Miscellaneous Useless Information

Jim Halderman

Introduction

• Former flat-rate technician, business owner and professor of Automotive Technology

Why this Topic?

• Students want to know if something being discussed is a “need to know”

• Some things are “nice to know”• Some things are “miscellaneous useless

information”• Which do you think students remembered the

most?

Gale L. Halderman

The penny on the wheel cover story

NEON Front Fender

Roof steel thickness

Ford engineer said:“Has to be just thick enough to keep the rain out”

Torque Paint

You can’t see both sides of a car at the same time

• When selling a vehicle, put the best wheels on the driver’s side.

OE Tires

Tire noise

• According to tire engineers:

• 80% of the tire noise is transmitted into the passenger compartment

through the chassis (bushings, etc.)

• Just 20% of tire noise is transferred through the air

Smooth in=toed inSmooth out=toed out

• If rough feeling front to rear along the tread= high speed cornering.

Shock when touching metal

• Silicon used in tires and replacing the carbon black

• Use static guard spray on the seats

TPMS-check the spare!

Font size

• Using Arial font is commonly used• Times New Roman takes up less space• Therefore, if you are trying to get more text in

a same space, use Times New Roman font

Power Point Trick

• B= black screen (no need to shut off the projector)

• W= white (can be used to light the white board)

Cadillac Gas Gauge Story

Fuel Level Sensor Values

• F= 194-220 Ohms • ¾= 156 Ohms• ½= 125 Ohms• ¼= 85 Ohms• Low Fuel Light= 55 Ohms• E= 45 Ohms (about2 Gallons)

Genie Light?

Dash warning lights mean?

Wiring Numbers

• Connectors (C or J)• Grounds (G)• 100s=under the hood• 200s=under the dash• 300s =in the passenger compartment• 400s= in the truck or rear compartment

OBD II Plug-Pins 4 and 5 are longer

VOLT plug is an SAE standardized plug

Hybrid 12-volt Auxiliary battery

• If the 12-volt battery is inside the vehicle then it is an absorbed glass mat (AGM )type

• If the 12-volt battery is located under the hood, it is a flooded cell type

Battery date codes

• The shipping sticker shows month and year.• The month is a letter.(February,2003)

7X cost = Retail Price

Example:Cost = $5.00Sell to Warehouse Distributor (WD)= $10.00(100% markup is a 50% margin)

WD sells to local parts warehouse (divide by 0.65)(35% margin)= $15.38Warehouse sells to parts store = $23.67Parts store sells to customer = $36.41

AOP and AOD

The least used seat is behind the driver

I used this information to replace door window crank with one that is broken.

I replaced it with the one on the left rear…..no one noticed it.

CAT -2004+ (rear brick is reduction)

CAT Universal- measure rear brick

Torque

• Is it Lb-Ft?• Or is it Ft-Lb?• Officially is expressed as a force times a distance• Therefore it should be lb-ft• The metric unit is OK

(Newton-meter)

The second click story

HP and Torque curves must cross

• HP= Torque times RPM/5252• The two curves must cross at 5,252 RPM

Full-time four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicles

• Four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicles must have tire tread depth all within 1/16 inch of each other

• If not, then a vibration will likely occur

• Transfer case damage is also very likely

The Binder Clip Trick

Lexus Alignment Rack Story

An engine stops with one cylinder 70 degrees BTDC

Engine stops when one cylinder is on the compression stroke.

That is why ring gears always seem to show wear at certain places and not spread uniformly around the gear.

Styrofoam block?

Hourly rate to yearly pay

• Take the rate per hour and multiply by 2,000• (50 week times 40 hours = 2,000 hours)• $10 an hour equals $20,000 a year

• You can also work backward:• $50,000 a year is equal to $25 an hour• $50,000/ 2000 = $25

My Favorite Saying

Rule of 72

• If money earns 10% interest, then your money will double every 7.2 years.

• If money earns 7.2% interest, your money will double every 10 years.

Human Body

• Likes 68 to 78 degrees F

• Lower than 68 F, most want heat

• Higher than 78 F, most want cooling

C degrees to F degrees

• To easily convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit degrees:

• Double it and add 25

• 20° C X 2= 40 + 25 = 65°F (Actual =68°F)

Ignore the wind-chill factor

• The wind chill factor is used to estimate the amount of heat loss from the human body when exposed to cold and wind.

• The wind does not change the temperature.• Antifreeze does not need to be able to

protect against freezing to the wind-chill temperature…..just the air temperature

Noise rules- Remember ”EARS”

• E= Earplugs• A=Avoid (if you have to shout to be heard, you

need hearing protection)• R= Reduce volume• S= Shorten time of exposure

E85 is not 85% Ethanol

• Usually tested as being 81% to 82%• Can be as low as 70% in the winter.

Pound with something softer

When pounding on something pound with:•Brass on steel•Plastic on aluminum•Plastic or rawhide on plastic

Paper on Table Demo

• Place paper on table• Place both hands together in the center and move

them outward• Nothing happens to the paper• Now place hands at the ends and move toward

the center• The paper wrinkles• Students will remember how to properly tighten

fasteners in the proper sequence

click-click vs. clunk-clunk

Do no harm• Use a plastic ice scraper as a gasket scraper to

avoid causing damage to aluminum parts.

Engine torque when in Drive and Reverse

Micron filter size

• Most air and fuel filters can filter to 20-30 microns

• The human eye cannot see anything smaller than about 40 microns

How many gallons in a barrel of oil?

• Answer= 42

How many weeks in a month?

• Not 4 • (that would make the year 48 weeks long

instead of 52 weeks)

• Answer = 4.3 weeks

Brakes stop wheels-not vehicles

“Competitive” brake pads

• From an importer: “The box costs me more than the brake pads.”

• Always try to use good quality parts from a known manufacturer

Books

• Custom books can be made with content from any number of different books into one book.

• They can also include instructor-created documents, pictures or art.

Books can be rented

• Either hard copy or electronic

Summary

• Cool information helps add interest to any class

• I like to tell stories to help students remember facts and information

• Make your class a fun place to learn• Enjoy• jim@jameshalderman.com