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Recent content by Mongrel

  1. Mongrel

    Maintaining and Further Developing an Engineering Career with Chronic Pain

    Sadly to my knowledge, there's not much to be done for arthritic conditions other than bone fusion, which is still no guarantee... As someone who also suffers chronic spinal problems, I have to agree with the others: Mental health = very important. It's so easy to become depressive and feel...
  2. Mongrel

    Transmission gear shifting cable - backlash reduction

    That cable is used on an automatic transmission, so no twisting. I had read the OP as a similar situation, quoting a 180 degree motion. In my experience, controls requiring torsion use either a solid bar, or two cables as per Brian - the side-to-side motion being provided by a simple 90 degree...
  3. Mongrel

    Transmission gear shifting cable - backlash reduction

    You could look into the Australian BA/BF/FG Falcon cars as an example of doing what you describe successfully. They run a cable from the shifter in the centre of the car, forward through the firewall, then looping back to connect to the side of the gearbox. This works just fine and lasts quite...
  4. Mongrel

    OverWorked/Bullied/Blackmailed

    Still looks like an abusive relationship to me. "I only push you because you can do more" "I only hit you because I love you so much" You got antsy, they backed off a little and gave you meaningless gifts (stocks in a private company) so you felt better and stayed. But at the end of the day...
  5. Mongrel

    Bearing preload spacer

    So, something like the crushable steel tube used for differential front yokes?
  6. Mongrel

    Taking on Apprentices?

    I'd agree with the others. Particularly these days, your biggest challenge will be finding a young person who a) shows up reliably And b) understands they need to put the phone down and work. The trial period suggested above would be an excellent plan. And then as noted by others, it does take...
  7. Mongrel

    Game plan to start my own little business out of college

    I'm glad we were able to help. As we get older and focus on new problems, it can become easy to forget our youth. The combination of uncertainty about the future and complete confidence in yourself is something unique to your late teens/early twenties, for most people! Regarding the control...
  8. Mongrel

    Game plan to start my own little business out of college

    A few thoughts on the experience of our 19yo, who has Asperger's and sounds very similar to you. 1) I suspect you like to ask questions, but typically you prefer to stick to a limited group of people who've earned your trust/respect, correct? And when setting out to research something, you'll...
  9. Mongrel

    Consultant jobs?

    I read this as you having a design idea for replacing a known problem part. Example might be the timing chains on GM-H Alloytec engines, or the weak 5th gear spacer in certain Ford/Mazda 4WD transmissions. I doubt the manufacturer will be willing to take opinions from an outside source; usually...
  10. Mongrel

    The topic of lighting

    Agreed. Increasing automation equals decreasing awareness for many (most?) people. Add in the prevalent attitude of "there's a guy to fix that", and the relative complexity of cars these days, and you end up with one large group of people who don't have a clue and can't afford to pay someone to...
  11. Mongrel

    Headlight bulbs

    Hah, well, between the frequent electronics failures (due to vibrations, according to Volvo), the turbo failures, and those awful synchro 9-speed boxes... Either would be appropriate! 😂 In any case, we were glad to see the back of the fleet after the 5-year lease plan, and move back to...
  12. Mongrel

    Headlight bulbs

    Depends on your electrical system, I find. Good earths and clean supply through a quality relay seems to help a lot. The sparkies reckoned inrush currents were killing them when too high. If it's on trucks or other mobile equipment, vibrations don't help much either. We had a fleet of Volvos...
  13. Mongrel

    650cc motorbike dual cam timing - im lost

    First thing to check is always for a vacuum leak, you'd be surprised how much trouble they can cause! Second - yes, idle bypass motor or solenoid would be the next culprit. Not familiar with your specific setup, so I'll generalise a bit. Take it off and check for carbon residue which might be...
  14. Mongrel

    650cc motorbike dual cam timing - im lost

    One more tip - once the cams are drawn down, keep chain slack on the tensioner side. Use a spanner to turn and hold each cam; there are usually flats on the shafts for this. Do the cam furthest from the tensioner first, set it up so chain is tight between sprocket and crank. Then move to the...
  15. Mongrel

    Absorbtion chiller A/C

    Anecdotal supporting evidence - when I was young, I knew a guy who'd built his house around this principle. The walls, interior and exterior, were built from roughly 6 inch chunks of local coffee rock, cemented with concrete, and had space inside of about a foot. This was then sealed and kept...

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