um.. K.I.S.S...

[josha37]

keep it simple stupid. Just wanted to share something that was told to me back in college. Its a benz, not a orbitor. Im a victim of my own words quite often i abmit, but i try.

[leathermang]

Was this prompted by anything in particular ?
If you read the FSM's... you may feel it is closer to an orbitor than you first thought....
Diagnostic for just the dash portion of the type 2 and 3 AC units... 80 pages long... LOL

[josha37]

It is so long because instead of adressing the most likely causes of failure they adress every possiable scenerio. Which just so happens to be why i love the germans way of building things so much. But if you look at it, it is just a ac system.... It has the same parts as nearly every other ac system in existance.

[layback40]

Looking at your signature you need to start to practice what you preach. Not one stock standard car there!!
Keep It Simple Stupid is what KISS stands for.
Changing or modifying a production car is attempting to defy evolution. many $$$ & many hours of time from very smart people go into designing cars, yet at the whim of desire & a discussion in a bar some place all that design goes out the window.
It aint simple & it maybe a little stupid!!

[W124 E300D]

Originally Posted by layback40

Looking at your signature you need to start to practice what you preach. Not one stock standard car there!!
Keep It Simple Stupid is what KISS stands for.
Changing or modifying a production car is attempting to defy evolution. many $$$ & many hours of time from very smart people go into designing cars, yet at the whim of desire & a discussion in a bar some place all that design goes out the window.
It aint simple & it maybe a little stupid!!

mmmmm

Up until a few years ago I always ran motorcycles as my main/only form of personal transport.

None of my stuff was standard....

Currently I have a very heavily modified Yam TR1 sat under a tarp, and a bog standard Honda 125 sat under a tarp.

I *love* the TR1, it is "me".

standard TR1



my TR1, evolved since this pic, now all powdercoat gloss black



What you can't see from this photo, basically every part is custom, hand made, non standard, brake lines and manifolds, calipers, engine covers (de badged) wiring loom, etc etc etc.

It is also essentially worthless, worth maybe 1/10th of what it would be worth 100% stock and used with the same mileage on the open market, because teh chances of finding a potential buyer who wants EXACTLY the same mods as I have done is damn near zero, and as it ain't stock, you can't get there from here any more.

The unmolested and tired old Honda 125cc is worth more than the 1,000 cc bike on the open market.

[leathermang]

Originally Posted by layback40

....
Changing or modifying a production car is attempting to defy evolution. many $$$ & many hours of time from very smart people go into designing cars, yet at the whim of desire & a discussion in a bar some place all that design goes out the window....

LOL, Amen, and we could add ' discussion on some forum ' ....

[leathermang]

W124 E300D,
That was a very honest presentation you gave there.... Your modified bike sure would make it hard to take some admiring young lady for a ride...... which I think is 27 percent of the reason to own a tricked out MX...
My 1974 Harley Superglide was stolen... and I took that an an Omen...and switched to dirt bikes..... LOL

[josha37]

my girls zr2 blazer is close-ish to stock. Used to be my offroad toy but has been returned to like new condition. still has a little lift, 33's, and a intake/exhaust but is stock-ish for the most part now its the mommy-mobile. If you own something you love but it is not exactly what you need modification becomes neccissary, for example my cavalier i absolutely love it but does not produce the power i would like so... it is getting prepped (and so is the engine) to get swapped to a v8 4.0L northstar. But kiss normally applies to diagnosis as far as im concerned.

[josha37]

[Beastie]

I have always followed KISS as well as variations on Murphy's Law. That said I also believe that necessity is the mother of invention and so on and so forth. I enjoy the challenge of keeping an older vehicle on the road but also have fun taking an older vehicle an improving
certain features. Sometimes newer technology allows improvements other times it is just human nature push the known boundaries and limitations.

[josha37]

um.. Agree agree agree

[BodhiBenz1987]

Ever notice the size of medical reference books? There are diseases and conditions in there many doctors won't encounter in their entire career, but they need to be in there because they do exist, and a doctor had better have the information if his patient is in the .0005% of the population suffering from such a malady. In other words, Occam's Razor is a user-end responsibility. Doctors learn what in that book they can ignore until the obvious has already been ruled out. The same can be said for the FSM. It's not written as a troubleshooting or teaching guide for someone like me. It's written as a reference for mechanics who have learned (or will learn) hands-on how to order and prioritize the diagnostic information in the tome.
That said, I feel your pain. The FSM sometimes leaves me feeling like I'm reading a Chinese newspaper ... I'm not sure which end to start at, or if I'm even holding it rightside up.

[josha37]

If you need help prioritizing let me know , The more i learn the more i realize the most likely cause is almost always the simpliest.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

I prefer my old cars simple. I have enough to do keeping them on the road without dealing with obsolete, vintage electronics.
That's why my diesels of choice are an '82 240D and '84 Euro 300TD with manual shift, manual heat / AC, and manual windows. Well actually, my 240D does have power windows, but I'd rather deal with those, than try to keep alive a type 2 or 3 ACC system!

Happy Motoring, Mark

[josha37]

I see both sides of the old vs new arguement but have to say i have a soft spot for electronics and gadgets.