anyone online right now?

[hfarley]

You mentioned that alot of the stuff that you can do on a car you can do on a bike. Well I am going the opposite way. The only things I ever did on my car was to change the oil and the wiper blades. LOL! Now I think I will attempt to change my own spark plugs on my car when needed. LOL! I am taking the things I learn on the bike and transferring them over to the car.

The other night I was playing middleman again between my mother and brother about my bro's car and I couldn't figure out what the part that was fixed was that was being discussed.  SO what did I do? I went out to the garage, in my pj's, crawled under my husbands car (same car as my brothers just newer). I had a flashlight in one hand and the phone in another.

I had them describe to me what the part looked like ( a transfer case and a differential) and then I traced it to where it went on the car and that is how I figured out what the heck they were talking about. Boy was that a sight to see!! My husband thought I was nuts! And maybe I am but I am not admitting to anything. :P

Anyway, that is the best way to learn anything. Just get your hands dirty and dig in. That is why you guys have been so helpful to me in aiding me in figuring out what the heck parts are and stuff. Thanks again!
-a greasy smelling (and loving it) Heather

[Lucky]

Ok, we have a girl in her pj's crawling under a car.. kinda sounds like a calander i have up in the shop...lol

[hfarley]

Thats funny, Because my calander up in my garage is of Vin Diesel with his shirt off. LOL!

[h2olawyer]

Geez - I don't have any calendar in my garage.  Whenever I'm out there, I'd just as soon forget about time, days, etc.  Just a bit of escapism!  Besides, with all the other stuff hanging from the walls out there, I don't think I could find a place for one.

No offense to any current / former wrenches out there, but I've always worked on my own vehicles.  I like to know the job was done correctly.  Kind of like Humphrey Bogart in The Caine Mutiny -- "There's the right way, the wrong way, the Navy way and my way.  On my boat we do things my way."

At least if something goes wrong I only have myself to blame!

H2O

[ps2/bikevision]

i agree the best way to get to know your vechile is to dig into it. when i bought my first car i was 15. an 84 firebird. it ran a little rough so my dad had me pull it into the garage and instead of telling how to fix it he stood over me why i tore the complete engine apart. (i did have a haynes manual). after i got it all tore down he told me to put it back together so i did and it didnt run any better and i spent all the money for the gaskets for nothing. but i did know how the engine worked now. after that he helped me fix it. all it was was a throttle postion sensor. $70 part. sence i couldnt drive it when i got it my dad said it was a good learning expernce. sence then i have gone to school for diesel mech. but i have always relaited what ever engine i work on to that firebird.

and as a side not i blew the engine up after one year. i thought it was a drag car. i should of rebuild the engine when i had it apart instead of using all the old bearings and rings.

[hfarley]

As I learn new things I then switch over to doing it myself instead of taking it to someone to do. Sometimes though time constraints just don't allow me to do it myself. Some day I will be able to do all the stuff I want to do. LOL!

As far as the calendar is concerened H2O, It not only is a piece of eye candy but functional as well. I put on it when to do the next oil change, put more stabil in, check this or that on the bike or car, etc.. So it kind of helps me to keep track of what I need to do and when.  Now if I could only find the time to put my workbench together so that my tools finally have a home. LOL!!
-Heather

[supervision]

   If you have compressed air, use it to blow the caps up off the spark plugs. they can be sort of tough to remove and the air will lift the right off.   many times spark plug threads are gummed (from slight leakage of combustion) and you may have a slow time turning them in or out of the head.  the idea of using  never siese is a good one.  buy the smallest amount you can find, it will last for years... the trick is not to get it where you don't want it ... this stuff is meassy it's like gafite in oil .  

[h2olawyer]

I keep maintenance schedules in a notebook - one for each vehicle.  Those are on a shelf next to my workbench.  An eye candy calendar would make me look at it more often, though!  ;D

I like the idea of blowing off the plug caps with compressed air.  I've never had difficulty removing them but it ought to work great.  Thanks, Dave.

One more note on anti-sieze.  Many brands are considered very toxic.  Be sure to read any instructions & cautions on the label.

H2O

[QBS]

If not anti-seize, a small amount of axil grease also gets the job done.  When reinstalling the plug boot, put a small amount of silicone grease on the inside of the boot where it touches the plug porcelane.  Future boot removal will be much less stressful on the boot and plug wires.