Part 1
My work requires me to have a midrange truck capable of towing a smallish generator that weights about 6500 lb, a fixed load of two large 1000 amp DC welders, each around 800 lbs, a large air compressor, variable load between 2000 to 3000 lbs of welding wire and to incorporate a living compartment and all the junk I pack around in it The Old Work Truck is a 1997 International 8100 with a Cummins M11 engine (280-400hp, of which mine is likely 330hp) an Eaton 10 speed transmission and a legal operating load of 34,000 pounds.
It’s not the age, it’s the mileage as Indiana Jones quipped, and she’s got 790,000 miles on her, 500,000 miles before my father bought it sight unseen back in 2005. It had been a used box truck, treated like rentals are, ran hard and put away wet. I started looking for its replacement over two years ago and finally found a truck that fit my requirements in February of 2025. My requirements were as follows, Number 1; no Diesel Exhaust Fluid, no diesel particulate filter, the later starting around 2009 can be fudged and eliminated. Thanks Obama, the NOx rules were designed to make trucking more expensive and boy have they, DEF/DPF are among the top causes of engine failure in modern diesel trucks, add a urea solution in the exhaust with an extra injector, in front of a welded in filter to burn more fuel to save the environment! A system only college leftists could have come up with. This limits my year range of available trucks, the vast majority of trucks older than 2010 have Space Shuttle miles on them and or have been wrecked, rentals after all.
Moar, power. Who doesn’t want more power? The M11 was/ii a decent motor but I was gunning for at least 350 hp and a different torque curve. I’m apathetic about automatic transmissions in midrange trucks having only ever driven one way back in 2010, it worked well but how would it in a job where its off road a couple of miles a trip and often in loose gravel roads? I don’t know. Manual it is, they are easier to rock out of being stuck. The Eaton ten speed and I don’t get along, to be fair to them I’m not on the road like an actual trucker, I do about 20,000 miles a year nearly all in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, with one customer in northern California. I put three times as many miles on my Worktruck than I do in my pickup or Blazer.
Jake Brake. Must have a Jake, not an exhaust brake but an actual Jake brake. This rules out the smaller engines, particularly the International engines, some of those mid-range International trucks came with an exhaust brake or you can add them like I did to the 2005 4300 truck I also have. A Jake or engine brake adds convenience, safety, and reduces maintenance. Once you use one you simply can not go back to not having one.
Wheelbase, I can drill holes (magnetic drills are magical) and move the rear suspension to my liking, but if I don’t have to why spend the time and expense of having a new driveline made and modify the airlines? The Old Worktruck has a wheelbase of about 16’ 5” with 11” to the center of the axle behind the cab. The wheelbase matters more for the accessories that need to hang below the box than weight distribution, There is a 60 gallon air compressor tank, the large air compressor itself, a toolbox, and the box for the three phase extension cord, all the things have to be balanced in size and shape to work together. The box on the truck is a 24’ box cut down with an attic over the cab. Its Fiberglass Reinforced Plywood or FRP. Its fiberglass that rots, never buy anything made with FRP, ever.
Brakes, no disk brakes. I lot of modern heavy trucks have disk brakes at least on the front, they are a bit easier to work on than drum brakes but you have to service them more often as they wear faster than drum brakes as they don’t have as much thermal mass as drums, and they do not dissipate heat as fast as drums due to a smaller surface area. The West has actual mountains which I travel over.
Cab size, I’m a man sized man, 6’5” with a 34.5” inseam, I simply can’t drive some rigs, I’m looking at you Suzuki Samurai and Gen I Subaru BRAT. Turns out Kenworth Is off the list for me, they are not built for guys over 6’. In the Old Worktruck with my feet flat on the floor my knees are bent a bit over 90 degrees and I only have about 3” of head room, with an air ride seat in a rock quarry I tend to hit my head. I need a larger cab. The newer International Mid-Range trucks are larger, my other truck is a 2005 International 4300 which is great to drive and more roomy than my 97 but they don’t have MOAR power, or better transmission choices as they have an International pattern transmission bell housing pattern and not an SAE #1 which gets you into 10, 13, and 14 speed gearboxes found in big trucks. Sure you can adapt them at more cost, but the 466 is a bit underpowered, its fine for a moving van and my little loader but no fun when you need to haul 2500 lb of wire and a generator up a Pacific North West grade. Two generations of Worktrucks ago my dad had 80’s Ford F600 gas burners (guy had to buy them because they had a Blue Oval on them) with 428 cid V8 motors. You could go up the hill north of my hometown and 28mph and watch the fuel gauge move. Good times. Also no air-conditioning.
So I looked online, FaceBook, Craigslist, Equipment Trader, Truck Paper, My Little Salesmen, auction sites, etc. I looked at at least 100 trucks online in-depth, talked to a couple of buddies that drive truck and are over 6’. I found a total of two trucks that fit my needs and desires, one 2009 Freightliner in Salt Lake City and a 2005/6 Freightliner in Iowa. I have never bought anything sight unseen. Never had I wanted to make a large purchase so. Both were Freightliner M2 112 trucks, one with a big Cummins motor, the other a Caterpillar, both single rear axle, one long wheelbase, one short, both white. I loathe white vehicles, Ive driven a white Worktruck on and off since 2002 and I’m sick of them. They are boring and soul sucking. I called one of my army buddies that drove a variety of trucks for the county in Ohio he works for, turns out his main truck is a Freightliner M2 112, a newer one but the cab has remained the same from 2002-2024, I think they updated them for the 2025 model year. He’s 6’2” and gave me the rundown on how he fits in them and their build quality, turns out the plastic is not so good. It’s a Freightliner/Dodge/Benz/Stellantis (Daimler/Chrysler) product, avoid the ones with the Mercedes engines in them he warned. I owned a Dodge once, ONCE.
I made calls, the SLC dealership felt shifty, they didn’t provide much detail but were more than happy to pick me up at the airport and write a contract before I came down, that’s not sus at all but they sent me several photos of areas close to what I asked for, with what I had to assume was an I phone 4 with grease on the lens, that truck started looking not so great right off the bat, but it was close enough that I could drive to see it during the week.
The owner of the truck in Iowa wasn’t happy with himself that he hadn’t updated the price as it was early January and “that’s last years price on that truck.” OK, don’t care, so it’s sat another year and the price should be higher? See no DEF/DPF yeah kinda worth more, I wish I had bought my backhoe ten years ago, also no DEF/DPF. There are thousands of guys rebuilding 70s through 90s Kenworth W900s to avoid DEF and E-Logs. Its worth it. The Iowa guy sent me a bunch of high resolution pictures of exactly what I asked for, I wish I had asked him for a couple more, was he forthcoming about the hole in the hood? No. He did say the dash had “some cracks,” more on that in part two, and sent me a picture of the engine diagnostic computer plugged in verifying that it did in fact only have 98,900 some odd miles on it. Damn thing was brand new.
So I pulled the trigger, sent him some earnest money, went back and forth with his accountant, went to my bank, arranged shipping (turned out to be one of his guys) rather than flying back East to drive an empty semi tractor halfway across the country in the middle of the winter. One of the better calls I have made as far as safety, cost, and time was concerned. Then I got a call from the SLC dealership with the hard sell, ‘we have the contract on that truck ready to go. You’re buying it right, for asking price? When are you coming?’ No thanks, I had found another ad for that truck with better pictures in the meantime and it was a hard no, Salt Lake City is not just a clever name, its a curse, and that truck started life as a tandem axle tractor the dealership converted to a single axle truck, it had been wrecked, it was higher mileage than they originally advertised and the interior looked like an old man with a drill and a pocket of wood screws had been left unattended in it. I dodged a bullet on that truck and hoped to have done likewise on the one I paid for from what likely was Russians. If you’ve been around the Russians in the Pacific North West (PNW, I refuse to use Inland Northwest, Idaho has a seaport after all!) when it comes to cars or construction you will understand. ‘Two by 4 radiator support good, you buy Honda now, is good car!’
Specs on The New Worktruck
2005 Freightliner M2 112
Caterpillar C13 engine, 410 hp (sticker on the engine says 425hp)
Jake Brake, High and Low
Eaton 10 speed, Metric, 10th 0.74 overdrive
Meritor 12,000 lb front axle
Meritor 23,000 lb rear axle with 4:30 gears and a surprise locker! Those gears gotta go.
11R22.5 tires, 41.4” outside diameter.
Wheelbase 196”
11’ from center of the rear axle to the back of the cab, perfect, that’ll surely save me
some work, right?
Base trim with AC and heated, power mirrors, crank windows, no wing windows.
Two 100 gallon fuel tanks.
Specs on The Old Worktruck
1997 International 8100
Cummins M11 engine, 330 hp when new.
Jake Brake, High, Medium, and Low
Eaton 10 speed, 10th 0.75 overdrive
295/75R22.5, 40.1” outside diameter
Spicer 12,000 lb front axle
Eaton (I think) 23,000 lb axle, 4:10 ratio, open.
Wheelbase ~197”
11’ from the center of the near axle to the back of the cab.
Base trim with AC and heated power mirrors, crank windows, wing windows.
Two 150 gallon fuel tanks (odd since I’ve never managed to get more than 85 gal in either one of them) 26D, 46” length ~100 gallons, I think Snyder Tank put the wrong tags on them.
Just looking at the specifications its going to be a great improvement but only time will tell once I start using it. The two stage Jake brake is going to stink, I use the medium setting on the international a lot and wish it had more choices. Having a functional AC will also be amazing, it gets 115+ in the NW on the east side of the Cascades.
‘Two by 4 radiator support good, you buy Honda now, is good car!’
You say that like it is not a good car.
What could possibly go wrong?
Probably run another 150,000 miles.
I built a fan shroud out of a cardboard fruit crate and zip ties, ran it for years.
Some sketch work surprisingly lasts.
Nothing is more permanent than a temporary fix.
I realized now that my definition of “smallish generator” weighing in at 6500 pounds is likely everyone else’s definition of a large generator.
100kw. Smallish for industrial use in context. The rock crushing plants themselves run a pair of V12 cat generators on a semi trailer. I’m not sure what kind of output they have. I am no electrician.
Is this the one you posted a pic of repainted recently?
Yeah. It’s taken me a year of working on it and it’s still not on the road yet.
I hate being handicapped.
I have two more pieces that need a little editing and formatting through WordPress so far.
I’m sure you could get a great deal on a Navistar!
https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/navistar-ceo-ousted-after-failed-diesel-bet
They thought they could DEF debacle, but boy did it backfire.
As per my requirement that my new to me truck not have DPF Or DEF.
Caterpillars quit building truck engines due to Obama.
That jerk did everything in his power to ruin trucking from engine to hours or operations to new federal agencies you have to comply with.
Sorry for my typo. My understanding was that Navistar’s failed engine didn’t require DEF. Problem was that the lean burn it relied on grenaded motors regularly at very low by commercial standards mileage.
The old DT series of engines are awesome. I have three of them, two in trucks and one in my loader.
The only real problem with them is they are small and therefore lower power.
Not being able to meet the Obama era EPA NOx standards on diesels was the point.
They wanted to collapse the industry and force everyone to do freight with trains. Which got an exemption. For a while. CA tried to add their own regs on trains the the rail unions told them to GFYS and they backed down, for now.
The world of diesel trucks is a mystery o me.
In Indianapolis, in the ’90s, the hot setup was a Kodiak with a dually bed on it to haul the sprint car trailer with.
The Kodiak was a hot mess. They were fairly comfortable as they had a pickup cab but the GM pickup of that era was garbage so they ended up being a crappy compromise rather than having a truck cab on it.
In the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80, GM 50/60 series trucks had modified pickup cabs on them which was fine as they had good viability and an upright seating position.
The bigger GM trucks had their own cab which was often half a generation behind the light trucks and fairly rare.
Then came the 90s with the cab forward design and the Kodiak.
A guy I know who has one that’s a deck over tow truck. He loves it but the cab is a 90s Chevy pickup.
Ford has been selling F450 with pickup beds for a couple of years now vs chassis cabs that they did previously for the 450/550.
Thell hammer you on the insurance on those things.
They would work out OK as a company rig if they started making 9’ boxes again. As a service truck with a utility body and a longer wheelbase they probably work pretty good.
I see the farmer set buying them in King ranch trim as being the market with boxes on them.
Shorter turning radius than a F350!*
*you can order the wide front axle as a 350 option.
I had an older one with a service body for a while. I’m glad I didn’t pay for the gas. It was…ok. Hunted like a mofo in wheel ruts.
Did it have the V10?
Those things turned fuel into noise.
Yup.
8mpg average.
And I’ll stay in character and suggest a Dektora!
https://psmag.com/social-justice/a-look-at-japans-blinged-out-trucking-subculture-of-dekotora/
🤢🤮
Oh Japan.
Couldn’t be any worse than the jingle trucks of SW Asia and the subcontinent.
*loads article*
Oh good lord.
You know the Japanese trucks have brakes that work though. And drivers that aren’t complete idiots.
The trucking scene in the Philippines is fairly similar from pictures I’ve seen.
They probably use the lanes as the highway dept striped them too.
/memories of double traffic on single lanes
That is awesome.
Ha! I was able to successfully guess the origin of dekotora.
Agreed. All my vehicles are blue.
All three of my work trucks are white. The spare truck has a blue stripe on the box. My dad is a firm believer in white, he no shit told me it was better for resale and bought his 2001 F250 in white in large part for that reason. He’s still driving it. So much for resale.
A buddy of mine that ran a Macco into the ground believes the white line too. His bankruptcy tells me otherwise.
Paint it like the Partridge Family bus.
The Muppets Studebaker paint scheme is better.
My current truck is white and I love it. I told my wife I just wanted a basic work truck. Base trim but with a few options to make it more comfortable. No led headlights or taillights, no high trim level branding.
I park next to the PoCo and RR boys in the hotel lots and blend right in.
I hate LEDs with a passion.
In the house and in the car.
Eye strain while driving long hours at night is a real thing with LED headlights.
The New Worktruck has halogen bulbs.
Yep. I used to work graves and drive a lot. Either it’s aging eyes or the LED headlights, but I find it painful now. Even the semis have the LASIK headlights on them.
And the snow doesn’t melt off the led lights.
I have resisted LED trooper and brake light for the reason of snow.
Trailer.
#board6 2/5
⭐⭐
🪄 70 points
🔥 streak: 1
puzzlist.com/lettergrams
Police ask the owner of 14,088 bags of fentanyl found in Delaware to come forward
Best headline ever. Anybody want to step up? Also, given how ultra, super deadly this is how many LEOs has this stash taken out of action and put on fully paid disability?
https://www.inquirer.com/news/delaware-14088-bags-fentanyl-20260413.html
I rented a Toyota Camry Hybrid for the ~2000-mile round trip from NoVA to Ft. Walton Beach. It wasn’t bad fr the job.
I would be down for a hybrid midrange truck if the DOT wouldn’t screw you over the increased weight.
Stand up a battery behind the cab or under the box on each side, tie it to a front axle that had motors in the hubs like to old LeTearno stuff. Throw in traction control, it would be great off the line, hill assist, make it a 4×4, regenerative breaking and it would increase MPG while decreasing conflict on the roads as the trucks could pull hills better. Why Tesla or anyone else haven’t done such a thing as a bolt on is beyond me. I don’t have the technical accusing or the cash to do that startup.
Something like that in a Tacoma would be very interesting. I have no idea why Toyota decided to stuff a turbocharged 4-banger in the latest gen – did they just decide that no one buys a Tacoma for work/hauling/bad roads anymore?
You lost me. The only thing I know about diesels is that they don’t use spark plugs.
*phew* I was thinking ‘Well, I know numbers and the meaning of those words.
Absolute ignorance when they’re combined.’
More is better.
400+ HP in a midrange truck is a lot.
Your over the road semis are 450-500 before they get turned up.
But torque is king.
My Old Worktruck has around 1000 foot pounds of torque.
The Cat in the New one is between 1350-1750. Probably on the lower end.
It’ll be fast.
Empty I could hang with the mom mobile until i ran out of gears and it has 430 Hp.
Diesel has more BTUs in it VS gasoline for the same volume.
It stores much longer without going bad, not you biodiesel.
It will gel when it gets cold so there is a winter blend. I buy winter blend and fill all my equipment with it as my stuff sits.
Congrats on the dodged bullet and purchase. Hope it works out. *crosses fingers*
Our spec-requirements were very different looking for transport. When I got a replacement car last Sept, I got incredibly lucky with a 2019 Kia Sportage. 180,000, trusted mechanic gave it a thumbs-up, and fairly affordable. (‘Rents paid for it and I pay them monthly. Helps much.)
Best bit: It has knobs and buttons! I was actively looking for less tech shit, as little as possible. The touchscreen is small and IIRC I’ve never touched it. I drove quite a bit ‘commuting’ north for the Tribune, but not much now, and I’ve never needed to use any car for anything other than people-carrying. It’s also AWD and has fun, foldable backseats. So far, I strongly approve.
Nice.
Knobs and buttons FTW!
That’ll be Episode IV when I get the stereo going.
It’s a new world for me.
I used to listen to normal radio, cuz fuck it. I finally caved and got Sirius. I don’t really flip through much, but that was a good idea. Made possible only cuz I got six months, then another three for $.99/mo.
Yep. Worth it. I’ve not fucked with the stereo since ~2003 when I got a CD player in my first or second car. Dave Matthews, only the live albums are good, and only from the first few albums, but their drummer is absolutely the best I’ve ever heard, and there’s incredible musicianship involved.
^^Point. Disc 1 (or 2?) of Live at Red Rocks got stuck in that damn thing and I lived with it for maybe 18mo. (Before that car got run into the ground.) I’m glad I don’t get easily frustrated with little shit like that.
Just call to cancel/threaten to cancel when they jack the rates up. Well known for extending the lower prices if you call as a save offer but will happily charge you thru the nose if you auto renew.
Ha! Indeed. I’ve got their end dates locked in a week before to keep reminders popping up.
*Know* the system in order to *use* the system to your advantage. (Don’t run out of sick days!) Kinda like the Get Away with Shit Card translation of “Master the rules before you break ’em” mantra. Our Somalian urban griftoteers learned well. Lacking our culturally trusting, ‘Don’t be a dick’ societal upbringing, they had a leg up on the corruption racket.
It’s a bit wild to me that axles have brands.
Timpkin, Merritor, AAM, Detroit, Dana…
AAM started as a part of GM, they spun off and make the front axle for the newer Dodge pickup now. Probably the best light truck front end out there. Based on the GM14 bolt rear axle that is still fairly sought after that started being made in the late 70s.
I refuse to use Inland Northwest, Idaho has a seaport after all
And steelhead & salmon. Even if Boise’s idea of seafood dining is Joes Crab Shack.
Not anymore. One of the few upsides of a massive transplant influx from SoCal is the money to support good restaurants.
Any recommends in the area Spud?
“Moar, power. Who doesn’t want more power?”
James May?
There is something to be said about driving slow cars fast.
Cheep thrills and all.
I forgot to do a music link on this.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PiZHNw1MtzI
There is something to be said about driving slow cars fast.
Getting the most out of a “slow” car, via momentum and driving a clean line, is more fun than stab and steer monstrosities like this.
“Hypersupercars bore the shit out of me.
I am not a diesel guy, but I have to admit the Audi R10 V12 tdi Le Mans cars were pretty awesome.
Knowledgeable truck people – my dealer is hitting me up for $3500, to replace the front lower control arms and stabilizer bar links on my 2018 Taco (130k). Am I just being fucked normal-like here, or is this a real Steve Smith-grade fucking? The Internet says $1800-$2200.
Dunno about the actuals, but dealership pricing is straight up insane these days. Even independent shops are through the roof.
If you can find an independent – you’ll save on labor. I’d stick with OEM parts, however.
Yeah, I have an appointment with an independent shop on Thursday.
It does seem high. Might be your state/local area.
You’re getting boned.
Check the prices at Rock Auto.
I’m betting you could buy the parts and the tools and still have cash left over and keep the tools.
Sadly, I live in a condo and don’t have the space to do suspension work (and the asshole HOA [but I repeat myself] has a specific rule about doing auto work on the property.)
I have no idea why Toyota decided to stuff a turbocharged 4-banger in the latest gen – did they just decide that no one buys a Tacoma for work/hauling/bad roads anymore?
EPA numbers.
Last weeks I Do Cars teardown was a Ford Ecoboost V6 out of a truck. He had the Carfax report, and the thing had better-than-recommended maintenance. It looked really good internally, except for the burnt and dropped valves and the missing piston and rod.
I would bet the guy was towing a trailer in a high stress situation like a long climb on a hot day, and it suffered a meltdown.
“EPA numbers.”
Also driven more by Europe. Understandably, they want a global engine and this satisfies Europe and the US.
I can’t imagine Toyota sells many pickups in Europe.
That heavy duty turbo 4 is used on their trucks like the Land Cruiser.
I’m stuck in the era where land cruisers had I6s that last 500,000 miles.
dealer is hitting me up for $3500, to replace the front lower control arms and stabilizer bar links on my 2018 Taco
I wouldn’t know about the price, but apparently the shitty rubber bushings in the Element control arms make them a routine replacement item.
Yes, and the primitive traction control that uses the brake pads causes early wear of the front pads. I had one of those in the past.
BTW, thank you for your submission, Threedoor! I can speak on my behalf and say anyone who helps get some content out here is very welcome.
I apologize for being soooo slow.
I’ll have two more installments of these before two long. The are written but need a little polish and imported to WordPress.
Surprising absolutely no one
A national effort to circumvent the Electoral College has gained another state.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill Monday that adds the state to the National Popular Vote Compact, an agreement among states to award their presidential electoral votes to the nationwide popular vote winner.
With Virginia, the total number of states signed on to the interstate compact is now 18, plus the District of Columbia, for a total of 222 electoral votes.
The compact doesn’t go into effect, though, until there are enough states signed up to reach the required 270 electoral votes to elect a president.
“This [effort] started 20 years ago and it’s been slow and steady … constant forward momentum across these 20 years,” said Alyssa Cass, a strategist for the National Popular Vote Project and a Democratic consultant. “Bills have been introduced in almost every state, most passed in a bipartisan way. This is on the 5-yard line of making this a reality.”
Why do we allow those icky peasants in Flyoverstan to wreck democracy with their crazy rebuke of the warm embrace of our collectivist wisdom?
Boy, those commies really do play the long game.
So much this. And they are very good at it.
When the last state signs to push it over 270, that is when the shooting will start (I imagine).
Hope and prayers.
Kick them out of the Union.
They can have their commie utopia and we can be free of them.
It would be nice if you’d let me move first…
You have to shoot your way out Snake.
Didn’t that destroyer of democracy, OMB, just win the nationwide popular vote? Assuming these advocates for civil war got their way and 270 EV states signed up, what would they do in that situation? I can’t imagine any of those states pledging electoral votes to OMB.
Spread around a lil bit more mail in ballots and you could drag any loser across the line.
*side eyes CommaLa*
The dems can manufacture any number of needed votes in the big, blue states. There will never be another Republican that carries the popular vote.
You would think Trump winning the popular vote would’ve put a dent in that.
The measure advanced in Virginia after last year’s elections gave Democrats the governor’s office and full control of the legislature.
Democratic Virginia House of Delegates member Dan Helmer told NPR that getting the state to join the compact was at least a decade-long process. But he linked the effort to new threats against American democracy.
“We have a new generation of Democrats in Virginia,” he said, “and what that means is we have people who appreciate the threats that are happening to our democracy today and are ready to take action. And the National Popular Vote Compact is one of those actions that we can take to protect American democracy right now.”
Keeping Republicans out of office is how we save Democrat-ocracy.
Check the prices at Rock Auto.
The last couple of times I ordered “cheap” parts from RockAuto I got STEVE SMITHed on shipping. Fuck those guys.
I like that rock auto gives you options on manufactures.
And yeah. Shipping is a bitch.
I’ll look on rock auto then compare part numbers on Amazon and Summit auto.
I’ll look on rock auto then compare part numbers on Amazon and Summit auto.
I need to do the rear brakes on the Element. The idea of ordering parts from Amazon kind of scares me, but free shipping on cast iron brake rotors is pretty tempting. I was looking someplace else, PartsGeek maybe, and some of their brake kits said free shipping.
There are lots of low quality and counterfeit parts on Amazon. Be careful.
For me my time has enough cost that doing the job again because of poor parts isn’t worth it.
I’ve had good luck so far on Amazon car parts.
Am I getting counterfeit Bosch brake pads and GM fuel filters?
Dunno. Maybe.
It seems safer than buying jack stands at Harbor Freight.
We Tested $500 in Spark Plugs, 33% were Counterfeit
https://youtu.be/ZIAMB8mQqFo?si=agreuOJ91IxcVM3H
Fun channel. Auto mechanic by day and youtube channel focused on electric tools and mechanics tools.
My jackstands are all old Craftsman ones from the late 90s early 2000s.
And the China heavy truck ones from Amazon built out of 3” tube with a hitch pin for height adjustment.
Should have bought a Tesla.
Amazon showed some “legit” brake parts, anyway.
Recognizable manufacturers, anyway. Who makes what they put in the boxes is anybody’s guess, nowadays.
Same line.
Five Duff labels.
My two auto repair channels – South Main Auto and Pine Hollow Diagnostics have been burned multiple times with counterfeit Amazon parts.
Neither will buy there by choice and highly recommend against it.
I wouldn’t buy valve springs or rod/mains from Amazon.
Regular wear parts, yeah they’ll be worn out before they have the chance to fail. I’ll buy them.
My wife has only two speeds – full acceleration and full braking. The concept of coasting to a stopped vehicle or light does not cross her mind.
She went through plenty of Ford OEM brakes and rotors, but on the last change out she forgot to ask our independent to use OEM. He has good luck with one of the upper end NAPA break parts so that’s what he used. (Probably Taiwan made). She warped two sets long before the rotors wore down or the pads needed to be changed.
I don’t have the time to play games with non-OEM parts anymore.
I got a sketchy looking opened box with a Lacie external drive in it the other day. It does work and seemed new enough but yeah who knows.
Mark Kelly for President! He’ll shove his hand up the nations backside to control it like his does with his brain damaged wife puppet! *swoon*
He’s the budget Jeff Bezos spaceman.
Regular wear parts, yeah they’ll be worn out before they have the chance to fail. I’ll buy them.
The Amazon brake pads will only last 50k miles? Oh, no.
I wouldn’t buy valve springs or rod/mains from Amazon.
I saw some youtube thing about a guy buying Temu roller lifters for his small block Chevy. That’s ballsy.
Soft lifters for the soft Chinese cam? OTH, the pushrods?
1000 amp welder? Welding heavy plate with that? I believe it weighs 800 pounds and I would have thought maybe a bit more. My Miller Dialarc weighs 365 and it’s only 300 amp
You have to see me on Only Glibs for that. Saturday night at around 10pm pacific
Interwebs say 821 pounds for the Lincoln DC1000
That’s just the welder, leads and everything else just about double them.
Nothing wrong with Rock Auto. You just can’t order single parts or they will boof you on the shipping