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Bob_Spidell
Yoda
Offline
It occurred to me we all have some time/effort/sworking-saving 'tricks,' shortcuts, etc. that we employ to make working on our cars easier (and make us feel more clever). Though you see plenty of them on TV shows and in car mags, I'll bet there's a few that don't seem to be commonly known. A few of my favorites:
- When connecting rubber components to metal or plastic, I put a thin smear of silicone dielectric grease on the inside of the rubber part; makes connecting and removing easier and may help the seal a little.
- I (almost) always use anti-seize grease on bolts for easy removal later (don't forget to allow for that when torquing to spec).
- There's as many opinions on gasket sealing as there are mechanics, but my personal favorite for paper gaskets is Permatex 'Aviation Form-A-Gasket.' Sticky and gooey when it goes on, it not only aids sealing but dries to a smooth, non-sticky glaze and makes removing paper gaskets a cinch--usually, no scraping required--and may save the gasket for re-use in a pinch.
- When installing the hard fiber washers on fuel components, I soak them in oil for a couple minutes to make them a bit softer. They seem to seal up easier without excessive torque on the banjo bolts.
- I use copper washers under oil pan bolts, and apply thread sealer to the bolt threads. Otherwise, they seem to seep oil (have had a perfect outline of the oil pan drawn by oil drips on the floor before I started doing this).
- I use dielectric grease on all bullet-type electrical connections (Note: this one is disputable; some say to use conductive grease but I think that may lead to some unintended grounding; i.e. shorts). The grease helps prevent corrosion, the cause of many electrial--i.e. 'Lucas'--gremlins.
- For lubricating 'sensitive' components, like speedometer internals and cables, I use silicone oil (sometimes called 'silicone spray'). It's thin, tenacious and doesn't seem to attract dust like petroleum-based lubes. I sprayed it on the Bendix gear of my starter at rebuild over 100K miles ago and the starter has always worked flawlessly and never stuck.
Any others?
- When connecting rubber components to metal or plastic, I put a thin smear of silicone dielectric grease on the inside of the rubber part; makes connecting and removing easier and may help the seal a little.
- I (almost) always use anti-seize grease on bolts for easy removal later (don't forget to allow for that when torquing to spec).
- There's as many opinions on gasket sealing as there are mechanics, but my personal favorite for paper gaskets is Permatex 'Aviation Form-A-Gasket.' Sticky and gooey when it goes on, it not only aids sealing but dries to a smooth, non-sticky glaze and makes removing paper gaskets a cinch--usually, no scraping required--and may save the gasket for re-use in a pinch.
- When installing the hard fiber washers on fuel components, I soak them in oil for a couple minutes to make them a bit softer. They seem to seal up easier without excessive torque on the banjo bolts.
- I use copper washers under oil pan bolts, and apply thread sealer to the bolt threads. Otherwise, they seem to seep oil (have had a perfect outline of the oil pan drawn by oil drips on the floor before I started doing this).
- I use dielectric grease on all bullet-type electrical connections (Note: this one is disputable; some say to use conductive grease but I think that may lead to some unintended grounding; i.e. shorts). The grease helps prevent corrosion, the cause of many electrial--i.e. 'Lucas'--gremlins.
- For lubricating 'sensitive' components, like speedometer internals and cables, I use silicone oil (sometimes called 'silicone spray'). It's thin, tenacious and doesn't seem to attract dust like petroleum-based lubes. I sprayed it on the Bendix gear of my starter at rebuild over 100K miles ago and the starter has always worked flawlessly and never stuck.
Any others?
