I do enjoy reading the Hagerty publication. Some good thoughts here regarding parts quality, among others.
https://www.hagerty.com/media/opinion/the-hack-mechanic/chasing-reliability-part-2-preventive-maintenance/
"... in the dynamic of preventive maintenance on “The Big Seven,” it certainly is possible to take it too far and replace good functioning original parts with something inferior. It’s easy to do this if you hop on eBay or Amazon and buy the lowest-priced part that’s listed as compatible with your make and model. The surprising and unfortunate thing is that it’s also possible to do even if you stick with what you believe to be high-quality parts."
"The Big Seven" being those seven systems that are "mission critical" as far as keeping your vehicle running.
I only recently heard the expression regarding NEW parts--NEW stands for Not Ever Worked.
And of course, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I recently told my apprentice he was crazy for changing a perfectly good working caliper.
The right side seized, and instead of changing just that one, he did both, with rebuilds from one of the big jobbers
Peabody said:
I recently told my apprentice he was crazy for changing a perfectly good working caliper.
The right side seized, and instead of changing just that one, he did both, with rebuilds from one of the big jobbers
I'm a "service/rebuild/replace both sides even if 1 is fine" on brakes kind of person.
Fuel pump failed on my RX7 at Daytona, was the original unit, didn't seem to have any issues prior to that. I put it in the "don't replace a probably good part with a replacement of questionable origin" category.
I am more of a deferred maintenance kind of guy...
Too much recreational maintenance can be a bad thing. See the Waddington Effect:
Waddington Effect
CH Waddington's findings were called the “Waddington Effect,” which stated that preventative or planned maintenance increases breakdowns because the maintenance activities are disrupting a satisfactory condition.
I can get onside with that finding.
Peabody said:
I recently told my apprentice he was crazy for changing a perfectly good working caliper.
The right side seized, and instead of changing just that one, he did both, with rebuilds from one of the big jobbers
And then you find that the seals on the new side are more compliant, so they retract the piston more, so the car does a little side to side cha-cha every time you apply the brakes as the calipers apply at different times.
jmabarone said:
Peabody said:
I recently told my apprentice he was crazy for changing a perfectly good working caliper.
The right side seized, and instead of changing just that one, he did both, with rebuilds from one of the big jobbers
I'm a "service/rebuild/replace both sides even if 1 is fine" on brakes kind of person.
Fuel pump failed on my RX7 at Daytona, was the original unit, didn't seem to have any issues prior to that. I put it in the "don't replace a probably good part with a replacement of questionable origin" category.
This is something that you can see on a scope, if you suspected that it could be, er, suspect. Good fuel pumps have nice even current waveforms. You can even count the pattern to see what RPM the pump is running at. A failing pump will have an irregular waveform, and you can see it in a low current draw every eighth pulse/hump as the part of the commutator with a bad spot comes around, or you can see it just being bouncy as the worn brushes make irregular contact.
OTOH, I can't even remember the last time I saw a failed fuel pump. Definitely about 15-20 years ago. But replacing the relay with a jumper wire and scoping an amp clamp placed on said wire used to be a regular part of testing...
