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Re: Changing flat tires (and other basics too, OT)

March 18, 2020 09:19AM
tgbcvr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I’m not a car guy, nor am I technically
> inclined, but I know enough around cars to listen
> if there’s unusual noises - and not just turn up
> the radio. As about an eight year old I had a
> mechanic hero’s moment with our old Beetle,
> shortly after it was bought from us by my cousin.
> Link to that car in a Volkswagen thread here
> [ngdiscussion.net]
> 82790#msg-382790
>
> It wouldn’t start and my cousin couldn’t
> figure out why, and he is literally a nuclear
> scientist. And after a half hour of poking around
> my dad was stumped too. I wandered by and on a
> hunch said the battery cells had probably gone
> dry. I had likely just heard that somewhere, but
> knew it might apply and merely repeated it. There
> was some serious scepticism but on unscrewing the
> caps and looking, what do you know. Dry as a bone!
>
>
> And for something railway related, this luck
> struck again about 15 years later. One winter
> night we drove my sister-in-law to a small country
> station to put her on The Canadian. It was about
> -40F and as we waited for the train, the car
> headlights got dimmer and dimmer. I checked a
> couple cells and they were dry too, but
> fortunately the station washroom was open. Grabbed
> a couple Dixie cups (remember them?) filled them
> with hot water, and they cheered the car right up.
> No cell phones in those days, and if the car had
> died we may well have froze to death. Whew.....
>
When I worked as a gofer(1979) one of my jobs was to do triage on cars towed in with "won't start" as the complaint. About 90% of them the cure was fill the battery, clean the terminals, tighten the alternator belt. First rule on just about anything, check the simple stuff before anything else. I assume this also applies to RR equipment? (there, that keeps it sorta on-topic smiling smiley )

Last time I changed a tire? Memorial day weekend, 2014, St Regis Montana about 6 pm on Friday. My offspring & I were on our way to a sci-fi convention at Missoula when the right rear tire blew. Nothing open so I put the donut from the trunk on and drove on down I-90 at about 35-40 mph.(max speed for one of those things). When were literally in sight of the lights of Missoula, about 5 miles out, the *left* rear blew. Andi & I got out of the car, looked at it for a second and both cracked up laughing. What else are ya gonna do? No signal on the cell but a nice Hi-po stopped just as I was getting ready to hike to the next exit & look for a phone. He called us a tow. Last time either of us had the money to go to Miscon but it sure was memorable!

As to my wife, she could change the tire, if some fool had tightened the nuts with an impact (air) wrench. Of course I also taught her about cheater bars...

Hank
Subject Author Posted

491 lost in snow Attachments

drgwk37 March 14, 2020 07:03AM

Re: 491 lost in snow

evankamp March 14, 2020 07:22AM

Re: 491 lost in snow

drgwk37 March 14, 2020 09:36AM

Re: 491 lost in snow

TonyK375 March 14, 2020 10:31AM

Re: 491 lost in snow

drgwk37 March 14, 2020 10:53AM

Re: 491 lost in snow

evankamp March 14, 2020 10:55AM

Re: 491 lost in snow

TonyK375 March 14, 2020 10:31AM

Re: 491 lost in snow

Donald Foster March 14, 2020 08:01PM

Re: 491 lost in snow

Earl March 15, 2020 01:35PM

Re: 491 lost in snow

Bill M. March 15, 2020 02:05PM

Re: 491 lost in snow

Jimr260 March 15, 2020 06:08PM

Re: 491 lost in snow

John Bush March 15, 2020 07:17PM

Re: 491 lost in snow

Bill Scobie March 16, 2020 05:31AM

Re: 491 lost in snow

John Cole March 16, 2020 08:08AM

Risking life and limb

John West March 16, 2020 02:05PM

Re: Risking life and limb

John Cole March 16, 2020 08:49PM

Re: 491 lost in snow

Kelly Anderson March 16, 2020 02:17PM

Re: 491 lost in snow

Wayne Hoskin March 16, 2020 05:38PM

Re: Changing flat tires

GeorgeGaskill March 16, 2020 08:40PM

Re: Changing flat tires (and other basics too, OT)

hank March 17, 2020 11:12AM

Re: Changing flat tires (and other basics too, OT)

James March 17, 2020 12:17PM

Re: Changing flat tires (and other basics too, OT)

Brian Norden March 17, 2020 01:27PM

Re: Changing flat tires (and other basics too, OT)

tgbcvr March 17, 2020 06:13PM

Re: Changing flat tires (and other basics too, OT)

hank March 18, 2020 09:19AM

Miscon?

Brian Shoup March 18, 2020 06:22PM

Re: Miscon?

Brian Norden March 18, 2020 06:40PM

Re: Miscon?

hank March 19, 2020 08:04AM

Re: 491 lost in snow

Roger Hogan March 16, 2020 07:34PM

Re: 491 lost in snow

Jim McKee March 18, 2020 06:53PM

Re: 491 lost in snow

JointLineRailfan March 18, 2020 06:57PM

Re: 491 lost in snow

Jeff Taylor March 19, 2020 11:32PM



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