practicalenthusiast
Peter Monshizadeh
practicalenthusiast
Enjoys working on vehicles with poor reputations.

I would love a bead blaster. I’m still trying to figure out how to rig one up but I’m a little low on space. Read more

Any driver who brakes or comes to complete stop in a merge lane or on-ramp. Steer waaaaay clear of them as they are the essence of a pending accident. Read more

I had a TR6 as well! I really like the color of yours, mine was a burgundy red. I might do a write up of mine in the future - let’s just say the wiring harness had to be replaced. Read more

That is a good question, and I truly do not know. It was not marked anywhere on the bottle. It did seem oddly similar to paint thinner though... Read more

David, if you make it to Kansas City and you need to do a field repair, or need a place to stay, let me know. Good luck! Read more

Yep, you got it! You’re right - some vehicles, mainly cars, do require a number of special tools when doing the timing belt or chain. Most important of which is usually the harmonic balancer locking tool, which allows you to remove the crankshaft bolt. That tool often gets overlooked and has DIY-ers coming up with all Read more

Great question! Unfortunately, you can’t remove the vertical cylinder’s belt without first removing the horizontal belt. This is because they both run off of the crankshaft sprocket (the crank sprocket has a width of 2 belts), and the vertical belt is behind the horizontal belt. Read more

If you maintain them yourself, it isn’t all that bad. You have to somewhat enjoy working on bikes though, because there is a learning curve to account for. It really isn’t all that expensive. A $200 shim kit, and budget about $100 for “special” tools. I think they sell them in a set on eBay. Most of the how-to’s can Read more

Thanks - those are great looking bikes. The pending shop bill you have is a tough one to swallow though :( sorry. Read more

Oh yeah - I’ve had to go in and change out 4 rockers. I believe all of mine were openers as well. Great times haha. Read more

Yep, you’re right. I had to go through that fun about a year ago on this bike. I wrote about my experience - the link is in the article above. Read more

That was just the parts cost. Honestly, you don’t need any special tools, however having the ones I mentioned do make it easier. Read more

Dang it. Thanks for the correction - unfortunately I can’t edit the article to correct it. :( Read more

I’m embarrassed to say it but I only put 3,000 / year on this bike at most. I always hit the time requirement (2 years) way before the mileage one. Read more

Thanks! Good question - it seems like that front plate has generated a lot of curiosity here in the comments. That was a gift from my uncle, who lives in France. It is one of his old plates although I don’t recall what sort of car it came off of. I thought it helped liven up the front of Lexus a bit. Read more

Honestly, I don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised if they bill it as a transmission-out repair. Read more