Tool Kits Every emergency tool kit should have some kind of
"voltmeter" in it. I carry a nice digital that Radio Shack
distributes. It’s a knock-off of the Fluke 95 for about half the price
if you watch for a sale. In back to back tests against the Fluke it has
proven to be just as accurate. Don’t ask me about durability. I don’t
use it enough for that to be an issue. In addition to the standard
probes and the alligator clip adaptors I carry some T-pins or big headed
pins for back probing and through probing of connectors and wires
The
latest thing in meters is inductive coupling. With inductive coupling
you don’t have to disconnect or push a pin through a wire. Inductive
measuring has been used by electricians for years. It’s great for
measuring amperes and volts in the 10’s to 100’s range. Recently the
technology has been expanded to measure currents in the milliamp range
which is applicable to auto electricals. Has anybody out there had
direct experience with the accuracy and durability of these millamp
inductive probes? jnuijen@attbi.com
E-Type bonnet stand In the accompanying photos you can see a
bonnet stand that I built as a project for my MIG welding class (which
explains the less than perfect welds). It is a copy of the stand used by
Dave Ferguson of Images Autobody in Campbell, CA with a few features
that I added to suit my own needs. The stand is perfect for doing damage
repair and painting the bonnet inside and out. When not in use the
bonnet can be stored vertically on the removable carriage. I won’t give
you the exact dimensions because your needs and your bonnet may differ
slightly.
I don’t want any e-mail, "Hey, my bonnet won’t fit
right on the stand", but the basic frame is 4 ft by 6 ft, the front
tower is 2 ft high and the rear tower 3 ft high. Both the front and rear
towers are about 3 ft wide and the bolt pivot anchors are around 33 1/2
inches apart. The rear 2X4 support is cut in a curve by holding the wood
against the rear of a bonnet and tracing the curve. I will add padding
made from an old towel. Don’t use foam rubber if you intend to use the
stand for painting. The solvents in the paint dissolve the foam. The
removable carriage is 4ft by 5 ft. The steel is 1 inch square .063 thin
wall mild steel. Buy your steel in 20 ft lengths. $10/length is a good
price. If I had to do this project over I’d use 1X2 tubing set on edge
for the bottom frame. the 1X1 flexes too much when you set the bonnet
vertically. For further info e-mail me at jnuijen@attbi.com
Cheap power steering hoses Need a high pressure power steering
hose for your Jag and been appalled by the $50 to $200 asked by the
dealer and the aftermarket. Well, you can make your own for $10 to $20.
Start by removing the old hose and carefully cutting the collars off the
ends.
A great tool for doing this is a 3" cutoff air tool (see next
paragraph). Pull the fittings from the end of the hose and clean them
up. Go to any shop that makes hydraulic hoses for truck and farm
equipment. They carry a double steel braid reinforced hose good for 4000
psi made by Dayco. The hose is just as flexible as the old cloth
reinforced stuff and will outlast you and the car. It comes in 1/4 to
3/4 inch I.D. You probably need 3/8 which should cost about $1.00/ft.
The shop should also have open collars which are about $1.00 each. The
hard part is forcing your old fittings into the stiff Dayco hose. Oil
the fittings and hose with auto trans fluid. If you have a straight
fitting a rubber mallet will usually do the trick. For 45°
and 90° fittings
I grab the tubing with a flare-making vise and use a hammer or hydraulic
press. Take the hose back to the hydraulic shop and have the collars
compressed. Make sure you negotiate the price of the compressing
beforehand. Some shops are willing to push your old fittings in for a
few more bucks, saving you a second trip.
Handy tools In the previous paragraph I mentioned a 3"
cutoff tool. Herewith is a picture.
Very handy for making small, precise
cuts esp. in thin metal. The disks are cheap, about 50 cents each. The
tool itself can be found at Harbor Freight for about $14 on sale. The
tool is easy to control and with daily lubrication will last many years.
Automatic Transmission Efficiency We all know that a stick shift
car in the hands of a competent driver will out-accelerate and get
better gas economy than an automatic, all other things being equal. Why?
Automatics eat horsepower. Whenever the torque converter is multiplying
torque heat is generated in the fluid. This is wasted energy that could
be driving the wheels. An old GM Turbo 400 can eat as much as 150
horsepower at full stall although this condition is never reached except
at the drag strip. Modern converters are much less hungry and at cruise
have a clutch that locks them up so they don’t absorb hardly anymore
power than a conventional clutch. But there is still power lost in an
automatic. The clutches and bands of an automatic are operated by
hydraulic pressure. This pressure (up to 300 psi) is supplied by an
engine driven pump in the front of the transmission. In a big automatic
it can easily eat 25 hp and never drops below 5 hp. Unfortunately, it
can eat almost as much in a small automatic for an economy car. When you
consider that it only takes 12 to 15 hp to push the average car down a
level road at 60 mph this is a significant loss. CVT transmissions, even
though they eliminate the torque converter, still need a hydraulic pump
to clamp the variable pulleys in place. When you start shoving major
power through a CVT it takes major power to hold those pulleys. So is
the answer the automatically shifted manual transmission like the F-1 in
the Ferrari or the new Aston Martin manu-matic (a six speed Tremec with
the same Magneti Marelli controls used on the Ferrari)? I don’t think
so. The feedback systems required for smooth operation are very touchy
and get out of adjustment very easily. I think we will see the
hydraulically operated planetary gear automatic continue to be the
transmission of choice. The torque converter will disappear and be
replaced by another set of planetary gears. Remember, one set of
planetary gears can supply 7 different ratios. All you need is three 6
inch planetary gear sets for a 10 speed transmission (see my column of
May 2001in the Tech Archives). Instead of driving the pump off the
engine it will be external and driven by an electric motor-generator.
Regenerative braking and an idling engine can be charging a battery or
pressurizing a hydraulic accumulator to supply the transmission with the
pressure it needs for operation. A computer will manage this power
transfer in a way that gets the maximum efficiency out of the fuel
burned. The Honda and Toyota hybrids already use this technology. Look
for Jaguar to adopt it soon. Even though gasoline will remain cheap the
pressure to reduce the carbon load in the atmosphere will intensify and
fuel efficiency will be more important than ever.
You can find a comparison test of the Aston Martin Vanquish and the
Ferrari 550 Maranello with lots of comments on this manu-matic system at
http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caranddriver/comparisontests/2001/november/200111_comparisontest_ferrari_aston.xml
