Lost knowledge


Back in the day....

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

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Location: Lyman, IA

Post Fri Apr 18, 2014 9:29 am

Lost knowledge

I had access to a Gardner engine manual, it was about as big as a cheap supermarket magazine, why? beacuse in only listed spec's torqueing sequance and stuff that wasn't considered "general knowledge". It assumed you knew how to remove pistons from rods, how to replace valves, and even how to go about timeing the injection pump.
The old "binder" manuals are the same, they assume you know to remove the front hub and brake drum as a unit (not pokeing fun at anyone here,it was assumed knowedge that has been lost over the years). There is so much more that is lost. They don't explaine how to remove the rear hub on the semi-floating axle as it was a common design back in the day and was assumed everyone knew how. They give very general instruction on setting a voltage regulator because every vehicle had one, and what was inportant was the setting, it was assumed you knew how to set. King pins were common and how to replace was generally known, the fact the bushing need to be reamed after install was known and most shops had the tools to do it.
There are still "gray hairs" on this site who retaine some of this, but how long before the info is gone?
Concrete was known to Romans, but was lost for time and had to be "re-discovered".
I hope it will get passed down so we don't have to re-learn it all.

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Post Fri Apr 18, 2014 10:30 am

Re: Lost knowledge

Amen!

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

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Location: Richland, WA

Post Fri Apr 18, 2014 4:07 pm

Re: Lost knowledge

That's what is great about a site like this, and ESPECIALLY the patience of the gray hairs (and graying as I consider myself :roll: ) in answering all the "silly/dumb/simple" questions that come up. We need to keep in mind, the only dumb question is the unasked one.

What I like about this site is that people are eager to pass on their knowledge and don't take the easy questions as an opportunity to flame or belittle the asker, unlike many other sites (including some of the IH sites).

What will keep the lost knowledge intact is sites like this one and the ability and eagerness of the graying newbies to pass on what they have learned to future generations. So please, everyone, continue to be welcoming and gracious to the knowledge seekers. Even if you've answered a question 20 times, it don't cost nothing or hurt at all to answer it 21 times. And if you just don't feel like it, let someone else do it.
"How the heck did that happen?"

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Site Admin

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Post Fri Apr 18, 2014 8:36 pm

Re: Lost knowledge

If a Question has been answered, as some do, Post the Link to that thread. Search, for me is a little cumbersome, but just change the way you list it and you will probably find it!
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Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

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Post Fri Jul 04, 2014 4:58 pm

Re: Lost knowledge

At one time there were those things....books. This was our high school text book...it cover the 40 to 58 models of bowties although one brand was pretty much the same as the next. Another book that came out in the 80's and available for a few bucks on ebay was Readers Digest Complete Car Care..a how to book that made auto repair so simple with plenty of pictures and easy to follow instructions. It was definitely designed for someone laying there hands or eyes on a car for the first time..

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Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

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Post Mon Apr 27, 2015 11:31 am

Re: Lost knowledge

Those old Reader's Digest series of Do It Yourself books were pretty good. I used one the first time I built a green house back in high school.
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Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

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Location: Canada's left Coast

Post Mon Apr 27, 2015 12:29 pm

Re: Lost knowledge

Good post, CB89.
Sometimes the best advice is to tell someone to get professional help, kingpins being an example. With very few exceptions, it is very unlikely that some Foodie can stumble out of a man-cave and with no prior experience do everything to rebuild a truck. The times have changed so much.
Most guys, my age, I'll be 70 this year, could cook, build a house, repair their vehicles, drive a tractor and get to town and home again without GPS.
My son is a good example of different. While he has the ability, he has little interest in being in the shop. I don't expect him to become a mechanic, but maybe, just maybe, he might pick up a little understanding of what goes on under the hood. He can make KD and knows the difference between left and right, so, at least he won't starve or have his wheels fall off.
I would rather have tools I do not need than to need tools I do not have
Thinking risks being controversial and possibly being offensive

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

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Location: Canada's left Coast

Post Mon Apr 27, 2015 12:43 pm

Re: Lost knowledge

My son borrowed my GARMIN GPS for his trip to California. My minimum expectation is he doesn't lose it.
In Barbados there is a saying, "Once a man, twice a child ". In 2015, the man and the child are not too different, as it turns out. Internet to the rescue with everything you need to know temporarily and not retain is there. There is lots of know nothings populating too many forums with their misunderstandings and bunk-house-BS. How is the "new-guy" to know the difference?
There should be no embarrassment in asking for help from someone with the tools and experience. I know a few things, but, I am just smart enough to send my kingpin re&re out to Coquitlam Automotive and Machine.
When I was in high school there were shops where the trades training was considered first year training for the trade. When my two kids went through high school, in one of the most advance high schools in North America, they say, the shops had been closed down, the tools and equipment put into storage and the shop space became computer labs.
In the great disconnect between the new school counsellor, the school boards and the real world out here, the trades were being used to threaten lower performance kids. While my son is really good at anything mathematical he is much less interested in the BS kings of England and who they were beheading because they weren't getting laid. So his marks showed a situation. I was there with my wife and son when his counsellor told him, " If you don't get it together we will put you into the trades program". I was quick to respond and reminded the "B" that the school does not have a trades program, then I went on to remind her that it may well have been a mechanic that maintained the transit bus she took to work, built this school and the desk she was hiding behind and changed the oil on her imported car.
Immediately after this waste of time meeting where the school refused to recognize they had failed, again, I went to my union office and had a meeting with the president of our local. We started a program where union tradesmen, in cooperation with the school boards go to speak to students about the trades. The company I worked for agreed to have one day, "Experience the trade" days and then bring your kid to work days. Out of this there was a number of persons who entered an apprenticeship and have become trades excellent persons.
The mechanical trades here in British Columbia have too few members to fill the demand. Very suddenly and more out of a knee-jerk reaction and embarrassment, our Provincial Government has reacted to panic filling the trade deficit by opening up trades training by 5 times the number of spaces.. The shortage of trades persons saw the government recruiting over-seas. The local unions reacted harshly when the imported workforce was being paid about half-pay and little or no benefits. The argument was for equal pay for equal work. Some of the foreign workers were sent packing, but not before our unions made sure they were properly compensated for time etc. The settlements went into thousands of dollars per tradesman.
WE have girls in the trades here. Some of the tradesmen are slow to accept a girl doing an often better job, but this attitude is not supported. My daughter is a mechanic and a good one.
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I would rather have tools I do not need than to need tools I do not have
Thinking risks being controversial and possibly being offensive
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Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

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Location: Thunder Bay On

Post Wed Apr 29, 2015 6:11 am

Re: Lost knowledge

I see there are copies of that readers digest manual on ebay ,,makes understanding automobiles very simple for anyone

Books>Nonfiction
Complete-Car-Care-Manual-Readers-Digest-Hard-Cover-1981-Book-Repair-Maintenance
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Yard Art
Yard Art

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Location: Northfield, MN USA

Post Wed Apr 29, 2015 9:40 am

Re: Lost knowledge

Our small town has an annual book fair each spring - donated books fill up the local hockey arena, and there's a lot of good stuff to be found. We have two liberal arts colleges in town, so books are a big thing here. :D First night of the sale was last night.

I always check the home/auto/DIY section among others, and lo and behold, there was one of the Reader's Digest Car Care books as referenced up-thread. For a buck, I had to pick it up. As noted, it's got a lot of good basic info that "real" mechanics probably take for granted.

I also got a book on auto-body repair that's a bit advanced for me, but again for a buck I couldn't complain.

Other items were found in the ancient history, computer, and sci-fi sections, but those are other hobbies entirely...
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