Recent content by Kestas

I had a 2002 Volvo S40. It was good to me. OCI was every 10K with 5W-30 synthetic. I did nothing special for turbo cooldown. I had the car 202K with no turbo problems before I sold it. It didn't feel right that 7.5K with regular oil was specified for the oil change interval.

I have a similar problem with my shower. When I return after being gone 6 months, I find the (single rotating handle) mixing valve is stuck from the deposits that dried internally. I need to take it apart and unstick it. The mixing valve is basically a short brass plunger that moves back and forth.

I coat the piston bore and mating surfaces with silicone grease. Any moisture that enters the braking system is through these sealing surfaces. Brake fluid and the ATE brake cylinder paste are alcohols, which absorb water. Silicone paste acts as a barrier to moisture, allows good brake function...

I'm lucky. With the hundreds of oil changes I've done in my life, I've never encountered an oil filter that wouldn't come off conventionally.

I enjoy reading the psychology behind all the people who buy and use snake oil to save gas. I wish I had time to type it all up.

I tried the same experiment, with the same results. I now sharpen using a file.

I'm still on my synthetic $2 per quart stash I bought years back.

If you're picky, I would recommend a glass bottle.

Mine hovers around 125v. It drives me nuts because my dehumidifiers shut off and trip an overvoltage code. Also, I run my antique radios, which are designed for 110v.

60-40 should be okay for your work. I will throw a few things to watch out for. The two mating surfaces must be nothing less than perfectly clean. Flux will not clean tarnish. Both parts must be at temperature for the solder to wet. If one acts like a heat sink it'll be impossible to wet it. I...

Silicone or silicon? Many people confuse the two. Silicone cannot be remove with common solvents. It must be wiped away. I worked in a lab that used silicone on the instruments that needed to be cleaned after every use. Silicone grease was a pain to remove. Was EDS (Energy Dispersive...

Are you sure the engine stops rotating (no rpm) when coasting? Because I never heard of such a design. I do know the fuel is cut off.

I'm glad I don't have water going to my refrigerator. It makes things simple (except I have to manually make ice cubes). No filters, no ice maker to fix. I've had too many friends deal with a serious leak of the supply line. I have a whole house filter for my well water and reverse osmosis for...

There's too much flashing going on while driving. Too many lights competing for my attention. At times I feel overwhelmed with too much input. On a multilane boulevard at night I almost missed a red light because there were too many lights to negotiate in my field of vision. It's like the...

A turbo spinning at 10,000 rpm will not spool down in a matter of seconds. Turbos are prone to wipe out the plain bearing in extreme cases where the oil stops flowing when they're spinning at high rpm.