mws

* shakes head sadly * It's so sad to see what some people will stoop to in their desire to compensate for their lack of, um, manhood? I learned long ago to just walk away from them. Their problems are so much deeper than any amount of logic or facts could ever address.

Any autoparts store should carry "Zerk fittings" - in straight or angled versions. You will need to get the correct drill and tap to install them. And polyurethane have been famous for years for two things: - much stiffer and more controlled feeling than rubber - SQUEEEEEEKKKK.... If not right away, almost always within a few thousand miles. Rubber bushings are generally bonded inside and out and do not rotate - just the flexure of the rubber allows displacement. Polyurethane does not flex very much at all so it must rotate or slide on the steel shaft. Squueeeekkk...

'95 318is - it's the metal trim around the top of the windows. The factory paint/coating has faded away and the metal is starting to rust.

Nope nope nope. Don't believe him Duffy... that differential is SHOT! But I'll tell you what... I'm a real generous guy. I'll take that ruined piece of junk off your hands. In fact, I'm such a swell guy, I'll even give you my old axle so you can keep driving. Sure, it doesn't have an LSD, and it has 200K miles, but it's better than that thing ! Trust me!!! oops, my shifty eyes gave me away... You should at least buy Bernard a beer for all the money he just saved you!

That's easy to do... What have you used this recipe on? Long term results?

Golly, shucks... And the word for the day for the "technogeeks in training" is... Hypoid! Hypoid gears are a kinda spirally shaped variation on right angle gear sets. These are the ones that drove the development of GL-5 lubricants as they have a huge amount of sliding engagement. Much quieter than bevel gears. Always glad to help. And good on you for reminding us about the extra fluid. I know it is somewhere over in the garage. I found that soon after I started hanging out here. I only wish the previous owner knew about it... Mine is exhibiting stage 1 symptoms of the potential for inadequate bearing protection at the original spec'd oil volume - one bearing rumbles a bit. Only noticeable when in neutral and clutch is engaged, and it is not getting any worse, but I am keeping a close ear on it.

Has anybody ever found out "real data" on whether there truly is a difference in the high mileage oils? Oil is like soda - the corporate veil of "secret formula" secrecy rivals that of weapons research! When they first came out, the initial objective tests couldn't detect any significant differences (other than the price of course!). This led me to be a bit sceptical of it being just another brilliant marketing ploy. But I haven't done much research since. Anybody else do it?

Avocado green :eek: Against a Boston Green (kinda forest green shade) car! That would guarantee my wife would never ask me to fix her stuff again... How did the epoxy stand up to sunlight? So many paints look great for a year or two, and then start fading or chalking up. And the sun can be a little intense here.

Guess I'm verified nutz.... I always have POR-15 in stock and that is the default plan. But it requires a top coat of Chassis Black (POR-15 itself is not UV stable) and requires spraying, so to go that route I need to get a spray gun. Can't believe I'm not choosing the route that lets me buy another tool... That's my normal default route!

Aren't you afraid you'll, like, scratch it or something? :o But seriously, nice - nice - nice! Well done. I love seeing people use tools like they're meant to be used! Here in Cal, it seems 99% of the SUV drivers avoid even dirty patches on the asphalt. Weenies.

Different additive packages for different applications. If I'm not mistaken, GL-4 is for moderately loaded gears with moderate sliding action so the additives include some moderate anti-scuffing as well as impact protection. GL-5 is for heavily loaded gears with lots of sliding action. Therefore, there are a lot of anti-scuffing additives, and the additives are different to withstand much heavier loads (molybdenum compounds? Zinc? not sure...) The gears and bearings must be designed to be compatible with these additives. Hardened steel is the norm. Bottom line, some parts in a transmission designed to use GL-4 may not be compatible with the additives in the GL-5. The steel may be less hard, or maybe bronze or other materials are used. These materials are probably perfectly adequate for the application. However, the additives in a GL-5 lubricant are too hard and wear the parts rather than protecting them...

Anybody know of any paint in a spray can that can stand up to constant outdoor exposure? I need to repaint the trim around the windows on my wife's BMW, and it needs to look really nice, for a long time. Satin black. Are there any UV stable, tough things available, or do I need to break down and get a decent trim gun and use real paint?

The only time I prefer an automatic is in traffic - but then I REALLY prefer them... Can't wait for the BMW/Ferrari/et al style "automatic manuals" to become commonplace and proven reliable... In the meantime, it's up to you if the convenience and comfort is worth the cost. Sticks are GENERALLY superior (as with everything, there are exceptions) in the following ways: - More fuel efficient - More reliable (less annoying glitches) - More durable (longer lived) - Cheaper to maintain (3 qts vs 10+ of lubricant) - Smaller - Lighter - Generate a lot less heat (which the radiator then has to get rid of) - Less expensive and easier to repair - manuals are like engine technology - a good DIYer can handle it with just a few special tools. Automatics are quite a bit more complicated and harder to repair/rebuild in your garage. Lots of special tools. My clutch is at 200K miles and is still functioning OK - occaisionally a bit of chatter when hot, but hey... it does have 200K on it.

Obviously, the year of the pathy will likely affect the recommended viscosity. As time goes on, manufacturing tolerances tighten and engineers can specify tighter fits between parts. I've always been a big fan of Mobil 1. But with the way I use the Pathy (short hop commuting and driving in dirt) I decided I want to change oil every 2-3K miles to keep the contaminants in check. Changing Mobil 1 that often is big $$$. So back to dino oil. Castrol GTX, Valvoline, and Napa's private label are my favorites. Nice compromise between quality and availability... In my '87, I've been running Valvoline 10w30. A very good oil and I got a case for about $8 on sale. Hard to beat that! But at 200K miles, tolerances have gotten a bit looser and I need to add 1/2 to 3/4 of a quart every 500 miles. Dumping in a quart of Lucas oil stabilizer reduced consumption dramatically, but that kinda undoes the $$ advantage. So I'll probably just switch to 10w40 on the next case. Temps rarely get below 40 out here anyway.

I usually ask a "phony" question like that to kinda test the honesty of the seller. If they reply "oh, yeah, every 2 weeks", then I know they're full of it and are just making up answeres that they think I want to hear. IE, I can't believe anything they say.

Based on my experiences and behavior, I'm forced to say "NO", you're not nuts. I bought a motorcycle (Honda XR400) sight unseen from a guy in Houston. Turned out to be one of the best purchases I ever made. Very low demand in Houston for trail bikes, huge demand in CA. So I got it for well over 25% less than comparable machines here. But there are risks. It is very easy to get burned or saddled with lemons doing this. But mostly manageable risks - IF you take the time and make the effort to do so. Talk to the owner. A lot. Get a feel of what kind of person they are. Ask them what kinds of maintenance and repairs they made themselves. If they maintained the truck religiously and clearly know what they're talking about, your risk goes way down. Ask lots of questions to filter out the liars from the good owners. What kind of engine oil do they use? How often changed? How often has the oil in the diffs and transfer case been changed? Have they greased the Whitman arm and serviced the piezometric whiffle tube? If they're clueless or try to feed you BS, run away. If they are really on top of things and obviously cared about the machine, you're better off. The best bet is to have a trustable liaison help you out. If you find any desirable units within 100 miles of Chico (Sacramento to Redding), I'd be glad to check them out for you. I'll keep my eyes open, too.

Very little use for those on the trail... Out of all the folks on this board, yourself and Slick appear to be the only ladies we are likely to encounter on the trail... and you're both spoken for! :sniff:

I have a 60CS. Bottom line: I really, really, like it. Complaints: - The button location and layout is not really conducive to one handed operation. Works great with two hands or when mounted in cradle (I use RAM cradles - they're fantastic!) but not to well one handed - especially if big hand. - Didn't work too well running off batteries on off road motorcycles. Of course, that's the case with 99% of electronics - the root cause was the jarring impacts causing the batteries to "bounce" off the contacts, shutting the unit off. Since my KTM has a battery, I just hardwired it. No more problems! Likes: Just about everything else. Runs for hours on just two batteries. I use NiMH AA's and carry a couple extra sets on long excursions away from 12 V sources. Display is very bright. It would be even better if the display was bigger, but that would require a bigger/heavier unit. Huge internal memory. The "find an address" function worked extremely well. It literally put me in the driveway of a target house from 600 miles away. Very durable - I have had it on my KTM for several hundred hard miles with no issues. Including mud, snow, rain, fog, dust, crashes, tree swipes, chest slams, etc etc etc. I didn't think anything could stand up to that, but it has! Of course, they will continue to get better and better over the next few years. It's not perfect, and just like all the units available today, there is still a lot of room to make the interfaces more user friendly and intuitive. This is one of the best available now, but the ones coming out in 2 years will inevitably make this look like a hard to use obsolete dinosaur. But I needed one now, so I got it. No regrets. If you decide to get one, check out GPSNOW.com That's where I bought mine, and their service was fantastic. As was the price!

This earns you 2 atta-boy points! Thanks for posting it. Do I see a couple throttle body spacers there? What are your conclusions?

It used to be steel wheels were much "tougher" (more prone to bend versus break) than aluminum, and that lead to the conclusion that aluminum wheels had no place on serious off road vehicles. The aluminum wheels tended to have a lot of voids, porosity, contaminates, and just plain bad metallurgy and design. A sharp impact or fatigue would lead to dramatic failures. Things have changed in the world of aluminum. A lot. But the perception lingers. Aluminum wheels are MUCH tougher now, and the old problem of "shattering" or breaking wheels is almost gone - they are now more likely to bend than break. My wife hit a chunk of sharp steel (ripped a 3" gash in the tire) rapidly followed by a pothole at 75 mph. The 17" Borbet was bent up something horrible - but no cracks or breaks. In fact, I have seen some articles that say the catastrophic failure rate of aluminum wheels is now about the same as steel. They do still occaisionally break, but at about the same rate as steel. It is not unheard of for steel wheels to fail - usually a problem of the center section tearing out or welds failing. Bottom line: Disregarding the cheesy imported crap segment of the wheel market (steel and aluminum), they are all about equally tough. It's OK to make your decisions on price, weight, appearance, and maintenance requirements. "Chromed aluminum" is one exception - the chroming process embrittles the aluminum making it less suited for off roading. A couple manufacturers are claiming to have found a way to overcome this (at major $$$), but I'm not buying it just yet. As far as maintenance, most aluminums need much more than steel if you want them to remain shiny. Painting or clear coating reduces need to polish every couple months, but then you have the issues of the coating scratching or flaking. Always a trade off... Personally, I like powder coated steel for minimum fuss. Polished aluminum for maximum eye appeal. But I'm drive on dingy old unpolished aluminum for now... need to get a shot of energy (and some time!) some weekend and drag out the polish...

That's a great story! Kinda wish I coulda been there... except for the 110 degree patching part of it... And a great way to help me understand why a standard size may be preferred over max flotation. 10.5's it is! Thanks!

If you feel a need to change only every 100K miles, go with the +4. They will continue to function acceptably well for a longer period than regular plugs - which is why they were developed. To allow 100K mile service intervals. I prefer to use standard NGK's and change ever 25K or so. Leaving a plug in for years gives it too much of a chance to fuse itself in there permanently. I like to pull them out, check out how thinks are looking, and replace every 2 years. Just a way to "check the pulse" of the engine. Don't forget the anti-seize on the threads!

And I'm dying to ask... it sounds like a memorable, ahem, adventure!

Thank you for overlooking that sordid moment in my past... I have since (thankfully!) graduated to KTM's, Triumphs, Kawasakis, and Yamahas. AT tires? They were actually pretty gnarly for a P185/85-14 passenger car tread! Locker? Yeah, it had the full manual locker option. In other words, I had to get out and put high traction materials under the spinning tire.... As well as moving tall rocks out of the trail. That's the price I paid for getting to sit in back with the beer!. But all those things are probably significant factors in how much fun we had!

I'm also from the "really prepared and rarely suffering" tribe... Three main categories: Vehicle repair, personal comfort and navigation, and personal repair/survival For tire repairs, I carry a couple old fashioned plug kits and a compact compressor. I have found them more reliable than fix a flat, and you can repair multiple tires and re-inflate as often as necessary. No winch yet, so my main recovery tool is the Hi-Lift jack with shackles, chains, straps, ropes, etc so I can use it as a manual winch. Hi-Lift offers a $50 "winch" kit , but I made up my own for less. I agree with most of what you said. Some other vehicle stuff: - Quicksteel type putty epoxy for patching holes in metal things. - Radiator and fuel tank epoxy - Spare V belt for water pump/alternator (only one you REALLY need!) - Heavy gloves - Zip ties and bailing wire - Several hose clamps, best quality duct tape, and small pieces of hose (slit, wrap, and clamp) to patch ruptured/cut hoses. - compact multimeter - large folding bow saw instead of chainsaw (takes longer, but lighter) PC/Nav: - hat - sunscreen, bug juice - GPS - perhaps controversial, but I also carry self defense hand gun and train with it. Too many meth heads in the hills around here.... The mountain lions and rattlesnakes don't bother me much at all. But an inbred-abused-as-a-child-freak on wire? NOT predictable. I almost had to use it once... that was an extremely unpleasant situation - a complete nightmare I hope to never go through again. - Whisky, cigars I keep a personal survival kit in a knapsack in case I choose to abandon ship. Usually NOT a good idea, but sometimes I end up in places not originally on the itinerary I left behind. Which means much less chance of help. - Paper and pen to leave a note in the truck telling S&R which way I was going and what I was wearing. - very comprehensive FA kit, as much training as I can get, and a wilderness FA book. Never needed it for me... - couple survival blankets (tiny, really versatile) - plastic garbage bags (water protection) - Waterproof matches, vaseline soaked cotton balls (most reliable fire starters) - bottle of water, purification tablets - energy bars - compass, signal mirror, whistle, knife, small hatchet, cable saw Toss in the topos or GPS (and batteries), the LED flashlight, and whatever else might come in handy and I'm ready for a reasonable pleasant (or at least survivable) stroll out...