garage tool tricks and tips

[fixitman04]

i was saying you can turn it around and use the square part on the adjuster and the ratchet on the hex end

[ZeroNilNada]

i was saying you can turn it around and use the square part on the adjuster and the ratchet on the hex end

Ah, I see now. Good call. Thanks!

[topdown]

Take a shop rag and slip it behide window crank handle to pop clip off .hold tight on both ends when you slip in and rotate the rag around the shaft and it slips the clip right out of the groove . It works better than a clip removal tool .

[twistin]

having trouble getting the barbed end of a brake cable off ?
slip a 1/2 inch box end wrench over the cable and it will pop off.

[notoptoy]

topdown, love it!

Twistin - sorry, I can't visualize this, got a picture or more detail?

[twistin]

sorry not really a roadster fix as they have mechanical rods for e-brakes ; more for cables on every other vehicle out there. Ever try and remove a brake cable from a backing plate ?

another good tip: torx socket bits for removing broken bolts ,drill to size then hammer in the torx bit remove with ratchet. My torx's are brand name with lifetime guarantee so I just replace them if they get damaged or worn out unlike easy-outs.

[dbrick]

sorry not really a roadster fix as they have mechanical rods for e-brakes ; more for cables on every other vehicle out there. Ever try and remove a brake cable from a backing plate ?

another good tip: torx socket bits for removing broken bolts ,drill to size then hammer in the torx bit remove with ratchet. My torx's are brand name with lifetime guarantee so I just replace them if they get damaged or worn out unlike easy-outs.

I can see that being better than an EZ Out, AKA EZ Break, probably less brittle.

[blueridgespeed]

sorry not really a roadster fix as they have mechanical rods for e-brakes ; more for cables on every other vehicle out there. Ever try and remove a brake cable from a backing plate ?

another good tip: torx socket bits for removing broken bolts ,drill to size then hammer in the torx bit remove with ratchet. My torx's are brand name with lifetime guarantee so I just replace them if they get damaged or worn out unlike easy-outs.

I can see that being better than an EZ Out, AKA EZ Break, probably less brittle.

We all know how stuck/rusted fasteners turn a simple operation into an all-day frustrating chore!

Best if possible, to avoid!

I've tried WD-40, 3-in-1, PB-blaster, heat, and time.

Then I learned about Sili-Kroil !

It's expensive and not easy to find, but a 16oz spray can will last forever - works 2x as good as PB-Blaster, really!

-2. An IMPACT SCREWDRIVER can release the most stubborn phillps head screws- but you need pretty good access to hold the driver and hit it with a hammer. Lisle makes a decent-quality one with an assortment of replaceable hardened driver tips!

[AltxF4]

I Didn't see this one posted.

When using products like POR15, and you need to coat areas with captive nuts use some wax to coat the threads in a sacrificial bolts/screws then install them in the nuts. After the POR15 cures you should easily be able to remove the bolts/screws and have nice clean threads in the nut portion.

[mellis18]

A little trick I used to get the pesky little post installed where fingers aren't meant to go. Sent the thread (stolen from wife...please don't tell) through the mounting hole, then threaded the nut and washer and tied off the thread. Placed post through hole and then worked the washer and nut until I got it started. Didn't have to worry about losing the little buggers down inside the body.

[greydog]

I have a tin of "Stick-Um Candle Adhesive". It'sa hockey puck shaped tin but smaller. Amazon sells it.
I use it to stick screws to screwdrivers, nuts in a socket, etc.It will temporarily stick andy dry surfaces together.
Sticks just well enough to hole a screw or nut but pulls apart easily and wipes off.
Dan

[Lorna c]

I thought of This yesterday and haven't had a chance to use it yet but,
--take a really long funnel about 3' long . get a heat gun and warm it up so it's bendable and make any needed curves then bend the tip to slip into gear box , it'll fill easier from above instead of oil pumping from below forever, or a long tube from above. once it's set it should slip into place and rigid enuf not to slip and make a mess during fill up .
- and gum works in a pinch for sockets holding nuts and such .
- and grab the copper tube (going to distributor and carbs ( vacuum advance?) to adjust timing when cars running and you don't want to get zapped.. just a pull or push to retard or advance your timing and hands never touch the distributor..

[Lorna c]

made this little baby quick and easily after I remembered I have a welder now .. haha for screws on dash up by windshield to remove dash without taking the windshield out . works great ..

[mraitch]

@lorna c
gud idea - but you might find it more effective to use 7/16 small socket (suitably ground for 'thiness' to get in the rather tight holes) - the phillips heads can strip easily and then you are 'screwed'.

[Lorna c]

@lorna c
gud idea - but you might find it more effective to use 7/16 small socket (suitably ground for 'thiness' to get in the rather tight holes) - the phillips heads can strip easily and then you are 'screwed'.

I saw that but mine are round . idk how I'd get that to do anything ? I was going to remedy that today with either squaring up the screws to do just that so I'd have a ratchet for it instead of turning it half turn at a time they were stripped that's why I flatten those Phillips head tip to be better and sink in it grabbed it pretty darn good but I still would like a ratchet in there I turned all kinds of stuff it kind of worked until I got to the really tough one and then I literally had to cut a flat head line up under inside the glove box where the screw came through so I could turn it from inside there to get it out but it got the other ones out pretty easy.. how do you get a square head to turn a round screw head? without having them out first to modify that is ..