Practical Tips

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  • Crusty
    Senior Member
    • Dec 2007
    • 2450

    #16
    Originally posted by Joe Rappa
    Great idea. I also make occasional trips to the junk yard where I collect the other ends of those connectors off the harnesses.

    Joe
    Good idea Joe.
    Years ago my mentor would save every old harness taken out of a vehicle (so do I to this day). We used to do lots of insurance fire burnouts. Sometimes a harness would get replaced which then gave us lots of materials to work with on another harness. Not just the connector ends, but also the wires themselves. Much better to select a foot or two of the same guage wire WITH the existing colour coding to match so anyone working on the vehicle later wasn't faced with one colour changing to another colour then changing back to the original colour.
    Some manufacturers change colour at different connectors from one end of a circuit to the other. THAT is NUTS AFAIC, especially in todays vehicles.
    Maintaining colour code integrity makes things much easier later on.

    Comment

    • Witsend
      Banned
      • Nov 2012
      • 2942

      #17
      Super Glue for cuts (no stitches)

      If it's good enough for Doctor to hold incisions closed without stitches,then I'm sure with a little proper wound cleanup, you might be able to save yourself an unnecessary trip to the emergency room , long wait , and large bill.
      I think the regular Port Cargo 3 pack of Super Glue might work , but I don't know if the Chinese stuff might contain undissolved Cyanide in the Cyanacyrillates of the glue.

      Last edited by Witsend; 01-03-2017, 03:20 PM. Reason: not to appear as a Stuttering Ignoramous

      Comment

      • NikonJeb
        Junior Member
        • Jan 2017
        • 3

        #18
        Originally posted by greasybob
        This is an old one but maybe you haven't seen it yet. To improve the control you have with your flex sockets, especially when at the end of a long extension, wrap the joint with a couple rounds of black electric tape.
        Along the line of that flex socket tape trick......since it's on the end of an extension, it's prolly where it's hard to reach. If you put a piece of paper towel over the bolt head and tear of the excess, you can be reasonably sure the bolt will stay in the socket 'til you get it started. Once the boltis in and tight, the bolt head sized towel bit can then be retrieved by a quick blast of an air gun to get it somewhere you can reach it to discard it.

        Comment

        • ephratah service center
          Senior Member
          • Oct 2007
          • 143

          #19
          Thanks for the tip on jumper wires I just ordered a 100 assorted lengths from amazon for under $8

          Comment

          • greasybob
            Senior Member
            • May 2008
            • 1590

            #20
            Working by yourself ? You pull the hood lever, you hear the latch but nothing happens ? The spring won't pop it. You can't be in 2 places at the same time and pounding on the hood not a good idea ? You should try an inflater bag, like the one that comes with some break in kits. Insert the bag, give a few pumps then put the lever, works great. It also comes in handy for popping open car doors that are frozen after an ice storm or on an extremely cold morning (-20F). Better than risk breaking a door handle.
            Attached Files
            Last edited by greasybob; 01-05-2017, 07:31 PM.

            Comment

            • Witsend
              Banned
              • Nov 2012
              • 2942

              #21
              That's easier and quieter than an M80 ,that doesn't always work

              Comment

              • greasybob
                Senior Member
                • May 2008
                • 1590

                #22
                Since Crusty won't let me use these for pinching brake lines anymore. These hose pinchers work great for holding your timing belt in place while you're routing it around other pulleys.
                Attached Files
                Last edited by greasybob; 01-15-2017, 11:53 AM.

                Comment

                • Witsend
                  Banned
                  • Nov 2012
                  • 2942

                  #23
                  Never seen those hose pinchers before, but they look pretty handy. I imagine a miniature pair of long nose vise grips set to a lighter clamping force might be quicker though.

                  Comment

                  • Crusty
                    Senior Member
                    • Dec 2007
                    • 2450

                    #24
                    Originally posted by greasybob
                    Since Crusty won't let me use these for pinching brake lines anymore. Thses hose pinchers work great for holding your timing belt in place while you're routing it around other pulleys.
                    Up here at the "chain stores" brake hoses get replaced along with everything else when you get your "lifetime warranty" brake pads replaced, for "free"....LMAO....
                    As long as one is aware that some hoses & lines have plastic liners that could be damaged...
                    That's a good idea G-Bob, holding the belt.
                    How about using those clamps to gently close off a fluid line or a vacuum hose...as long as there isn't a plastic liner.
                    Perhaps the weight of one might hold one end of an electrical wire 2 or 3 inches back from where the business of a connection repair is going on and keep the 20/22 guage wire from wiggling around...

                    Comment

                    • Crusty
                      Senior Member
                      • Dec 2007
                      • 2450

                      #25
                      When pressing one-piece bearings and hubs in and out of a knuckle, saving old bearings and using the inner or outer races as the press adaptor means you can always have the exact size that matches the part of the new race you want to put pressure on. If you push on the wrong race, or on an awkward position, the new bearing won't last long.

                      Comment

                      • Witsend
                        Banned
                        • Nov 2012
                        • 2942

                        #26
                        Midwest Rust Bucket Beaters

                        When you have a budget challenged customer with a beater tapped out just doing pads and rotors and it seems like a caliper piston is hard to push in and the Caliper bleeder is likely just going to snap off, and the crusty metal tube is likely seized to the tube nut, Take a step back and look at the brake hose set ups. If the brake hose is not cracked or bubbled and passes through a metal guide bracket, often rust scale is building between the metal guide bracket and brake hose and literally pinching the hose closed, Carefully spread open the brake hose guide bracket to relieve the squeeze and you can often push the piston in easy again, salvage a normal brake job,and kick the can down the road ,of doing a new brake hose, brake line , awhile longer, and just put on the list of things that may require future attention.

                        Comment

                        • Wheel
                          Senior Member
                          • Jul 2007
                          • 719

                          #27
                          Originally posted by greasybob
                          Since Crusty won't let me use these for pinching brake lines anymore. These hose pinchers work great for holding your timing belt in place while you're routing it around other pulleys.
                          I hadn't thought of these, which would probably be a better choice, but I have seen even a wooden clothespin or one of these paperclips

                          make a difference in installing a timing belt or even a serpentine belt. I have also used Witsend's suggestion about the visegrips - but like he says tighten them very lightly.
                          You can expect the reputation of your business to be no better than the cheapest item or service you are willing to sell. - Wheel

                          Comment

                          • dodge90
                            Senior Member
                            • Oct 2014
                            • 164

                            #28
                            nice thread you started Greasy, I'll through a tip out there. whenever I do abs tone rings or alt. on Ford Escapes instead of busting my chops with the pain to get out ball joint, I loosen up the 21mm rear bolt, take out the front 15mm bolt and use a rachet strap from the caliper to lift to hold it out of the way. can usallly change a tone ring in less than 20 min and its a one person job
                            I've tried and tried, but can't seem to fix stupid!

                            Comment

                            • ephratah service center
                              Senior Member
                              • Oct 2007
                              • 143

                              #29
                              anchor pot

                              When I built my shop I put 4 of these in under each lift for pulling things like lower control arms when I do cv axles. I have chains made up to go from front to back and from corner to corner and can pull things in the center of vehicle if needed. these can be added in to existing floor if you have some one with a core drill bore holes in the existing floor.
                              Attached Files

                              Comment

                              • greasybob
                                Senior Member
                                • May 2008
                                • 1590

                                #30
                                Pods under the hoist ? That's pretty handy.

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