Category: Dave’s Garage
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Synthetic Oil
Hey Dave’s Garage- What is synthetic motor oil all about? Why is it better than natural oil? How does it differ chemically? I always thought that frequent oil changes were necessary because of the build up of acid and other contaminants. Why don’t they build up in synthetic oil the same way? Wendell Noble Wendell,…
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Tank Ooze
Absent any questions this month, I will share something interesting with you. Recently I drained and removed the gas tank on the Datsun 240Z project. This car was parked in 1982. I removed the drain plug, but no gas came out. I poked at the hole with a screwdriver, and felt a thick tar like…
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Project Updates – MGB & Datsun 240Z
Absent any questions this month, I will give a brief update on the projects I am working on. The MGB project is progressing nicely. The front suspension has been rebuilt. All the metal parts have been wire brushed, cleaned and painted. The cast parts were painted with a coat of “cast blast” lacquer to replicate…
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MG Update
I have not received any questions this month, so I will give an update on the MGB project I am helping the high school student with. When we adjusted the valves, I was able to use my camera scope and explain how a four cycle engine works. The principle of the carburetor operation was easy…
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All Lined Up (2)
Several months ago I received an email from a Vermont high school student through my MG club’s website. This high school senior ex-plained that to graduate from high school, the school required seniors to complete a senior project. This project required an adult to mentor them and guide them through the project. The project is…
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All Lined Up
About a year ago I replaced the steering rack in my minivan. That replacement rack blew out during the cold snap in December. The good news was the part was covered by the warranty. The bad news was after I replaced the rack, I needed to do a wheel alignment. Since I had the alignment…
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Plan B
Several years ago I began getting a check engine light on my Subaru Outback. The code was being caused because the emissions self check determined there were unturned hydrocarbons, venting directly from the gas tank to the atmosphere, not through the char-coal canister as designed. This is often referred to as “the gas cap code”.…
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A Universal Problem – Dave’s Garage
Many automobile manufacturers have been making drive shaft universal joints as a non- serviceable item. These universal joints are also sealed, with no grease fittings or provisions to grease the joint. When the joint eventually fails, (due to lack of lubrication) the entire drive shaft has to be replaced. These universal joints are held in…
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The Parts Car – Dave’s Garage
Several years ago the price of scrap steel went up. Way up. As a result of this rise in scrap prices, many salvage yards crushed and scrapped much of their inventory. This was not a good thing for those of us with older cars. Recently, scrap prices have dropped, dramatically. This is good news for…
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Making non-ethanol gas out of ethanol gas (E10) – Dave’s Garage
Dave was super busy this month so the staff at Wheel Tracks decided to go with a story that Wendell Nobel mentioned about making non-ethanol gas out of ethanol gas (E10). The hope is that members will not try the process but instead will more thoroughly understand this ethanol problem that we have. Wendell Noble…