Stuff Happens - Dist. Takes A Punch

J

jg61hawk

Senior Member
Just a quick note to say it happens to us all. I just installed a new distributor cap etc. and moved on to installing a thermostat. Nice easy clean jobs that are almost fun.

I'm trying to get the hose off the radiator, and my hand slips down with some force and I basically punch the new distributor cap with the side of my hand. CRACK!!! The cap broke at the base. Could be worse in so many ways. Just a note to say we're all in this together.
 
Doesn't sound too bad.

How about if you were:

A. Pushing the radiator hose upwards off of the water outlet with a large screw driver.

B. The screw driver slips and drives a hole in your new radiator.

C. And, your Rolex watch got caught on the fan, fell on the concrete & broke.

I'm sure others can chime in with things to add to make you feel better.

Hope this helps.
 
a bee flies in front of your nose
you automatically swipe at it
there is a half inch extension with 3/4 socket in your hand
the socket flies off the extension and into the windshield
there is now a nice big star square in front of the drivers seat
 
Before I attack my A I always ask myself what could possibly go wrong with this operation - Murphy is always hanging around the garage. I no longer let the car sucker me out of the garage for a drive which will end up with a tow home. :mad:
 
Stuff always does happen.

Always pays to THINK.

Heard an old farm tractor driver seriously say once:

"If you Think you know where you are going to die ..... just don't ever go there!"
 
If that new cap was mailed to you..........blame it on the post office.
They break everything else.:mad:

Much better to break a part of the car than a part of your body. Car parts are much cheaper than stitches.:eek:
 
jg61hawk said:
Just a quick note to say it happens to us all. I just installed a new distributor cap etc. and moved on to installing a thermostat. Nice easy clean jobs that are almost fun.

I'm trying to get the hose off the radiator, and my hand slips down with some force and I basically punch the new distributor cap with the side of my hand. CRACK!!! The cap broke at the base. Could be worse in so many ways. Just a note to say we're all in this together.
Click to expand...

Years ago I noticed that after fighting a stubborn hose to remove it, I usually tossed it in the trash anyway! No longer do I do it the hard way. Slit the old hose with a razor knife, you are not reusing it anyway. Same with fighting off an old distributor shaft. Just saw it through the roll pin.
Rainmaker
 
My Wife had a friend (Cindy) who's Husband's (Mike) truck had a fuel leak, not having a flashlight he pulls out his bic (these were new items back then) and strikes it up, the fire confirmed the fuel leak and he quickly put it out, but he can't seem to squarely located the exact spot of the leaks origin, so he pulls out his trusted bic lighter once more, well, he finds the exact spot of the leak, determines, by the size of this new fire, that it is a good sized leak, due to the fact that he can't put this fire out.
By the time the fire dept. gets there his truck is burnt to the ground, and his wife is none to happy, since the cabover camper that was on the back had most all of their clothing, and food, for themselves and their two kids, in preparation for the week long camping trip that was to start the next morning
Been about thirty some odd years and this one still cracks me up.
 
A thick coat of white lithium grease is great to coat both inside ends of both hoses as well as out-sides of metal parts to slip engine hoses on and off. Even after about 5 years, the hoses can easily be removed, re-greased, and re-installed.
 
a coolant / radiator hose pick works great for all cars....
i have many in different lengths
 

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Had to remove the headliner and rear upholstery on my 30 Tudor last summer. Body man who was going to repair a huge dent in the upper rear roof wouldn't attempt it (Tom Flopp) which is understandable but no upholstery shops would do it either. They would install a new interior but not the old one which is a LeBonny about thirty years old but in excellent condition. So I turn the wife on it. An old farm girl who will tackle anything.

After the beautiful repair by Flopp Custom, she reinstalls the interior, not only well, but better than the first time! Awesome, not a pucker or a nail to be seen.

But working to get the side panels back on for a tour the next morning, I had a small hammer in my hand, and now we have to remove that side panel again...... broken window! Ah well.

JackD
 
I've fought a lot of hoses over the years, and if they don't get reused, I cut them on the side just as Rainmaker Ron suggested. A year ago I finally bought the correct tool that Mitch shows. The older I get, the less I like to damage myself, so having the right tool is important.
 
Knives, ice picks, box cutters, screw drivers?

Per reply #10 above:

Even a young inexperienced guy knows a lubricated hose can last and slide up & down for years far better than a dry hose.
 
Hi Hoogah,

Good slippery lubrication always worked great every time for easy sliding up and down on anybody's hoses.

Old dried up hoses are a one time, rotten, rough cut-up experience ..... always ready for eternal non-functional hose retirement to send to the garbage.

What ever happened to the clever unwritten advice from our experienced vintage common sense mechanics from the past century

Thanks Hoogah!
 
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