Recent content by djb

As others have said, running for a few seconds at idle with no oil pressure is almost a non-event for the engine wear surfaces. There was still plenty of oil on the bearings from being recently run.

I would put that down as easy or standard use. Running the generator continuously means that it remains at operating temperature, doesn't have the start-up and shut-down transition of rich and lean mixtures, and likely isn't being run close to the load limit. It's clearly time to change the...

Most of the cars on the top-10 lists can only loosely be called production cars. There are plenty of top 10 lists that echo sales brochure numbers of models where only hand built prototypes exist. Even Koenigsegg, which is actually delivering cars, won't reach the homologation standard of 100...

Contractors and construction crews treat everything bought there as a business expense. An auditor isn't going to check if an oil filter bought there even fits work equipment, let alone verify that is what the oil and filter were used for.

Bad seals cause a wide range of noises and symptoms that you wouldn't normally blame on a seal. And when you pull them off, they are still flexible and appear in perfect condition. But a new one fixes the problem and lasts for years. If the new seal changes fix or changes the problem, don't...

A bit of a quibble with how you present Ford's EV efforts. Ford has $160B in debt. At most you could only attribute a few billion to their EV efforts. Their EVs, especially the Mach-EV, were initially in very high demand. They just couldn't ramp up production while that demand existed, in...

The good thing about plain salted popcorn is that you have some confidence that it is what is claimed. It's made from some of the least expensive foods around: corn, oil and salt. You only need to be concerned about modified oil and GMO corn, not eating some entirely difference substance...

The most common spec is "use our branded grease" or a GLCI #2 lithium base grease. Most any brand of red grease will work. I know that the red color doesn't mean anything, but it's now the de facto standard for 'a high quality general purpose grease (that we are pricing as if it is something...

I do agree that automobile controls should be standardized and placed consistently. But historically that hasn't been the case. The starter on many early electric start vehicles was activated by a foot pedal. Its mechanical movement acted directly to close the starter contacts and engage the...

Just to add to the thread: I've been helping a friend with his WGen9500df. His first and most serious problem was that the compression release on the camshaft failed, with some corresponding internal destruction. The automatic start system didn't recognize that the starter motor was under...

Most of these news stories are ignoring the elephant in the room: a year ago every new car was wildly expensive, with $10K-$20K over MSRP common. Used cars were similarly high priced, with some going for over MSRP. Interest rates near zero were making those prices look reasonable. That bubble...

The high performance cost very little extra in an EV designed for efficiency. Consider house wiring or an extension cord. In almost every circumstance the wires are oversized for efficiency and minimal voltage drop. The same is true for the traction motor wiring. The battery needs to support...

The contactors (part of the High Voltage Junction box) has been a common failure for over a year. The part was backordered, resulting in multiple month repairs for some owners despite the factory continuing to build with the known-deficient part. When a revised part was introduced for the...

Castile soap is made with vegetable oil and lye. Originally it was made with olive oil, but now most often less expensive palm or coconut oil (Dr. Bronners uses mostly palm oil). Traditionally "regular" soap is made with animal fats (usually tallow) and lye, but now is made mostly with...

That's easy to answer: the increased supply needed is well within the traditional increase in electric demand. It's easy to forget that electric demand rapidly increased with the addition of electric lighting, electric appliances, air conditioning, and increased electric heating. Many areas that...