The Tips and Tricks thread

[checksix]

ROPE TRICK
To keep an engine from rotating while pulling the crank pully, take quarter inch or three eights multi-strand nylon rope and put as much as you can down the spark plug hole on a cylinder comming up on TDC to fire. The rope is soft, but won't allow the piston up so it jams everything.

If you do a lot of work with phillip screw heads consider getting a cheap impact driver. Motorcycle shops in the 70's sold these (When I got mine). Hit it with a hammer and it rotates just slightly (enough to break free a tough screw).

Stripped out phillip head screws can sometimes be gotten off by hammering on a 12 point socket of appropriate sixe to "jam on"

Kroil is the best penetrant I've come across, much better tha WD40. Costs more but worth it!

[checksix]

One more I forgot. When installing a tranny to the bell housing, getting the alignment for the 1st motion shaft to go through the throw-out bearing and align up the splines on the clutch can be a pain, especially if working under the car (my Volvo was like this). I took two extra long bolts of the thread size to hold on the tranny, and cut off the heads. I then took a hack saw, and cut a grove so I could use a screw driver to turn. Now thread these into the bell housing. You use these as a guide to get PERFECT alignment. Install and tighten one of the open holes, then remove the guides using a screw driver. A much easier job!

Points for who ever started this thread, I've learned a LOT!

["Z" UTE]

Microfibre cloths are the biz. Use them to clean your car glass, and they are the absolute best for final polishing of your paintwork, and buffing your freshly applied wax.

cheers Chuck.

[Scoobzd]

Possibly posted already BUT buy a can of Inox from Super Cheap (wherever) and go nuts !

Its oxygen free n can be sprayed over LIVE wires(1v - 500,000v) without fear of ANYTHING

Just let the aerosol disperse 1st or pfoof !

[TTV8RA23]

Dunno if anyone has mentiond it yet cos i cant be bothered reading the hole lot but if removing tapered tie rod ends (such as rack ands into steering knuckles) and having trouble loosen the nut a few turns try holding a big hammer on one side of the knuckle as a dolly and hit on the otherside with a fairly heavy hammer. The shock will cause the tie rod end to pop right out. The squarer you hit it the easier it will pop out. Has never failed me yet. Also when cutting big pipes like intercooler or exhaust wrap a cable tie around for nice square cuts.
Another tip is making engine mounts are not as hard as you might think. Get motor sitting how you want it where you want it. Level and square and as far back as you can etc etc, then make a plate that bolts onto the motor and a plate that bolts onto standard rubber mounts in the car your putting said motor into, then using cardboard to mock it up make the bits that go between.
Photos to help explain
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1434/p4180754.jpg

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2190/p4180758.jpg

Cheers hope this helps someone out.
Simon

["Z" UTE]

If you have ever used vinyl spray to tart up a few plastic trim pieces, you will sometimes get a slightly mottled finish. Use ultra fine steel wool to lightly sand the affected area. Leaves a nice matt finish, or you can then recoat.


A ratchet tie down strap can be used to hold a flex plate in position so you can undo the bolt that holds the harmonic balancer on. Hook one end of the strap through the flex plate, and tie the ratchet strap off to the chassis and take up the slack. Go to town with your big rattle gun or long breaker bar and big @##$@ off extension pole. Works well with 1J and 2J engines, these are notorious for having hard to remove crankshaft bolts.


cheers Chuck.

[andrew_mx83]

A ratchet tie down strap can be used to hold a flex plate in position so you can undo the bolt that holds the harmonic balancer on. Hook one end of the strap through the flex plate, and tie the ratchet strap off to the chassis and take up the slack. Go to town with your big rattle gun or long breaker bar and big @##$@ off extension pole. Works well with 1J and 2J engines, these are notorious for having hard to remove crankshaft bolts.


cheers Chuck.

I like that one

[TheStitt]

i use chain for that. Stick a bolt in where the bell housing bolts up and another in the flex plate/flywheel. latley have also just used a d shackle through the flex plate

[Z2TT]

When accidentally dropping bolts down a Timing cover, and your Magnetic pickup tool is too thick to poke into the area, take apart an old hard drive and they have small and strong magnets, put them on the end of a long screwdriver and try.

[Duk]

When screwing bolts into threaded holes, chances are you will get 1 that is a bit sticky. Too tight to turn by fingers, but not tight enough to justify socket or spanners. Try and give the head of the bolt a firm hit inline with the threaded shank. This will help to loosen what ever is on/in the threads and allow the bolt to be screwed in easier.
Pre-hitting bolt heads is also very helpful when loosening bolts screwed into softer metals. Use your judgement here as belting a bolt screwed into a carby body will require much less force that 1 screwed into cast iron .

If you have a cap head/socket head bolt (one that takes an Allen key) and you think you might 'round it out', get a centre punch and hammer and make a centre punch mark next to each of the flats. This will drive some metal inwards and prevent the hexagonal hole becoming an ugly circle.

When using an angle grinder to cut metal, use thin cutting wheels. Thin cutting wheels are typically about 1.6mm instead of 2.5mm so about 2/3s the thickness and so 2/3s the amount of material removal, to make the cut.
Be extremely careful about side loading thin cutting wheels! The can disintegrate and fly apart, when side loaded!
Similar story with all other wheels, but especially drop saw wheels! If you damage a wheel, throw it in the bin, 'cause it just ain't worth a few dollars to find out if it will or won't survive! People have been killed by disintegrating cutting wheels having parts embedding themselves into important parts of the human body.............

Thread sealants like Loktite are also very effective at preventing corrosion between the threads.

When removing a stubborn bearing race that is fitted to a bore (like a wheel hub), run a bead of weld from a MIG or arc welder around the race (where the rolling elements ran). This will cause the race to contract slightly and also give a good spot to put a dolly against, to drive out with a hammer.
Something to remember, the rotating part will have the tightest bearing race fit. When driving a bearing in withe a hammer and dolly, only have the dolly on the race with the tightest fit! NEVER hit a bearing race directly with a hammer!
Heating a component like a wheel hub in an oven to 120*C will allow MUCH easier bearing race fitting. Obviously something that will protect your hands from the heat will be essential.

Always wear eye protection when belting hard metals with hammers!
A guy where I work lost sight in an eye when he was hit by a piece of metal that flew off, when the dolly was hit by a hammer.

Square tubing is great for making things, but isn't real flash if subjected to torsional loads (use round tube for that). To reduce weight, cross drilling can be done and can remove almost 1/3 of the material's mass while still keeping plenty of its bending strength.

If you plan to undo any bolts or nuts that you expect could be a bit rusty, go to a Blackwwods shop and buy yourself a can of Yield. It's pretty friggin expensive (about $35 a can) and comes in a bland, gold can. But it is absolutely fantastic at dealing with rusted threads! It makes WD40 look like the cheap, light weight penetrating oil it is (still handy, tho). We use it extensively at the steel works I work at (heat, water and steel equal RUST!). It does need some time to do its thing, but both the dollars and time a well spent.

["Z" UTE]

A nifty tool for the toolbox, I needed to cut a piece of heater hose and the only tool close by was the missus' pruning secatuers. Not the bypass blade type like scissors or tin snips, these ones had a groove in the lower jaw which the cutting blade went into. The neatest cut available ever, unless you actually own a hose cutter, beats the crap out of a stanly knife or steak knife.


cheers Chuck.

ps. these things also cut boxpackers nylon straps with ease.

[JDM hachi]

A nifty tool for the toolbox, I needed to cut a piece of heater hose and the only tool close by was the.................. or steak knife.

When i was a younger, and poorer uni student, one of my mates had a toolbox which looked like a cutlery set, he still has those "tools" and he still says they still come in handy.

We/he were lucky though, there was a group of 6 or so of us who had access to another mates grandpas "home garage", this place was awesome, not modern by any means, but he was an old school engineer, made stuff if needed, lathe, compressor, all the spanners you could want in any configuration, whether it be sae, imperial, or whitworth??? When we were there working on cars his grampa would be there learning stuff eg about efi/what the engine specs were/ asking questions about what we were doing/ offering help and making tools to make the job easier...all at the young age of 84! He would also know what thread/or bolt size you needed by feel....RIP Lachie Hill.....

matty.

[TheStitt]

Another vote for yeild..

It has just made life alot easier on a 1980 patrol I have been helping a friend pull apart. This thing has spent its life in Townsville and backed boats into the sea every weekend. The rear end was only held together with rust. Yeild did a great job on the rear suspension bolts and diff bolts..

[Bitsa]

Two things I've learnt are (apologies if already been mentioned) 1: Mud gets oil & grease off your skin. Not the sloppy kind of mud. The 3/4 dry with a bit of gravely grit kind. Does a very good job. 2: Where possible, when reverse parking you can use passenger side shop front windows as a guide.

[dnegative]

A handful of fresh grease will clean your hands perfectly and its easier to get off than worked in oily grime
If you have a stupidly tight hex cap bolt, put the inhex socket in it and belt it with a hammer, will free things up more often than not