Early Christmas plus wrenching when old

"HoustonRunner" (houstonrunner) 11/02/2020 at 14:22 • Filed to: None

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My wife got me a fancy advent calendar this year - the kind you can drink! I’ll keep Oppo updated once we roll into December.

Also did some light preventative maintenance on the Suburban. Changed fluids on both diffs and the transfer case.

Front diff and transfer case were easy - both have drain and fill pugs.

Rear diff is the solid GM 9.5" with only a fill plug, so off came the back cover. (Note - this also involved undoing one side of the P an hard bar, which wasn’t hard, just annoying .)

Interesting that these have a gasket, and I was smart enough to order a replacement in advance. I still put a small amount of RTV on it to try and hold the gasket in place while the cover was reinstalled. (Rear cover shown before I removed the old gasket and cleaned the cover .)

Is it just me, or is used gear oil the worst smelling of used car oils?

Today my shoulders and arms are sore from laying on the ground and reaching up to wrench. Clearly I need to mix in some core / upper body work with my running.

jminer > HoustonRunner 11/02/2020 at 14:31

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It is not just you - even fresh gear oil stinks awfully. The only thing even close is used diesel oil, that smells heavily of sul fer.

Also nicely done!

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > jminer 11/02/2020 at 14:32

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I have friends that love the smell.

They’re weird.

jminer > WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI 11/02/2020 at 14:33

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I like the sulfar smell of fired gunpowder but used diesel oil smells like satan’s asshole.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > jminer 11/02/2020 at 14:34

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Ditto

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > HoustonRunner 11/02/2020 at 14:35

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One of my first wrenching jobs I dropped my new gloves and a wrench into the drop pan of used gear oil. It is the worst of the fluids, a very unique smell 

Bandit > HoustonRunner 11/02/2020 at 14:37

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Don’t worry, GM has a solution for next time lol : https://www.hawksmotorsports.com/gm-synthetic-axle-lubricant-sae-75w-90-new-grape-scent-32-oz/

Chariotoflove > HoustonRunner 11/02/2020 at 14:39

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Oh!, my neighbors told me about this, and also a wine version they said was something like $99 at Costco. They asked if they should pick up one for me, but I realized I would get too much use out of it, if you know what I mean. I am already drinking too much these days.

HoustonRunner > WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI 11/02/2020 at 14:59

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Questionable friends.

HoustonRunner > jminer 11/02/2020 at 15:00

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Thank.  And now that you mention it, you are right.  The fresh gear oil wasn’t really any better.

HoustonRunner > Bandit 11/02/2020 at 15:01

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Wait, what?

Seriously?

HoustonRunner > MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) 11/02/2020 at 15:02

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Depending on the wrench and gloves I would have just left them.

HoustonRunner > Chariotoflove 11/02/2020 at 15:04

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Oh, I definitely drink more than I should, but these will be shared with my lovely wife so they won’t do me in.

Bandit > HoustonRunner 11/02/2020 at 15:05

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Yeah it’s real stuff, it’s been around for a long time. I’ve never used it though. 

HoustonRunner > Bandit 11/02/2020 at 15:26

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This would make more sense if it was Royal Purple.

MM54 > HoustonRunner 11/02/2020 at 15:28

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Old gear oil is awful. Synthetic is better but still stinks.

dumpsterfire! > HoustonRunner 11/02/2020 at 15:32

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I am still traumatized by the odor of burnt gear oil from my old Bronco2 from 20 years ago.

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > HoustonRunner 11/02/2020 at 16:25

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A wiser man would have. The socket wrench is 1 out of 3 and it’s the only one that doesn’t rust after being in the rain! 

HoustonRunner > MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) 11/02/2020 at 16:32

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It doesn’t rus t because it has a protective coating of gear oil!

OmerCarrothers333 > HoustonRunner 11/02/2020 at 16:57

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Sometimes... I really hate living in Utah.

That said, over the past couple weeks I’ve done an oil change and tune up on the GTI. I will say that oil changes and tune ups on current iterations of VAG 4 cylinder cars are pretty easy since pretty much everything but the drain-plugs are on the top of the block.

I will advise the rest of Oppo that it would be wise to purchase aftermarket oil pan drain plugs that do not require a torx bit; I didn't do that and I couldn't get the plug tight enough, so there was a leak at the plug this last time I did the oil change, so I had to go to the dealership to get them to fix my fuck up. 

Roundbadge > HoustonRunner 11/03/2020 at 10:00

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Way late to the party, sorry.

For years, my gf has done advent calendars for me. Back when Live and Let Diecast was busier, I used to post my Hot Wheels advent calendars every year. Last year she changed it up, and I got hotel mini-bar-size bottles of whiskey and chocolate instead. Mostly bourbon, but there was some scotch too. She ordered little burlap bags off Amazon, and labelled each with a number. She then hung them on the garland over the fireplace.  There’s a few that I still haven’t actually tried yet...and I feel bad for that.

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > HoustonRunner 11/03/2020 at 15:16

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And the smell repels thieves!