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
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  795.  @dixiemay1996  My sister's mid-90s Formula Firebird from Ripley, New York made it to Florida before cracking in half. I knew it was bad when the wrench flats on the spark plugs were rusted off!
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  796. When I changed the plugs on my Patriots I spray some PB Blaster down the hole before removing the plug and removed it slowly. This allows the oil to do its magic and vastly reduces the odds of the steel spark plug pulling the threads out of the alloy heads. Dissimilar metals, you know. A dab of nickel antiseize goes on the threads before hand tightening with a torque wrench. Watching the inspection, when I do my cars I treat it like my life and my family's lives depend upon it. New brakes and possibly new rotors (pull the wheels and measure the thickness and the corrosion, you'd be surprised) and new tires are on the short list. It's not fun when you're driving in the rain and suddenly the steering wheel isn't connected to the road.
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  797. ​ @grahamwalker9193 Smells like Fels-Naptha soap. The only way to get rid of poison ivy and it's relatives.
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