The Tips and Tricks thread

[bathurst-91]

General Guide when going to pick'n'payless (nsw self-serve autowreckers).

- Do not go if its over 30degrees. The dirt and sun-reflecting metal / glass shards everywhere turn it into the hottest place on earth. It has its own weather! generally 10degrees hotter than anywhere else!... Unless your up for a Mosses in the desert experience.
- Take tools you think you wont need. Take everything.
- If your intending to get parts that will require slight effort.. Always bring a mate.
- Use the wheelbarrows even to just carry your tools. (Yes your tools are easy to carry but wont be so when your stumbling back holding parts that you didnt initially come for)
- If you've forgotten your mat to lay on for under-car parts.. Look around for some seat covers and they should do the job... (coronas, sigmas, celicas are a haven for upper-class comfy covers.. errr mats)
- Bring cash/change for the drink machines afterwards.
- If.. forwhatever reason you think you'll need a jack or forgot your wheel-iron. Check the boots of surrounding cars... (corollas and camrys are a good source) Some vans even have tool bags for tools you might have forgotten. (if your lucky)

anybody care to add some?

[Hydra]

Wear pants with big pockets??

I'd say, make sure you have something to brace the tyres with because quite often when you try to undo the wheel nuts they'll be nearly welded on

Always keep a pair of Vice grips and one of those funky self tightening spanners handy in your car... they will help with almost any roadside repair and are a lot less bulky than an entire tool set

[RobertoX]

find a container that says "POISON" stamper on the side, always

For the carlton cold?

Re: Pick'n'pay less (or U-pull as SA knows it)

Always do a stoktake of tools before you leave! And always keep an eye out for tools left behind by others!
Getting those welded on wheel nuts off is made easier with an old tyre iron (found in the boots of many cars) and a big arse hammer.
Look out for hyperdermic needles! Last time I almost copped a face full of them after someone had filled a rear quarter panel of a t-18 with them and they had exploded through a rust hole! :S

[Valkyrie]

Hi,
This one's for cleaning your hands.
Laundry detergent granules are excellent for cleaning the hands. Also handy as laundries tend to be the first room when you enter the house..... Especially handy if you have a tendency to leave grease covered hand marks everywhere.

It has also been mentioned in this thread that dirt also works well.
Dirt can be used first, then the laundry detergent. Remeber that you DON'T get your hands wet till you have thoroughly rubbed your hands.

Cheers

[jeffro ra28]

Does anyone have any tips for paint striping? I know that if you leave watever ur stripping in the sun to heat up the paint stripper will react alot better with hot metal.
Anyone have any other handy tips? Or know of any industrial or Aircraft strength stripper?

[lumpy]

Does anyone have any tips for paint striping? I know that if you leave watever ur stripping in the sun to heat up the paint stripper will react alot better with hot metal.
Anyone have any other handy tips? Or know of any industrial or Aircraft strength stripper?

Be very careful about paint stripping in the sun - you don't want the stripper to dry on the metal as it will be a big mess. Basically paint strippers come in a few chemical forms. The original (perhaps the best) is dichloromethane - it's a bad ass organic chlorine that will cause brain damage if you breathe the vapours for too long. Other "environmentally friendy" strippers as mixtures of esters and n-methyl pyrrilodone. These generally take longer to work (some are left overnight) but can give good results without the health hazards of dichloromethane. Most companies that offer paint stripping use a bath of dichloromethane, but some will use alkaline stripping which is more friendly to your health but not always great for the metal.

Be very careful when chosing to paint strip via chemical means - whilst they can remove paint from metal OK, they'll rip the shit out of any bog/filler in panels (leaving a shitty mess) and means a lot more repair work than intended. Mechanical means of paint removal (sanding sanding sanding) are often a better choice for cars.

Note - if going back to "bare metal" when respraying make sure you use an anticorrosive primer as the first coat(s). Failure to do so will result in rust returning very very quickly. Never use a heat gun or oxy to burn the paint off - you'll f**k the metal and rust will return very quickly.

[Mr DOHC]

to add to bathurst-91's thread, if u need jacks, AU's have very good jacks

[Nark]

Also clothes washing powder does the trick brilliantly. Big granules for scrubbing and lots of oil lifting properites. If your skin is broken though, it'll sting like a bitch.

Laundry detergent granules are excellent for cleaning the hands. Also handy as laundries tend to be the first room when you enter the house..... Especially handy if you have a tendency to leave grease covered hand marks everywhere.

Seriously, it's the best stuff to use to get grease/oil off your hands! If anyone hasn't tried it, I'd suggest you give it a shot!

[hemi twofifteen turbo]

When dropping in an engine and trannie that are connected as a single unit with an engine houst, put a skateboard on the ground in the trannie tunnel. As you lower the engine/box combo in the gearbox extension housing will rest on the skateboard and roll backwards as you lower the engine hoist, dropping the engine mounts straight onto the mount holes.

When filling oil on most toyota gearbox's simply look up the specs for how much oil it takes and pour it down the shifter hole (all goes to the same place and easily done with a funnel from inside the car) if you don't know how much oil was/is in the box, undo the filler plug, place an icecream bucket under the box, and pour the oil in the shifter hole until it overflows into the bucket.

If doing a gearbox where the shifter hole is not connected to the rest of the box, heat the lid of the oil container with a lighter until the plastic melts enough to wedge some garden hose thru (like making a bong) make a small hole in the lid to fit an air gun nozzel, place the free end of the hose in the gearbox filler plug, press the air gun trigger and fill!


When starting a carby car with a mechanical fuel pump that has not been started for a long time remove the air cleaner cover and pour approx 50ml of petrol down the primary jet
The car should start straigh away and run for 2 seconds or so, usually enough to get the mechanical pump to bring fuel through the lines. If it conks repeat proceudre.


when placing a bolt in the end of a socket/extension to screw into an awkward place, place a piece of paper or cardboard on the side of the socket and then wedge the bolt in so it doesn't fall out when you hold it at an awkward angle

When pulling motors at the wreckers and u need some 'chain' to connect to an engine chop a seatbelt out of any car, they are easily tied around parts of an engine can support and engine box (even seen a forklift connected to engine via seatbelt lift the hole car)

When needing to check for power on a wire when you have no tools, split one strand of wire away from the rest and earth it. If it sparks you've got a (+) (hot) wire. The one strand of wire will burn up almost straigh away and can not carry enough current to blow any fuses.

If u need a bigger hose clamp you can join 2 smaller ones together in series

When trying to get crossmember bolt holes to line up with the body bolt holes, put a screwdrive thru both holes and 'lever' the holes together, then place a bolt in the other hole, remove the screwdriver from the first and it should all be lined up.

When an LPG convertor freezes up and you don't want to wait for it to unfreeze, remove both the water supply and water return hoses from the convertor. Fill the radiator with some water (1l or so) replace the cap and blow down one of the hoses. Hot water will come out the other hose, shower the convertor with the hot water, as well as spraying down both the inlet/outlet ports on the convertor, after about 30 seconds or so place one hose back on the convtor and blow more if water comes all the way thru repace the other hose, fill the radiator with water and ur done.

[born_rolla]

dont use any sillicone products at all that can lead to your paint surface......YES! that in cludes that bullshit protector gard crap for inside your car......and any painting you do to your car weather it be at home or professionaly you and them will hate you for it it sinks in to your paint & plastics and u cant get it out..... heat brings it out to and it floats around and lands on other things....

[Stomp86]

When dropping in an engine and trannie that are connected as a single unit with an engine houst, put a skateboard on the ground in the trannie tunnel. As you lower the engine/box combo in the gearbox extension housing will rest on the skateboard and roll backwards as you lower the engine hoist, dropping the engine mounts straight onto the mount holes.

If you dont happen to own a skateboard tie a rope around the tranny near the shifter and as the motor gets lowered in get one of your mates to sit in the car and pull on the rope, this prevents the back of the motor from hitting the firewall and scratching the paint.....just make sure that the mate you pick for the job is someone with a bit of muscle

Adam

[RobertoX]

If you are removing your struts often and don't like removing the brake lines everytime because your brake lines are attached to your struts (and hence bleeding the brakes everytime) you can cut a slit in the bracket that is welded to the strut so that you can bend the bracket open and slide the brake line through. When you put the struts back in just bend it back into shape. Just beware that this can fatigue the bracket and eventually it will break, however, I have had 3 pairs of struts like this and have never had one fail on me.

[NeoNasty]

Jam some blu tack in the end of your spark plug socket. When you un thread your sparkie. BAM its stuck in the end.

This also makes for easy re-installation after you have gapped them and you dont want them knocking on anything.


Be very careful with the fuel down the carbit trick. It can backfire and you get a 30CM flame shooting out the top. My old man had this happen to him.

On another topic.I need some Rep points damn it! I have a 4age to get rid of. Its taking up room at my olds and they are cracking the shits.

[Ben Wilson]

Does anyone have any tips for paint striping? I know that if you leave watever ur stripping in the sun to heat up the paint stripper will react alot better with hot metal.
Anyone have any other handy tips? Or know of any industrial or Aircraft strength stripper?

Cover the paint stripper with glad wrap, it traps the heat in there and stops it drying out.

[slapper]

If you are removing your struts often and don't like removing the brake lines everytime ...

I cut a slot in the side of the bracket big enough for the line to be removed by sliding it free. The retaining clip still holds it in place, but removing it allows the line to be separated from the strut.

Slapper