What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do

[Xeno]

On 6/11/2017 2:28 PM, clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

On Sun, 05 Nov 2017 19:58:14 -0500, "Steve W." <csr684@NOTyahoo.com
wrote:

Xeno wrote:
On 6/11/2017 9:13 AM, clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:
On Sun, 5 Nov 2017 19:56:38 +1100, Xeno <xenolith@optusnet.com.au
wrote:

On 5/11/2017 3:15 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 11/4/2017 9:32 PM, RS Wood wrote:
We were talking about timing belts inside car engines.

The problem with timing belts on some engines is when they break, the
pistons can contact the valves, which is the dumbest bit of engineering I
have ever seen in my life.
A belt is a belt. The point I was trying to make, albeit awkwardly, was
visual inspection of the belt tells you nothing in most cases. You
replace the thing after N miles based on the mean time to failure. If
you have a timing belt that fails before that and an interference engine
you can plan on replacing valves too. There are many things on an
automobile that give you hints they should be replaced; timing belts
just break.

Timing chains used to be less dependable but the newer ones are greatly
improved. I'm happy my Toyota has a chain. I haven't researched it but I
do believe some manufacturers are going back to chains. Belts are
cheaper but pissed off customers aren't.
I have Toyotas precisely because they have a chain.
Some do, some don't. (perhaps today they all do - not sure)

The ones I buy sure do! ;-)


Chains don't mean a lot when they drop them down to bicycle sizes with
small pins. Things stretch like cheap rope.
Ever get involved with the two-chain 2.6 Chrysler MitsoShitty "hemi"
4? About 6 feet of chain that stretched like a cheap underwear
elastic.

The go with any Mitsubishi timing chain system was to use *only*
Mitsubishi genuine spares. None of the aftermarket crap was up to spec.

--

Xeno

 

[Frank]

On Sat, 04 Nov 2017 02:42:59 +0000, RS Wood wrote:

What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have
never done?

Mine are, in this order of "I wish I could do it" order 1. painting 2.
alignment 3. replace/rebuild engine 4. clutch replacement 5. tire
mounting and balancing 6. timing belt 7. head gasket and vcg

I've done electrical, brakes, shocks, cooling systems, alternators,
ujoints, pitman/idler arms & tie-rod ends and ball joints, tuneups,
emissions hoses and sensors, exhaust, electrical components, fuel pumps,
and fluids, but not the six things above.

What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have
never done?

I've never painted a car. I suppose some day I'll give rebuilding an
automatic transmission a shot, but I've been lucky so far.

I've done things ring and bearing jobs but everything is holding up
better nowadays.

 

[Xeno]

On 5/11/2017 8:19 AM, RS Wood wrote:

clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

I almost always ELIMINATE the friction by jackin the weight off the
tire. I'm too "thick" to fit under the car with the wheels on the gr
turn the tie-rod sleeves.

I don't understand how it would work to lift the tire off the ground, so I
assume you just remove some of the weight off the tire.

But isn't the alignment spec with the tires weighted with full load?

Normal load, not full load.

How can you do a proper alignment if you don't load the suspension?

Do you (a) load, (b) measure, (c) unload, (d) adjust, (e) load (f) measure?

(Of course I know all about loading for a driver and I know all about the
BMW-style loading to "normal" conditions which is defined by BMW as a
distance from the centerline of the hubcap to the middle of the fender
flare and which typically requires about five hundred pounds spread out
evenly - but I'm just talking about the generic loading of the suspension
here with a full tank and no people in the car.)

You ask the customer how they use the vehicle and adjust loading
accordingly. Load will alter camber readings hence also toe. Set the
vehicle up with the load the owner normally places in it and you wont go
wrong.

--

Xeno

 

[Xeno]

On 5/11/2017 8:19 AM, RS Wood wrote:

The Real Bev wrote:

Sounds like the Ford dealership jerk who replaced the starter on the 69
LTD. One loose bolt, one dropped on top of the starter and one
completely missing. He was partially right, it ran for a couple of
years afterward.

I can't count the number of times I've seen someone use a screwdriver as a
prybar on, say, plastic twist-off hubcaps, or who used a pair of pliers
instead of a socket, or who used an adjustable wrench instead of a socket.

The only time I use a screwdriver, is as a screwdriver.
The only time I use pliers on hex nuts is when simply holding down one end.
The only time I use an adjustable wrench is ... well ... almost never.

(I can't imagine what an adjustable wrench does that the properly sized
wrench doesn't do, unless you're climbing a lighthouse tower or something
where you just can't come down to get the right tool for the bolt.)

You haven't worked on earthmoving machinery, that much is clear.

Now vise grips. They're useful. But for different reasons.

But the point is that many mechanics use the fastest method.
Not the right method.

Hence, that's why I think we always do a better job at home.

--

Xeno

 

[Xeno]

On 5/11/2017 8:19 AM, RS Wood wrote:

clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

They sure make cars a lot better - experience and technology have
made a lot of difference. ( Remember, in 1959, the automobile, as an
object, was not as old as a 1959 car is today!!!!

I wonder if Japan had something to do with Detroit making cars better?

The reason just about anything else you buy today is NOT better is
everyone wants it CHEAPER and expects to upgrade long before anything
with any QUALITY would require replacement. Everything is changing SO
FAST.

That's what I don't get.

Why is everything but cars and computers cheaper and less reliable?

Cars are not cheaper but more reliable.
Computers are both cheaper and more reliable.

I understand the magic of computers getting more reliable but what's the
magic in cars getting more reliable?

Getting rid of regular maintenance and tuneups seems to have done the trick.

--

Xeno

 

[Xeno]

On 5/11/2017 8:19 AM, RS Wood wrote:

clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

Oh? used to be the rings and bearings, oil pump, lifters, and half
the other moving parts in an engine required replacement within 60,000
miles.

I hear you that engines used to last only about 100K miles in those days,
but is that true.

Are engines really far more reliable today?
Why?

Is it because they're mostly Japanese?

And the fuel and ignition system parts in less than half that.

I do agree that PCV valves and condensers and points and carbs required
maintenance basically yearly or every two years at the longest.

Now, they're "almost" lifetime parts because they don't exist.

The fuel system *still exists*. It just no longer looks like a carburetor.

Even timing CHAINS and GEARS often required replacement in roughly
that time frame. I replaced LOTS of GM timing sprockets long before
60,000 miles - and that was a lot more work than replacing a timing
belt.

I'll agree with you that engines seem more reliable today than in
yesteryear.

But why?

Technology, pure and simple. And competition from OS makes.

What's the magic that makes a 150K-mile engine into a 300K-mile engine?

The timing chains on Mitsubishi (Chrysler) 2.6 engines seldom made
100,000 km (60,000 miles) if you followed the "normal" oil change
schedule - and they were a LOT of work to change.

They were underrated for the task. It's something that immediately came
to my notice the first time I did a timing chain change on one.

That's bad.
I have never replaced a timing belt or a timing chain.
And I've gone well over 150K miles on cars with chains.

A decently rated timing chain should be good for 200k miles at the
least. That would see most engines out.

They are a LOT easier to access than they used to be on many
engines. Transverse engines make EVERYTHING harder to change - even
on an old Mini.

I never had a FWD car in my life.
Nor a 4WD.

I've had all sorts. I prefer FWD.

Luckily, 2WD RWD cars spread out the "stuff" in manageable ways.

There are a lot of engines that I can change a timing belt on in less
than 2 hours - even on my driveway.

I don't even do an oil change in 2 hours. I take my sweet time.

I think for a home mechanic, time only matters when the car is still on
blocks on Monday morning when you have to get to work (if you still work).

Otherwise, time isn't the issue.

I consider my *time* as being valuable and I have many better things to
do with it than work on servicing my own car.

--

Xeno

 

[rbowman]

On 11/5/2017 7:32 PM, clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

As for handling - that depends what you want. Rallying competitively
for 3 years with a front wheel drive Renault 12, and having owned and
driven a "classic" mini as my first car, and driving a 204 Peugeot
estate during my time in Africa - I LIKE front wheel drive handling.
It's definitely DIFFERENT than rear drive - but the low powered
Renault beat out a LOT of bigger and more powerful rear drive cars -
Datsuns, Celicas, BMWs, MGs, "Yank Tanks", Beetles, and Porsches.

That was my experience. Coming from RWD experience I had to learn how to
drive FWD. Traction control and stability control is raining on my
parade though and I can't turn them off. Many RWD cars now have the same
stuff and if you can't turn it off I doubt you can steer by throttle
either. It's for the children...

 

[Xeno]

On 5/11/2017 8:31 AM, RS Wood wrote:

RS Wood wrote:

I don't even do an oil change in 2 hours. I take my sweet time.

I think for a home mechanic, time only matters when the car is still on
blocks on Monday morning when you have to get to work (if you still work).

Otherwise, time isn't the issue.

I should expound that time is the major factor in a shop where time isn't
at all a factor at home.

That reality ends up making a huge difference in everything.

For example, dumb people say you can't align a car at home because you
don't have the $100K (or whatever) to spend on equipment that a shop
spends, but the equation is completely different for them than it is for
you.

You don't have to handle all cars.
Just your cars.

You can take three weeks to do your alignment.

If it was going to take me three weeks to do a wheel alignment on my own
car, it would be taken to the professional wheel aligners and they would
get the job.

> They have to do it in 1/2 hour.

It's not that they have to, it's that they *can do it in 1/2 hour*. In
fact, with the right wheel aligner, I could do a full wheel alignment in
significantly less time.

My oil changes easily take me a couple of hours.
A two-hour oil change at a shop would be unheard of.

It'll be unheard of around here too.

I admit that on Monday morning, the car better be road ready if you need to
get to work, and, if you have to match parts, you'd better get that part to
the dealer or parts store before they close at 6pm, but other than those
two circumstances, why would time matter to a home mechanic?

Doesn't matter to me but I have better things to do with my time.

What I mean here is that the weight of tool factors is completely different
for shops than it is for home users. I'll bet almost every job we mentioned
can be done at home with a cost investment of just a few hundred bucks.

As a professional mechanic, I have all the professional tools at hand
anyway.

Sure, it takes longer to do an alignment or change a tire or put a new
clutch in with only three hundred dollars worth of additional tools for
each job, but I'll bet we can do the job BETTER at home simply because we
care more.

Care more, maybe. Less experience tends to mean more mistakes are made.
That has been my experience dealing with cars that home mechanics have
worked on.

So the tradeoff, I think, is
TIME <===> QUALITY

You don't pay the tradesman for what he does, you pay him for what he
knows and his *experience*. These days that can also include access to
TSBs and relevant factory data.

I think only in painting, will the quality of results probably never match
that of a shop (because we just can't afford the tools they use and they
have too much experience that we will never have).

That also applies to mechanical work and, over a 50 year span in the
trade, I have seen more than my fair share of examples that attest to it.

--

Xeno

 

[Xeno]

On 6/11/2017 3:05 PM, Frank wrote:

On Sat, 04 Nov 2017 02:42:59 +0000, RS Wood wrote:

What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have
never done?

Mine are, in this order of "I wish I could do it" order 1. painting 2.
alignment 3. replace/rebuild engine 4. clutch replacement 5. tire
mounting and balancing 6. timing belt 7. head gasket and vcg

I've done electrical, brakes, shocks, cooling systems, alternators,
ujoints, pitman/idler arms & tie-rod ends and ball joints, tuneups,
emissions hoses and sensors, exhaust, electrical components, fuel pumps,
and fluids, but not the six things above.

What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have
never done?

I've never painted a car. I suppose some day I'll give rebuilding an
automatic transmission a shot, but I've been lucky so far.

Lots of traps for the unwary in that little task.

I've done things ring and bearing jobs but everything is holding up
better nowadays.

--

Xeno

 

[RS Wood]

clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

Some of the best rotors out there are Chinese - but also some of the
worst. Consistency is the problem

I can't argue but my point is that I've heard everything.
The problem is that the advice has to be both logical and actionable.

Saying "buy only Brembo or Meyle" is actionable, but not logical.
Saying "don't buy Chinese crap" is logical but not actionable.

For advice to be useful, it has to be both actionable and logical.
I've never heard that in rotors other than buy solid and don't buy
drilled/slotted rotors.

Other than that, there's no way for a person to tell if one rotor is gonna
be better than another.

Hence pragmatically ... a rotor is a rotor is a rotor is a rotor.

In some instances (virtually never normal street use) grooved and
slotted rotors DO provide better braking. We are talking competition
use, where the rotors are glowing red hot half the time, and the pads
are off-gassing like crazy - where even 100% dry DOT4 brake fluid
boils in the calipers. Under those conditions, rotors can warp - and
even fracture (in Rallye use I've seen red hot rotors hit an icy
puddle and totally fracture)

I'm never talking racing.
They drive on bald tires for heaven's sake in racing!

Actually, on SOME cases you can. Look at the consistancy of the fins
in the rotors, and the even-ness of the thickness of the braking
surfaces on both sides of the fins.

I'm not gonna disagree that we all can see the mark of good quality on some
things when we have two to compare in our hand, but it's too late if you
order on the net.

How are you gonna know the metallurgy?

You don't - that's the hard part - but when you are in the business
you get to know which suppliers stand up, and which don't. If you
know the suppliers well, they will tell you which ones they have
trouble with, and which ones they don't.

Yup. I have nothing against good suppliers. I use Brembo and Meyle but if
someone else gave me a rotor at a better price, I'd consider them too.

And some rotors DO WARP. Not many - but I've had at least a bushel
basket full of genuinely warped rotors in my 25 year carreer. Most
"warped" rotors are not warped - but some are. Some DRASTICALLY - to
the point the caliper moves visibly when the wheel is turned - and if
the sliders stick the pedal jumps and the steering wheel twitches.

That's not the measure of warp.
Warp is measured on a flat bench.
Just like head warp is measured.

More often than not though, they are either pitted or have deposit
buildup, ot they have "hard spots" due to metalurgical inclusions

The only person who says their rotors warped that I will ever trust is one
who measured the warp just like you'd measure head warp.

If they haven't measured it, it's not happening.
And nobody measures it.
So it didn't happen.

It "could" happen. But it doesn't (on street cars).
The problem is the temperature never gets hot enough.

Now they can be "warped" from the factory; but that's different (and rare).

Wrong tool. The one I'm talking about has tabs that fit into the
notches on the piston face to "thread" it in as you squeese. Can
sometimes get away with the $17 "cube" but the kit you KNOW is going
to work starts at about $35 for one of questionable quality, and goes
up very quickly from there (and IT won't turn back Mazda rear calipers
- they use a different system

I think we're talking about two different kinds of disc brake systems.
I had the Nissan 300Z which had the rear disc also as the rear parking
brake, but my bimmer has the rear disc and a separate rear parking brake.

The piston arrangement is different as is the way to retract them.

You don't *twist* pistons in disc brakes that I own that don't have the
parking brake as part of the disc brake itself.

At least I don't.

Never once in my life have I found a single person who has *measured* the
warp.

I have. many times.
How?

You know why?
They don't even know *how* to measure rotor warp.
They don't have the tools to measure rotor warp
A somple dial indicator tells the tale

Nope.
How you gonna tell runut from warp with a dial gauge?

- and sometimes one side is
straight, and the other side is not - parallelism warpage - where some
fins collapse and one side of the rotor "caves in" - 1 inch thick on
one "side" of the rotor, and .875 or something like that diametrically
across the rotor. - and sometimes virtually deead flat on both
surfaces - other times with about hald paralel and the other half
"sloped"

Now you're straining credularity.

(Hint: It requires a flat benchtop and feeler gauges and it's not hard -
but they don't know that because they didn't measure a single thing.)

That won't necessarilly tell you anything. The only way to KNOW is to
use a dial indicator properly.

How you gonna tell runut from warp with a dial gauge?

And that is where YOU are WRONG.
Many technicians measure brake rotors virtually every day of their
working lives.

On the entire freaking Internet, find *one* picture (just one) of a
technician actually properly measuring brake rotor *warp*.

Just find a *single* picture please. Just one.
On the entire freakin' Internet.

Find one.

Dealerships were then REQUIRED to buy an "on-the-car lathe" to true
up rotors.

That's not warp.
Nothing on this planet is going to fix warp.
There's not enough metal to remove.

A wize man learns from the mistakes of others - a fool never learns
because he "never makes mistakes"

Which is why I wish I had done these half-dozen jobs:
1. Alignment
2. Transmission
3. Engine
4. Tires
5. paint

Yes - you are right to the extent that MOST "warped rotors" are not.
But you are absolutely WRONG when you say they never warp in
street/highway use and anyone who says they have had a warped rotor is
lying and hasn't measured the rotor to prove it.

I never once said "never" but "almost never" which is different, and we're
only talking street, and I have references that back up everything I say
whereas you provided zero references for what you said.

I'm not here to argue opinions.
I only argue using logic.

Just read the references I provided and then provide some references that
back up your point of view.

The "Warped" Brake Disc and Other Myths of the Braking System
<http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/-warped-brake-disc-and-other-myths>

The 'Warped Rotor' Myth
<http://www.10w40.com/features/maintenance/the-warped-rotor-myth>

Warped Brake Rotors - Vibrating Reality or Internet Myth?
<https://blog.fcpeuro.com/warped-brake-rotors-vibrating-reality-or-internet-myth>

Stop the +IBg-Warped+IBk- Rotors Myth and Service Brakes the Right Way
<http://www.brakeandfrontend.com/warped-rotors-myth/>

Raybestos Brake Tech School, Part One: Rotors Don't Warp
<http://www.hendonpub.com/resources/article_archive/results/details?id87>

 

[RS Wood]

Xeno wrote:

Any scoring on a rotor will fail it. As you say, there might be less
than 50% of the pad surface in contact with the rotor surface. No way
will that bed in properly. You will get localised overheating both on
the pad and on the rotor.

I'm not gonna argue vehemently because, in practice, while I've seen those
"wavy" rotors too, my rotors tend to be smooth so I don't deal with
"scoring".

However, anyone who says "any scoring of rotors will fail it" has NOT looke
up the manufacturer's spec for scoring tests.

I have. Long ago.

The result was shockingly huge.

I don't remember the actual number but I remember being shocked at how huge
it is. Something like tens of thousanths of an inch in width huge.

We're talking Grand Canyon in rotors.

I may be wrong but if someone says "any" scoring, that's just preposterous.
Let's see a manufacturer's spec for anyone who says that.

Sorry. It's just not logical that 'any' scoring fails a rotor.

 

[RS Wood]

The Real Bev wrote:

If the vibration decreases, or markedly changes character, or even goes
away, then how could it possibly have been rotor warp in the first place?

I wish I could remember when I stopped noticing it. I might have done a
hard stop to test whether the seat belts were still working properly...

It's impossible to diagnose brake-related judder/shudder/vibration on the
Internet - but - most of the time - the cause is the simplest most obvious
reason.

You drive hard on the highway and then stop hard at the bottom of an exit
ramp at a light where you sit there with your foot on the brake for a
period of time.

Guess what happens?

For a hard-to-understand reason, the teeeniest tiniest pad imprint tends to
grow over time. I don't really understand why, but it does. It gets almost
imeasurably larger over time, until you finally feel it while braking at
speed.

What's the solution?
Simple.

SHORT TERM: Scrape that deposit off.
LONG TERM: Change your braking habits.

Q: Is a $50K rolex watch a better watch than a $30 Timex watch?
A: The watch that keeps better time is the better watch.

Ha. My $25 Casio atomic solar watch has been providing accurate time
since 2008 with no attention whatsoever. The beautiful 195x Omega
Seamaster is sitting in a box somewhere because it needed to be cleaned
every couple of years. Apparently the lubricant breaks down -- it
doesn't seem that dirt could get into a waterproof watch. I guess it
was accurate, I didn't have anything to check it against but the nice
lady on the phone who told me the time.

I have a few Rolex watches (most received as gifts).
They suck at keeping time.

For brake pads, the thing you care about is friction, cold and hot.
Nothing else is close in importance (although dusting is key for some).

So pick your pads by what the OEM pads were and try to meet or exceed that.
Most pads are around FF but every pad says what it is or it can't be sold
in the USA.

The (SAE J866a) charts are all over the net.
Just look for 'brake pad friction ratings' or something like that.

I drive roughly 4K miles/year and front pads on other cars generally
were OK for 40K miles (rear shoes double that). ~20K now. I'll
remember this just as long as I can

Life is one thing but the *primary* factor in brake pads is friction.

I buy $35 PBR pads with FF or GG friction ratings which last 30K miles or
so and the dust isn't objectionable.

So my factors are:
a. Friction rating (anything less than FF is worthless)
b. Non-objectionable dust (the only way to know is to ask owners)
c. Decent life (the only way to know is to ask owners)

Friction Coefficient Identification System for Brake Linings
<http://standards.sae.org/j866_200204/>

 

[RS Wood]

clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

Adjustable wrenches should be banned as a menace to society.
They are totally fine for some applications - but NOT bolts on a
car!!

I was joking, but I still don't get why I see people use them all the time
when they slip too much because they fit so badly and only on a few edges
and they are huge compared to the right-sized box wrench so they don't fit
in a car.

I'm gonna start a "Save the bolts" non-profit political group to enact
stringent adjustable-wrench control laws!

One rounded bolt head is too many.

 

[RS Wood]

clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

I just wish I could have done that on my own, without paying $100 for
someone else to twist a bolt that I could have twisted myself.
You paid $10 to twist the bolt and $90 to know how far to turn what
bolt in what direction!!

Good point.
But I would rather have paid $100 for the tool to measure to know that I
twisted the bolt as far as it could go.

In the case of my rear camber, it was maxed out at 0 degrees, so, in
hindsight, I guess I could have done it sans any measurement at all.

 

[RS Wood]

Xeno wrote:

Lot of us keep a car until repair cost exceeds book value.

I trade my cars in when I'm sick of them.

For me, I get a new car when the old car has a repair that isn't worth
paying. That's less likely nowadays as I'm retired on a low budget.

 

[RS Wood]

clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

What's so great about gasoline direct injection anyway?
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/whats-so-great-about-direct-injection-abcs-of-car-tech/
The biggest advantage is the fuel is injected after initial
compression, just before the spark - so the fuel is not "dwelling" in
the combustion chamber under high heat and pressure, dissassociating
and causing detonation. Can run much higher compression ratio on
regular gas.

Thanks for summarizing the most important advantage.
I've found that anyone who can't summarize the most important factor
generally does not understand the issue.

So thank you for summarizing what is new information for me.
Much appreciated!

 

[RS Wood]

clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

So, fundamentally, people seem to be saying that carburetors contaminated
everything more than does EFI, which reduced the life of the engine.


Correct

Thanks.
Makes sense.
I love learning where the lesson makes sense.

 

[RS Wood]

Frank wrote:

> 10W 40 would coke up faster than 10W 30, for what it's worth.

I just mentioned that, but I didn't look for references.
Do we all generally agree that the *spread* is what causes the coking?

0W30 has a spread of 30
5W30 has a spread of 25
10W40 has a spread of 30
30W40 has a spread of 10 <--- this has the lowest coking

If we agree on that concept of coking:spread, then the question is how much
does coking actually matter and under what conditions does coking matter?

 

[RS Wood]

clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

What doesn't last longer on a car nowadays?
Sometimes things like power lock actuators and some electrical
connections

I was watching a video by the MythBusters on how to get out of a car that
is sinking in a pond (pool in their case) where someone mentions to roll
down the windows ... heh heh ...

When's the last time you saw a roll-down window?

 

[RS Wood]

clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:

Where I live, a straight 30 or 40 would work just fine.

But would NOT be acceptable for an engins still under warranty. Here
we go from -25 to +95 F on any average given year

Egads. Here we don't go below 20F and where I lived back east for decades,
we maybe got to 0F for a few days of the year.

The additives to create a wider spread though, I'm told, tends to carbonize
in the engine, so, for example, I'm told, (we'd have to look this up),
* 10W30 has a spread of 20
* 0W30 has a spread of 30
* 5W40 has a spread of 35

I'm told, but I'd have to look up to confirm, that the wider the spread,
the more the cabonization in the engine.

Is that true?
I don't know.

But I don't think at the temperatures I start my vehicle in, that any
viscosity range matters. At your starting temperatures, they do.

The bottoms of most chevys (and some ford taurus sunframes) Taurus
doglegs, Mazda (any model) rear wheelwells and doglegs and hatch/trunk
lids, and the box sides of Dodge (and some GM) trucks are aften seem
pretty badly rusted up here. - often within 5 or 6 years - sometimes
even less.

I don't think I've seen rust on my cars in decades, but when I lived back
east with my Z cars, they rusted out like crazy.

So a lot of this stuff depends on the environment.

And they're still cheap as they always were.

Not sure if you call $14.99 each cheap - sometimes available on sale
for just under $10 (Autolite double platinum) or Motorcraft SP515
plugs at $20.75 Canadian (for Ford Triton 5.4)

I haven't bought plugs in a while.
I'm thinking half the price you're quoting.
But it has been a while.

The cold starts USED to be the big issue with carbureted engines -
due to cyl wash, fuel dilution, and poor barrier lubrication - not so
much today.

I stand edified that carbs to EFI is a *major* factor in improving engine
life. Less liquid gas in the oil is a good thing for engine life.

Everthing else being the same - which is seldome the case, an engine
run at over 90% output for half it's life will not last as long as an
engine run at less than 30% output for over 75% of it's life.

Gearing matters.

If I have a Ford Ranger with a 2.5 4 cyl and one with a 4.0 V6 - and I
run them both at rated capacity on the highway under the same
conditions, the bigger motor will last longer / wear less than the
smaller engine - whether the gearing is different or not.

I don't believe it.

A car engine is almost never run at full bore BHP.
And gearing makes a huge difference anyway.

Sounds good that bigger engines last longer but I don't believe it.
We'd need some facts.

Things like load. Sure - if like MOST pickups on the road today they
are never loaded or worked - no difference.

Exactly my point.

If a car is just tooled around town with 1 or 2 people in it - no
difference. Neither one is ever being worked hard enough to hurt
itself.

Exactly my point.

Now if you use the truck at full bore BHP to pull an airplane to takeoff
speeds on the airport runway, then the bigger engine should last longer.

Now if you told me one engine had 10K cold starts and 20K short trips,
while the other only had 1K cold starts and had mostly long trips, then
*that* would be a factor in engine life.

Take that TOTALLY out of the equation - I said "all other things
being equal".

I agree with you that we'd have to compare the life of a big engine veruss
a small engine in a vehicle where they both do the same things which we can
assume are normal things.

If you pull redwood trees uphill, then I can see bigger engines lasting
longer.

But if you just tool around town, like I do, I can't imagine that a bigger
engine has any longevity over a smaller engine all else being equal.

Gears make a bigger difference.

The amount of repairs I've needed to do an ANY of my vehicles in the
last 20 yeats is SO small "getting at" the engine is not much of a
concern to me.

But have you needed to do any of these repairs?
1. painting
2. alignment
3. replace/rebuild engine (or major work)
4. clutch replacement (or major work)
5. tire mounting and balancing
6. timing belt

To me, these half-dozen repairs almost nobody does at home, but I *wish* I
had done at home when I had the chance.

My recommendation to a kid of 30 or 40 years old would be to *do* them when
he has the chance, just as I'd tell him to climb that mountain he always
wanted to climb.

When he gets older, he won't be able to do it anymore, and the economics of
the benefits will be less as he ages.