Harbor Freight 12-Ton Press Fix

I bought a shop press from Harbor Freight, when they put them on sale.  It's been working fairly well, except for the fact that the ram was free to float back and forth maybe a quarter inch.  I could almost get a beer bottle cap into the gap between the press frame and the ram weldment.  That quarter inch of slop is a problem when you're trying to press out a little pin.

Fortunately not terribly difficult to fix.  I went to the Home Depot, and bought 4 nylon bolts, and nuts to match.  Drilling the holes only took a few minutes with the hand drill (not the drill press shown in the background), but shaving the nylon bolts down to fit just right, took some time.  Here's a quick video to illustrate the problem, and how I fixed it.  Kinda dumb, more of a slide-show really, because I don't have a proper digital video channel, and no microphone.

Tip For Beating Eggs

Made a little bit of an accidental discovery last night.  I didn't have any clean bowls, so I broke the eggs into a mug, and then grabbed the whisk, and beat the eggs in the mug.  In the mug, the yolks can't squish out of the way of the whisk.  It actually works a lot better this way.

Oil Change Tip 2 - Oil Drain Valves

Even better than tying off the drain plug, is to completely replace it with a drain valve.

Fram Sure Drain
Available for some cars, you replace your oil pan plug with the one in the package.  When it's time to do an oil change, you screw the hose assembly onto the plug, which opens the valve.

Link to Fram Sure Drain at Jeg's Performance Online Store.  They used to be available at Pep Boys, in the area where you'd find oil filter wrenches.  Not sure if they still carry them.  The local Pep Boys stores are good for plastic shift knobs with LED lighting, and clamp-on chrome exhaust tips, but are light on stuff I actually need.

Fumoto Oil Drain Valve
I've never been able to get a Fram Sure Drain for any of my cars.  The one listed in the book for the Buick didn't have the right threads and I had to return it.  There's no Sure Drain available for the Subaru.

I discovered the Fumoto Oil Drain Valves on the NASIOC (North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club) forum.  The brass valve replaces the oil pan plug.  Just turn the lever, and the oil drains out.  I installed it with a Subaru OE drain plug crush washer, and I've gone probably 10,000 miles without any leaking.

Fumoto USA

Oil Change Tip 1 - Drain Plug Tether

Oil changes are a simple, but often messy operation.  I have found that this can be helped a little bit, if you tether the drain plug to your wrist, a transmission fluid line, or something else under the car. 

What I did, specifically, is to take a length of dental floss, and tie one to my wrist, and then tie a loop in the other end.  After unscrewing the drain plug about a quarter inch, I'd put the loop over the threads of the drain plug, and lassoo that bugger.  Then when I finally got the plug unscrewed all the way, and it dropped into the catch pan, I could fish it out without putting my hand into the oil.

I used the dental floss because it was available, I knew where it was, and when I was finished, I could break the thread with a tug, rather than trying to untie.