Top 5 most challenging engine repair jobs for your car

Engine work involves many challenges when replacing parts.

Do-it-yourself mechanics can save money on car repairs, often while doing a better job and using better parts than a professional. Although they might have good self-esteem (and a strained shoulder from patting themselves on the back) from successfully changing their car’s oil, headlights and brake pads; they might not be receiving the accolades they deserve from their friends and loved ones.

Now is a great time for amateur mechanics to set their sights high and attempt things they’ve never tried before. They will learn a lot, and – if successful – they might receive the recognition they crave. The following 5 most difficult parts to replace in your car should help you choose a repair that will offer a sufficient challenge.

The Clutch

After completing their first clutch repair, most mechanics will send their entire family to driving school to learn how to properly drive a stick shift vehicle. If you have a rear-wheel drive vehicle, you can easily get to the clutch housing after removing the drive shaft, transmission and bell housing. Just take out the clutch, resurface the flywheel and put it all back together using a new bearing.

Timing Belt

Failure to change a car’s timing belt could result in cataclysmic engine damage without warning. Changing this part is among the hardest in most cars. In some engines, the timing belt is relatively accessible; in others, the job requires major disassembly. Difficult is in the eyes of the beholder, and the eyes that behold a timing belt in most cars sees a significant task lying ahead of them regardless of their engine type. If the belt isn’t put on properly, the engine may not run.

Transmission

If you want to test your mettle, try replacing the transmission in your car. If you pull off this repair, you’ll bask in the glory for months. Despite what anyone you know says, you’re looking at an expensive and tedious task. However, AOL Auto estimates that this job costs an average of nearly $3,700, so you will save a lot of money if you can do it yourself. The directions may sound simple, but even if you get the mechanical work done, you still must reprogram the car’s computer modules, a daunting task in its own right.

Oil Pump

You’ve changed the oil, so how much harder could it be to change the oil pump? Granted, many of your cohorts may never have even heard of an oil pump, but they will be enlightened as soon as they learn of your successful repair job. You’ll probably need to remove the oil pan and some other major parts to get to it, so buy a repair manual so you can do the job right. Don’t forget to put in a new gasket or else you’ll be working on your car again very soon.

The Engine

According to some websites, you can change an engine in 24 steps or less. In reality, replacing an entire engine could be one of the toughest jobs a mechanic can face. The process is very time consuming because all the wires, hoses and accessories must be removed from the engine before you take it out.

Mechanics who do not carefully record and label ever minute detail of the process may never get the job done right. A label machine, a camera and a camcorder can all be essential tools for documenting how everything was disassembled, so reassembly can go smoothly. If the new engine fits right and there aren’t any extra screws when the job is finished, your car might start. Keep your fingers crossed.

Class warfare and paying a ‘fair share’ of taxes

It’s popular among conservatives to argue that the top few percent of wage earners pay the lions’ share of the taxes. Through this argument, they propose that their taxes are high enough already. Some seem to imply that they would like to see taxes raised on lower-income groups because so many people supposedly pay no income taxes at all (or receive refundable tax credits).

The resentment of the wealthy directed toward the poor, however, is flawed. Understandably, no one either rich or poor likes paying taxes. However, the prevailing attitudes of conservatives / the wealthy to me seems flawed.

Those who seem to have no advocate at all, those in the middle, seem targeted by both the rich and the poor. For example, California recently set out to tax the Amazon Associate program which promptly canceled California accounts (The state eventually put the tax on ice for one year).

So the battle seems to be whether the rich or poor get to pay the least taxes (Hint: the rich are winning).

1. The premise that the “rich” pay most of the taxes is flawed. While from a dollar-wise perspective, this statement could be true, from a percentage-wise perspective it is not. The working classes pay a much higher percentage or their income than the wealthy.

2. The tax code is designed by wealthy people to preserve their wealth as a class. Therefore, the wealthy will never pay their “fair share” percentage-wise. Only the wealthy can afford the intricate loopholes that allow them to live tax-free. Also, many times, tax proposals like those made by Obama are spurious because they only superficially raise taxes on the wealthy. What he doesn’t tell his sucker-supporters is that he wants to raises taxes that do not apply to most wealthy people (eg raising income taxes on people who pay mostly capital gains). To make any progress toward righting the ship, the government must tax wealth, not income. Since the lawmakers, their families and their cronies are among the wealthiest in the nation, they are sure to safeguard their wealth at all costs.

3. Even though they didn’t already pay more than their fair share, raising taxes on the poor is useless (OK, raising taxes on anybody is useless, but that’s not what I’m talking about now). If someone earns $40,000 and pays $XX in income tax, there’s only a small window where their tax could be effectively raised. To make a difference, say we doubled their taxes. That would only result in a net increase of a thousand bucks or two at the most. In exchange, the wage earner could easily be forced into distress. This could lead to (1) cessation of employment or (2) personal and social issues such as hunger, homelessness and health issues. Thus, raising taxes on the poor is largely counterproductive.

4. Raising taxes on the wealthy is also useless because – if a tax increase were imposed that they would actually have to pay – they threaten to reciprocate by laying off employees, shrinking their business and moving overseas. This is because the wealthy have already established their lifestyle and seem largely unwilling to give it up. Who can blame them? Any moeny given the government only fills the coffers of all the elected and unelected unimprisoned criminals who benefit from the MASSIVE fraud, waste and corruption that our government perpetrates.

5. Sure, the wealthy do not pay their fair share, but even if “they” found ways to compel the rich to pay more, doing so would not solve any problem. The unfunded liabilities of the federal government already exceed the annual GDP of the entire world. Even if the income of all Americans were taxed at 100% (without affecting employment or productivity), the government would still not have enough money.

6. The fundamental problem is this: The system sucks. Our government is so corrupt that – even when John Boehnor et al talk about spending “cuts,” they talk about spending increases. They deceive people into thinking that they are reducing spending, while they are only reducing the rate of spending increases in a format that is changeable upon a whim. Furthermore, should the government ever get more money, it would waste it by giving it to the same political donors, union bosses, fraudulent contractors, family members/cronies and corporate sponsors that siphoned off all the rest of the money

The conclusion is obvious: the government should be starved of money. The system must fundamentally be changed to one that will responsibly, fairly and constitutionally manage its money. The public must take drastic measures to remove every legislator, every regulator, every bureaucrat, every lobbyist and every politician and replace them with a government that conforms to the Constitution of the United States of America. Until that happens, it doesn’t matter who pays what because the causes of the problems we face will otherwise never be addressed.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/14/news/economy/class_warfare_taxes/index.htm?iid=Lead

Fake job numbers may come home to roost

Have you accepted the fact that the government’s unemployment figures are fake? They have been fake for years, but are even worse since the Obama regime magically shrunk the workforce to drive the unemployment total to below 9% in February.

Unemployment: The Shocking Truth of Its Causes, Its Outrageous Consequences And What Can Be Done About It

By redefining unemployment, the numbers are better and have been better since. Still, every week and every month the numbers are released, don’t you ever wonder what they really are or are you one of those people who are placated by numbers that sound good regardless of what they mean?

More fake than you ever thought

John Crudele at the New York Post finally has brought the issue to the forefront of the news by warning of the dangers represented by fake jobs. As he reports, don’t be shocked to learn that the positive job numbers are even more fake than we thought.

Fake surge in fake jobs in March

Were you frustrated by the fake March unemployment numbers that seemed faker than usual? The Obama media was doing nude Kenyan rain dances, partying over the fact that unemployment has now receded to 8.8%, numbers that were clearly (but not surprisingly) better than expected.

First, the job total ignores millions of unemployed workers because of the new definition of unemployment.

Second, the job total claimed 216,000 new jobs created in March. Of those, 117,000 jobs were fake. They do not exist. They are not real. They are a hoax, a fraud, a lie, a deception perpetrated by Barry Soetoro (aka Obama) and his regime. Here’s how Crudele so eloquently summarized the problem:

But the figure included 117,000 jobs that the department thinks, but can’t prove, were created by newly formed companies that might not even exist. In fact, the department is getting so optimistic about the labor market that it increased this imaginary job count from just 81,000 in March, 2010.

What is going on here? This is a pattern. In 2010, April had more fake jobs created by fake companies than in March and May had more fake new jobs created by more fake companies than in April. Crudele expects the trend to continue this year with real whoppers being fronted by the regime that is desperate for kudos and a campaign season boost.

Do these fake numbers (aka LIES) bother you at all? Does it make you wonder why Americans tolerate a government that lies to them…. or maybe the government lies to Americans because it found out that Americans feel better with good news even if it is a lie?

Quite frankly, it’s time for Americans to stand up to this regime and demand honesty and integrity rather than insulting lies.

The danger of fake jobs

The fake job numbers could have tremendous repercussions for real people. The Federal Reserve, busy printing fake money that makes the real money earned by American workers relatively worthless, may use the fake job numbers as a fake reason to stop printing fake money and then raise the real interest rate and putting an end to the fake rally that has buoyed the stock market with fake cash.

Then what about the fake budget deal that had Obama, Boehner and Reid crowing like they had actually done something? More about that next.

Unemployment benefits lapse as Congress bickers on deficit – by Bruce Tyson – Helium

Legislation extending benefits to the millions of jobless Americans failed to pass muster in the U.S. Senate Thursday, setting the stage for catastrophic human suffering as families are cut off from the trickle of funds that has kept them afloat during the economic crisis. Politicians opposing the bill say that they favor extending the benefits program but only if they do not add to the exploding federal budget deficit.

via Unemployment benefits lapse as Congress bickers on deficit – by Bruce Tyson – Helium.

Obama lied MORE people died! More foreclosure deaths

Barry Soetoro (aka Barack Obama) told you that he would heal the world. He said he’d stop the foreclosure problem. He’s solve the housing crisis. What did he do? He took a lot of money from American renters and other taxpayers and gave it to ultrawealthy real estate speculators, politicians, lobbyists, bankers, and other special interests. Almost two years later, foreclosures are still rampant and people continue to die… all because our “President” lied, saying he would solve the problem and failing to do it. Yes, Obama killed these people too.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – A man who shot his wife to death and critically wounded his 3-year-old son before killing himself had money troubles and the family home was in foreclosure, police said Tuesday.Money problems—and marital troubles that may have stemmed from the man’s financial situation—were being investigated as possible motives in Sunday night’s shootings, said Sgt. Rick Martinez.

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Foreclosure “could have been the issue,” he said.

Enjoy travel savings with Obama airfare rules and AirFareWatchdog – by Bruce Tyson – Helium

Another travel expert, Tom Parsons of BestFares.com, has given travelers advice for travelers wishing to get “bumped” under the new Obama travel rules. According to Parsons, the best-dressed passengers and the first to volunteer to give up their seats are among the most prolific free fliers.

via Enjoy travel savings with Obama airfare rules and AirFareWatchdog – by Bruce Tyson – Helium.

Standard and Poors downgrades Greek debt to junk – by Bruce Tyson – Helium

Standard and Poor’s has downgraded Greek bonds to junk status, sending financial markets into freefall. Talk of an EU and IMF bailout had been effective in stabilizing world financial markets, but the latest downgrade of Greece’s status has underscored the serious instability of the Greek government, the euro currency, and the European Union. Making matters worse, Standard and Poor’s simultaneously downgraded Portugal by two notches, portending long term issues in the euro zone.

via Standard and Poors downgrades Greek debt to junk – by Bruce Tyson – Helium.

IT Spending Analysis Reveals Strong Growth for Current Year

Forrester Research, a leader in IT spending analysis has raised its projections for U.S. IT spending from 6.6% growth in 2010 to 8.4%, a healthy acceleration across the board. By analyzing spending we can see trends in IT that we would otherwise miss if we only listened to marketing hype.

Why you should consider going back to school in 2010 – by Bruce Tyson – Helium

Why you should consider going back to school in 2010 – by Bruce Tyson – Helium.

Financial planning to get out of the rat race – by Bruce Tyson – Helium

So many people are living just to make it to the next time they get paid. The repetitive cycle of going to work every day, coming home, going to bed, just to wake up and do the same thing again is known as the “rat race.” Imagine a pet rat running on an exercise wheel, stuck in the cage and never getting anywhere.

via Financial planning to get out of the rat race – by Bruce Tyson – Helium.