Tech Tips

[Mos]

Hmm, pre-requisite, eh?.. *evil thoughts*
Need to get 80% correct to join - not a bad idea
Mos.

[kingmick]

lol MOS. could be fun!

[oldcorollas]

Hmm, pre-requisite, eh?.. *evil thoughts*
Need to get 80% correct to join - not a bad idea
Mos.

speeling? or "tech tips"?





perhaps both

[30psi 4agte]

Tech tips


1. use copper/nickel based anti seize on nuts and bolts you take off and put back on.{easy next time you undo it}

2. WD40 can be used as AEROSTART etc

3. if your you cant get the weight you need into a spanner on a stuck nut or bolt, use a second spanners open end in the ring end of the one your using for extra leverage.

4. a small gas bottle works wonders on stuck bolts and nuts. Use in combination with a water squirt bottle. Heat nut and the squirt bolt with water to shrink it.

5. for hard to reach bolts and nuts, buy cheap spanners then heat and bend them to the shape you need

6. Nuts or bolts with stuff heads can be ground flat on two sides to get the next size down spanner on or weld another nut onto a stuffed head.

7. Use a flapper linishing wheel on grinder to round and dull all edges of things you make, saves stiches later on.

8. Tools, buy good quality tools for your most used tools and then cheapies for one off jobs or seldom used ones.

9. If you put a nut or bolt in or on and it feels like its very stiff, take it straight back off as it is prob cross threaded and will be a pain to get off in a few years and or snap which can be a bigger pain, either clean up thread or replace.

10. if you are having trouble getting something thread in or on, walk away and come back to it, after years I still do this as you must get a different interpretation of straight{alignment} the second or third time, this will save you hours.

11. If you’re going to measure a fair bit and you want it accurate, buy a 200mm and 500mm steel quality rulers as a minim. tape measure just doesn’t cut it

12. Adjustable spanners have there place, but not on a car, unless you want to bend sheet metal to put on the car.

13. buy good quality drill bits and drill slow with metal, keeps them sharper and stops you breaking them, beside the fact it will drill the hole quicker. Keep them sharp with file or linisher or proper sharpening tool. A blunt drill bit makes a bigger hole. Use a drill bit at least 5 times bigger than the one you used to clean up {use bit with hand} holes you have drilled.

14. Buy good clear safety glasses for metal work as well working under the car, dirt can hurt just as much as metal. We have all got dirt in our eyes at one point from looking up and working on something under the car.

15. Spray the bare ends of threads after a nut in water affected areas with black paint or grease. Help when you are trying to get them off a few years later etc.

16. Get into the habit of cleaning with a wire brush and kero everything you take off the car. Makes for cleaner work and better fit down the track.

17. if your are about to use an older radiator that has been sitting without water for awhile, get it flushed and cleaned professionally, a lot of heating problems come from mineral deposits drying out and then breaking off and blocking things.

18. Put spare tire under car next to were you are working. Never ever work under a car with just the jack holding it up!

19. When using steel nuts or bolts with alloy. Use a big flat washer to
Spread the load, especially important were an alloy part has movement.

20. If you have to bend a lip on alloy or steel sheet, a couple of
Adjustable spanners can be used. Close adjustable {space adjustable
Around 50mm apart} jaws tight over the sheet and slowly bend up

21. A jigsaw {can get them for as little as $40} and a good fine teeth metal
Blade makes for a far neater cut when cutting out sheet alloy or steel
{Light gauge}.jigsaw also works great on Perspex or lexen {use masking
Take on Perspex and draw you cut lines on masking tape}.if you are
Going to use pop rivets on Perspex make the pop rivet hole one size
Bigger, this stops cracking from flex.

22. When you want to cut stainless still, use the proper superfine grinder
Blade. Makes easy work of cutting stainless pipe for intercoolers etc.

23. To cut a nice neat edge on silicon hose, put a hose clamp on it and
Lightly tighten but make sure hose is still its same shape. Then cut alone the hose clamp edge with a sharp knife.

24. If you have to cut holes in inner guards ect to run intercooler pipes,
Buy a roof {plumbing supply place} penetration boot {for toilet flues and
the like, don’t worry it looks sensational} in the size that suits the pipe, then pop rivet the neat looking zinc edge they have, to the inner
Guard. Cut a piece of vacuum hose in half {down the length of the hose}
Add a bit of Silastic to the inner part of the cut hose and run around the inside if the hole you cut in the inner guard. This will stop any metal to metal rattle.

25. If you are making a rollcage and have access to a plasma cutter, use the
Plasma cutter to fine notch the end when in the car. It will give you a nice tight weld joint and saves getting out of the car and setting
The pipe up in the notcher when you’re creeping up on the joint.

26. Use a big sharpening stone to see if metal is flat, it’s easy to see
After a few rubs with the stone the low areas.

27. If you have the room! Tilt your radiator and intercooler back {at the
Top} and seal the top and bottom with alloy sheet, to stop air leaking
Out of either. They will work better.

28. Blocked window washer outlets, use a needle to clean ends. Use compressed
Air if you have it to blow backwards with hoses disconnected.

29. I find using a quality adjustable spanner on speedflow fittings good as you wont scratch them as easy. -- What you do is un wind the spanner so its bigger than the nut you need to do up ( ie say 16mm for a 14mm nut) put the spanner on the nut the tighten it up on the nut and do it up! then unwind the spanner back out too 16mm to remove it. This will stop scratching when sliding a spanner on the anodized ali. As speedflow fittings dont need excessive torque a adjustable spanner is ok in this application

[Wanabe_Garage]

thanks

rep up

[kingmick]

thanks

rep up

thanks mate!

[BrianRA23]

How about

Make sure your fingers are not between the spanner and something solid or sharp when pushing hard to undo a particularly tight bolt.

Unfortunately there is only one way to learn this so I gave up telling people, but fortunately there is a degree of satisfaction when you give a look that says "knew that would happen".

[ed]

stop the dribble you guys... jesus...

ON TRACK

[kingmick]

thanks Ed i have more to add but i didnt think anyone wanted it!

[M.J.H]

20. If you have to bend a lip on alloy or steel sheet, a couple of
Adjustable spanners can be used. Close adjustable {space adjustable
Around 50mm apart} jaws tight over the sheet and slowly bend up

I found it easier and neater to clamp the sheet down to a table using some G-clamps and a lenght of wood then useing a hammer and block of wood to fold over the edge needed.

finnished off with a wood hammer to get a clean edge, works for 1.6 and under ally but never done steel.

[Lachie]

18. Put spare tire under car next to were you are working. Never ever work under a car with just the jack holding it up!

How about: 18. Buy some decent jack stands and use them - it stops the car falling on your head and doesn't dent sill panels (or other body parts) if they hit the rim!!

Or do you just mean a tyre off the rim cause I don't reckon that'll hold much

[kingmick]

How about: 18. Buy some decent jack stands and use them - it stops the car falling on your head and doesn't dent sill panels (or other body parts) if they hit the rim!!

Or do you just mean a tyre off the rim cause I don't reckon that'll hold much

Cars can come of jackstands aswell! Depending on the type of ground and the type of jackstands. Some times you have to put weight into what your doing!
A wheel under the rail could save you life in one of those 1 in a million situations. I personally wouldnt be worried if a rim got damaged and i was under the car and lived.
Its only ment for extra saftey, as a lot of people work on there cars with no one else around to help if something went wrong. im a big bloke but i dont think i could bench press a car.

[Grega]

+rep kingmick
alot of good info here in the one place!

cars come off hoists too. i've seen a surf having its springs done walking around on a 2 post hoist. scary shit.

the tyre is there so if something slips/moves while you're under there (lets say your head is under the car) the car will stop at the point where it contacts the tyre, maybe enough time (we're talking seconds here) for you to get the hell outta the way and maybe save your life.

its a good tip and one i've done for years!

[AndyTTR]

- if you cant afford a heat gun for your heatshrink, use a cigarette lighter! Its so much easier than stuffing around with the soldering iron. (Pretty obvious, but i never thought of it until i saw someone do it)

- use graphite grease / anti-seize on sparkplug threads. An old guy that came into work told me that once, works great.

- use a hammer and chisel to undo tight nuts. (I think you told me that one mick, again really obvious but I never would've thought of it.)

[Lachie]

Cars can come of jackstands aswell! Depending on the type of ground and the type of jackstands. Some times you have to put weight into what your doing!
A wheel under the rail could save you life in one of those 1 in a million situations. I personally wouldnt be worried if a rim got damaged and i was under the car and lived.
Its only ment for extra saftey, as a lot of people work on there cars with no one else around to help if something went wrong. im a big bloke but i dont think i could bench press a car.

Yeah, I put a rim under there too, but you should still mention to people jack stands - there idiots out there who'll just use a rim. I was talking about damaging the car, not the rim, but still better then the car falling on your head (I know someone who had a mini fall on his head, perferated his ear drum)

And jack stands should only ever be used on a solid ground like a concrete floor, and giving the car a good shake/wobble before you get under there usually tells you if it's going to fall or not when you working on it

- if you cant afford a heat gun for your heatshrink, use a cigarette lighter! Its so much easier than stuffing around with the soldering iron. (Pretty obvious, but i never thought of it until i saw someone do it)

Or steal your girlfriends/mums hair drier or get a cheap one from cunno's, saves melting your heat shrink! My sis left her old one when she moved out, so it's my heatshrink gun now

I used to use the gas stove as well sometimes, that way you get the wiring further from the flame (due to the extra heat radiating) and not worry so much about melting it. (thats when I can find the 'heat gun'