What Annoyed You Today? (2 Viewers)

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I have a 2002 Ford Falcon and a friend had a 2006 model. His last "tune" (where the machine is put on to test everything) was
around $200 with oil and filter. My tune if necessary is disconnect the battery for five minutes. This resets the computer which
then rejigs everything over the next day as it is driven. Can actually run a bit rough for a while after reconnection but the fuel
mileage gets better again. It's a town car but changing the oil every six months is a good idea too as it gives around eight percent
better mileage which more than covers the price of the oil.
 
I doubt there is anyone who has not decided to upgrade a computer with later hardware or software and then found the "improvements" 'effed things up. Well, that kind of experience does not just apply to computers.

My A&P recommended replacing the original paper-type valve cover gaskets on my Ercoupe with the new silicone rubber type. I did that and found that after each flight I had oil in a couple of very strange places, on the forward inside of the cowling doors, especially on the Left side. I found that it was recommended to retorque the screws holding the silicone rubber gaskets after a few hours of flight time so I did so, which is not the trivial task it sounds like on an Ercoupe. That fix did not help, so the A&P recommended I replace the No 4 cylinder valve cover with a refurbished one and replace the silicon rubber gasket as well and also replace all the valve cover screws with new ones. I did that - requiring the cowling and prop to be removed and reinstalled. And after a 20 min test flight the airplane looked like something out of WWII, with oil running down the whole Left side; the problem had gotten about 10 times worse.

So I took it all apart again and replaced the No. 4 valve cover with one of the old ones I had removed, after cleaning and painting it. I still had a few of the old paper gaskets and I installed one of those, with some RTV on each side of the gasket. An 18 min ground run showed no oil at all on the bottom of the No.4 valve cover, a little on the bottom of No.3, a tiny amount on the bottom of No.2 and no oil on the bottom of No.1. So, out of four silicone valve cover gaskets three had leaked to some degree, ranging from just a smear of oil, to a drop, to an Exon Valdez simulation. Today I removed the silicone gasket from No. 3 and installed an old style paper one.

Funny thing was that I then helped my A&P with a starter problem on his Cessna 172 and he found an oil leak from one cylinder, once again from the same type of silicone gasket. He also found the cause of the starter failure. He had changed the oil and used Shell 100 Plus oil, which has a special additive to help address problems with certain Lycoming camshafts. Well, it turns out that additive causes the starters to slip on some models of Cessna 172's with Continental engines!

Newer ain't always better and sometimes ain't even as good.
 
Totally agree but with one proviso.
I never recommend the use of RTV.
Locktite 515 is always my preferred gasket material - a very thin even bead only.
I learned that on Swearigin Merlin II aircraft where it was the only sealant that never leaked AND allowed the fuel tank access panels to be reused instead of replaced with new ones -- which is what happened if you used the only other sealant that did not leak - PRC1422.
 
Today I had this young man giving out Don't give a f***s freely. When I called his mom, she asked me one question. " Is he suspended?" The staff meeting this morning was about identifying what kind of offensives were minor and which ones were majors. After school today, the middle school side had eight police cars and parents arguing with officers. Nice time for dinner. That is all.
 
Found the same thing on my 327 Chev. Took out the new "rubber" valve cover gaskets and put in new cork valve cover gaskets. leak gone.
 
OOOOOLD joke

Johnny was a real pain in school and was expelled from many before it got so bad that no government school would take him.

His desperate parents enrolled him in a Catholic school and were surprised when two weeks later there were no calls from the school.

They asked him why he had suddenly decided to behave and he replied - haven't you seen the statues and paintings all over the place showing how they treat kids who misbehave?
 
Packaged that was supposed to be delivered by UPS this past Tuesday by 9:00 p.m. has not arrived. Tracking number now just tells me "The delivery date will be provided as soon as possible". In limbo! I can see that there will be a little delay with the holiday rush, but it's only coming from 2 states over so can't see it taking that long.
 
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