The Unofficial "Ask a Stupid Question" Thread

My B5 Audi S4 from the 90s counts in hundreds on the tach as well.

Of course being German, they wanted to be precise: 1/min x 100
s-l1200.jpg
 
dDUBb said:
It's not a division symbol .. just the same as the km/h on the above image does not require the driver to divide the kilometers by the number of hours ( which is always 1 .. ) to figure out vehicle speed. 🤔
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km/h translates to Kilometers per hour so wouldn’t that interpretation make the tach rpm per 100? 🤔

Furthermore that commie gobbledygook could just as easily be written as kmph, the slash replaces the fourth character that already exists, so they’re not even saving ink!

While on the subject, where we at with gauges vs gages? :rofl:
 
I read the slash as 'per' so it reads for me. But I'm weird. :)
 
Correct .. the / indicates a unit designation.
 
Grog6 said:
Related stupid observation: WTF is an "aged" arp bolt, and why would it be worth an extra 200 bux?
It screams of "we put it in grandmas car for 6 months, so it's pre aged" :O I mean really?
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I thought the "Custom age 625+" ARP stuff is marketing speak for a new alloy
Predecessors being "ARP2000" and "ARP L19"
 
I cannot imagine aging a bolt would improve anything. Now, soaking it under LN2 for a few hours, after baking it in an oven at 300 degrees, will make bolts stronger. It removes an hydrogen, and forces a molecular rearrangement.But you have to warm it back up very slowly to avoid adding new ones.


I have a differen't stupid question; I have an old oxyacetlyene torch setup that was given to me, and I've heard the old setups are dangerous. this one is in unknown condition, and it's from at latest the 60's. I've heard the acetylene tanks are potentially explosive. Is there any danger to transporting the tanks to the welding shop to be inspected? They refill tanks.
and I have to replace the hoses. Would the regulators still be good after 20 years of no use?
 
Grog6 said:
I cannot imagine aging a bolt would improve anything. Now, soaking it under LN2 for a few hours, after baking it in an oven at 300 degrees, will make bolts stronger. It removes an hydrogen, and forces a molecular rearrangement.But you have to warm it back up very slowly to avoid adding new ones.


I have a differen't stupid question; I have an old oxyacetlyene torch setup that was given to me, and I've heard the old setups are dangerous. this one is in unknown condition, and it's from at latest the 60's. I've heard the acetylene tanks are potentially explosive. Is there any danger to transporting the tanks to the welding shop to be inspected? They refill tanks.
and I have to replace the hoses. Would the regulators still be good after 20 years of no usei
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1) if there was a hairline leak in the bottle, it's probably empty after 20 hrs of no use.

2) picture of a bottle that been in use for 100+ years

3) only way to be sure is to wave a flame aroj d the bottle. You'll know soon enough if there's a leak. Then it won't matter
 
Grog6 said:
I have a differen't stupid question; I have an old oxyacetlyene torch setup that was given to me, and I've heard the old setups are dangerous. this one is in unknown condition, and it's from at latest the 60's. I've heard the acetylene tanks are potentially explosive. Is there any danger to transporting the tanks to the welding shop to be inspected? They refill tanks.
and I have to replace the hoses. Would the regulators still be good after 20 years of no use?
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Oxygen is far more dangerous. Oil on the regulator threads can cause spontaneous explosion. Acetylene not so much - its much more explosive if you have a leaky bottle inside of a container ( like the inside of your car or truck tool box ) .. usually the bottles just catch on fire, but eventually they will explode - I've seen tanks shoot up and explode 60 feet in the air, like a firework .. raining down asbestos. The tank farm at my training center lit up in 2017, all we heard were a couple booms and then the fire alarm went off; the firemen wouldn't even enter the building until the next day.

I have two Acetylene tanks in the back of my work truck - if they are secured, they are OK to transport, as long as you don't drive a truck that requires going through a highway inspection station .. then you need DOT papers and hazard signs. As long as the regulators do not leak and are clean ( free of oil ) ..they should be OK if still working. Definately replace the hoses.

gunn said:
3) only way to be sure is to wave a flame aroj d the bottle. You'll know soon enough if there's a leak. Then it won't matter
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Do NOT do this. It happened to me on accident - the hose attached to the torch handle was loose and leaking on an Acetylene setup I was using .. the gas filled the area surrounding me and when my flame hit the cloud I was engulfed in the fireball ( burned off my eyebrows and facial hair ) and then flames started shooting out of the leaky hose, giving me a 3rd degree burn on my forearm. I've seen flames at the bottle fitting, it may be possible to shut the tank off but best to remove to a safer area.

Acetylene has a distinct smell just like natural gas does. Use your nose or soapy water to check for leaks.
 
dDUBb said:
Oxygen is far more dangerous. Oil on the regulator threads can cause spontaneous explosion. Acetylene not so much - its much more explosive if you have a leaky bottle inside of a container ( like the inside of your car or truck tool box ) .. usually the bottles just catch on fire, but eventually they will explode - I've seen tanks shoot up and explode 60 feet in the air, like a firework .. raining down asbestos. The tank farm at my training center lit up in 2017, all we heard were a couple booms and then the fire alarm went off; the firemen wouldn't even enter the building until the next day.

I have two Acetylene tanks in the back of my work truck - if they are secured, they are OK to transport, as long as you don't drive a truck that requires going through a highway inspection station .. then you need DOT papers and hazard signs. As long as the regulators do not leak and are clean ( free of oil ) ..they should be OK if still working. Definately replace the hoses.



Do NOT do this. It happened to me on accident - the hose attached to the torch handle was loose and leaking on an Acetylene setup I was using .. the gas filled the area surrounding me and when my flame hit the cloud I was engulfed in the fireball ( burned off my eyebrows and facial hair ) and then flames started shooting out of the leaky hose, giving me a 3rd degree burn on my forearm. I've seen flames at the bottle fitting, it may be possible to shut the tank off but best to remove to a safer area.

Acetylene has a distinct smell just like natural gas does. Use your nose or soapy water to check for leaks.
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I should have used a happy face and then a skull to convey that this is a bad idea
 
I'm not waving a flame around to find a fuel leak, lol. Besides, I have rocket fuel ingredients in that shop. They're in a flammables cabinet, but setting the garage on fire isn't in the plan, lol. You hear all kinds of old wives tales around things. If Dan transports tanks, I won't worry past the normal hazards. I've seen an o2 tank get dropped off a truck, it went just like the mythbusters episode, except for one small detail. Like Dan said, grease is flammable in concentrated O2. so when the tank went thru the quench tank, and the block wall behind it, into the auto shop class, everything burst into flame! It was Spectacular; we all ended up running for our lives, when the oxy dissipated in a few minutes, the fires mostly went out. We put the rest out just before the fire department got there. Foam cushions,Duct tape, and electrical tape all burn in o2, lol. I usually helped unload tanks, even tho I was in electronics, due to my size. So I luckily was standing behind where it flew from, in the truck bed. I'm still not sure how it happened, I was moving another tank. I heard, "Oh shit!" then chaos, lol. We ended up spending an hour chatting up the cosmetology department. :) I got more dates than I could believe; they saw me walking back in with a fire extinguisher, and that's all it took. Firemen probably get laid a lot more than engineering students, lol.
 
New question:

Does anyone know why Ford decided to eliminate the drain plug on the torque converter of later 4R70W transmissions?

Just curious what their rationale was... I can't imagine it was a huge cost savings.

I could speculate...
  • Flush machines became more common, and draining of the torque converter was no longer considered necessary and/or was considered time consuming
  • The plug actually negatively affects fluid flow inside the unit
  • The plug may cause leaks
  • ...
 
That's just the thing; you can't drain the fluid from the tc. if you pull a line and do it that way, it empties the pan, then nothing flows. it goes from the pump to the tc, only a part goes thru the cooler line. In the vb kits they have you drill a hole to increase flow, but it does not drain the tc. used to Alan sold that as an option. But it has to be done before balancing.
 
...to add to my question above, if I think about it, there could have been a sizable cost savings. Consider the large production numbers of these transmission multiplied by whatever it costs to put a hole into a torque converter.

Still, I think there must have been a reason more related to engineering and/or servicing.
 
Grog6 said:
That's just the thing; you can't drain the fluid from the tc. if you pull a line and do it that way, it empties the pan, then nothing flows. it goes from the pump to the tc, only a part goes thru the cooler line.
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So...what is the complete routing of the fluid?

I was under the assumption that if you pull a cooler line, run the engine while a helper pours fresh fluid into the dipstick tube, do this until the color of fluid coming out looks fresh, you get more or less all of the old fluid out (?).
 
You could do that.only about 10% of the fluid passes thu the tc, so refilling the pan, while draining it out the cooler line is about the best you can do. It's almost impossible to get the fluid out of a loose cooler; there are a couple in my garage, I've tried to drain.dirtyd0g used to cut them open to clean them out. but he serviced TC's.
Probably the best you can do with no drain plug is to drop the pan, drop the vb, and then after refilling it, take it to the shop have it put on one of the machines, and circulating new fluid. I've never looked into adding a drain plug to a TC, nor have I read of anyone having done that.
 
Anyone have good luck with any plastic glue/ silicone/adhesive? I tried a hot glue gun but the compression busted the glue loose. Is therea silicone that might be better? Basically the lip on these tabs are 1/8" too far from the base of the center cap. IMG_20240122_152840512.jpg
 
Hot melt only seems to stick to plastic. Almost any rtv should stick that in, just clean the parts with 90% rubbing alcohol. and do it when the wheel is warm. Driving to the store will warm the wheel from the brakes. protip; I put a pull string behind stuff like that, just in case you ever need to remove it.glue it down to the wheel unobtrusively, and you can peel it up, pull the string out, and remove the cap.
 
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I’d probably go with a two part epoxy, maybe even jb weld
 
I'm sure someone down the years has done this: has anyone installed a dual din stereo in our dash? Lazarus needs a stereo, and there's an alpine 670 dual din unit that has all the features I want, for 1000 bux less the the one that will go in a single din. Lazarus had a warning panel, since replaced with a wideband. I'll figure out somewhere else to put it. will that give me enough room for a double din there?
 
I remember someone did it over at TSTSNBN but it did involve some cutting to the bezel, and then they refinished it. :gotsearch:

Joe
 
Grog6 said:
I'm sure someone down the years has done this: has anyone installed a dual din stereo in our dash? Lazarus needs a stereo, and there's an alpine 670 dual din unit that has all the features I want, for 1000 bux less the the one that will go in a single din. Lazarus had a warning panel, since replaced with a wideband. I'll figure out somewhere else to put it. will that give me enough room for a double din there?
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Like this?



20220517_180939.jpg
 
I was going to go one space lower, I'd like to leave the satc unit where it is, and use the radio space and the cubby space. That looks good, tho, so even if I cant do what I want, it will go in there, lol. I've put stereo's everywhere over the years. And soldered razor blades to them, back in the old days. You take the old school double edged razor blades, fold them into a v, and solder them across the back of the deck. :) When some asshole reaches up behind the dash, and grabs the radio, he's easily identifiable to the police. I sold that as a service to my car stereo customers. The most common comment I got from customers, was "how do you get blood out of upholstery?" :rofl: I sent them to an upholstery shop we dealt with to get their cars cleaned at a discount, lol.
 
Grogs insane thought of the day: Is there any reason I cant pop the fuel line apart in front of the filter, and hook up another fuel pump, and pump the bad gas out of the red car that way? I can keep the pump electrics from setting the gas on fire; I've worked with ether.
 
Technically yes. An inline pump should do the job just fine. Only question would be whether the factory pump would let it pass through.

You could just stick an inline pump to the end of a long hose and siphon it out of from the filler neck.
 
That's plan b. I'm going to try to pump thru because it would make it a little easier, but I should be able to stuff hose in there. I think it has to be small, there's an anti siphon block in the filler tube. I already found that. :)
 
Why not jumper a battery to the in tank pump? If it's not working just give the tank a smack from underneath, the jolt sometimes gets them going.
 
I can't find a set of wires to run it. I've blindly probed the connector at the inertia switch, and can't find them. Got a pagenumber for the pinout of that connector? I've looked at the evtm, and it there are a pin out of c436 I'll be damned if I can find it. I don't want to apply a 12 car cattery to a random set of wires that run into the gas tank. :)
 
Grog6 said:
I can't find a set of wires to run it. I've blindly probed the connector at the inertia switch, and can't find them. Got a pagenumber for the pinout of that connector? I've looked at the evtm, and it there are a pin out of c436 I'll be damned if I can find it. I don't want to apply a 12 car cattery to a random set of wires that run into the gas tank. :)
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You could jumper right at the inertia switch, the green/yellow wire is the one that goes directly to the pump, and just ground the battery to chassis. There’s also a inline connector right beside the tank tucked into the torque box on the left side that goes to the pump, same thing green/yellow to pump, black should be the shared ground
 
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