A 'common sense' I.Q. game

[Iamme]

There are a lot of intelligent posters in this forum. But consider that it has been said that there are people who are book-smart, but not street-smart. And, we have all heard the story about the Ph.D. who doesn't know a screwdriver from a wrench.

Yesterday, a fellow poster over here, reprimanded me for my methodology of getting rid of bats. He offered up a very good solution. This stimulated me to think of the idea for which this thread is born.

We can ask each other questions. But, please do not digress and call upon specific posters by name, to see what they know, so that you can try to show them up. There is enough of this going on in the Randi forums the way it is. Just toss out some question and see who responds and what solutions they give.

I can start by asking, "If your lights go out in your house, what would be the very first thing you would check. Then, what is the SECOND thing you would check?"

Here is another: If the water comes out slow out of your kitchen faucet, what would you check first?

Now granted, the title of the thread was a little tease to get you to read it. You could argue that if you haven't learned anything about electrical wiring, or plumbing, or what makes a car tick, etc., that that doesn't mean you have a low I.Q. Granted. I'll admit that you just aren't learned in those fields. You could be an Albert Einstein in physics, and not know these things.

But at the same time, shouldn't a truly smart person be aware that since so much of our existance revolves around our home and our car, that it might be prudent to know at least some basics about these areas, to not only save some money, but needless down time as well?

Admittedly, I am in this line of work, so I may have an advantage. But some of you might be able to post things regarding, say, first aid knowledge, for example.

I think this could be kind of fun, and maybe everyone could learn some stuff, and save money to boot. So, start coming up with questions. And if you are humble, you could even ask others if they happen to know the best way to accomplish something, or what they need to look at first. I listen to a nationally syndicated car repair radio show on Saturdays, for such a reason.

[Babylon Sister]

Originally posted by Iamme
I can start by asking, "If your lights go out in your house, what would be the very first thing you would check. Then, what is the SECOND thing you would check?"

Here is another: If the water comes out slow out of your kitchen faucet, what would you check first?

Lights: First I'd check to see if the neighbors lights are also out. If they aren't, the second thing I'd check is the fuse box.

Water: I'm on a well. Guess the first thing I'd check would be the pump. The second thing would be to look for a leaky pipe.

[Chaos]

Lights:
Check fuse box first. Then search for candles and matches.

Water:
No idea, honestly. 10 points off my IQ...


Now, one question about the computer. If your computer started making a loud, droning noise quite like a lawnmower, or perhaps a propeller aircraft - what would you do? Any idea how what that could be and how to fix it?

[Cecil]

Lights: First, I'd check the circuit breaker. Then I'd check the neighbours' lights.

Water: I'd replace the filter.

Computer: Turn the computer off, stick a pen in the power supply fan, then turn it back on. It's probably a fan problem.


Here's another question. What's the first thing you would do if your mouse suddenly floated up a foot in the air and hovered there? ;)

[Stimpson J. Cat]

Cecil,

Here's another question. What's the first thing you would do if your mouse suddenly floated up a foot in the air and hovered there?

Look around for where Chevy Chase is hiding?


Dr. Stupid

[csense]

Originally posted by Cecil
What's the first thing you would do if your mouse suddenly floated up a foot in the air and hovered there? ;)

Nothing.
I would sit back in my chair, tune my senses to the event, and take in as much information as I could.
Then I would let logic and reason take me where it may.

[welshdean]

Lights: First, check the TV; second, check where the TV remote is.
Water: First, check the fridge was still on; second, check I had some beer in.
Mouse: I'd ask it to fly down the shops and get me some fags. Then fly to JR and bring me back my $1M.
My question,
When one's missus asks;
"Am I getting fatter?"
or..
"Does my bum look big in this?"
or, the old chestnut..
"Do you think she [model, singer, actress, etc.] is prettier than me?"
should one ever tell the truth!?

[Chaos]

Originally posted by welshdean
When one's missus asks;
"Am I getting fatter?"
or..
"Does my bum look big in this?"
or, the old chestnut..
"Do you think she [model, singer, actress, etc.] is prettier than me?"
should one ever tell the truth!?

That´s Survival 101.

Flatter her. Flatter as if your life depended on it - because it really might.



But, anyway, I thought we were being serious here.

[plindboe]

I can start by asking, "If your lights go out in your house, what would be the very first thing you would check. Then, what is the SECOND thing you would check?"
I'd head to bed. No point in staying up with no lights.

Here is another: If the water comes out slow out of your kitchen faucet, what would you check first?
I'd buy some more beer.

Now, one question about the computer. If your computer started making a loud, droning noise quite like a lawnmower, or perhaps a propeller aircraft - what would you do? Any idea how what that could be and how to fix it?
I would get a new computer.

[Iamme]

plindboe---I'd throw it out the highest window I got...and see if it could fly...based on the sound you described.:D

[evildave]

Other circuits in house live?
Yes: Breakers
Breaker tripped: Reset
Breaker not tripped: Cycle breakers
Trip again: systematically turn off/unplug everything on circuit, then reset.
Trip again: Power fault: Fix when there is daylight.
Reset: Now go back through and turn on the things I turned off, or plug in what I unplugged. See if lights go out again.
One particular plug: Suspect fault in appliance or local circuit.
Combination: Too much plugged in. Move some appliances around.

Other circuits in house live?
No: PG&E power outage hotline; will generate "trouble" ticket and give them diagnostic information. Most of the time, I get a "known problem" and estimate for lights on again. It gets the ball rolling if this is just MY problem, or a neighborhood problem.


Reduced pressure: my sprinklers, then call neighbors & see if their water is low, too. It's happened historically when the local water system ran low.

Computer produces noise: Ensure CDR/floppy drives are ejected. Open up case, check fans, then hard drives.

Wife/GF Question: Run screaming and never look back.

Floating Mouse: Check for wires, rig, etc. to pull prank. Check what I ate recently; it may have been contaminated.

[Glory]

Lights are out? Check the breakers first and then check to see if the nieghbors have power. This is all assuming that the lights are out because of a power failure. Lights can go out with out loss of electrical power to a house. Burned out bulbs and mal functioning lamps spring to mind. Also, in my house, if the power goes out, I may need to pay the bill.

Reduced water pressure? Call mangement office. Tennant repairs are frowned upon around here.

Computer noises? Call my husband and turn the thing off. The only thing I can do by opening the tower is expose it to dust.

How do you get Play Do out of the rug?

What does it mean if the heater in your car stops working?

How do you mellow the taste of bitter coffee?

How do you keep fresh baked cookies soft and moist?



Glory

[triadboy]

Originally posted by Chaos
Now, one question about the computer. If your computer started making a loud, droning noise quite like a lawnmower, or perhaps a propeller aircraft - what would you do? Any idea how what that could be and how to fix it?

Your harddrive is starting to go bad. You need to save all your important stuff onto a CD. (or get hold of a Zip drive) Call the manufacturer and get a new hard drive sent to you and install it.

Don't forget to save your address book and stuff.

[welshdean]

Originally posted by: Chaos
That´s Survival 101.
Flatter her. Flatter as if your life depended on it - because it really might.
I agree, it [my life] most definitely does!
But then you say;
But, anyway, I thought we were being serious here.
How serious do you want??????

Evildave, then said;
Wife/GF Question: Run screaming and never look back (emph. mine)
Tried running.......... to the pub, she just goes to bed later!


Here's another couple of questions.

Why do ALL American [male] tourists wear checked trousers?
Why worry about germ warfare, if bacteria and virii have a beef about something, why get involved?

No seriously,
If I press down on the lid of a kettle [electric], whilst it's coming to the boil, why does it's 'pitch' change downward?
I've tried this on worktops, floors, wood, metal and plastic bases. Always the same result, a downward shift in pitch!

[gentlehorse]

Lights: I would immediately assume that Paul Bethke had finally delivered.

Water: I would immediately assume that someone had just flushed the toilet and/or that my wife was watering the lawn, even if the problem persisted for months.

Computer noises: I would immediately assume that banging on the tower would eventually solve the problem, regardless of the results.

Wife question: I would immediately assume that my wife wanted the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth or she wouldn't have asked in the first place. Luckily for me, she's beautiful.

Floating mouse: I would immediately assume that Newton must have been a putz.

Play dough: ice (Works for gum, anyhow--)

Car heater: Check fuses first-- Could be the fan motor if it's not blowing at all-- If it still blows air, but it's not warm, it's probably a little valve-like thingy connected to a hose running from the top of your engine to the fire wall, which is a quick and cheap fix (been there).

Coffee: I've wondered that myself.

Cookies: Eat them before freshness becomes a problem.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Not to change the subject too much, but I'd like to announce the results of my summer ice cream tally. This is a count of the number of times the following happened:

Me: I'd like three large cups to go, please: Almond Joy, Pumpkin, and Pistachio.

Server: Okay ... (packs two large cups) (places them in bag) ...

Server: That's two of them. What was the third flavor again?

This occurred five (5) times this ice cream season, the fifth time this evening.

~~ Paul

[gentlehorse]

Ice cream problem: Ask for four flavors. When the server packs the first three and asks you to remind him of the fourth, tell him to forget about it.

[Glory]

Originally posted by gentlehorse

Play dough: ice (Works for gum, anyhow--)

Tried it. It doesn't work. I swear the stuff is there forever.

Car heater: Check fuses first-- Could be the fan motor if it's not blowing at all-- If it still blows air, but it's not warm, it's probably a little valve-like thingy connected to a hose running from the top of your engine to the fire wall, which is a quick and cheap fix (been there).

The last time this happened the heater was blowing cold air. Mean while, the car was overheating like mad. Apparantly one of those hose/valve thingys wasn't moving the radiator fluid where it needed to go. I almost cracked the block before I realized how bad it was.

Coffee: I've wondered that myself.

Cinnamon in the filter along with the grounds during brewing or vanilla in the finished product. It will almost entirely eliminate the bitterness.

Cookies: Eat them before freshness becomes a problem.

Not the answer I had in mind but a good one none the less.

Everyone gains experience in certain areas and thus knows things about those areas.

"I'm an idiot because I can't make a lamp?"

"No, you're genius 'cause you can't make a lamp"

"You know that without trigonometry there'd be no engineering?"

"Without lamps there'd be no light."
-The Breakfast Club

Glory

[gentlehorse]

Originally posted by Glory
Tried it. It doesn't work. I swear the stuff is there forever.

Dry ice? (I don't know how it would affect the fabric of your carpet. Call a carpet dealer.)

The last time this happened the heater was blowing cold air. Mean while, the car was overheating like mad. Apparantly one of those hose/valve thingys wasn't moving the radiator fluid where it needed to go. I almost cracked the block before I realized how bad it was.

Sounds like you didn't have enough radiator fluid to me-- How did you solve the problem?

Cinnamon in the filter along with the grounds during brewing or vanilla in the finished product. It will almost entirely eliminate the bitterness.

Hmmmm... Cinnamon and/or vanilla in my coffee (scratches chin whiskers)-- Might give it a try--

Not the answer I had in mind but a good one none the less>

We don't have a problem with cookies going stale around my house.

[Tricky]

It really depends on your experience. Here is a good example:

My automatic garage door started making very loud noises and vibrating excessively when it was opening. Not having any experience with how these things worked, I had a hard time finding what was wrong. I finally found out what it was. Can you guess?

[Glory]

Originally posted by gentlehorse
Dry ice? (I don't know how it would affect the fabric of your carpet. Call a carpet dealer.)

Interesting, I will indeed call a carpet guy.

Sounds like you didn't have enough radiator fluid to me-- How did you solve the problem?

I had several hoses replaced and refilled the radiatpr. By the time I had the car towed to a garage I did not have much fluid left. It was leaking out all over the place through the hoses. The next time I note that my heater isn't hot, I will check the engine temp, the radiator level and the hoses.

Hmmmm... Cinnamon and/or vanilla in my coffee (scratches chin whiskers)-- Might give it a try--

I used to work in a cafe. This works.

We don't have a problem with cookies going stale around my house.

Cookie recipes usually make about four dozen cookies. We are a family of three. If we eat all those cookies before they start to get stale we'd outgrow our clothes pretty quick.

Glory

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by Tricky
My automatic garage door started making very loud noises and vibrating excessively when it was opening. Not having any experience with how these things worked, I had a hard time finding what was wrong. I finally found out what it was. Can you guess?
God?

I understand God also makes quite a bit of noise when you catch him in a jar...

[evildave]

Originally posted by Tricky
It really depends on your experience. Here is a good example:

My automatic garage door started making very loud noises and vibrating excessively when it was opening. Not having any experience with how these things worked, I had a hard time finding what was wrong. I finally found out what it was. Can you guess?

I have no idea without knowing type of door, and type of drive.

A stab in the dark: shifting junk in the garage interfering with the door's path.

[Tricky]

Originally posted by evildave


I have no idea without knowing type of door, and type of drive.

A stab in the dark: shifting junk in the garage interfering with the door's path.
Nope.

Doublewide door. Worm drive. Spring lifted.

[gentlehorse]

Originally posted by Tricky

Nope.

Doublewide door. Worm drive. Spring lifted.

Ah! An opportunity to let my ignorance shine!

A wheel or two jumped the track.

Hmmm, think Houston... No, that's no help--

Dirt dobbers in the worm drive--

Here's one for ya:

My wife used my truck to pull a horse trailor to a shodeo (rodeo for kids). When she got ready to come home, the truck started just fine, but the gear shifter wouldn't move from "park" to "drive". The truck was a '94 Ford F150. I took a buddy's truck out there to pull the horses home. While there, I crawled under the truck, disconnected the cable that was linked to the transmission, while my wife sat in the running truck with her foot on the brake, and manually shifted the transmission to drive. She pulled the horses home and I drove my truck to my mechanic's shop. He found and fixed the problem in minutes. When he told me what it was, my jaw dropped. What was the problem?

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by Chaos

Now, one question about the computer. If your computer started making a loud, droning noise quite like a lawnmower, or perhaps a propeller aircraft - what would you do? Any idea how what that could be and how to fix it?
It has to be a moving part. Candidates are the fans and the disk drives. I would first try to isolate where the noise was coming from.

Fans: There's one in your power supply, probably one on your CPU and maybe one in the chassis. Could be a wire hanging in the blades, or it could be the bearing is going bad. If it's a wire hanging in a fan, it may go away when you open the panel to look. This is annoying.

Disk: If a disk drive is making noise, it will die soon. Of course you've been making regular backups of all your stuff anyway. Right? :eek:

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by Tricky

Nope.

Doublewide door. Worm drive. Spring lifted.
Maybe your driver worms got squashed on the sidewalk. Get new worms.

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by gentlehorse
My wife used my truck to pull a horse trailor to a shodeo (rodeo for kids). When she got ready to come home, the truck started just fine, but the gear shifter wouldn't move from "park" to "drive". The truck was a '94 Ford F150. I took a buddy's truck out there to pull the horses home. While there, I crawled under the truck, disconnected the cable that was linked to the transmission, while my wife sat in the running truck with her foot on the brake, and manually shifted the transmission to drive. She pulled the horses home and I drove my truck to my mechanic's shop. He found and fixed the problem in minutes. When he told me what it was, my jaw dropped. What was the problem?
Please dont tell me you never released the parking break.

If it was an animal that got itself trapped in the transmission, dont tell me that either...

[Glory]

Originally posted by gentlehorse
My wife used my truck to pull a horse trailor to a shodeo (rodeo for kids). When she got ready to come home, the truck started just fine, but the gear shifter wouldn't move from "park" to "drive". The truck was a '94 Ford F150. I took a buddy's truck out there to pull the horses home. While there, I crawled under the truck, disconnected the cable that was linked to the transmission, while my wife sat in the running truck with her foot on the brake, and manually shifted the transmission to drive. She pulled the horses home and I drove my truck to my mechanic's shop. He found and fixed the problem in minutes. When he told me what it was, my jaw dropped. What was the problem?

The break lights weren't working properly?

Glory

[evildave]

Originally posted by Tricky

Nope.

Doublewide door. Worm drive. Spring lifted.

I'd shut the door and check the detachable shuttle***, then go over the unit inch by inch if it wasn't that, check the pin that holds the end of the track near the door working loose. Then work my way back toward the driver unit. If nothing jumped out at me, I'd stand on a ladder with the remote and just watch the unit open/close the door a few times.

*** You can detach the garage door from the opener on most every model by pulling a rope or lever; to open it manually if the power's out. That might not be re-attached quite perfecty.

[evildave]

Originally posted by gentlehorse


My wife used my truck to pull a horse trailor to a shodeo (rodeo for kids). When she got ready to come home, the truck started just fine, but the gear shifter wouldn't move from "park" to "drive". The truck was a '94 Ford F150. I took a buddy's truck out there to pull the horses home. While there, I crawled under the truck, disconnected the cable that was linked to the transmission, while my wife sat in the running truck with her foot on the brake, and manually shifted the transmission to drive. She pulled the horses home and I drove my truck to my mechanic's shop. He found and fixed the problem in minutes. When he told me what it was, my jaw dropped. What was the problem?

Actually, I've seen gravel get stuck in the shifting linkages and interfere with transmissions before.

[gentlehorse]

Originally posted by evildave


Actually, I've seen gravel get stuck in the shifting linkages and interfere with transmissions before.

Good guess, but nope.

Glory:
The break lights weren't working properly?

To be honest, I don't know if the brake lights were working.

Yahweh:
Please dont tell me you never released the parking break.

That wasn't it. The problem was that the shifter wouldn't shift into drive. I neglected to say that the first question I asked my wife when she called me about the problem was, "Were you holding down the brake pedal when you tried to shift into drive?" I was hoping for a quick, over-the-phone fix as the shifter wouldn't move if you didn't have your foot on the brake (by design). To my dismay, she assured me that she'd depressed the brake while attempting to shift. So we had a problem.

If it was an animal that got itself trapped in the transmission, dont tell me that either...

No critters in the tranny-- :)

[evildave]

Another one that can lock the tranny is the steering wheel lock. If the key isn't turned, you can't shift gears. This can get into interesting states, such as when your wheels are turned, and there's pressure on the mechanism. Usually this manifests in not being able to turn the key until you turn the steering wheel. Perhaps if the ignition switch was a little worn down, it might get as far as unlocking the wheel, while not unlocking the transmission.

[Ladewig]

This can get into interesting states, such as when your wheels are turned, and there's pressure on the mechanism. Usually this manifests in not being able to turn the key until you turn the steering wheel.

Yes. I discovered this solution by accident. After several minutes of being unable to turn the ignition key, despite wiggling and jogging, I got frustrated and just grabbed the wheel to let off some steam. Success.

________________

I was going to ask the people who said they would check the circuit breaker before the neighbors' lights why they choose that order when it is easier to observe the neighbors' houses than to find the circuit breaker in the dark. Then I realized that not all people live in the city where observing houses is easy.

[Denise]

Originally posted by Glory


How do you get Play Do out of the rug?



Glory

Have you tried GooGone?

http://www.magicamerican.com/googone.shtml

I've gotten some pretty nasty stuff off of carpet with that stuff. And try Spot Shot if you have a stain.

[gentlehorse]

Originally posted by evildave
Another one that can lock the tranny is the steering wheel lock. If the key isn't turned, you can't shift gears. This can get into interesting states, such as when your wheels are turned, and there's pressure on the mechanism. Usually this manifests in not being able to turn the key until you turn the steering wheel. Perhaps if the ignition switch was a little worn down, it might get as far as unlocking the wheel, while not unlocking the transmission.

Another good guess, but no-- I'll tell what the problem was either this evening or in the morning. FTR: I never would have guessed it.

[Iamme]

Tricky---EvilDave was onto a good diagnostic procedure. The first thing anybody should check with faulty automatic garage door opening is to isolate the door from the opener, to rule out troubles with the door, track. spring function. Pull that cord to disengage, and work the door by hand. THEN move on to the opener.

Play Do in the carpet? I would freeze it...then place steam iron over white terry cloth over residue to get up the rest. This works with candle wax.

Heater stopped in car? What?!...the heat or the blower? If it is the blower, it is probably QUICKER to take a voltmeter to see if you have volts (12 probably) at the connector between end of wire and blower plug-in. If you have 12 volts, change out the blower. But for no volts, this could be a bad switch, connector, wire, fusible link, or fuse. Check the fuse. If not the fuse?...Happy hunting!~

Coffee bitter? And it don't count to just throw out the coffee and make new? Hmmmmm. Hey, i got it! Drink a few sips of vinegar first. That outta do it?:D

You want moist cookies to stay moist? Obviously, you don't want any more air to get to them than possible. Vaccuum seal is best. If they dry out?....try steaming them moist again. You could put them in a container of water...but not IN the water...and then heat. Now you will have moist cookies that just might taste like fresh out of the oven...maybe.

[Iamme]

What would you first look for if your dryer was turning, but no heat came out?

What would you first look for if you had lots of water in the bottom of your refrigerator...and you know you didn't dump over a jug of water, or no container leaked?

What would you first look for if your clothes agitated in the washer, but then you found out thaqt the water would not spin out. It would not spin. ?

If you own a newer type high efficiency condensing furnace or boiler, and you turn up the thermostat and nothing happens? You check the fuses or breakers and they are on. You go to the basement and you hear this motor running, but nothing else happens. What could this be? (Typical problem for which furnace guys come out and make the pretty quick repair)

[Glory]

Originally posted by Iamme
You want moist cookies to stay moist? Obviously, you don't want any more air to get to them than possible. Vaccuum seal is best. If they dry out?....try steaming them moist again. You could put them in a container of water...but not IN the water...and then heat. Now you will have moist cookies that just might taste like fresh out of the oven...maybe.

Not bad, but there is a much simpler way. This was taught to my husband by a girl he knew in high school. Place cookies in a container. Place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. In about a day the bread will be dry as a bone and the cookies will be moist and delicious. I don't know why but the cookies draw the moisture right of the bread. This is especially effective for cookies stored in plastic. Once the bread dires out, put in a new slice. I once put a slice of bread directly on top of a cookie. The cookie was down right soggy by the next day.

Glory

[Yahweh]

Typical problem:

Your washing machine doesnt turn on when the water temperature is set to Hot.

Solution:

Try yelling at the machine, try hitting it... if that doesnt work, destroy the machine, bring it into the manufacturer with warrentee, buy new washer (and a new dryer, they always have to match).

[Tricky]

Okay, you've all had your chances.

The problem was the spring that lifts the door (too keep it from being too heavy. It's like a counterweight). One of the springs snapped. I didn not know how they worked, not having any experience with garage doors, I just knew the door was noisy. I tried lubricating the worm (no jokes, please) and making sure everything was on track.

The noise was actually due to the fact that the worm drive was now lifting a very heavy weight, instead of a very light one. Eventually, the bracket that attached to the door pulled the bolts right through the aluminum. That's when I tried lifting the door manually and found that it weighed a hell of a lot. Then everything fell into place.

So (getting back to the topic) my mechanical common sense would have been a whole lot better if I had known how these things worked. I would have checked the spring immediately, rather than trying other things.

[Iamme]

Hi Tricky. I WOULD have been right. (So would've EvilDave) If you read my post, you would notice that I said you had to isolate the door from the automatic opener. If you did this, you would have learned that the door no longer was 'balanced'. A garage door is supposed to balance at the midway point. If you couldn't hardly lift it...one would have to check the spring. Yours sounds like a 'torsion' spring. Some doors have one. Others have two. It can be very dangerous installing these new springs if you don't know what you are doing. (Not the installing...but the tightening of them to create the tension)

[Tricky]

Originally posted by Iamme
Hi Tricky. I WOULD have been right. (So would've EvilDave) If you read my post, you would notice that I said you had to isolate the door from the automatic opener. If you did this, you would have learned that the door no longer was 'balanced'. A garage door is supposed to balance at the midway point. If you couldn't hardly lift it...one would have to check the spring. Yours sounds like a 'torsion' spring. Some doors have one. Others have two. It can be very dangerous installing these new springs if you don't know what you are doing. (Not the installing...but the tightening of them to create the tension)
Well, you ar right that you would have discovered it by your method. Was I stupid because I couldn't figure this out? I like to think that I was just inexperienced. It is amazing how much better "common sense" works when supported by experience.

And yes, the guy who installed new torsion springs was very careful.

[Iamme]

gentlehorse---and to other posters. ALSO...if your vehicle is on a steep hill, or under great load (horse trailer?), the pressure in the linkage/gears can make it so you can't hardly shift out of park. I WAS going to suggest that by some fluke, when your wife shut off the truck, it just so happened that the trailer was pulling back on the truck, hill or no hill, as hard as it could. But...Your dilemna was even MORE simple/embarassing.

[evildave]

Well, the most important thing to being "handy" is not fearing to try fixing something on your own. If it's broken and headed for the trash heap, you can't do any worse trying to figure out what's wrong with it.

The second most important thing is safety.

If you worry over safety too much, you will never, ever become "handy". Of course, without a little safety consciousness, you could easily get a nickname, like "lefty".

Many "handy" jobs have inherent risk. Just make sure nobody has a camera on you when you try. It's bad enough to have witnesses.

Too many timid people, not enough handy ones.

No fear.

You're sure to break a lot of things before you fix anything. At least it's fun trying.

[gentlehorse]

Originally posted by Iamme
gentlehorse---and to other posters. ALSO...if your vehicle is on a steep hill, or under great load (horse trailer?), the pressure in the linkage/gears can make it so you can't hardly shift out of park. I WAS going to suggest that by some fluke, when your wife shut off the truck, it just so happened that the trailer was pulling back on the truck, hill or no hill, as hard as it could. But...Your dilemna was even MORE simple/embarassing.

Simple, yes-- Embarassing? At least I didn't have to call a wrecker to tow my truck to the shop. I applaud in my own general direction. :)

My mechanic noodled around under the dash for a moment, delineating possible causes of the problem, then said something along the lines of, "Hey, this thing has a solenoid." He then popped the cover from the fuse panel, changed a fuse, and the shifter was as good as new. Apparently, depressing the brake pedal completed a circuit which disengaged a locking mechanism on the shifter. I'd have never guessed "fuse" on that one.

Glory, the brake lights may very well have been affected by that particular fuse, so your brake light guess may have been correct although not the cause of the problem.

Iamme, I think your washing machine needs a new belt.

[Glory]

Originally posted by gentlehorse
Glory, the brake lights may very well have been affected by that particular fuse, so your brake light guess may have been correct although not the cause of the problem.

I missed the target but I hit the tree. An incompleted circuit between the break triggers and the gear shift was causing the problem.

I have to confess I had a simmilar problem once. Periodically, it would become impossible to get my car to shift out of park. The first time this happened my husband and I set to figuring out what wasn't working. He noted that the center break light was not functioning. We tried and tried to get it to work until finally it did and at that moment I was able to shift. I quickly surmised that there was circuit that needed to close when the break pedal was depressed which enabled the gear shift to move. No lights meant no shifting. We took the car to a shop filled with dread with thought of trying to find an intermitent electrical problem. Of course, the car wouldn't exhibit the problem for the mechanic. A friend of mine took a look, after the car had been pulling its trick every now and then for several days, and, as an aside, added some water to the battery. The problem has not reared its head since. It is one of the most bizzar coincidences I have ever seen. There is no logical reason that adding water to the battery should have solved or even addressed the problem but the problem has been gone ever since. It has been 8 years. Perhaps I should look at the fuses but I fugure if it ain't broke...

Glory

[jimlintott]

Now this is fun.

The lights. Check the neighbourhood. Check the breakers.

The water. Check to see that it is fully turned on. Check another faucet to attempt to isolate it to the single one. If both faucets are low then check the main valve for being fully opened. If these all pass the problem is outside my home.

The most common reason for cars not being able to shift from park is a failure in the brakelight circuit. All bulbs burnt (rare). Broken wiring, burnt fuse, bad switch. These can be intermittent which is why it works sometimes.

Computer fans. Open the case, turn it on and stop the fans with your finger or a pencil. When you stop the noisy one the noise goes away.

How about this one: My lawn mower won't start.

[gentlehorse]

Originally posted by jimlintott
How about this one: My lawn mower won't start.

Change air filter and plug. Fill gas tank. Adjust carb according to owner's manual. If it doesn't start, remove the gas cap. Stand back. Throw lit matches at it.

[jimlintott]

What would you first look for if your dryer was turning, but no heat came out?

Gas or electric? First I would check that it is set to a setting that should produce heat (eliminate user error). Then it's off to check the heater element. Pilot light out (gas)?


What would you first look for if you had lots of water in the bottom of your refrigerator...and you know you didn't dump over a jug of water, or no container leaked?

Is it plugged in? Did everything, including the frost in the freezer, melt?

What would you first look for if your clothes agitated in the washer, but then you found out thaqt the water would not spin out. It would not spin. ?

Close the lid. Many washers won't spin if the lid is open. It's possible that the switch that detects whether the lid is closed is broken?

[Glory]

What would you first look for if your clothes agitated in the washer, but then you found out thaqt the water would not spin out. It would not spin. ?

This may be less technical than you want but is the load properly balanced? In many washers unbalanced loads won't spin. Try moving the clothes around or remove them entirely and see if it will spin.

Glory

[welshdean]

What would you first look for if your clothes agitated in the washer, but then you found out thaqt the water would not spin out. It would not spin. ?


It happened to me! One of the babys socks, stuck in the wadjermacorllit!
The engineer took the piss out of me, drank one of my beers and didn't charge.
Mind you, I did give him a Stella!
Ooooh! It could be the brushes!



Not bad, but there is a much simpler way. (....) Place cookies in a container. Place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. In about a day the bread will be dry as a bone and the cookies will be moist and delicious. I don't know why but the cookies draw the moisture right of the bread.

Hope this helps, from The Last Word (New Scientist) (http://www.newscientist.com/lastword/article.jsp?id=lw265)


Question
Why does a biscuit that is left in the open overnight become soft by the morning but a baguette left out for the same length of time become so hard that one could knock someone out with it?

LORNA HALL , Bullion France

Answers
Biscuits contain much more sugar and salt than baguettes. The finely divided sugar and salt are hygroscopic and soak up moisture from the atmosphere--the osmotic pressure in a sweet biscuit is quite high. The dense texture of a biscuit helps maintain the moisture by capillary effects.

The baguette, on the other hand, contains little salt or sugar, and has a very open structure. The flour doesn't care if there's moisture around it or not. So, because of their different make-up, one attracts water, the other doesn't. Try a series of different biscuits, varying from very sweet, dense ones to light, fluffy sponge biscuits. The "overnight sogginess index" increases with density and sugar/salt content. I find that if I put both traditional Italian biscotti (not very sweet and fairly open-textured) and dense, sweet ginger biscuits in a sealed container, the biscotti go rock hard and the ginger biscuits end up very soft.

Chris Vernon , Kwinana Australia



A baguette dries out while a white sugar biscuit becomes soft because of the hygroscopicity of the white sugar in the biscuit. I researched this last year when entering a competition at the age of 13. We were asked to produce a project about whether cookery was a science.

The water vapour in the air is attracted to the sugar and this makes the biscuit softer. Baguettes however, have no sugar in them and therefore have nothing to attract the water vapour, which evaporates to leave the baguette hard.

When we performed the experiment we used three types of biscuit: one made from caster sugar, another from honey, with the last being the control which had no sweetener. The control lost 2·17 grams of water after being left outside overnight, and the honey lost 2·03 grams, but the caster sugar biscuit gained 1·23 grams. The honey biscuit lost water because the atmosphere had a lower concentration of water than the biscuit.

Tom Winch , Ely Cambridgeshire



Starch consists of about 20 per cent amylose and 80 per cent amylopectin. The key to bread becoming stale is amylose retrogradation. Naturally, loss of moisture is involved or it wouldn't dry out. However, bread can be prevented from losing moisture and still go stale. The linear amylopectin molecules in the starch grains which are separated by moisture in fresh bread, move closer together and become more ordered as the bread becomes stale making it stiffer.

The process is temperature dependent, with the rate fastest at just above freezing and slow below freezing. Studies show that bread stored at 7 °C (average fridge temperature) becomes stale at the same rate as bread stored at 30 °C. So putting bread in the fridge does not keep it fresher for longer.

Allie Taylor, London



The feature referred to in the question has a parallel in legal terms. Here there is a difference between cakes and biscuits for VAT purposes. This is important because cakes are subject to VAT, while bread is not. Now we have a new definition: a biscuit is something which goes soft when left out, whereas a cake goes hard. What the implications are for VAT on baguettes, I wouldn't like to imagine.

Richard Butlin, London

[jj]

Originally posted by Iamme
I can start by asking, "If your lights go out in your house, what would be the very first thing you would check. Then, what is the SECOND thing you would check?"


1) Where's my flashlight.
2) Are their lights at any of the neighbors?

If I find the flashlight and answer to 2) is "yes", then I cuss, because i'm going to have to ford all the boxes in the garage to get to the main panel while I may not be able to use the garage door opener. (what circuit is out? We don't know.)

(I live where short power outages are pretty common, hence the look outside. It's definately the best shot.)


Here is another: If the water comes out slow out of your kitchen faucet, what would you check first?

The faucet strainer. I used to have a well. :)
Then I'd see if the pump choked again.
Then see if it holds pressure, or the foot valve sticking? Again?

(We had a venturi pump, not an in-well, and it was, err, well, a bit old...)

[jj]

Originally posted by Chaos
Now, one question about the computer. If your computer started making a loud, droning noise quite like a lawnmower, or perhaps a propeller aircraft - what would you do? Any idea how what that could be and how to fix it?

Find out who put what in which fan, and hope it wasn't a cable caught in the CPU fan. IF any fan has a bad bearing, replace it, quickly.

[jj]

Originally posted by Glory
How do you get Play Do out of the rug?

What does it mean if the heater in your car stops working?

It will usually soften if you get it damp for a while. Then use some sparkling water to bring it up to the surface, and blot it off.

How do you mellow the taste of bitter coffee?

Buy better coffee...

How do you keep fresh baked cookies soft and moist?


Oh Kiiiiiiids! There's a cookie in the kitchen!


Glory

[jj]

Originally posted by Tricky
It really depends on your experience. Here is a good example:

My automatic garage door started making very loud noises and vibrating excessively when it was opening. Not having any experience with how these things worked, I had a hard time finding what was wrong. I finally found out what it was. Can you guess?

Spring broken/shot/slipped?

[jj]

Originally posted by Iamme
What would you first look for if your dryer was turning, but no heat came out?

Is the vent clear? Is this electric or gas drier?

What would you first look for if you had lots of water in the bottom of your refrigerator...and you know you didn't dump over a jug of water, or no container leaked?

Check to see if the drip pan/defrost pan drain is clogged.

What would you first look for if your clothes agitated in the washer, but then you found out thaqt the water would not spin out. It would not spin. ?

Several things it could be. Not sure which one is more common.

If you own a newer type high efficiency condensing furnace or boiler, and you turn up the thermostat and nothing happens? You check the fuses or breakers and they are on. You go to the basement and you hear this motor running, but nothing else happens. What could this be? (Typical problem for which furnace guys come out and make the pretty quick repair)
Ignitor died. Had it happen on an VHE5 rather too many times.

[Glory]

welshdean,

That's awsome! Thankyou so much for finding that. I am going to sound so smart the next time this comes up.

Glory

[Glory]

jj,

Sparkling water! I am going to try that.

Glory

[jj]

Originally posted by Glory
jj,

Sparkling water! I am going to try that.

Glory

Put a damp cloth on it for about 2 hours before that, to get it softened, though.

[Glory]

Originally posted by jj


Put a damp cloth on it for about 2 hours before that, to get it softened, though.

With pressure?

Glory

[eowyn]

Water not draining out of washing machine:
First I check that I haven't accidently hit the no-spin button, then I check the drain filter. Usually it is clogged with fluff.

[eowyn]

Here's another automobile related one for you:
We were driving along some winding roads, and went to a national park. Pulled up on a slope on the grassy area, the car stopped sort of funny, but the driver (me) ignored that and we spent an hour having lunch. Get back in and there is no drive. Engine operates fine, just no drive - No movement of vehicle. After being towed 300km to home, the problem is fixed when a pair of supposedly unrelated $11 items are replaced.

I'll give you some potential hints: Front wheel drive, mini-moke. Engine and Gearbox are a single unit. The driveshafts have cv-joints both ends, not the uni-joints.

[eowyn]

If the lights go out:
First thought- is it one light globe gone or all lights (always have more than one light on)
Second thought - Did I just do something unusual?
Third: Immediatly look at one of the multiple LED displays around the house (clock radios, standby light on Tv) to see if it is entire power or just the light circuit
While on the way to the front door, click all the light switches which is stupid but I do it anyway.
Go to front door and look for street lights
Get torch (which has a place where it lives all the time) and check the circuit breaker at the metre box.

[gentlehorse]

Originally posted by eowyn
If the lights go out:
First thought- is it one light globe gone or all lights (always have more than one light on)
Second thought - Did I just do something unusual?
Third: Immediatly look at one of the multiple LED displays around the house (clock radios, standby light on Tv) to see if it is entire power or just the light circuit
While on the way to the front door, click all the light switches which is stupid but I do it anyway.
Go to front door and look for street lights
Get torch (which has a place where it lives all the time) and check the circuit breaker at the metre box.

What ever happened to running out of the house naked, yelling, "The end has come!"?

[Iamme]

gentlehorse---No...just a 'slipping belt'. Try tightening the tension first. But...you MAY need a new belt.

Grumpy---An electric dryer.

[Iamme]

gentlehorse---I should have added that if the belt were slipping, you would hear a whirling sound. yet, no spin. Or, a spin that too easily stops under a heavy load of clothes. BUT...if you hear no sound, and it don't spin, it could be the lid switch is shot. (Washing machines require the lid to be closed during the spin cycle. The switch is activated, which then allows it to go ahead and spin.)

The best tool any do-it-yourselfer can own is a volt/ohms(resistance) meter.

New puzzle: Suppose you have tried every drain opener liquid known to man. Even sulphuric acid. You have tried using one of those cheap 'snakes' (sold at Home Depot, etc.)that you can auger out drains with. You have tried plunging. You have tried hose blasting. Can you think of one more really good thing you can use which is even overlooked by some masterplumbers and drain cleaners?

[jimmygun]

I live in the country so I am always aware that a power failure would mean no water from the well pump. The first sign of a major storm and we fill the bathtub up with water to facilitate the flushing of the toilet. We get our flashlights and check them out.

Now, as far as the first thing to do when the hydro goes off...check the neighbours' houses. If they are in the dark too then the second is to check the phones. If the phone is dead it usually means someone has hit a pole and taken out the hydro and phone services at the same time.

If it is winter, I have a supply of firewood on hand and if the house starts to cool I start a fire in one of two fireplaces in our house. We would be without a furnace fan but should get enough heat from the fireplace in the basement.

[Iamme]

jimlintott---Need to know if lawnmower just out-of-the blue, no longer wants to start, or, if it had been 'acting up', or if you were mowing something and you hit something and mower came to sudden stop and would no longer restart.

For the latter, lawnmower engines utilize a 'shear key' which allows this 'key' to absorb the inertial momentum of the impact to prevent engine parts from breaking. Replacing the shear key is easy for anyone who has ever taken off the bolt-on stuff off the top of an engine.

The unfortunate thing about diagnosing lawnmower engines is they only have one cylinder/one plug. When the slightest thing goes wrong, it won't even run TERRIBLE'. It just plain won't start.

It could be plug, gas related, clogged air cleaner, goofed up carb linkage, mis-timing, shear key, a tiny screw that fell off the choke and is hanging up under the valve (this happened to me once!), worn out engine/low compression (Test: turn mower on it's side and rotate blade by hand as fast as you can, WITH THE SPARK PLUG DISCONNECTED!) You must duct tape the Lawn mower handle and bar that you squeeze, to take brake pressure off the engine. Spin blade. if the blade does not want to 'kickback' during it's revolutions, you know the compression is less than ideal. You should detect noticable 'kickback'.) Also, the engines headbolts could have come loose over time. Tighten all these bolts. Don't worry about tightening order. As long as you tighten each one just a little bit at a time. Don't overkill though due to alloy metal can strip.

Or...save yourself the hassle and go to your local used lawnmower shop where the local work-out-of-his-garage has several used ones to choose from for $25-50.

[Mr. Skinny]

Originally posted by Iamme

New puzzle: Suppose you have tried every drain opener liquid known to man. Even sulphuric acid. You have tried using one of those cheap 'snakes' (sold at Home Depot, etc.)that you can auger out drains with. You have tried plunging. You have tried hose blasting. Can you think of one more really good thing you can use which is even overlooked by some masterplumbers and drain cleaners?
Usually I just take the trap off of the sink and flush it out, but I suspect the answer you may be looking for is: Make sure the vent line isn't plugged. Yes?

[jj]

Originally posted by Glory


With pressure?

Glory

***no***

Don't help it get squished any more into the carpet!

Just get it damp.

[Glory]

Originally posted by Iamme

New puzzle: Suppose you have tried every drain opener liquid known to man. Even sulphuric acid. You have tried using one of those cheap 'snakes' (sold at Home Depot, etc.)that you can auger out drains with. You have tried plunging. You have tried hose blasting. Can you think of one more really good thing you can use which is even overlooked by some masterplumbers and drain cleaners?

Plunger? Just a guess?

Glory

[dmarker]

Originally posted by jimlintott
Now this is fun.

The lights. Check the neighbourhood. Check the breakers.

The water. Check to see that it is fully turned on. Check another faucet to attempt to isolate it to the single one. If both faucets are low then check the main valve for being fully opened. If these all pass the problem is outside my home.

The most common reason for cars not being able to shift from park is a failure in the brakelight circuit. All bulbs burnt (rare). Broken wiring, burnt fuse, bad switch. These can be intermittent which is why it works sometimes.

Computer fans. Open the case, turn it on and stop the fans with your finger or a pencil. When you stop the noisy one the noise goes away.

How about this one: My lawn mower won't start.


Does it have fresh gas? If you leave gas in the mower for awhile, it refuses to start. All you have to do is drain the tank and put fresh gas in it.

[Tricky]

I'm getting confused here. Is this religion or is it philosophy?:confused:

[Mr. Skinny]

Originally posted by Tricky
I'm getting confused here. Is this religion or is it philosophy?:confused:
Not sure, but in honor of Jedi Knight (and before Crossbow can do it), I rate this thread 5 stars. :)

I'm a good do-it-yourselfer, so the questions here really have made me think. The responses have been great too.

[Iamme]

Mr. Skinny---No. I am talking really plugged here. A clogged vent will only reduce the speed of the draining action.

Glory---Didn't I already say that a plunger was used? No. That's not it.

Hint: it's not a tool. But the type of tool it is...er, you might call it a piece of equipment...is the name of something that most every household owns.

And you guys? Don't forget to either ask questions yourself (you know...like stuff you have learned from your line of work, and think not everyone else might know), to see if other people can solve it, and/or ask some of us posters what the answer is to some of the questions we raised. The solutions given just may save you money in the future, if you are at all handy.

[Iamme]

If someone punched a big hole right through a sheetrock wall (that's the type of wall in most houses today)...name some ways of fixing it.

A number of years ago, I punched a hole right through my wall when Michigan got beat on that Cordell Stuart 72 yards IN THE AIR (72 honkin yards!!!) hail Mary td pass to Michael Westbrooke...and Colorado beat Michigan on the last play of the game as time ran out...in Ann Arbor. Stewart and Westbrooke are both in the NFL now. I grinned, because i knew i could easily fix it...because that is what I do. College rentals is my 'game'.

[Mr. Skinny]

Originally posted by Iamme
[B]If someone punched a big hole right through a sheetrock wall (that's the type of wall in most houses today)...name some ways of fixing it.[B]
Usually you just feed in some kind of support (small pieces of wood, etc.) that you can screw in around the (interior) edges.
Then cut a patch of drywall (sheetrock) and screw it down to the overlap.

Cover seams with fiberglas drywall tape.

Apply two coats of mud. Sponge or sand between coats.

Apply primer to area.

Repaint.

alternatelly: You can also feed in a smaller-than-the-hole patch, attached to a wire or other holder........pull it tight inside the hole....secure it, then fill the (small) hole with drywall mud.

[homunculus]

If your lights go out in your house, what would be the very first thing you would check.

Trip switches. Sometimes if there is a power surge or (say) a plug is overloaded, one of these switches might have tripped out, cutting off the lights, but not necessarily anything else. Stuff in your house tends to be connected to a number of different circuits, you see. In most cases this will solve the problem.

Then, what is the SECOND thing you would check?"

Assuming ALL the lights have gone out (which your wording does seem to suggest) I would have to assume an electrical fault, and check in the phone book for an electrician. I would probably check all the bulbs, too, but it wouldn't be very likely for them all to pop at the same time (it's the trip switches which are supposed to stop stuff like that from hapenning).

Paul.

[Iamme]

Hi Glory. Silly me. You are correct about the washing machine spin cycle. That SHOULD be the first thing you check. :o

[Iamme]

Mr. Skinny hit on a good method to repair a hole in sheetrock. I will add more to the story to help any of you out who feel daring.

Cut out all the damage. Reach your hand in the hole and feel that you are cutting out all the damage as more often that not, MORE sheetrock breaks off on the inside where you can't see it, than is visible from the outside.

Cut your new larger hole rectangular shaped. The reason for this is if you cut it square, and you cut a pice of plywood to slip in behind it, that the plywood won't be much bigger than the sheetrock 'cut-out'...and you WANT it to be. Cut it rectangular.

Now, cut the plywood 'backer' you plan on using to the width of the longest rectangular dimension in the sheetrock 'cut-out' you made. Then, cut the length of the plywood longer than the longest length of the sheetrock cut out.

Now, drill a hole in the middle of the plywood and run a screw into it some, and grab the screw head with a vice-grips pliers.

Now, while holding it with the vice grips, slip the plywood through the sheetrock cut-out and turn the plywood 90 degrees so that all four edges are behind the sheetrock.

Now, drill holes through the sheetrock into your plywood, while holding onto it with the vice-grips still. Then run-in sheetrock screws. Undo your vice-grips. Voilla. If you want, you could butter up the edge of the plywood before you stuck it through the wall, with an adhesive as well, so this would sandwich against the sheetrock.

Now, cut a piece of sheetrock to fit over the plywood and screw it on. (Usually the sheetrock is 1/2 inch thick)

It also is a good idea to have the perimeter of the painted/textured sheetrock sanded down, say 6-8 inches out around the perimeter, so that when you put tape and mud around it, as Mr. Skinny said, that the job will finish up more flush, when you are done.

Finally, IF you have 'orange peel' texture (the most common, besides a sand texture finish), you can buy this stuff in a spray can. (At a Home Depot type place). It will come out a near-perfect match. (When I do these jopbs, you can't tell where it was, even if I tell someone the general area to look. The oil based spray texture is better than the water based. Believe me. IF you have sand texture...don't overkill sand additive in the paint. Apply it in the primer coat. Then apply up to 3-4 coats of top coat paint, so that the new sharp-edged sand blends more into the existing paint which I'm sure has been painted more than once. As a trick, you can lightly sand over the sand texture first, before topcoating, if that ias what you think would best simulate the texture of your existing texture.

Wow. What an 'epistle',. eh. But I hope this saves some of you some money. Sheetrock repair/texture guys don't come cheap!

[jimlintott]

My lawn mower won't start.

This was a little experiment to see if people would influence each other and get off track without asking the simple questions first.

The real reason my lawn mower wouldn't start:

It wasn't plugged in. Yes, it's electric.

Sorry :D

Although all the tips for a gas mower would have worked.

[Iamme]

Hi jj---Your signature quote about duct tape: Sometimes electricians tape is better to use! Electricians tape stretches and is impervious to water and more pressure resistant. It's also less wide and this can work to your advantage when doing curved objects. It tolerates heat better. If your radiator hose springs a leak, for example...use electricians tape. Also, for drain pipe leaks...or temporary 'repairs' of say a crack in some flue pipe or something, that doesn't get TOO hot. Also, if a plug-end is weakening at the wire that enters the plug-end, you can wind wraps of electicians tape around the plug and wire to effectively splint the two together fo a pretty good permanent fix.

[jimlintott]

Here's another automobile related one for you:
We were driving along some winding roads, and went to a national park. Pulled up on a slope on the grassy area, the car stopped sort of funny, but the driver (me) ignored that and we spent an hour having lunch. Get back in and there is no drive. Engine operates fine, just no drive - No movement of vehicle. After being towed 300km to home, the problem is fixed when a pair of supposedly unrelated $11 items are replaced.

I'll give you some potential hints: Front wheel drive, mini-moke. Engine and Gearbox are a single unit. The driveshafts have cv-joints both ends, not the uni-joints.

This one has my interest. My wild guess is something broken on the shift linkage. This could apply to either a standard or an automatic. Which is it? Many automatics use cables to select gears which could break or unattach themselves.

So could you select a gear? Does the shifter have no feel or resistance to it? The $11 makes me think it is unlikely to be a failed CV joint.

So what was it?

[Iamme]

jimlintott---I can stand to learn more about newer cars, actually. But for only $11 ..each?, it can't be anything but the most minor of something. CV joint replacement I believe is like a $2-300 job. I suspect either a vacuum switch or electrical relay. i can't NAME the part, but what could be 'major' for only $11. If you went to a garage, they'd probably charge you $5 for some specialty BOLT. Can you give us another hint on what the total repair cost was, including labor?:D

[Iamme]

jimlintott---Just read your post about the lawnmower. You dirty rat you! Instead of pondering/posting my big reply, I could have been outside...mowing my lawn!:D

[jimlintott]

Actually that car question was posted by eowyn. As I said, the $11 makes it unlikely to be CV joints. You are right that that it is a fairly expensive repair job. My guess is some clip or bracket in the shift linkage making it so that no gear could be selected.

I hope he comes back and tells us the answer.

[Iamme]

....and I second the motion!

We can all learn some things here. It may save us money ourSELVES some time.

Now...don't forget to keep trying to solve what other equipment, device or product can be used to attempt to clean out a clogged drain.:D

[jj]

Originally posted by Iamme
Hi jj---Your signature quote about duct tape: Sometimes electricians tape is better to use! Electricians tape stretches and is impervious to water and more pressure resistant. It's also less wide and this can work to your advantage when doing curved objects. It tolerates heat better. If your radiator hose springs a leak, for example...use electricians tape. Also, for drain pipe leaks...or temporary 'repairs' of say a crack in some flue pipe or something, that doesn't get TOO hot. Also, if a plug-end is weakening at the wire that enters the plug-end, you can wind wraps of electicians tape around the plug and wire to effectively splint the two together fo a pretty good permanent fix.

Oh, I stock duct tape, electricians tape, the good rubber self-bonding electrical tape, mylar tape, and even a stretch of metal tape in the car (for exhaust systems).

:D

Hm, if you are you, does that mean that I am what I am?:cool:

[Iamme]

jj---YES...it DOES!

Not, just be thankful that you are 'notyou' (actual username).:wink8:

[Iamme]

OOps...it was supposed to see 'now', instead of 'not'.

[eowyn]

Jimlitot and Lamme

The $11 items were engine mounts.

Over winding roads to the national park, the engine had moved a bit due to broken engine mounts. Parking on a slope, the engine must have moved that little bit more. Enough to pull the inside bit of the inner CV joint out so that it was no longer connected. Differential then spins the disconnected output. so no drive.

Regards
eowyn (btw i'm a she!)

[jimlintott]

Two broken engine mounts! Consider yourselves lucky to have not had an accident.

A broken engine mount often feels like a transmission problem or slipping clutch. Shuddering and lurching.

[Iamme]

If you heard a bed squeeking in the apartment above yours, what would you ......:D ...tell your children?

[Glory]

Originally posted by Iamme
If you heard a bed squeeking in the apartment above yours, what would you ......:D ...tell your children?

Two little monkey's jumping on the bed.
One fell off and cracked his head.
Took 'em to the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

I'd tell her that the people up stairs were loving each other and that that can be noisy.

Glory

[Iamme]

Here is an actual scenario that happened. We were remodeling a house. The chimney bricks were no longer needed. One of the carpenters started busting it out, from below, with a sledge hammer. He got it all busted out except for what was lodged up in the attic. The bricks through the roof had been removed years ago and the area was roofed over. This particular roof area has no attic space to enable you to get up there and whack down on the chiney brick, to drive it down and out. The brick HAS to come out, for safety reasons.

Can you come up with a way to get rid of the chimney (brick)?

Whover comes up with the solution first, is a genius...like me. (I'm the one that got it out, to my bosses amazement. he watched.) :D

[Iamme]

Here's another one: You just moved your mobile home 20 miles. You then discover you forgot your level. You check with your neighbors and nobody has a level so that you can level your trailer.

Can you think of anything else you or your neighbors might have that could allow you to level your trailer?

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Here's another one: Your toilet just plugged up. It swirls around and goes down real slow. You don't have a plunger. What can you try? (No, you don't have to try to make a makeshift plunger, unless of course you can come up with a good idea for one.) Maybe this one's kind of dumb...but I don't think my mother would have the answer.:D

[Iamme]

Here is a good one just for you to test your diagnostic skills on: Suppose you DON'T understand refrigeration. Be honest here. I would like to hear from somebody who honestly does not understand how a refrigerator workis. O.k.

Your freezer is all frosted up inside. You know that you own a 'frostless' model. It didn't USED to have frost. Now it does. All the time. It's getting worse. You ALSO know, and can remember that old refrigerators WEREN'T frostless. So, you can start a reasoning process here about how new ones could be frostless and old ones weren't. Can you explain to me what your thinking would go like in trying to figure out what could be wrong?

(Yes, it's possible to get on the right track if you are good at talking things out, and only have a rudimentary knowledge of why there is frost.)

[wayrad]

Originally posted by Iamme
Here's another one: You just moved your mobile home 20 miles. You then discover you forgot your level. You check with your neighbors and nobody has a level so that you can level your trailer.

Can you think of anything else you or your neighbors might have that could allow you to level your trailer?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's another one: Your toilet just plugged up. It swirls around and goes down real slow. You don't have a plunger. What can you try? (No, you don't have to try to make a makeshift plunger, unless of course you can come up with a good idea for one.) Maybe this one's kind of dumb...but I don't think my mother would have the answer.:D 1) A ball.
2) A bucket of hot water.

[Iamme]

Wayrad---I'll give you #2. Hot water unnecessary.

For #1...good thinking. But now, I'll throw you a curve ball. All the floors are in deep carpeting. (Forget putting the ball on countertops. I carpeted those as well.:D No, just kidding. But countertops aren't in every room, front to back, and sideways.) If none of you know the answer to what I am looking for, you will have to remember the answer when it is given, as it is a prize winner.

The dishwasher is leaking out onto the floor. Name two things you'd look for first.

The garbage disposer is humming, but not spinning. Tell me what the problem ISN'T...and what it is, most likely.

If the water goes slow down the tub drain but is fine in all the other drains...can you think why THIS drain is plugged and not the others? Then, what might you try to do about it, if you know the first half of the question

[wayrad]

Originally posted by Iamme
Wayrad---I'll give you #2. Hot water unnecessary.

For #1...good thinking. But now, I'll throw you a curve ball. All the floors are in deep carpeting. (Forget putting the ball on countertops. I carpeted those as well.:D No, just kidding. But countertops aren't in every room, front to back, and sideways.) Right, but hot can't hurt. My mother always used cold, though.

Sorry, I already leveled the thing while you were looking for the carpet tacks. But if I had not had a ball, I would have borrowed the neighbors' hose and held (or fastened) the ends upright at two points I wanted to make horizontal, then tried filling it with water. When I got them level, it would be possible to have the hose brimfull at both ends.

[Glory]

Originally posted by wayrad
Right, but hot can't hurt. My mother always used cold, though.

Sorry, I already leveled the thing while you were looking for the carpet tacks. But if I had not had a ball, I would have borrowed the neighbors' hose and held (or fastened) the ends upright at two points I wanted to make horizontal, then tried filling it with water. When I got them level, it would be possible to have the hose brimfull at both ends.

I would have used a transparent cup of water with a hrizontal stripe on the side but it's the same principle. Of course, I happen to own such cups so I wouldn't have to go and procure one which would have been just as difficult as obtaining a level.

Glory

[Iamme]

wayrad---YES...on the garden hose. That IS a neat trick. And you can't get any more accurate than this. On construction sites that I have been on, they have used a 'water level', similarly.

[Bluegill]

Originally posted by Tricky

Well, you ar right that you would have discovered it by your method. Was I stupid because I couldn't figure this out? I like to think that I was just inexperienced. It is amazing how much better "common sense" works when supported by experience.

And yes, the guy who installed new torsion springs was very careful.

I have an uncle who badly mangled one of his hands when one of those springs snapped on him. They managed to put his hand back together, but I don't think he ever got full use of it back.

[Tricky]

Originally posted by Iamme
Here's another one: You just moved your mobile home 20 miles. You then discover you forgot your level. You check with your neighbors and nobody has a level so that you can level your trailer.

Can you think of anything else you or your neighbors might have that could allow you to level your trailer?

A straight edge and a pendulum should work. (a fishing weight on a string will do for a pendulum). use the straight edge to project (extend) the corner of the trailer until it touches the ground. Mark the spot. Then hang the pendelum off of that corner and see where it lies relative to the marked spot. Adjust the level of the trailer until the pendulem exactly matches the marked spot. Repeat for all four corners.