Repair, Rebuild, or Throw Away

Has anyone (everyone) noticed the growing trend lately to trash vehicular operating parts, rather than repairing them?

Shop Manuals contained detailed instruction for:
Water Pump: Replace seal and bearings.
Starter: Replace brushes and starter drive.
Carburetor: Rebuild via kit.
Brake Master Cylinder: Rebuild kits.
Power Brake Booster: Rebuild kits.
Clutch slave cylinder: Replace seals. (especially one)
Alternator: Replace brushes and bearings. (Easy job, rewarding results)
A/C Compressor Shaft Seal, replace.
Power Steering Pump, shaft seal replace.

Have I missed any? mo.

 

you are old enough to remember a d.i.y brake reline Mo ???
not just changing the complete shoe but just changing the friction material

 

Hell, yes! But I never did it. Back in the day, bonded linings were beginning to present themselves. Early on, they were known to cause very offensive brake squealing noise. I never had a riveted lining do that, so stuck with them whenever possible. But I perceived then that bonded offered longer life, everything else equal. Riveted allowed only a limited amount of lining wear before rivet heads scored drums. OTOH, I saw bonded linings run down to where the metal shoe backing the lining was gone!

Absolute WORST condition I've seen was a disc brake rotor, the "vented" type, worn down to where the braking surface was completely gone, then appearing like the spokes of a wheel! What that must have felt like in the brake pedal I cannot imagine! mo.

 

l remember using a starting handle to rotate the engine to set the points/tappets etc LOL

 

Damn ! I guess we really are older than dirt - - and some rocks.

 

Starting handle...I've never had that pleasurebut I remember my grandpa teaching me how to do it on a Model T, without practicing on one. I think I can still remember, but correct me if I'm wrong:
1) Pull the gear shift lever alllll the way back till the parking brake sets;
2) Move the manual timing lever full retard;
3) Set the batt/mag switch to batt
4) Push in starting crank till engaged in crankshaft snout;
5) Hold the handle in your open palm and roll the engine clockwise;
6) Repeat 4&5 until engine catches;
7) Move manual timing lever advanced until engine idles smooth;
8) DO NOT forget to switch from batt to mag or you'll eventually have a dead battery......

 

do you guys's have car s.o.s over there ? a u.k. show ???

 

My Dad, explaining to a young son, how the "T" had two levers on the steering shaft, told of his Dad angrily jerking them both up and down, cursing in Czech, getting less than favorable results! mo.

 

I have a model T that belonged to my Dad. I drive it around the neighborhood but not out on the main streets because tags are expired. NO STARTER ! hand crank only

 

I doubt the rebuild kits would yield a higher quality part than the whole replacement part anyway, so what are you really gaining? Or are you just mentioning the fact that most rebuilt kits are long gone in the first place? Personally, I think it's not really about folks like us' ability to rebuild a part, as much as it is our availability for the time it takes to rebuild it. Frankly I'd rather do a water pump swap in 2 hours than a rebuild of the existing unit in 6 or 8. And, there's no warranty if the re-builder hoses it up! And yes, I remember watching my dad rebuild an alternator, and telling myself it seemed like it would be a better idea just to get a new one.

 

Yeah, time is money today. Only rebuilds worth doing yourself are when you want to preserve a particular casting number or date code for a collector car.

 

Well, being a basically frugal (cheap) descendent of European Slavic origin, those folks noted for their frugality, I always replaced a bad alternator bearing, or worn brushes, myself. Design of the alternator makes disassembly and reassembly quite easy. mo.

 

Regardless, I'd rather save my time than my money. At least with a relatively small differential amount like that. Now, big things, I do them myself. Like my basement. Start to finish, from a concrete box to 2 bedrooms, full bath, living area, storage, laundry room, and home office. One person, alone, design, build, electrical, plumbing, flooring, ceilings, paint, drywall, mud, you name it. Imagine how much that would cost me to farm out? Yikes!!!!! Probably why you built your own house back in the day, eh?

 

Actually, no, it was not entirely from a monetary point of view. But then I guess knowing I COULD made the decision fly easier. Delivered concrete mix was going for $60 a yard, while having sand & gravel delivered to the site, hauling Portland myself, mixing in my small electric-powered mixer, it came to under $20. Used 5-gallon bucket to load mixer, 3 buckets gravel, 2 sand, 3 heaping shovels Portland, around 350 lb, I figured, two shaky wheelbarrows near full per mix. Foundation, slab, then brick mortar for 12,500 brick. I estimated about 90,000 lbs. mixed and poured by hand. My back and upper body were never in better shape! At any rate, it paid off 10 years later, about $125,000 back for my labor. mo.

 

More power to ya mo. And you are correct, alternators are pretty easy to repair, really no more than an hour and quite inexpensive.

If components (like alternators) weren't commodity items and cost relative to the rest of the car, they'd be more expensive and it'd be worth the time.

However, since they are cheap and commodity, unless you have the time, it's easier to just swap them.

I do still have my original alternator and starter which I plan to rebuild when I have nothing better to do.

 

Had a ramcharger that ate alternator brushes to the point I kept a spare set in the glove box. Could change them in 20 mins or less usually in the rain as that's when they seemed to fail, without dismounting the alternator. Finally found out the wiper motor had a bad ground.

Mo, I did something similar. Dug a cellar under my 1200 square foot ranch house. Mixed 30 yards of concrete for footings and eventually floor, mixed mortar for and laid 700 cement blocks, to say nothing of the 200 yards of dirt I dug out first. Thank heaven for that cheap Montgomery Ward mixer.

Used what they called dry footing mix, sand and ag premixed. Just throw in mixer, add portland cement and water. The mortar was portland cement, mason's sand and some lime, heavy on the portland cement because the block was below grade.

 

years ago l drove a ford as a taxi, I used to keep a spare set of front brake pads in the boot,
l used to put brake pads on that car once a month, l could do them in 20 minutes.... and l didn't drive the car hard..... l only did 1000 miles a week in the town where l lived

 

I was sad when Montgomery Wards folded. I have a freezer in my garage my in-laws bought from them in 1975 still works like it did when it was new. I still use the battery charger I bought there in 1985 for $35.

 

Is Sears still open over there ??? l used to enjoy buying my levi 501's there and craftsman tools then..

 

Just curious, did you have a background as a bricklayer or mason, or like me, just always wondered if some other guy can do skilled labor, why not me? I never laid brick before doing the baby below, over 12,000 of them! All that hand-mixed and poured concrete sits beneath it. About 2,000 sq. ft., detached 24 X 32 garage, also brick, the two connected by 40 feet of 6' high wall, also brick.




My Vegas house, ca. 1974, all desert rock, a lot of it sandstone, beautiful colors, several so heavy, I barely got them in place. The block pillars foreground were surrounded by rock, connected by 2" heavy chain. It's veneered over frame/stucco construction. Pic below this one is in the living room, fireplace built of rock, see-through to kitchen.









The shack we live in now. Pouring footing for rock wall, view below. Wife & I mixed and poured the walk and patio between house & garage, total about 3000 sq. ft. The house is "pit-set" in concrete block. I'm dreaming of veneering it in either rock or brick. The siding, typical "manufactured home" is getting pretty shabby, only 10 years old. It's actually not even wood, they call it t-111, I think it's some kind of man-made shit, like paper!



Wall being built in back of house. 12" thick, dig that curved section! Tricky, we "eyeballed" that, but used stringlines for straight sections. About 5000 LB of rock in that one, 6' high, lots of rebar, grouted solid. My wife is likely correct: any guy who strives to do stuff like this in his 70s is nuts! Thanks fer takin' the time to look! mo.

Edit: If no one chews me out for it, the exposed belt and pulleys on my mixer are a safety hazard, to be sure. The guard disintegrated 20 years ago!