Recent content by sunandsand

Went to a Jiffy Lube many, many years ago, I had a two door K-car which was in very good condition. They had a central pit, you drove the car over it, someone in the pit drained the oil, put the drain plug back in, and someone up top filled the crankcase. I looked into the pit - there was a...

2008 MB M272 (3.5 liter gasoline v-6), 9 quarts, had a 1990 Audi V8Q, 3.6 liters, which took ten. I guess they figured if you were going to be doing 120 mph on the autobahn all day long you needed lots of oil. Neither one used oil but the Audi leaked like a sieve.

Unqualified mechanics . . . At least when I screw something up it doesn't come as a surprise later. Had the local FBO (airport mechanic) remove the top and bottom cowlings on my airplane. Quarter turn fasteners, they used an air drill to "unscrew" them, ruined all the rubber cowl mounts. Brand...

Scaremongering . . . (OMG we're all gonna die, send money so we can continue our vital work!) I looked at the report. Nicely done, looks great, but smoking a cigarette is classified under nicotine abuse. Five beers "in one session" - size of the beers and length of the session undefined - is...

Saw a wonderful pictorial guide to Florida Interstates. I-4 - drivers are dead zombies I-75 - movie preview for Road Warrior (the original) I-10 - stoned teenager with a mullet I-95 - race start at NASCAR 500 I used to say I prefer flying because all the idiots are down on the ground...

Agree - clean it up real good first and get a voltmeter, follow the wires. Think of it as plumbing - somewhere the water is leaking out - the insulation is damaged - and that blows the fuse. Hardest part is tracing the wires. The schematic is drawn so it makes sense as to the electrical layout...

Once a fuel tank is gummed up from ethanol, how can you clean it out? Local radiator shop said they can steam clean it, but it will ruin the paint. On two classic BMW motorcycles (1952 and 1968) that is not an option. Also have a JD Gator (rescued from someone's back yard) which I think has a...

GRS, I mostly agree with you. I also modify all kinds of things, and usually (hopefully) improve them for my uses. I'm absolutely not saying don't touch anything, that the factory knows best - often they demonstrably don't, and the vehicle does belong to us so if we want to change something, we...

I agree, the ever-so-slightly enlarged hole would probably not be noticed. If however the failure of the ROPS was involved, you can absolutely bet it is going to be examined with an electron microscope. Non-safety-related modifications are one thing, even though manufacturers sometimes try to...

Strongly suggest finding and installing the correct factory part and keep the receipt. The ROPS is a (now required) safety item. As we all know, there are stickers on it which warn us not to drill holes in it, weld on it, etc., because the function of the item might be compromised. Even though...

For my next riding mower, I am going to buy used off C/L. In this area (east central FL) a lot of people buy riding mowers and move out of town or into condos or simply hire a lawn service and suddenly the mower is in their way and they want it GONE - and there are some very good deals available...

Jackstands . . . I think I was about 18 at the time (there were still dinosaurs around) and a friend of mine was installing a Hurst shifter into his 1956 Ford. Had the rear wheels off, no idea why, car was jacked up with one lonely bumper jack on asphalt pavement, on a hot summer day. I'm...

Old Arabic saying - when buying a camel, look at the seller as well as at the camel. Have your BS detector turned up all the way, whether you are the buyer or the seller. Unreasonable demands terminate all negotiations. So do untruths. Lotsa varmints out there . . . Here's a good one - I'm...

Thank you for that! We need more caps, and when we were looking for the first couple of batches, we were not aware of Americap. I'll be contacting them for samples and prices! I really do prefer to buy American when possible. Given the choice of two more-or-less comparable items, I'll buy a US...

Well, I'm hoping the tariffs will increase the value of older tractors because the newer ones just significantly went up in price. (I have an L285 I want to sell.) The problem I have with tariffs is a price increase is justifiable if you get a better product for more money, but if you get the...