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

  1. 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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  2. My neighbor called his boat "a hole in the water that you throw money into."
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  3. Hopefully, he didn't work as an aircraft mechanic.
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  4.  @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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  5. 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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  6. I saw that dozens of times. I attributed it to the Force.
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  7.  @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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  8. ​ @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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  9. 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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  10.  @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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  11. 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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  12. I'll bet that the election guy's eyes are still crossed...
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  13. Warranty company says that as long as it's driveable they won't pay to fix it.
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  14. 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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  15.  @camberwellcarrot420  We can thank our Federal Government and its ever more increasing Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations.
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  16. 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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  17. ​ @JowieC Before and after, not rocket science.
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  18. ​ @Brettsharplpn  It's a requirement for that profession, along with many other trades and crafts.
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  19. 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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  20. 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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  21. The famous (not so) "Duraspark" ignition module! I used to carry a spare for my 1977 F150.
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  22. You're getting some pretty exotic cars in the bay lately. Run out of PT Cruisers?
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  23.  @Chris-hw4mq  after lunch. Blood sugar deficit. Powering down. Dooo...
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  24. We tried both kinds at Cheswick Power Station. They produced some spectacular fires that required a scissor lift to extinguish.
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  25. ​ @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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  26.  @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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  27. 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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  28.  @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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  29. That plus some PB Blaster and a little patience.
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  30. 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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  31. 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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  32. 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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  33.  @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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  34.  @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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  35. 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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  36. 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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  37.  @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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  38. With a Ford, none of it is anything good!
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  39. On most vehicles with four wheel discs the little drum brake at the rear is actually the parking brake.
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  40. The only times we cleaned off the workbenches at the power station was when food was inbound.
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  41. 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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  42.  @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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  43. At your shop, at what approximate dollar value do you have the boss contact the customer?
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  44. 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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  45. The voice to text on here calls the car a SOB, kinda appropriate, actually.
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  46. It does have a Mr. Fusion perched on the back, so no plutonium needed.
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  47. 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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  48. 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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  49. Numerically higher axle ratio gives you better acceleration, lower gas mileage, and more engine rpms than a lower one.
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  50. Your statement was once true, until the advent of the locking torque converter.
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