Search results

John Deere made some great lawnmowers for many years, but at some point around 2008 the manufacturer that supplied their mower decks stopped producing them. I was talking to a Deere dealer about this back in 2010 or so. He said JD started putting their badge and green paint on another...

The Toro Recycler line is very good. I have one with a B&S engine that has been fantastic. I believe they are made in the US. The same company owns Lawn Boy, and I understand they make a quality product as well.

Those 5-cylinder MB diesels of that vintage are very desirable. The engine is very simple and robust. It's not unheard of to get 1,000,000 miles out of them.

If it actually keeps headlights clear for a year that will be a miracle. A few years ago I had a 2003 Saab, and would polish the headlights roughly every 90 days.

I tend to treat rentals about the same as my own vehicles, although if it's an underpowered vehicle I don't mind putting the throttle all the way down to accelerate onto freeways and such.

I assume that's the 8HP70 transmission on your Land Rover? I have a 2015 Ram 1500 with that transmission and have 119,000 miles on it. Would you recommend the Red Line D6 over the ZF Lifeguard fluid? I've never thought of Red Line products as inexpensive, but the ZF stuff is ridiculous.

I don't have a firm rule, but probably 2 years. I see people wasting perfectly good oil all the time, all because it was in the sump for some arbitrary time period. Not long ago my mom changed the oil in her minivan because it had been ~18 months since the previous change. Turns out that the oil...

Nice looking shed! Is it anchored to the concrete pad? I'm guessing the electrician won't want to run wiring to it unless it's secured to the ground. Based on past electrical work I've had done, adding a couple of 110 receptacles will probably run you $250-350, assuming the electrician can...

When I was a kid our family had a 1973 Buick Estate Wagon. It was a nice car with a 455 V-8.

I started driving in 1985, in my dad's 1981 Buick Skylark with a carbureted 4-cylinder that made about 90hp. Cars in the 80s tended to be underpowered. From the late 80s to the late 90s, horsepower increased substantially in cars. A few years ago I had a 2016 BMW 550i. It had 445 hp and...

You do seem to have some fuel dilution. You may want to have your next sample tested at Polaris Labs or other lab that uses a gas chromatography test to get a better understanding of fuel dilution. Keeping the OCI around 5-6K miles like you've been doing is probably a good idea.

Recently I bought a reconditioned iPhone XR 128GB on Amazon for $270. Had to return the first one because it wouldn't read the SIM. The second one is fantastic. It seems like a new phone in every way. Battery life is terrific. I think the XR was $800 when it first came out in 2018.

Looks like a good report. Lead at 5 PPM is no big deal. Does your driving include a lot of short trips?

When I was a kid we always had oil leaks on the driveway and garage floor. My dad showed me how to take Oil-Dri (kitty litter) and grind it into the concrete with the heel of a shoe. It works pretty well to remove stains if you use it that way.

I tried it and got an error. I'll try again later.

How was it debunked?

How do engines prefer fresh oil over fancy oil? Someone posted a link to a white paper from SAE showing that oil with 12,000 miles on it exhibits lower friction and an order of magnitude lower wear rate on the valve train compared to fresh oil.

There are a couple of General tires that I'd recommend. Their Altimax RT is a great all season tire for cars and small SUVs. If you're in an area that sees snow and ice, the Altimax Arctic is similar to the famous Hakkapeliitta series, but less expensive.

When I lived in Maryland I winterized my irrigation system myself. You definitely don't need a huge compressor. I used a 2-hp portable compressor with a 20-gal tank. I built myself an adapter to connect the air line to the PVC pipe. I set the regulator on the compressor to around 40 PSI. I...

Last month I changed the oil in my Hemi-powered Ram and sent a sample to Blackstone. The oil taken out was Red Line 0W-20 that I had purchased in August 2021. I posted the UOA here, and some commented that it looks like a new formula. I replaced the oil with the same Red Line 0W-20, purchased in...