by "AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
Published 10/10/2017 at 20:41
by "AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
Published 10/10/2017 at 20:41
No Tags
STARS: 5
Where once again AestheticsInMotion purchases something he wants, rather than something he needs. Like a headgasket. Or a timing belt. Or an alternator. Or an accessory belt. Or an oil pan. Or rollbar padding. Or radiator hoses. Or tires. Or a coolant temp sensor. Or an oil pressure sensor. Or a non-leaky master brake cylinder. Or a radiator overflow tank...
I swear I take good care of my car. I honestly have no idea how so many problems piled up so quickly. They snuck up on me. One day I was cruising along without a care in the world, the next day I was staring at the Christmas lights on my dash, wondering if buying a new car and swapping parts would be the smarter move. In fairness the salvage title Miata probably has about 340,000 miles at this point—speaking of which, the odometer stopped working—so a lot of what hasn’t been replaced by me is either dead or dying.
As is often the case when confronted by a lot of choices for what I should do with my money, I decided to wait on everything and just keep saving up. The plan being to either tackle a lot of these things at once, or focus on whatever breaks first, hopefully with a fuller wallet.
What actually happened is I bought tools!
The good: USA made tools. I don’t know the exact relationship, but I believe Williams tools are made by Snap-On... Whatever, they’re nice, built to exacting tolerances and have a lifetime warranty. Standard and deep metric sockets from 6mm to 24mm means I’ve got everything I need, all in one box.
The bad: the 8" flexible extension was missing from my brand new, sealed box. Strange. Emailed the company I purchased through and based off of reviews I would imagine getting a replacement part sent out will be quick and painless. Shit happens I guess.
At least I’ll have plenty of jobs to get properly acquainted with these new and exciting tools!
"SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media" (silentbutnotreallydeadly)
10/10/2017 at 20:57, STARS: 4
Ten to one that the ratchet driver gets used as a hammer in the near future...
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
10/10/2017 at 21:24, STARS: 1
But who wouldn’t need
that
? Certainly nobody cool...
"XJDano" (xjdano)
10/10/2017 at 21:39, STARS: 0
I have an oil pan.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
10/10/2017 at 21:56, STARS: 1
Nice tools. Roll bar padding is expensive for what it is any way.
"gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
10/10/2017 at 22:07, STARS: 1
I have no idea what you mean.
I need to get my Manitoba-plated cars registered in Alberta, which means going through an inspection. My Comanche has some known issues. Couple suspension bushings, pretty sure the shocks are hosed, probably a could other tiny issues in forgetting, but mostly the rocker panels are made of air. So of course instead of fixing all that (or in the case of the rockers paying someone else) I’m driving ~550 miles south to Kalispell this weekend to pick up a pair of axles for it that I don’t actually need.
"Kiltedpadre" (kiltedpadre)
10/10/2017 at 22:56, STARS: 0
Temporary roll bar padding made from pool noodles?
At the very least having good quality tools will make any future work that much easier.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
10/10/2017 at 23:15, STARS: 0
Yep. You get it
"ateamfan42" (ateamfan42)
10/11/2017 at 09:21, STARS: 4
Ten to one that the ratchet driver gets used as a hammer in the near future...
All tools are hammers.
Except chisels, which are screwdrivers.
And screwdrivers, which are prybars.
"ateamfan42" (ateamfan42)
10/11/2017 at 09:24, STARS: 3
Temporary roll bar padding made from pool noodles?
Pool noodles will help if you bump your noggin on the bar getting in the car. In a crash, the extreme forces will compress that foam so fast it will offer no meaningful protection. Also, in the event of fire, molten foam is not something you are likely to enjoy dripping on you.
"ateamfan42" (ateamfan42)
10/11/2017 at 09:26, STARS: 1
The set looks nice, but you may want to consider getting some 6 point sockets in the future too. When stuff is nice and rusted, those 12 points can let you down. My impact sockets only very rarely get used with an impact driver— most of the time they are employed as hand sockets.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
10/11/2017 at 13:22, STARS: 0
Rub it in
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
10/11/2017 at 13:23, STARS: 1
Hmm good point. Strangely enough the deep sockets are 6 point a day the standard are 12. What’s the benefit of 12 point sockets? There’s got to be a reason companies make them right? Is it just so it takes less time to fit the socket to the bolt..?
"ateamfan42" (ateamfan42)
10/11/2017 at 13:54, STARS: 0
What’s the benefit of 12 point sockets?
12 point sockets are a little easier to get in place on the fastener, which can be a benefit in tight spots. Also, you need 12 point sockets for 12-point fasteners. A lot of head bolts and flywheel bolts are 12 point.
"XJDano" (xjdano)
10/11/2017 at 16:58, STARS: 0
What I meant is like I have one I don’t need.
See I bought a 1.6 off Craigslist for $20. It likely blew up or something. I don’t know much about them but every once in a while I’d pull some parts off and sell it.
I was seeing if you’d want the one I had. It’d obviously be cheaper than eBay prices.
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/13/2017 at 08:49, STARS: 0
Highly recommend that dual durometer roll bar foam whenever you get around to deciding that your head is worth protecting lol. It was kind of pricey but quite nice. I had gotten mine from Apex Performance. Way better than the cheap stuff I also got from Summit Racing. I used the good stuff directly behind the head of both seats and then the cheap stuff elsewhere on the bar. I just mounted it with zip ties since the glue didnt work well when bent around corners.
This reminds me that I need more tools. What I really need is a full set of ratcheting box wrenches. I have a couple in key sizes but that would be the most useful set of tools I could get. Plus deep sockets, again I only have random key sizes. Finally picked up an electric impact, 1500 in-lbs is plenty for most jobs!
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
10/13/2017 at 11:18, STARS: 0
Link for the padding? Yeah more tools will always help. Aren’t ratcheting wrenches great? Can’t imagine adjusting the seat brackets with anything else, I just wish mine were the flex-head ones! Electric impact sounds nice for upcoming suspension work...
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/13/2017 at 11:28, STARS: 1
http://www.apexperformance.net/Dual-Durometer-Roll-Bar-Padding—SFI-Spec-451_p_440.html
I think cheaper ones could be found elsewhere but this stuff did fit nicely. $21 for 18 inches is expensive though if you tried to cover the whole bar with it. I just put 9 inches worth on each side to cover the closest parts to my head.
Ratcheting wrenches truly are the best. The few I have (like the 14mm for the seat) are flex head so they come in handy for oddball stuff. It was a Ryobi impact from Home Depot for like $100. Came with two batteries so it wasnt a bad deal. Made taking the intake out of my Neon go way faster. And I learned the value of power tools while doing my timing belt on the Miata. That saved at least an hour of frustration.
"AestheticsInMotion" (aestheticsinmotion)
10/13/2017 at 17:49, STARS: 0
One thing that bugs me is that yes, hitting the rollbar would obviously cause serious damage but it’s fairly unlikely to happen with the way my cabin is set up. The metal soft top frame though..? Literally inches from my head, with a few screw ends sticking partially out. I want a way to pad THAT...
How’s the timing belt job? That and replacing the headgasket are pretty high on my list
"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
10/14/2017 at 07:36, STARS: 0
Headgasket like most cars is probably a pain i imagine. I’ve never looked into that since this Miata hasn’t over heated once. And I’m just under 200k so I’m low mileage I guess!
Timing belt was easy relatively, the hardest parts were getting the crank bolt to turn without turning the wheels (rust and poor E brake) and setting the timing right with VVT in the way. NA is marked easier to read so you’ll do fine. Other thing was just how many frigging bolts there were to take out and not losing any. Overall I was done in like 5 hours though so it was not a difficult job.
Solution to soft top is to just put the top down lol. I don’t drive with top up often enough to really worry about the danger of it. And I’d really like to just have a hard top to use in the winter. But I’m moving to Los Angeles so they don’t really have winter there. And I plan to have a hard roofed car as a second car for going on winter adventures anyways