Quick job took 3 hrs |
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Oldwillys
Member Joined: 02 Oct. 2013 Location: Wv Status: Offline Points: 572 |
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Posted: 20 Sep. 2014 at 2:56am |
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My modified 46 ( Frankenstein ) started missing yesterday.I picked up a new set of plugs and figured it would be a quick 20 min job this morning.After several attempts it became clear,removing the fenders was the only logical way to reach the plugs.We removed the driver side without much problem,but the passenger side was more problematic.For some reason the original modder welded the fender to the grill with a 3" bead.Not wanting to grind the weld,we had to remove several add ons in order to get to the plugs.We got them changed,but not without several extensions and a few knuckle scrapes.I really missed the flathead today!
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Flatfender Ben
Member Joined: 13 July 2014 Location: Nyssa OR Status: Offline Points: 2657 |
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Oh man it's always the quick jobs that get ya.
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Carlsjeep
Member Joined: 15 Jan. 2011 Location: Taylorsville Ky Status: Offline Points: 2642 |
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Is that another deal where it's easier to pull the engine to change the plugs?
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Life is only as good as you make it.
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scoutpilot
Member Joined: 30 Dec. 2008 Location: Asheboro, NC Status: Offline Points: 4373 |
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1969 428ci, Mustang Cobra, Mach I. Without the right tool, I had to loosen the motor mounts to get at the spark plugs.
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Bruce W
Member Joined: 29 July 2005 Location: Northeast Colorado Status: Offline Points: 9611 |
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'75 Chevy Monza V8. There was no "right tool". Had to unbolt the mounts one at a time and tilt the engine, according to Chevrolet. And the mounts were harder to get to than the plugs. We found that a jack under the pan would stretch the mounts just enough to get in there, but Chevrolet didn't recommend that at all. BW
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It is NOT a Jeep Willys! It is a Willys jeep.
Happy Trails! Good-bye, Good Luck, and May the Good Lord Take a Likin' to You! We Have Miles to Jeep, Before We Sleep. |
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52 M38
Member Joined: 26 Nov. 2012 Location: New England Status: Offline Points: 1286 |
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Everything is a project. I tell my wife that all the time. There is no such thing as really quick. I took the engine out of Sparky today took me about 3 hrs. It is being delivered back to the machine shop on Monday or Tuesday so the sticky valve can be warrantied and the SUPERSONIC head can be installed with the copper head gasket. Still only bolt on Mods on Sparky and still 24 volt. To me that means his soul is in tact.
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mullen46cj2a
Member Sponsor Member x 2 Joined: 19 July 2005 Location: Harrisville, WV Status: Offline Points: 1185 |
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Oldwillys - if you changed the plugs in that '73 Grand Am, you would remember it. Front plug on passenger side - jack up right front, remove wheel and long extension through inner fender flap. The plug was under the A6 air conditioning compressor. No way to get it from above.
And I had an Astro Van that got a 5 cylinder tune up once....
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Bruce Mullen Harrisville, WV
46 CJ2A column shift SOLD 07-15 48 CJ2A with Newgren lift 55 CJ5 |
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rocketeer
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 26 June 2008 Location: Lehighton, PA Status: Offline Points: 3473 |
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The one I hated the most was a Corvair with A/C. You had to remove the A/C from the top of the engine in order to access the spark plugs.
Larry |
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rocnroll
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 20 July 2005 Location: Tuscumbia, AL Status: Offline Points: 13563 |
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I'm ashamed to say I owned one of those damned Monzas one time myself.
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'47 CJ2A PU
'48 CJ2A Lefty "Common sense is not that common" |
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Bruce W
Member Joined: 29 July 2005 Location: Northeast Colorado Status: Offline Points: 9611 |
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A Vega by any other name is still........ BW
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It is NOT a Jeep Willys! It is a Willys jeep.
Happy Trails! Good-bye, Good Luck, and May the Good Lord Take a Likin' to You! We Have Miles to Jeep, Before We Sleep. |
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scoutpilot
Member Joined: 30 Dec. 2008 Location: Asheboro, NC Status: Offline Points: 4373 |
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That infamous quote concerning the Chebby Vega, "Check the gas and fill the oil.".
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p3ferris
Member Joined: 22 July 2005 Location: Norfolk Nebraska Status: Offline Points: 3812 |
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I had a chevy celibrity. I used a broom handle to get a spark plug wire on that fell off. About 2 inches between the fire wall and the engine . Four years later I took it to a shop to have the impossable to get to spark plugs replaced. The mechanic took the engine shock absorber off and pulled the engine forward makeing acces to the spark plugs. What a dumb idea chevy had. On that same car the engine would blow a fuse on the fuel pump while driveing on a washboard road. They had the wireing harness straped over the strut. $1800.at 2 shops later and 16 hours of my time traceing all the wireing out I found that the strut would come up and poke into the wireing harness to short out the fuel power line. The harness sleve would open up then close leaveing no evidence. I know of 3 cars that had this same problem. I think I am the only one that found out how to fix it. You do not want to know what I think of ENGINEERS.
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Ed
cj2a lefty |
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surveypunk
Member Joined: 30 May 2009 Location: Blounts Creek, NC Status: Offline Points: 224 |
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I think there is a certain instant in History where car manufacturers decided they could make more money if their product was not shade tree mechanic friendly. My guess is sometime in 1969 or '70. it's gotten progressively worse since then. JB |
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rocketeer
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 26 June 2008 Location: Lehighton, PA Status: Offline Points: 3473 |
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I was a Chevy line mechanic for over 10 years so nothing surprises me. Of all the dumb things they have committed over the years the dumbest by far is replacing a late 1960s early 1970s Camaro heater fan. You had to remove the right front fender which of course also meant the hood (the hinges were bolted to the fender), part of the grille, and the inner panel. That was the official Chevy way. However, if the car was out of warranty I had figured out a way to do it with the fender on but it required the owners approval. I had created a template and using a large hole saw would drill a hole through the inner panel and using a 3/8" drive with a flex socket could get the problem bolt out through the hole (yes, the whole problem was just accessing a single bolt). I then washed the area around the hole with alcohol and put heavy black tape over it. When I quoted the difference in price to a customer they always opted for the hole.
Another GM wizbang was something I only ran into one time. I can't remember the year or specific model but it was a mid-size Buick from either side of 1970. A guy comes in and had been pulled over by a cop for a taillight being out. He said he could not figure out how to replace it. No big deal right? Well, on that particular Buick the only way to replace a taillight bulb was to remove the rear bumper and then remove the taillight from the vehicle. There was no other way to get at the bulb! Genius engineering huh? Oh, yeah, don't get me started on the Vega. I was selected as the SE PA mechanic to go to GM school and learn all about the Vega prior to it's intro to the public. At the end of the week they asked what we thought. It did not go well for them. I just asked one question, who determined that just coating an aluminum cylinder wall with Teflon would ever allow the rings to seat? They assurred me their engineers had done all the research. Well apparently not. OK, gotta stop now or I'll go on forever about that dog of dogs. Luckily the Yugo surpassed it as the worst ever so at least it doesn't have that distinction but it was close. Larry |
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scoutpilot
Member Joined: 30 Dec. 2008 Location: Asheboro, NC Status: Offline Points: 4373 |
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Any HONEST and rational new car dealer will tell you straight up. The profit on a new car sale is nothing compared what they WILL MAKE back in the shop. Parts and Labor are their bread and butter. The sale is just the appetizer.
Every new car I have purchased, and believe me they were few and far between, saw the dealer's shop only as long as it was under warranty. By the end of that period I had thoroughly familiarized myself with the needs of the critters and was able to care for them myself.
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Oldwillys
Member Joined: 02 Oct. 2013 Location: Wv Status: Offline Points: 572 |
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Oh,I remember all too well,Brian Stewart broke that plugs ceramic off and then proceeded to round off the corners,that little ordeal nearly cost us a friendship haha! I got it out,but it looked pretty grim for a while! |
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Carlsjeep
Member Joined: 15 Jan. 2011 Location: Taylorsville Ky Status: Offline Points: 2642 |
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LOL, rocketeer, I love your stories about being a car mechanic. One has to remember that at some point the car manufacturers decided that field maintenance was not as important as a smooth assembly. At that point cars were designed to build, not work on.
Saying the companies didn't want shade tree mechanics working on them is a small part of the story. They were looking for a more profitable assembly line and didn't really care about those that had to repair them. As was pointed out, their only cost factor was during the warranty period, after that is was a profit bucket to the dealers and independent shops but still a pain in the butt to mechanics. Cars are not designed to be repaired easily, they are designed to be built easily.
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Life is only as good as you make it.
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otto
Member Joined: 26 Feb. 2012 Location: Orygun Status: Offline Points: 2241 |
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Oh, yeah, don't get me started on the Vega. I was selected as the SE PA mechanic to go to GM school and learn all about the Vega prior to it's intro to the public. At the end of the week they asked what we thought. It did not go well for them. I just asked one question, who determined that just coating an aluminum cylinder wall with Teflon would ever allow the rings to seat? They assurred me their engineers had done all the research. Well apparently not. OK, gotta stop now or I'll go on forever about that dog of dogs. Luckily the Yugo surpassed it as the worst ever so at least it doesn't have that distinction but it was close.
Larry I had three Vegas in High School (I didn't know any better back then either), the first one was free and I never paid more than a couple of hundred for the others. They were ten year old cars at the time! I would LOVE to hear more horror stories about them.
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47 CJ2A w/fuel injected boat engine
48 CJ2A 64 Ford Econoline Travelwagon If you can't get there in a Jeep, get a motorcycle! |
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