What have you learned in your old age that you feel should be taught to high school students?

That would mean you need the receipt which maybe they can find for you at the store if you give them your credit card or other ID information?

Thanks for explaining Kobalt is Lowe's brand as Pittsburgh is hf's brand.

Now that Sears is gone, I visit Lowes and Home Depot for tools when I need them. In fact a year or two ago I bought a set of Lowes Kobalt hand nut drivers with big fat blue/gray soft handles, and I love them as they seem to be decent quality (for example the engraving of the size, while small and hard to see, won't rub off).

I don't save the receipts, as I don't trust "lifetime warranties" all that much other than Sears' (and look at what happened to them).

Given you said Pittsburgh is sold on Amazon I would think it's hard to make due on that harbor freight "lifetime warranty" if they make you prove that you bought it from them.

Can you give them an email address or phone number or can they look up your purchases by the credit card you used like they do at Costco or Home Depot?

Keeping a toolkit in the car for emergencies is a good idea. You'll only need them once or twice in their lifetime overall.

What I like to keep in my spare kit is a big large though.

Flashlight (batteries kept separate) Reflective vest & plastic bag (to lay on if the ground is muddy)

3x5 card & tape & pencil (for the note left on the windshield)

Jumpers (long and thick - which makes them big unfortunately) Tire repair kit (package of external plugs, handle, and glue) DMM/VOM (cheap - it doesn't even need Amps - just Volts & Ohms)

Flathead & Phillips screwdrivers & a pair of pliers Open end wrench pack (short, clipped together, no box wrenches) Socket set (metal box containing sockets, handle, extension) Vice grips (for when all else fails situations)

Thanks for looking up what a crowsfoot is. I've never needed them, but if I did, I wouldn't have had them. So I would have found another way.

I can imagine they'd be useful if the nut is deep down in the innards of the engine where you can't get your arm or room for a socket handle to twist.

They are indespensible and they're a case where people use channel locks when they should be using the flare nut wrenches to not cause damage.

I have a Craftsman set of six (three metric and three SAE for 12 sizes). They're perfect for brake lines and gas fittings but not much else.

For me they don't get used often except when I bleed brakes but they're always in the toolkit because they are a case of the right tool to use.

I save receipts for a few days in case I use the item and it's unsuitable. As far as lifetime warranties, I haven't needed to use one in over 50 years. For limited time warranties, if there is a problem it has been outside of the warranty period.

Judging from some Amazon reviews if there is a problem after the Amazon return window closes you're referred back to the manufacturer. I don't know how that works if Amazon is the manufacturer. I've bought their branded USB and HDMI cables but haven't had a problem, nor have I had problems with a couple of Kindles, a Fire tablet, and a Fire TV.

I don't know who actually makes the Pittsburgh line but I believe it is exclusive to HF. No first hand knowledge but I would be surprised if I showed up at the local HF store with a broken Pittsburgh wrench that they wouldn't replace it regardless of a receipt.

I did have a receipt for the vise I took back but it wasn't branded.

I have one of those lithium power packs. I've never had to use it but a friend has successfully. At some of the trailheads where I park there won't be any other vehicles to hook the jumpers to. There also won't be cell coverage.

In addition to the plug kit I carry a 12v compressor. Plugging a tire if you can't inflate it doesn't do you much good. Slime makes a very compact compressor that I carry on the bikes. Two of them are tubeless so I have plug kits. The DR650 has tubes so I carry patches, irons, and a spare tube. Like above many places where I go you either fix your own problems or you suck wind. This is not a state where a cell phone and credit card is all you need for roadside problems.

I once ruined a cat by letting an engine with a bad EGR situation run a bit too long due to my complacency in a more timely fixing of the rich condition.

It is not much for tools but HF has a nice flat pack for about $ 30 on sale that I keep in my truck. Sears had something in a box that I keep in the car I oftendrive that has some emergency tools and jumpers. Another car that is almost new I do keep a set of jumpers in it.

The HF tools have saved the day twice for others that needed a few tools for a quick repair. ' For home tools I buy mostly the Chraftsman tools or something of decent quality.

My dad taught me many years ago to have a set of tools in the car.

The one thing I always think of doing but never do is order the replacement parts for the alternator years ahead of time.

A rebuild kit for an alternator is what? A couple of cheap bearings and brushes right? And a new regulator.

What else?

But I never think ahead. When it goes, there's no time to get the parts to rebuild it. So I get a rebuilt alternator instead.

Same thing. Worse price.

Every idiot out there thinks that an OBD code tells you what to replace. Most (almost all in fact) don't tell you what is broken. Most tell you what isn't getting the right power, input, or output signal.

It's still up to you to figure out why.

That's my point that it has been my experience that those who complain that cars are harder to work on today are usually those who never learned how to work on cars in the first place.

That's why debugging skills should be taught to kids, IMHO. a. If you get an OBD code, you look up what it means b. Normally it means a sensor isn't reading what it should c. Instead of replacing the sensor, you test the system

Most people replace the sensor that is the focus of the OBD code. Sometimes it is the sensor. But often it's not the sensor.

Kids should be taught, IMHO, how to debug. a. Understand b. Isolate c. Test

Replacing the part is usually (but not always) the easiest step.

I guess the bait and switch technique could work if you're lucky.

1. You buy the Pittsburgh lifetime tool, let's say it's part number 1001
2. Ten years later it breaks so you go back and buy a new part number 1001
3. Two weeks later you return the original part number 1001 in the new box

This only works if the tool is exactly the same. Do harbor freight parts stay the same over the years like Sears kind of did?

That's a good idea to add to the classic emergency tool kit, I agree.

Flashlight (batteries kept separate) Reflective vest & plastic bag (to lay on if the ground is muddy)

3x5 card & tape & pencil (for the note left on the windshield) Reflective triangle or flares (although these usually blow over in the wind)

Jumpers (long and thick - which makes them big unfortunately) Tire repair kit (package of external plugs, handle, and glue) Air compressor (the kind that plugs into the cigarette lighter) DMM/VOM (cheap - it doesn't even need Amps - just Volts & Ohms)

Flathead & Phillips screwdrivers & a pair of pliers Open end wrench pack (short, clipped together, no box wrenches) Socket set (metal box containing sockets, handle, extension) Vice grips (for when all else fails situations)

A friend was trying to decide whether to buy a Ducati or Suzuki road bike. She figured that it would be easier for her husband to work on the Suzuki but that it would be easier for her to get a new husband with the Ducati. She chose the Suzuki.

I had a 1960 Ducati 250 Monza which somebody had converted to a dirtbike. Got it cheap because the owner had set the timing exactly wrong and it wouldn't start. Once I replaced the carb (a previous owner had made the round throat oval for some reason and I had to wrap a LOT of teflon plumber's tape around the threads to keep it from leaking) and added a pair of toggle switches it started and ran fine as long as I followed the starting procedure:

Switch both switches off. Kick once full throttle. Wait a few seconds. Switch both switches on. Kick repeatedly at mid-throttle.

I think that was it. It was a long time ago. Ultimately its clutch froze due to disuse, and poor advice caused it to shatter. (I seem to remember it involved pulling in the clutch and pushing it backwards, but it's pretty hazy now.) Ultimately I gave it to the local Ducati dealer to use for whatever he wanted. I really loved that bike, but the City was on our case about too many vehicles. Bastards. I wouldn't have fixed it, though, and I can still hope that parts of it were used to fix other Ducatis.

Really beautiful tank. I painted it and the chainguard (only remaining paintable parts except the headlight housing, which I painted silver) with Competition Orange lacquer.

A guy let me ride his Diana once. It seemed a little peppier, but not all that much.

I've got one of those too. Slides off really well :-( I bought some of those high-friction jelly-like pieces of stuff, but the pebbly surface defeats that too. Besides, I suspect that it will melt if I leave it in the car.

Oh yeah, the instrument lights don't go on unless the headlights are on. What idiot thought that would be a good idea. PLUS there's a red light on the radio when it's off, thereby training you to ignore red lights. One more really stupid idea.

We rented a Yaris for our trip through Utah. Fully loaded with two people, ski gear and stuff for a 2-week roadtrip it was still capable of breaking the Utah speed limit, as well as doing a decent job of navigating the bottom of Monument Valley. I was impressed.

If I need any more keys that's what I'll be able to get. I think.

Right now I think the Dodge Chargers are about as pretty as it's possible to get. They look efficient and mean. Camaros are a close second.

I hate the goddam Corolla headrests that cut down vision. I'm thinking of taking them out -- if a passenger wants one (s)he can put it back. I leave one of the seats down during the winter so my skis will fit in the trunk.

Come to think of it, ALL modern cars cut down vision. The outside mirrors are in exactly the wrong place and I've driven over roundouts in parking lots more than once. I never complained GODDAMMIT I CAN'T SEE in the 1988 Caddy, whatever its other failings were.

About 100,000 miles ahead of time... I've never had to replace an alternator but YMMV. You may need some pullers. The early alternators had pressed in diodes too but i don't know about the newer ones.

You're an optimist. Maybe an app based on an expert system that leads them down a decision tree step by step, with links to youtube videos for the r&r procedure?

A 3/8 Pittsburgh ratchet, not a flex head etc, goes for $13. After 10 years I'd toss it and buy a new one.

My mother worked for Cluett & Peabody, the manufacturer of Arrow shirts back when they were made in the Collar City. (Troy, NY). They would sometimes get returns from customers who were dissatisfied with their shirts and claimed they did not wear well. The shirts were a style that hadn't been sold in years, but they would replace the garment with the closest match.

Some people have unrealistic expectations.

You were lucky. afaik the Monzas didn't have desmodromic valves. On paper it's an elegant solution to valve float; in practice you get to know the valve train of your bike very, very well.

I left my headlights on while I skied. The manager had one of those, but it had been so long since he'd used it it had lost its charge. FORTUNATELY somebody a few cars away had called the auto club -- the guy gave me a jump when he was done with the first customer, but he still charged me one call. Big deal.

I bought the $35 pump from Harbor Freight. Works fine, although I'd like a more convenient doohickey to connect to the valve stem. The cheap one is a POS and burned out when I had to pump all four tires. I did get it at a yard sale, and it worked for a while, but that was clearly beyond its capabilities.

We spent a lot of time traveling across the US in the 68 Dodge van, which is why we carried a LOT of tools. I still have two tool boxes in the Corolla trunk, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to use them. I have a cell phone and an AAA card.

Actually, when the Caddy popped a tire in the Home Depot parking lot I was prepared to change it -- but I couldn't find the stupid wheel-lock key that my mom had bought. AAA guys didn't have a nutcracker so they had to call a flatbed to haul the car to the tire store :-(

No, those were only the Dianas. The engine seemed bulletproof. Hubby made an air cleaner for me out of a chrome plumbing elbow and a small auto air cleaner and a kickstand out of a hunk of angle iron. I did put a Zerk filling in the... crap, I don't remember its name. On a bicycle it would be called a bottom bracket. The thing the swingarm (is that it?) moves in. Has oilite bearings...

And speaking of oilite bearings, I was shocked to see that that's what my elderly yard-sale Husqvarna sewing machine has. Permanently lubed. Before that I'd always thought that oilite bearings were inferior. I was wrong. It starts slow but warms up pretty quickly.

I still have the Clymer manual. It has a full-page illustration of a spark plug and a 2-page engine blowup diagram. My favorite instruction: "If you lose the key, make sure you use a piece of metal of similar size." Not sure what it wanted, but I mounted a toggle switch in the hole. I mounted another one elsewhere with the label reversed. You had to guess right in order to start it.

I miss Clymer manuals. We met Floyd Clymer once. I wanted to buy one for the Corolla, but I can't find ANY brand cheap manual for it. Amazon sent the wrong one TWICE and then removed it from their inventory.

Not that I ever want to fix any part of a car again... I did change a tail-light bulb, though. And replaced the wipers (NO, beam wipers are NOT better than the regular ones) and pump the tires when needed. I've done brake pads and was shocked at how easy it was, but Baby Son did that for me.