Dirt in the wrong places can be the root of all evils. If you’ve ever worked on an oil-soaked or crusty project car before, you know how much of a pain it can be when tiny bits of dirt or rust get into the threads of a part you’re working on. Dirt and contamination will grind and damage the threads (galling) or trap moisture and promote rust. Ideally you’d degrease and clean the work area, but not everything plays out ideally in reality (Gojo has been in business for decades for a reason). And while cleanliness is next to Holleyness, sometimes you’ve just gotta fix it and send it!
We like to cut up a rubber glove while snaking threaded parts, especially fittings, through a dirty engine bay. In the case of our LT1-powered 1996 Buick Roadmaster, the hydraulic powersteering lines snake around an area soaked by powersteering fluid and encrusted in road grime. Not only does the glove finger protect the fitting from picking up dirt and debris, it also secures the O-ring in a ready-to-install package. This way you can Ray Charles a part through a greasy abyss and not have to worry about dropping the O-ring, filling the line with crud, or creating a nightmare of a fitting connection.
Wrenchin’ Wednesday is a weekly garage-hackamajig, wrenching smarter-not-harder with small tips that make working on your project easier, cheaper, and maybe even a bit faster. We’re probably not the first with any of these ideas, but you won’t be the last to know every Wednesday!
Last week, we talked about how to find unwelcomed engine noise with some common garage items!
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