In one instance due to a piezoelectric transducer's output EMF - and that following 60 db of attenuation!

Use a smaller hammer.

45 year old socket set! Wow!

Confession: I had to replace one socket...so far.

Perhaps you've discarded or recycled equipment that was functional

Nope. The reason my car rains on the inside is that I never sold an air conditioner to replace one I could fix. Even the ones I replace for, "energy conservation", I handed the customer a cost analysis to show when the new air conditioner would pay for itself. In the first year of mandated minimums, I refused to sell any air conditioners because the manufacturers were charging so much I couldn't get a break-even cost in less that 17 years.

nor even sell the 'raw' system components

The Internet has cured that problem.

from aluminum to polymer intake plenums suffered quite anticipatable internal coolant leakage

My beef with GM is adding talc to their plastic fan blades (in the heater/AC) so they disintegrate at about 12 years old.

Update: I spent the night washing the intake valley of my car's engine, then blow drying the rust layer so I could find the leak. I'm doing my happy dance because I proved this is NOT a head gasket problem.

How bad was the leak?
It was so bad that I found a dead frog at the rear of the valley cover.

Yay!
I got past the leaky transmission problem by using Teflon bearing pipe thread sealant.
Odd. Teflon tape didn't work.
It still had a hanging drop of transmission fluid the next day.
Now it's all fixed.

OK. Time to take the thermostat housing off before the rain starts. *Continued in the Weather Thread.

 

Use a smaller hammer.

Fair enough!

Confession: I had to replace one socket...so far.

1 part in 45 years! -- In my estimation that's a perfect score!

"A place for everything and everything in its place" -- Nice concept if only I could manage to 'translate' it into 'everyday' reality - Seems the projects always take 'emergency precedence' over the tools! -- Until 'next time' when I'm 'greeted' by missing or damaged tools that I somehow never got round to replacing

The reason my car rains on the inside is that I never sold an air conditioner to replace one I could fix.

So the 'rain' you speak of is evaporator condensate driven into the passenger compartment by the blower? --- It's no secret that Fla features a humid climate -- but Jeeeeze!

Even the ones I replace for, "energy conservation", I handed the customer a cost analysis to show when the new air conditioner would pay for itself. In the first year of mandated minimums, I refused to sell any air conditioners because the manufacturers were charging so much I couldn't get a break-even cost in less that 17 years.

Sincere kudos on your integrity! I wish more businesses understood the importance of establishing a forthright relationship with their clientele! -- As a consumer, I know I speak for many when I assert that I happily accept significantly increased cost, delay and hassle where my best interests are manifest! -- It all comes back to trust which being the veritable 'handmaiden' of integrity!

The Internet has cured that problem.

Hmmm... 'Could make for an interesting 'home improvement' project -- As previously discussed, I've discovered that 'fuel grade' propane functions flawlessly as a R22 retrofit over the long term (when used with 'conventional' lubricant) --- Hence availability and 'licensure labyrinths' Re: R22 are non-issues

My beef with GM is adding talc to their plastic fan blades (in the heater/AC) so they disintegrate at about 12 years old.

I'd love to hear their rationale back of that one

Update: I spent the night washing the intake valley of my car's engine, then blow drying the rust layer so I could find the leak. I'm doing my happy dance because I proved this is NOT a head gasket problem.

By 'intake valley' do you refer to the space beneath the intake manifold/plenum immediately above the valve actuator shaft (Re: V-block engines)???

It was so bad that I found a dead frog at the rear of the valley cover.

What was the size of the frog? -- You must have had a major vacuum leak? -- to say nothing of contaminated oil! - YIKES!

Yay!
I got past the leaky transmission problem by using Teflon bearing pipe thread sealant.
Odd. Teflon tape didn't work.
It still had a hanging drop of transmission fluid the next day.
Now it's all fixed.

Pleased it's workin' for ya!

Best regards
HP

 

What can go wrong with a thermostat housing?

I got the little bugger off. They made a groove in the plastic housing 0.295 inches deep by 0.067 inches wide and placed a 0.312 inch by 0.056 inch thick cut ring in it edgewise so it would compress against the aluminum manifold. They did not cut a groove in the aluminum manifold so the rubber would be compressed outwards against a solid wall. They relied entirely on a compression of 0.017 inches in the rubber ring in a loose groove to stop an atmosphere of pressure. Naturally, it blew outwards.

I found silicone sealant around the perimeter of the mating faces, but none in the groove where the cut ring seats in the plastic housing and none where the cut ring touches the aluminum manifold. That's why the water blew out the ring and climbed the threads of the fastening bolt. This was a gigantic Sherlock adventure because the leak was so slow that it took 6 hours for a single drop of coolant to emerge. Obviously, anybody getting paid by the job will not spend 3 hours cleaning everything within an inch of its life and then wait 6 hours to find a single drop of water.

The crowning achievement is that the installer broke off one of the three locating tabs, so the thermostat housing could be installed off center, allowing the 0.056 inch wide mating surface to be minimized on one side by whatever amount the housing was off center.

Precision and minimization look good in CAD, but they don't work when ham fisted laborers slam things together without looking.
Who told that designer that 0.017 inches of compression on a rubber ring with no lateral support would contain an atmosphere of pressure?
The sealing ring needs to be fatter in the groove so it can't disperse the compression force by swelling in the middle.
It also needs to be taller so you get more than 0.017 inches of compression.
The sealing ring I put under the head of the transmission drain plug was squeezed from 0.2 inches thick to 0.05 inches thick (8.8 times as much compression) over six times the area of this cut ring's facing surface and it still needed sealant to accomplish its job.

 

"A place for everything and everything in its place" -- Nice concept if only I could manage to 'translate' it into 'everyday' reality

A tool you can't find is every bit as useful as a tool you don't have.

So the 'rain' you speak of is evaporator condensate driven into the passenger compartment by the blower?

No. It's rust holes in the roof from the car being old enough to vote.

By 'intake valley' do you refer to the space beneath the intake manifold/plenum immediately above the valve actuator shaft (Re: V-block engines)???

Yebut, this engine does not have the intake manifold occluding access to the top of the engine between the heads.
The cams are on top of the heads, not in the center of the engine block.

What was the size of the frog?

About 4 inches long in the body. He was just laying on the top of the engine block at the rear of the engine.
One more step back and he would have been on top of the bell housing (just before the transmission).
I suppose he found a cozy, dark place with a water supply because the previous owner gave up on paying $18/gallon for anti-freeze after years of not fixing the leak. Then he forgot to leave when the engine warmed up.

 

About 4 inches long in the body. He was just laying on the top of the engine block at the rear of the engine.
One more step back and he would have been on top of the bell housing (just before the transmission).
I suppose he found a cozy, dark place with a water supply because the previous owner gave up on paying $18/gallon for anti-freeze after years of not fixing the leak. Then he forgot to leave when the engine warmed up.

Suicide by slow roasting? That's willpower!

Could it have been a "Special of the Day" at Road Kill Grill? "Manifold roasted frog legs"

 

A tool you can't find is every bit as useful as a tool you don't have.

I'm gonna have that quote framed and hang it in mi shop... *thumbs up*

 

Suicide by slow roasting? That's willpower!

Actually, there is a story about how you can't toss a live frog in a hot frying pan because he will leave, but if you put him in a cold pan and slowly turn up the heat, he will stay until he dies.
This is a metaphor for how people adjust to slowly increased stress.
People adapt to the conditions present. When stress increases, the move their mental anchor point concerning what's, "normal". This is how abuse escalates and people stay until they either get murdered or their immune system breaks down and they succumb to disease.

For instance, I am so accustomed to physical pain that I believe you can't stop me with mere pain. When my back went bad, my body replied, "Pain won't stop you? Let's see if, 'unconscious' works." And so, I became unconscious.

If I didn't have my beliefs about pain adjusted to such a high level, I would have been howling and crying and begging for drugs. Instead, I simply used denial until Nature struck me down.

 

I'm gonna have that quote framed and hang it in my shop... *thumbs up*

It works for parts, too.
"A part you can't find is every bit as useful as a part you don't have."
I just drove all over the area gathering parts for my used car and, when I got home, I can't find my silicone adhesive.
"Can't find" it is just as good as, "don't have it".

Edit: Just measured the new parts. Much better sealing ring! 0.04 inches of compression. The lateral slop in the slot is the same but the 3 centering pegs are all there. That and some cheating with silicone and I think I'll have it whipped.

 

It works for parts, too.
"A part you can't find is every bit as useful as a part you don't have."
I just drove all over the area gathering parts for my used car and, when I got home, I can't find my silicone adhesive.
"Can't find" it is just as good as, "don't have it".

Can't find is worse than don't have. If I know I don't have it, I may buy it, but if I know I have it but can't find it, I refuse to buy another one (most of the time.)

 

I know I have it but can't find it, I refuse to buy another one

I get so frustrated taking all day on a 2 hour job because I can't find something, that I decided to sort my stuff, often.
If I don't have time on a daily basis, you will find me in the shed on Saturday and/or Sunday, sorting tools and loose parts.
By Monday, I can find what I need when I need it.

 

I get so frustrated taking all day on a 2 hour job because I can't find something, that I decided to sort my stuff, often.

I tried that for a long time. Finally gave up being everything of similar whatever ended up in the same place and that place was never near where I was working.

I found get a bunch of everything and leave it everywhere works pretty well. Immediate supply runs out, no problem. Just look at work area 2 - 15, at least one or more will have enough to finish the job!

Case in point. Yesterday I noticed a propane smell near my house and tracked it back to the main regulator that had gone bad and started seeping out the vent hole. Well, last night I went through my main stash of propane parts and didn't come up with a single LPG regulator that was house compatible so I figured that I would be going to town today to buy a new one.

Well, this morning I got to thinking about what I have worked on that used low-pressure air or water feeds and sure enough, after checking three work areas around projects/experiments I have done I found one residential rated LPG regulator that I had looked at for a low-pressure air feed experiment and had not used because I found it would not go high enough for that experiment.

 

the leak was so slow that it took 6 hours for a single drop of coolant to emerge.

How was it that you became aware of the leak? Did it collect somewhere or did it present as an odor with no apparent source?

Precision and minimization look good in CAD...

À la the (rather dated) adage to the effect of: "Reality makes a good and faithful spouse but an appalling mistress!" (possible paraphrase)

A tool you can't find is every bit as useful as a tool you don't have.

And a tool that isn't where one expects it to be is worse than a tool one (knowingly) lacks!

No. It's rust holes in the roof from the car being old enough to vote.

Sounds like a job for a tin of undercoating compound?

Yebut, this engine does not have the intake manifold occluding access to the top of the engine between the heads.
The cams are on top of the heads, not in the center of the engine block.

Aye! Now I get it! -- I was wondering how you managed washing it up sans making salad dressing of the oil

because the previous owner gave up on paying $18/gallon for anti-freeze after years of not fixing the leak.

At one drop (1/20 ml) loss per 6 hours, a single gallon of pre-diluted antifreeze should have lasted him ≈ 52 years continuous operation! -- Imagine the partying he must have done on that extra 35 cents per year!


Re: The frog

Then he forgot to leave when the engine warmed up.

Perhaps he was sleeping off the effects of one of the previous owner's soirees?

Very best regards
HP

 

How was it that you became aware of the leak?

After months of being on my back porch, the puddle on the top of the engine grew large enough to start dripping on the concrete.

Sounds like a job for a tin of undercoating?

What you threw in the trash is worth 40 times the value of the car, and you think I should be patching the roof. Why don't I just buy 39 more cars and see which don't leak when it rains?

At one drop (1/20 ml) loss per 6 hours, a single gallon of pre-diluted antifreeze should have lasted him ≈ 52 years continuous operation!

That drop of water had to get past a seal and climb up a 3 inch screw tunnel to get to the top of the housing, using nothing but the 1/2 PSI provided by gravity and a difference in water levels.. According to the reservoir tank, this engine was losing an inch of coolant from the reservoir tank in a month or two. Not enough to stop you in the middle of the road, but a chronic nuisance compared to fixing the leak for $32 in parts and a tube of silicone.

 

Why don't I just buy 39 more cars and see which don't leak when it rains?

Ummm... Because that would be significantly more difficult than merely 'spritzing' the roof with sealant? --- Then too, it would likely prove less than popular with your HOA, zoning commission or whatever your locale's busybody squad calls itself!

That drop of water had to get past a seal and climb up a 3 inch screw tunnel to get to the top of the housing, using nothing but the 1/2 PSI provided by gravity and a difference in water levels.. According to the reservoir tank, this engine was losing an inch of coolant from the reservoir tank in a month or two. Not enough to stop you in the middle of the road, but a chronic nuisance compared to fixing the leak for $32 in parts and a tube of silicone.

I hear ya! -- Unexplained leaks/coolant loss drive me bonkers! - Inasmuch as I tend to suspect the worst (i.e. manifold/head gasketing issues) as I'm certain you know, a sudden failure while the engine was operating would likely turn the piston rods to 'spaghetti' (among other unpleasantries) via hydro-lock -- and with my luck would mean a good (i.e. bad) 40 mile hike to 'civilization'

Best regards
HP

 

"Reality makes a good and faithful spouse but an appalling mistress!"

It took me until tomorrow to think about this...but I believe you're right.
I'd rather be married to reality than any woman I ever met, even if the cost is the absence of a mistress.
It moves my stress anchor to a very low value.

 

a sudden failure while the engine was operating would likely turn the piston rods to 'spaghetti' (among other unpleasantries) via hydro-lock

I've never heard of that happening. I believe it is impossible for a leaky gasket to dump water faster than a running engine can pump it out the exhaust pipe.

 

I've never heard of that happening. I believe it is impossible for a leaky gasket to dump water faster than a running engine can pump it out the exhaust pipe.

Ummm... Because that would be significantly more difficult than merely 'spritzing' the roof with sealant? --- Then too, it would likely prove less than popular with your HOA, zoning commission or whatever your locale's busybody squad calls itself!


I hear ya! -- Unexplained leaks/coolant loss drive me bonkers! - Inasmuch as I tend to suspect the worst (i.e. manifold/head gasketing issues) as I'm certain you know, a sudden failure while the engine was operating would likely turn the piston rods to 'spaghetti' (among other unpleasantries) via hydro-lock -- and with my luck would mean a good (i.e. bad) 40 mile hike to 'civilization'

Best regards
HP

Any head gasket leak will leak from region of high pressure to low pressure - (I.e. bubbling exhaust gasses through the coolant and causing overheating and dilution of the cooling system. First symptom is a full (and overflowing) antifreeze overflow bottle).

 

Any head gasket leak will leak from region of high pressure to low pressure

Sounds good and logical, but not in reality. A running engine with a certain type of head gasket leak will suck the coolant into the cylinder. And there are a few different ways a head gasket will fail.

 

A running engine with a certain type of head gasket leak will suck the coolant into the cylinder.

I can't imagine a head gasket leak into the intake valve cavity, but maybe some engines have the entire intake plenum attached where a gasket leak could put coolant into the air stream. I don't have one of those, but HP seems to be talking about that scenario. Have you ever seen an engine designed that way?

 

The Ford FE series(339 -460 cubic inches) is one off the top of my head. But what I was talking about was a gasket leak into the cylinder, past what is known as the "fire ring" of the gasket. If that cylinder is also not firing(due to the on going leak shorting the plug) it will then draw coolant into the engine on the normal but not happening power stroke. With the cylinder pressure not happening from the plug firing, it creates a vacuum in the cylinder, pulling in the coolant.