Ignorance is Scary

[SarahW]

Hey Al... what was your thread topic again??

 

[38Chevy454]

Q: why jaguar never made a refrigerator?
A: they could not figure out how to make it leak/burn oil.

NB: I own a Jaguar.

Or the related joke:
Q: Why do the English drink warm beer
A: They have Lucas refrigerators

(in case this went over some heads, Lucas electrics as used in English cars, are notorious for not working very well or at all.)

There is also the very rare Lucas smoke if you can find it to buy, to repair the Lucas electrics when all the smoke is let out.

 

[panhead]

Or the related joke:
Q: Why do the English drink warm beer
A: They have Lucas refrigerators

(in case this went over some heads, Lucas electrics as used in English cars, are notorious for not working very well or at all.)

There is also the very rare Lucas smoke if you can find it to buy, to repair the Lucas electrics when all the smoke is let out.

"Lucas Electric, the prince of darkness"

I saw a shirt years ago with a three position light switch for a lucas electric equipped vehicle. It said:

Off-------------DIM-----------------FLICKER

Haha!

 

[panhead]

Interesting. I have been aware of timing belts and the repercussions of them breaking so in the past when I hit the 60k mark or whenever it was recommended I always changed it. When my last vehicle was a chain, I was told (and it wasn't a mechanic mind you) that you do not have to worry about those. I saw no mention of it in manual either. Ignorance is bliss I guess!


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The chain equipped vehicles never had a maintenance schedule to replace the chain as they shouldn't fail before the end of life of the engine/vehicle. There are 'interference' and 'non-interference' motors with belts. Interference motors will trash the motor if the belt brakes, where a non-interference will just stop running. Replace the belt and you're back in business. The interference motors are usually high performance motors.

I changed the chain on my celica because I was a poor college student and the chain and tensioner kit was like $70 and I could do it myself. Ran that care almost to 300k before selling it. I used to see it after that for several years. That thing could have gone 500k for all I know. Great little car.

 

[Walt34]

Speaking of oil--anyone else here add oil coolers to their vehicles? Doesn't make sense in winter up north but if you pull a load down south or out west, especially in summer, it really helps your engine.

When I ordered my pickup that was the sole reason I also got the tow package - it comes with a bigger radiator and separate oil and transmission coolers at a cost less than adding them later. At the time I'd never towed anything and didn't foresee that I ever would but I figured those coolers would help longevity.

Later on I actually did tow a U-haul trailer for a niece and my little sister so it was nice to have.

 

[SteveNU]

The Duke

 

[NW-Bound]

Hey Al... what was your thread topic again??

I vaguely remember it's something about keeping an old car saving mucho money compared to trading it in every few years. It's something that ignoramuses do not know about. I guess if someone knows that a new car costs dearly but chooses to indulge in spite of the cost, it's different as it is intentional.

And as keeping an older car requires some basic knowledge about car maintenance, the ensuing posts are all related, so all good.

Unless the body and interior are in bad shape, it usually is worthwhile to replace the engine. Even if you have to pay a mechanic to do it. Rebuilt short blocks are available thru many of the auto parts stores. If you are willing to take some risk, junkyards will pull an engine from a wreck for you to install. $2K-$3K if you know the rest of the vehicle is good is a lot cheaper than replacing the whole vehicle. If you DIY it is under $1K unless you get fancy.

He wanted to give the car to me, but I was debating about how I would tow it to my high-country home, and work on it there. He decided to clean up his driveway and sold it cheaply to get rid of it.

Speaking of oil--anyone else here add oil coolers to their vehicles? Doesn't make sense in winter up north but if you pull a load down south or out west, especially in summer, it really helps your engine.

The engine in my RV is a big block 454. I think some Chevy trucks or the Suburban used the same engine. The difference might be the huge cooling system, and a beefier transmission to handle the GCWR of 16,000 lbs.

I was glad to see that the temperature gauge hardly budged, even when it was laboring up 8 or 10% slope crossing the Rocky Mountain. I never had to add coolant. Recently, when I decided to drain out and change the coolant, I discovered that it took 5 gallons.

 

[Chuckanut]

A former coworker used to work in a camera store. A lady had bought a new camera to take on her dream vacation to Europe. Upon her return she brought a bag full of 'film' to be processed. He looked through the bag and dug around, all he could find were used flash cubes. It seems the lady thought the flash cubes also contained the film

 

[Walt34]

A lady had bought a new camera to take on her dream vacation to Europe. Upon her return she brought a bag full of 'film' to be processed. He looked through the bag and dug around, all he could find were used flash cubes. It seems the lady thought the flash cubes also contained the film

A tell-tale sign that she did not read the manual. Ya think?

 

[travelover]

........ It seems the lady thought the flash cubes also contained the film

Look on the bright side. She saved her friends endless hours of tedious slideshows.

 

[ls99]

A tell-tale sign that she did not read the manual. Ya think?

Old joke to stupids: RTFM Read the eFfing maual!

 

[Walt34]

Old joke to stupids: RTFM Read the eFfing maual!

Oh gosh, don't get me started. For a long time I was the on-call tech support guy for family because I was the first one to own a computer. When I bought it I didn't know the difference between the a: drive and the c: drive. "Operating system? Whazzat?" So I had no choice but to RTFM. Not a biggie, I'm one of those people who will read the manual for a toaster.

So they'd call me up with configuration questions and I'd start back by asking them questions to get an idea of where they were and what they were trying to do. And I'd often suggest taking a look at the manual, being pretty certain that the directions with screen shots were there. No, they just wanted to know what button to push, which I couldn't tell them without more information.

It became an exercise in frustration for all unless you're sitting in front of the screen. I guess almost everyone here has been in that position.

 

[NW-Bound]

Old joke to stupids: RTFM Read the eFfing manual!

Perhaps because of that, now manufacturers give us absolutely no manuals, and let us fumble around to learn how to use "stuff" on our own.

Recently, I bought my wife an Android tablet, and inside the box was just the tablet itself and a USB power cube. That's it! I would appreciate a brief rundown of the apps that were preloaded in this wonderful thing. It may have some features that I do not even know exist to make use of.

When my wife wanted to freeze the screen orientation instead of letting it choose the automatic rotation with the tilt sensor, I knew there had to be a setting page somewhere in there (there turned out to be several), but it took a bit of time to find it. An electronic manual preloaded in the thing would be nice. As I get older, I do not care to spend time to look for hidden features as Easter eggs. I want a doggone manual with index!

My wife liked the tablet and made recommendation to her SIL who is not computer literate, figuring that it would be easier to show how to use it. Her SIL bought a newer version, and its apps were different.

 

[Walt34]

An electronic manual preloaded in the thing would be nice. As I get older, I do not care to spend time to look for hidden features as Easter eggs. I want a doggone manual with index!

I share your pain. A while back I bought a new photo printer, nothing more than a quick-start guide and a CD with the driver, no manual, not even on the CD. You have to go online to get the manual, which if printed would be a thick book. This is a specialized photo printer not a generic office printer. Lots of different settings for different outcomes, some very subtle.

Okay, I get that it costs money to print a thick book that most people won't even open. But geez, don't make me hunt it down!

 

[EastWest Gal]

Yeah but how many trees did they not cut down for a manual virtually no one will read?


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[unclemick]

Or the related joke:
Q: Why do the English drink warm beer
A: They have Lucas refrigerators

(in case this went over some heads, Lucas electrics as used in English cars, are notorious for not working very well or at all.)

There is also the very rare Lucas smoke if you can find it to buy, to repair the Lucas electrics when all the smoke is let out.

1967 XKE 2+2 long ago and far away.

heh heh heh - overheated above 75 and the rubber hoses were prone to bursting at inopportune times. Never drove above 135 on the speedometer.

 

[Ronnieboy]

That's a pretty good testament to the quality of Toyota engines. It is amazing that it ran that long.

+1

Just took my wife's 2002 Toyota Sequoia into the shop for balance and tire rotation, noticed that the oil change sticker in the window had been passed on the odometer by 14,000 miles! I told her while I prefer to wait till 5,000 miles (2,000 over the sticker) 14,000 was pushing it.

 

[haha]

Yeah but how many trees did they not cut down for a manual virtually no one will read?


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The more trees they cut, the better I like it. I tend to make long term investments in selected timber companies.

Ha

 

[redduck]

I have a colleague who took her monster luxury SUV to the dealer to get the clock reset when we switched to daylight savings time.

Seems like she probably went to the right place. You know, this DIY thing can be carried just so far.

 

[clifp]

I wonder if there are big truck forums where members make fun of their retired neighbor who drives a 1999 Camry and actually paid a mechanic to replace the fuel pump?

I really laughed out loud. I do wonder if there are forum where people make fun of their super frugal/tight wad aunts, uncle, grandparents who have millions but clip coupons. If so how many E-R members have been made of fun.

 

[W2R]

I share your pain. A while back I bought a new photo printer, nothing more than a quick-start guide and a CD with the driver, no manual, not even on the CD. You have to go online to get the manual, which if printed would be a thick book. This is a specialized photo printer not a generic office printer. Lots of different settings for different outcomes, some very subtle.

Okay, I get that it costs money to print a thick book that most people won't even open. But geez, don't make me hunt it down!

Not a problem! I have a folder on my computer desktop called "Manuals". Whenever I buy something nice, I google the manual quickly and put the PDF in that folder. It's like a bookcase of manuals for me.

When you buy a Model 1000 Super-Duper Wow Gizmo made by Brandname, just google "Brandname Model 1000 Super-Duper Wow Gizmo manual" and generally it pops right up. Then save it to the "Manuals" folder on your desktop. Easier and quicker than getting the plastic wrap off of a physical manual.

 

[Ronstar]

Not a problem! I have a folder on my computer desktop called "Manuals". Whenever I buy something nice, I google the manual quickly and put the PDF in that folder. It's like a bookcase of manuals for me.

When you buy a Model 1000 Super-Duper Wow Gizmo made by Brandname, just google "Brandname Model 1000 Super-Duper Wow Gizmo manual" and generally it pops right up. Then save it to the "Manuals" folder on your desktop. Easier and quicker than getting the plastic wrap off of a physical manual.

Wow - I have a "Manuals" folder on my computer also. Manuals include PDFs of those I googled or scanned. I do still have a bunch of hard copy manuals in a plastic bin in my workshop that I need to scan in. I'm going to load up workshop manuals on my iPad so that I can look up stuff in my shop.


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[NW-Bound]

I share your pain. A while back I bought a new photo printer, nothing more than a quick-start guide and a CD with the driver, no manual, not even on the CD. You have to go online to get the manual, which if printed would be a thick book. This is a specialized photo printer not a generic office printer. Lots of different settings for different outcomes, some very subtle.

Okay, I get that it costs money to print a thick book that most people won't even open. But geez, don't make me hunt it down!

I went onto the tablet maker's Web site and there was nothing there. Not anything to tell about some basic but important stuff, such as how and where the user can upload his music or video files, the difference between internal and add-on flash memory for storing media files, what folders, etc... I was left to experiment and to go on the Web to look for other users' experience.

It used to be that an electronic piece would come with a CD containing the manual in PDF format, and if you lose it you can go on the company Web site to get it. This is the 1st time I see nothing other than a diagram showing where to plug in the power cord and a headphone. Hah!

 

[Walt34]

Not a problem! I have a folder on my computer desktop called "Manuals". Whenever I buy something nice, I google the manual quickly and put the PDF in that folder. It's like a bookcase of manuals for me.

That's exactly what I do now. But really, it should be on the CD that has the driver on it one would think. It surprised me because that was the first time I'd not seen at least a PDF manual on the CD.

 

[W2R]

That's exactly what I do now. But really, it should be on the CD that has the driver on it one would think. It surprised me because that was the first time I'd not seen at least a PDF manual on the CD.

They probably prefer keeping the manual on their website, where they can correct or alter it as problems arise. It's essentiallly a living manual that way, not something written in stone.

Actually that's my only objection to that practice - - they can claim, after the fact, that the manual says not to do something or other with their device, when the version I saw might not have said that. It would be better if the manual was correct from Day One.


I've never had any problems due to massively updated manuals, but I would imagine somebody has.