You ever meet someone with NO mechanical empathy?

I'm the same way with computers.

 

He may be on to something. You've heard of carbon/carbon brakes? Those are metal/metal.

 

I've known LOTS of folks with this affliction. The biggest has been the "I put oil in when the
oil light comes on - that means it's empty and needs a fill up". Saw a guy in San Carlos, CA
last week on business, with his entire front scoop mostly under the car, scraping along the
road at 30 MPH... utterly oblivious to the noise he must have been hearing inside. And then
there's the 'dragging muffler' syndrome.... how do people IGNORE THIS STUFF?????

 

I have met more people like this over the years than I care to remember. What is real bad is when they own nice stuff, like Ferraris. Then again as was stated above computers are a pain in the arse for me, although I think I'm smart enough to turn it off if the "oil light" comes on.

 

[SMARTA@!] I didnt even know computers had oil lights... Something new every day. [/SMARTA@!]

Aaron

 

When you own a computer as old as mine, yes. Mine even has a little crank on the front to boot it up.

 

I gotcha beat, how about a wood-burning microwave?

 

HA!

 

The grand prize of all time, goes to the Ferrari 308 engine Dave Helms bought as a running engine. It had a welded piston. Most likely welded right there in the cylinder while it was all together.

 

The Hippies in Minneapolis just built a wood burning electric power plant down on Franklin Ave. The whole city will have wood burning microwaves soon. LOL.

 

Welcome to Modern Society, circa 2009. To most people, cars are computer-controlled appliances that have sensors everywhere and tell us exactly what is needed, when its needed. We shouldn't 'have' to think when it comes to car maintenance, right?

....I'm still waiting for my Jetronic computer to tell me when to change the timing belt on my 308.

 

Yes, I refer to her as honey, dear, or sweetheart.

 

I have a friend, who seriously wants to learn to be a mechanic. Not like he needs to be, he owns and fly's Helicopters. I was once at his shop when he was fiddling around (trying to learn). He couldn't remember which way to turn a nut to tighten and take it off, never less the difference in pitch sizes. After awhile, the head AP frustrated, took away his tools and handed him one bolt and one nut. Then he looked at him and said. "here......go home and practice" i nearly died laughing.

 

Unfortunately I've seen modern "mechanics" that only work on cars with ODB interfaces. Anything else and you need to understand what's going on.
My 2001 Passat Owner's Manual, under "Light bulb replacement", has a single sentence: "Please take the car to the nearest dealership"
And they mean ANY light bulb!

 

My dear wife drove my truck home from another town with the starter pinion engaged, she said it sounded a little funny all the way home. that was my work truck with the 12 pound lightened flywheel and No, she doesn't get to drive the 308.

This doesn't prevent her from giving plenty of advice as i drive us somewhere in anything.

My kid drove his subaru so long with the brakes metal to metal that the disc finally wore down so far that the piston poped out and he lost fluid pressure. And when he asked me when he could drive my car, i said, "When pigs can fly".

Some people should just be allowed to take the bus,

cautious,
chris

 

Similarly, I love it when something goes strange with my computer at home and I don't know what to do. So I click on Microsoft's Help and it tells me to refer the problem to my system administrator - but that is, of course, me! Thanks, MIcrosoft! Google is usually my friend in that case.

 

Yes I slightly strange man came to test drive my X1/9 Fiat, when it was for sale...

I had modified the gear linkage, so it was far more precise than normal. This guy still couldn't find the correct gear, but more over he was oblivious to the fact he was trying to pull away in 3rd and / or 5th. He just kept stalling the little stage 2 1500cc engine, restarting, putting back into 3rd or 5th and putting even more revs on to slip the clutch, before stalling it again.

I stopped him, showed him where 1st gear was (on the front-left like most cars)... "Oh right", he said... but instead of pulling away, he took it out of gear, rattled the gear lever to and fro before putting it into 3rd and piling about 4000 revs on. At this point I stopped the test drive.

He had covered nearly 200mtrs, the clutch was smoking and he was blaming the car. I struggled to get the car home on what was left of the clutch... it was absolutely stripped and had to be replaced.

A rather expensive test drive.


David
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Went past a mates workshop yesterday. He showed me the RHR collapsed wheel bearing on this guys Toyota Landcruiser wagon.

He heard the noise apparently, but didnt bother getting it looked at until the brakes started feeling funny!

The collapsed bearing ruined the stub axle, the hub and it chewed the brake rotor and pads out!! It also sprayed axle oil everywhere inside in the wheel arch.

If he got in inspected by a mechanic straight away, it would have saved him around $1000 in parts and labour!

 

The picture of the rotor reminded me of one of my golfing buddies. He wore the rotor so deeply on his Tahoe that it actually wore completely through. The hub part was still intact and then a freely detached ring being clamped by the caliper. The same guy lost the motor on the same Tahoe when he drove it without oil pressure and didn't even notice the warning light. No oil showed on the dipstick.

 

Several years ago, there was a TR owner (won't say the name) in the Portland, Oregon area who continued to drive his car after ALL the coolant had leaked / steamed-off when one of the hoses split. Car was brought in (won't say to what shop) with a warped head ---- and, (my fault for offering the suggestion) it was annealed, by oven baking, back to within spec, and put back on the car!

That car has changed hands a few times since that.......want the VIN # ???!!!

 

Gulp!!

 

Empathy? How do you have mechanical empathy? Did you feel the pain that the brakes experienced?

Perhaps you meant ability? aptitude?

 

A gal I know rode the brakes all the way down a 5,000 foot dirt mountain trail (rather than gearing down and using compression braking) - the brakes boiled, she lost all braking power and then shot off the edge of the road at which point she then floored the gas for some reason causing the engine to over-rev and implode. Net, the brakes were toast, the engine was shot and the front end was totally crumpled. The car went from nice runner to complete junker in one short ride.

 

Early morning spirited drive 150 miles each way from nowhere, a rear brake pad called it a day and went metal on metal...rotor was toast by the time I was able to stop. 7 AM at this point and another 3 hours before a wrecker could get to me. Big $$$.$$ towing fee too. F*** it. I had a new can of Slick 50 1 Lube, hosed down the rotor with it, and it worked. That rotor remained quiet for 50 miles in between lubes. Limped home, got 4 new rotors, pads, 4 caliper rebuilds + fluid change for less than the cost of the tow. Probably the only good product Slick 50 ever put out, and certainly not for its intended purpose.