Tool and Mechanics Basics
 

Too often I see people do some of the weirdest things when using tools and working on every day stuff. It's not that the person is dumb. It's just they were never told how to do stuff properly.

Hopefully, this thread will bring on some "aha" moments. I thought of this now, because I saw a Groupon ad promoting oil changes and the pic has dude holding the bottle the wrong way. LOL. They sure know how it's done, yaw?



www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxnDvtuKZZE


https://www.groupon.com/deals/castrol-lube-express-7

Another tip.......... when using GOJO or any other hand cleaner, use without water at first. Using water defeats the purpose of the hand cleaner. Work it in, then rinse with water, or just wipe off with rag. Nail brush is also a must have. I've found these plastic ones at Lee Valley, 'cause you know........ I have such soft hands.

The World's Kindest Nail Brush - Lee Valley Tools

I buy a dozen at a time and they last a long time.

For those of you who are too manly for soft plastic and have rough hands, use sandpaper (20 grit) or better yet, a wire brush. Hee hee, hue hue, pew pew.......

I actually have to hold the oil bottle like that (or sideways) when it's full otherwise I end up getting it everywhere but in the damn filler neck. Too much shit around it, thanks mazda :lol

Btw thank you MG, you reminded me I need to put more oil in.

No funnel?

You can always use those on/off spout things that attach to the bottle. Good for top ups.

Misplaced it lol. And I never remember to grab another one from work when I have to fill it up.

A friend of mine, who is pretty anal, always wants the oil to be at the mark. He uses those plastic juice containers with the pop up spout. Fills it with oil and thing is perfect size for his needs. No funnel, no mess.

Another thing I see done wrong many a times is when people hook up a trailer. The chains are supposed to be criss crossed, not straight. Left chain on right and right chain on left. The criss cross is done so that if the trailer comes off, the frame will be cradled by the chains. Chains should never be too long and should never drag. A few miles of chain dragging on the road and the chain will become totally useless.

Also, the cable from the emergency brakes on the trailer should never be put on the hitch itself. It must be connected to some other part of the vehicle. Most people just wrap it where the chains hook up.

Last tidbit, never tow anything without a pin in the release lever. If you are in a pinch, use a couple of zap straps.

I won't get into ball size............

Other precautions: check condition of chain every time the trailer is hooked up

You have a box that is strapped and you don't have a cutting tool. You can struggle with it by trying to slip the strap off or........... Just find the joint and flip it over. Pull the strap apart from the backside. It comes apart with very little effort. This only works on plastic straps, but it's magic.

The other time this may not work, is if there is no strap left over underneath to pull on.

I've been doing this for years, too, but this guy's video is better than me trying to explain it with my Engrish skills.

I buy the Fast Orange from the states, each bottle comes with a nail brush attached to the bottle. Although I always forget to reattach them. :badpokerface:


Oh and nice thread!

Was fixing an exterior door sensor. It got ripped out when removing original door. New door and frame, so had to reinstall the sensor. For the life of me, I couldn't strip the wire without cutting it. Just when I thought I had it and go twist it, it breaks. I hate solid core 24 gauge alarm wire.

Anyway, saw this on you tube and it works like a charm.

Bump.

I should have taken my own advice. The socket post, lol. I lost an important nut, as it fell off and found its way deep into the Bermuda Triangle of the engine bay.

^Hahaha, I recently dropped something deep into the inner center console of our CUV, I ended up removing more panels than I wanted before being able to retrieve it with a extendable magnet tool. SwiftRage I was going to leave it but I didn't want it rattling around.

Anyone that has to work with loose wiring can benefit from this. I picked up a piece of telephone cable that is about an inch in diameter, a 8 inches long and has about a hundred little 22 guage wires, each with different colours and markings, running through it.

When I disconnect a wire on whatever I'm working on, I pull out a piece of wire out of the telephone cable and cut it in half. One half is tied to the ring terminal on the wire I disconnected and the other half is twisted around the screw that I removed the wire from. When putting everything back together, all I have to do is match the colours and I know that I've got the right connections.

The hard part may be to find a piece of big telephone cable, it's not like you can go to Home Depot and buy a piece. I've had mine for years and just used the last wire out of it. Got to check my friendly junkyard.

Some useful tips and tricks.................

Not sure if I posted this in the past or not. Just hooked up my aluminum trailer today and it reminded me I should post about it on RS.

If you tow stuff, this is an absolute must. Anytime I tow a trailer or even the ladder extender, I use this puppy and it solves that sloppy hitch.





Another alternative, but it seems to be a bit harder to take off and put on. That's just me.

The ladder extender I mentioned in the previous post is not what it's called, LOL. It's called a Pick Up Bed Extender. If you don't have a truck, you can use this contraption to carry lumber above your SUV at roof height or at open trunk height.

https://www.amazon.ca/MaxxHaul-70229...55691528&psc=1

Didn't know where to post this, so here it is. So cool.

This guy has a lot of time on his hands, but the end result is amazing.