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Any Home Auto Mechanics Here?


Wolfbane

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4 minutes ago, Wolfbane said:

I've owned a filter cutting tool that works great for opening up the can on the metal filters for several years.

The only time I've cut filters open was when I was back in civilian aviation. Not saying there's anything wrong with it... 

The last filter I cut open was the one out of my fridge.... I wanted to see what was in it....

 

MKP :-)

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On 12/25/2016 at 0:26 PM, jason str said:

Many engines have come with magnets on the end of the drain plugs, most transmissions used to have them in the pans as well but you save $1 on every car you sell by not including it it adds up and bottom line comes before quality these days.

There making pans out of plastic these days.  Plastic?

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From Edmonds:

 

We decided to do an oil change on a Honda Fit belonging to Consumer Advice Editor Philip Reed to investigate this further. We sucked out the 3.8 quarts of oil and then removed the oil drain plug to see how much more flowed out. We were pleased to see that it was less than 3 tablespoons. This oil didn't appear to be any more contaminated than what had been sucked out by the extractor. We also unscrewed the filter and found it still contained about a quarter cup of oil.

 

It is going to vary from vehicle to vehicle, but 3 tablespoons?

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Talk about home shop mechanic!

 

We had a overhead valve 4 cylinder Mazda pickup many years ago that quit running. Pulled the cam/valve cover and the gear on the end of the camshaft had broken completely off! While my dad held the gear in place, I drilled a hole through the gear and through the cam shaft. Tapped it for a course thread 5/8" bolt about 1.5" deep. Installed the bolt and drove it another 50K miles!

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10 minutes ago, JL Sargent said:

Talk about home shop mechanic!

 

We had a overhead valve 4 cylinder Mazda pickup many years ago that quit running. Pulled the cam/valve cover and the gear on the end of the camshaft had broken completely off! While my dad held the gear in place, I drilled a hole through the gear and through the cam shaft. Tapped it for a course thread 5/8" bolt about 1.5" deep. Installed the bolt and drove it another 50K miles!

NICE;)

 

MKP :-)

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5 hours ago, dwilawyer said:

From Edmonds:

 

We decided to do an oil change on a Honda Fit belonging to Consumer Advice Editor Philip Reed to investigate this further. We sucked out the 3.8 quarts of oil and then removed the oil drain plug to see how much more flowed out. We were pleased to see that it was less than 3 tablespoons. This oil didn't appear to be any more contaminated than what had been sucked out by the extractor. We also unscrewed the filter and found it still contained about a quarter cup of oil.

 

It is going to vary from vehicle to vehicle, but 3 tablespoons?

 

Sounds about right. 

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Yesterday, I replaced the plastic thermostat housing that was leaking coolant on my '98 Explorer.  The lower shell of the housing is a "one piece" plastic part (probably polycarbonate), however, it is manufactured from two molded componets that are ultrasonically welded together.  Of course, the leak was at the weld seam.

 

I had replaced that housing about two years ago, so it should not have failed.  But upon closer inspection, there was a small gap between the welded components with obvious signs of a poor ultrasonic weld (the new replacement part had no gap at the seam).  Anyway, the plastic material itself was not the problem.  The manufacturing process was not robust so the product failed, giving the material a bad name.  Ironically, the defect would have been easy to detect in a final inspection at the factory.

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On 12/20/2016 at 3:00 PM, Wolfbane said:

Thinking about buying this 20 Gal Portable Waste Oil Drain Unit:

We have one in our garage. 

Side story:

(Before I worked there) The large valve has to be closed before applying air, or it will spray the oil up and out. The first time it needed emptied, no one could figure out how to close the large valve on the neck - they finally broke it trying. Then they realized that the telescoping tube has to be raised in order to close the valve. 

 

We have had great service from ours. 

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10 hours ago, jason str said:

These composite parts are not the worst idea manufactures have used, my worries would be getting brittle from age and/or heat exposure.

 

Not a new thing by any means.

This is a huge problem with plastics.  Oxidation over time causes polymer chains to begin breaking and embrittlement sets in.  Antioxidants are often used in the fomulations of the plastic compounds, but eventually these components become weak over time as high temperature as well as UV exposure, chemical interactions, and air pollutants take a toll.

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