Our article stats show that Tech Tips are always immensely popular... probably
because there’s always something for someone. So here goes: ten more tech tips
for people who enjoy working on their own cars.
If you’re not quite cutting - and not quite grinding - but you want to remove
material with an angle-grinder, a multi-flap sanding disc is an incredibly
useful tool. With lots greater ability to remove material than a normal single
sanding disc, it can be used to polish and smooth away material. Here it is
being used on a fabricated turbo exhaust manifold – just the thing to remove the
marks left by normal grinding discs. Recently we also used it to smooth the edge
of bonnet ribs cut away to provide clearance to underbonnet plumbing – it worked
superbly. However, multi-flap wheels are quite expensive – shop around before
plonking down the cash.
Want to put your car up on ramps? It’s always easier and quicker than using
jack-stands. But getting lots of cars up onto ramps can be really difficult –
especially the front wheels. That’s because if you have a low front spoiler, the
inclination of most ramps will cause the spoiler to touch the ramps as you’re
climbing them. The answer is to get some ramp extensions welded-up. These were
made from square tube and have been doing duty with these ramps for 20
years!
And talking about working under cars, if you haven’t already got a really
good slider, buy one! Being able to slide under a car easily and smoothly is
just soooo much easier than trying to crawl under on a blanket. You need a
slider that is strong (stronger than most bodgy cheap plastic ones are) and one
that has really good castors. The latter’s the case because almost certainly at
times you’ll try to roll the ramp over tools, or cut-off bits of cable-ties, or
sockets – and if the casters are weak, at this stage they’ll break right off.
This slider was bought secondhand and then painted.
If you want a bolt to go in smoothly, most often you might spray it with some
penetrating lubricant or maybe even give it a thin wipe of grease. But if you
want it to be able to come out much later, coating it in anti-seize is best. As
the name suggests, this material is designed to prevent the bolt from seizing.
Many anti-seizes use copper as a major ingredient, and in fact the specks of
copper can be seen in them. So where would you use it? Basically, wherever bolts
normally seize-up. Oxygen sensor threads, exhaust manifold bolts, even wheel
nuts. Good industrial suppliers have anti-seize available quite cheaply.
Bitumen coating. Anti-noise coating. Anti-resonant paint. Corrosion proofing.
Call it what you will, a thick layer of bitumen-based paint can be used to
prevent panels drumming, provide stone protection to underside panels and to
prevent corrosion. There are special automotive coatings available but your
local big hardware store probably has a general-purpose bitumen paint like this.
It’s cheap, goes on easily with a stiff brush, and hardens with a smooth
surface. But it can take a l-o-n-g time to go completely hard – so don’t paint
it on where contact with it will occur soon!
If you change your wheels – especially from steel rims to alloys – make sure
that you keep a set of original wheel nuts with the spare wheel. That’s because
in many cases, the spare wheel can no longer be attached with the new wheel
nuts. For the same reason, ensure the original wheel-brace fits both the new and
the old wheel nuts. Sure you won’t
get a flat tyre – no-one ever expects to in normal urban running. But when it’s
raining and you feel than slow thump, thump, you’re really gonna be unhappy when
you find the spare wheel can’t even be bolted on...
‘Vicegrips’ is the trade name but the concept is now widely available: pliers
that have an adjustment mechanism and can be compressed over-centre so they lock
in place. They’re excellent for holding stuff while you drill it, crimping off
brake and fuel hoses as needed, and even as general purpose pliers when you need
a bit more force. It’s a cliché but they really are a second pair of hands...
ABS - acrylonitrile butadiene styrene – sheet is an excellent plastic with
which to work. Available in sheet form it can be cut, ground, filed, sawn,
drilled and generally treated as you would a tough wood. But unlike a wood, it’s
flexible (you can roll that sheet up to get it home in your car) and is
available in a variety of colours and finishes. ‘Black’ and ‘grained’ are two good colours/finishes to go for
– the plastic can be used to form dashboard panels, aerodynamic undertrays (as
here), small lightweight brackets – and a host of other uses. Note that if it is
heated, it can be bent and shaped as well – truly a versatile, cheap and durable
material.
Whenever you see a cheap pressure gauge on sale secondhand, buy it! Well,
that’s if it spans the range from about 0-100 psi, or 0-7 Bar, anyway. If it
costs $5 or $10 you’ll be bloody glad to have it available when you want to test
fuel pump pressure, or the pressure an intercooler water pump can develop – or
lots of other uses. But don’t buy it if it looks like this one – a gauge that
does not zero has probably had its internal Bourdon tube stretched beyond
recovery.
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