Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
Eric, I sympathize with you. When I left the shop to pursue a fleet management position, I sold off my 72″ Snap On box, ironically, to pay off my Snap On and Mac bills. I set my home garage up with a few Craftsman boxes, an old Kennedy box, and my ancient Matco top box. Everything that didn’t fit went on shelves or on pegboard. This is a less-than-perfect system, but I have lived with it for over a decade now.
Recently, I have moved from the fleet management industry, back into a shop. At first, I was supervising a bus garage. Because the mechanics’ union in the shop would file grievances every time a member of management did any work on the buses, I didn’t feel any need to have tools available, so it was no big deal. The tools could stay in boxes, on shelves, and hung on the walls in my home garage.
Now, however, I am in a different position. I recently took a position working for a municipal garage, again as a supervisor. This time, nobody gets too stressed if my hands get dirty, and I’ve been involved in quite a few repairs. This had me thinking of purchasing a tool box for the shop, so I talked to our Snap On guy (our shop isn’t currently serviced by Mac Tools) about a new box. After I received the quote from the Snap On guy, I decided that I was going to have to go with Plan B (or Plan HF, in this case). I just can’t justify $12,000 for a tool box.
If I look at tool box purchases like I do any other tool purchase, I just can’t make the math work out. When I bought my scanner, I figured out how many separate diagnostic charges it would take to pay for the tool. When I purchased most of my air tools, or my fuel pressure gauge set, or any of my specialty tools, the same. There is no amortization schedule that makes a new premium box a viable option for me. I’m not going to get any kind of return on my investment that will make that purchase worthwhile. Cost no object, sure, I’ll take the 3 bay Macsimizer Plus with the side cabinets, lighted riser, and custom anodized drawer pulls. Because cost is n object, I’ll be stopping at Harbor Freight for their 72″ box. It costs a tenth of what my Snap On guy quoted me for a smaller toolbox and has decent casters, roller slides, and a lifetime warranty. Are the premium brands better? Yeah, much better, but I can pay cash for the HF box. No weekly payments, no finance charges, and I’m $10k ahead of the game on just the purchase price.
Hopefully you can swing a deal for some promotional considerations from Mac Tools and get your Macsimizer at a discount. I’d even click on sponsored content videos to support that.
Nice video. I think I’m going to refer people to it when they approach me about installing their Ebay turbo kits.
Been there before, usually when I’m tired and distracted.
When I saw the calipers on upside down, I had one of those horror movie “Don’t go in there!” moment. I yelled “Oh no! Stop!” Like I could absolve my past mistakes by reaching through time, space, and the internet to make you see that the calipers were installed wrong. Then my heart sank, because it wasn’t going to help, and I knew what the other 25 minutes of the video were going to be.
Eric, sponsored content is a fact of life in all forms of media. I’ve been consuming automotive media since I knew it existed, and I have seen every kind of sponsored content out there. The Autozone and Pick ‘n Pull spots are far less offensive than all of the “reality” shows out there. “We got this crate motor for Project Low Buck Daily Driver from our friends over at World Products and bolted on a Weiand 8-71 blower with two Demon carbs. It’s reliable, affordable, and will make about 650 horsepower. Let’s see what Buddy has for us at this week’s Summit Performance Marketplace.” Nothing like a half hour’s worth of infomercial with commercial breaks every five minutes.
You did a great job making your videos enjoyable and informative, and didn’t oversell anything.In fact they made me more likely to visit both of your sponsors. If it made you a few bucks to support ETCG, even better. Keep up the good work.
Could be a crack in one of the exhaust ports. That wouldn’t show up on the plugs, and it wouldn’t affect compression. Pull the O2 sensors and look for signs of coolant contamination (white, crystalline coating). Whichever side has the contamination likely has a cracked cylinder head.
No kidding! There was a day, many years ago, when I was wrapping up an engine job that another mechanic had started. He tore the job down, scattered parts all over the shop, and then called off sick for a week.
As you might imagine, I was not pleased at the prospect of having to make time on half of an engine job, and I let my irritation get the better of me. I blew more time doing half the job than I’d have been paid for the complete R&R and banged around the shop like an idiot for something like 12 hours. Once I had the engine installed and running, I bled the cooling system and went to set the base timing. The leads on my new Matco timing light got caught in the cooling fan and were ripped out.
At that point, I lost it, chucked the remains of my timing light across the shop, and punched my toolbox. Stupid move. I can tell you it’s a lot harder to turn wrenches with a broken hand. I’d have saved myself a lot of pain and embarrassment by walking away for a few minutes and clearing my head. Don’t wrench angry.
Good question, and one I ask myself often. Maserati Bora? Tatra T87? Nismo R35 GTR? 1968 Charger? 1950 Merc Kustom? Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. I want to drive them all, at least once. Given unlimited funds, I’d put together a collection that’s equal parts Jay Leno and Jeff Lane, and I’d work on all of them.
I kinda dug how you mentioned that you don’t need any specialty tools to work on Japanese cars. It helped me keep my happy thoughts when I had to go buy a 50mm, offset, external hex socket to do a timing belt on my neighbor’s Odyssey. Gonna use that again.
Toyota Prius. Everything else has at least one redeeming feature, even if that redeeming feature is simply the fact that it isn’t a Prius.
Nice looking truck! With what they’re asking for new trucks lately, fixing up an older one is really the way to go. I’m doing a 1997 Ram 1500 Sport myself. It has a 318 with 202k miles on it. I’ve replaced the water pump, belt, radiator, tires, and shocks on mine. The intake manifold is leaking a bit, as are the valve covers and rear main seal. I also have to pull the power module apart and waterproof it. Any time the temperature changes, or if it rains, the truck won’t start. I have to open the hood and smack the ASD relay a few times to shake the water off, and it usually fires right up. Otherwise, all that is left is to fix a couple of rust spots and spruce up the interior a bit.
Had to fix a water pump that was installed in a Buick Regal with deck screws once. That was pretty awesome. Had to follow up on a timing belt and tensioner replacement on a Porsche 928 S4 that was the victim of a 2×4 and a large hammer. Super awesome, considering that it was a “professional” mechanic who was paid to do that damage. I have instituted a pricing structure to accommodate for such situations though. If somebody else has touched the car, I charge an additional hundred bucks up front. If they tried to fix it but failed, two hundred. If I’m going to throw my world into upheaval over somebody else’s mistakes, I’m not going to do it for free anymore.
I feel your pain. Every time I try to do a favor for someone, the car turns into a nightmare. Starters turn into flexplates; belt replacements turn into harmonic balancers, water pumps, and power steering pumps; headlight jobs turn into wiring harness jobs.
It only happens when the owner can’t afford to have a shop do the easy job. “The shop wants $350 to change my starter and i just don’t have the money.” Sure. I’ll do it. I have at least a half hour open this week. Hey! Look at that! Your ring gear has no teeth. I’ll take care of it. Just drive my Altima until it’s finished.
Then the temperatures drop into the teens, the magic tissue paper holding some parts together has decided to dissolve, while other parts are inexplicably stuck, and the loaner Altima has developed a MIL and lost its idle. A half hour job has turned into a four day ordeal, the parts bill exceeds the original bill that the owner couldn’t afford, and there’s a ticket on the car because it has been on jackstands in your driveway for too long. You finish the job, only to have the owner call a week later to ask if the work you just did has anything to do with the brakes, because they werent making this noise before.