What have you learned in your old age that you feel should be taught to high school students?

Lug BOLTS on the early Mopars too Conversion studs were available - put them in with extra strength loc-tite and use nuts from then on. Required to install many of the "mag" wheels available in the 60s and

Let the DEALER'S mechanics do the work.

Let the DEALER'S mechanics do the work and get a second job to pay the exorbitant costs.

I prefer a good independent mechanic. Not everyone is interested in working on cars.

Cindy Hamilton

I do what I can/want and let my indy do the rest.

e.g. It's time to put the snow shoes on SWMBO's vehicle. I pulled them out of storage and found at least one with a not-so-slow leak and another that has less air than I think it should. Normally I'd just jack up the vehicle and put them on myself. But...

The vehicle needs an oil change and 2 of the 4 tires need to be checked/repaired, so I'm going to let my guy do it all. I could piece it out and let him just repair the tires, but I'm gonna be lazy and pay him to do everything.

He treats me right, so I'll throw him a bone.

You seem to understand more than most people here do so I'm going to ask a question of you that you don't need to look up - just let me know if you already know the answer to the question from your own experience.

Craftsman only warranted the "hand" tools for life, which almost never break (unless you abuse them like by using a flathead screwdriver as a pry bar).

The screwdrivers do wear out a bit (especially the Phillips & Reed ones).

Unfortunately for me I do have a Craftsman ratchet that is sketchy. I'm sure something inside is worn or out of place. Do you know if it's even possible to get them replaced nowadays (perhaps by mailing them in to someone)?

If you don't know offhand, don't look it up for me. I can look it up. But if you do know, then just let me and everyone else know what you know.

Obviously both the lug bolts and lug nuts would need the same threading.

I broke a few of those reverse-threaded lug bolts on those Chryslers simply because I was unaware that one side was different from the other.

IT was a foreign concept to me at that time that there would be no obvious warning in that you were simply expected to either know the difference, or you were expected to figure it out (even if it was the first reverse-threaded bolt you'd ever encountered in your life).

I was ignorant. Luckily, ignorance can be cured quite quickly (nearly instantly, in fact).

I didn't use loctite (nor did I likely even know about it in those days) but what I loved was the gruff quick-responding auto parts counter guy cured my ignorance quickly - by telling me in no uncertain terms I was an idiot because _everyone_ knows that one side is threaded differently than the other!

That was quick education in curing my reverse-threaded ignorance for sure.

Even with the education the counter guy barked at me, I haven't encountered reverse-threaded lug bolts or reverse threaded lug nuts since, other than in that one early seventies Dodge I owned in addition to that first late sixties Chrysler.

Every once in a while though, I do run into reverse threaded connections. I can't think of any common ones offhand though.

What else in a vehicle of today is typically reverse threaded?

The driver.

Years ago we used Craftsman and yes they do wear/break from time to time so we exchanged the failures once a year when buying new tools. Until Sears changed to 'catalog credit' rather than direct exchange; simultaneoulsy quality was dropping. Changed over to SnapOn and never looked back.

Regarding ratchet handles, yes there are rebuild kits but those change format every 10~15 years or so.

You may find vintage USA made SnapOn ratchets* at a price comparable to a rebuild kit.

Some of the best mechanics are in "independent" shops - many of them "specialists" who have left the dealerships for one reason or another.

The advantage (theoretically at least) is they have the up-to-date training, information, and tools to do the proper repair the first time. In practice, sadly, that is not always the case.. I worked for 2 dealerships and 4 "independents" - and a dew of the independents actually provided more and better training (and equipment) than one of the dealerships Thankfully I am still able to do most of my own work and am able to have the use of a friend's shopspace and hoist for serious workwhen required. Not sure what I will do when I am no longer able to manage my own work - I might have to resort to buying a new vehicle and trading it when it either goes off warranty or needs ANY repairs. Especially since all my old contacts in the business are also retired/disabled/dead. I also have a mechanic son-in-law who can occaisionally help out, but he's not as young/able as he once was either and has no facilities available. I am still as physically able to through my 50 lb tire/wheel assemblies up into the attic and take them down as he is -

- -I might hurt for a day or too longer than him afterwards though -

Usually only one part fails, so all you need to do is debug to that. But most people think debugging is harder than it really is, IMHO.

It's because they have the mentality of throwing parts at the problem. Instead of the mentality that should be taught which is to debug it first. a. Understand how the system works b. Segregate the system into testable components c. Isolate the one component that has failed

Replacing it is (usually - but not always) the easy part.

How many times have you seen someone ask on s.e.r how to fix a non-functional microwave and someone invariably claims you should replace the diode, without even explaining to that person how to debug if it's actually that diode?

How many times have you seen someone ask on r.a.t how to fix an overheated cooling system and someone claims you should replace the thermostat (without even explaining to that person how to debug to see if it is the thermostat)?

How many times have you seen someone ask on a.h.r how to fix a non starting electrical pump motor and someone tells him to replace the capacitor?

How many times have you seen someone ask how to fix a sputtering engine and someone claims you should pour seafoam into it (without even debugging)?

How many times has someone said their car wouldn't start and someone else immediately tells them to replace the battery or alternator (without debug)?

This almost complete and total lack of debug is pervasive everywhere.

While a _lot_ of things get fixed by "throwing parts" at them, I agree with you that "debugging is more complex" than just throwing parts at a car.

A classic example of where people throw parts is when they don't understand the system which is why debug starts with (a) understanding the system, and debug ends with (c) isolating the bad part.

What I was taught in the fifties was the process of debug is three steps. a. Understand b. Segregate c. Isolate

What I see people do instead is a single step (which might be three steps). a. Replace b. (If that didn't work) Replace (something else) c. (If that still doesn't work) Replace (another part)

You see this all the time with ABS related debug where they replace each wheel sensor or the ABS control modules or even brake components without first isolating the problem to the failed component.

Rarely is more than one component failed, right? That's a good question though to ask, philosophically speaking, on debug.

How often in your experience has the problem you're trying to fix been caused by multiple failed components?

That's a good quote where the threads you speak of are filled with either the rabit Democrats being completely ignorant of anything science related, and at the same time the rabid Republicans being just as completely ignorant that getting the highly modified genetic material injected into your arm causes your cells to explode making the spike protein which your body treats both as a "toxin" and an "antigen" - which is what the immune system eventually (a few steps down in the process that they don't understand) create short lived antibodies to (and other immune components, as the immune system is freaking complex by all accounts).

Perhaps a simpler way to summarize the politicized science problem set is

Rabid Democrats: It's your body my choice Rabid Republicans: It's my body my choice

Normal people: It's a difficult decision given the risk of death is almost zero (it's 99.8% likely you won't die in the USA overall and 99.9998% likely to survive if you're a child aged from 5 to 11 in the USA from October 2020 to October 2021 according to the CDC's own figures).

The science shows that most people (well more than half) don't even get any symptoms even as almost all of those people who are immune to the disease are seropositive (which is the case for _many_ immunities such as those to the common cold or the flu). Some, paradoxically, aren't even seropositive even as the virus itself has a relatively high human transmissibility.

However, enough of actual science. Nobody seems to care about the science.

Certainly science isn't what the rabid {Democrats,Republicans} care about though. They only care about the politics.

So far it seems _all_ the rabid {Republican,Democrats} are ignorant of the science (quite a few, frankly, are rather stupid - which can't be cured).

The end result though is a politicized scientific experiment. Rabid Democrat: I'm scared shitless of a disease so do what I tell you to! Rabid Republican: I'm scared shitless of the government so I don't trust you!

I want all the statements I make to be completely scientifically correct. Particularly since rabid {Democrats,Republicans} don't care about science.

Hence I apologize that I accidentally added an extra unnecessary "9" where the chance any one child has in the USA of not dying from Covid is 99.998%

a. Search term:

Obviously they don't care about the children per se. Because the risk of Covid to chidlren is less than that of the flu.

What they care about is the children infecting the adults.

Even so, any one adult has a 99.8% chance of not dying from Covid. However, even 0.2% of a big number is a lot of people overall.

For example, the risk to the United States is 0.2% of 350 million. That's about 700,000 people (which includes the already very sick).

But for any one individual in the USA, the risk is clearly 0.2%. Anyone claiming otherwise is simply ignoring the scientific facts.

The '55 was a two brush 6V generator. There was also a three brush 6V and eventually a 12V. There wasn't a starter motor so that simplified matters. I believe the Plymouth Valiant was the first car to use an alternator and most other companies followed suit in the early '60s. I'm not sure when bikes switched.

afaik, most bikes use stators. I know the '98 Harley does, and I'm positive the 2008 V-Strom does since I had to replace it. I can tell you getting the side cover back on with those magnets trying to suck in the stator core is fun. Both use a solid state regulator.

Conceptually, both generators and alternators produce 12 (or 6) volts DC sooner or later. Alternators had to wait for silicon diodes to catch up before being feasible for vehicles. Even then pressing out the diodes to replace them was somewhat common.

Dealing with the old 3 coil mechanical regulators is another skill that isn't in high demand these days, along with replacing brushes and stoning commutators. The fun factor is reduced. I had a Plymouth where the regulator points would weld occasionally, turning the generator into a motor. Turn off engine, listen for the generator trying to eat the belt, open hood, beat on regulator. Plan on a little quality time with a riffler file to clean up the points.

They never are. In spades with stupid claims about "genetic therapy" and how mRNA vaccines work.

I had a terminology brain fart which I apologize for.

I apologize for not being clear when I last posted between a. lug b. lug nut c. lug bolt

I'm ignorant, actually, of what you call the hole that a lug bolt goes into. And I'm not sure if the lug nut goes on what we'd call a threaded lug?

Does it? a. What is the threaded rod sticking out properly called? b. What is the threaded hole that is not sticking out properly called?

I apologize that I don't know the answer to a degree that I can be certain.

Outside afaik.

One problem with FI is you don't get far without the electric fuel pump. I almost made it home...

The fewer thin long strong leverage tools you have (for the tensioners), the harder it is. But with a single long strong thin properly sized tool, it can be easy to keep the tension off the belt so that you can slip the belt onto the topmost pulley.

It's even harder if all you have are those fat harbor freight tools. It's one reason I will never go into a harbor freight store (or walmart).

The hard part I would guess is having a general purpose tensioner pry tool. What would that be?

I don't know as I had to put a pipe over my thinnest Craftsman socket wrench with a short socket over the 19mm tensioner "head" in order to slip the serpentine belt over a new alternator I just replaced.

That Denso alternator had two bracket bolts holding it into a single position on the FWD car so it wasn't even adjustable once those two 12mm and

Maybe that's the kind of "abuse" though that broke my Craftsman hand tools.

Isn't an air-cooled two-stroke motorcycle kind of the same idea?

I don't miss sanding down that little mountain that grew on my points any more than I miss sandblasting spark plugs fouled with two-stroke oil. :)

I do still have a kit with the timing light, dwell meter, spark gapper, and feeler gauges (along with assorted hose plugs and clamps and vacuum and pressure gauges which should still be useful were I to have a need to check vacuum on any given hose).

The engines used to last how long then? Maybe 100K miles? 150K?

Now how long do they last? Essentially forever, don't they?

I don't know exactly what's different that makes cars last forever now. Maybe it's that all of mine are from Japan nowadays?