Totaly random tips and tricks.

Keith Tanner wrote: Keep a hitch pin in your receiver. Makes it really easy to attach a tow strap or chain, you just slide the rope into the receiver and put the pin through the loop. It'll never slip out. And keep a tow strap in the truck. ---------------- Put a chocolate chip granola bar in the microwave for about 5-10 seconds before eating it, very yummy. I'd like to point out that I ended up watching a good part of Hot Dog last night on YouTube. Then I moved on to Blizzard of Aaaahs. Thanks, I haven't seen either one in about 30 years.

HotDog is awesome!! I also haven't seen it in years. I didn't realize it was available in full on Youtube, until after I posted the link then saws the related videos..

The Chinese Downhill is possibly the best non motorsports related, Race ever!!!

I have a rag tucked into a tight spot under the hood.

Makes checking fluids easy. I don't have to hunt for a rag. It is especially good at the side of the road..

When doing anything under the hood that involves removal of fasteners. I find a flat spot away from where I am working. I put a bead of dielectric grease. I place each removed fastener in the grease in order of removal. It forms a great hold on fasteners....

This helps me in several ways.

1. I always put fasteners back in the correct order for replacement (reverse from the removal order).

2. It lessens the chance of losing fasteners.

3.Don't wipe the bead up when you are done... If you disconnect anything electrical, even at the side of the road. You always have dielectric grease to put on a connection.... Also if you have to remove fasteners at the side of the road. It is still there to hold fasteners in place while you work.

"DIELECTRIC GREASE". "I PUT THAT E36 M3 ON EVERYTHING"!!!

Do not confuse dielectric grease with heatsink compound like so many people who work on HEI systems do.

You'll be sorry one hot afternoon.

If you own a newer vehicle with plastic inner fenders, sometimes it's far easier and faster to pull the inner fender to get at what you're working on.

If your Rochester mechanical fuel injection will not fire with a quick shot of ether, you have an ignition problem, leave the fuel meter alone!!!!!

Gotta love Chevy parts interchange. You can bolt a T5 transmission from an S-10 into a 1955 Chevy pickup using the '55 iron bellhousing, S-10 clutch disc and 235 flywheel and pressure plate. Now get the driveshaft from a 1990's Astro van and it will all bolt in without changing the length of the driveshaft.

Trans_Maro wrote: Gotta love Chevy parts interchange. You can bolt a T5 transmission from an S-10 into a 1955 Chevy pickup using the '55 iron bellhousing, S-10 clutch disc and 235 flywheel and pressure plate. Now get the driveshaft from a 1990's Astro van and it will all bolt in without changing the length of the driveshaft.

this is awesome

antisieze

drsmooth wrote: I have a rag tucked into a tight spot under the hood. Makes checking fluids easy. I don't have to hunt for a rag. It is especially good at the side of the road..

Note: be sure the rag can't be sucked into the intake. It will drop the performance of a 1.6 Miata dramatically.

Keep a bag of ziploc bags and a sharpie in the garage, it's great for corralling random nuts and bolts in a project. Sure, you might be able to tell flywheel bolts from pressure plate bolts when you tear it apart, but will that be the case when you put it back together? If they're in labeled bags, yes.

I posted this in the tips section, but I'll throw it here, too.

I’ve taken to carrying a small bottle of hand sanitizer, some q tips and a couple of band aids in a travel soap dish. When you bust your knuckle or otherwise break your protective outer covering the hand sanitizer will disinfect it and help get any dirt and debris out. The Q-tips are to lift severed patches of skin and get the dirt out from underneath.

The soap dish can also act as a handy nut and bolt holder, too. Taking the nuts and bolts that belong with something with you is easier than trying to scrounge through your own parts to find something that matches.

Hand sanitizer will also work as a degreaser in a pinch.

If a two year old hands you a phone, answer it.

If you have a particularly nasty computer virus, and are trying to research how to get rid of it. You will likely be re directed by the virus to websites the virus writers approve of.. For instance you type into google, "I love you virus removal"... you will likely have your results redirected to results that will likely not give you removal instructions...

Instead, go to a site like Babelfish... type into the box. "I love you virus removal"... Then choose. Translate from English to (whatever obscure language you want)..

Take the results in the obscure language, copy and paste the results into Google (or some other legit search engine).

Then if possible, use the google option of translate this page to english..

If not copy and paste the text in the page to english by using google translate or babelfish to figure out how to get rid of the virius...

Most virus's don't have the capacity to redirect searches for more than a few languages.

Trans_Maro wrote: Gotta love Chevy parts interchange. You can bolt a T5 transmission from an S-10 into a 1955 Chevy pickup using the '55 iron bellhousing, S-10 clutch disc and 235 flywheel and pressure plate. Now get the driveshaft from a 1990's Astro van and it will all bolt in without changing the length of the driveshaft.

Meanwhile, there are at least four different flavors of accessory bracketry for the front, so swapping heads can turn into a major nightmare. Three or four different intake manifold bolt patterns, too.

poopshovel wrote: think about bloody kittens.

Damn. Now I'm rock hard.

Construction grade garbage bags (got mine at Lowes, they are much heavier gauge and larger), keep a couple in your car. They come in handy as drop cloths, emergency ponchos, something to store your stuff in at a rainy autocross, etc. Because of the heavier gauge, they are reusable. When you fold them up, they take up almost no space and weigh about nothing.

silver sharpies are great for marking tires when you remove them for the winter so you remember where you were in rotating them. Mark on tread face and it goes away as soon as you drive on it.

Oven pans worn out for cooking? keep them as tool trays when working on a project. If you make a rule that whenever you set your tools down that you only set them in the pan. Cuts down tool searching time bigtime if they are only in pans rather than all over the floor / cowl / etc... Second pan for all hardware.

Got cats? do the math, regular garbage bags are cheaper than pan liners.

If you have a pesky oil leak, switch your shop vac hose to the pressure side, and duct tap the end to the oil filler hole. Turn it on and soap test the engine. You will be able to quickly see exactly the leak is. If it is a minor gasket leak, you can reverse the pressure to vacuum and start applying rtv to the spot. The vacuum will suck it into the gap. If your shop vac does not have a pressure side filter it might be a good idea to use a screen of some type to avoid blowing crap into your motor. We just went to do this and discovered a squirrel had stashed a bunch of nuts in the hose. Glad we found them first....

Never go against a Sicilian, when death is on the line

When rotating tires on a typical 2 post lift, take the rears off first so you can lay them against the post (right at the front tire) then move the rear straight back. Think of all the seconds you'll save! lol

if your rotors dont have set screws, hold them on with a lugnut opposite of where the caliper is to get the bracket on with no hassle (I seem to have problems getting things lined up right sometimes lol)

use a nut bigger than the OD of the stud and a lugnut to pull new studs through instead of buying a fancy $20 tool.

This thread's gonna get long!

If you've got to crawl under a car on stands or blocks, throw a wheel/tire under there first. If the car fell off the stands, it could mean the difference between a broken nose and a casket.

I failed to realize this for an embarrassingly long time: foam hand soap is supposed to be used without water. Soap your hands, rub 'em to wash, then rinse it off. Saves a ton of water.

Dawn or any dishsoap is cheaper than "car guy soap" of any flavour and works just as well.

A small rolling shop cart (used well) can make even a slop like me reasonably well organized.

I mean those little carts (plastic or metal) on wheels with 4" tall retaining lip around the table top.

Here's the drill...

At the start of the project, empty it entirely. As you proceed, put all parts, tools, hardware, etc. from the project on the cart. Roll it near you wherever you are working, and keep tossing stuff into it. Give yourself the freedom to be as big a slob as you need, but only on that cart.

Those carts are about 17"x 36" or so- just the right size to begin to get cramped when it really is time to start putting stuff away anyway. Mine is a Rubbermaid.

At the end of the project you will be able to quickly check and see if you've got any parts left over. If it's on the cart, it came from this project.

When you are ready, roll the cart over to your toolbox/ shelves/ bench, wherever the tools go, and put them away. It doesn't have to be the same day. Whenever you get to it. It's a good way to stop misplacing tools. If it's not where it belongs, it is on the cart.

When you start your next project, begin again.

I keep my race scales on the bottom shelf. I don't use them frequently, but they are heavy, and it is always nice to roll them nearby. On top of the scales, I keep a cardboard box full of all the supplies I always want near- zip ties, rags, duct tape, brake cleaner, WD-40, etc.

In the little bins on top of the cart, I keep both a Sharpie and a white paint pen. I never have an excuse for not labeling parts.

Always banana to mouth, never mouth to banana.

Spoolpigeon wrote: Always banana to mouth, never mouth to banana.

And if you have a goatee, never eat a banana in public.

Trans_Maro wrote: Dawn or any dishsoap is cheaper than "car guy soap" of any flavour and works just as well.

minus the pumice part. It is way better than any typical "goop" non-pumice hand cleaner though

SVreX wrote: A small rolling shop cart (used well) can make even a slop like me reasonably well organized. I mean those little carts (plastic or metal) on wheels with 4" tall retaining lip around the table top.

photos? Do you mean a cart like this?

Always know where the is a roll of toilet paper. Keep a roll hidden somewhere in a ziplock bag at work, and another in your car. If you are stuck somewhere after a disaster you don't want to run out. I keep a bag with that, Purel, a pair of socks, a flashlight and some other odds and ends near me almost always. You never know when a disaster can hit and people turn into animals quickly. If you can stay somewhat comfortable you stay sane that much longer.

Apexcarver wrote: silver sharpies are great for marking tires when you remove them for the winter so you remember where you were in rotating them. Mark on tread face and it goes away as soon as you drive on it.

Sidewalk chalk. Easier to read than silver sharpies on rubber.

If you can't get a pilot bearing out of a crankshaft using a puller, pack it with grease. Find a bolt that fits snugly into the bore of the bearing and smack it with a hammer.