Setec Astronomy
Well-known member
- Aug 31, 2010
- 17,034
- 1,319
I was just thinking about how much more (mechanical) maintenance we used to have to do in the old days. Remember this stuff?
Cap and rotor...remember them? And for you really old guys...points and condenser.
And when we had distributors...timing adjustment, timing lights...and distributor wrenches!
Remember when we used to have 3 or 4 V-belts? And they used to have to get tightened and replaced.
Remember when radiators used to be brass and copper and used to leak? Especially those top hose connections on GM cars.
For that matter...remember when coolant hoses used to fail? And you used to have to change them periodically to prevent that.
Speaking of that...remember when you used to have to change coolant every 2 years? Before Dexcool went to 5 years and others longer.
And then thermostats...who here has put a thermostat in a pot of water on the stove to see if it would open?
How about changing air filters every 12,000 miles...or plugs every 30,000 (or less before electronic ignition and unleaded gas). Now we've got 100,000 mile plugs, and some air filters go to 50,000 miles.
And always having a can of carb cleaner around to spray that varnish off the carb...and changing fuel filters...like that pain in the neck one that screwed into the GM carbs.
Stuck chokes, missing snorkel tubes to bring warm air from the exhaust manifold up to the air cleaner, vacuum operated butterflies for that. Having a can of ether and being worried whether the car would start if it was 5°F? Having to let the car warm up so it wouldn't stall? (and a special callout to those early '80's GM cars with the limiter caps on the idle mixture adjustment, that would stall as soon as you put the car in gear, even during the summer...I won't even tell you what the dealer solution was for that...or has the statute of limitations run out on defeating emissions controls?)
Greasing suspension joints...boy I used to hate that...but I forced myself to do it...and who remembers greasing a universal joint? Or when CV joints were new and the boots would split all the time and throw grease all over everything?
PCV valves? Remember changing them?
Exhaust systems that would last only 4 or 5 years...or 2 if you did all short trips.
There's so much less to do today, and so much less that goes wrong...we have that much more time for detailing!
On the other hand, it seems like we change oil almost as much as we used to (although thankfully, it is less), and the brake designs today are horrible...exposed sliding parts that get full of rust and grit. And of course we have oxygen sensors that have a limited life, and other sensors that things happen to.
What do you guys remember that I forgot?
Cap and rotor...remember them? And for you really old guys...points and condenser.
And when we had distributors...timing adjustment, timing lights...and distributor wrenches!
Remember when we used to have 3 or 4 V-belts? And they used to have to get tightened and replaced.
Remember when radiators used to be brass and copper and used to leak? Especially those top hose connections on GM cars.
For that matter...remember when coolant hoses used to fail? And you used to have to change them periodically to prevent that.
Speaking of that...remember when you used to have to change coolant every 2 years? Before Dexcool went to 5 years and others longer.
And then thermostats...who here has put a thermostat in a pot of water on the stove to see if it would open?
How about changing air filters every 12,000 miles...or plugs every 30,000 (or less before electronic ignition and unleaded gas). Now we've got 100,000 mile plugs, and some air filters go to 50,000 miles.
And always having a can of carb cleaner around to spray that varnish off the carb...and changing fuel filters...like that pain in the neck one that screwed into the GM carbs.
Stuck chokes, missing snorkel tubes to bring warm air from the exhaust manifold up to the air cleaner, vacuum operated butterflies for that. Having a can of ether and being worried whether the car would start if it was 5°F? Having to let the car warm up so it wouldn't stall? (and a special callout to those early '80's GM cars with the limiter caps on the idle mixture adjustment, that would stall as soon as you put the car in gear, even during the summer...I won't even tell you what the dealer solution was for that...or has the statute of limitations run out on defeating emissions controls?)
Greasing suspension joints...boy I used to hate that...but I forced myself to do it...and who remembers greasing a universal joint? Or when CV joints were new and the boots would split all the time and throw grease all over everything?
PCV valves? Remember changing them?
Exhaust systems that would last only 4 or 5 years...or 2 if you did all short trips.
There's so much less to do today, and so much less that goes wrong...we have that much more time for detailing!
On the other hand, it seems like we change oil almost as much as we used to (although thankfully, it is less), and the brake designs today are horrible...exposed sliding parts that get full of rust and grit. And of course we have oxygen sensors that have a limited life, and other sensors that things happen to.
What do you guys remember that I forgot?
