Mechanical Tricks

[dolluper]

Hi Guys:There's a bunch of knowlegde on this site and I think it's time for some of us season pro's to turn over some of our tricks.Whether it's building an engine or taking out a broken bolt.Add your trick and see if someone else has a better way .We will all gain from this thread and have some fun.I will start with a simple trick
Subject : Crossfiring+ messy ignition wires
Take a nylon cable tie and wrap the wires with it loosely
Then take another cable tie,seperate two of wires and wrap this tie around the tie surrounding all the wires,pull this one tight and continue till you have seperated all your wires,works seperating 2,3 .4 .5 or 6 if you have a V12
Final step pull tight the first wrapper tie and cut of access ties off
Easy to seperate your ignition wires any location and very neat looking and fast
So what tip can you add ??????

 

[ndemge]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

Priming oil pump on a new rebuild:

Take old junk distibuter, Remove all the extra junk so you just have the main shaft and the top flat part. Weld a nut to the top. Then you can turn the oil pump with a socket on the end of a cordless drill until oil starts coming out all the upper ports.

-Funny story about this topic:

I had an old '71 Van, rebuilt the engine. I called the junk yard to get an HEI distributer for it. My brother on phone pipes up, "get a 2nd one to make an oil primier" Not really thinking, I get a 2nd HEI distributer off an old truck at $25... We destroy the 2nd one and make the primer. Not thinking... when we got done... "Think maybe we should have used the old points one instead of killing an HEI?"

D'OH

 

[ndemge]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

As dad calls them... "old camanche tricks"....

have a small tire to inflate and can't get the bead to set. Take off your belt, wrap around the center of the tire as tight as you can, it pushes the outer part towards the wheel, then hit it whith your air.

(Take out the valve stem to get extra air flow)

 

[Kenneth Brown]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

As dad calls them... "old camanche tricks"....

have a small tire to inflate and can't get the bead to set. Take off your belt, wrap around the center of the tire as tight as you can, it pushes the outer part towards the wheel, then hit it whith your air.

(Take out the valve stem to get extra air flow)

Gotta piggy back Noel.

In addition you can use a thick dish soap or grease around the bead to help keep the air in or to help it pop on the bead.

 

[i386]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

As dad calls them... "old camanche tricks"....

have a small tire to inflate and can't get the bead to set. Take off your belt, wrap around the center of the tire as tight as you can, it pushes the outer part towards the wheel, then hit it whith your air.

(Take out the valve stem to get extra air flow)

Gotta piggy back Noel.

In addition you can use a thick dish soap or grease around the bead to help keep the air in or to help it pop on the bead.

This trick was first shown to me using a rope. It works, but is really hard to get enough tension. A ratchet strap works really well though.


Disclaimer: I've never seen or tried this and am not suggesting anyone should.

I have heard of people squirting some lighter fluid around the bead and throwing a match on it. The "woosh" is supposed to be able to seat the tire on the rim.


Cool topic.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

I have heard of people squirting some lighter fluid around the bead and throwing a match on it. The "woosh" is supposed to be able to seat the tire on the rim.


Cool topic.

Have seen the same done with starting fluid……………………………. ‘coarse ya could end up in SHT section if you aren’t careful.

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

Heres one that has helped me alot.Use vacume hose to remove spark plugs in and out of the engines hard to reach plug holes after the plug has been loosend off.Just slide the hose over the plug and turn.

Another one is
If you have to siphon a liquid.Take your hose and put a small hole in one end about 3 to 4 inches from the end.
Put the other end in the fluid as you would normaly.
Now take your air blow gun and insert it in the hole
and blow in the direction you wish to siphon.It causes a vacume in the hose and pulls the fluid down the hose.
Shure beats a mouth full of anything disgusting.

 

[fireship1]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

Use a digital camera to take pictures of complicated assemblies. Drum brake setups, carbs, wire orders. It's a simple tip that can save you hours of profanity "if you forget where these two little peices fit".:%

 

[Bondo]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

OK,........ Here's My Favorite,........

If you've got a Rusty Bolt,.......
Say a Muffler Clamp Nut, or U-Bolt Nut, that's Rusted,+ Frozen so Bad that you can barely tell it's a Nut,.........

Heat it up to a Cherry Red,.. you'll need an Ox/Ac torch,......
Then Quench it with Cold Water..............

It'll come Off with Very Little Effort............

Btw,........ I do the Starting Fluid trick on Tires,...... All the Time..........
It's Much Easier than a Belt or Rope............Quicker too..........

 

[ndemge]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

Use a digital camera to take pictures of complicated assemblies. Drum brake setups, carbs, wire orders. It's a simple tip that can save you hours of profanity "if you forget where these two little peices fit".:%

I did this during the '71 rebuild... it was 6 weeks between taking everything apart and putting it back together. I really helped going back to the pictures to see where some of those funky brackets went.

 

[Skinnywater]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

Don't get to physical when removing rubber hoses from todays plastic cooling systems. Carefully slip the smallest screwdriver blade between the nipple and hose and a small squirt of WD40, it will twist right off.

Speaking of WD40. Those torxs, allen and star bits that utilise a roll pin to secure the bit into the drive (Snap-on, Mac, etc.). During professional use these pins constantly break and fly out. The straw that comes on the WD40 cans can be inserted instead of the rollpin. Cut it close to the drive and heat slightly to melt flush. This repair lasts for years.

When replaceing a clutch pilot bushing or bearing pack the entire cavity with bearing grease. Use a drift (a metal clutch alignment tool works best) approx. the same size of the shaft a hit it into the cavity. A couple good smacks pushes out the bush/bearing.

Think of the lines on a dipstick as minimum and maximum. The perfect oil level is right in the middle.

When replacing fan belts for the first time take extra time to ensure the belts aren't too tight. The used components, waterpump, idlers and alternator bearings will be extra sensitive to the change.

 

[Nova II 260]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

Have a miss fire you can't find?
Wait until dark and mist/spray water (i.e. windex bottle) at and around plug wires. You'll see the spark where your problem is.
Eric H.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

WD40 via the small tube will locate a leaking intake manifold or carb gasket. Spray the suspect area (with the motor running) and the idle will increase when you find the leak.

Prime oil pumps with vasaline. Pack them full before you start a motor.

Coat your impellar with vasaline when you are wotking in a lower unit.

Use steel wool and glass cleaner on windshields to really remove bugs and grime.

 

[Plainsman]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

WD40 via the small tube will locate a leaking intake manifold or carb gasket. Spray the suspect area (with the motor running) and the idle will increase when you find the leak.

Prime oil pumps with vasaline. Pack them full before you start a motor.

Coat your impellar with vasaline when you are wotking in a lower unit.

Use steel wool and glass cleaner on windshields to really remove bugs and grime.

I use Soft Scrub on glass as well.

 

[Plainsman]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

Saw on MythBusters that Coke Cola works well on chrome. Tried it and it did!

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

When trying to remove a phillips head screw and your screwdriver keeps slipping out, you can wet the tip of the screwdriver then stick it down in some sand. No sand avaliable, then stick it in some valve grinding compound, leaving the sand or valve grinding compound on the tip of the screwdriver, try it again. Works great.

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

When replacing power steering pumps or componants, jack the front of the vehicle up (tires off the ground) before cranking and purging the air from the fluid. This takes the load off the system and may save an old pump that has been draind of fluid.

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

If you use solvent to clean your parts and you want to get all of the solvent residue off, rinse in hot water.It will leave your parts squeaky clean.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

Want to clean the road grit off your windshied that has been building up for years without scratchng it, use BON Ami powder cleaner,it's the only one you can use all the others will scratch your glass.You will" Clearly see "how it works all the built up grit will be gone and you might see further.
Rust on chrome can be removed with WD-40 and a cloth,will not work on deep pits it will just clean the pits.On surface rust it works great

 

[jimr]

Re: Mechanical Tricks

on side cutters fill the cavity between the jaws with silicone let it set up over night and take a razor blade and cut it so you can open up the jaws. this will keep wire or ends of cotter keys from flying when you cut them.