The Tips and Tricks thread

[oldcorollas]

"golden syrup" but thicker and more foul tasting

[TurboRA28]

Horses like it .. Can buy cheap/bulk from horse supply shops.

[Mr DOHC]

whats molassas? I looked it up and its some kind of sugar sirup, whats it looks like and where do I get it? is it sugar soap?

molasses is a cooking ingredient, its not omething u eat on its own, molasses and water is probably basically what sugar soap is

[thechuckster]

molasses is stockfeed- you buy it in small/big drums - even by the truck load if you want.

One thing to be aware of molasses - when it dries out it tends to promote corrosion & rust, so don't leave it on for a long period of time. I've used this trick to bring a knife sharpener back to good use by getting the molasses to encourage deeply-pitted corrosion.

[ajh]

Someone has probably said this already, but anyway.....

Along with cable ties, carry a roll of duct tape ( the cheap silver stuff)

If you get a blown radiator / heater / LPG converter hose, tape the split liberally, loosen the radiator cap and it will get you out of trouble.

An offcut of garden hose works well for removing the spark plugs from those pain in the arse tubes on a 3S-FE. ( The rubber gommet fell out of my socket and if you saw my garage then you'd know why I couldn't find it!!)

No doubt I'll think of more.....

[hi-ace]

molasses is a cooking ingredient, its not omething u eat on its own, molasses and water is probably basically what sugar soap is

Sorry to go off topic for a sec' but I eat it on bread a lot.
Normally it can be bought at Franklins or Coles.

[puzzle man]

Sorry to go off topic for a sec' but I eat it on bread a lot.
Normally it can be bought at Franklins or Coles.

yep good stuff .
one of my modules at Tafe was all on sugar,
and molasses is the 1st step in producing sugar, by boiling down juice from sugar cane.
i wont go in to a full sugar post here but here is the full sugar refining process.
http://www.sugar.ca/faqGen.htm

was just trying to awnser the Q about molasses thanks

[ajh]

Mr DOHC,

You're right, sugar soap does contain molasses ( among other things)

[Zerko]

Interesting read...

Was told this one last week and used it today.
Use a piece of coarse weave cloth in a sawing motion to remove the clips that hold window winders on.



Oldy, but goodie - when disconecting the battery, take off the negative first. This way if your spanner touches the body, no short circuits.

Another oldie. Use nail polish to mark the timing marks on the crank so you can see them easier.

Disposable gloves have already been mentioned. I'd rather be called a poof, than have to deal with scrubbing my hands. Plus washing too much dries out your skin. LOL

[NoRecall]

If you have got a very tight nut or bolt that you can only get a combination spanner onto and won't budge, get another spanner a couple of sizes up say 14mm need 17mm, hook the larger spanners closed end onto the open end of the small spanner now your lever arm will be much longer and the offending fastener should budge

And if you apply enough pressure you can break the arse out of the ring-end of your combination spanner too! (Damm SuperTheif Auto Tools!)

Oh, Ground Black Pepper for small radiator leeks. Dont ask me why but it works.

[ajh]

I've used the black pepper one too, it works!!!!

["Z" UTE]

How to make a straight cut on a tubular item:

For example, shortening suspension struts. Fit a good quality hose clamp to the strut, this will act as a template, scribe your cut line, and go for it.

Radiator hoses, and intercooler hoses, again put the hose clamp on, and cut through useing the clamp as the straight edge. Nice and neat.

cheers Chuck.

[Duk]

Auto trans fluid acts as a good, cheep lube when cutting metal, especially when using a jigsaw.

Neverseize is a brilliant addition to any exhaust bolts. It gets used at work exstensively, especially in the really hot area's 1200+degrees (we make steel ).

Coppercoat work well too.

If you're butt welding two piece's of pipe together, a simple method to keep them aligned and held together is to put a jubiley (hose) clamp on the end of each piece, and clamp small strips of metal underneath them. This allows you to rotate the piece's if required to check for alignment. Then tack between the strips of metal, remove the clamps and strips and fully weld.

The Henrob 2000 is brilliant

When checking for a suspected vacuum leak, spray WD40/CRC on the suspect area's while the engine is running. The WD40/CRC will temporarilly seal the leak and the engine should run better.

Silicon spray applied directly to seatbelts help them slide better over the shoulder anchor point.

[Moppitt]

And if you apply enough pressure you can break the arse out of the ring-end of your combination spanner too! (Damm SuperTheif Auto Tools!)

Buy good quality tools. It will reduce the number of bolts that get rounded, knuckles that get smashed and swear words that get shouted. ( I have spent a lot of time hanging off a loonng spanner like that off the end of my snap-on 15mm spanner and thats only just marked it)

Also helps to get jobs done faster as well.

Subscribed so I can find this thread later on...

[Soarer_D00D]

When cleaning windshields or any glass, use a little bit of morning fresh and warm water, spray on, use newspaper (preferably with more pictures/print on it) once to rub it in, and a differnt bit to wipe it off. The news paper print acts as a microfine sandpaper and really buffs the glass. Brings it up like new.

We do it all the time at work.