On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 12:58:21 -0800, Bob F wrote:

Try driving around residential areas where ****wit builders leave nails
everywhere.


We don't live in the neighborhood where you work.

The ****** doesn't work! He's "permanently ill" and unemployable. It's
because of his mental handicaps! It can't be because of any physical
handicaps, as he keeps bragging on these groups about his exceptional
physical condition and skills! He IS a clinically insane nutter ...as most
people always suspected anyway. ;-)

--
Unemployable, mentally handicapped Birdbrain Macaw's (now "James Wilkinson"
LOL) about his life as a dole and welfare who
"I used to be a computer tech until I became permanently ill."
MID:

On 19/02/2018 4:00 AM, ultred ragnusen wrote:
wrote:

First question is what is the practical difference between these three 21mm
(13/16ths) "sockets" for the lug bolts on the car I was working on today?
http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/02/17/socket_ends.jpg
1. The standard lug wrench (green) has 6 points, each at a sharp angle.
2. The impact socket (black) has 6 points, each at a semicircular angle.
3. The standard socket (chrome) has 12 points, each at a sharp angle.

The impact socket is superior for that application - whether using an
impact driver or not. A 12 point socket is better in situations where
fine motion is required.

This is good to know that the impact socket is superior, probably for two
reasons, right?
1. It has those radius corners (someone said it reduces stress on both the
nuts and the socket itself).

Cracks are more likely to start at a *corner*. That's why crankpins on a
crankshaft have a radius at the fillet. The radius also keeps the impact
forces back away from the very tip of the hex point.

2. It is stronger overall (presumably)

It is thicker and made of a stronger material.

Since there is always a drawback, I think the drawback might be:
3. They're "fatter" it seems, than my normal sockets

They are stronger because they need to be in order to resist the
*impact* forces.

4. They don't seem to come in 12-point sizes (at least mine aren't)

A hex socket is much less likely to round off a nut.

--

Xeno

wrote:

I was talking to someone recently who is in the car rescue / roadside
assistance business and he was saying that one of the growing problems
he sees is that cars come without spare tyres and an increasing number
of call outs are to people where the tyre cannot be repaired with a can
of squirty gunk and there is no spare in the vehicle.

It's off topic, but I put the following related items in my trunk kit, even
though I prefer to repair my flats at home by removing the tire completely
from the wheel and then using a one-piece patchplug that both seals and
fills the hole from the inside out.
1. Compressor (operated off the cigarette lighter socket)
2. External plug kit (they work just fine even though they're not approved)
3. Magnetic LED light from HF (so you can see what you're doing at night)

wrote:

I'm an electrical engineer - but this has nothing to do with that.

Maybe it does in the sense that you want things down to the gnat's
ass.

I can't please everyone with the details, but I do appreciate learning from
others who have the intelligence to understand and convey the details
better than I do.

Good enough for what it's for is a common measure in my world. I've
changed a few tires over the years and never had a torque wrench.

I wouldn't think of not using a torque wrench, but, I did watch a dozen
videos last night on how to /calibrate/ the torque wrench.

The problem is not in twisting the calibration mechanism, but in having a
known good standard. A lot of the calibration videos use the Harbor Freight
$40 Item #68283 "digital torque adapter", which seems like a neat tool if I
didn't already have a bunch of old-style torque wrenches already.
http://manuals.harborfreight.com/man...8999/68283.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjEP1KMBbAY

Since my old-style "made in usa" (so you know it's old!) Craftsman torque
wrench is likely still accurate, I can use that as my calibration standard.

None
has ever fallen off or the rim wallowed out.

There's value to doing a job right, in and of itself.

For example, when you choose a tire, you choose it by the specifications,
and then when you mount it, you mount the red or yellow dots (depending on
the brand) next to the valve stem, and you clean and statically balance the
wheel sans tire, and then you mount the tire by the dots, and then you
statically balance the assembly (often it takes no weight) and then you
take it for a drive at speed for your dynamic balance test (almost never do
you feel any vibration that would indicate a dynamic imbalance at speed).

Same with repairing a puncture, where we all have successfully plugged a
hole from the outside with the rope plugs, which aren't approved by the RMA
but we all know that method to work just fine.

I get pleasure out of the method of marking the tire (so that I don't
change the balance), breaking the bead with the HF bead-breaking tool, and
then dismounting the tire with a different HF tire mounting tool, then
marking the location of the injury from the inside, removing the offending
protruding nail (or whatever), honing the hole from the outside to 1/4 inch
standard size (or whatever was chosen), buffing the inside area to remove
non-sticky layers, applying the cement and waiting for it to get tacky,
applying the cement to the patchplug and then pulling it through with
pliers, rolling down the patchplug from the inside from the centerline
outward to force out air pockets, and snipping off the protruding metal
tip, and then covering the inside area with the blacktop formula (whatever
that black gunk is made up of).

After that, if desired, I replace the valve stem, and then I remount the
tire on the marks made prior to dismounting, and then, after setting the
bead at about 60psi (whatever it takes to pop) and airing up the tire to
40psi, I doublecheck static balance, and if necessary, I rotate the tires
on the vehicle or put it back where it was, making sure to torque the lug
nuts evenly to 85 foot pounds.

Some people get pleasure in doing things the "right" way; others don't care
to.

There was a time when someone changing a flat was a common sight.
Tires would last about 20,000 miles.

I get a flat about once every couple of years, where it's almost always a
screw (dunno why but it is). If flats used to be more common than they are
now, you'll have to explain to me why.

If it's true that flats are less common now than before, than the natural
question to ask is:
a. Are tires more resistant to punctures now (what with steel belts)?
b. Or are screws and nails less prevalent on the roadways nowadays?

It has to be one of the above if it's true that flats are less common now
on radials than they were in the olden days of bias-ply tires.

wrote:

I average about one puncture every 10 years between my 2 vehicles.

I have heard many times that nowadays, people don't get flats as often, but
I can't see why unless radials, by their very nature, are more resistant to
flats than were the old-style bias-ply tires.

I don't count the averages, especially since I repair neighbors' tires for
them at times, but I think I have been repairing at least one flat a year,
what with four cars now in the driveway and a few neighbors whom I help out
(and who help me in return).

So I average one flat a year, roughly, where I use the RMA-approved
patch-plug method, which can only be done from the inside. On the road, I
would use the rope-plug method, which, we all know, works just fine (even
thought it's not RMA approved).

For me, it's just so very satisfying to fix a flat at home.

I just pull the wheel, mark the location, break the bead, remove the tire,
repair the hole from the inside out using the RMA-approved method, replace
the valve stem if necessary, remount the tire, test in the pool, check the
static balance, and then mount the tire back on the vehicle (rotating other
tires if desired) to the proper torque spec.

It just feels good to do things the right way.

In article ,
James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
Nissan UK says the US is its second largest export market for UK
assembled models. After the EU.

the EU will soon be gone, and good ****ing riddance.

And given the EU is Nissan UK's largest export market they will likely
soon be gone too. Along with lots of others - especially in financial
services.

--
*What are the pink bits in my tyres? Cyclists & Joggers*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 19-Feb-18 11:44 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 23:02:07 -0000, ultred ragnusen
wrote:

*wrote:

* I average about one puncture every 10 years between my 2 vehicles.

I have heard many times that nowadays, people don't get flats as
often, but
I can't see why unless radials, by their very nature, are more
resistant to
flats than were the old-style bias-ply tires.

I get a few a year.* Mainly nails from incompetant builders.* (Builders
have an average IQ of 50).

I don't count the averages, especially since I repair neighbors' tires
for
them at times, but I think I have been repairing at least one flat a
year,
what with four cars now in the driveway and a few neighbors whom I
help out
(and who help me in return).

So I average one flat a year, roughly, where I use the RMA-approved
patch-plug method, which can only be done from the inside. On the road, I
would use the rope-plug method, which, we all know, works just fine (even
thought it's not RMA approved).

For me, it's just so very satisfying to fix a flat at home.

I just pull the wheel, mark the location, break the bead, remove the
tire,
repair the hole from the inside out using the RMA-approved method,
replace
the valve stem if necessary, remount the tire, test in the pool, check
the
static balance, and then mount the tire back on the vehicle (rotating
other
tires if desired) to the proper torque spec.

It just feels good to do things the right way.

To save ten quid at the local garage?* You're nuts.


Where do you lot live? Remind to stay right away.

On 02/19/2018 03:30 PM, ultred ragnusen wrote:
wrote:

I was talking to someone recently who is in the car rescue / roadside
assistance business and he was saying that one of the growing problems
he sees is that cars come without spare tyres and an increasing number
of call outs are to people where the tyre cannot be repaired with a can
of squirty gunk and there is no spare in the vehicle.

It's off topic, but I put the following related items in my trunk kit, even
though I prefer to repair my flats at home by removing the tire completely
from the wheel and then using a one-piece patchplug that both seals and
fills the hole from the inside out.
1. Compressor (operated off the cigarette lighter socket)
2. External plug kit (they work just fine even though they're not approved)
3. Magnetic LED light from HF (so you can see what you're doing at night)


I've got a Petzl Tikka headlamp in the car, along with a couple of
flashlights. The advantage of a headlamp is the beam is focused exactly
where you are looking rather than trying to position a separate light.
The flashlights, one of which is 1000 lumens, allow for a wider beam.

On 19/02/2018 23:36, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
Nissan UK says the US is its second largest export market for UK
assembled models. After the EU.

the EU will soon be gone, and good ****ing riddance.

And given the EU is Nissan UK's largest export market they will likely
soon be gone too. Along with lots of others - especially in financial
services.


Project fear continues!

These days a car factory in only in existence as long as the model it
was built for is still in production. Manufactures wanting to build a
new model prefer a green field sites in countries that gives them
maximum grants and the labour cost is cheapest. In the case of western
Europe its likely to be the former soviet aligned countries that will
get future car manufacturing/assembly jobs.

Alternatively, Europe will be importing many of the cars from China or
India.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 02/19/2018 03:50 PM, ultred ragnusen wrote:
Same with repairing a puncture, where we all have successfully plugged a
hole from the outside with the rope plugs, which aren't approved by the RMA
but we all know that method to work just fine.

Royal Music Association? I've had good luck with the common rope plugs,
including on an almost new motorcycle tire. I rode home slowly but
without any exciting events. A few more short trips without any
disasters and I forgot about it. It did develop a slow leak by the time
the tire was worn enough to be replaced.

I now carry Dynaplug kits on both bikes that have tubeless tires. Knock
on wood, I have not had to field test them. On a bike you don't have the
option of getting out the spare (unless you ride a Ural with a sidecar)
so roadside repairs are a necessity. Speaking from experience, plugging
a tubeless tire is a lot easier than breaking down a tubed tire and
patching the tube while the bike is propped up on whatever you can find.

On 02/19/2018 04:49 PM, Peter Hill wrote:
On 19-Feb-18 11:44 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 23:02:07 -0000, ultred ragnusen
wrote:

wrote:

I average about one puncture every 10 years between my 2 vehicles.

I have heard many times that nowadays, people don't get flats as
often, but
I can't see why unless radials, by their very nature, are more
resistant to
flats than were the old-style bias-ply tires.

I get a few a year. Mainly nails from incompetant builders.
(Builders have an average IQ of 50).

I don't count the averages, especially since I repair neighbors'
tires for
them at times, but I think I have been repairing at least one flat a
year,
what with four cars now in the driveway and a few neighbors whom I
help out
(and who help me in return).

So I average one flat a year, roughly, where I use the RMA-approved
patch-plug method, which can only be done from the inside. On the
road, I
would use the rope-plug method, which, we all know, works just fine
(even
thought it's not RMA approved).

For me, it's just so very satisfying to fix a flat at home.

I just pull the wheel, mark the location, break the bead, remove the
tire,
repair the hole from the inside out using the RMA-approved method,
replace
the valve stem if necessary, remount the tire, test in the pool,
check the
static balance, and then mount the tire back on the vehicle (rotating
other
tires if desired) to the proper torque spec.

It just feels good to do things the right way.

To save ten quid at the local garage? You're nuts.


Where do you lot live? Remind to stay right away.



Someplace in the United Kingdom. I've managed to stay away all of my
life. I've gathered it's not the country of Wordsworth, Shelley, and
Byron anymore...

wrote:

Royal Music Association?

Rubber Manufacturers Association.
http://www.rma.org/wp-content/upload...lchart1111.pdf

Short summary:
http://www.rma.org/wp-content/upload...ir_handout.pdf

All tire shops in the USA follow RMA guidelines (they must, by insurance
rules and for legal liability reasons).

No professional would be caught dead using the rope plugs, even as we all
know them to work just fine, in practice.

I've had good luck with the common rope plugs,
including on an almost new motorcycle tire. I rode home slowly but
without any exciting events. A few more short trips without any
disasters and I forgot about it. It did develop a slow leak by the time
the tire was worn enough to be replaced.

While almost all of us have had continued success with the emergency rope
plug, they're forbidden in professional use for a variety of reasons,
explained below by the TIA.

The Tire Industry Association decries use of the rope plug he
https://www.tireindustry.org/tire-ma...ce/tire-repair

Here's their video on the topic:
https://youtu.be/mdTAalpkSLM

Having said that, I reiterate we've all successfully fixed dozens of tires
with the rope plugs, so all I'm saying is that there is a right way and a
wrong way, and both ways have worked for all of us - but the right way is
the right way for a reason.

I like doing things the right way, unless I'm stuck on the shoulder of the
road, in which case the wrong way is the right way for that situation.

I now carry Dynaplug kits on both bikes that have tubeless tires. Knock
on wood, I have not had to field test them. On a bike you don't have the
option of getting out the spare (unless you ride a Ural with a sidecar)
so roadside repairs are a necessity.

Here's a video of a guy plugging bike tires with a tubeless repair kit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5_nK8V-nU0

Take a look at that biker's concept of a "pocket knife" at 53 seconds!
https://youtu.be/M5_nK8V-nU0?t=53

I'm curious if you mount and balance your bike tires? I did that when I
owned a bike. It was hard to find a tire shop, nearby anyway, that mounted
tires, so I learned how to do that myself. Bike tires are easier than car
tires, which themselves are easier than SUV tires (all of which I've done)
which are easier than truck tires (which I've never done).

Speaking from experience, plugging
a tubeless tire is a lot easier than breaking down a tubed tire and
patching the tube while the bike is propped up on whatever you can find.

Plugging from the outside is pretty simple on all tires.

Patchplugging from the inside is simple - if - if you have the tools, which
cost about $150 and which last forever.

wrote:

I've got a Petzl Tikka headlamp in the car, along with a couple of
flashlights. The advantage of a headlamp is the beam is focused exactly
where you are looking rather than trying to position a separate light.
The flashlights, one of which is 1000 lumens, allow for a wider beam.

I agree that a headlamp has advantages, as does a magnetic lamp, where one
of each might be perfect redundancy for a nighttime emergency at the side
of the road.

wrote:

Someplace in the United Kingdom. I've managed to stay away all of my
life. I've gathered it's not the country of Wordsworth, Shelley, and
Byron anymore...

What's odd about the troll James Wilkinson Sword is that he doesn't seem to
understand the most basic and one of the simplest of human endeavors, which
is that there is pleasure in doing things yourself, whether that be baking
your own bread, whipping up your own mayonaise, growing your own tomatoes,
fixing your own car, shoeing your own horse, helping an old lady across the
street, learning something new, etc.

To him, it's only about his "ten quid".

wrote:

You're nuts.

Pot, kettle, black.

On 02/19/2018 06:58 PM, ultred ragnusen wrote:
Take a look at that biker's concept of a "pocket knife" at 53 seconds!
https://youtu.be/M5_nK8V-nU0?t=53

Compared to what's in my pocket at the moment...

http://www.coldsteel.com/recon-1-tan...0-50-edge.html

After using it for a few years, I'm not that crazy about the tanto
style, but it is good for prying out nails.


I'm curious if you mount and balance your bike tires? I did that when I
owned a bike. It was hard to find a tire shop, nearby anyway, that mounted
tires, so I learned how to do that myself. Bike tires are easier than car
tires, which themselves are easier than SUV tires (all of which I've done)
which are easier than truck tires (which I've never done).

I mount the knobbies on the DR-650 myself but don't bother with the
balance except for lining the dot up if there is one. With DOT knobbies
it is sort of hard to tell if it's balanced or not. The last time around
I went with Kendas and getting the bead to seat on the front was an
adventure. I never had a problem with Dunlop 606's.

I take the ones with tubeless tires to a shop. After watching an guy
trying to get the bead to seat on a Bridgestone as the sun sank into the
west I was skeptical of my abilities. He had a high flow air system, the
tourniquet, and so forth but it was a struggle. I might take a shot at
it in the spring. I've got a slow leak around the bead on the Harley
that needs to be cleaned up so it won't be a complete demount.

Truck tires are just bigger I watched a guy in Canada fix one in
place. He had me drive the inside dual up on blocks to get clearance,
spudded it off, patched it, and put it back on. I think he'd done it
that way once or twice.

My first DIY attempt was with a '51 Chevy. iirc, the owners manual had
an illustration of breaking the bead by putting the bumper jack on it.
All I managed to do was jack the car up.

On 02/19/2018 06:58 PM, ultred ragnusen wrote:
wrote:

Someplace in the United Kingdom. I've managed to stay away all of my
life. I've gathered it's not the country of Wordsworth, Shelley, and
Byron anymore...

What's odd about the troll James Wilkinson Sword is that he doesn't seem to
understand the most basic and one of the simplest of human endeavors, which
is that there is pleasure in doing things yourself, whether that be baking
your own bread, whipping up your own mayonaise, growing your own tomatoes,
fixing your own car, shoeing your own horse, helping an old lady across the
street, learning something new, etc.

To him, it's only about his "ten quid".


Sometimes I question my motivation, like last month when I was changing
the oil in a cold drizzle. 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. A little dunnage is a good thing.

On 2/19/2018 8:58 PM, ultred ragnusen wrote:


Plugging from the outside is pretty simple on all tires.

Patchplugging from the inside is simple - if - if you have the tools, which
cost about $150 and which last forever.


I'm driving on a plugged tire right now. Last Saturday I was 600 miles
from home and the only shop nearby was a truck shop. He plugged it but
did not have the proper equipment to play with my wheels. I put about
2999 miles with no air loss so will go home on it too.

The drywall screw removed it still usable too!

wrote:

Take a look at that biker's concept of a "pocket knife" at 53 seconds!
https://youtu.be/M5_nK8V-nU0?t=53

Compared to what's in my pocket at the moment...
http://www.coldsteel.com/recon-1-tan...0-50-edge.html

After using it for a few years, I'm not that crazy about the tanto
style, but it is good for prying out nails.

Jesus. That's battle gear for heaven's sake!

This is what I consider to be a typical pocket knife.
https://media.midwayusa.com/producti...365/365933.jpg

I mount the knobbies on the DR-650 myself but don't bother with the
balance except for lining the dot up if there is one. With DOT knobbies
it is sort of hard to tell if it's balanced or not. The last time around
I went with Kendas and getting the bead to seat on the front was an
adventure. I never had a problem with Dunlop 606's.

The Harbor Freight tire mounting tool has an accessory for mounting
motorcycle tires, but the HF static bubble balancer does not. AFAIK, most
people statically balance motorcycle tires using a horizontal freely
spinning bar, do they not?

I take the ones with tubeless tires to a shop. After watching an guy
trying to get the bead to seat on a Bridgestone as the sun sank into the
west I was skeptical of my abilities. He had a high flow air system, the
tourniquet, and so forth but it was a struggle. I might take a shot at
it in the spring. I've got a slow leak around the bead on the Harley
that needs to be cleaned up so it won't be a complete demount.

I did bike tires in the 80s, before they were typically as fat as they are
now (especially the rears), where it wasn't hard in the olden days, with a
good tire iron and three hands.

Truck tires are just bigger I watched a guy in Canada fix one in
place. He had me drive the inside dual up on blocks to get clearance,
spudded it off, patched it, and put it back on. I think he'd done it
that way once or twice.

I find that car tires are easiest on the import economy vehicles, and
almost as easy on the European sport vehicles, but the sidewall and larger
profile makes SUVs harder (at least the ones I've done), where I just
ass-u-me that truck tires would be even worse.

My first DIY attempt was with a '51 Chevy. iirc, the owners manual had
an illustration of breaking the bead by putting the bumper jack on it.
All I managed to do was jack the car up.

I've seen every redneck method of breaking a bead that YouTube can fester,
where the purpose-built HF bead breaker is the tool of choice for the home
owner. https://youtu.be/MXWb4q_DljE

The main flaw of that bead breaker is that they try to limit the diameter
of the wheels you can break the bead on by limiting the overall length of
the teardrop-shaped base - so you have to "extend" the base by putting a
board over it and then the wheel on top of that board.

The bead breaker attachment that comes standard with the HF tire mounting
tool works fine on the import economy vehicles, and even works on the
European sports cars, but it fails miserably (it bends out of shape) on the
SUV tires I've tried.

wrote:

I'm driving on a plugged tire right now. Last Saturday I was 600 miles
from home and the only shop nearby was a truck shop. He plugged it but
did not have the proper equipment to play with my wheels. I put about
2999 miles with no air loss so will go home on it too.

I agree with you that reasonable men have successfully plugged a tire from
the outside after pulling out the offending nail or screw, but we can't
argue too hard since the logic of the inside path is that it supposedly
stands the test of time and the elements better.

Still, none of us are complaining that the rope plugs don't work, so it's
surprising that no professionals will dare to use the method we all swear
by.

It's one of the enigmas of DIY home and auto repair.

The drywall screw removed it still usable too!

I wish I had saved a jar of all the embedded objects I've pulled out of
tires over the years!

wrote:

To him, it's only about his "ten quid".


Sometimes I question my motivation, like last month when I was changing
the oil in a cold drizzle.

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.

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.

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

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

On 02/19/2018 10:03 PM, ultred ragnusen wrote:
Still, none of us are complaining that the rope plugs don't work, so it's
surprising that no professionals will dare to use the method we all swear
by.

Can you say 'lawyer'? I've spent some time in southern AZ close to the
border. It's refreshing to deal with Mexican mechanics. They still use a
bit of ingenuity.

The drywall screw removed it still usable too!
I wish I had saved a jar of all the embedded objects I've pulled out of
tires over the years!

My winner is a screwdriver that embedded itself in the outside dual on a
trailer. The handle was a little scuffed but it was still usable.

We won't go into bicycle tires. I hate goathead thorns and any place the
damn thing grow.

On 02/19/2018 09:58 PM, ultred ragnusen wrote:
Jesus. That's battle gear for heaven's sake!

So I'm told. I had to make a personal appearance at the SSI office a
couple of weeks ago. The security guard said "You can bring in a small
knife. That's a big knife.' so out to the car I went.

This is what I consider to be a typical pocket knife.
https://media.midwayusa.com/producti...365/365933.jpg

I've got one of those I found by the side of the road. I guess it's the
Officer' model with the toothpick, tweezers, and other strange stuff. I
never carried it. This is Montana; we subscribe to the Crocodile Dundee
School of Knives.

The Harbor Freight tire mounting tool has an accessory for mounting
motorcycle tires, but the HF static bubble balancer does not. AFAIK, most
people statically balance motorcycle tires using a horizontal freely
spinning bar, do they not?

Yes. I'll probably pick one up and see if it makes any difference the
next time around. Knobbies give you plenty of practice. 5K on the rear
is doing good.

I did bike tires in the 80s, before they were typically as fat as they are
now (especially the rears), where it wasn't hard in the olden days, with a
good tire iron and three hands.

I haven't used it yet but I picked one of these up:

https://www.amazon.com/Motion-Pro-08.../dp/B0035UDHZ2

The DR is 4.75 x 17 for the rear and 3.00 x 21 for the front although
I've run 5.10 on the rear. They're started to go to the 120/90 stuff for
knobbies but I'm used to the older sizing.

I find that car tires are easiest on the import economy vehicles, and
almost as easy on the European sport vehicles, but the sidewall and larger
profile makes SUVs harder (at least the ones I've done), where I just
ass-u-me that truck tires would be even worse.

BIG tools Breaking the beads with a sledge hammer, or rather
something like a cross head splitting maul is common.

My first DIY attempt was with a '51 Chevy. iirc, the owners manual had
an illustration of breaking the bead by putting the bumper jack on it.
All I managed to do was jack the car up.
I've seen every redneck method of breaking a bead that YouTube can fester,
where the purpose-built HF bead breaker is the tool of choice for the home
owner. https://youtu.be/MXWb4q_DljE

Back in the '60s Harbor Freight and Chinese stuff was well in the
future. Real tools cost real money. The cellar had a door through a
poured concrete wall that was sturdy. You could do strange stuff with a
scissors jack. You could also launch stuff when you were trying to
compress the coil springs on your Healey... I was literally a shade
tree mechanic. There was a handy maple with a branch that was just right
for pulling engines. Much ambition, little money, get 'er done.




The main flaw of that bead breaker is that they try to limit the diameter
of the wheels you can break the bead on by limiting the overall length of
the teardrop-shaped base - so you have to "extend" the base by putting a
board over it and then the wheel on top of that board.

The bead breaker attachment that comes standard with the HF tire mounting
tool works fine on the import economy vehicles, and even works on the
European sports cars, but it fails miserably (it bends out of shape) on the
SUV tires I've tried.

On 19-Feb-18 11:51 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 23:49:23 -0000, Peter Hill
wrote:

On 19-Feb-18 11:44 PM, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Mon, 19 Feb 2018 23:02:07 -0000, ultred ragnusen
wrote:

*wrote:

* I average about one puncture every 10 years between my 2 vehicles.

I have heard many times that nowadays, people don't get flats as
often, but
I can't see why unless radials, by their very nature, are more
resistant to
flats than were the old-style bias-ply tires.

I get a few a year.* Mainly nails from incompetant builders.* (Builders
have an average IQ of 50).

I don't count the averages, especially since I repair neighbors' tires
for
them at times, but I think I have been repairing at least one flat a
year,
what with four cars now in the driveway and a few neighbors whom I
help out
(and who help me in return).

So I average one flat a year, roughly, where I use the RMA-approved
patch-plug method, which can only be done from the inside. On the
road, I
would use the rope-plug method, which, we all know, works just fine
(even
thought it's not RMA approved).

For me, it's just so very satisfying to fix a flat at home.

I just pull the wheel, mark the location, break the bead, remove the
tire,
repair the hole from the inside out using the RMA-approved method,
replace
the valve stem if necessary, remount the tire, test in the pool, check
the
static balance, and then mount the tire back on the vehicle (rotating
other
tires if desired) to the proper torque spec.

It just feels good to do things the right way.

To save ten quid at the local garage?* You're nuts.

Where do you lot live? Remind to stay right away.

What are you objecting to?* The ability to pay £10 to get a puncture
fixed?* Do you live in the Aussie outback or something?


I really don't to experience the number of punctures being talked about
here. 1 in 20 years is quite enough.

wrote:

What are you objecting to?* The ability to pay £10 to get a puncture
fixed?* Do you live in the Aussie outback or something?


I really don't to experience the number of punctures being talked about
here. 1 in 20 years is quite enough.

With respect to repairing punctures, the relevant part of the conversation
is HOW to properly repair them.

There is only one proper way, which is to remove the carcass off the wheel,
simply because the only way to know if there's damage to the inside is to
look.

If you've ever seen the handfuls of fluffy black shavings that indicate a
tire was driven on while very low in pressure, you'll know what I'm talking
about, since a tire can easily have the belts visible inside, will look
perfectly fine from the outside.

Luckily it's easy to dismount, remount, and statically balance (and
dynamically test) a tire yourself, where it takes about the same amount of
time as it takes a tire shop to do, only you don't have to drive to the
tire shop on the flat tire (or mount the spare), and you get the
satisfaction both of doing it yourself, and knowing you did it right.

wrote:

Back in the '60s Harbor Freight and Chinese stuff was well in the
future. Real tools cost real money. The cellar had a door through a
poured concrete wall that was sturdy.

heh heh ..., I remember those red cellar doors, at an angle to the house,
from ground level to about two feet, with the lock on the inside that was
always making that scraping sound that chills your spine, and then those
solid concrete steps down. Yup. I haven't seen them in years either.

I don't know when HF came into existence, but thank God they did, as, well,
for about $150 or $200, you get all the tools you need for changing and
statically balancing tires that you don't already have, which means they
pay for themselves in just about 10 tire changes, which, for me, is only a
year or two (what with 4 cars to maintain).

The one thing I WISH HF had was a smoke machine, as those bimmers sure do
find funny places to leak air!

In article ,
alan_m wrote:
On 19/02/2018 23:36, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
Nissan UK says the US is its second largest export market for UK
assembled models. After the EU.

the EU will soon be gone, and good ****ing riddance.

And given the EU is Nissan UK's largest export market they will likely
soon be gone too. Along with lots of others - especially in financial
services.


Project fear continues!

In the lack of any firm plans for the way forward after Brexit, just what
do you expect?

We have had May promising Nissan they won't suffer financially after we
leave. So taxpayer's money to subsidise car production? Seems only
yesterday Boeing were objecting to what they thought was that.

These days a car factory in only in existence as long as the model it
was built for is still in production. Manufactures wanting to build a
new model prefer a green field sites in countries that gives them
maximum grants and the labour cost is cheapest. In the case of western
Europe its likely to be the former soviet aligned countries that will
get future car manufacturing/assembly jobs.

Very worrying that not only do those countries apparently have human
beings far more suited to pick fruit etc than the English, but also have
better skills for car building too?
Perhaps we should simply give up now...

Alternatively, Europe will be importing many of the cars from China or
India.

--
*You're just jealous because the voices only talk to me *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 20/02/2018 08:33, ultred ragnusen wrote:

Luckily it's easy to dismount, remount, and statically balance (and
dynamically test) a tire yourself,

You are joking! I've seen on many occasions how much effort goes into
removing/replacing a tyre from/on the rim using the specialised tyre
fitting equipment. There is also the 15/30 minutes for blowing up a
completely flat tyre with one of those little 12V compressors that fit
into the cigarette lighter socket.

I can just see all those inexperienced people breaking/chipping their
alloy rims using breaker bars.

For the money I pay to get a puncture repaired (and dynamically
balanced) by a tyre shop it's not worth the effort to even consider
Do-it-Yourself. Without researching prices, I'll bet here in the UK the
cost of obtaining one or two proper tyre repair patches would actually
be close to the cost of using someone who does it for a living.




--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 20/02/2018 11:03, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Very worrying that not only do those countries apparently have human
beings far more suited to pick fruit etc than the English, but also have
better skills for car building too?
Perhaps we should simply give up now...

Henry Ford established over 100 years ago that you don't have to have
much skill to assemble a car. To be competitive it just needs to be
cheaper either by having cheaper labour cost and/or offsetting a lot of
the spend on new factories and equipment with generous "regional grants"
that will be given to deprived eastern EU countries (and/or to bale out
many of the financial basket cases in southern Europe).

If you don't think car assembly jobs are not going to migrate ask
someone from the USA what happened to Detroit.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 20/02/2018 04:58, ultred ragnusen wrote:
wrote:

Take a look at that biker's concept of a "pocket knife" at 53 seconds!
https://youtu.be/M5_nK8V-nU0?t=53

Compared to what's in my pocket at the moment...
http://www.coldsteel.com/recon-1-tan...0-50-edge.html

After using it for a few years, I'm not that crazy about the tanto
style, but it is good for prying out nails.

Jesus. That's battle gear for heaven's sake!

This is what I consider to be a typical pocket knife.
https://media.midwayusa.com/producti...365/365933.jpg


Carry the former in the UK and you would probably be arrested if stopped
or if you used it in public.


--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

ultred ragnusen explained on 18/02/2018 :
And I can visualize how to mechanically clamp a bolt in a vise to hang the
torque wrench on - but then - how do you calibrate the two types?

I can imagine, when building them that they simply check the
calibration on a pass / fail basis. The only way I can think to adjust
them is via shims under the spring, to increase the tension.

ultred ragnusen wrote on 18/02/2018 :
I think not - but I've heard people say use the shortest extension bar you
can get your hands on. I don't understand why. It should be the same torque
if I used a 16-inch extension bar, right?

I place a hand on the head of the wrench to support it, whilst pressing
down for the click, so the extension should make little difference.

In article ,
alan_m wrote:
On 20/02/2018 11:03, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Very worrying that not only do those countries apparently have human
beings far more suited to pick fruit etc than the English, but also have
better skills for car building too?
Perhaps we should simply give up now...

Henry Ford established over 100 years ago that you don't have to have
much skill to assemble a car. To be competitive it just needs to be
cheaper either by having cheaper labour cost and/or offsetting a lot of
the spend on new factories and equipment with generous "regional grants"
that will be given to deprived eastern EU countries (and/or to bale out
many of the financial basket cases in southern Europe).

If you don't think car assembly jobs are not going to migrate ask
someone from the USA what happened to Detroit.

And Trump apparently has conned many into voting for him by saying he'll
get those jobs back. In exactly the same way as Brexiteers have conned the
poor in the UK into thinking the EU is the cause of their woes.

However, comparing car production in the heyday of Detroit and now is a
nonsense. Globilasation has changed the way components are sourced.

But then I do realise most Brexiteers base their hopes on when Britain
ruled the waves. Rather than the world today.

--
*Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Second question, are these "cut marks" on a lug nut normal?
http://wetakepic.com/images/2018/02/17/dented_nuts.jpg
I always use deep sockets, which fit over the whole nut, so I know I didn't
make these marks - but what did make the marks? Are they factory original?
If so, why?

To help keep the pretty chrome covers from coming off the actual nut. Dimples not cuts

On 20/02/2018 14:00, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

And Trump apparently has conned many into voting for him by saying
he'll get those jobs back.

Or was it the population just got fed up with the corrupt political
class and wanted something different, good or bad?

But then I do realise most Brexiteers base their hopes on when Britain
ruled the waves. Rather than the world today.


You have no idea why most people who voted to leave did so.

I predict that staying in the EU or leaving will have exactly the same
result with regards car assembly - it will migrate towards the poorer
Eastern European countries in much the same way as many other industries
have disappeared from the UK during the 40 years of EEC/EU membership.

Ask French and German car workers why their jobs are at risk, and both
these countries are not leaving the EU.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

In article ,
alan_m wrote:
I predict that staying in the EU or leaving will have exactly the same
result with regards car assembly - it will migrate towards the poorer
Eastern European countries in much the same way as many other industries
have disappeared from the UK during the 40 years of EEC/EU membership.

Ask French and German car workers why their jobs are at risk, and both
these countries are not leaving the EU.

There is more to making cars - especially above budget level - than just
finding the cheapest place to do it.

--
*Geeks shall inherit the earth *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sunday, February 18, 2018 at 12:10:05 PM UTC-5, ultred ragnusen wrote:
wrote:


I think not - but I've heard people say use the shortest extension bar you
can get your hands on. I don't understand why. It should be the same torque
if I used a 16-inch extension bar, right?

It's the same torque in the rotational direction. But there's some downforce on the end of the extension and that gets magnified. Of course you resist it with your hand, but if you don't do that well you pull the socket off sideways and round the nut.

In the factory where we needed a cheater bar on most bolts, there was no point in trying a 12 point, you'd round the bolt head every time. We used 6 points except where you needed a 4 or 8 point.

Harry Bloomfield wrote:

And I can visualize how to mechanically clamp a bolt in a vise to hang the
torque wrench on - but then - how do you calibrate the two types?

I can imagine, when building them that they simply check the
calibration on a pass / fail basis. The only way I can think to adjust
them is via shims under the spring, to increase the tension.

From what I saw on YouTube, there's an SAE standard for calibration of
torque wrenches, which, as I remember from the video of a day or two ago,
comprises three sets of five tests, summarized (from memory) as:

1. Unmeasured five full-torque applications (e.g., 150 foot pounds)
2. Measured, five 20% torque applications (e.g., 30 foot pounds)
3. Measured, five 60% applications (e.g., 90 foot pounds)

Average it all out and you get your percentage error.

If the error is worse than what you desire, you adjust the calibration of
the torque wrench (where some have hex adjustments of spring tension,
others have twist adjustments, others have bend adjustments, etc.).

ultred ragnusen wrote:

1. Unmeasured five full-torque applications (e.g., 150 foot pounds)
2. Measured, five 20% torque applications (e.g., 30 foot pounds)
3. Measured, five 60% applications (e.g., 90 foot pounds)

Average it all out and you get your percentage error.

The nice thing about standards is that their are so many of them.

Most of the world appears to use the ISO 6789 standard.
http://www.nla.org.za/conferences/pr...esentation.pdf

This paper lists ISO6789, JJG 707, ANSI/ASME B107/14 & GGG 686D standards.
http://www.norbar.com/portals/0/ntts...ov08%20nab.pdf

While the paper above says all the standards are similar, it mentions that
ISO 6789 has the largest use. ANSI/ASME B107/14 is popular in the USA.
GGG686 is an American military standard which is being overtaken by
B107/14. And JJG 707 standard is used in China.

A key step is that the calibration device has to be within plus or minus 1
percent, which is really the difficulty for home calibrations, I think.

It's interesting to note that the calibration has to be done such that the
weight of the wrench is negated, which means you can't have the wrench set
horizontally and then push down on it, as gravity affects your
measurements.

Also it's interesting you always calibrate "up", in that you test the
smaller torques before the larger torques.

I've never calibrated my torque wrenches, where I have a few 1/2-inch drive
ones (beam and click), 3/8-inch drive (click) and 1/4-inch drive (click)
where all the click types are from Harbor Freight, so I'm unsure of
accuracy.

The problem is to find a calibration standard that is easier to use than a
bucket of water or dumbbells.