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Mechanical stuff
Nov. 21st, 2006 07:58 pmWhen the van got towed a few weeks ago due to the transmission deciding to retire, unfortunately the hand brake got left on. I'd have thought checking that would be S.O.P. for a tow truck driver, but whatever.
It surprisingly enough did not wreck the drums, it just took probably 15K miles off the pads. It also left them badly glazed and howling really loudly. I thought I'd be buying new pads, but luckily when I took the drums off, the pads looked good; I took some "drywall sandpaper" (open-weave emery cloth) to the pads lightly, clicked up the adjusters a turn or two and put the thing back together. Probably 30 minutes of time total. Seems fine now and the pads are no more than 1/2 gone (of course, they SHOULD be practically new, I just put them on a year or so ago).
In other news, I had to actually clean my bike chain on Sunday; I've been just oiling it. Chains are supposed to bend, I hear. I've been lucking out lately and haven't been riding in the rain and dirt and sand on a Friday so the chain got flexed while drying, but my luck didn't hold last week and the dirt on the chain sat and dried on the chain all weekend. Oh well, the cheap $5 chains I've been using lately come off really easily.
Maybe I'll try some of that teflon+wax spray lube that DuPont makes and is sold at Lowes. It's something to try for wintertime when the drivetrain usually winds up entirely encased in a shell of sand and salt and ice.
It surprisingly enough did not wreck the drums, it just took probably 15K miles off the pads. It also left them badly glazed and howling really loudly. I thought I'd be buying new pads, but luckily when I took the drums off, the pads looked good; I took some "drywall sandpaper" (open-weave emery cloth) to the pads lightly, clicked up the adjusters a turn or two and put the thing back together. Probably 30 minutes of time total. Seems fine now and the pads are no more than 1/2 gone (of course, they SHOULD be practically new, I just put them on a year or so ago).
In other news, I had to actually clean my bike chain on Sunday; I've been just oiling it. Chains are supposed to bend, I hear. I've been lucking out lately and haven't been riding in the rain and dirt and sand on a Friday so the chain got flexed while drying, but my luck didn't hold last week and the dirt on the chain sat and dried on the chain all weekend. Oh well, the cheap $5 chains I've been using lately come off really easily.
Maybe I'll try some of that teflon+wax spray lube that DuPont makes and is sold at Lowes. It's something to try for wintertime when the drivetrain usually winds up entirely encased in a shell of sand and salt and ice.
