OT: What would Willy or AK Boomer do?

[Dan Dubeau]

I went out to get started on the leaking lines. Popped hood, started poking around, stepped back, closed hood, went inside and called local mechanic to get it in on Wednesday. Too damn cold, and I have no desire to start crawling around underneath it on a snowy driveway. I'm getting better at picking my battles, and I'll let someone else fight this one this time. I've had enough of working on cars for a few months.

[Black Forest]

Now you are in my bad books!

You just HAD to bring this up.... So right after reading your post on your fan belt, the connection on the front muffler of the car broke off flush. I get to replace it (the muffler), with the vehicle in the driveway, in tomorrow's snowstorm (Had to be ordered and be here tomorrow).

Cold + snow + working on exhaust systems. What could be better?

That is Karma! Sub-consciously you were thinking, "serves that grouchy old bastard right." Exhaust systems are the worst because they are always rusty in my experience.

[Dan Dubeau]

We just took the wifes 2012 equinox off the road when her new van came in. 340k km and the entire undercarriage was pretty much rusted out, with large portions rotted and just gone. The exhaust was fine from head to tail though. Even all the heat shields were still solid as a rock. I wish GM would have made the body from the same steel they made the exhaust from lol.

[Willy]

I would sort of disagree with that statement. If anything it is more performance items like turbo chargers that take up space. In general I think engines are getting smaller. I think auto manufactures have a set of emission items such as EGR valve, fuel vapor canisters, etc. that haven't changed much. Now that the fuel/air ratio is computer controlled they don't need a bunch of hardware like that stupid air pump that came with 70-80's vehicles. "The answer to pollution is dilution" pump. But yeah drivers who never work on their cars (or tractors) don't care how hard it is to work on. And dealers would prefer you come to them anyway.

It's getting pretty tight under most automotive hoods these days. In addition to to the usual AC, turbo, and aftercooler bits we now have ABS, EVAP components, egr coolers and a plethora of sensors, and all of the attendant control modules, wiring and plumbing to make it all work. More effective I agree than than the simple but ineffective air pumps for sure but the level of complexity has gone up dramatically.

I have no desire to see the old smog belchers of yore and like clean air as much as the next guy but working on a lot of these system can be a struggle insofar as having any appreciable elbow room is concerned.

Industrial equipment has also gotten very complex underneath the cowls and hoods. It used to be fairly easy to service a truck or loader until recently. Emissions requirements often include selective catalytic reduction systems, dosage pumps, diesel particulate filters, etc. and all of their ancillary subsystems.
It used to be so the you could sit or stand next to the powerplant in order to do routine servicing. Not any more, now you need to peel thru several layers in order to get access. They have to stick that stuff somewhere out of sight and out of harms way.
Guess whoes way it is in now?

[Willy]

Wow never seen one Mike - thanks for posting, I do wonder about how much torque it can handle,,, what is it "chain driven"?

Oop just re-read your post - guess it is chain ---- I could see it coming in handy for certain situations for sure, little pricey for me though.

Saw a good side by side comparison of those recently, don't have any personally but could see them being useful at times. I've always been able to improvise or make another special tool to add to the collection.LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK2jfJLKrK4

[Black Forest]

I actually made a chain driven gizmo to remove the blades on my lawnmower. It was quite crude but it did work. A couple of sprockets with one end a 1/2" drive to put the correct size socket on and the other sprocket with a socket welded on to it. It was about 16" long center to center. I would use my 1/2" air wrench to drive it. I finally decided it was too much effort to use it and it was easier to drive it onto a ramp I welded up.

[J Tiers]

Yep it IS rusty. I cut the bolt on clamp #1 (can't take off #2 yet, I still have to drive it a bit). Cut because it was so rusty I could pretty much find the nut on it......

The stub would not come out of the good pipe, so it got a shot of PBlaster to let it think about that overnight. (I'd have used the BFH, but there is not room)

Grumpy old bastard? Which one of us you talking about?😁 Dunno which of us is older, but we're probably about even on the grumpy (just ask my wife)..

[nickel-city-fab]

It has been in the single digit temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit here lately. At work we have been swapping engines and attachments on some 50-ton Terex cranes with Deutz engines.

Yes it is cold.

[Guido]

Ran across feller with welding shop next to a bait shop on shore of Lake Texhoma, rebuilding brass outboard props. He had worked around Williston, ND during the oil boom and had been called out one winter night to put a patch over a leaking, washed out Kelly swivel, maybe 10 ft. above the rig floor. Colder’n’witches tit, rig crew hiding out in warm doghouse, took turns holding ladder, with said welder on top.

Welder went for warming break, but stopped alongside his truck, unbolted the two welding cables, dropping them to the frozen ground, started the truck and headed south never to be seen again.

[Glug]

I jumped in and started the excavator and found out real quick that yesterday I forgot to clean out the tracks so the machine is sitting still until it gets warm enough to melt the frozen mud that is keeping the tracks from moving on the undercarriage.

Have you leaned *nothing* from AK Boomer? Use an umbrella and a leaf blower.

[sarge41]

Have you leaned *nothing* from AK Boomer? Use an umbrella and a leaf blower.

As most old heavy equipment operators will attest to, failing to clean the tracks on a dozer before quitting for the evening in freezing weather, will get you in big trouble, maybe even in a fist fight.

Sarge41

[CarlByrns]

<snip> that stupid air pump that came with 70-80's vehicles. "The answer to pollution is dilution" pump. <snip>

That's not how air pumps worked. They pumped extra air (and oxygen) into the exhaust manifold to burn off unburned fuel (upstream) and then (on Fords with three-way catalytic converters) switched to downstream to do essentially the same thing in the catalytic converter. Ford keep air pumps even into the fuel injection era- the three-way cats flowed well and would digest anything short of raw sewage. My 1996 F-150 with the 300 cube six had EFI and an air pump.

[CarlByrns]

For really tight quarters I've found this Tite-Reach wrench very useful:
https://tite-reach.com/products/3-8-...tension-wrench
Basically it is a housing with a chain drive from one end to the other. You get the socket on the bolt and remotely turn the bolt. I also bought the low height sockets. Can be a real life saver.

Mike

I used to work with a guy that had something similar, but much older. it was rectangular and had a gear train. Super handy on early FWD cars.

[A.K. Boomer]

Saw a good side by side comparison of those recently, don't have any personally but could see them being useful at times. I've always been able to improvise or make another special tool to add to the collection.LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK2jfJLKrK4

That's where im at with it - although I could see springing for the cheap one just to get stuff anchored up to then tighten... (if you have the room to get a "normal" wrench on it to do that)

I watched the Vid Willy, ALL these companies are missing the big picture,,, WHAT A BUNCH OF DUMBASS ENGINEERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

most ALL the unit's are designed with universal input at either end, they are a female square and within that lies the ticket!!!...

WHY ON GODS GREEN EARTH WOULD YOU NOT CREATE A RATCHET HEAD ON THE BUSINESS END!!! and then just use the units handle itself to FINAL tighten!!!!!,,,

AND A FINE TOOTH ONE AT THAT!!!! and just like a ratchet wrench you flip it to either tighten or loosen,,, all the torque is on the business end, no final transmission into a wimpy elastic chain and flimsy body... your just using the body as a typical wrench handle...

So you have the ability for a quick "cinch up" and then after that you remove all guess work of using a POS impact or another ratchet attached to said apparatus AGAIN guessing what kind of torque your putting on a critical fastener...


and yeah again that's considering you at least have a little "wiggle room" to use the initial "extension" as a "normal lever" 'But then again that's why I initially stated "fine tooth"

Im serious --- I could make companies like this rich all day long... but you know what? they could not pay me enough...

severe lack of foresight... So one might ask? Where you going to fit all the "sprag guts" with the chain head to boot? oh yeah - already got that covered or I never would have brought this up...

Snap on --- Mac - and anyone else listening --- your a bunch of freaking hillbillies.. Gawd --- sac up and start designing some stuff that will impress me... junk companies building junk crap...

[A.K. Boomer]

Willy, what is this pic of? I find it both incredibly detailed and also "disturbing"


???