It's Easy tech and garage tips time again.

a ratchet strap works jim-dandy for supporting an automatic when it'll be awhile before you reinstall the engine.

carry a few paint strainer cones along on trips, they filter out mung from iffy gas pumps. they also work well to filter out poo from your antifreeze if you're a cheapskate and don't want to toss that coolant you've drained when you replace a water pump or similar.

 

Make a quickie vacuum for small areas of debris and/or liquid with tubing and compressed air. Put the tubing on or in the debris, and blow across the other end at about 90 degrees. It'll suck it up and send it flying, so watch where you point it.
After pulling the plugs and valve covers on a HEMI I'm working on, I saw a pile of dirt, oil and debris down in the recessed spark plug holes. To get it out, without knocking in all into the cylinders, I vacuumed it using this method.

JOE

 

Excellent ideas there, Bluesfella. That's right up my alley, and at the right time, too. Thanks!

 

To follow on Smokin Joes idea on internet file storage this is what I do.

FILE/THREAD STORAGE
Highlight the information you want to keep > Right click > copy > and paste into a word file

I have one that started out as Chevy Block numbers that is now 36 pages long and this thread will be added .

I can print out certain pages for swap meets or email it.

To reduce the clutter in the house I cut out articles in magazines and put them in a 3 ring binder with dividers labled engine, carb, suspension, transmission etc. for quick reference.

STORAGE BINS

I have a big Rubbermaid bin with a lid that I use to soak large parts in floor wax stripper to get the grease off. Keep the lid on to avoid evaporation of your cleaner solution

I have another one that I keep my sand for my blaster in to keep the moisture out, and it makes a little blast cabinet for small parts.

PARTS CLEANER

I like to use commercial grade floor stripper, found this out cleaning shop floors at Sears Garage when I worked there out of high school. Soak brackets, pulleys etc. and it cleans the paint and grease off and preps for paint. The stuff from Home Depot / Lowes works good

 

Maybe this will fit in here

dip stick tech

 

To add to Bluesfella's idea, you can use some angle steel(the stuff with holes in it)and allthread. At least that is what I used. That way you can make it drop as much as you need. After reading a lot of another post about lack of space, I thought those guys could all use overhead storage.

One other thing. Old filing cabinets work great for holding spray paints oil, tranny fluid and other supplies. As a plus, some can be locked to keep small hands away.

 

Not trying to be rude but heat causes the bolt to expand so the bolt would get tighter while hot. If you rapidly cooled it it would theoretically shrink some but automotive bolts are dense enough that this would be pretty minimal.. Your best bet would be to weld on the nut, let it cool, and then heat the metal around the bolt. Just FYI from a hamber who teaches physics.

 

Oil and tran's crome dip stick tech. Part 2: Place in freezer over night. After installing wait till part is room temp. (expanded) run a small tab of silicone 'round mating surface.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Not trying to be rude but heat causes the bolt to expand so the bolt would get tighter while hot. If you rapidly cooled it it would theoretically shrink some but automotive bolts are dense enough that this would be pretty minimal.. Your best bet would be to weld on the nut, let it cool, and then heat the metal around the bolt. Just FYI from a hamber who teaches physics.

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Not tryin to be a smartass, just askin... But if this is true, why does putting a press fit timing gear in the oven, and installing it when hot allow you to slip it on by hand? If it expanded, wouldn't the hole shrink?

FWIW, the hot bolt does come out pretty easy, even when hot!

 

It can't expand inward because of the circle in the middle. Each molecule pushes against the one next to it so the only way to go is away from the center. It's the same as if it was a solid gear with no whole in the middle. Everything would go away from the middle. The hole being there is what makes it confusing.

 

This does work because the bolt cools quiker than the block s oit does end up loosening the bolt. I didn't mean to say it didn't work, just that the bolt doesn't actually shrink. Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse anyone. I should have said that in my original post. It works for rmoving kingpins too but not as well.

 

that makes sense... thanks for clearing that up!

 

This may seem overly simple, but it has proven useful to me on many occasions...and when mentioned to people, nobody seems to think of this beforehand, and agrees it's a timesaver.

When I moved into my current home, I had amassed quite a collection of spare parts of various makes/models/years between stripping/parting cars, eBay, and swapmeets. They were destined for the attic above the garage, which is fully enclosed with drywall.

Rather than wonder what exactly I had up there, as I was moving it all up into the attic for storage, I took a steno pad (stolen from work) and wrote down EVERYTHING I stashed away. (5 pages worth!) I even indicated which side of the car and the condition of the item if it applied. This way, when it came time to look for something, I knew for sure if it was up there, rather than hunting around in the dark under piles of things to see "if" I had what I thought. I also placed the items in the attic based on make of car... (Chevy stuff to the right, Ford on the left, etc.)

 

I could write hundreds of these--every couple of months the boss sends out an e-mail saying "505 tech tips for the XX issue!"
I haven't seen a lot of these listed here--I especially like the one about a note pad listing what you have in storage. GAWD I wish I had thought of that.

Lay a plastic milk crate on it's side on your shelf, with the opening facing the garage, then set your spray cans on their sides in the crate. Easy storage, and you can easily grab the one you need, rather than moving them all and looking for the one that's stored all the way in the back. It also keeps them from tipping over, and distributes the solid pigments over a longer area when the can is on it's side, instead of all settling down in the bottom, so it's easier to shake and mix well.

Best thing I did was buy plastic tote boxes with the folding clam shell lids from SAM'S Club. They're about two feet long, a foot wide and a foot tall (roughly). Load them up with parts, label what's in them, and set them on your shelves. Neat, orderly storage. When I bought mine I was moving, Sam's was selling them for $4 each--I bought $125 worth: they stacked great in the moving truck, too.

Shelves: I dedicated one wall to storage shelves. When making or buying shelves (especially industrial pallet racking), don't go bigger than 24 inches wide per shelf. A cylinder head or intake manifold is about 19 inches long (SBC and Nailhead), and that's the longest thing you'll store front-to-back on the shelves. Any longer, and you're wasting space. The 3-foot pallet racks are the worst: you end up with two rows of stuff, and have to pull out the front row to access the back.

And while I'm on the subject of shelves, maximize the shelf placement. If you've always got a couple sets of cylinder heads, valve covers, intakes, etc., these things are only 6-8 inches tall (usually). If all your shelves are spaced 18 inches apart, you are losing space, because you aren't going to stack other things on top of your fresh heads or rare valve covers. If you carefully plan your shelf configuration, and can save just 2-inches (vertical) of un-used shelf space per shelf, after 6 shelves you've gained a whole foot of vertical space--enough to add a "free" shelf. Another way of saying it is on an 8-foot wall, you could have 7 storage shelves instead of 6. The uniform-height plastic tote boxes really make this easy.
And add a dedicated short shelf for valve covers, etc. You'll be surprised how many short items you have--rocker shafts, timing covers, valve covers, valley pan, coil, exhause manifolds..............

All for now.
-Brad

 

Im still happy over this idea, I posted it on my paint post but here it is again.

I used my engine hoist to mount a part in so I could paint it and spin it to paint the bottom of the part too. I used a piece of all-threar and some nuts with lock washers.

 

for four wheel drum brakes that pull on brake application coat the inside of the droms with about 2 cans of ajax or any off brand get the adjustment as close as possible and start driving . Ive seen it take p to 6 or7 brake apps. But no shit it will stop the pull. Keep in mind the shoes wear down a little faster than normal but this is a last ditch effort fix anyway, and it beats ending up in the other lane. Hope this helps.

 

Instead of using sheetrock on my garage walls, I used 28 sheets of pegboard. Use alot of screws to secure the pegboard and you can hang some pretty heavy stuff on your walls.
Also to keep from marring any part of the car when using my floorjack, I cover the full lenght of the handle with pipe foam bought at the hardware store in 6 foot lenghts. Comes in different diameters for covering water pipes on trailor houses.

 

To clean garage floor, go to hardware store and buy a box of TSP (Tri Sodiun Phosphate) works great and cheap too.

If you drive or press a nut on the square end of a tap you can use a ratchet to drive it when cleaning threads in the block.

 

Another one that many may know, but am surprised at how many don't.

For quick and easy masking, use aluminum foil. It works bitchin', just fold it around whatever needs to be masked, no tape needed. Works great if you're painting an engine in the car, or for wrapping bumpers to primer a panel after bodywork.

 

"Wow, no posts about wasps yet!"
OK--play your rap loud. Not only keeps'em outta the garage, they'll cross the street before they walk by.
Oh. Sorry.
Brake cleaner, the can with the wand on the nozzle. A quick squirt will drop them out of the air instantly, and if you're motivated, pin point accuracy will come fast.

 

Wasps?
Aqua Net hair spray and a Bic lighter. If your wife sees that flame thrower, she'll never waste your hard earned car money on hair spray again!

 

find a friend the chews tobacco and get him to give you the plastic cans. They work great when you disassemble something with a lot of little pieces, put the lid on and mark the top with a sharpie also works good when mixing epoxy for after the epoxy sets up you can dig the set up stuff outta them for the epoxy wont stick to them to well.

 

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If you drive or press a nut on the square end of a tap you can use a ratchet to drive it when cleaning threads in the block.

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Easier with an eight point socket(s).

Also, only use "thread chasing" taps. (or dies) Otherwise you will make the threads "sloppy."

 

[ QUOTE ]
To clean garage floor, go to hardware store and buy a box of TSP (Tri Sodiun Phosphate) works great and cheap too.

If you drive or press a nut on the square end of a tap you can use a ratchet to drive it when cleaning threads in the block.

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Hey PDX,

Even easier, you can take 12 sided sockets and put them right on the square end of a tap.

On the left is a 3/8" 12 sided socket and on the right is a 1/2" 12 sided socket.

Mike

 

Got a bunch of old steel license plates ya don't know what to do with? Screw them on the wall,right behind your
engine building,trans assembling work bench. NOW, you have something that not only looks good, protects your wall from abuse,but you can also use a MAGNET to fasten all those important papers with info like, ring gaps,trans end play,rod bolt torques,Playboy centerfolds,right where you can read them!

 

Did ya know.........the caps from Dawn Dish Washing Liquid,fit right on a PLASTIC trans fluid or oil bottle?
Works GREAT for putting oil, in those "hard to reach" places! It also SAVES the last half of a quart till you REALLY need it!

 

Have you ever seen the inside of a NEWER transmission? Notice that MAGNET in the oil pan with the hole in in the center? SAVE IT! If you EVER need to drill a hole in something steel,and you don't want the metal shavings to get away,place that MAGNET WITH THE HOLE IN IT,right over the spot you want to drill........ ALL the shavings will go to the magnet,NOT in your engine,trans,etc.etc........
Got it? GOOD!!

 

SO......ya say your assembling your engine,and ya need to turn the cranckshaft over to install the next rod/piston assembly,but you CAN'T put the balancer,or the bolt on yet????
Got the key in the keyway? Get you a LARGE Crecent wrench,and adjust it down to the size of the crank,Now,spin it around till it hits the key in the keyway......VOILA!
INSTANT CRANK SOCKET!! NO VISE GRIP MARKS!! FITS ANY ENGINE!

 

easy way to get a steel bolt out of aluminum.Heat up bolt with torch,doesn't have to be red hot only hot enough to melt wax,put wax on bolt near hole and as it cools it will pull wax into threads(like sweating copper pipes)and the bolt will turn right out.

Dan

 

Lots of ideas here. Let's see things you've built for your shop. Engine dollys, buffer stands, wierd holders you use in your engine stands, welding tables, carts for your blue tip torch, that kind of thing.