What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never done?

[RS Wood]

I can't bring myself to throw them away!

Someday, I might need them.

And then what do I do!

:)

[RS Wood]

Thanks. Makes sense. I love learning where the lesson makes sense.

[RS Wood]

I just mentioned that, but I didn't look for references. Do we all generally agree that the *spread* is what causes the coking?

0W30 has a spread of 30 5W30 has a spread of 25 10W40 has a spread of 30 30W40 has a spread of 10

[RS Wood]

I was watching a video by the MythBusters on how to get out of a car that is sinking in a pond (pool in their case) where someone mentions to roll down the windows ... heh heh ...

When's the last time you saw a roll-down window?

[RS Wood]

Egads. Here we don't go below 20F and where I lived back east for decades, we maybe got to 0F for a few days of the year.

The additives to create a wider spread though, I'm told, tends to carbonize in the engine, so, for example, I'm told, (we'd have to look this up),

• 10W30 has a spread of 20

• 0W30 has a spread of 30

• 5W40 has a spread of 35

I'm told, but I'd have to look up to confirm, that the wider the spread, the more the cabonization in the engine.

Is that true? I don't know.

But I don't think at the temperatures I start my vehicle in, that any viscosity range matters. At your starting temperatures, they do.

I don't think I've seen rust on my cars in decades, but when I lived back east with my Z cars, they rusted out like crazy.

So a lot of this stuff depends on the environment.

I haven't bought plugs in a while. I'm thinking half the price you're quoting. But it has been a while.

I stand edified that carbs to EFI is a *major* factor in improving engine life. Less liquid gas in the oil is a good thing for engine life.

Gearing matters.

I don't believe it.

A car engine is almost never run at full bore BHP. And gearing makes a huge difference anyway.

Sounds good that bigger engines last longer but I don't believe it. We'd need some facts.

Exactly my point.

Exactly my point.

Now if you use the truck at full bore BHP to pull an airplane to takeoff speeds on the airport runway, then the bigger engine should last longer. :)

I agree with you that we'd have to compare the life of a big engine veruss a small engine in a vehicle where they both do the same things which we can assume are normal things.

If you pull redwood trees uphill, then I can see bigger engines lasting longer.

But if you just tool around town, like I do, I can't imagine that a bigger engine has any longevity over a smaller engine all else being equal.

Gears make a bigger difference.

But have you needed to do any of these repairs?

1. painting
2. alignment
3. replace/rebuild engine (or major work)
4. clutch replacement (or major work)
5. tire mounting and balancing
6. timing belt

To me, these half-dozen repairs almost nobody does at home, but I *wish* I had done at home when I had the chance.

My recommendation to a kid of 30 or 40 years old would be to *do* them when he has the chance, just as I'd tell him to climb that mountain he always wanted to climb.

When he gets older, he won't be able to do it anymore, and the economics of the benefits will be less as he ages.

[RS Wood]

This is true. I *love* my Fluke 75. But any $10 meter will work just fine. I agree with you.

I agree with you that, for the most part, there aren't a lot of special tools needed for new cars.

I just looked in my tuneup kit, and I saw some special distributor wrenches and a special flat file and the spark plug gappers, etc., so I think one thing that did not change over the years is the need for special tools.

In both yesteryear and today, there are 'some' but not many special tools needed - but for the most part - the tools needed are about the same.

I think the main difference is that a lot of us have battery-powered tools that we never had in days of yore. We also all have air tools now.

Did everyone at home have air tools in the olden days?

[RS Wood]

I agree on Midas Muffler because they do other stuff and there is no way they're staying in business on just mufflers nowadays.

I disagree on the dealer being required for anything.

To me, the dealer is whom you go to when you're under the original factory warranty and then that's the last time you ever go do the dealer.

I have nothing against the dealer except one thing, which is why they're called the 'stealer'. But that's a biggie.

The only other reason you go to the dealer is to buy parts that they might stock where you need them now (e.g., you broke a bolt or forget a gasket and you're in the middle of the job) but expect to pay more than double for those parts than anywhere else.

I go to an indy for alignment and clutch and tires, etc., where I couldn't imagine payking the price for the same job at the dealer.

Of course, I *wish* I could do these jobs myself at home!

1. painting
2. alignment
3. replace/rebuild engine (or major repairs)
4. clutch replacement
5. tire mounting and balancing
6. timing belt or chain

But I think I lost my chance. If some 30-year-old kid asked me if they should do those jobs, I'd say "Hell yes", just as if they asked me should they hike down into the Grand Canyon or if they should hike across the Sahara Desert (with water).

If you don't do it when you can, you'll never do it ever. And you'll never learn anything if you never do it.

That would be my advice, anyway.

[RS Wood]

I took a quick peek at the Internet and it does seem that a summary is needed if we were to REPLACE our SS exhaust today....

"Stainless steel grades used in a car exhaust manifold"

Apparently a magnet should be helpful to determine if you have the better

400 or the less-better 300 series SS exhaust....

"What grade of stainless steel does Bob's Muffler use in its exhaust systems, and why? "

There are two primary categories of stainless steel tubing used in automotive exhaust systems: 300 series and 400 series.

The issue of heat cycling is of great importance.

Not only is 300 series stainless a poorer choice for exhaust systems, it is also more expensive and would unnecessarily increase the price of an exhaust system.

400 series stainless is not as pretty as 300 series and will have a brownish hue to it, due to the fact that it has a higher carbon content than 300 series.

This means the 300 series stainless will polish up better for appearance. The carbon content in 400 series also makes it magnetic, unlike 300 series which is a simple test to determine which series you+IBk-re dealing with.

[RS Wood]

I think almost all of us agree that we used to have to work on the exhaust, but with the advent of SS exhausts, we don't need to anymore.

[RS Wood]

This is a good point in that my angle grinder would make short work of a reticent pipe, but when I worked on mufflers, I didn't have such tools.

Did any of us have angle grinders at home in those days? Certainly we didn't have decent battery operated tools like we do today.

I love the term "blue-tip wrench". I have a saying that no bolt will ever win, since I have that thing!

I think the consensus is pretty much that most of us have had SS for quite a long time, which is why the exhaust system now lasts the life of the car or nearly so.

I haven't bothered to search, but it's my understanding the car companies did not do that out of goodwill toward us - but out of gov requirements that they have to warrant the exhaust system for longer periods of time.

[RS Wood]

I understand that pretty tires are pretty. But I don't understand UV protection for car tires.

I have nothing against adding UV protection for car tires. But I have never had a cracked-sidewall car tire in recent years.

In days of yore, yes, I have (because I bought junkyard tires until I had a bad experience and then never bought used tires ever again).

So in my today world, a tire lasts about 3 years or less. Never more. So at 3 years, do I really need to care about UV protection additions?

I have never in my life worn sunglasses or sunscreen or even bring an umbrella with me anywhere so I may not be the normal person.

I hike every single day outside off the trail (I get lost on the trails), and I wear Rachle hiking boots (heavy as bricks) for my feet, and TIG-welding gloves for my hands (lots and lots of poison oak) and I bring rapelling gear (figure 8 plus 100' of rope) because it's mountainous.

I never understood sunglasses. They're for wussies. :)

One problem with me understanding sunglasses though is that I wear glasses full time, so, I've *always* had glasses. Sure I've tried the idiotic prescription sunglasses but who wants to carry around two sets of glasses everywhere they go. Sure I've tried that idiotic color-changing coating, which is a POS and don't even get me started on it. Sure I've tried those flip on flip off magnetic overhangs which make me look like the dork I am.

In the end, I gave up on all that crap. I don't understand sunglasses.

I just don't. :)

[RS Wood]

I'm not going to argue that anything *can* be designed better. But a ring is a pretty simple thing. It has a certain cross section. A certain material. And that's it.

I certainly can believe that a quantum leap in either the cross section or the material happened, but all I'm asking for is proof.

I think the argument that ring jobs were common isn't really gonna fly because we already learned that a huge problem is gasoline liquid in the cylinders upon startup - which itself was vastly reduced by EFI over carbs.

So, rings being better ... might ... be true. But it's a hard one to swallow without something said about how rings are better today.

Especially since there are really very few possible factors:

1. Material, size, and cross section of rings, then and now, or
2. Geometry inside the piston (e.g., number or spacing of rings)

What could possibly be better about rings today?

[RS Wood]

Yup. I know. Just one press on a gas pedal while looking into my sixties Chrysler New Yorker 4bbl Holley Carb would show a shitload of gasoline squirting into the intake manifold!

So I now UNDERSTAND something I had never thought about until this thread, which is that the amount of GASOLINE getting into the OIL is far lower with EFI than with carburetors!

Who knew? Perhaps all of you. But not me. Until now. Thanks.

I always knew cold starts wore out engines far more than highway miles. I never understood completely why.

I think just this one item ... condensed gasoline liquid ... which is we presume far lower with EFI than with carburetors ... is a biggie.

So EFI increases engine life. Kewl!

I love learning. Thanks.

[RS Wood]

The whole reason that the voltage doesn't kill us when we get zapped is that the current is low.

Someone said the *duration* is longer nowadays, but nobody mentioned current.

Is the current about the same?

[RS Wood]

You've said "energy" before, where I discount that word because it's not necessarily a physical entity (although I know what you mean).

There is voltage and current. Together, that's wattage.

There's also time, which gives us things like kilowatt hours, which, I guess is what you mean by "energy"?

This is interesting because what you're saying is that the single smaller coil delivers more of what you call "energy" to the spark plug.

I think you mean watts though. Do you?

Thanks. So the "potential energy" (aka volts) is two to three times higher. If the current is the same, then the wattage is two to three times higher. If they also increased the current, then the wattage is a *lot* higher.

I'm getting your point though, which is that the ignition systems of today are "stronger" and "longer" (probably far higher wattage and duration) than those of yesteryear, which allows for a more reliable combustion of a leaner mixture, which keeps gasoline out of the oil.

Keeping gasoline out of the oil goes a *long* way to increasing engine life.

[RS Wood]

We're talking two different things:

1. Ignition timing on a motorcycle
2. Valve clearance adjustment on a motorcycle

Both of which I have done on multiple motorcycles, where the whole point of this thread is that just having done such things once is a *pleasure* because the inherent *understanding* of everything you say is there.

For example, the ignition timing on a motorcycle that I did was simple, but nothing like that of a car, in that I just put a light or buzzer or resistance meter across the points and screwed in a dial gauge into the number one cylinder, and adjusted the point plate so that the points opened at the specified xx mmm before TDC.

The valve clearance was just as easy, where I simply measured the clearance with feeler gauges and then replaced the old shim with a larger shim where the half-moon crescent-on-a-handle tool worked perfectly slid up under to depress the (rocker arm?) so I could remove the old shim and replace with a thicker shim.

My main point in this thread is that there is an exquisite pleasure that I derive from having done such things at least once, so that I can UNDERTSTAND what is it you speak about.

For example, I REMEMBER (belatedly) that tool, which rbowman knew about. I wouldn't have that memory if I hadn't done the job.

My main regret in such things is that I didn't do these jobs at home when I was a kid of 30 or 40 years old in the days of yore......

1. painting
2. alignment
3. replace/rebuild engine (including VCG and head gasket)
4. clutch replacement
5. tire mounting and balancing
6. timing belt (or chain)

I am positing that it would have costs an average of about two hundred dollars each for tools which is $1200 but that the labor costs alone for all those jobs is 10x that, so, cost isn't the issue.

I don't know WHY I never did those jobs. But I wish I had.

[RS Wood]

Oh yeah! I remember that tool! I used it on my 650 four stroke engine!

It was beautifully shaped, with a handle and a half-moon crescent. I just looked in my tune-up box, and found a bunch of other small tools tucked away under what I snapped a photo of ... but that lovely tool isn't there.

I haven't seen it in decades ... but it's somewhere. The fact you even *know* about that tool means you know what you speak of.

That's what I *love* about having done the job at least once! (Which is the whole point of this thread, after all.)

Taking an off-color example, if you never had sex with a woman, how could you possibly describe it accurately to someone else?

[RS Wood]

I think the only reason manufactures went to belts is to increase their profits, so I wonder if there is any value to a belt AFTER you look at the tradoffs.

The real question for a repair group would be the main factors:

1. Reliability of chain versus belt
2. Damage potential of chain versus belt
3. Repair hassle of chain versus belt

Let's ignore the marketing bullshit (e.g., lighter, quieter, etc.) for this thread to concentrate on the reliability and repair-related issues.

As I already noted, I *wish* I had replaced a timing chain in my life, but just like I've never owned a FWD vehicle (and I lived in a "snow state" for decades), I have never had a belt car and I've never had a chain break on me.

So I have no experience. But....

I posit that:

1. The chain is *far* more reliable than the belt
2. Both can ruin an interference engine if they break
3. Repair hassle is probably about the same

The question is how long is the typical MTBF for a belt versus a chain?

[RS Wood]

Two vehicles that are worthless to me:

1. FWD
2. Belt

[RS Wood]

Some do. Some don't. Even within the same model. Depends on the engine chosen.

For example, here's a quote: "Toyota's 2.7-liter 3RZ-FE engine started in production in 1995 and was still used in 2011. There have been two variations of this motor. It was first used as an option in 1995 Tacoma to 2011. It was also used in the 4Runner from 1996 through 2000. It was used in the Highlander from 2009 through 2011."

Reference: