u/dropin_biking

TLDR..

Straight to the point question, how does everyone feel about pressure washing hot engine bays?

I'm a mechanic / automotive painter / detailer, do it all kind of guy.

I did an emergency repair on a friends car today that overheated and puked coolant everywhere.

It reeks, I told him I'll wash it all off tomorrow, wash the exhaust, and all of it stuck in the radiator support and engine block.

Problem is it's a decent drive to my place and it'll be hot by the time it gets here. Best I can leave it is 20 minutes, half hour tops.

I always feel bad when I wash a bay and see steam or hear metal pinging because its cooling so fast. It's not good for a lot of stuff, but how long do you wait?

I've got box fans I run when I have to do hot oil changes or or hot engine work. But a hot engine bay wash, I just feel kind of bad about.

I just recently got some signage installed at the roadside by my mailbox indicating I do free diagnoses and offer repair work, amongst other things car related.

I installed a pinlock swing gate at the opening of my driveway, allowing ample room for customers to pull off the road, get 10 feet down my driveway, and park.

At the gate they are met with a number to call to open the gate. I answer, open gate, and customer can cruise on through.

I've never had worries of unknown cars pulling into my big driveway, and never had issues, it just seemed like a no brainer once I had signs at the end of the driveway.

The system works great, and has woken me up a couple times or gotten me away from lawn mowing when a customer stops in.

I'm wondering if I should go for any more security than that? Cameras? Electronic door locks?

I do get some customers at odd hours, but I like the gate, because I can vouch them before letting them enter.

I feel bad for my lack of welding skills, and it's bit me in the ass more than a couple times, and it's wasted me some time. I need to learn how to properly mig weld.

I'll start of by saying I CAN mig weld. I own a 110v gas or flux welder that I feed flux wire thru, and a 220 lincoln that I have ran gas and pure wire with.

The gas welding on 220v was at an autobody shop that I used to work at. I ran some plug welds and small stitch welds on rocker panels and body seams. It was very effortless, car on hoist, lots of room, bright light, auto dimming mask.

I've also done some plate frame welding with the same welder with similar decent results.

My problem, and my struggle is I need to learn how to weld in BAD scenarios. For example, I'm an autobody tech by trade, and I need to get better at doing 110v gasless welding for exhaust repairs, with thin wall tubing that's corrodded, and adding exhaust hangers and brackets to things gasless with 110v.

Most of my gasless 110v welding has been mediocre at best, but I've always been working in rougher conditions (under a car with rusty pipes and lack of light)

I never seem to melt and flow the weld in aswell as all my 220 welding. It always turns out, but I need to go over areas a few times.

Is it a matter of the better 220v lincoln welder? Or is it just the under the car in bad light with lack of vision when welding?

I geuninely can't stand the text book read backs, and AI slop I get responding to genuinely good info.

Fuck this place. fuck reddit. I'm done. Good luck in the future but this place is crashing and burning.

I had to break up a physical fight between my mom and dad today. It sucked.

He's a daily 15 beer drinker, and she's an enjoyer on her weekends off.

She got a bit too drunk and popped off, which was fair, but I had to put her in a full nelson lock to keep her from swinging at my dad.

My entire speech to her was that I didn't want the cops to show up. I got her upstairs onto the deck, I got my dad to shut the fuck up and go back into the garage.

My left shoulder is wrecked, I feel like a piece of shit for handling my mom like that, but I didn't want her swinging hand on my dad, he's a fragile drunken mess.

This was all a few hours ago, and I'm finally unwinding and smoking some weed, but shit sucks right now.

Tomorrow's going to be even more awkward.

https://preview.redd.it/2unc789h1m5h1.jpg?width=980&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=654861cd9b745a08c0a67b8eea83dbb4b8e769c8

https://preview.redd.it/xnpgbjuh1m5h1.jpg?width=980&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=28414d6b8a39519784d26397164c68bc5e417b1d

I've got lots of old equiptment. Some old crown audio before they were crown, some japanese recievers.

I've got some mid 90's MB Quart car audio amps.

I've got some late 80's cerwin vega 15" house speakers with some JL tweeters and mids from the late 90's added.

I've got two 10" MTX Jackhammers from 2008.

Is any of this stuff worth refurbing?

https://preview.redd.it/kaya0y47wl5h1.jpg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6cdd8d91fb0e722627bc4733f7e4e2e0bf990df3

https://preview.redd.it/2qy9tr58wl5h1.jpg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d537fd6e35c854b1bce4ee0ce5d7714e8d7bc3f3

I've got mixed feelings about the new Integras, but I have owned 2 second gens, a third gen, and a first gen. So I do appreciate them.

Here's my current 1991 Integra that I updated to 0BD1, a tuned chipped ECU, with a turbo, and full suspension upgrades. I wired it myself, I did a shaved and tucked engine bay before I painted it, and did an auto to manual conversion. I had a 1992 before that that was N/A and barely had weight reduction. The plan for this is to be sub 2,200 pounds with 300+hp.

It's still ongoing, but I've had it on the road enough to lay down a base map and break it in and do an allignment.

https://preview.redd.it/xra9qqqjil5h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=766613290a7a5e9498dbce8e8d3608d47a42c367

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https://preview.redd.it/zdojg0fufl5h1.jpg?width=3648&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e706e2b8f07395975c89f72c057b6c6ad2351e12

Friend of mine is looking to scoop up this 99 Integra. 2 owners, original paint, no rust. He said he was worried about rust but it looked fine to me.

Any chance it was in a collision?

Is 3 grand a good deal? it has 390,000k on it. The ownership has a lein on it, but I'm sure it's fine.

It had no oil in it when I checked it out, but the oil light went out when I added 2 quarts.

Good deal or should we lowball him?

I always scoffed at their brand, and I always got better products, for cheaper, and was never impressed with most of their products, especially 10-12 years ago when I first got into things.

It sort of just dawned on me that I've been using a simoniz pressure washer at home for the last 4 years, and it's been stored in an outdoor shed ever winter with freezing temps.

I just power washed my mower with it and it was fine. I'm trying to remember when I bought it, and for how much, but it was cheap as hell and I just realized how long its actually chugged along with getting knocked around and left in the sun, left in the freezing cold. Sure it doesn't make a ton of pressure, but it cleans stuff just fine.

I've got a honda powered pressure washer that I use once and a while, but realized I use my electric one more. I haven't even fired my gas pressure washer up yet this year, and I've already cleaned my siding and done a bunch of cars and under carriages.

This stuff is cheap and was such a fun project. My friend wanted some flare in his engine bay.

Used some plastic totes I had, grabbed a bottle of MEK, had some 2k clear laying around and black and grey epoxy primer.

Sanded the texture off the factory raw plastic timing cover, sanded the primer with 320, reprimed.

Dipped in hydrographic film, 2 coats of 2k SPI clear.

Lime green shaved valve cover to match.

https://preview.redd.it/smrt2jbict2h1.jpg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=112abdca6c4bdc70a371fcbfb22df169bcc049f5

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https://preview.redd.it/ni1kbg29ct2h1.jpg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29942ea84a31fbed4df143af8f8e93203d4817a5

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She just won't die. It's a 1994 LX176. It has the Kawasaki FC420v, hydrostatic, and 38" two blade deck.

I got it for $600 10 years ago, with a fresh service, new battery, new blades, and all new fluids.

I've done nothing but top up fluids, I've changed the oil filter once, still on the same battery, and have been sharpening the same blades for 10 years.

I've probably put 600 hours on it since I've had it, and no idea of the history before I got it.

No rust, no plastic damage, just a solid running, solid cutting machine. Fires up everytime, even after sitting uncovered every winter through the snow.

I wish I could get a brand new version of this mower. I'd never sell this thing!

I was doing a bolt on wheel bearing this afternoon and it had a fat CV boot, that got in the way of the socket to remove it. They were 14mm head bolts and I used a deep impact socket and extention on the gun, but had to shove the axle in and was fighting things the whole way.

I remember seeing and using a set of 3/8" sockets that had a 6" swivle extension built into the socket, and they were no fatter than a regular socket.

My swivel sockets are bulky, and don't always fit, but I remember these swivel extension sockets being slim.

Can't remember if they were mac or snapon or matco but they were awesome to use. They were sized 10-17?mm

I pulled my '91 Integra out of the corner of my shop after 10+ years. I finally got the front suspension back on so I could drive and back it out of the shop to clean out the shop and wash the car off.

It's got 10+ years of shop dust and overspray on it, any tips of tricks I could use to clean it all off? I've been using 3,000 grit sand paper and a rotary buffer but it's been slow going.

Mechanic sharing a bad situation gone better.

I've been having quite a few cars in for changing winter tires to summer tires, and it usually means checking out brakes, and doing oil changes, just basic winter to summer maintenence.

I had an older lexus SUV in today that was PAINFUL to remove the tires. I'm not sure who put the lug nuts on or how but it turned into a disaster.

After lifting the front end and putting my impact on the lugnuts to break them lose, and them not moving, I wondered.

So I plugged in my 20amp old electric impact, and broke the first lug stud. I slowed down, lowered the car back down, and proceeded to try to crack every lug nut loose with a breaker bar.

I got 12 lugs nuts to crack free, and the other 8 snapped the lug studs.

I stepped away to make lunch and wonder. Than I remembered years ago doing some lug studs after someone broke some locking lugnuts. Sure enough I had 2 bags of 5 toyoa lug studs that fit perfectly.

I just had to cut and smash out the old studs to put the new ones in. No parts store run, no extra time wasted, just a good problem solved from the old dust parts shelf.

Ofcourse I charged extra for the new studs, but it was sweet I didn't have to order any, or drive around and buy some, it was the best case of a bad situation.

Mechanic asking other mechanics. I'm sure some can relate.

I had a potential customer stop in the other day to have me look at her brakes. She was refferred by a long term good customer of mine.

Sure enough, front brakes were on the squeelers, but the back had lots of life left, but the pads were dragging in the brackets causing noise.

I pointed out that new front pads and rotors, and a rear service would be great, could do the rear service for free, because she wanted me to swap tires anyways, I like to check brakes when I change tires anyways.

I gave her a price, she seemed put off, claimed it was way too low (which it is, I don't charge an arm and a leg and I'm not out to rip anyone off)

She looked around at the house, the yard, the 24x30 two bay garage, and said she'd rather go somewhere else.

I didn't get too offended, I get it, but damn lady, a good customer of 12 years reffered you to me for a reason.

It sometimes sucks not being a legitimate mechanic with fancy shop signs and a big commercial lot.

Sometimes you get stuck doing jobs that you know don't pay well, and the vehicles already ready for the scrap yard, especially in the salt belt.

I was doing a 4 corner brake job on an old chevy truck yesterday and was trying to un-seize the slide pins in a couple calipers to save the guy some money.

I had the slide pin clamped in a vice, rocking the caliper bracket back and forth with my hand and a metal bar.

It was broken free, but my greedy ass pried to much and it binded back up and snapped.

I proceeded to drill it out stepping up in bit size untill the largest size snagged the hollow shell of the slide pin, so I knocked it down with a punch and grabbed needle nose pliers to pull it out.

I rummaged my scrap pile and fould a slide pin that fit and worked.

Wam bam thank you mam. I may have wasted half an hour, but this guy was happy as hell to not be buying a couple calipers during his cheap brake job.