Stupid tips and tricks

[ricko1966]

I saw a thread the other day, what have you done to your festiva,a lot of people have done a lot of different things. I thought I would start a thread what stupid trick do you know, come on some stupid trick you thought everyone knew, like the super glue and baking soda trick or welding nuts to broken bolts,putting stubs in wheel bearings. I thought everyone already knew these. So anyway I will start and not gonna write a book just a tip here a trick there and hopefully lots of people will chime in and educate us all. One cool trick I have used for the last 17 years an old guy I worked with at a shop taught me.[oh crap now I am the old guy!} He was counting the teeth on his new timing belt and putting paint dots on it a dot on the first tooth then a dot at say tooth 120 and then a dot at tooth 150 and so on. Before he took anything off he put a paint dot on a tooth and the gear/pulley it came off or went around.Some cars have balance shafts,some have intermediate shafts,some have DOHC,sometimes a valve spring will rotate a cam just alittle. If you put a dot on everything the belt goes around /a coresponding dot on the belt and count teeth and mark your new belt any engine you put a t belt on will be correct. provided it was correct before, plus it has saved me lots of time trying to find timing belt info for a make/model I was never going to work on again,if in doubt start at tdc, mark all the pulleys and belt r&r. your belt. NEXT!

[mikemounlio]

When trying to remove something thats just stuck on a shaft: put some kind of pry bar under the object and try to pry it off. Hold steady pressure on it and tap the end of the sahft with a hammer. It transfers the hammer blow to the object in the direction you are prying. I use this trick often it seems.

[mikemounlio]

To remove a ball joint shaft out of a housing you can hit the housing with a big hammer. It will knock the ball joint lose in a couple good blows. Makes ball joints pop right out with ease.

[ricko1966]

yep i use that one all the time,first timers he's talking smack the side of the housing not the area where the nut tightens down works great on tie rod ends too. Pickle fork should be your last option as they destroy the boots usually.

Here's another good one can only get one finger in some where and need to start a nut. I have super glued nuts or bolts to my fingers or into wrenches to get things started once you have a couple of threads started break your superglue loose.

[mikemounlio]

I have taken a bolt and taped a nut to the end of the bolt head and then used that to thread a nut on in tight spaces. Works like a charm. once started just pull the bolt and the nut stays in place.

Or you can tape the nut on edge to the top of a bolt and feed it into a hole and then screw the bolt into the nut from the other side (lower strut mounting bolt on rear beam). This works great for the stripped out nuts. simply add another nut (with lock washer) to the back side.

[ricko1966]

Stupid cheap alignment tow plates. The way I started doing this 1980 something I used two 24 inch pieces of bedrail you set two cans on the ground on each side of the car one in front of the front wheel one behind the front wheel set a piece of bedrail on top push it firm against the tire get someone to do the same on the other side measure across the front of the rail and back of the rail for toe. These have evolved over time,the are now 30" for better accuracy,also you can use magnets or bolts to locate off the wheel instead of the tire. I also no longer use a helper I use bungee cords from one rail to the other rail front and back then I can position the rail any height I want. I now use two identical tape measures one in front one in back with clothes pins holding them in place,now I can twist the tierod and watch my tape measures at the same time. Its like a 30year old version of a longacre toe plate actually I like it better.

[ricko1966]

I have taken a bolt and taped a nut to the end of the bolt head and then used that to thread a nut on in tight spaces. Works like a charm. once started just pull the bolt and the nut stays in place.

Or you can tape the nut on edge to the top of a bolt and feed it into a hole and then screw the bolt into the nut from the other side (lower strut mounting bolt on rear beam). This works great for the stripped out nuts. simply add another nut (with lock washer) to the back side.

Took a minut to understand that second one, now i get it. I like it

[ryanprins13]

If your like me and suck at hand packing bearings these are nice

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[ricko1966]

Have one also have the lisle one you fill with grease and press down on I prefer the lisle one cleaner and less waste. Hey thought of another good one, tstats w no jiggle valve I put a pin hole in them so they will bleed before they open another cheater way is open it put an asprin in it to keep it from closing fill the system and the asprin will dissolve. Everythings all together and you've got air trapped. Remove the highest mounted sensor in water you can find,then fill the system until water runs out your sensor hole, no more air pocket,no more waiting for it to burp or boil over whichever comes first.They cool part of a t stat w a hole in it is if you have a problem ,leaky radiator,waterpump,headgasket etc. it will self bleed everytime you add coolant,until you fix the problem correctly.

[TominMO]

I have taken a bolt and taped a nut to the end of the bolt head and then used that to thread a nut on in tight spaces. Works like a charm. once started just pull the bolt and the nut stays in place.

Or you can tape the nut on edge to the top of a bolt and feed it into a hole and then screw the bolt into the nut from the other side (lower strut mounting bolt on rear beam). This works great for the stripped out nuts. simply add another nut (with lock washer) to the back side.

I also tape a nut to the head of a box wrench for tight places, like inside a Festy rear beam, from the rear of the beam, when your captured nut broke off. Once you get the bolt through the nut and tightened down, the tape just sticks to the wrench and you pull it out.

[ricko1966]

Stupid tip no. 1 always disconnect the battery, Stupid tip no 2 water will put out a gasoline fire if you have enough water. Just set fire to my project. OOPS!

[tooldude]

To really hang on to a bolt or nut that is buried, get the round super strong magnets and insert an appropriate size into a socket. The small ones, about 5mm, work well with many sizes. With these you don't have to be as careful about bumping anything and with the right size magnet you can work vertically. They really hang on and can be kept handy stuck right on your toolbox - no finding/fumbling with tape or glue. Just stick one on. Really saves your...stuff.

[ricko1966]

To really hang on to a bolt or nut that is buried, get the round super strong magnets and insert an appropriate size into a socket. The small ones, about 5mm, work well with many sizes. With these you don't have to be as careful about bumping anything and with the right size magnet you can work vertically. They really hang on and can be kept handy stuck right on your toolbox - no finding/fumbling with tape or glue. Just stick one on. Really saves your...stuff.

I have some in a pouch, I can never find them, nice tip stick them to the tool box

[ryanprins13]

Have one also have the lisle one you fill with grease and press down on I prefer the lisle one cleaner and less waste. Hey thought of another good one, tstats w no jiggle valve I put a pin hole in them so they will bleed before they open another cheater way is open it put an asprin in it to keep it from closing fill the system and the asprin will dissolve. Everythings all together and you've got air trapped. Remove the highest mounted sensor in water you can find,then fill the system until water runs out your sensor hole, no more air pocket,no more waiting for it to burp or boil over whichever comes first.They cool part of a t stat w a hole in it is if you have a problem ,leaky radiator,waterpump,headgasket etc. it will self bleed everytime you add coolant,until you fix the problem correctly.

Sweet, never seen one of those before.

Who makes a thermostat with no vent? My guess is subaru, but any reason other than their dumb?

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[ricko1966]

A picture's worth a thousand wordsSSPX0064.jpgSSPX0063.jpg I now use longer angle iron 30'' 2 30'' angle iron, 2 bungee chords,2 clothes pins,2 new identical tape measures.