kishy's 1983 Grand Marquis 2dr

[Mainemantom]

Beautiful Mercury. I love the colors.

[kishy]

What a handsome car this is. The color combination is outstanding and the turbines finish it off so good.

Thank you!

This is a remarkably low-option car and was originally equipped with this wheel cover option:



That's my photo from 2013.

I do still have those wheel covers but I've never been able to bring myself to like them. The turbines (particularly once I figure out where I've hidden the caps for them) seem like the right option.

[sly]

(regarding derusting scuff) Ah... makes sense. Yeah... down here I don't need to spend time on that, so there's another point of time savings for me.

[DerekTheGreat]

You're right it is pedantic, but let's remember why we're here:

From gadget73:

"
The last caliper I changed cost me 25 bucks and I was done with the job in 30 minutes. Synthetic oil is 5 bucks a quart, 2 quarts per 3k, even at 3k per year is 50 bucks after 5 years. Guaranteed you spend more time checking and dumping in oil than I did replacing a brake caliper.

so yes I value my time
"

Which he followed up with:

"
You open your hood every time you get gas? No fail on my guarantee, takes longer to do that than I spent changing a caliper.
"

So it was necessary for me to drag all that stuff out there to prove total time wasn't accounted for. Thus gadget was not actually done in 30 minutes and as such, his guarantee is shite. I'd like my flashlight fixed.

Oh, I don't scuff the pad surface, just where they get all rusty from sitting in the calipers and all that, much like they were on this truck. Don't need rust jacking to cause irregular wear & premature pad failure. De-rusting & greasing is necessary up here due to the salt flying around and general corrosive nature of this area.

[sly]

Yeah... I don't count any of the time leading up to walking up to the car with parts or anything after cleaning up the workspace. That's just being pedantic. Not everyone is as cowboy about work practice as I am... no jack stand, just a jack... and I don't have to be perfect with all the grease and don't bother scuffing the pads since the new rotors will take care of that. I do clean the oil off the rotors though... but hosing them with brakleen is easy. I'm only talking about the walking into the garage... to walking out of the garage. If you factor in all the rest of that laundry list, there's no real good measure and can range from another hour to several days depending on the current state of supply chain. But I don't like to be pedantic, so I just deal with what I actually know and have done as much as I can.

[DerekTheGreat]

I'd have to see a video to believe that. Not saying it isn't possible, I just highly doubt it. If you guys are that fast, you belong on a pit crew. But, I don't think people factor in all the stuff that actually goes into performing service on their vehicles. With that in mind:

Here's the challenge: Next time you guys do a caliper, start a video and timer at the same time with no stops or breaks in the filming, start to finish. It takes me at least fifteen minutes to come home and change into shitty clothing from my work attire. Then there's another five or ten required to open up the garage, put gloves on, grab my floor jack, jack stands, equipment & parts needed as well as turn the radio on. Probably another five to get the vehicle in the air with jackstands under it and ensure that it's safe. Probably a minute to zip the wheel off and at least three to get the caliper off. Oh, the new caliper? Did you guys factor in the time you spent at the parts store or the time it took to order it and put it on your shelf so you can grab it the day of swap? Welp, then there's probably five to get the new caliper out of the box and onto the vehicle. At least five, because I'm cleaning the pads up, putting caliper grease practically everywhere that isn't a friction surface, yet needs to move. That's if I don't notice areas which could use some Fluid Film or other abnormalities. These are my vehicles we're talking about and I like to keep 'em tip top. With the new caliper in place, hopefully Angie is ready to help me bleed the brakes, probably three to five minutes there, provided she's ready to roll. Small bullshit details aside, probably twenty minutes bare minimum to get the vehicle back on the ground and everything put away clean & where it was. Then there's the test drive to verify everything is all set, destination being the parts store I got the caliper from so I can get my core return. Lastly, the drive back and a shower to clean the oil & stank off me so I can perv on my wife. Approx. total time for DerekThe[NotAtAll]Great, from start to shower fresh: 110 minutes. Yeah, checking the oil while filling my gas tank is certainly faster and easier, hands down.

[sly]

I can do a caliper swap in 15 minutes. bleed in another 5 and wheel back on in 1. The rest is setup and clean up. Impact to get the lugs and bracket hardware off help. Just rotor and pad swap is 30 minutes per axle (pair) for me. Yeah... once you've done it more than a few times on the same vehicle, it gets pretty damn easy to do.

[DerekTheGreat]

Trying to weasel out of that guarantee, are 'ya?

No way you're popping a car up, removing a wheel, changing a caliper, bleeding the brakes, reinstalling said tire & dropping the car back down on the ground in under a half hour. Let's not forget clean-up.

Yes, I pop the hood every time I get gas as I mentioned, no matter what I drive. Especially when I drive my wife's car. I know damn well she's not doing that.. Multitasking: while the gas pump is filling the tank, I'm checking the oil and done by the time the pump goes "click." Well, practically every time. If the weather sucks or I'm dressed nice, no. In those cases, chances are I already did it the night before or recently.

It's just a hand-held flash light. You can fix it.

[gadget73]

You open your hood every time you get gas? No fail on my guarantee, takes longer to do that than I spent changing a caliper.

[DerekTheGreat]

Not quite. Last year I put maybe ~1,500 miles on my Lincoln, ~500 on my Firebird. I check the oil on everything I drive at every fill-up, just how I operate as it allows my peepers to scan for animal nests and other abnormalities which might be lurking. So while I check the oil, I haven't had to add any. If I dive into your response a little further, fifty bucks for five years? Done. Sure cheaper than a rebuild and I don't tend to own many cars past the five year mark. Lastly, I work SUPER FUCKIN' SLOW. Always have. I realized in high school auto & paint shop that a career in either would have me destitute when they told me it was all flat rate.

..So, about your failed guarantee? What's it redeemable for? I've got an old military flashlight that I've had for three decades, doesn't work. Perhaps you could fix it?

[gadget73]

The last caliper I changed cost me 25 bucks and I was done with the job in 30 minutes. Synthetic oil is 5 bucks a quart, 2 quarts per 3k, even at 3k per year is 50 bucks after 5 years. Guaranteed you spend more time checking and dumping in oil than I did replacing a brake caliper.

so yes I value my time

[DerekTheGreat]

...Guess you value your time, labor & expertise at $0/hr.

[gadget73]

I guess I have the usual inverse luck. All you guys get decades from calipers and a thousand miles a quart, I don't use any oil and replace calipers every 5 years. I'll take the caliper problem honestly. 25 bucks every 5 years is a lot cheaper than 2-3 quarts between oil changes.

[DerekTheGreat]

I've had the left front hang as well. I think I replaced caliper (napa reman) and the hose just in case. Its been.... holy smokes, 24 years since I had to do that.

This is happening to me all the time, "Shit, has it really been this long?" or "That's really been on the shelf three years? Feels like I just put it there.."

[GM_Guy]

I've had the left front hang as well. I think I replaced caliper (napa reman) and the hose just in case. Its been.... holy smokes, 24 years since I had to do that.