On 02/19/2018 10:23 PM, ultred ragnusen wrote:
I enjoy changing the oil where I've used those topside extractors, but I
prefer lying under car just marveling at the engineering that went into
building the thing as the hot oil drains completely out into a wash basin.

When it's January and drizzling, you pull the drain screw and hesad
inside for a cup of coffee.


To the comment of the one oddball guy who actually thinks it's all about
his "ten quid", I have rarely needed a mechanic, where each of my vehicles
are all well over a decade old, so I have no idea what I'm actually
"saving" by doing my own tire repairs, clutch, flushes, cooling system
replacements, brakes, tire mounting and balancing, etc.

The Toyota hasn't made ten years yet, but the rest of the fleet is at
least 10. The elder members are the F150 I bought in '86 and the Harley
I bought in '97. It probably was 20 years ago when I ran the pickup
through an alignment shop after replacing some steering components just
to make sure, but it was in spec. Other than that none of them has seen
a mechanic other than me. When I was a kid my father told me if I
intended to drive that way I did I'd better learn how to fix things. I did.





At least this year step 1 of putting the
studs on did not involve boiling water and salt to release the bottom
tire which was frozen to the ground.
My days of living in snow country are long gone, where I remember having to
freeze inside the car while the defroster laboriously attempted to clear
the ice, and having to heat up the locks to defrost them after a freezing
rain, and once, my aluminum door handle snapped right off my 280Z in the
cold.

I'm glad I never will see cold weather ever again, except during visits to
the snow.

A little dunnage is a good thing.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dunnage

1 : loose materials used to support and protect cargo in a ship's hold;
also : padding in a shipping container
2 : baggage