TVC15

by | May 15, 2020 | Fun, LifeSkills, Pastimes | 233 comments

Here are some pictures of a manual transmission rebuild. Here’s some music to listen to while you look at them.

I didn’t start taking photos until I was a little way into it, so we’re starting at chapter 2. You’re not missing anything. Chapter 1 was just a bunch of boring character development. Bell housing is off, tail piece is off, shifter bits are out, and the belly pan is removed.

 

Guts.

Inverted guts. Counter 5th removed.

Right side up again. Shift rods out. Reverse pulled.

Bell housing getting blasted with glass bead.

The bearing on the input shaft was a bitch. I broke 2 bearing pullers and it refused to budge. I heated it with MAP gas and it refused to budge. I splurged on an $800 deep groove bearing puller…and it refused to budge.

So I threw the whole thing in a bucket of diesel overnight. The bearing slid right off the next day. Fuck you, bearing! In your face!

 

Main shaft out. From left to right that’s the 4th/3rd clutch hub, 3rd gear, 2nd gear, 2nd/1st clutch hub, and 1st gear.

 

Down to just 2nd gear and the inside of the clutch hub.

 

Some steel pieces getting powder coated.

 

Nearly everything you see here goes into the transmission or connects to it.

 

4th through 1st back in the case.

It’s a lot easier to put the new bearings on if you freeze the countershaft.

Reverse and 5th gear.

Shift forks and rods are in, along with some pretty caps for the blind holes.

 

Rear case.

Bell housing and rear bearing housing installed, along with the shift rod ends.

Tailpiece.

It’s a good thing no one pays me to do this, because this represents nearly 2 months of work, a few hours here and there. I may not be good, but at least I’m slow.

More music.

About The Author

Mad Scientist

Mad Scientist

Mad Scientist enjoys racing, wrenching, and telling his wife to take the dog if she wants a long walk on the beach.

233 Comments

  1. Florida Man

    Cool. What transmission is that and what does it go to?

    • Mojeaux

      I believe that goes to an RX7 and has a rotary engine.

      • Mad Scientist

        Correct!

    • UnCivilServant

      I suspect nothing, he just likes picking up trannys and rebuilding them.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        He’s a plastic surgeon?

      • UnCivilServant

        I’d say more of a steel surgeon.

  2. UnCivilServant

    So, do you do this for fun, or do you also manage to get paid to do it?

    • UnCivilServant

      (yes, I saw the ending remark.)

  3. Shirley Knott

    Cool pictures!
    Seems like Joy Division is the appropriate music for the work. Or Einsturzende Neubauten.

  4. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Nice.

    A good trick for loosening stuck bearings is to soak in a mixture of transmission fluid and acetone.

    Just don’t smoke anywhere near it.

    • Swiss Servator

      I would have just told the bearing I was going to read SugarFree stories to it until it came out. Probably would have shot out like a cannonball.

  5. Yusef drives an Island

    Damn Nice job! great song, Thanks!
    /Purty Trans

  6. The Late P Brooks

    The bearing on the input shaft was a bitch. I broke 2 bearing pullers and it refused to budge. I heated it with MAP gas and it refused to budge. I splurged on an $800 deep groove bearing puller…and it refused to budge.

    The tailshaft housing on the 2002 was held on by the bearing. I’d tig weld nuts to the inner race and use the three jaw puller on it. There was no way I was going to buy the super duper BMW (getrag?) service tool, which looked exactly like what I imagined it would, to do the job.

  7. PieInTheSky

    Seems like a lot of trouble. Just fly to wherever you’re going.

    • UnCivilServant

      You have that backwards. Flying is too much trouble.

  8. The Late P Brooks

    Which reminds me that I have been putting off pulling the gearbox for the “other” 914 apart, so I can weld the crack in the case) for a very long time.

  9. The Late P Brooks

    A good trick for loosening stuck bearings is to soak in a mixture of transmission fluid and acetone.

    Never tried that.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      We remove a lot of bearings that are stuck in housings when repairing construction equipment.

      A lot….

      • Mad Scientist

        A 50/50 mix of ATF/Acetone works better than Liquid Wrench or Kroil or anything else I’ve ever tried. In this case, submerging the thing in a bucket of diesel was just cheaper.

      • LCDR_Fish

        Just like cleaning rust off tools and tow-chains in the motorpool. /grunt

      • l0b0t

        My fingers have been pretty much defatted from many years of those motor-pool dip tanks. Every winter my fingertips crack open. For that, and my tinnitus, thanks Army.

  10. straffinrun

    Reminds me of Wheeler Dealers. Mike would buy some busted up car and drop it off for Ed to fix. “Shouldn’t take ya long to sort it out.” Then he go and try to find floor mats while Ed “sorted it out” while not swearing even once.

    • UnCivilServant

      The reason the clip was so short was that they had to edit out the profanity.

      • straffinrun

        They don’t edit out “bollocks”, do they?

      • Tejicano

        How else do you think the get a tranny?

      • straffinrun

        Kinky.

    • Toxteth O’Grady

      I miss Ed. You don’t see many posh mechanics. Puzzled me why he always wore a short T-shirt over a long one.

      • straffinrun

        Looked him up to see what he’s up to. Had no idea his name is spelled “Edd”. How you get that from “Edward”? Maybe he’s anti war, too.

      • Toxteth O’Grady

        Edd Byrnes? Ed, Edd n Eddy?

        Guess he didn’t want to come out to CA.

      • egould310

        “ Puzzled me why he always wore a short T-shirt over a long one”

        My guess is Edd subscribed to Thrasher magazine as a youth, and picked up the style from there. Popular NorCal style for punks, skaterboarders, rappers. Also popular in NorCal, the phrase “Hella”.

      • Rhywun

        Also popular in NorCal, the phrase “Hella”

        LOL, that is where I learned it. From a thirty-something skater.

      • egould310

        Thats hella funny!

  11. The Late P Brooks

    Nice assortment of hammers.

  12. Suthenboy

    Huh. And I thought I was clever dissembling a large outdoor fan and constructing a wood lathe from the motor and spindle….and I almost screwed that up.

    I wish I had the mechanical competence you have MS.

    • Mad Scientist

      I cheated and used a manual.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        *hisses, points finger*

        Manuals are for after you’ve screwed it up at least once.

  13. The Late P Brooks

    Speaking of crazy car shit- I watched a youtube last night by a guy who plopped a VW squareback body on a Mazda Miata chassis. It turned out surprisingly well.

    • Florida Man

      I link to a YouTube kid that made an AWD Miata by swapping an Impreza engine and drive train. What is impressive is he has self taught himself to weld, fabricate and wrench.

      https://youtu.be/l5a1Oj73-CQ

      • Certified Public Asshat

        I’ll drop this one in too: ChrisFix

        He fixes everything in his driveway, to show how anyone can work on their car with basic tools (I guess you want quibble over how basic a torque wrench is).

      • Certified Public Asshat

        *Might, not want*

      • Florida Man

        I torque everything to spec, including my lug nuts. If you are buying hand tools you might as well get 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 torque wrenches.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Yeah, it gets a little pricy to start out: torque wrenches, socket set, jack stands, floor jack…

    • Mad Scientist

      A buddy of mine put an MGB body on a Miata chassis. He had to widen the body a bit and do some other creative work, but damned if the thing doesn’t look like it was designed that way.

  14. Mojeaux

    I have zero interest in fixing cars but I do love to watch a craftsman work. Thank you!

  15. DEG

    Cool!

  16. Sean

    Thanks for sharing, Mad Scientist!

    • Sean

      I was just gonna post that!

      It’s over, Wolf. Stop playing fucking games.

      • DEG

        I love the updates about “Lock Her Up” chants about Levine and the vitriol directed at Wolf and Levine.

      • egould310

        I was childhood friends with a Rachel Levine. This is not the same person.

    • DEG

      A speaker just called for Gauleiter Wolf’s impeachment. First I’ve heard of that.

      • juris imprudent

        Must be getting a little warm there, as I hear York County is finally recategorizing as yellow from red.

      • Don Escaped Australians

        silly tangent: York County PA is one of the three centers of mobile HVAC in the US

  17. egould310

    Very cool, Mad Scientist. It may as well be a spaceship you’re working on, I don’t know anything about fixing cars, engines, transmissions, or anything really.

    When the pandemic is over, I’m going to attend a day long workshop on guitar repair/set-up. It’s in Vancouver BC, so I’ll finish the day here for steak and a martini. https://yelp.to/qTKq/tJgBJcuPv6

    Fuck this stupid lockdown shit.

    • Fourscore

      Man, looks complicated to me and I didn’t stay at any motel last night. Now I won’t complain (too much) about those guys that charge $105 an hour and then try to explain to me what the problem was.

      I’m grateful for people like you, MS, I need all the help I can get.

  18. mikey

    Cool. Thanks.
    Like four times the number of parts as on my old Brit crash box. Everything came right apart – the clearances aren’t so tight and a rubber mallet pounded things apart.
    My biggest issue was the little springs and balls that would fly out unexpectedly when I moved something. Funny how they’d dissapear into another dimension or something.

    Maybe I shoud have read the factory manual first? Nah. Instructions are for wimps.

  19. Timeloose

    Very nice pics on the rebuild. What was the issue with the trans that prompted the rebuild?

    For those of you that are afraid of doing this type of work, it helps if it is not your daily driver. It allows you the time to do it right after doing it wrong the first or second time.

    I didn’t listen to my own advice and decided to replace my wife’s rotors and brake pads one night prior to her going to work the next day. The first wheel took 2 hours because I couldn’t figure out how to get the new rubber slide pin covers on without ruining them. Once I figured out the first wheel it took me 15 minutes per wheel.

    Running into issues like the stuck bearing are why it helps to not have a deadline. Forcing things, being in a hurry, and especially getting mad at inanimate objects leads to lots of money being spent.

    • juris imprudent

      getting mad at inanimate objects

      I’m feeling very called out.

    • Fourscore

      “getting mad at inanimate objects leads to lots of money being spent.”

      Ran out of bigger hammers. Too often my fixes ended up twice, undoing what I had broken or rounded the corners of a bolt. Then taking it to the real repair guy.

      • Timeloose

        As a teen and college student I had a tendency to Hulk out when mechanical repairs went wrong. My first job out of college made me change that behavior. Breaking a $20K high vacuum system gate valve because your angry at it will not fly with your plant manager.

      • kinnath

        40 years ago, I picked up a small book on bicycle maintenance. The author provided list of required tools including a hammer and a block of wood.

        The hammer and wood were for those occasions when a loose ball bearing rolls off the workbench in the back and disappears from this time/space continuum.

        You then pick up the hammer and beat on the block of wood screaming at the top of your lungs until the rage subsides.

    • Mad Scientist

      What was the issue with the trans that prompted the rebuild?

      Turned out it had a broken spring that helps the shifter self-center, but nothing else was wrong with it. It was new to us though, and I don’t want any surprises on the race track, so it had to come apart so I could feel confident it was OK.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    Repeat as necessary

    Americans should oust President Trump from the White House and elect a leader who will support – rather than undermine – public health experts who are battling the COVID-19 pandemic, British medical journal The Lancet says in a newly published editorial.

    The unsigned editorial sharply criticizes the Trump administration, saying it has marginalized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to a degree that is dangerous for both the U.S. and the world.

    “Americans must put a president in the White House come January, 2021, who will understand that public health should not be guided by partisan politics,” the journal says.

    Go fuck an armadillo.

    • kbolino

      “Elect a partisan politician to get partisanship out of politics” is definitely a sound strategy.

      • kbolino

        From the same people who brought you “spend lots of money on a candidate to get money out of politics”.

      • Fourscore

        “I’m not taking money from big donors, unless I need it”

    • Toxteth O’Grady

      But they carry lepr– Oh.

    • R C Dean

      it has marginalized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

      They’ve done a shit job, so why not?

      British medical journal The Lancet

      But still better than the NHS. Maybe you should stick to your British knitting, Limeys.

      • Chipwooder

        The article says we need a leader who supports the experts. Dr. Birx is an expert, right? And she has repeatedly trashed the CDC.

      • Ted S.

        These are the people who said Iraq War II killed an extra 500K people without saying where the bodies were.

        This after all the anti-war people were saying the sanctions were killing eleventy billion children.

    • juris imprudent

      Let’s compare the death rates from COVID-19 between the U.S. and U.K., what say you? Oh, cat got your tongue?

    • Suthenboy

      The last time these fuckers had a strong opinion on American politics we fixed things….with bullets.
      Go fuck yourselves, Limeys.

  21. Florida Man

    Once we all drive electric cars we won’t need to rebuild transmissions anymore.

    • UnCivilServant

      I’m thinking those electric motors still have an optimum range they work best in and can benefit from mechanical gearing.

      • Florida Man

        I’m not sure that is how electric motors work.

      • UnCivilServant

        Why would there not be some optimum output profile just because it’s driven by electomagnets instead of gas pistons?

      • egould310

        Direct drive motors for each wheel. No tranny required.

      • UnCivilServant

        Why would you put them there? That’s a terrible idea. You’ve got four times the maintenance, high chance of damaging the engines, and you’re sticking them directly into the most damaging environment, so the first time the gasket around the drive shaft isn’t perfect, you’ve got salt, mud, and crud in the engines.

      • kinnath

        Motor not engine.

        Transmissions are complicated and thus prone to failure.

        Direct drive motors much simpler.

        Electrical wires to motors, much lighter, simpler, and robust than mechanical limited-slip differential transmission.

      • UnCivilServant

        That makes me less trusting of electric motors.

      • R C Dean

        My understanding is that there are either two or four motors, one for each wheel being driven, that are mounted at the wheels.

      • UnCivilServant

        My understanding is that there are multiple designs, all with the same shortcoming which has nothing to do with the electric motor.

      • Florida Man

        2 electric motors are the rear wheels is kind of ideal for a fun car. Instant torque, crazy acceleration, light steering and you could balance the batteries for 50/50 weight distribution. If Li-Air batteries ever materialize I think electric cars could be a viable options to ICE cars.

      • UnCivilServant

        If I don’t hear the accelleration, it just feels wrong.

      • Florida Man

        You can load the onboard computer with your own engine sounds. You could have F1, nascar, drag car, whatever acceleration sound files. It would be fun to pick and choose.

      • UnCivilServant

        Or I could play a video game for less.

        No, if I ever had the parking space and the cash to waste on a for-fun car, I want something without a computer.

      • egould310

        Jet turbine noises. Cats meows revving up to tiger growls.
        Dramatic violin crescendos.
        Childhood engine noises.
        General Lee with accompanying banjo soundtrack.

      • The Last American Hero

        Sex noises.

      • Rebel Scum

        My understanding is that electric cars really grind my gears.

  22. EvilSheldon

    Man, I like to think of myself as pretty handy, but that transmission rebuild would have beaten me like a big drum. Nice work!

  23. Don Escaped Australians

    hot sports opinion: on the shifter, reverse goes under first for rocking when stuck and parking

    • Timeloose

      Agreed.

    • kbolino

      The Japanese seem to prefer it out past 6th gear which makes no sense to me. At least in my Subaru, I can’t enter reverse unintentionally because there’s a locking mechanism, but having to swing wildly from R to 1st is still kind of funky. I’m not sure R under 1st makes much sense, as that means getting to 2nd either requires you to hop a gear or do an upside-down dog-leg shift, both of which seem awkward. Putting reverse left of and below 1st would seem to be a good balance of convenience with risk.

      • Rebel Scum

        out past 6th gear

        That’s how my Civic is. Come to think of it, so was my Mazda and other Civic. I have driven other cars, such as BMWs that have it to the left of first. Idk that I have a preference either way, but I am obviously more used to the out past 6th or opposite of 5th.

  24. The Late P Brooks

    hot sports opinion: on the shifter, reverse goes under first for rocking when stuck and parking

    Like in the olden times?

    R-2-4
    1-3-5

    Much superior.

    • R C Dean

      Wonder why it changed?

      • kbolino

        Was there ever agreement to begin with? It seems each manufacturer has a convention (and some have more than one).

    • kbolino

      I read that as:

      1-2-4
      R-3-5

      or

      1-3-5
      R-2-4

      (plus 6, 7, etc.)

      • Yusef drives an Island

        1-3-5
        R2-4

      • kinnath

        Last 5-speed I had was

        1-3-5
        2-4=R with a lock out.

    • kinnath

      I am perfectly happy with 350Z.

      1-3-5
      2-4-6=R with a lock out

      Why would I ever need to rock this vehicle? Snow? Mud?

      That’s what the 4wd Xterra is for.

      • Mojeaux

        I rocked my Honda out of deep drifts of snow with R down and left. Front wheel drive helped.

        …1-3-5
        R..2-4

    • Florida Man

      Maybe annoyed nomad needs to revise his financial projections.

      • Mojeaux

        RC Dean said he’s carrying his out to 120. Checks out.

      • R C Dean

        I’m projecting to 100. Somebody else was going to 120.

        I figure a 40+ year projection is already pretty speculative on the back end.

      • robc

        That was me planning on 120. Its biblical, I dont need to worry past that.

      • Fourscore

        …and I’m hoping for tomorrow…and the fish are biting

      • Annoyed Nomad

        Damn, 120? I think it’ll require some big medical break-through for me to reach that.

      • robc

        I just want to make sure I dont run out of money. If I die earlier, my daughter gets more.

      • Mojeaux

        Dude. Go big or go home.

      • kinnath

        My plan is to commit suicide when the wine/beer/mead cellar goes empty.

        Fortunately, I know how to make wine, beer, and mead. So I don’t expect that to occur anytime soon.

      • UnCivilServant

        I expect your epitath to be something like “Died doing something he loved” after being crushed by a keg.

      • Fourscore

        I’m looking forward to your orchard article, K

      • kinnath

        It will be 2 or 3 articles. Got the first one submitted.

      • The Last American Hero

        120? Is RC Ron Bailey?

  25. Certified Public Asshat

    Is Rock auto the best place for parts?

  26. juris imprudent

    Danny Devito, a candidate for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

    Maybe this 2020 isn’t the worst timeline after all.

  27. Timeloose

    Rock auto and Summit racing both have a great website and prices are essentially the same. I use them both depending on part availability. There are also some OEM part sites for newer cars that are much cheaper than the dealer.

  28. Tundra

    Nice job, Mad!

    Only a matter of time before I gotta tackle the one in the britcar. Thanks god it’s so much simpler than that bad boy.

    Simply awesome choices of music. JD was an amazing band.

    • DEG

      Thanks god it’s so much simpler than that bad boy.

      Triumph? British Car? Much Simpler? Does not compute.

      /pay no attention to my collection of British guns or the slowly growing pile of money for a TR-6

      • Tundra

        You’re nuts. My car is simpler than modern lawn mowers.

        Besides, who cares? It’s a fun, sunny day car with plentiful and inexpensive replacement parts.

      • Mad Scientist

        Not just simpler, but MUCH simpler. For example, the British can use cheap rubber in the rear suspension, knowing it will be constantly lubricated by leaking engine oil.

  29. egould310

    I installed floor mats in my Kia. Took me about five minutes. Also, I put the little toll road transponder on the windshield. That took like two minutes. When I got Washington plates for the car, I had the dealership put them on when I took it in for service.

    • UnCivilServant

      I put in new windshield washer fluid.

      What annoys me is that the reservoir on my car holds juuuust under a gallon, so there’s always some left sloshing in the jug.

      • Don Escaped Australians

        Those things are blow-molded and designed to fit the available space. Your thinking is square: needs to be a gallon plus some reasonable not-quite-empty residue (pint).

        But what happens is the shape of the space can create a couple of molding problems; the size tends to be limited to whatever dimensions avoid the problem for the supplier, and the end owner gets a bit of FYTW.

        For those who don’t know (and without getting into a bunch of description), the worst problem is “die lock;” in that situation, a tank in the hoped-for shape would prevent the tool from opening; there are ways to add an “action” on another axis other than the blow-mold’s primary “pull” which is lateral, but those actions are expensive in and of themselves as well as requiring special sequencing controls. The next problem (I don’t know the name for it) is the parison’s not having room to drop and bloom; the press extrudes a balloon of hot plastic that hangs into the tool and is inflated into shape; the tool shape can’t contort it too much or parts of the shape will glom onto each other and refuse to inflate.

        I’ll see if I can find some pictures on line that are 1000X better than this sad explanation.

      • UnCivilServant

        Take the computers away from the designers, along with the assumption that anything can be declared a non-user-servicable part. If it can’t be worked on by a half drunk suburbanite with no manufacturer’s training, go back to the drawing board.

      • l0b0t

        My Nissan trucklet thingy is the first car I’ve had that holds more than a gallon. It doesn’t hold two gallons or anything sensible though. It holds about a gallon and a quart.

      • l0b0t

        And then Don explained it all quite nicely while I was typing. Thanks Don.

      • Don Escaped Australians

        yw

        / 2 years as a service engineer

      • Tres Cool

        …me too

        Thanks Don.

        I understand that thinking from an assembly aspect tho. Anything that can allow a manufacturer to shave 30 secs off assembly time gets implemented, no matter how retarded it is to have to remove a front wheel to access 3 spark plugs..

        /GM 5300 V8

      • kinnath

        Just had the dealer replace the spark plugs on my Z.

        They have to drop the exhaust manifold on both sides to remove and replace the plugs.

        Good thing I have money to burn.

      • Florida Man

        I had to take the air intake manifold off my Wife’s RAV4 to do 3 of the plugs. What should be a 20 minute job, takes 2 hours now.

      • Tundra

        That sucks.

      • kinnath

        Well, this is the second time it’s been done (at 100K miles). It’s not like it has to be done all the time.

        If I actually liked working on cars and had to do this myself, it would definitely suck.

        I also take the car to the dealer to have the battery replaced.

        They have to remove bracing in engine compartment to get the battery out.

      • UnCivilServant

        I dread the day the battery in my CMax needs replacing.

        Stupid Hybrids.

      • robc

        They have to remove bracing in engine compartment to get the battery out.

        I replaced my own battery a few years back. It was under the bracing. Removing the bracing required a metric tool kit. Removing the battery itself required an english tool kit.

        MAKE UP YOUR FREAKING MINDS!

      • Don Escaped Australians

        I was told that problem existed on second generation F bodies, back when plugs needed changing.

        My wager is that over the life of a modern car, you spend less time even after pulling the wheels. It’s a two hour job once every 100k now; it was a 40 minutes job every 10k back before. We’re really five hours to the good every 100k.

        As the durability of components changes, the notion of what needs the best service access priority must move.

      • UnCivilServant

        But in terms of dollars I pay the mechanic, and I better or worse off?

      • Don Escaped Australians

        I don’t have an SRT book in front of me, but yes: that’s what I’m implying.

        The real (adjusted for inflation) service costs of owning a car have plummeted. The people who complain don’t seem to remember that they only made $18k in 1982 back when they were paying $5 for an oil change. Parts that haven’t changed in design over 50 years just keep getting cheaper. You’re looking at $100 an hour to swap parts; that’s down as well over time. I’m just being frivolous in my example, but it amounts to a savings of about 500 USD (2020).

        Take it from me: the two things you don’t want to do for a living are build car parts or fix cars; it’s a race to the bottom with China and the biggest idiot in town setting the prices.

        Cars routinely last 200k now. The hits might get your attention, but you have to amortize them over a lot more miles; there’s also a bit of emotional amortization there. I don’t want to lecture anyone, but a car costs $0.50/mile to operate; if you beat that, you must pay attention, know a few things, and have a bit of luck. Most people who bitch about maintenance really have a budget problem, an earnings problem, not a car problem. I skip banging my debt-is-evil pay-cash-or-you-cant-afford-it drum for another day. People who sell before 100k routinely skip maintenance entirely except oil and tires.

        My Big Ugly is somewhere around $0.60/mile this year, but I’ve put most of my miles over the past two decades on other, cheaper cars that came in below $0.40. I’ll get it watered down to a lower rate one of these days, but so far 2020 has been 90% insurance to sit.

      • R C Dean

        Let’s not overlook that the car companies have an incentive to make them difficult for owners to work on.

        The less an owner does, the more the dealer does, and the more money the dealer makes.

        You get more of what you reward . . . .

      • Don Escaped Australians

        nice theory / never happens

        I’ve got so much space under the dash and under the hood, shrinking all the time as features increase and aerodynamic drag decreases. I’m just making smart choices, picking priorities. There’s no memo from the corner office to screw anyone over.

      • UnCivilServant

        My focus would take a gallon almost to the dot. there was not enough empty space to fret over, nor any leftovers in the jug.

      • kinnath

        There is always a partial gallon in the garage. Who lets the tank run dry?

      • UnCivilServant

        Who remembers before it runs out?

        Also, I don’t have a garage.

      • kinnath

        Snow season means salt season means keep the damn thing full if you want to see.

      • UnCivilServant

        (More serious response, it takes a few months to actually run out. Even when the other traffic is sending filthy road grime droplets into the air.)

      • kinnath

        We change have the dealer change the oil every 3 or 4 months. The fill the fluids when the do that.

        The only time I actually check the fluid is when the weather has been terrible, and it’s been a couple of months since the last oil change.

      • Tres Cool

        Same here. Ive always wanted to find the person(s) responsible for that design decision and beat them in the head with the jug.

        “ONE GALLON MOTHERFUCKER! THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!”

    • Rebel Scum

      I stuck a new air freshener in the vent.

      • Tundra

        That’s an odd euphemism.

  30. The Late P Brooks

    Is Rock auto the best place for parts?

    I have used it for a bunch of stuff, in the past couple of years.

    Cheaper than my friendly neighborhood Oreilly

    • Tundra

      Yeah, they are good. Local place gets the biz, though, when I fuck up and forget to order something.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Local places for me are just advanced, auto zone, and napa. Rock crushes all of those in price.

  31. Timeloose

    I missed your musical choice the first go around. Damm… I forgot how good of a drummer Stephen Morris was/is. Most of the New order stuff was drum machines and electronics.

    • Tundra

      I believe Morris just incorporated electronic drums into his regular set. He was just really fucking good.

    • Rhywun

      Most of my favorite New Order songs are their straight-ahead rock tunes.

      TW: crap video, cut off early

      • egould310

        All of my favorite Depeche Mode songs are actually New Order songs.

      • Suthenboy

        “…my favorite Depeche Mode songs …”

        That is not music and you are dead to me.

        *tries to scratch egould310 off of list of favorite commenters….fails*

        Alright, you arent dead to me but you are on double secret probation.

      • l0b0t

        Don’t be too hard on him Suthen’. He’ll dance to anything.

  32. The Late P Brooks

    Outrageous outrage

    Anderson Cooper on Thursday night defended CNN for having 17-year-old Greta Thunberg appear alongside a lineup of coronavirus experts in a network town hall.

    Cooper rationalized Thunberg’s appearance in a lengthy monologue after the town hall, taking aim at the “phony online outrage machine” he said generated a false narrative that Thunberg was to appear in the town hall as a public health expert herself.

    “Apparently somebody with a blue check on Twitter saw the initial ad,” Cooper said, referring to an ad promoting Thursday night’s town hall, “and was outraged and claimed that we had booked Greta Thunberg to be an expert on a coronavirus panel with other health experts.”

    The program also included CNN broadcaster Sanjay Gupta, 50, former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, 71, and former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Richard Besser, 60.

    I guess Random Drunken Asshole was unavailable.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Shorter CNN: HOW DARE YOU?

    • Don Escaped Australians

      I go to thinking about the urge to try to help versus the risk to reputation when you agree to go one such a network. I’d never get on because I’d insist on knowing who I’m being lined up with and going last to make sure they keep their word, so I’d get laughed off the list right away.

    • CPRM

      We didn’t have her on as an expert, we had her on with experts because she knows better than Drumpf freaks.

    • R C Dean

      I love that his defense is basically “we invite totally unqualified people to sit on our panels all the time”.

    • Rhywun

      I love the defense that they also had Alicia Keys and Spike Lee as other not-panelists. *snort*

    • Suthenboy

      A 17 year old retard. Perfect.
      The people that keep trotting her out need to be kicked until piss comes out of their noses.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Somebody is going to catch a bullet before this is over.

      • Chipwooder

        And it will be richly deserved.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      “They had a report, and it was full of immaculately bogus material. Just random material as to why our home was unfit for children. My attorney said that the fact that the case is not closed is another interesting detail. It’s still pending.”

      “He showed up when I was gone at work, and we had a babysitter watching the baby,” said Graham. “So I had to wait another day to speak with him. He did the whole thing. He sat me down and interviewed me separate from my husband. He interviewed my husband. He questioned my six-year-old child. He made me take him on a tour of my house. He made me lift the toilet seat. He checked my baby’s diaper. Never in my life would I ever have thought I’d experience something like that. That’s harassment at the highest level.”

      Keep in mind, this is some starry-eyed asshat that decided they wanted to do “social work” to help people. Now they’re goons for Kate Brown, harassing people for defying what are probably unconstitutional orders.

      • R C Dean

        I’m thinking there’s enough here to get a conspiracy to deprive of civil rights case going and into the discovery phase.

        Finding out who sent CPS there would be very interesting indeed.

        Rewriting the law on independent contractors and OSHA workplaces would also be interesting to dig into.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I’m willing to put money down that the information on who “called in” a CPS complaint is protected info.

        By the time you get a subpoena, it will have been Lernered.

      • R C Dean

        In this case, I think it would be discoverable as evidence of the conspiracy.

        And if its been “lost”, the plaintiff is entitled to presume the worst under the rules for spoliation of evidence.

      • leon

        Why did she allow them to come in? Aren’t CPS still government workers and still require a warrant?

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Babysitter let them in.

        They need a warrant, but if they have the police with them they can claim “imminent danger” and whoop there goes the Constitution.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        The fact that CPS showed when both parents were gone and the babysitter was there says that they planned it that way.

      • Ownbestenemy

        It was a coincidence…happen stance, we had no idea that both parents would be gone and we can take advantage of that.

        Rven at my ex’s worst when she had custody of my two boys, I eould have never called CPS. That shit is too dangerous

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      I donated as well.

    • wdalasio

      You know, AG Barr has said he’d look for examples of government overreach. This looks like a prime example. A Justice Department raid on the Governor and head of the state CPS would set a wonderful example.

      • R C Dean

        Barr, like a lot of people in DC, talks a good game. But he rarely delivers the goods.

        Confident prediction: the DOJ will bring not one single case in connection with state overreach.

      • Suthenboy

        It would take only a few cases like this to set an example and shit like this would come to a grinding halt. It is telling to me that those cases never come to pass.

      • wdalasio

        Not even a few. Just give them the same treatment the Justice Department gave Roger Stone. A full SWAT raid with helicopters and speedboats (in case the Governor tries to make a daring escape).

    • Ownbestenemy

      And people still think that the State operates in their best intrests…

  33. The Late P Brooks

    What’s this?

    Thunberg earlier Thursday explained she was invited onto the panel to talk about a new campaign supporting UNICEF during the pandemic.

    Ahhhh. Panhandling.

  34. Don Escaped Australians

    week nine is closing

    I might have worked 24 hours during the entire fiasco

    NewWife bought Shiner

    • Timeloose

      You wife has a good idea, i’m off to buy ruby redbirds for the wife.

  35. Chipwooder

    Max Boot is really very desperate for attention.

    Washington Post Opinions
    @PostOpinions
    If Trump had been in charge during World War II, this column would be in German,
    @MaxBoot
    writes
    Opinion | If Trump had been in charge during World War II, this column would be in German
    We’re at war with the virus. But Trump isn’t behaving like a wartime president.
    washingtonpost.com
    3:04 PM · May 15, 2020

    Max Boot and war – as iconic a duo as peanut butter and chocolate.

    • leon

      If Max Boot were in charge during WWII, i might approve of the Nazis having him assassinated.

    • kbolino

      Ah yes. The same Germans who bombed Pearl Harbor, no doubt.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Forget it, he’s rolling.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Trump should just declare Martial Law…pull all troops from around the world back home…then say…nevermind.

    • R C Dean

      We’re at war with the virus.

      Oh, fuck off, you crypto-proggy asshat.

      • wdalasio

        At this point I don’t think the new Woke Max Boot is even crypto- about his progginess.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      For a guy with such a large brain pan he sure is fucking stupid. Sweet Jesus do I hate that motherfucker.

    • Ownbestenemy

      NV is supposed to get an update today…so guess we will see what is what

  36. Chipwooder

    The balls on this broad….

    Lorena
    @LorenaSGonzalez
    ·
    23h
    Staying the course on minimum wage increases is one of the most important things we can do for low-wage workers and n California, including many of those who have been working as “essential employees.”
    Bravo
    @GavinNewsom
    Lorena
    @LorenaSGonzalez
    But, making cuts across the board to public sector worker pay should be our last resort. Our lowest wage civil servants were barely making ends meet before this & can’t bare a reduction in salary. We can’t exacerbate our shameful levels of income inequality during these times.
    4:16 PM · May 14, 2020

    Just tell her that they’re contractors, then she’ll have no problem whatsoever with them losing their jobs.

    • R C Dean

      Let’s not cut pay. Let’s cut positions.

      And let’s cut high-paed positions. For great equality!

      • RAHeinlein

        Why not both?

      • R C Dean

        I’d rather do it all as cut positions. Its really easy to restore a cut in pay. Its harder to restore a position that has been eliminated.

        Plus, a bureaucrat with a pay cut is still a bureaucrat making trouble.

      • l0b0t

        Moldbug had some interesting thoughts on how to unwind FedGov. He advocated letting the apparatchiks retire with their pensions and hearty pat on the back for a job well done. Cutting pay and sacking people, as tempting as it is, would lead to too much animosity.

      • Suthenboy

        You think unemployment is bad now? Fire all of the telephone sanitizers and see what happens.

    • juris imprudent

      She is the Karen that California needs and deserves.

  37. leon

    Short Circuit released a really good Podcast, going over all the QI cases the SCOTUS may look at in the next year. The whole idea of QI is so aggravating, that it is shocking that more of a revolt hasn’t occurred…

    • Chipwooder

      Johnny 5 is alive!

      Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

      • Rhywun

        New and improved!

    • Don Escaped Australians

      orals on C-SPAN were particularly compelling this week

      • Chipwooder

        Oral was compelling? You don’t say…..

  38. Chipwooder

    Lemme ax’ yas a question – is what Burr and Loeffler and DiFi did truly insider trading? Isn’t insider trading specifically defined as information on the internal workings of a company that is not available to the public? In this case, they were acting on knowledge of what the market was probably going to do, but not specific companies. Is that still criminal?

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      It is illegal for them to instruct their trust holders to take actions based on privileged, non-public information.

      • Chipwooder

        Fair enough. Just something that occurred to me.

    • RAHeinlein

      IMO, Loeffler likely did nothing wrong – her investments are professionally managed and there was significant reallocation during that time period for obvious reasons. Burr is unclear, but appears guilty, and in any event would have been well-adivsed to set-up investment management options to avoid potential conflicts.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Just raise prices. Surcharges are annoying to everyone because they show up after the service is performed and usually not well disclosed.

      Price gouging is bullshit. I’ve been accused of it. Nobody has to buy the product unless it’s a government enforced monopoly.

      • Ownbestenemy

        I agree…but I would do a surcharge with “NV Governor Edict 45” on there.

  39. Plinker762

    I rebuilt a Landrover transmission in my college apartment. I always wondered what the foreign student that shared the bathroom thought of the smell of hear oil.

    • kinnath

      hear! hear!

    • Mad Scientist

      Gear oil is stinky stuff. There’s really no good way to describe it to someone who’s never smelled it before. It’s full of sulfur, but it doesn’t have that rotten egg smell. It smells….heavy, thick, like you could taste it in the air if you stuck your tongue out.

  40. Scruffy Nerfherder

    They (PPT, the Fed) are really trying hard to keep the stock market from crashing going into the weekend. The last half hour should be interesting.

  41. Mojeaux

    I need to replace the (wooden) deck of a scaffold. My ideas are:

    a) a 3/4″-1″ thick piece of plywood cut just a little bigger than the metal lip to rest on the metal instead of IN the metal (because there are smooth-head carriage bolts holding the wood to the ribs of the metal)

    ii) 2x6s slapped on it whenever I need to use it.

    • l0b0t

      While the aesthetics of a nice single sheet of plywood is, to me, the more appealing option; I would think the portability of multiple smaller pieces of wood should be considered. How compactly does it break down?

      • Mojeaux

        Oh, it doesn’t take up much room at all. Leaned against a wall, much thinner than a ladder, for sure.

  42. JG43

    Damn I actually work on a Friday and somebody posts something I can really get into. I’ve rebuilt an NP435 manual and a few Turbo 350 and a 400. There was a Ford one too I did for my Bronco II.

    I ended up making some of the tools I needed since they’re really expensive esp. for home/seldom use like me.

    There’s a trick for bearings, you can weld a bead in the inside race and the heat will swell it up so it pops out. Timing is kind of important.

    • Mad Scientist

      The stuck bearing in question is no longer available, so I really really didn’t want to destroy it while removing it.

      I’ve made a ton of special tools for transmission work. Getting the staked nut off the output shaft, for example required buying a socket, cutting it in half, and welding an 18″ piece of pipe in between the 2 socket halves so it would be long enough to go way down the output shaft and still accept an impact gun on the other end. I think we made a few of those in different sizes. Lots of modifications to bearing pullers to make them 20 inches long as well. We also built that table just to do transmissions. The idea was to work over the expanded metal and let all the gear oil drip down into the tray below, which we can drain into a bucket with a ball valve at the low point. We didn’t have a 6′ long press brake, so we laid a piece of metal sheet over some 2″ angle iron and drove my truck over it to bend it. The tire marks are still visible on the bottom of the table. We also took a work out driveshaft, cut the yoke off, and welded it to a plate. We can mount that in a vice on the table and insert the input shaft or output shaft into it to hold the rest of the assembly steady while you work on it.

      Additionally, I discovered there’s a company in Germany that still manufactures a lot of the special tools called for in the Mazda shop manual. They weren’t too expensive either, but it did take 6 weeks to get them. In the 3rd photo from the bottom, that silver cylinder is a special tool to seat the input shaft bearing. And in the photo just before that, the long brass colored rod is a special tool to install the interlock pins between the shift rods.

  43. DrOtto

    Good job. I tried rebuilding an automatic transmission once, I started with 4 speeds and ended up with 3 when it was all said and done. Oh well, I learned a lot in the process, such as why even though I’m a mechanic, they have stand alone transmission shops.