A discussion about oil consumption reminded me of an incident back in 1992. Shop I was working in a customer that we did work for now and then stopped in to buy a couple gallons of 15X40. Then proceeded to tell us his woes about the engine rebuild he had done on his 425 B model Cat in his 86 AutoCar. Complete inframe with cylinder head and pump rebuild. Ever since it was rebuilt it was low on power and smoked plus was using a gallon every two days. It went back to the shop that rebuilt it they could find nothing, so he got it back still smoking and drove it a while longer. Then he was told to take it to Cat because it had all Cat parts installed, They tore it down and found nothing but they did warranty the liners and rings and replaced those items. Still the same ate oil and smoked plus blow by was just as bad. He asked me if I would tip the hood and pour a gallon in it for him while he shot the **** with the boss about his problem. So I walked out of the parts room into the lot and tilted the hood and poured a gallon in through the front valve cover while it was idling. Smoke City Here We Come. I walked back into the parts room and said I think I found your problem there Big Fella. I removed the front cover looked in with a flash light and VOILA-a soft plug was not installed in the intake port on top of the cylinder head. A $1.00 fix. He was a very happy man but he was very pi$$ed at the same time. And I just stood there afterward with a **** eating grin.
In 1988 I was working for a towing repair shop, it got cold that winter-stayed at -10 to -15 for two weeks. Kevin the owners son towed a 1979 Olds Cutlass in that wouldn't run or stay running. I working on the other side of the shop and kept hearing it fire up then shut down after a few seconds. I was headed to the phone near the stall where the car was. He tried to start it again and same thing fired up then died. {Hey Kevin there's nothing coming out the exhaust} he jacked it up and the muffler was froze solid and because it mounted at a angle the inlet was froze solid. He drilled a hole in it and heated it with a torch {1 gallon of water had collected inside}. The kid that owned it was a college student and was standing right there. He said he wouldn't have believed us if he hadn't seen it, turns out he was only driving six blocks twice a day for several months and never got it warmed up. Oil was full of gas from running on choke and plugs were fouled. So changed both of those items. Now had I not noticed there was no exhaust on my way to the phone-it would have sat in the heated shop melted the ice and fired up and ran without knowing what was up, it would have been put outside and froze solid starting the whole problem over again. Dumb luck I noticed what I noticed.
We hadn't been married long, the garage wasn't yet built. I gave Mrs B a hard time, she never let her engine cool long enough to change the oil. Once she went off with her mother for a week, left her car in the driveway. When she got home her car wouldn't run. It wasn't old, had low mileage, was well maintained. I spent an hour or two each day trying to figure it out, until it backfired, spewing acorns all over the driveway. Chipmunks had packed the muffler full.
A farmer had a ford truck 330 engine it had a lot of blow by. He wanted me to overhaul it before harvest but i put it off until harvest. I did a simple rebuild every thing was in good shape but it wasnt any better. For some reason i thought some how exhaust was geting into crank case. It was had a big hole on the bottom of intake under the tin cover. I had another intake but no gaskets made a mad dash to Oronglees saw a natural blonde girl in the parking lot thats another story.Same farmer anther truck needed exhaust manifold gaskets same deal just before harvest. Got exhaust fixed i drove it back to his farm it wasnt running good at all but he needed it. Made a house call next morning and found one side of v8 wasnt hitting. L started to pull a plug and he said he had just replaced them before he brought it over to me.I pulled one anyway and the gap was closed auto lite plugs 4 to a box i ask if he dropped the box yes all 4 smashed shut.
Guy put four starters on a 78 F4370 Corn Queen, old 335 Cummins, finally brought to shop. Asked what was wrong and was told rebuilt starters were junk, would only restart four or five times of six, would end up screeching and unable to crank. Pulled starter Bendix looked like a meat grinder, looked at Flywheel, ring gear was a mess, next that caught my eye was the zipper cracked bellhousing on the block. Asked if had done any other work, had to get rough replacing the Trans output U-joint and the starters failed afterward. Showed him the crack, was really mad at himself.
I usually find odd things that need repair that are an expensive PIA to fix. It's always some other guy that finds the stack of money stuffed in an old dresser or something. Just once why can't it be me?
Since you mentioned it: In the 1990S i was hired by a 65 year old man to rewire his mother's house. She lived there & was delighted for the company. I've never enjoyed a very old person as much. SHE HAD LIVED! She was former head nurse at the regional hospital. She had some great stories. She was only briefly married, couldn't fix a drunk. She had newspaper clippings hung on the wall, she was the first successful corneal transplant. Every day she'd find me mid afternoon, time for ice cream! Weather was brutal hot, much of my time was in the attic, it wasn't hard to talk me into ice cream. One day I asked her opinion of what something looked like. She replied: "Why child, I thought you knew! I'm totally blind." I hadn't a clue! Nothing about her suggested blind. She functioned like any 80 year old despite being 95. At the joint between wide floor boards & baseboard I found a piece of glass, but it wasn't irregular, it had a real oval shape with facets. I was near a window, cross legged I reached out left hand & scratched the corner of 150 year old window glass. This was diamond! I took it to her. I vaguely remember the name she gave the piece of jewelry as a lavaliere, I probably got the name wrong. Her grandfather gave it to her as a gift when she graduated nursing school at age 19. She lost it early on, never found the missing stone. She retrieved the brooch? the empty setting fit the stone. A truly wonderful lady, she has been gone many years.
I knew a mechanic that found rather large stack of 100's under the back seat of a Caddyolac. He didn't touch it, the guy who owned the car was notorious.
Back when I was workin at the turf farm, in the '90's and i uster just HAVE have snap on tools, I would drive about 5 miles to the local concrete plant/industrial yard, where there was a rebuilder of starters, generators, mags, general electric work, also sold interstate batteries, anyway I would meet the SO truck there, on Fridays, about 5PM. I was there a little early one rainy slow day, absorbin a couple of barley pops, watched a tow truck arrive, draggin a early 80's or so chevelle, on the hook. Irate customer comes in, sez that there battrey you solds me is bad! now, you could tell the battery was new, it were still in the plastic! All the way up to, and includin the top post terminals, which had the cars wires attached to the battery(in the plastic!) I hadda turn away, cause I was laughin so hard on the inside, that I knew alls it would take was one comment, from the shop owner's son, and alla them giggles on the inside woulda found their way out! Don't know how I managed to edge outta the door, without LOLing! I let things settle, and took a pee, around the corner, by that time car was fixed and GONE, so I come around the corner, into the shop, wif a plastic bag on my head, shoutin, I cain't BREATHE!
You are shut off until tomorrow. Too many barley pops.
Something i find about every day i wish i had found the day before Experience.
Does finding a pimple on your butt in the shower count?
No because it didn't get there by accident, you need to change your diet.