Runs Better Now

[dead ed]

I changed the spark plugs in Badkitty1313's hearse today. Looked like the originals in there since 1990. The back plug wire on the drivers side wasn't even on the plug. Runs better now.

[Riff Raff]

7 cylinders get better mileage than 8, right?

[dead ed]

Thats what I thought.

[Morella]

I used to do tune-ups on GM cars, and there would be 7 plugs that looked OK, and that one behind the evaporator case would be fouled. It was a little harder to get to than the rest of them, so people would just leave it there.

Interesting comment about the 7 cylinders using less gas. On a diesel engine, there are "Jake brakes" that slow the vehicle down by holding all of the exhaust valves open. That's what makes that "BRAAAAAAAAACK!" noise when a truck slows. Many neighborhoods have "no engine braking" signs because they built their houses on an off-ramp, where the land is cheaper. Tony refuses to turn his off because it is illegal to disable any safety equipment on a truck.

[Guest]

i wondered what that noise was

[Dasvigo]

All I know is when driving a 16ton fire truck down a mountain the jake brake is your best friend

[Morella]

When I worked for a landscaping company, we had one of those small tow trucks with sling and cable, and I was just about to go home for the day when I was told that we had a truck broken down and they needed me to tow it in.

I got there and I couldn't believe what they wanted me to tow. It was a C-60, filled to the bulging point with bags of yard waste. I should have called for a bigger tow truck and told them to charge it to the company, but I was due for a raise, so I hooked up to it. When I engaged the PTO and lifted it, which you can only do while the vehicle is stopped, the front wheels of the tow truck were just barely on the ground.

It was possible to steer it and stop it, if I went really slowly. What scared the hell out of me was when I was on the freeway and I went over a hill and found the traffic at a dead stop at the bottom. There was no way to drop the load, so I downshifted and popped the clutch to put the weight on the front wheels and then braked. I alternated doing this, finally got another gear, and another, and got it stopped in time, but just barely.

If Tony were here, he would tell you, "Yeah, that's my wife."