PO "fixes"

Don't hate on the Philips guy - he designed it as a torque limiting device, people just use it wrong.

Dr. Hess wrote:

Jensenman wrote: So there were 4 black knobs under the dash, you just had to push/pull/lock the correct sequence to get what you wanted.

JM, sounds like the factory climate control system on a 220D.

Or an E30, except BMW uses levers.

This was the major failing with VW's climate control strategy. You can't have defrost without also getting vent air. This makes the defroster work craptacularly. Every winter, I took my Golf's HVAC apart and fixed that with a piece of plastic over the dash vent inlet. Coolant jugs are great for thin plastic stock.

And then there's the major design flaw where the center vents on certain models get their air from BEFORE the heater core. Um... I guess it doesn't get cold in Germany, because it sure does suck to have 70mph worth of headwind shoving 10 degree air at your right hand and face. That was perma-fixed by replacing the center vent manifold with two spray paint caps.

I realized several months ago that a mere 10 years before my cars were designed, VW was exclusively producing vehicles that had no effective heaters at all, so this actually was some form of progress...

tuna55 wrote: Don't hate on the Philips guy - he designed it as a torque limiting device, people just use it wrong.

I wouldn't say my beef with philips screws is not getting them tight enough....it's getting ones that have been sitting for a while loose again. Not being able to apply proper torque to them to remove one isn't what I'd call a desirable trait.

Run_Away wrote:

tuna55 wrote: Don't hate on the Philips guy - he designed it as a torque limiting device, people just use it wrong.

I wouldn't say my beef with philips screws is not getting them tight enough....it's getting ones that have been sitting for a while loose again. Not being able to apply proper torque to them to remove one isn't what I'd call a desirable trait.

Well right, that was the point, a fastener that would not allow the use to over-tighten (and since the head is unidirectional, over-loosen).

My '67 Jeep gladiator.

Rewired with speaker wire and no fuse panel. When I saw that, I reached under the dash and started pulling.

Truck is much better now.

Shawn

Run_Away wrote:

tuna55 wrote: Don't hate on the Philips guy - he designed it as a torque limiting device, people just use it wrong.

I wouldn't say my beef with philips screws is not getting them tight enough....it's getting ones that have been sitting for a while loose again. Not being able to apply proper torque to them to remove one isn't what I'd call a desirable trait.

Still think Phillips are better than common (flat-tip).

wlkelley3 wrote:

Run_Away wrote:

tuna55 wrote: Don't hate on the Philips guy - he designed it as a torque limiting device, people just use it wrong.

I wouldn't say my beef with philips screws is not getting them tight enough....it's getting ones that have been sitting for a while loose again. Not being able to apply proper torque to them to remove one isn't what I'd call a desirable trait.

Still think Phillips are better than common (flat-tip).

I fully agree.

MadScientistMatt wrote: Somebody had put the front suspension on the Civic I used to have back together after a wreck with junkyard parts. Doesn't sound too bad until I found out the passenger side brake rotor was an inch larger than the driver's side.

HAH!

The SAME THING happened with my Escort.

Went to replace all calipers, pads, and rotors. HRM passenger side caliper isn't fitting over the rotor WTF? Did rockauto send me the wrong rotor? No, it's the same size.

Wait. The hub looks different. FFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Braking performance and pedal feel improved dramatically, needless to say.

m4ff3w wrote:

wlkelley3 wrote:

Run_Away wrote:

tuna55 wrote: Don't hate on the Philips guy - he designed it as a torque limiting device, people just use it wrong.

I wouldn't say my beef with philips screws is not getting them tight enough....it's getting ones that have been sitting for a while loose again. Not being able to apply proper torque to them to remove one isn't what I'd call a desirable trait.

Still think Phillips are better than common (flat-tip).

I fully agree.

There were so friggin' many times I tried to take apart a motorcycle (factory assembled) and the damn things would 'cam out' even with a fresh bit in an impact that I grew to hate the sight of them. It's bad enough in the garage but on the side of the trail way past the sunshine pumps out in East Bumberkeley it really can become a major issue. Allen screws aren't much better. Obviously, I am not the only one who felt that way: I was never happier than the day I realized the engine on my WR400 was assembled with 8mm hex head bolts, rather than Allen or Phillips screws.

And here I thought I was a little ghetto for using binder clips to keep my lip spoiler on.

Agreed on phillips head screws. They are the work of the 'debbel. Nothing anybody can say will redeem them.

Hey egnorant - you bought my old Ford truck?

I once bought a Big Block Wagon from a down the road neighbor that had a gas leak when over 1/2 tank. I bought it for the motor and while stripping the car found there son had screwed in the 6x9 speakers stright in to the gas tank. There was even a center hole and a large 3 or 4 inch mark from the hole cutter saw! Showed it to his dad the next day and he just about past out... I was 17 or so there not so bright son was mid 20's.... That 440 made my dart fly...

My first-gen Bronco had three .22 cartridges in place of fuses when I bought it. And a .289 bolted to the stock itty-bitty transmission. That lasted until I floored it in first.

m4ff3w wrote:

wlkelley3 wrote:

Run_Away wrote:

tuna55 wrote: Don't hate on the Philips guy - he designed it as a torque limiting device, people just use it wrong.

I wouldn't say my beef with philips screws is not getting them tight enough....it's getting ones that have been sitting for a while loose again. Not being able to apply proper torque to them to remove one isn't what I'd call a desirable trait.

Still think Phillips are better than common (flat-tip).

I fully agree.

Robinson, FTW

ZOO wrote:

m4ff3w wrote:

wlkelley3 wrote:

Run_Away wrote:

tuna55 wrote: Don't hate on the Philips guy - he designed it as a torque limiting device, people just use it wrong.

I wouldn't say my beef with philips screws is not getting them tight enough....it's getting ones that have been sitting for a while loose again. Not being able to apply proper torque to them to remove one isn't what I'd call a desirable trait.

Still think Phillips are better than common (flat-tip).

I fully agree.

Robinson, FTW

Thank You Canada

theres a special place in hell for the inventor of the phillips screw. right next to the guy that invented boy bands. both have caused me to bleed.

on the PO fixes:

coat hanger as an attempt at a coil wire many,many wiring hacks no nuts anywhere on the suspension of my hatchback civic, but all the bolts were drilled and safety wired to the suspension piece my old justy had 3/4 marine plywood for floorboards my cadillac had red plastic dixie cups for taillight lenses the 29 roadster pickup had the fuel cell held in by mens leather belts. (with the tags still on them!), also had the crossmembers in the frame cut out with a torch to clear the 283/4 speed. all the crossmembers but the front for the suicide axle. the rear laddr bars actulaally helt the rear framerails apart. the motor mount were chunks of old tires stacked between the motor and the frame with a big carriage bolt running through them. i never should have bought that car, but i was a little too excited by the price. at least i broke even.....

Series 4 RX-7s (86-88) have issues with solder joints in the wiper switches and the PCBs that control the brake lights and horn. My first RX-7's front wiper switch and horn buttons didn't work so the PO wired up an aftermarket horn with a doorbell-looking switch Velcro'ed in front of the instrument cluster (far left, behind steering wheel)...

...while the wiper has this pretty unsafe-looking wiring arraignment...

The toggle switch would be too hot to touch after 30 minutes of the wiper working, while even after taping the exposed wires with electrical tape I would get zapped if I touched it. All of a sudden that soldering class I took the summer before fifth grade made so much sense...

My yellow turbo FC has the same issues, but the wiper still works (just on one speed) and the PO mounted a doorbell- a real one- to the underside of the dash! The doorbell controls a pair of butch-sounding Wolos that I will probably keep and wire back to the steering wheel. Looks like I got more soldering ahead of me.

Someday we'll start a thread on screw types, but basically a Philips head has nothing over a flat head other than the ability to self center.

As to the PO fixes. I have done a few. After my date (now wife) fell through the floor of my pickup, I got some sheet metal, some rivets, and some hammers. It wasn't pretty, but it was metal. This was central New York, and you could see through the rest of the truck, so no great loss.

tpwalsh wrote: Just bought a Miata.... 3 unknown toggle switches, 2 unknown modules, 51 of these and MILES of nonfactory wiring.. over 6 pounds of it!! There's a reason I'm rewiring the car (for DP) from scratch.

^ That was my swift. But I only had 2lbs of extra wiring. But I had 9 broken wires due to those.... Then there was the 5lbs of slag for a n engine mount they "fabricated". 3lbs of 1/4" anggle iron and more weld material than the rest of the car combined....

New car (88 Z51) the OD switch died, in their attempt to "fix" it they destroyed the mounting for the switch, then cut the wires and scotch taped them together... yes, clear scotch tape. There was a bottle of brakes fluid keeping the battery from moving as well....

The bottom half of the firewall in my '72 SAAB 95 was made of plywood and prepped/painted to match the rest of the firewall. I knew there were some questionable floor repairs, so I didn't think much of it when the body 'broke' after being beaten daily for a long time. I didn't know about the firewall 'repair' until we pulled the drivetrain earlier this year.

I'm so berkeleying glad that I didn't crash that thing.

Also, it is sometimes difficult to tell what was done by a DPO (Dumb Previous Owner) and what was done by a DE (Drunken Englishman.)