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I like having torches...

496truck

496truck

1/2 ton status
Joined
Jul 22, 2009
Posts
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Location
Carver MA
But I don't always like the reasons I need them.

I had to cut the rotors to get them off the rear of the HD. The rust ridge where the parking brake shoes ride was too much and wouldn't let the rotors off. Now what was a simple pad and rotor replacement is now parking brake shoes and one wheel stud cause I tried to save myself some cutting by cutting across the stud hole. I ruined the threads on that stud.:doah:

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:haha::haha::haha:

dam i dont miss that crap. :D

god dam enginers design the frigin shoes so far in and leaves that rust lip area from hell. :angry1::angry1::angry1:
 
The best part is on the AAM axle, which my dodge had the same one, is getting to the adjuster for the parking brake. The drivers one is one top of the axle and placed right next to the spring pack. :mad::angry1::angry1::angry1::angry1: ****ing engineers
 
No, the hub flange is pretty thick. The red hot metal from the rotor rolled right off the hub flange. I over estimated my abilities when cutting so close to the wheel stud though. In the past I've blown stripped, rusty nuts right off a bolt/stud without damaging the threads of said bolt/stud. Not this time though, not paying attention, let too much hot metal drip onto the wheel stud and sit there. Took the threads right off.
 
KirsL said:
The best part is on the AAM axle, which my dodge had the same one, is getting to the adjuster for the parking brake. The drivers one is one top of the axle and placed right next to the spring pack. :mad::angry1::angry1::angry1::angry1: ****ing engineers
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Yeah these didn't adjust down very far. Obviously not far enough to get past the rust ridge.
 
I like having torches too--without them you might as well forget fixing anything around here more than 5 years old..I hate having to FILL the tanks though,its always a hassle and expensive,when your not a steady customer with an "account" at a welding supply house..I consider torches more important than any other tools,the next best things are sawsalls and cut off wheels in a grinder..

I hate living around here,everything I own is a rusted peice of scrap iron in 5 years,and 99% of every "problem" I have with my vehicles is RUST related,not due to wear or normal fatigue..I'm willing to bet I'd be 20,000 bucks richer if things didn't rot away so fast here..I'd still own every car & truck I had since I got my license,some of them would be worth 10-20K now..not to mention the thousands in parts I had to replace and the toll the labor took on ME..

The "engineers" who design some of thios stuff should be ball kicked repeatedly in the groin for making things impossible to repair and using recycled crap steel to make it too..

Yesterday I tried and FAILED to change a stupid gas filter on my Ford Contour..
I'm a guy who is still stuck in the 80's and beyond,I can fix anything on my old trucks--put me under the hood of a 1990's or newer vehicle and I'm a clueless idiot..


It makes me feel like a washed up,useless obsolete cripple,when I used to be able to yank a motor out of a 70's GM truck and have it installed and driveable by 5 pm the same day..now I cant even get a effin fuel filter held on with cheesy PLASTIC clips off,for fear of busting the cheap PLASIC fuel line connectors that are brittle..

I battled with it for 15 minutes,then gave up,put the new clips on it from the new filter back on the old one--and now I'll have to bring the car to a friend's repair shop, and waste more money I dont have ,because I am unable to do it on the ground ,and cant see for S*** with my aging eyes..the hose clamp that holds the filter on cant be loosened thanks to RUST eating the head of the screw on the clamp off too..:mad:..
To make matters worse,I walked right into the floor jack's handle when I was blinded by the sun,and smashed my shins so badly I can barely stand up now!..

The car needs an oil change and rear struts installed too,I have a pair with springs I got from a salvage yard that were replaced recently,but after getting discouraged with the gas filter,I said screw this--my friend can do ALL of the repairs,I dont have a small oil filter wrench so I didn't bother even doing that myself..

Needless to say I'm thouroghly disgusted with myself,I've gone from a pretty good mechanic to a useless F*** in a matter of 10 years..cant even change my own oil or gas filter any more..:mad:

I get so pissed off at newer vehicles,with retarted designs like clip on fuel filters and nylon lines--what was so bad about rubber hose and worm gear clamps??..I trust them 100 times more than a hunk of plastic,especially with high pressure EFI !..
--snap-loc tranny and coolant lines,plastic water outlets,etc..what a pile of feces newer vehicles are..they cant be fixed by the average joe--.

I would be royally boned if my car needed a starter,altenator,or radiator hose out on the road if I were on a trip--you have to dissasemble half the car,the exhaust system,etc,just to put any of those on it..and it'll cost more than another GOOD OLD GM truck I CAN fix would cost,just to tow it home or have someone fix it...makes me want to peuke every time I go anywhere in my car ,knowing I'll be screwed if anything goes wrong with it..I dont feel so helpless when I'm in my truck,and could fix 90% of anything that might fail on it..I'm seriously considering selling it...:(
 
Yesterday I tried and FAILED to change a stupid gas filter on my Ford Contour..
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You should've used the torches on that. That would have solved all that cars problems.:D
 
496truck said:
No 2nd person. And nothing to pry on. The backing plate may as well be made of paper.
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Yeah, if they are even there. Around here they are usually rotten off. Next case is a big hammer.

It wouldn't be so bad if they would have left chromium in the metal for rotors. Thats why they wear down so fast and rust to the point of the back of that rotor. Most of ours look that way where the pad barely is touching the rotor. That is if the calipers are working on the new chevy trucks. Usually they aren't
 
Even with working calipers and sliders it seems the back side of the rotors still get rusty and flake off. Spongy soft pedal and poor braking is the result.

Notice the hammer marks. A 3lb hammer was not getting them off.
 
I am always terrified when using torches :haha:
 
496truck said:
Even with working calipers and sliders it seems the back side of the rotors still get rusty and flake off. Spongy soft pedal and poor braking is the result.

Notice the hammer marks. A 3lb hammer was not getting them off.
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Only 3lb`s...you must have a bigger one.
 
I was very tempted to use the torch on that gas filter!..but my insurance probably would refuse to pay up if I set it afire myself..:rolleyes:..

I have had to use my 18 lb sledge on some stubborn drums & rotors--some come off in peices ,but at least they come OFF!..I had to whale on the leaf spring shackle bolts on my truck with the mega-sledge,after 5000 blows I finally succeded in driving it out about one inch..then I sawed the head of the bolt off and that inch of exposed shank and pounded it back thru the other way,till I could pry the remains of the shackle off with a crowbar..I wouldn't get much done as far as suspension or brakework without a good selection of sledge hammers,,I almost knocked the friggin truck right off the jack when I was trying to bash that bolt out!..I could have torched the bolt off,but the torch was buried in the rear of my garage behind my car,3 garden tractors,and a million other piles of rubble --didn't feel like emptying out the whole garage and wasting money on oxogen to cut one bolt off..
 
Had the same proble on my '05 not quite as bad though. I actually pu the e-brake on half way and drove down my street and back and it seemed to cut down some of the build up. Rotors actually came off pretty easy after that:rolleyes:
 
I'm confused. Why couldn't you cut off the back of the shoe retaining pins and pry/pound the whole mess off. I've seen some rusted up pretty bad, but they always came off this way. Sometimes the drums can still be used, too.
 
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