scout24
Flashaholic
It's taken me a long time to understand the lead-a-horse-to-water adage. I'll be 50 next month, and it still hurts to see them not drink... I am finally beginning to understand though. After years of beating my head into a wall.
Things I've learned the hard way . . .(Part 2)
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I recently dove into this. -
1994 Chevy Astro with 314,000 miles. Yes, It's a dirty birdie.
I replaced the radiator, water pump, thermostat, three coolant/heater hoses and the coolant. $250
I learned the hard way that the my hands aren't as strong as they once were.
~ Chance
StarHalo
Flashaholic
They're going to be their own person, all you can do is set the example.
Oooh.. ouch!
I'm an American. I look at cost of ownership. Back in 1979, I was given a blank check, and the keys to a beat up loaner car to pick up the boss's Mercedes 350 SL at the dealership. It went in for an oil change, and maintenance at something crazy low mileage... I really don't recall, but maybe 10,000 miles. They gave it a brake job, and changed the rotors, and calipers, BECAUSE THEY WERE RUSTY!
I wrote the check for $850 American dollars, in 1979 dollars!
Right then and there I decided... I might someday be able to afford to BUY a Mercedes, but I wouldn't want to maintain it.
In 1998 I could have bought any Mercedes under $80,000 but bought a 1999 Ford Crown Victoria for $18,000. 2016 I put it to bed, it was rear-ended and totaled. It had 260,000 miles on it 418429.44 KM. Other than tires, brakes and oil changes, it cost me about $1400 dollars in repairs. $600 was due to a failed fuel pump at about 200,000 miles.
I'm currently driving a 2008 Grand Marquis that was once my father's. It has had no major repairs other than front struts @ 200,000 miles, that cost me about $800, and an instrument cluster repair $60. Otherwise only tires, brakes, and oil. It is at 215,000 miles.
When my fuel pump failed, on the ride back, the tow truck driver went into great lengths, about what he has seen with Beemers, due to their electronics. It is not likely, that any time in the future, I will own one.
So... back on topic.
Things I've learned the hard way.
Last year I went camping and laid down a tarp under my tent. The tarp was larger than my tent floor. I wasn't thinking, and laid the tent upon it, but didn't fold the underlayment underneath the outer edge of the tent. So, when it rained that night, the water rolled off of the tent onto the tarp, and then under the tent floor. The floor was pretty much water proof, but alas Mr. Murphy struck, and in the morning, I reached over for my phone and the back of my hand was in a puddle of water!
That my friends is a mistake I will never make again!
Things I've learned the hard way.
Last year I went camping and laid down a tarp under my tent. The tarp was larger than my tent floor. I wasn't thinking, and laid the tent upon it, but didn't fold the underlayment underneath the outer edge of the tent. So, when it rained that night, the water rolled off of the tent onto the tarp, and then under the tent floor. The floor was pretty much water proof, but alas Mr. Murphy struck, and in the morning, I reached over for my phone and the back of my hand was in a puddle of water!
That my friends is a mistake I will never make again!
StarHalo
Flashaholic
As mentioned over in the Cars thread, FoMoCo will no longer sell sedan or compact cars in North America; the next time you go to a Ford dealer, you will have only SUV/truck-based options to choose from. Other nations will still get cars. Guess why
Scout my friend, you will find that a time will come that your kids will come to understand that you have acquired SOME wisdom.
We sent my son to a tech school for auto mechanics. So certainly he knew more than his old man did. Yet one day, he was doing a brake job on his Bronco, and was struggling. At the time I was binge watching The Walking Dead, but decided I'd walk out to the driveway to see how he was progressing, because he should already have been done. The rotor, which HAD to be replaced was rusted and solidly frozen, so that he couldn't get it off. I walked over to his tool box, grabbed a BFH and gave it one solid hit with the hammer. It was instantly loose, and I went back to the couch to continue watching The Walking Dead.
One day, he was changing out the radiator on his Jeep. Again, I stayed out of the way until it was taking too long. Two issues came up.
1. there were four mounting bolts. The top two screwed into the upper radiator support, and the bottom two seemed to turn and turn but not come out.
I suggested that maybe they didn't have to come out and that they only acted as posts for the radiator to rest on, and when looking at the set up for the new radiator, where there was a slot so that it could slide over a bolt, that further confirmed my suspicion. When I presented my suggestion, of course, I was wrong, but a friend of his, who had a little more mechanical experience than he, told him that my suggestion had merit. Yeah, I was right and the radiator came right out.
2. then there was the issue that the new, replacement, radiator had two tubes coming out of the bottom of it that his original did not. There was a rubber cap over the ends of each tube, but they wouldn't hold any pressure. They were dust caps for the automatic transmission cooler lines. His standard trans didn't require trans oil cooling. The original radiator didn't have integral cooling lines for an auto trans. He was afraid that the new radiator would leak. I explained to him that they were coolant lines for an auto trans, that they were a separate system, and that they didn't need to be connected. If he wanted to check, he could blow into one, and feel the air come out of the other, and then block one, blow air into the other and there would be no air coming out of the top of the radiator. I might have been happier if he took my word for it, but was delighted when I saw that he tested me and blew air into the system to test it. I believe that I gained a new level of respect that day.
That was ten years ago. He would tick me off, in that he would do ALL the work on his friend's cars, whatever it was, yet he would give me the bare minimum of assistance when I was doing anything on mine. He gradually came around and is now more helpful.
Now here is a story that I love to tell.
Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC.
My kids were probably 8 and 13.
We went to NYC to watch the Macy's Thanks Giving Day Parade.
As usual it was a damp, chilly (if not cold), threatening to rain, kind of day.
I dressed in a insulated mechanic's jumpsuit, with this really ugly smurf blue fleece hat. The hat came down around my ears, and the back of my neck. It was soft and cuddly and warm as heck (no self respecting teenager would be seen anywhere near that hat). Oh yeah... I was carrying two five gallon spackle buckets, one filled with thermoses of hot drinks and snacks, and the other with warm and weatherproof clothing, (just in case).
The plan for the spackle buckets was if we get there early enough, we could sit on them, if we got there late we could stand on them. IN the mean time everything in them would be protected from the elements.
During the five block walk from the bus terminal I heard my 12 y/o daughter tell my wife.... "let him walk a head of us... I don't want anyone to know he is with us!" I asked... "Does anyone want to help me carry one of these buckets?"
"Oh my God NO!"
I just smiled to myself.
When we got there, I put the buckets down on the ground. We were five people deep to the curb. It was challenging to see the parade. Immediately, my son grabbed a pail and stood up on it. He could see over every-one's heads! My daughter, on the other hand refused to submit and struggled to see between people, and on her toes, over them, but finally took a bucket and stood up on it!
We laugh about that till this day. That was a turning point for us.
Here is a pic of my son and Grandson 22 years later at the Macy's NYC Thanks Giving Day Parade.
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"When I was 17 I was embarrassed by how little my parents knew but very impressed with my vast knowledge. 10 or 12 short years later I was shocked to see how much I'd forgotten but amazed at how much my parents had apparently learned."
PhotonWrangler
Flashaholic
If your hands come in contact with onions, they're gonna smell like onions for the rest of the day no matter what you do.
AMD64Blondie
Flashlight Enthusiast
Buying good quality hardware will be expensive at first,but last a long time.
(Case in point,the 1991 IBM Model M I'm typing this with.Bought it in August 2007 from EBay..still using it today,11 years later.)
(Case in point,the 1991 IBM Model M I'm typing this with.Bought it in August 2007 from EBay..still using it today,11 years later.)
Crazyeddiethefirst
Flashlight Enthusiast
When work involves a Lathe, any decision to use a "bargain" price tool will eventually cause great pain-whether a work being destroyed or physical damage to your body...I learned this lesson from watching a mentor & it has always made me glad that I have a few really great tools instead of a lot of bargain tools I can't trust...
take a small shovel, or as we used in the military, a foldable entrenching tool, dig a basically rain gutter around your tent diverting the rain water. Also, set up your tent on an incline.So... back on topic.
Things I've learned the hard way.
Last year I went camping and laid down a tarp under my tent. The tarp was larger than my tent floor. I wasn't thinking, and laid the tent upon it, but didn't fold the underlayment underneath the outer edge of the tent. So, when it rained that night, the water rolled off of the tent onto the tarp, and then under the tent floor. The floor was pretty much water proof, but alas Mr. Murphy struck, and in the morning, I reached over for my phone and the back of my hand was in a puddle of water!
That my friends is a mistake I will never make again!
Plumbing, my cursed chore around the house. The tub had a small drip so I swapped out the bib washer. Nope, now it was a constant stream. The valve is loose and so the packing has been squished that it's not really allowing the valve to close "straight" and the threading is a bit worn. Bought a Danco set and also replaced the valve seat. Mind you the water is shut off but there is still a bit of flow as it drains through the house towards this open valve body. With the valve closed it is a constant small stream. I pressurize the house and it is coming out as if it was open. Out come all the new parts and back in with the old for the slow drip. I repeated this back-forth for each part of the testing so what SHOULD have been a simple swap turned into 3 hours of frustration.
The other bad part was I dropped one of the valves on the floor chipping out a corner. :/
I'll live with a drip that equates to about 3 ounces of water/day.
The other bad part was I dropped one of the valves on the floor chipping out a corner.
:/I'll live with a drip that equates to about 3 ounces of water/day.
Man, that's a bummer! You don't mind putting in the effort if it ends up fixed. :hairpull: So, what did you learn the hard way? That plumbing sucks?
~ Chance
~ Chance
Yes, plumbing sucks each and every time for me. I do these because the off hours calls when they occur are $250+ calls to the plumber and they take about 30-1 hour to arrive.
What I think is one part invariably becomes a multitude and multiple trips to the hardware store to get more. The valve on dad's toilet was leaking when he dropped the lid cover on it. This happened at 10:30PM when ALL the stores are closed. Luckily I've learned through past experiences to have spare parts on hand for most basic stuffs. Not only did the valve leak at the supply pipe but the skewed valve caused the water supply line to leak. This was not the flexible line but a hard bent copper line to the toilet. Then that brought about the toilet tank valve not sealing right either so the toilet tank is draining through that gap. Luckily I stopped it but not before there was 1/4" deep of water on his side of the bathroom. Luckily the termites had eaten that corner so there was a natural drain opening for the water to drain through. LOL.
Other learned plumbing...there will be a clog after hours that backups the back part of the house that services the toilets and tub-showers. Bought a power snake with 75' cable. That has saved me lots so that expense has been worth it. Two uses and I was ahead.
What I think is one part invariably becomes a multitude and multiple trips to the hardware store to get more. The valve on dad's toilet was leaking when he dropped the lid cover on it. This happened at 10:30PM when ALL the stores are closed. Luckily I've learned through past experiences to have spare parts on hand for most basic stuffs. Not only did the valve leak at the supply pipe but the skewed valve caused the water supply line to leak. This was not the flexible line but a hard bent copper line to the toilet. Then that brought about the toilet tank valve not sealing right either so the toilet tank is draining through that gap. Luckily I stopped it but not before there was 1/4" deep of water on his side of the bathroom. Luckily the termites had eaten that corner so there was a natural drain opening for the water to drain through. LOL.
Other learned plumbing...there will be a clog after hours that backups the back part of the house that services the toilets and tub-showers. Bought a power snake with 75' cable. That has saved me lots so that expense has been worth it. Two uses and I was ahead.
The first time I attempted a plumbing repair, As I was checking-out at the local hardware store the clerk said, "Good luck. We'll see you in about an hour." I smiled and said I was sure I had everything I needed. The clerk smiled and said, "All DIY plumbing jobs take three trips to the hardware store." I assured him that I had made a detailed list and this was going to be a one trip repair. About an hour later I returned to the hardware store. As he rung me up, the clerk said, "That's two. See you in a bit. ........
"Well sir, he was wrong....... I went to a different store for my final trip.
~ Chance
"Well sir, he was wrong....... I went to a different store for my final trip.
~ Chance
PhotonWrangler
Flashaholic
:laughing: Oh yes, this feels very familiar to me.
MikeSalt
Flashlight Enthusiast
Working with fibreglass bodywork is just horrible.
