OT: The Thread About Nothing CCVIII: Limes On A Plane

[JimEIV]

I love youtube. Mostly for the fly tying videos.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Yeah. Both of my car's mirrors and housings were busted from various street parking shenanigans and sideswipes. It's a Volvo, so dealership quote was $600 all-in.

I bought both mirrors and housings off of eBay for $160, spent another $10 to get the right socket I needed, and watched a 5 minute video on Youtube.

That's how dealerships make the most money, by charging obscene rates for very quick, simple things. They make more money on things like abusing people with air filter changes than they do on serious work that actually requires a mechanic.

I'd submit brake changes as one of the biggest scams going. For a front or rear change it costs me about $100 in parts, but the dealership would charge about $350 for that (maybe more?) and do it MUCH quicker than I can to boot!

 

[Nubmer6]

That's how dealerships make the most money, by charging obscene rates for very quick, simple things. They make more money on things like abusing people with air filter changes than they do on serious work that actually requires a mechanic.

I'd submit brake changes as one of the biggest scams going. For a front or rear change it costs me about $100 in parts, but the dealership would charge about $350 for that (maybe more?) and do it MUCH quicker than I can to boot!

I do my own just for the fun of bedding in my own brakes

 

[New Jersey]

does anyone here know anything about drones?

trying kick off a new hobby and to see if it's indeed newark and the meadowlands which is barely visible through the trees from my house.

(adult me celebrating my first ever significant pay increase. )

 

[New Jersey]

That's how dealerships make the most money, by charging obscene rates for very quick, simple things. They make more money on things like abusing people with air filter changes than they do on serious work that actually requires a mechanic.

I'd submit brake changes as one of the biggest scams going. For a front or rear change it costs me about $100 in parts, but the dealership would charge about $350 for that (maybe more?) and do it MUCH quicker than I can to boot!

my dealer asks for $35 each for the engine and cabin filters.

both filters on amazon cost like $18 total.

what also gets me is battery changes. to see some dealers and shops charging $250 is *obscene.* meanwhile, a new battery costs what? $120? and takes literally 20 minutes to replace?

good call on brake changes too. think i wanna learn how to do that, especially now that i have a cool torque wrench.

 

[New Jersey]

I use the forums a lot at work when helping customers and their diy projects.

Crazy just how specific you can get, both in term of a particular machine and the problem.

Today's issue was interesting in that I just googled: Honda civic tail lights stay on, and not only did i get a diagnosis, but I also got a solution that involved a penny and double sided tape.

Yeah. Both of my car's mirrors and housings were busted from various street parking shenanigans and sideswipes. It's a Volvo, so dealership quote was $600 all-in.

I bought both mirrors and housings off of eBay for $160, spent another $10 to get the right socket I needed, and watched a 5 minute video on Youtube.

my first car (1998 ford explorer so that beast was more "truck" unlike the crossovers of today) was a hand-me-down from my aunt and didn't have working A/C.

some research and youtube videos led me to the conclusion that it was the $20 blend door with a broken peg where it attaches to the motor which was still working fine. obviously, it was well under the dashboard, but i found out that the plenum was exposed under the dash and i took a dremel to it and hacked away to fish out the broken door and pop in the new one. put back the piece of plastic and patched it up with duct tape.

got some fresh r134a in there and my A/C kicked ass for over three years after that until i unfortunately lost that truck in an accident.

all i can hope is that all the good/newer parts that were on that truck are helping keep other explorers and mountaineers of that generation throughout north jersey on the road, i'd rather not think about the absolute killing the junk yard must have made off of my mishap.

 

[BenedictGomez]

good call on brake changes too. think i wanna learn how to do that, especially now that i have a cool torque wrench.

You're going to feel like an idiot after you do. I only learned about 6 or so years ago, and cant believe how much money I'd wasted over the years.

got some fresh r134a in there and my A/C kicked ass

Oh, that's another great one. A bottle costs like $15 - $25, and IIRC they try to get people for like $150 on that, for a "job" that takes them maybe 5 minutes or less.

 

[JK3]

Just did my brakes last week, super easy with all the vids out there, pretty cheap too for $93 in parts. Things are so different now with cars, you used to be able to cut rotors and drums on a brake lathe to true them up and reuse them, I was lucky my mechanic buddy had one in his garage at home. I can't believe how cheap rotors are now and they don't have be cut with the way they manufacture them.

It's crazy, everything bike, boat and auto related before Youtube you needed a Clymer or service manual if you needed help working on stuff. It's insane there's pretty much a video on everything out there.

 

[The 29th Pick]

Just did my brakes last week, super easy with all the vids out there, pretty cheap too for $93 in parts. Things are so different now with cars, you used to be able to cut rotors and drums on a brake lathe to true them up and reuse them, I was lucky my mechanic buddy had one in his garage at home. I can't believe how cheap rotors are now and they don't have be cut with the way they manufacture them.

It's crazy, everything bike, boat and auto related before Youtube you needed a Clymer or service manual if you needed help working on stuff. It's insane there's pretty much a video on everything out there.

I'm a tech, and it just makes sense to buy a rotor(s) for $40 (or whatever) rather than spend close to an hour removing it, putting it on a lathe and cutting it and reinstalling it, when labor rates are well over $100 an hour nowadays. Brake lathes need cutting bits and maintenance etc. And speaking of good videos on YouTube there are great info videos even the pro's can use. I saw a headline for Ford Explorer's on how to get 10% more horsepower in 30 seconds for a nickle. So I watched it and the guy showed how to pull the slack out of the accelerator cable at the gas pedal and put a wire tie around the slack part and BINGO now you have full throttle response! it worked great!

 

[JK3]

I'm a tech, and it just makes sense to buy a rotor(s) for $40 (or whatever) rather than spend close to an hour removing it, putting it on a lathe and cutting it and reinstalling it, when labor rates are well over $100 an hour nowadays. Brake lathes need cutting bits and maintenance etc. And speaking of good videos on YouTube there are great info videos even the pro's can use. I saw a headline for Ford Explorer's on how to get 10% more horsepower in 30 seconds for a nickle. So I watched it and the guy showed how to pull the slack out of the accelerator cable at the gas pedal and put a wire tie around the slack part and BINGO now you have full throttle response! it worked great!

Yeah I forgot about the labor at the shop, much more practical to just slap new ones on. It was pretty nice though and super cheap to get that stuff done at home for the cost of pads and some beer haha.

 

[The 29th Pick]

Yeah I forgot about the labor at the shop, much more practical to just slap new ones on. It was pretty nice though and super cheap to get that stuff done at home for the cost of pads and some beer haha.

thats the thing, if you got a friend or neighbor with some equipment and a weekend to hang its great !

 

[Bleedred]

does anyone here know anything about drones?

trying kick off a new hobby and to see if it's indeed newark and the meadowlands which is barely visible through the trees from my house.

(adult me celebrating my first ever significant pay increase. )

Don't know anything about drones, but that probably is the Meadowlands and Newark you're seeing. You'll be able to see it better in the fall, when the leaves fall. Unless it was in the fall and winter that you barely see it and now it's completely out of sight.

Where do you live? You can see Newark and the Meadowlands from miles and miles, especially if you're in an area with elevation like the top of the hill in towns like North Bergen, Cliffside, Fairview, Pal Park, Ridgefield, Fort Lee. You can see the Meadowlands from pretty much every side street off JFK Blvd in North Bergen and Bergen Blvd in Fairview. And even on Route 46 at the Fort Lee and Palisades Park border. And also in Hackensack at the top of the hill there. I'm sure you can even see it from the suburbs up in Northern Bergen County too. Especially the towns with elevation.

I had a friend who lived in Ridgefield Park and he was on the third floor of an apartment building. You could see the Meadowlands from there pretty much year round and even the Pulaski Skyway and Newark skyline in the late fall/winter/early spring on good visibility days. He had a pretty great view of the new stadium going up and you could always see it lit up at night. He even had part of the Empire State Building visible and I'm sure the WTC. Although, he lived there between the years of the old towers being gone and the new one being completed.

Congrats on the significant pay increase.

 

[Bleedred]

I try and do as many car repairs as possible. The hardest thing I've done is a transmission on my 99 F-250. I had a good friend help me out with it. I can fix anything with instructions, but I don't like fooling with other people's vehicles. Just my own.

I've done everything but an engine replacement and I could probably do one of those too, though it would probably take a while and I'd be kicking and screaming doing it.

I don't think I can afford a mechanic's rates anyway.

 

[New Jersey]

Don't know anything about drones, but that probably is the Meadowlands and Newark you're seeing. You'll be able to see it better in the fall, when the leaves fall. Unless it was in the fall and winter that you barely see it and now it's completely out of sight.

Where do you live? You can see Newark and the Meadowlands from miles and miles, especially if you're in an area with elevation like the top of the hill in towns like North Bergen, Cliffside, Fairview, Pal Park, Ridgefield, Fort Lee. You can see the Meadowlands from pretty much every side street off JFK Blvd in North Bergen and Bergen Blvd in Fairview. And even on Route 46 at the Fort Lee and Palisades Park border. And also in Hackensack at the top of the hill there. I'm sure you can even see it from the suburbs up in Northern Bergen County too. Especially the towns with elevation.

I had a friend who lived in Ridgefield Park and he was on the third floor of an apartment building. You could see the Meadowlands from there pretty much year round and even the Pulaski Skyway and Newark skyline in the late fall/winter/early spring on good visibility days. He had a pretty great view of the new stadium going up and you could always see it lit up at night. He even had part of the Empire State Building visible and I'm sure the WTC. Although, he lived there between the years of the old towers being gone and the new one being completed.

Congrats on the significant pay increase.

I’m in Northwestern Bergen County in Waldwick. And the front of my house faces almost exactly due south.

I’m 99% percent sure it’s Newark I can see and yeah we definitely see it better in the winter when the trees are bare, but it has definitely inspired me to try and see what the view would look like from above the tree line in my neighborhood. Also helps that I’m *well* outside of any of the airports’ airspace and can go up to 400 feet as per FAA rules.

 

[Bleedred]

I’m in Northwestern Bergen County in Waldwick. And the front of my house faces almost exactly due south.

I’m 99% percent sure it’s Newark I can see and yeah we definitely see it better in the winter when the trees are bare, but it has definitely inspired me to try and see what the view would look like from above the tree line in my neighborhood. Also helps that I’m *well* outside of any of the airports’ airspace and can go up to 400 feet as per FAA rules.

I had a feeling you were up in the hills there. Just what I was envisioning when you commented about the trees. I think you're right. I know I can remember seeing the Meadowlands, Newark and New York skylines off of 208 up there when I used to go up that way for work.

 

[New Jersey]

I had a feeling you were up in the hills there. Just what I was envisioning when you commented about the trees. I think you're right. I know I can remember seeing the Meadowlands, Newark and New York skylines off of 208 up there when I used to go up that way for work.

17 Southbound in Upper Saddle River when it’s a long, perfectly straight downgrade.

That’s *the* view, man! Especially on a clear night, it almost distracts you from the road!

Common knowledge for us but the best views are in Jersey and it’s not remotely close.

 

[Bleedred]

17 Southbound in Upper Saddle River when it’s a long, perfectly straight downgrade.

That’s *the* view, man! Especially on a clear night, it almost distracts you from the road!

Common knowledge for us but the best views are in Jersey and it’s not remotely close.

One of the things I miss about Jersey is having a nice view, which most from out of state wouldn't think is nice. My grandparents lived in North Bergen when I was a kid. Off JFK Blvd at the top of the hill and they were on the second floor. You could see so much from there up there, like the Meadowlands and pretty much everything between there and Newark Airport. You could see the planes going in and out. Like, you couldn't see the actual airport, but you could spot the planes in the sky and track them into the airport where they would get lower and lower. And you could also see planes gaining elevation from there, especially at night. And you could also see a lot of New York and the twin towers.

My friend's house (his mom still lives there) was at the top of the hill in Ridgefield and he had this pretty sweet spot on the roof that you used to be able to climb up on through his bedroom window. You could sit up there and see all of that stuff too, as well as hear trucks and cars roaring on the turnpike, which was really only like a mile away.

One of the places I lived when I was growing up (in Cliffside Park) had a good view of Manhattan, but not really any well-known landmarks or buildings there. One of the highrises was blocking my view, but I bet that view was 1000 times better before I was born and before the highrise was built.

 

[JimEIV]

One of the things I miss about Jersey is having a nice view, which most from out of state wouldn't think is nice. My grandparents lived in North Bergen when I was a kid. Off JFK Blvd at the top of the hill and they were on the second floor. You could see so much from there up there, like the Meadowlands and pretty much everything between there and Newark Airport. You could see the planes going in and out. Like, you couldn't see the actual airport, but you could spot the planes in the sky and track them into the airport where they would get lower and lower. And you could also see planes gaining elevation from there, especially at night. And you could also see a lot of New York and the twin towers.

My friend's house (his mom still lives there) was at the top of the hill in Ridgefield and he had this pretty sweet spot on the roof that you used to be able to climb up on through his bedroom window. You could sit up there and see all of that stuff too, as well as hear trucks and cars roaring on the turnpike, which was really only like a mile away.

One of the places I lived when I was growing up (in Cliffside Park) had a good view of Manhattan, but not really any well-known landmarks or buildings there. One of the highrises was blocking my view, but I bet that view was 1000 times better before I was born and before the highrise was built.

One of the few things I miss about living in Paterson was all the spots I knew to see the NYC skyline. And Patsy's...I really miss Patsy's.

 

[My3Sons]

Let me know when I can discuss a spoiler for the Yesterday movie.

 

[Billdo]

I cant even count how many things I've fixed myself over the years via Youtube or DIY message forums that I would have had to pay someone to fix for me 20 years ago.

Fixed my toilet just last week. Automotive is another BIG one as your post notes. Even if it's someone I know how to do like changing brakes or an air filter, if it's on a new (to me) car, I'll watch a video to write down all the correct size sockets/bits I'll need, etc...

I've said to friends that YouTube is probably the greatest invention of the last 20 years that's not like health or food related. Entertainment, education, etc everything this on there. I've fixed auto stuff, two parts on my dryer, my over the range microwave, made travels plans off YT videos, and on and on. It's just insane how much is on there and how resourceful it can be.