http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021114480Oh my.
franksolich has said for the longest time that the mineral oil primitive has talent.....in writing human-interest stories.
In talking about politics, the mineral oil primitive's pretty stupid.
One wonders why he's not using his talent.
MineralMan (45,777 posts)
What the Internet does really, really well is what it's really good at.
My old 1991 Volvo had its fuel pump fail about three weeks ago. We bought a new car, but kept the Volvo. The Volvo dealer wanted $800 to replace the fuel pump, which, like many cars, is inside the fuel tank, and is part of an assembly that includes the fuel gauge sensor and all the various plumbing modern cars include for emissions control, etc.
That was too much to spend for that old a car, frankly. I have some auto repair skills from my past work, and still have my tools. So, I thought I'd check the job out and see if it was something I wanted to take on. In the past, I would have bought a workshop manual for the car, but those often don't include all the information a guy needs to do some jobs. Today, we have the Internet, so I turned to it.
First, I checked to see how much the parts would cost. I soon discovered that my particular car used an offbeat fuel pump, different from most Volvos of that model made in 1991. A Volvo enthusiasts site had all the information I needed to figure out exactly what pump it used. Then, I went looking for the pump at car parts sites. I found only a few sites that sold that particular pump. About $125. That was doable.
But, the pump is in the fuel tank,and I had visions of crawling under the car and pulling the fuel tank, just so I could replace the pump. So, I did some more searching. Another site, in the UK, dedicated solely to older Volvos, had a 30-page, step-by-step set of instructions for doing the replacement, on that model, with that oddball fuel pump, complete with photos. Someone had taken the time to describe this job, and take photographs of every step.
It turned out that there is an access panel inside the rear of the station wagon, hidden away behind a trim panel, that, removed, provides just enough space to remove the fuel gauge sender assembly and the pump. Just. The instructions by this nice guy described the three rotations and positions that had to be followed, just to maneuver the whole assembly out through that hole. The Volvo dealer just pulls the tank, and the assembly comes out nice as you please.
Then, the instructions walk you through the process of installing the new pump in the sender assembly. A little tricky, but not all that difficult, once the assembly is out. The Volvo dealer doesn't install new fuel pumps. Instead, they just replace the entire assembly, which sells for about $500. It's easier. The replacement of the pump in the assembly takes about half an hour, and they can't be bothered, apparently, to install a $125 pump instead of a $500 complete assembly.
The real tricky bit, though, is finessing the assembly back into the tank, through that access panel and the hole in the fuel tank. That takes about four positions and rotations of parts to get it properly in position, before you can button the whole thing up and call it a day. Again, photos and well-written instructions by this kind person make it possible, if not simple, to get this job done.
Anyhow, the new pump is in, the car's running, and I'm only out that $125, instead of $800. The job took a couple of hours, but I could not have figured out how to do the maneuvers and contortions needed to snake that thing into that tank without those instructions. Not possible.
What's my point? It is that the entire thing was made possible by some resourceful guy who has worked as a Volvo mechanic, who was willing to take the time to describe and illustrate a difficult and complicated job so that people like me, who have some skills and tools, can do the job themselves. He didn't make any money doing this illustrated write-up. He just did it, and posted it on a British website that's full of similar do-it-yourself articles about older Volvos and repairing them. That, in my opinion, is the real and best function of the Internet. Communication from individuals to individuals, done because it's simply worth doing. The guy put his email address in his contribution, so I emailed him and thanked him for his help. He replied, saying, "Not a problem. Enjoy your Volvo."
Pretty much anything you need to do for yourself has been covered in depth by someone like this gentleman from the UK. A little searching will find it, and you will save hours and money. The people who do this do it because they're trying to help people. There's no money in it for them. That, my friends, is the beauty of this medium. It is, in my opinion what it is for.
Thanks to everyone who takes the time to help people they've never met in this way! I'll try to do the same for something I know how to do.
Plenty of kudos to the mineral oil primitive at this campfire, and of course those of franksolich.
The guy's pretty old, his days are waning, and he should be using that valuable time doing what he does best, instead of ranting and raving about politics, of which he understands little, and of that little, wrongly.
