Recent content by berninicaco3

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    dumb elementary brake fluid question

    question about engine braking. It's hard to find techs who really, really know about transmissions; and that definitely includes myself. I haven't pinned down the answer to this one yet. For engine braking to work, the wheels have to want to be going faster than the engine, no? So that the...
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    dumb elementary brake fluid question

    "WRONG AND DANGEROUS. Don't overthink things, then assume you have an answer when you don't know all the factors." That's exactly why I'm asking-- I didn't think I had the answer right! I was proposing an answer so it could pointed out if it was wrong (and why). I do like to overthink things...
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    dumb elementary brake fluid question

    I think my questions have been answered by and large. Sounds like water is a concern mainly because of corrosion, not lowered boiling point. Sounds like brake fade from boiled fluid isn't the main issue anyway (fade from the hot rotor:pad lowered friction more the point). And that perhaps...
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    dumb elementary brake fluid question

    second hydraulics question. Elementary idea is fixed volume, push in here, comes out there; you can force multiply easily enough by pushing a small rod a long distance and having a wide plate rise a short distance (but with more force). In between, however, does not matter, correct? Not... in...
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    dumb elementary brake fluid question

    So, I was trying to explain to a friend the reasons why he should change his brake fluid at least every 15 years, and realized that I myself have a hole in my understanding of hydraulics. A reason I was given was that as the fluid absorbs water, the boiling point is lowered. When the fluid...
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    maintenance services?

    I agree about being proactive-- but it seems that many of the expensive jobs couldn't have been prevented by being proactive. I'm only highly proactive on my own car, because, it's cheap (I do it myself), and it can be fun. I rebuilt my engine and transmission because I wanted to learn how they...
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    New car buyers take out bigger loans, set record

    agreed on the gap between new/used shrinking. 3 years ago my older sister bought a new nissan versa. she had to finance (didn't have the cash), but, the terms on a new one were so much to her benefit, versus buying something 2, 3 years old and paying a higher interest rate because it's used, to...
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    Direct Manufacturer Sales to Car Buyers

    right, but the effect is the same. At the volvo dealership I worked for, warranty paid around 1/2 the amount as customer pay. And warranties are getting longer and longer. Btw, volvo capped (for the dealership) the flat rate billing at $85/hr. We charged customers $105/hr. The audi dealer down...
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    An elderly couple

    wait... I don't get it
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    All these perfect drivers

    I just moved from maryland to iowa. Maryland sees snow-- but, not really. It's above freezing almost all the time, so it turns to water pretty quickly. Iowa has more snow, that doesn't melt, or if it does, it turns to ice the next night. So this winter, in my rear wheel drive 1990 station...
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    Spelling

    hey, even the nytimes has a mistake several times a year (that I've noticed). I always do teh instead of the: slip of the fingers. Fun comics on language, enjoy: http://xkcd.com/326/ http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2803#comic
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    shipping horrors &paypal: how did it end for you?

    he did send me photos of the box, too, as proof. And I have my receipt and tracking number, and the receipt shows that it weighed something when it left my hands. Hoping usps can help. Best situation... apparently if boxes fall apart on their sorting machine, the contents are sequestered in a...
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    shipping horrors &paypal: how did it end for you?

    to be fair, he didn't specifically opt out-- he never asked.
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    shipping horrors &paypal: how did it end for you?

    " he should file a claim with USPS for the packaging damage and lost product." If you make a big enough stink, can you successfully get money out of usps, even without insurance? SOMEONE in the post office has $408 retail value in MATCO swivel sockets-- they didn't disappear.
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    shipping horrors &paypal: how did it end for you?

    Indeed. a) I like not to be that cynical b) it has stamps in red saying, "RECEIVED WITHOUT CONTENTS" unless he's such a regular scam artist, that he owns his own stamp. But I don't think so. My sense is that it was usps, and yeah, I should have made him buy insurance, or swallowed the cost--...
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