A fetish, compulsion, obsession...I need help.

[Bob Holmes]

Hi, my name is Bob...and I'm a Bangshifter.

The first step to my recovery is to admit my fetish, compulsion...obsession. I can't stand working on filthy cars. Daily drivers drive me nuts. Even back in high school I was the gearhead, but I wouldn't work on a buddy's car until they went and cleaned it.

My latest problem has been working on the mini-van. Yes I was warned that a free mini-van was a trap (yeah, yeah SBG you were correct but are you more concerned that you knew where I was going more than I knew?). Especially one that had 325,000 miles and was owned by my notoriously maintanence adverse brother.

So after having the blown struts replaced, I recently dived into fixing the exhaust leak that was giving me a headache. And, of course, it was the rear manifold that was leaking, not the one that is easily fixed in a couple of hours.

So in working on this issue I've violated a couple of basic Bangshift axioms

1. Don't let the perfect get in the way of done.
2. Guard against mission creep.

I am disappointed that I've engaged in both concerning behaviors.

It occured to me that I had gotten over the top when I spent way to much time cleaning the 1/4 inch of grime off the valve covers. It really hit home when I used my specialty black wax precleaner and then the actual black wax. I'd lost it.

Then, when I was cleaning the upper intake plenum (yes, I can't stand putting dirty parts back on a project) I looked at the mis-match between the upper and lower manifold and thought, I need to match the runners, I wonder if I have enough cartridge rolls. !!!!!!!! On a 3.3 liter mini-van V6.

Yes...my name is Bob and I'm a Bangshifter.

When did you realize that you'd finally lost it?

[SuperBuickGuy]

oh Bob, thank you.... you know how it's always neat to have someone who's worse than you so you can say to your bride "see, I'm not like _____".... Bob, you are _____.

thank you




oops.... if you need sympathy - it's in the dictionary, right there between s*it and syphilis.... sorry, it's the best I can do - I really don't like minivans.

[Barry Donovan]

you know when you lost it, when what you were obsessed with comes back and still not done yet..
because someone told you were obsessed.

mission creep.

good choice of words.

it is never the correct action.

[BBR]

I realized it one time when I tore a perfectly good daily driver down for "upgrades". I sat there staring at it in pieces wondering "how did I get here"?

[Deaf Bob]

Could it be actually..."A storm in a teacup?"

1/4 inch of grime.. Fire hazard.. Headache inducing.. Gotta come off..
Make it better than when you started? Ie: fixed..
It is the Bang Shift way to make it "better" if only to you and nobody else..

Problem?... Hmmm. No! .. Why? .. You know it, Admit it, thus not a problem..
At least you don't tie your empty chip bags in knots. That'd be OCD....

[Monk]

I suffer from the same ailment.......like yourself.......this goes back
to my high school years as well.
The junk I drove was pretty......but it was clean.

When you have over 20 bottles/containers of cleaners, waxes etc
in you supply cabinet plus a hundred microfiber towels......well that's a sign.

[DirtyWhiteBoy]

Mission creep, hmmmm
Ok, I might have a problem. I'm not as bad as the rest of you and I should not be here!.
My wife thinks I have a problem, but it's her.
My neighbors think I have a problem, but they are crazy.
My friends think.......Oh no, I might have a problem

Working alone, my mind tends to wander way too much

example of a couple moments.... I think I help too.

[JOES66FURY]

I do the same thing. When I was out on the floor here at work I would often spend an hour or more cleaning the engines before I even thought about starting the inspection/maintenance. I also do the same crap on my cars, I will spend hours scraping gunk off a POS just because I hate a dirty engine.

[DanStokes]

Whew! I'm feeling better! I can drive with a dirty engine and not worry much about it, though I do power wash mine once a year or so. The HHR has never had an engine scrub but it doesn't seem to get grubby - damn new engines don't seem to leak properly.

On the other hand, I'm having a heck of a time getting the M-B Diesel clean. Evidently German Diesels make some kind of special gunk that defies conventional cleaners and the Karcher pressure washer. When I pulled the starter for a rebuild I found another layer of crud back there that will require further purging. One of the guys on the M-B forum put me onto some ProForce cleaner that's supposed to embarrass Simple Green (available at Sam's Club and maybe WallyWorld) so I'll try that for the next attempt. I'm going to have the trans resealed and I'll do the rear main seal in an attempt to keep the oil inside the engine. I'm claiming that it's to keep the oil off the track and not some obsessive need for a clean engine bay. But maybe.......

I am a Bangshifter

Dan

[BangShift McT]

Bob, Bob...did you not learn from my adventures a couple of years back?

http://www.bangshift.com/forum/showthread.php/18544-The-PedoVan

Minivan=hell.

[DanStokes]

ME and I have had a Windstar and I took care of a couple of them for a friend. They're an EXCELLENT appliance. If you NEED an appliance they're just the right thing. Even my daughter-in-law finally had to give up and go with one (Odyssey) though she tries to pretend it's a "crossover". They have 2 little boys and it makes their world a whole lot simpler.

Knowing I have the 'Stang and the S-10 in the shop, I can drive almost any DD and be happy as long as it runs. Truck is really just a BIG appliance, suited for trailer towing.

Dan

[TheSilverBuick]

I keep looking at my 6.0L LS powered daily driver pickup truck and regularly tell myself:

"LEAVE IT ALONE"
"but but but it's a 6.0L LS, surely it could use a vortec supercharger or some simple bolt-on?"
"NOOOO! It's a daily driver!"
"Well a non-invasive programmer for a few HP and perhaps a few MPG won't hurt right?"
"DON'T DO IT! IT'LL LEAD TO MISSION CREEP!!!!!"

And here I sit today repeating this internal dialog on an almost daily basis.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I keep looking at my 6.0L LS powered daily driver pickup truck and regularly tell myself:

"LEAVE IT ALONE"
"but but but it's a 6.0L LS, surely it could use a vortec supercharger or some simple bolt-on?"
"NOOOO! It's a daily driver!"
"Well a non-invasive programmer for a few HP and perhaps a few MPG won't hurt right?"
"DON'T DO IT! IT'LL LEAD TO MISSION CREEP!!!!!"

And here I sit today repeating this internal dialog on an almost daily basis.

the voices in my head say "blower good, turbo better" - turbos are for fuel economy on a DD, you'd be saving the planet by getting better mileage (so you can strip mine it )

[milner351]

Bob - you remind me of one of my favorite people - my college roommate Bill - he takes cleanliness and perfection to a level I could never achieve - he's also sort of slow - because he stops to clean up 50 times during a job. His wood working basement workshop is as clean as some operating rooms.

I like to pressure wash stuff before working on it if at all possible, but for a daily driver - I won't paint, wax or do much of anything else underhood - but I do use a paint pen to write on the oil filter, battery, air filter housing, etc, so I know when they were last replaced...

[Bob Holmes]

I could never make money on auto repair. I am so slow because everything needs to be cleaned, every hole needs to have the cleaning tap ran in it, every bolt needs to be cleaned and oiled before insertion, and on and on and...