The drivetrain is the set of parts that sends power from the engine to the wheels. Mounting it means installing those parts so the truck can actually move.
Steering is what lets you turn the car left and right. If they mounted it, that means the steering parts are installed so the truck can be steered properly.
Tire rotation is the practice of moving tires from one position to another (like front to rear) to even out wear. Because tires wear differently depending on whether they’re driven, steered, or carry more load, rotation helps them last longer.
Driver training is a class or program that teaches you how to drive more safely and confidently. The hosts are saying some skills should be taught in that kind of program rather than in a general class.
Survival gear is what you bring in case you get stuck somewhere and can’t get help right away. In winter, that often means things like water, food, and warm blankets.
A winter kit is a set of supplies you keep in your car for cold-weather problems. The hosts say it should match your local conditions—more water in hot places, more blankets where it’s really cold.
Jumper cables are the cables you use to “borrow” power from another car to start a dead battery. You have to connect them correctly and carefully to avoid problems.
A constant drain is a continuous electrical load that keeps drawing power from the battery even when the car is parked. Modern cars often have modules that stay awake briefly, but a persistent drain can cause the battery to go flat over days or weeks.
TPMS is a system that checks your tire pressure. If the TPMS light comes on, it usually means one or more tires are low, so you should check the tire pressures right away.
The oil light means the engine isn’t getting enough oil pressure (or there’s an oil problem). If it’s on, you should take it seriously and check the oil level/pressure soon to avoid damaging the engine.
The check engine light means the car’s computer noticed something wrong. It could be small, but you should get it checked (often with a code reader) instead of ignoring it.
Term
ABS brake
ABS is the system that helps your brakes keep traction when you stop hard. If the ABS warning is on, you may still have normal braking, but the car may not be able to prevent wheel lockup as well.
Tail lights are the red lights on the back of the car. If they stop working, it’s usually a simple fix like a bulb or fuse, but you should check it quickly.
The car battery supplies power for starting and for electronics. They’re talking about whether shops will replace batteries for free, and that it depends on the car and the shop’s policies.
Torque is how hard you tighten a bolt or nut. For wheel lug nuts, using the right torque helps keep the wheel firmly attached and reduces the risk of loosening.
Lug nuts are the bolts that hold your wheel onto the car. You need to tighten them to the right amount so the wheel stays secure without stressing anything.
Term
crossbar wrench
A crossbar wrench is a tool with a long handle that gives you leverage to tighten lug nuts. It can get things tight enough to drive, but it doesn’t measure the exact tightening force.
A donut spare is the small temporary spare tire. It’s meant for getting you to a tire shop, not for long-term driving.
Concept
being pulled over
“Pulled over” means the police stop your car. They’re talking about staying calm and knowing how to handle the situation and talk to the officer.
Concept
pre-accident paperwork / insurance paperwork
They’re saying you should keep your insurance documents handy. After an accident, having the right paperwork makes it easier to file a claim and handle the situation quickly.
The Chevrolet Suburban is a big SUV that’s commonly used for families. Here, it’s the vehicle the host says they were driving when they got pulled over.
If the road is covered with moving water, it can be dangerous and can damage your car. Water can get into places it shouldn’t, and you can get stuck or lose control.
Concept
insurance thing
They’re discussing what you need to show to prove your car is insured. Sometimes the officer can check it on their system, but having proof with you can prevent problems later.
“Running the tag” means the officer looks up your license plate in their system. They can sometimes confirm things like whether your insurance is current.
Basic troubleshooting means figuring out what’s wrong in a logical order, starting with the easiest things to check. The goal is to avoid guessing and to know what to tell a mechanic.
Dash lights are the warning symbols on your speedometer cluster. They’re there to tell you something might be wrong, and when they come on can help figure out what’s happening.
Burning oil has a different odor than coolant, and it can indicate oil leaks or an oil-related problem. Smell-based diagnosis is imperfect, but it can guide what to inspect first (like checking for leaks and verifying fluid levels).
Antifreeze (coolant) has a distinct smell, and a sweet/chemical odor often points to a coolant leak. Distinguishing coolant smell from burning oil helps identify whether the issue is cooling-related or engine-oil-related.
Overheating means the engine is getting too hot. That can happen if the cooling system isn’t working right, and if you keep driving it can cause expensive damage.
Driving through water means going through puddles or flooded roads. It can be risky because water can get where it shouldn’t—especially into the engine—and it can also make the tires lose grip.
Fluid identification means figuring out what kind of fluid is leaking from your car. The color and location can give you a clue, so you know what to do next.
An oil change is when you replace the engine oil (and usually the filter) so the engine stays properly lubricated. It’s usually planned on a schedule, not something you skip because of a leak.
Hydraulic fluid is the fluid that helps hydraulic systems work by carrying force under pressure. If it’s leaking, the system may not work as strongly—especially brakes.
Brake fluid is what makes the brakes respond when you press the pedal. If it’s low, the pedal can feel soft or the brakes can squeal, and you may have a leak.
It’s a little stick you pull out to see how much engine oil is in the motor. The marks on the stick tell you whether the level is low, good, or too high.
Older automatic transmissions often have a dipstick for checking fluid level. Some newer cars don’t, so you can’t check it the same way and may need a different procedure.
Concept
classic car manual archives
They’re talking about websites that collect old car documents—like owner’s manuals and ads—so people can browse them. It’s useful if you’re curious about how older cars worked and were marketed.
Carburetors are parts that help an engine get the right mix of air and gas. The hosts are referencing old instructions that would have covered how carburetors work.
Ted Ornis is a person credited with designing those classic International Harvester trucks. The hosts are talking about his role in the truck’s design.
A “front clip” is basically the front section of a vehicle—like the metal parts around the nose. People swap it to fix damage or to change the car’s style using parts from a different truck or car.
“Manuals” are the official guides for the car—like repair instructions and parts diagrams. They help you figure out what parts you need and how things go together.
“Points” are an old-school ignition part that helps the engine create a spark. If they’re worn or out of adjustment, the car can run poorly or not start.
Viscosity is basically how thick the oil is. Cars are designed to use a specific oil thickness, and using the wrong one can mean the engine isn’t protected as well.
A distributor is an older ignition part that helps send spark to the right spark plug at the right time. If it’s rotated the wrong way, the timing can be off.
The Dodge Power Wagon is an older pickup truck built to handle tough jobs and rough driving. If someone is talking about the distributor’s rotation on a 1972 model, they mean the ignition system has to be set up correctly for that specific engine. Getting that right helps the engine start and run properly.
The Seat Cordoba is a small car made by Seat. In the discussion, the focus is on the car’s color and interior—like having a red interior—and how that matches a particular version of the Cordoba. If you’re restoring or shopping for one, the exact color and trim can matter.
Brand
Rustolium
They’re talking about a specific paint brand they used on a truck. It’s the kind of paint meant for tough outdoor metal, and they’re noting it takes a while to dry.
Patina is the “cool, aged look” on a vehicle—like surface rust that’s still stuck to the metal. Rust is when the corrosion actually breaks away or gets worse.
Diesel is a type of engine fuel that works differently than gasoline. The engine starts by compressing air, and that can change how problems show up and what to check.
Oil pressure tells you how strongly the engine is pumping oil around. If it’s too low, the engine parts don’t get enough lubrication and can wear out faster.
The oil pump is what moves oil through the engine and keeps pressure up. If the pressure stays low, the pump may not be working properly, so it’s a logical thing to check.
Glow plugs are heaters used on diesel engines. They help the engine start by warming things up so the fuel ignites more easily, especially in cold weather.
A cross member is a strong metal bar that ties the car’s sides together. When you’re pulling an engine, it can get in the way, so mechanics sometimes remove or loosen it for clearance.
A hard line is a stiff tube that carries fluids in the car. When you’re taking parts apart, those tubes can be tricky to disconnect without bending or breaking.
O-rings are small rubber seals that help stop leaks where two parts meet. If they’re worn or damaged, fluids can seep out, so replacing them can fix the leak.
“Engine goes over” means the engine tips or falls while you’re working. Because engines are heavy, it’s dangerous to do it alone—someone could get hurt.
An engine hoist is the tool that lifts the engine up so you can take it out. The point here is that if you don’t secure things properly, the engine can shift or fall off the hoist.
A gas line is the fuel pipe that brings gasoline to the engine. If you’re removing the engine and you forget to disconnect it, you can break the line or create a fuel leak.
Pulling an engine means taking the engine out of the car. It’s risky and easy to miss connections, so the hosts recommend having more than one person to do it safely.
The Volkswagen Bus is an older van that’s known for carrying people and cargo. Some enthusiasts modify them by putting a different, more powerful engine in—like a 350 Chevy—so it drives differently than stock. That kind of swap has to be done carefully so the engine and the van’s systems work together.
Motor mounts are the parts that hold the engine in the car. When you swap engines, you usually need the right mounts so everything fits and the engine doesn’t sit wrong.
An air hammer is a tool that uses compressed air to make a chisel hit very fast. It’s handy for removing things like rivets without as much manual effort.
A ball peen hammer has one end that’s rounded like a ball and another end that’s flat. It’s used to form metal, and in this case they’re using a version that fits on their air tool.
Term
dishing
Dishing means shaping metal so it curves inward like a shallow bowl. They’re saying the tool makes that kind of shaping much easier.
Project creep means your car project keeps getting bigger. You start with one fix, but then you end up needing more work—often because you have to take things apart or you find extra damage.
Rivets are metal fasteners that hold parts together permanently. If you need to remove a panel, you often have to pop off the rivet ends so the pieces can come apart cleanly.
LIVE
All right. We are back with B Squad. We just spent more time than is reasonably necessary getting John's goals.
John, do you want to tell us about your two goals?
Oh, okay.
Real quick before we get started today?
Yeah, let's see. Sorry I did miss out.
You know, the last recording, shoulder acted up and took a couple of hydrocodone and well, you know, just no being around for the podcast.
Goal number one, my 63 Ford pickup truck. I know it was goal number one last year also, but they never got it out of body and paint.
So this year, I'm sure they're going to get it out of body and paint.
So I'm sure I'm going to have it driving up and down the road.
Goal number two, the town wagon. Hopefully they can get it into body and paint, get it completely done, and then I can get it and put it all back together and have it running down the street also.
As far as last year's goals, like I said, goal number one never happened, didn't get the red truck back.
Goal number two, I did in fact get all of the drivetrain and steering mounted in the Willie's pickup truck.
So I actually completed that, but that's it for this year. Hopefully.
Okay, we'll keep your fingers crossed. I think we all came to the conclusion that it depends on shop time.
Not so much on your time, but shop time.
Yeah, buddy, paint shop, not my shop.
Okay. And, Mav, what are we talking about tonight?
Okay, so I have a subject since, you know, we needed one.
I have been asked if I would be willing to at the college that I do part-time work for to put together a weekend, one day of a weekend class for students on the basics of owning a car.
What you need to know to own a car. This isn't necessarily how to drive your car.
This is things like how to change a tire, how to check the fluids in your car.
One of the things that keeps getting brought up is teach them to drive a clutch.
Not going to happen in this kind of class. This is kind of one where we'll bring a car in and show people different things about how to maintain the car, how to check the tire depth, things like that.
So what I'm looking for is a possible list of ideas of things that I may or may not have thought of to bring up to these students.
And it could be students. It could be adults. It can be anybody who wants to come to the class.
The idea is we're going to have like one-day weekend classes.
We're going to do a one-day weekend car. This car one is one of the ideas.
We're going to do one on basic plumbing. We're going to do one on basic hand tools.
You'll be amazed at the number of people that get to a college and don't know the difference between a Phillips and a flat-head screwdriver. It's scary.
But the idea is to bring up these things and teach them the basics of doing the things for themselves instead of having to take it to the dealership for 50 bucks each time and if you need your oil check.
So I like it. I bet we can come up with a good list for you because we've talked about this several times.
I know I've got a whole list for, well, I shouldn't say I have a whole list.
I have lots of ideas rolling around for my soon-to-be drivers. I love it. I think we should get into this.
Number 334 of the episode flavor.
If you would like stickers for your toolbox, your car, or any other place, send us your mailing address and we will send you some stickers for free because everybody loves free stuff.
B Squad is, at its core, a roundtable discussion of the four of us who are admittedly rank amateurs in the car world, trying to figure our way into hot rodding.
Four states, three time zones, two sets of brothers, once a week of a meeting bolts of hot rods.
For B Squad Hot Rod, this is Lefty.
This is Train.
This is Hollywood.
And this is Woodchuck because A Squad has a TV show.
Legal disclaimer, if you try anything we talk about, that's your fault, not ours.
One of the first things I had to teach my daughter was how to check her tire pressure and how to rotate tires.
I thought those were two very important things that she should learn before I even let her out of the driveway.
How to change a tire. How to actually use your jack and put on a spare so that if you lose a tire on the road, you can actually resolve that for you.
An idea I had about putting in is a basic tool set for your car.
You know what, the vast majority of my cars I can drive just fine without a 10mm, not a problem.
If I'm looking for a 10mm wrench, I'm working on the wrong car.
I told you just fine, John.
Steve, you said you'd come up with some ideas for the girls. What else?
So checking the oil, checking the transmission fluid, I should say, two very different processes that to somebody just standing on the side of the road may look similar.
But obviously, you guys know that the car should be running for one of them and not running for the other and things like that.
That's a huge one. Changing the tires high on the list.
You talked about ability to drive a clutch. Obviously, that's outside the realm of this class, but I think that's important for people to learn.
I think it's important it's just not going to be part of this class.
We may do another one on how we don't want to take away from the group that's already doing the driver training.
So I think that's something they should include in driver training.
Yeah, that makes complete sense to me.
I like the what should you carry in your car because that can go either way.
You can get somebody with a one ton millimeter wrench, a flathead screwdriver and a small flashlight and say, well, I've got everything I need, right?
And then on the other side is somebody like me who the idea fairy just kind of rides on my shoulder and goes, oh, and you should have this and you should have this and you should have this.
Which carries a trailer behind his car full of tools.
Just in case.
Yep.
So I think finding that middle ground and knowing exactly how to choose what you want and what you maybe don't want to carry a huge deal.
I really like that.
The other thing, especially in climates that tends to get cold on a regular basis rather than climates that are just experiencing cold this week.
I feel attacked.
Sorry, buddy, we call seven inches of snow a Tuesday.
Survival gear, right? You want some water, you want some food, you want some blankets, because your car may not be able to move forward or backwards and there may not be anybody coming to get you for a day or more.
So I think those are really important and depending on where you live is kind of what makes that kit up. You know, if you live in Phoenix, then blankets may not be your huge thing, but you might have an extra case of water.
Winter kit's a good idea.
I'm also going to throw in there, you know, winter driving habits.
I'm adding this is my list.
Things like, you know, if it's winter, you don't leave town on less than a half tank of fuel.
Oh, yep, yep.
Yep, you make sure that half tank is empty. You know, that you treat it like that's the empty mark and you fill it regularly because if you do get stuck out there, you've at least gotten the fuel to run the engine some if you need to produce heat.
Yes, a blanket will only go so far if you can keep that car running.
Yep.
The other thing you can do now with that knowledge is if you can run the car, you can charge your cell phone.
This is something I heard and I think it's a great idea, speaking of cell phone, if your cell phone's about to die, leave a voicemail telling what time it is, where you are, and if you're heading some in a particular direction before it dies.
You mean change your voicemail message? Does that have something to do with calls and get your voicemail?
Yes.
Your outbound voicemail.
Yep, that makes sense.
How to jump a car and not let the magic smoke out of either your jumper cables or battery?
Oh, you mean not the way muddy jumps so far?
That's a different kind of jump.
Not my fault I grew up on the Dukes of Hazard, man.
No, that's an excellent jump. Starting a car properly, yep.
Because a lot of students leave their cars parked for six, eight, nine weeks sitting there between sessions of class and then they go out to their car and it's like it won't start.
Yeah, especially newer cars there, they got a constant drain and batteries go bad.
Changing the battery would be something to learn.
Oh, changing the battery, yep.
Dash warning lights, what they are, what they mean, and how critical they are.
If your TPMS light is on and you've looked at your tires and they're okay, that's fine.
If your oil light is on, you need to do something about that, not just go, it'll be fine for the next 600 months.
Yeah, but then there's always that check engine light, you know, where you release the hood and go, go there.
You know, I drove a truck for six years with the berik light on because I knew I wasn't going to fix the ABS brake.
But you got to know what they mean in order to make those decisions.
And there are people who really don't know.
How about how to change some fuses?
That's a good one.
To not do something stupid like the 22 shell.
The modern cars, you can't do that.
In the ones we play with, I mean, I remember bolting there to get home.
Yeah, no fuses, basic fuses, basic troubleshooting.
If you know, if your tail lights are out.
That's another one, how to change your lights.
Changing light bulbs.
And in our country that has on and off icy, snowy, shitty weather, high UV all summer long, it has a tendency to kill a couple of things on your car.
A lot of us really hate changing, but you need to have a rudimentary knowledge of it.
Wind shield wipers.
In the middle of winter, when your driver's side windshield wiper decides to peel off the edge and it's snowy, crappy.
It becomes a pretty big issue.
I've never allegedly had that happen.
As we speak.
The only good thing about that is most of the auto parts places will do it for you for free.
Yeah, that's.
Yep, they'll also do batteries for free and things like that on some cars.
They will oddly enough not do it on 2000 intrepid.
Napa no longer does battery changes here.
Really?
Liability thing he said.
That's interesting.
Yeah.
Along those lines, a proper way to clean your windshield off and still have a windshield left.
Yes.
I've seen a lot of YouTube videos and you just go on.
I don't know how you thought this was okay on freezing cold glass.
Oh, pouring hot water on it.
Yeah, or metal chisels or, you know.
How about cleaning terminals and the terminal connectors?
Changing a battery.
Oh, that's changing a battery and battery maintenance.
Yeah.
That's a good, you know, good to throw in along with changing a battery.
Proper torque on your.
What am I thinking of lug nuts because I remember the first time I ever changed a tire and they were loose because I was 14 and I couldn't figure out what the noise coming from under the truck was.
Okay.
Like that torque.
Yep.
That's another great one.
And just, you know, some of these are going to get pared down like, you know, rotate tires will add lug nut torque to how to change a tire.
And, you know, you tighten it until your elbow pops once, you know, then, you know, you've got it right.
And in the field, that's, you know, you're, you're, you're guessing you're not going with it with, you know, 140 foot pounds of torque in the field.
You're using a crossbar wrench and getting it tight enough to get you into town and then hopefully taking off that donut spare and putting back on a real tire.
German torque for that one.
Good and tight.
Good and tight.
What to do if you get in an accident?
Oh, yeah, that's a really good one.
You know, maybe not demonstrate that, but.
Right.
Take all the fun out of it, Steve.
So.
Well, I mean, buddy, you and jumping guy.
Well, that was one, you know, our son at 16, 17 years old got in his first accident and called me to come up to where the accident was.
And the police officer pulled me aside and said, you know, he was very impressed.
Our son, you know, was very polite. He was very straightforward. He had all the paperwork in place.
You know, he was just, he was freaked out because it was his first accident, but he just simply.
He did it as part of living. He wasn't freaking out like the gal who he allegedly hit.
But if you really want to get technical with speeding and hit him, but the cop couldn't charge it that way.
But just being polite, being knowing how to speak to an officer made a difference.
And I was like, you go under being pulled over in any situations.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Accident procedures pulled over, but there's in an accident.
There's other things you need to do too, even if there's not a police officer.
Right.
Yeah.
And have your insurance know where your insurance paperwork is.
But yeah, even being pulled over, you know, we bought the Gail got the suburban for me for my birthday there in December coming back.
We got pulled over.
I got pulled over because it didn't have plates on it.
No big deal.
We had all the paperwork with us and stuff, but the police officer was extremely nice.
I was nice to him, you know, and man, it was like, yes, here's the right paperwork and, you know, whole nine yards.
And yes, we just bought the car like an hour ago.
Here's the bill of sale to prove that we just bought it.
But yeah, even just being pulled over and treating that officer like he's really supposed to be there, you know, not that he's some jerk, you know, destroying your day.
Oh, closed roads.
I should add that.
Oh, you should add that.
Here.
Yeah.
Don't believe Google all the time.
Use your brain.
Yeah, road ends in river ahead.
You know, roads under water in the first place.
That's a whole different situation here where we get a lot of flooding and I mean, my idiot brother rode through running water and got washed out into a field.
So luckily he managed to come out of that one.
Knowing not to cross running water is a big deal.
Yep.
Deep water.
Yep.
Turn around.
Don't drown.
It was really funny, though, because like I said, he's an idiot.
We got his car out of the out of the field and told them, all right, the first thing you need to do is change all your fluids.
He says, no, I just changed it last week.
The motor up.
No, they're good.
I changed them last week.
That's before you turn it into a submarine.
Okay.
One note with the insurance thing.
I would mention carry a paper copy of insurance with you.
Oh yeah.
Most places allow, you know, you to have it on your phone.
That doesn't mean your phone isn't updating dead.
Whatever, and that will save you some headache of proving later or broken in the accident. Exactly.
Luckily, the other day I actually got pulled over.
Yay.
But the cop, man, you know, when he ran my tag, it came back insured.
For some, they had a way of being able to cover or be able to tell just by running the tag if I had current insurance, because I did not have the paperwork on me.
And which I did, but no, I do because you got to learn from your stupidity.
Not off with a warning, though, just because I was nice to the cop.
Being nice is a thing.
People like when you're nice to them.
They knew he was insured because the number of times he'd been pulled over recently.
No, not recently.
I've been very happy the last four years.
I'm just saying.
I haven't had a ticket in four years and I'm happy about that.
Now, before that.
But no, these are some good ones and we've come up with a bunch that I hadn't thought of.
So, you know, it's now I just need to come up with a lesson plan for it.
Basically, I'll have four hours to do it in four hours to teach the class, not four hours to come up with the lesson.
Yeah, four hours to teach the class.
What do you think?
Started the front of the car and work your way backwards.
No, started simple and work to a more complex.
Yeah, that'll be it.
Start with something simple things that you will see often.
And I'm not entirely sure how to roll this into it, but a lot of people have difficulty with my cars making a funny sound.
Okay.
No, I can see that.
And maybe some basic troubleshooting to figure out if it's the Styrofoam cup in the back seat, or if it's something you need to, you know, take it in and get it looked at.
Yeah, and not everybody is Officer Jones from the police academy movies and every sound.
So, maybe somebody might be a little difficult.
The my car is making a funny sound could could actually dovetail in with the dash lights and what those dash lights.
And you know, this is that that one pump noise that goes faster when you go faster, probably you need to deal with.
As compared to when I stopped, there's a funk and when I start, there's a, yeah, some guessing games as to what those noises are.
So yeah, no, what to do if odd sounds and smells.
Yep.
Use your senses.
So the beamer I bought, multiple people had driven that car.
And at least two of them had told the people told the people selling it that it was overheating, because it's smoked.
Apparently they do not know the difference between what anifree smells like and what oil smells like.
Or it looks like a different color smoke.
Yeah, it was not overheating at all.
No, it leaked oil pretty badly onto the exhaust.
Oh, fix that.
But yeah, they had no idea that that wasn't just because it was smoking.
They assumed it was overheating.
So yeah, what it smells like it matters.
Are you making a list, Jim?
I am.
I've got quite the list going here.
Oh, look at that.
Nice.
And, you know, some of these are things that we discussed and, you know, there with my, the head of my department and I, but, you know, a lot of these are ideas that we hadn't come up with.
Things like, you know, driving in water, you know, slow down, don't go deeper than what we used to teach everybody from the beginning was slow down, don't go deeper than halfway up your tire.
If it's going to go deeper than that, go around.
What they teach now is if it's flowing at all, don't.
Yes.
Yeah.
I mean, what we used to teach and what is reasonable now, I mean, it's the old thing, you know, years ago, the, the owner's manual told you, you know, how to adjust the valves.
Now it tells you not to drink the battery acid.
You laugh.
I know, I know.
We're not going to survive as these are.
No, so I, we got the suburban recently, right? So I went and downloaded the owner's manual. What I found surprising was the first 44 pages were how to use seat belts.
I am not kidding you.
Have you never flown? I mean, I find it amazing that commercial airlines have been around for a really long time. Do we still have to go on every single flight teach people how to use a seat belt?
Yeah, I gotta agree.
And knowing that now we've got seat belts in cars too. So, you know, you'd think people would learn.
One to throw in with the fluids is fluid identification.
Sure.
That can, yeah.
I was originally thinking, you know, looking at what, or what to do if your car is leaking oil, but that's probably getting far too deep into what you're doing in the one day class, but it would be nice to be able to identify a fluid goes, oh, there's a puddle and it's red.
You know, now you have a good guess of what it is.
Well, actually, it's not even that deep. So one of the things we talked about was your car's leaking oil. You see that it's leaking oil. What do you do? You fill it.
You check it and fill it and then go get someone else to do the work if you're not willing to do the work yourself. But as long as you keep oil in it, the car will keep running.
Yep.
But you got to put oil in it.
And for leaks bad enough, you never have to do an oil change.
No, you just do it. You just do it on the road.
Like Lefty says, you have to worry when the aircraft stops leaking hydraulic fluid.
If it's leaking, it still has a little, just maybe not enough, but some.
And things like what to do when your brakes get squishy was one that we brought up, how to recognize that if you're low on brake fluid.
Cause you're squealing.
Oh yeah.
Yep, squealing brakes.
We know that one well.
Turn up the radio.
Allegedly, there was some creative solutions that did not happen, but we'll, we'll leave it at that.
But you know, I figure it'll be, it'll be a fun class.
It'll be fun to have the students come and get their ideas too.
You know, the, we were talking about taking the first, we're talking about just taking an engine in and a car in and having an engine there.
So people can see, here's where you check the oil.
Yours may be a little different, but this is how you do it.
This is what a fan blade did.
How to check your fan belts was one we talked about.
Oh belts. Yeah.
You know, that was another one we talked about.
Cause these are things that, and one of my big comments was read the owner's manual.
It tells you 90% of this stuff in the owner's manual.
And the number of people who don't even know that their car has an owner's manual are amazing to me.
And one thing that I do like now is almost all manufacturers, at least all the major ones have the owner's manuals available for the older cars available for download.
It's nice to be able to say, you know, you know, about a 2011 BMW and I went and found the manual.
I was actually thinking about that BMW and thinking it's like a lot of things because the batteries in the trunk.
On the model, you literally don't check the oil.
It doesn't have a way to.
It has a readout on the dash.
So this doesn't apply to all vehicles, but you know, with the norm.
Yes and no, you still check your oil, you just check it differently.
And then, and, and, you know, that's something that we were, I was going to mention in there is there are different ways on some vehicles, especially in modern vehicles on how you check some of these things.
The new GMs don't even have a dipstick for the transmission.
Yeah, steel transmission.
Yeah, same thing. I think with most cars, because I know my Ford does not have a dipstick for the.
Well, it does. It's actually on the transmission itself. It's, it's not, you know, one of the traditional ones.
I thought it was behind the steering wheel.
That's not a dipstick. That's a dip. Never mind. Never mind.
Not very simple on that one. When it stops running, you replace the vehicle.
Hey, John, where was your owner's manual in your Ram?
Oh, man.
Mine was under the back seat.
So this one that I have, my 22, think it is in the upper glove box, because it has two glove boxes.
Right. Mine's a 23 and it was under the back seat.
Under the back seat. Now, mine wasn't there. So I'm pretty sure, but I might be confusing it with my 17 that I had also. So that's.
And under the back seat, there's a storage compartment on those.
Makes as much sense as anyone else on the BMW. It was in the trunk originally.
Originally, there's a little, little storage compartment there for the owner's manual.
Yeah. On certain classic cars, there's actually websites developed or devoted to getting you owner's manuals.
Like on that international, you guys just bought, you can get the owner's manual for it at finder books.
There's also one that's kind of fun to poke around if have you guys are looking for something that's just interesting to go look at old car manual project.
They have been taking various manuals from everybody, ads, owner's manuals, you know, magazine ads and putting them up to where people can go check them out.
Carter, Carter, carburetors, Model T 23 for GMC instructions.
My God, some of them are hilarious to look at.
Culture has changed a bit, hasn't it?
It has.
Well, like for instance, one of the ones I was looking at with Gail getting that 54 was 54 international harvester ads.
And they have one where the guy is golfing and one where the guy is playing baseball and one where they're bowling, football, boxing, not a single one of them shows the vehicle.
Which is sad because to me, the 53 through 55 international art series is one of the most beautiful trucks ever made.
And it was the first one designed by the legendary Ted Ornis famous for designing the scout.
I'm a bit of a nerd on.
I was going to say he's famous, huh?
Yeah, I've been trying not to tell him what I'm going to do with this international because it's going to break his heart.
As long as you don't put a shivvy front clip on it will be fine.
Dodge.
I can dig that.
I can dig that.
That's the next best thing.
I can send you a picture of the front clip I want to put on it.
It doesn't have one on it now.
That's the question.
No, none at all.
It doesn't have one.
So there's a guy down here who put a 56 international front clip on a 52 or 51 through 54 body because the 51 to 54 had the two back windows 55 on had one back window.
So it's really messes with my head when I see a 56 front clip on the wrong cab.
It makes me want to go over and slap a guy.
We're good.
So that may be a good thing to close your class up with is, hey, would you like to know more?
You know, that'll give you some opportunity to plug some of the other things the college is doing as well as, hey, check out this website if you're looking for manuals.
These are a few good websites for parts or, you know, something along those lines in case you need that.
You know, it's some of the basic stuff that we kind of as people who work on cars regularly kind of just know in the back of our mind.
Oh, I need a part for a fairly recent car.
I can either go to Jags or I can go to Summit or I can go to, you know, pick your website of choice.
Rock auto so you can get the magnets.
Actually, yeah, rock auto.
What I'm adding here is when going to shop for parts. No, you're mad. No, your year.
Model make engine size.
They may ask you whether it's two or four wheel drive but know these things when you go into now I still find it first thing when I go in and say, you know, I want six feet of three it's fuel line and they say what's the year.
Oh, I can top this.
This year, please.
I went in with a again the 54 international.
And I was looking for, you know, I just wanted part bug something simple.
And the auto zone employee looks me dead in the eyes and says, we don't do diesel's here sir.
My favorite was when I asked I don't remember what parts I was getting I thought it was a head gasket but I don't remember.
I asked for parts for a for a 76 Vega and the guy looks at me and he goes.
All right, the car is older than I am who made it.
And Vance auto, the manager, I have been in and I said look I need a set of points for a 1976 Chrysler 440 he looks me dead in the eye and goes water points.
You ever want to feel old those are the ways.
We had a friend who had a view of Wildcat 64 ish maybe I don't remember 64 broke down.
He's calling for a tow truck, one making sure that the tow truck driver understands the scale of this vehicle.
This is not a Toyota.
And then he looked at and he wanted his first questions were, was, do you know how to work on points.
And you know, the shops he called the guy goes not only I know what points are, I know how to work out on my.
And he was like, okay.
So that particular view it could be what 18 feet long and about seven feet wide.
Not quite it's still six feet wide, but it is 17 feet long.
Yeah, they didn't get to 18 until you got the five mile an hour bumpers added on.
My step parents had one.
Wildcat from the same era 64 65.
Yeah, giant.
Well, it's the same size as my Le Sabre is 63 Le Sabre.
Yeah, the same size.
Big and comfortable.
Rolling couch.
Rolling couch that's good.
Okay, they are rolling couch.
Mav, you might need an assistant professor for this one because you don't own a lot of cars that actually came with seat belts.
But how to how to a manipulate seats and be how to identify the points to where you hook up a child safety.
How to get out of a car if it's been rolled over to me.
I mean, the whole lay on your back thing and kick the windshield out from the inside that or take the seat rest off the head rest off the seat and break the window with it.
Yeah, breaking a window actually might be might be a valid topic.
Yeah, the fact that you're almost never going to be able to break that front windshield but you can get the side ones much easier.
Yeah.
And if you have a handy little sharp point that'll help you out.
Yeah.
Yeah, and I can put that in you know with what to do if you're in an accident.
Yeah, perfect.
But yeah, I mean, these are just just things for and as they get, you know, there's nothing here, we may be able to put it into two classes.
I think the first one was basically how to take care of your car when you're at school was what the boss's idea was.
Because these these students that come from high school to college were the junior college and they don't really most of them never taken care of their own car.
Most of them, you know, went through high school with somebody else doing it and now all of a sudden they're out on their own.
Okay, that's new and interesting if you never did it before.
If you never had the need or the opportunity to do it before.
I've got a very specific one for you.
Make sure you put the oil cap back on after you put oil in it.
My daughter's idiot boyfriend did not do that and tried to drive from Oklahoma City to Tulsa and blew the motor up because all the all the oil came out through the little hole where you put the oil in.
Yep.
And make sure you turn it until it says 710.
Unfortunately, it was her car and not his and I had to buy her a new car.
Ouch.
Now, yep.
But that'll be part of the discussion about changing oil, you know, or checking your oil and adding oil.
I don't expect them changing oil is not going to be part of the class, but being able to check your oil list.
And if it's low, add a whale, you know, and, and that like dipstick tells you if you're a court low and like estimate if you're more than that low.
Don't just keep adding it or we had a friend who didn't change his oil and in fact didn't add oil for a very long time because he didn't know what he was supposed to be.
He knew he was supposed to check it, but he didn't understand.
And so he checked it and when he saw nothing on the dipstick, he thought it was nice and clear and that was okay.
So that was good.
No.
No.
Remarkably, he did not blow that car up.
Having the right viscosity would be a big thing.
And the fortune part about that is most of the cars these kids are going to have says what, what to do right on the oil cap and that was one of the things we discussed.
And if not, you're back to read the manual.
Or in a modern world, maybe don't even read the manual.
Maybe it's a good Google prompt.
Yeah.
Maybe, maybe what part of what you need to tell them is how to actually look it up.
You know, okay, you're not somewhere you have the manual with you because nobody came.
So, so maybe it's as simple as how to Google what weight of oil do I put in my car?
What, what is the directional rotation of a distributor on a 72 Dodge power wagon?
Depends which motor.
360 in this case.
I can watch the cousin Vinnie.
I'm about half way through putting in the.
So, so the goal is that we will have the essence fuel injection and before Steve, well, just before Steve doesn't pick a project for Steve.
Am I right?
So think about this for a second, John.
How many years have we been doing the yearly goal thing and how many years has Steve accomplished one of them?
I think I did it once.
Well, yeah.
Hey, this is why I do think he'll get his daughter's Jeep painted because she'll make it rather than distracting him.
She'll make sure that it gets done.
That's why I think he'll that that is really what I'm hoping for because she gets to help.
I think it's going to be awesome daddy daughter time.
I'm not sure daughter is super enthused about it.
I haven't pushed too hard yet.
She's not going to be enthused about those warm enough.
There's that paint gravel can paint no problem.
Actually, so the tractor paints.
None of you guys have seen all that now are actually doing them in more colors than just tractor colors now.
Actually, I've been looking at that international harvester red for the Cordoba just because the interior is red and it's deep and I'm deep.
I mean, there's people putting putting them all in foam rollers and getting good paint jobs at them because it's so slow drying.
What's that brand? Let's see. We got it at bomb guards. You guys got a bomb guards in?
Yeah. Yeah, we do now.
I've never heard of the place.
What's that tractor paint brand?
Rustolium is one of them.
It's specialized in tractors.
Shit. I can envision the label.
Anyways, the stuff is absolutely bulletproof, but man, it takes like three days to dry.
Yeah.
Magic MAJIC.
Is that what it is?
Yeah, and it's, yeah, it takes like three days to dry.
By that same respect, you don't get a lot of runs or anything because it has time to smooth.
You know, and then Rustolium also makes their farm, farm one, but I think it's pretty cool that they're, you know, so he could actually get pink paint.
Yeah.
Yeah, Rustolium paint.
I've used, so that's what we did the cab corners on the, on the square body.
That's what we used was rattle can, Rustolium, farm implement paint.
Wasn't that brown?
That's white. That's white.
Okay.
There's a lot of rust. So I could see why you would remember brown.
That was patina. It hadn't left the truck yet.
If it's still attached, it's patina. If it falls off, then it's rust.
And if your patience is a little slow, Steven, you are a little low, all you have to do is only apply one can per painting session.
She'll have enough attention span for that.
I like it. So the, the only downside to all these ideas is the Jeep's going to be my first painting project and learning how to paint a car.
So I'd like to get the actual painting stuff out and, and pretend like a actually painting.
You can spray the tractor paint too.
And it's still.
12 year old up to show you how.
Yes, I do. I'm going to check that goal off.
But you, you can spray it as well. Same as you do any other paint.
It's just a little more forgiving because it's designed for tractors.
Okay.
You know, it's, it's kind of cool stuff. I mean, that's probably what I'm going to do Thursday with.
It's very soft.
Yeah.
Well, tell it hardens than it is.
Right.
But the Gail was talking about earlier, putting the cab corners in and, you know, me saying, you know, they're good enough for now.
What they are was good enough to get us through till we got the other parts, the rocker panels and stuff like that.
Because if we're going to do all the cleanup, we'll do them when we do the whole thing.
Right now, what they were was just getting them sealed to where, you know, they weren't getting more water in them and creating more rust.
So I do agree that, yes, they will be smoothed out later, but they're, they didn't have to be perfect for the current level of how much the truck is done.
Because it's still being driven too.
What really happened is he ran out of patience before I did.
Okay.
I alluded to pulling an engine out of a car.
Turns out I do do diesel and it is an international engine.
It's just in my Ford 350.
So if you remember, I was having oil pressure problems with it, changed the oil.
It helped a little.
It was still idling at about five pounds.
I'm going, yeah, maybe we'll just change the oil pump real quick.
I did not understand what real quick means on an engine that is not on an engine stand.
Turns out when you put it in a car, the oil pump is inaccessible.
Got online and found some trucks of that same year.
Now in 94, they went from IDI to power stroke.
Apparently you can lift the power stroke motor enough to get the oil pan out.
That's not the case on the IDI.
I checked.
No, by everything I've read, the IDI is a better motor.
It's not a bad motor.
I just wanted to have oil pressure.
So continue being a good motor.
So I've got, I jacked up the motor.
It's about as high as it can go inside.
I got the turbo off.
This motor is halfway disassembled and I've got to pull it further.
So I think I'm going to have to disconnect it from the transmission and lift it like a foot out of the engine.
Be able to get the oil pan out of the cross member.
I'm not saying you're wrong in this case, but you know how I give you a hard time about scope creep?
Yeah.
This is scope creep.
That's fair.
It probably actually needs to be done anyway, but...
Yes.
There was a little bit of scope creep along with this.
I got in there and I'm like, you know, it was, it did have a little bit of hard time starting.
I might want to change the glow plugs.
So I get online and they're like, these are a pain in the butt.
And if you have a turbo, the turbo has to come off for the back too.
I went, oh, I'm definitely changing the glow plugs then because the turbo's off.
It's already off.
Yeah.
They took me 10 minutes.
It was, it was.
So yes, additional scope creep, but totally worth it.
Yeah.
That one.
Yeah.
If you're that priority of the turbo off, I do that too.
So what you do is just take a death wheel, 4,000, had a hole in the bottom of the oil pan where the oil pump is,
change out the oil pump and weld the pan back together.
I have seen on forums where people have done that actually.
I was joking completely.
I just wanted to see if you were going to go for it.
Yeah.
No, people have cut out the cross member and welded it back also.
That I've seen.
They've drilled out the, the giant rivets in it and bolted them in.
See, that's what I would have suggested.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Drop the cross member.
Maybe your easier system on that.
I think so.
And if I wasn't to the point where I have to disconnect, I think one hard line and the transmission at the flywheel,
I probably would do the cross member because this is ridiculous.
It would have been way easier than taking the turbo.
I believe the turbo needs new seals.
Mav, you were saying that since it's out to do that.
Yeah.
There was oil inside the intake boots.
So I'm going, yeah, the O-rings are probably, we can get that kit ordered and more scope creep on that one, but it, it.
Okay.
So it can stand to be done.
That being said, diesel engines are heavy by definition.
They are much heavier than a gasoline.
I know you've been down here when we've been doing gasoline engines.
My one suggestion, don't do this solo, please.
Even, you know, if I need to make a trip up there for a weekend or something, I will.
Don't do this as one person because if that engine goes over, somebody's getting hurt.
That's fair.
And, and I'm not planning to take it out of the engine bay.
If I get it disconnected from the transmission, then I can probably leave it there.
But I, I had not thought about that because it's, it's slightly sketchy at this point, but it's, you know, relatively confined.
If, if it drops, it hits the cross member.
But yeah, I think you might be right on that one.
All I can think of is that story train told that one time about the guy who didn't use a back stands and the car fell and crushed his feet and destroyed his feet and he couldn't work, you know, and they had to run and rescue him.
Oh yeah.
I can just see that engine doing that to you if you're by yourself. So I agree with Jim. Don't do it.
Not by yourself.
Yeah, dropping it back onto the cross member, knocking the whole thing off of the lift.
You know, there's, there's 8000 possibilities that even just a second set of eyes makes a big difference when you see a, you know, you're starting to lift this engine, something's still connected.
And therefore it's twisting the motor.
Hey, did we unhook the gas line? No, probably not.
She says it's legal.
There are no gas lines hooked up. We're good to go.
You were, you were talking about, you know, pulling the motor and suggestions for doing it. My one big suggestion is, don't do this solo.
One, it's because you've never pulled an engine before.
Other than angry eyebrows with John.
Correct.
Yeah. So you had a second set of eyes there.
Well, and somebody who actually knew what was doing, I was, I was helping.
John was pulling the engine. I was helping.
John, how alleged is that helping comment?
Well, you know, I had this.
But either way, I, you can ask, you can ask Gail, I don't pull engine solo even myself.
And frequently, even with the two of us, it's not uncommon. We call other friends because three people makes it a whole lot easier, more putting one in than taking one out.
But yeah, we, we don't ever pull an engine.
And you know, you just, you just make it into a party. Tell everybody I'm getting pizza. Come on over and we're going to pull a motor.
Pizza and beer.
That's how we used to do it in high school. You know, we would, we would get everybody together on a week weekend day and full of motor, you know,
We could come along to a tree and hope for the best.
We may have used some sketchy ways of pulling engines.
I talked about that earlier. So yeah, some sketchy ways of putting them in, you know, dropping a 350 Chevy into the middle of a Volkswagen bus was probably not one of our brighter ideas.
Yeah, you should have gone with that.
It did, but you couldn't keep it cool. No matter what you did, even putting the radiator on top of the, on top of the van.
Putting a 401 and a gremlin though was a lot of fun.
That would be.
It bolts in.
Oh yeah.
The same.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The same as they're in line six, bell house or boat pattern.
And they make the motor mounts for it.
There were things where one is the same block as a 304, isn't it?
Yeah.
Yeah.
We weren't, we didn't, we did a lot of things that were.
I'm not going to say slight.
I'm not going to say sketchy, but out of the norm, out of the norm. How's that?
So yeah, but that would be my one big suggestion there, Steve.
The other option is simply to lift it just a little bit and remove that cross member, which is the smarter option.
If you're going to do it solo, definitely do it that way.
How is, uh, am I going to be able to drill those rivets out?
Yeah.
Well, why wouldn't you?
Yeah.
That would grind them off.
Grind them off.
Air hammer.
Pop the tops.
I mean, I've been, I've drilled a shitload of rivets, but man, air hammers way easier.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And you have a compressor that'll hack it and get, get some decent chisels for your
hammer, not the, not the hobo freight ones, get some good ones or get a bunch of them
from hobo freight and just be ready to sharpen them eight times.
Upgrade to the Walmart ones.
Come on.
Hey there, big spender.
Well, or at least don't get the harbour freight.
Don't get the harbour freight base ones, you know, get some of their professional, more professional tools, you know.
But no, I agree with the coach on that one.
You can, you can pop those rivets off and almost nothing with a good, with a good air hammer and such chisels.
Okay.
So I recently found a new, new tool for my air hammer that I didn't know existed.
It is a ball peen hammer in for the air tool.
Because you know, our other hobby is, is medieval combat and building armor.
Oh, that it makes dishing things into a stump.
So easy.
Just third.
No hammering.
You're just sitting there with pulling a trigger and it's like, oh, why didn't I invent this?
Why didn't I find this 20 years ago?
You know, and yeah, so it's a, there, there's some cool tools out there for hammers too, for your chisels too.
Oh, and Steve, throw back alert here.
When you go to put the cross member back in, make sure you use actual grade eight bolts instead of the, you know, the, to the fake ones.
The counter grade eight bolts.
Was that train or lefty?
Lefty.
One or the other.
I remember that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, I would, I would seriously just look at dropping the cross member.
Okay.
It's just safer.
And quicker.
Maybe.
Well, okay.
It's probably quicker to remove the engine, putting it back.
That's going to be a, you know, remounting it to the motor mounts and that transmission.
Yeah.
No, I think I dropped the cross member.
Okay.
I'll, yeah, I'll have to look onto that research that because I, I'm not looking forward to disconnecting either.
I mean, it's, it's almost there, but then I've got to take the hood off and you know that hood is not small.
Oh, that's the easiest part you've described so far tonight.
Oh yeah.
It's easy.
I just again need another person.
So it goes back to what you were saying.
Don't, don't do it alone.
You can do it by yourself.
You just don't, you know, hope the windshield survives or something.
The windshield is the one thing on that truck that works.
Talk about project creep.
And then I had to replace the windshield and then the interior and then.
Yeah.
No, I would seriously just bite the bullet, pull the cross member.
And I mean, you can, you can allegedly cut those cross members, but you better have a good welder to put them back.
Yeah.
Get Daniel up for a weekend.
Yeah.
I was going to say, I've got a good welder.
I don't have a good weld door.
Then coach, you may have to strap by his place and show him how to pop off the ends of rivets.
It's a, it goes pretty easy, but my problem is I'm so tied up for probably the next six months.
It is ugly.
All right.
He's got all year.
Yeah.
I'm still trying to get my step dad and step brother moved out of the ranch to get the ranch cleaned up.
And then as soon as I'm done with that, I can have my shoulder worked on.
And that's usually about three to four months of no, you know, any kind of really thrashing around with your arm.
Oh, you don't have to do it.
You just have to direct it.
Oh hell, I can do that from sitting here.
Coach is going to get a ride down to the shop and be high as a kite on pain killers.
No, you can't do it from there because Steve can't figure out how to put a camera on.
That's what Stephen, get the camera going.
Hey, I resemble that remark.
She's Louise.
Well, it's on my way downhill quick, didn't it?
Yes, it did.
He can cut most of this off though.
He never does.
He leaves it in there even when he's the one being a which is usually true, but that whole masochist thing.
Well, it's, it's no fun if we're just sitting here being on our best behavior.
I'm fairly convinced our handful of listeners tune in because, you know, we're talking shop like people working in a shop.
And, you know, if they send me what goes to train anyway, so exactly.
Last year got over his, he's back on the hate mail list is train at B squad hot rod.com.
He gets annoyed when I say that because it even the audio gets scraped for his email address.
Thanks to.
It's like, I haven't put that anywhere.
Well, gentlemen, I think we're kind of at the point where we're just rehashing things at this point.
So I have been beat.
So, but I am going to definitely pass on a thank you to all of you that came tonight and help come up with ideas for solubus.
That was awesome.
And a lot of big help.
I think our listeners owe you tuition.
We're to send beer.
Oh, and if you have ideas for his class.
Oh, send squad hot rod.
No.
Actually, you can even send those a gym at B squad hot rod.
Absolutely.
You also need to send us pictures and or if you want stickers for B squad hot rod.
This is this is money.
This is math.
And gals.
Oops.
We almost made it without stepping on each other.
Because B squad hot rod knows how to run with cameras on their broadcasts.
There's no plug in that says camera.
I don't know what to do.
Thank you for listening to B squad.
See all you hot rod heroes next week.
And if you're not subscribed, please subscribe, hit the like button and the notification bell.
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Very good.
Now give me some feeling in it.
Put some emotion in it.
Yes.
Here you go.
Thank you for listening to B squad hot rod.
See all you hot rod heroes next week.
Okay, like that, tone down my halfway.
Like this?
No, not like radio announcer.
Okay, so was I good on the emotions?
A little bit less emotion.
You really hand that one up.
Okay, so...
About this episode
The hosts sketch out a practical class for new car owners, centered on the basics that keep a vehicle safe and usable: changing tires, checking fluids, reading manuals, and preparing for roadside trouble. They also dig into real-world examples like winter emergency kits, water crossings, and how modern cars change old habits. The back half turns into shop talk about a stubborn diesel repair, engine removal, and the safer way to handle heavy parts without working alone.
Episode 0334 - What Everyone Should Know About Cars
We talk things everyone should know how to do if you own a car. Also we touch on the difficulties changing an oil pump with the engine installed, rather than on an engine stand.
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