[spdrun]

Could be worse — quick-lube place actually stripped the oil drain nipple on my sister’s car.

[spdrun]

So more like an Alsatian?

[spdrun]

So they stole your parts, basically? Leave them a piece of your mind on Yelp and report them to the Bureau of Automotive Repair. One complaint won’t do much, but if there’s a pattern, B.A.R. might be encouraged to fine them.

Thieves suck.

[spdrun]

It often ended up costing me more to do it myself – especially factoring in my time and tools I had to buy.

At least you’d do it right, though, unlike some HS dropout mechanic’s assistant.

[spdrun]

So pulley is bolted to the timing gear using four bolts, which in turn is bolted to the crank end using the big bolt in middle? Yep. I’d say yank the whole assembly then fork with it on the bench.

The timing gear is likely keyed to the crank and can only be installed one way, so risk of borking your timing is nil.

Middle bolt is removed by a socket connected to a long bar which is (almost) braced against something immovable. Then hit the starter with the spark plugs removed. *clink* chugga-chugga-chugga. Poor man’s impact wrench.

[spdrun]

You can get special sockets that grip the outside of effed bolts.

As to why — revenge for WW II, naturally.

[spdrun]

Find a bolt where the screw part fits closely within the hole in the bolts. That will hold it in place. Plain steel, non galvanized (toxic fumes), non stainless. Weld it to the bolt head after cleaning any plating or finish there may be off with a flap wheel.

You don’t need a fancy or expensive welder. Something like this with flux-core wire should do. You don’t need pretty welds, just ones strong enough to remove the #%$^&ing bolt.

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/tls/4820020314.html

Adequate auto-dark helmet will run you $100 or so. Don’t bother with the theatre masks that you have to hold in your hand — they’re useless as well as needing three hands to use.

Practice with the two bolts you CAN remove clamped in a vise before going at the real thing. If that doesn’t work, you can always move to plan B, grind off the bolt, and drill out the rest.

[spdrun]

If you can’t get a welder, I wonder if JB-welding something to the inside of the bolts and waiting for the JB to harden for a day might work in a pinch. Also, there exist special Allen bolt extractor tools that “screw into” the inside of the bolts with a reverse thread so they tighten when you turn the bolt counterclockwise.

But they should be used with care since they’re hardened steel, and breaking them will complicate bolt removal by other means. Ask me how I know.

[spdrun]

Cuss. Swear some more. Throw a few tools. Then…

Dremel two flats on the outside of the fawked bolts, use a pair of big locking pliers to grab the bolt, then use another pair of locking pliers to turn the first pair. If you orient them the right way, you can also slip a pipe over the handle of the second pair without releasing them to get more leverage.

You can also try a damaged nut removal socket if you have a set.

Oh right, and spray the things with PBlaster repeatedly and let it work into the threads overnight before touching anything.

If none of this works, buy/beg/borrow/steal a wire-feed welder, weld a nut or bolt to the bolts, and use a socket to turn the new, unbuggered head.

[spdrun]

^^^

Exactly why every boomer and Gen-X’er going into foreclosure is karma in action. Opens up a home for the younger to buy at a reasonable price.

[spdrun]

We even had one neighbor who called the cops *multiple times just because our kids were riding past their house, and this was all in the afternoon — not late at night or in the early morning.

Probably not a function of age as much as general level of crabbiness — might have been the same at age 30. I used to have a 30-something closet case as a neighbor who felt it was his right to lord over the world around him.

[spdrun]

And that loophole isn’t within the spirit of working week laws. Therefore should be closed.

Problem is that most people in this country don’t demand change, because they have neither time nor savings to do so. Because of work and societal expectations. Vicious cycle.

The few outlyers will just lose their jobs. Maybe (if they’re lucky), they’ll win a lawsuit against their employer a few years later.

[spdrun]

Bullshit. If the average employer demands 50 hours a week of availability, it’s very hard for the average person who doesn’t want (or can’t) to be freelance to decide otherwise.

The laws in Europe exist to prevent a race to the bottom as far as working hours or time off. Same as worker protection laws exist to prevent a race to the bottom as far as working conditions (e.g. working with asbestos without protection).

[spdrun]

So your ideal society would have people working like ants all of their waking time just to satisfy the ideal of maximizing economic output? That’s moronic. When does it STOP?

There are non-monetary virtues in life. Like having time to spend a lazy Saturday morning in bed, screwing the brains out of your significant other. Or spending a week hiking with family. Or just spending a day relaxing in the park, reading for pleasure, not doing much of anything.

And when do people have time to use all of those services that you think of as being so damned important. Work for the sake of work itself isn’t a virtue.

Typical American, buying into the Puritan work ethic (at least for others) hook, line, and sinker. How does that KoolAid taste?

Incidentally, the same person (Keynes) who coined the phrase “Paradox of Thrift” also supported and predicted much shorter working days going forward. Something like 3-4 hours average due to automation.

[spdrun]

Assuming you use cedar to repel moths, wool is less prone to damage than synthetic since it doesn’t really burn or melt easily. Hot radiator or cigarette ash = bye-bye synthetic suit.

Synthetic also breathes poorly and is actually hotter and sweatier than a light wool suit.

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