Nihilism vs Civilization (Page 9/27)
olejoedad DEC 24, 04:24 PM
There's a difference?

Who knew?
rinselberg DEC 24, 04:35 PM
Anyone could be a "leftist" in the eyes of whatever fever-wasted mentality animates this constant posting of dim-witted memes, cartoons and other dumb remarks from the one Pennock's forum member account.

I wonder if he still makes any sense when he posts in the Tech (Technical Discussions & Questions) section or any of the other parts of the forum like that.

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 12-24-2023).]

olejoedad DEC 24, 04:38 PM
Have you ever posted in the Tech section?
rinselberg DEC 24, 04:50 PM

quote
Originally posted by olejoedad:
Have you ever posted in the Tech section?


Very seldom, and not at all recently.

I just had the experience of having the sealed beam headlamps changed out on both sides of my 1988 Fiero GT, while I watched.

I'm glad I didn't try it myself. I wouldn't have gotten very far. It took the guy a full two hours of clock time, and he has years of practice working on Corvettes and the occasional Fiero at the repairs shop that he owns.

He even had a little help from the one fully qualified mechanic that works for him. He charged me for 1.7 hours of mechanical labor. As a long time customer, he discounts for me. And some time was lost when he dropped some of the non-magnetic screw fasteners and had to retrieve them from the crevice(s) inside the front end compartment where they landed, after being pulled down by the force of gravity. (duh...)

I asked him if this (Fiero) is the most difficult car for changing out the headlights. He said he's worked on some cars where it's even more of an "operation."

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 12-24-2023).]

olejoedad DEC 24, 05:03 PM
Dude, it takes 10 minutes to change a Fiero headlight!
82-T/A [At Work] DEC 24, 05:37 PM

quote
Originally posted by rinselberg:

Very seldom, and not at all recently.

I just had the experience of having the sealed beam headlamps changed out on both sides of my 1988 Fiero GT, while I watched.

I'm glad I didn't try it myself. I wouldn't have gotten very far. It took the guy a full two hours of clock time, and he has years of practice working on Corvettes and the occasional Fiero at the repairs shop that he owns.

He even had a little help from the one fully qualified mechanic that works for him. He charged me for 1.7 hours of mechanical labor. As a long time customer, he discounts for me. And some time was lost when he dropped some of the non-magnetic screw fasteners and had to retrieve them from the crevice(s) inside the front end compartment where they landed, after being pulled down by the force of gravity. (duh...)

I asked him if this (Fiero) is the most difficult car for changing out the headlights. He said he's worked on some cars where it's even more of an "operation."




If you have to do it again, I'd highly recommend replacing your headlamps with one of those standard size lamp assemblies where you can replace the bulbs inside... and not have to change the entire fixture. Makes it so much easier. I'm assuming it took as long as it did because he was cleaning and adjusting the headlights and all that.

By any chance... do you have a picture of your Fiero? I mean that earnestly... I think it would make it feel more real. Until this point, I didn't even know you'd ever owned a Fiero... I'm not questioning that (I mean it), but would definitely like to see your 88 Fiero GT if you have any pictures loaded on the computer.
rinselberg DEC 24, 09:59 PM

quote
Originally posted by olejoedad:
Dude, it takes 10 minutes to change a Fiero headlight!


I guess I should look to see if there is a "how to" and come to some conclusion about whether they were making it unnecessarily complicated.

Some years ago I tried to change out one of the sealed beams myself, and I couldn't get past something. I took it to this same repair shop and they did it for me. But I interacted with a mechanic who no longer works there. He came down with some kind of condition that made it impossible for him to keep working... at least, working as a mechanic.

CLICK FOR FULL SIZE

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 12-24-2023).]

82-T/A [At Work] DEC 24, 10:02 PM

quote
Originally posted by rinselberg:

CLICK FOR FULL SIZE

That's mine.




That's really nice... the paint is perfect, and I even like the way it looks without a spoiler or luggage rack. Very sleek. The gold rims also look really nice with the monochromatic ground effects too. Is it all original? The seats look like leather seats. Very nice!
Patrick DEC 24, 10:20 PM

quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:

I'm assuming it took as long as it did because he was cleaning and adjusting the headlights and all that.



It's been a lot of years since I've had to replace a headlight on a Fiero... but if I remember correctly, swapping out a sealed-beam unit shouldn't affect the aiming. I suspect Rinse was fleeced.
rinselberg DEC 24, 10:53 PM
Hey Patrick,

He said he didn't change or readjust the headlight aim. For each side, he removed 12 screw-type fasteners from the popup headlight assembly, disconnected the old sealed beam, put in a new sealed beam and reconnected it to energize it, and then reinstalled the 12 screw-type fasteners. He removed and reinstalled the chrome trim ring that surrounds the sealed beam as part of all this. And there were these large, black plastic headlamp assembly moldings that he removed and reinstalled as part of all this. He had my battery hooked up to a charger because he said it would keep from draining the battery. He had the headlamp circuits activated during much of this "fooling around."

He was looking at the gauge on the charger and said "Why isn't there more of a draw?" And I said "Well, one of the sealed beams isn't drawing current because it's burned out. That's why we're doing this." And he said, "Right."

I know the guy pretty well. I don't think he was trying to rip me off. Maybe he didn't realize there is a simpler way that doesn't involve all of these "extra-curricular" or ancillary procedures? But that's hard for me to believe, because I know he's had other Fieros in his shop for repairs over the years.


Edited to add:
Looks like there was Politics going on here, and suddenly a "Tech" session materializes. Hasn't it usually been the other way around?

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 12-24-2023).]