csnow

Great tips!

Be careful not to ovedo it. I've seen lug bolts that were horribly caked with dried neversieze from multiple applications and precluded proper torqueing. It's best to refresh the existing neversieze with a drop of oil.

A few more:

Disposable Nitrile Rubber Gloves:
These things are great. Very inexpensive, tear resistant, chemical resistant, and disposable. You can even clean dirt and grease off of them with a solvent as you work to prevent spreading contaminants where they do not belong.
Unlike bulky gloves, these are thin, so they maintain the 'feel' and dexterity of your fingers, and the rubber improves your grip.
Fold the cuffs over to prevent oil from running down your arm! They can get uncomfortably sweaty on warm days.

Popsicle Sticks:
The perfect tool for neatly applying greases or adhesives. They will not scratch precision part (bearings and such), and they can tool a perfect bead of sealant. Great for mixing epoxies, and they will not melt when the epoxy gets hot. Can be split to size. A new one is always clean!

Disposable Wooden Spoons:
Similar to popsicle sticks, but they have a fatter paddle shape. Better for some applications.

Used Toothbrushes:
Great for scrubbing small parts or nooks and crannies.

Stanley Multisaw:
Holds a hacksaw blade or a sawsall blade. Unbelievably useful.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/pho...99/36544-t.gif

Permatex Aviation Form-a-Gasket:
This relatively thin and very sticky material is better than thick rubbery sealants (like RTV) for many purposes.
Forms a great gasket on closely matched parts. Good for fortifying a gasket, particularly the paper ones. Also good for holding a gasket in place during assembly. Curing can be accelerated with heat as needed. Even rated for fuel tank use.

Freezer:
Any pressed part will go in easier after some time in the freezer. Contraction is a marvelous thing. Try this with bearing races or balljoints, and you will be amazed.

Coathanger:
The perfect tool for suspending a brake caliper, but can temporarily hold heavier things too. Try using one to prevent your exhaust from falling on your head when you detach it, for example.

Let's not forget:

Band-aids & desinfectant fluid, to rinse out the big gash you got on your hands. arms, head......................... you fill in the blanks.
It just seems to totally gross my wife out, when I return from the garage, having made some more " improvements " on my car, but now am in need of a blood transfusion.
I take the term " blood, sweat & tears" literally. ;)

Batteries: charging and Jumping
 

Batteries

Charging: Always make sure batteries are well vented when charging. Ideally use a charger that automatically turns off when fully charged.

Jumping: Always connect the positive cables first and don’t connect the negative cable from the good battery to the negative on the low battery car, instead connect to a ground source.

Vents: If your uses a venting system, make sure it is properly connected. If the battery is under the rear seat you definitely WANT the vent connected. The by-product of a battery is hydrogen (yes, that explosive gas, hydrogen)

Water: Even "Maintainance-free" batteries need to be checked for water. Distilled water is always better than tap water due to less or no minerals which attach to the battery plates and reduce the life of the battery.
____________________________________

Story? Years ago a friend who worked at a Porsche shop was charging the battery in the front trunk of an old 356. The hood wouldn't stay open so he used a short stick to prop it open. He let the battery charge for four or five hours.

Later when he checked the battery and it was warm, he pulled the battery connectors. There was a spark that caused an explosion of the accumulated hydrogen gas that blew the hood of the car and my friend across the workshop. He was OK. Car was not.

Keep us posted,

Haasman

Safety glasses and at least a gallon jug of water for emergency eye wash.

I find a mirror indispensable for tight spots.

To remove stubborn philips head screws: Use a screw driver with a hex shaft or one with a place to put a wrench on and then lean down on it.

Keep us posted,

Haasman

DO NOT USE ANTISIEZE ON WHEEL BOLTS. also "when all else fails, follow directions."

Attaching coolant hoses to plastic parts: The fastest way it seems to ruin a plastic radiator tank is to over tighten the coolant hose clamp holding the hose on to the neck.

I was told to only tighten the clamp until the hose won't twist, and then another half turn at the most. Has worked well so far, no leaks and no cracks.

Haasman

when dealing with lots of bolts and other metal parts that tend to go all over the place, use a magnetic tray to hold them where you need them. This one will actually keep all those pieces where they should be when you kick it accidentally, or on purpose.

Study the components with which you will be working before attempting anything, unless you are the "I don't need instructions" kind of guy and prefer to have a nice car sitting in the garage for long periods of time.

Use a good quality Multimeter when dealing with electronics.

A scrap yard is a great source for replacement wires, tie wraps, rubber corks for the body and other such things that tend to break while working on the car. It will also keep your car looking authentic and brand new.

Soldering is better the twisting the wires together.

Keep your car looking nice and scratch free, cover up those side panels when working in the engine bay. Keys and tools you put in your packet love to scratch them.

An advanced tip: Some times, it is easier to drop the engine instead of lifting it out of the car.

If you take care of your nuts and bolts, they will work with you, not against you.

A hammer is not a good tool unless you plan on never driving the car again.

Never heat anything up in order to free fitted parts. Heating things up changes the structure of the material and might cause serious problems in the future.

Your tools combined with your thinking ability is the greatest strength you have.


xp

If you need the whole car "up in the air" and only have two jackstands, use a floor/shop jack to raise the car and put a set of ramps under the other end of the car's tires first. I also use this idea when only needing one end of the car up but I remove the ramp off of the platform as I don't really like jackstands. This gives the needed room to move around without having to lay across the ramp. If your's aren't removeable, turn them around the other way. :D

DON'T FORGET TO CHOCK YOUR OTHER WHEELS BOTH IN FRONT AND BEHIND to keep the car from rolling.:eek:

Replacing the shifter bushings
 

Installation of Shift bushings: Getting the old bushings out can be difficult, but installing the new ones is very frustrating due to limited space and a hard plastic bushing that needs to be pressed into a metal piece.

Several members have posted the stacked washer setup to install the new bushing. Two members went further and suggested the following:

Another very detailed description can be found at: Bushing

Keep the tips and suggestions coming,

Haasman

Windshield Washer Aiming chart
 

Here's a chart to aim windshield washers with:

Sorry about the poor quality-

Keep us posted,

Haasman

w201 oil filter change
 

On a w201, the oil filter is in a very tricky place.

Even if you can get at it, getting it out can be impossible as I found out two days ago.

The best way to do this is take off the entire oil filter gallery along with the oil pressure sendig unit.

Even though much easier, it is still difficult to get the the two bolts closer to the firewall.

You will need a 6mm hex socket with a 3-6" extension, 6" is a bit too much for the firewall bolts, and 3" might be difficult.

I managed to do this with a 6" but had to undo some break lines fastners in order to get at the bolts.

Once you have the gallery out, taking of the oil filter, and oil pressure sending unit is very easy.

You might need a new gasket for the gallery, or make a new one from some gasket paper.

xp