Wrenching tips & tricks

>>15430606
Make sure you replace your muffler bearings regularly

When welding, save time and money by squinting instead

Have a bolt stuck? Just snap it for a quick removal
Check engine light on? Just take a sharpie and colour over it. No one will ever know

Is your odometer too high? Just simply prop the car up on some jack stands, put it in reverse, and press the gas. The clicks will come down faster than you know it.

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>>15430606
>Weld a nut on the head of a stripped bolt for easy removal
Really which I could have done that with my alternator bolt. It snapped flush with the head.
Guess I'm just going to have to move the damn thing to the other side of the fucking engine. 4,000 feet away from the battery.

Here's a tip..

Use GRADE 8 BOLTS OR ABOVE for fastening anything that will see any sort of load whatsoever.

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If you need more leverage from a combination wrench, you can hook two together for more length.

Definitely have a good set of ratchet wrenches and S-shaped wrenches for shit that you can't fit a regular ratchet in.

Fill your new filter with oil before install to avoid a bearing damaging dry start.

>>15430840
Implying grade 8 bolts are expensive

>>15430858
But that's now how it works.

>>15430863
>What I meant to say
>Implying Grade 8 bolts are NOT expensive

sorry drunk

>>15430863
No, but a 6" long 7/16" fine thread grade 8 bolt is next to impossible to find in stores. You have to look that shit up online.

On the other hand, 6" long 7/16" fine thread grade 5 bolts are plentiful everywhere that sells bolts.

>>15430874
go to ace,theyll find it

source: i worked at ace and could find any bolt

>>15430840
Grade 8 bolts will shear easily and are usually not recommended for automotive.


I got passed off once at some farm equipment and stuck a stainless bolt in the driveline as a shear pin.
It twisted the shift as a result.
Shit just bends and deforms, rather then snapping

>>15430900
Well, if this grade 8 bolt snaps I'll report back.

>>15430840
Did it snap off into the head? What pos engineering is that? The alternators I've had have their own bracket or use through bolts with zero threading into the head

>>15430606
if a bolt is stuck in a tight spot and you need a lot of force to free it up, use your palm of your hand to push the ratchet instead of having a death grip on it and hitting your knuckles against something else when the bolt is freed up

>>15431031
Aftermarket alternator, Had to use a hardware store (longer) bolt.

Learned my lesson on bolt grades.

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>>15430846
a tip is that longer levers are best used to apply the same amount of force but over a longer period of time rough movement can cause damage

Use a razor to bevel the inside edge of rubber hoses for easier installation

>>15431049
Dont do this, causes damage to muscles, joints and nerves in your hands due to the violent shock your hand sees.

>>15430606
>>Most screwdriver handles are 6 sided so you can fit a wrench on the end for greater torque

wait, is this shit on purpose?

can i suck the dick of the guy that tought of this?

>>15431116
Don't do what? Smash your knuckles against steel/aluminum or use an open hand on a wrench so you don't punch metal at full force?

>>15431116
>>15431049
Ideally you want to pull the ratchet handle towards you because you have more control when pulling.

>>15431121
What im saying is dont use the palm of your hand to strike the ratchet/wrench because it damages the nerve endings in your hands if done alot.

Dont get me wrong, i still do it. But have you ever hit your ratchet with your hand a couple of times pretty hard and then felt a stinging feeling for awhile afterwards in your joints? not good.

My point is use another tool to hit the wrench, crescent, hammer, another ratchet anything. and if you have nothing else, use your hands but i would suggest atleast trying to look around for a second.

>>15430606
>Use 1:1 mixture of acetone and ATF for penetrating oil
This doesn't actually work, I've tried it.
The acetone and ATF are immiscible, it just wont work.
PB Blaster or kroil are superior.

>Gently tap a screwdriver through the side of a stuck oil filter
This just rips the oil filter in half and makes a huge mess and makes it even harder to get off since it's just a sharp ass mangled metal bit stuck to the engine now.

>>15431136
I think >>15431049 was talking about simply keeping your palm open so if the bolt suddenly frees or the wrench slips your knuckles don't go mashing into whatever is behind the wrench. Not using your hand as a hammer.

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>>15431148
Stuck oil filters would be largely eliminated if people learned how to use these correctly.

Put it right on the base of the oil filter. Not on the end where it's fucking weakest, which causes it to crumple and twist up.

If all else fails a cold chisel and hammer have always worked for me.

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>>15430846
>>15431049
>>15431088
>here's a protip: use your tools incorrectly!
Ignore these posters. If you can't break something loose use penetrant, heat, or a longer wrench/breaker bar.

>>15430606
>>15431117
If the tool is intended to put a wrench on the screwdriver there will be an interface for it. No, you aren't supposed to put a crescent wrench on the plastic handle.

>>15431151
ah i misread his post, absolutely agree, open handed pushing a wrench/ratchet is a must.

Also, you can break free just about any bolt with a box end wrench and a deadblow hammer with ease. Especially hard to get to bolt like trans fill bolts, transmission tailshaft bolts, exhaust bolts, bellhousing bolts. If you can fit a hammer in there, it makes everything so much easier without smashing your fingers/knuckles.

Also, if you have a hard to get to bolt that you can only get a wrench on and cant quite hit it with a hammer, put a piece of rope around it in a loop and swing the hammer on the other end, it will act like a slide hammer and knock it loose.

>>15431166
I've never had a problem with the double wrench trick. Then again I don't buy no name wrenches.

>>15431166
>penetrant
rare
>heat
not always pertinent
>longer wrench/breaker bar
still has many of the same problems

>>15431176
I don't trust myself with hammers around engines anymore.

I've had a bad experience with a radiator.

>>15431165
No, most stuck oil filters are because dumbasses dont know that the oil filter only needs to be tight enough to not fall off or leak, not survive a direct hit from a missile.

1/2 to 3/4 from contact is ALL you need, nothing more nothing less and dont forget to put oil on o-ring.

>>15431197
I've had a problem with an oil filter I hand tightened on before. I also smothered the o ring with oil and the fucking thing still siezed.

It happens, anon.

>>15430606
Too dru k to formulate Nythi g good.
But screwdriver in oil filter brings back memory's.
20 hers ago, 2 days ago. Still works.

Its usual!y spark
Stick a screwdriver In the end of the sparkplug wire and fol it close to the engine while you crNk it's to watch for a spark.

Always think about where you'll end up if the breaker bar with the 3ft cheater on it slips off the bolt.

Stuck bolt or stud?

Heat it up red hot (just the bolt not the surrounding metal) and let it cool.

The bolt will try to expand inside the hole, but cannot. When it cools, the bolt will shrink, most times letting you twist it out with your fingers.

>>15431242
Awful imitation of a drunken fool

>always use anti-seize when installing parts back
>use engine, transmission or gear oil when anti-seize can't be used on bolt threads or studs, makes assembly much easier
>instead of buying expensive spark plug anti-seize, use milk of magnesia (the non flavor, no sugar added version) works great in high heat applications like headers or exhaust parts
>if you have a stubborn screw, tap the head with a hammer and try going clockwise before removing it, it will usually free up.

>>15434120
Don't heat them until they're red hot. You risk weakening the bolt too much.

>>15434227
>lubricating threads

Lubricating a bolt that is not meant to be lubricated will massively increase tension in the bolt. If you do so, you must reduce torque. Otherwise you risk damage.

>>15430840
>Use GRADE 8 BOLTS OR ABOVE for fastening anything that will see any sort of load whatsoever.
>>15430863
>>15430874

Just be careful of bolts made in China. They often stamp higher grade markings on lower quality metal bolts. It makes more money for them and that's what matters most.

>>15434120
If its a bolt you heat around it. If its a nut you heat up the nut

>>15430840
If a bolt snaps off flush you can weld the end of the bolt so some wire melts on it, kinda get a little nub on the end of it which you can then weld a nut to. It's gotten me out of a few jams.

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>>15430834
>colour

>>15431242
This is embarrassing anon, nobody types like that when they're drunk.

A disclaimer to all you kids out there too dumb to know better.
You know when you see a life hacks post somewhere that just says to do stupid shit that are inconvenient and bad?
That's pretty much what this thread is.