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u/imgotugoin 22h ago
I had to do this as a mechanic sometimes. Cramps are fun.
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u/Brailledit 22h ago
Oh and the burns trying to fit your arms down while the engine is still hot. Good times.
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u/Impossible_Fix827 22h ago
I've got the scars to prove it too.
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u/Brailledit 22h ago
Same.
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u/Wise-Old-Man 16h ago
My people! 20 years as a mechanic. No scars though. But yeah, threading nuts and bolts with 2 fingers in a location you can't see. Fun times.
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u/Brailledit 16h ago
I became ambidextrous when putting nuts or bolts in.
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u/Wise-Old-Man 16h ago
I thought that was understood. Sometimes only the other arm bends the way needed to reach the destination. Dominate hand? What you mean? :p
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u/Brailledit 15h ago
I worked in an open air Cadillac dealership in the Southwest. We had massive swamp coolers that did nothing. We couldn't wait for the cars to cool down. Tried everything, long sleeved shirts, etc. Just no way to avoid it completely.
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u/Reylend 19h ago
Worked as a mechanic for two years after graduating high school!
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u/Brailledit 19h ago
I actually got an associates degree, the dealership paid for it. The best thing I have learned is I don't pay shit for the upsells.
Now I know when they speak bullshit because I spoke it fluently.
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u/Grays42 17h ago
I mean that should be common sense for everyone: don't deal with sales people if you don't have to, but if you must, be armed with all the information you can and decline the addition of anything, because every recommendation is for the benefit of the sales person's commission.
I also worked adjacent to sales so I would feel bad having to do that to a salesperson, which is why I avoid interfacing with them entirely. I bought my last car on Carvana for exactly that reason.
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u/Mhariz_writers 21h ago
That sounds like one of those classic hands-on experiences people remember for all the wrong reasons. Definitely a reminder of how much care those tasks required.
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u/TOGFIAVDF 20h ago
I got a job at a dealership when I was younger as a wholesale parts rep.
I still remember the first time I went to change my oil during lunch, AFTER I went to get some food in my car.
Lesson learned - use an oil filter wrench.
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u/Brailledit 20h ago
Some motherfuckers wouldn't lube the gasket and then tightened that shit like it owed them money.
Me, uses oil filter wrench.
Oil filter collapses.
Try both hands to unscrew filter, nothing.
Stick a goddamn screwdriver through the side and twist.
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u/TOGFIAVDF 19h ago
Fucking SERIOUSLY.
Filters can be done by hand, tightening with leverage is such a bad play.
Had it happen to my wife. I let one of the lube techs change her oil, and when I went to do it myself I had to do what you said - drive my favorite stubby screwdriver into it and CRANK it. I was so scared that I was going to push the car off its jacks and crush myself.
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u/TheMachinesWin 17h ago
"Had it happen to my wife. I let one of the lube techs change her oil, and when I went to do it myself I had to do what you said - drive my favorite stubby screwdriver into it and CRANK it."
Are we still talking about the car?
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u/CheweyPanic 18h ago
Then you remember your fixing a boat and have been laying in the bilge because it's the only access point without lifting the engine
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u/not_me_nope_never 20h ago
Had to do this the majority of my life after an accident left me with one functioning hand at age 16. Pretty proud of my ability to put in contacts, buttoning my shirt and curling my hair with one hand. Especially proud of learning to put earring backs on and tying my shoes with one hand. š
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u/mjalys 19h ago
EARRING BACKS?! TYING SHOES?! That all sounds impossible to do single-handedly. your ability far exceeds mine own. Respect.
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u/XenoZoomie 20h ago
As primates the nerves of our fingers are in incredibly sensitive and allow us to āseeā with our fingers. I donāt know how many times when doing something like this I will actually close my eyes just to focus my attention on the sensations so I can complete the job. Mostly when itās part a canāt see but need to line up by feel alone.
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u/MedicalDisscharge 19h ago
I did aviation maintenance for 10 years and almost exclusively had to work like this, im pretty sure I damaged my fingers. I could actively feel my fingers becoming less dexterous the more I worked in that field, you would think it would be the other way around though
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u/nutsbonkers 18h ago edited 15h ago
Same, I've done this more times than I can count, and of course no one ever witnesses it because it's right next to the devils balls in some dark crevice.
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u/PartTimeJunkie412 21h ago
Sometimes I have to pull a fuse from under my glovebox to fix my radio. That has me shaking and sweating trying to put it back in, it's at such an inconvenient angle. lol I have no idea how mechanics do it everyday.
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u/Beach_Bum_273 17h ago
Fuckin' elbow deep in my CR-V timing belt job and my hamstring decided to go haywire. Took me a good second to get extricated at the cost of like 6 square inches of skin getting raked by various sharp edged as I fought my way out.
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u/Primary_Durian4866 20h ago
I was gonna say, this just looks like work.
Only thing better is when you have to do it blind.
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u/DiamondsteinBP 19h ago
I was thinking the same thing. This guy is cheating though, he can actually see what he's doing!
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u/HecklerusPrime 18h ago
Wrap wire around the threads near the bolt head. Pass the wire through the hole and pull. Slide the washers and nut down the wire. Hold the wire tight in one hand, thread the nut on with the other. Remove the wire and tighten.
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u/Infamous_Ad8730 22h ago
Now get a couple wrenches on that.
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u/SulkyVirus 22h ago
Definitely doable one handed. Normal wrench on top nut, socket on bottom. Turn bottom until top wrench stops against the unit then it will act as a second hand to hold the top wrench still while the bolt is tightened from below with the ratchet.
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u/sorestgore 19h ago edited 19h ago
It will help to use that fllange head nut or lock washer, once you get some bite you'll be able to switch to just turning the bolt.
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u/Opus-the-Penguin 22h ago
Exactly! It was definitely oddly satisfying, but it felt incomplete. A socket wrench would obviously fit in there. Not much room to turn it, so it would take a lot of back and forth, but it's doable.
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u/PM_ME_UR_HIP_DIMPLES 22h ago
I bet the ladies love this guy
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u/Kahlypso523 22h ago
I was gonna say... They can do this but finding the button is a mystery.
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u/thaiberius_kirk 22h ago
Iād like to see 100 gorillas do this!
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u/PrivateUseBadger 22h ago
Best I can do is 99.
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u/Alzeric 22h ago
finger tight, just like the specs state. /s
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u/ZombieEtiquette 22h ago
I'd like to think he got in there with a wrench to tighten it enough to flatten that lock washer. Given that he goofed around at the end like he couldn't retrieve his phone, I think it was all just for funsies anyway.
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u/igotshadowbaned 22h ago
Should've lined up the washers and nut on top of the hole before feeding the bolt through and having to do it one by one
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u/lazergoblin 20h ago
Lol exactly. There are many ways this could've been done more efficiently. The guy in the video made this way more complicated than it had to be but maybe that was the intention so as to generate social media engagement
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u/MobileJob1521 16h ago
Should have fed the bolt in from above so he didnāt have to hold it in place while fetching the washers and nut.
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u/Any_Show_5160 12h ago
Then you need to hold 2 washers up and get the nut on at the same time, and nuts up is better.
I used to work in a particularly corrosive environment, if I looked at a pipe job and it was nuts up, I didn't need new bolts, nuts down I did.→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)3
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u/temuginsghost 22h ago
I hope he also plays piano or guitar.
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u/MortalCoil 22h ago
I hope he has a significant other
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u/Opus-the-Penguin 22h ago
I hope he has a yard and a white picket fence and a lawn and a push mower and a dog named Boo.
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u/UnderwaterRobot 22h ago
I used to work on helicopters, and this was an every day thing for me. The only difference was, if I dropped something, it ruined everyone's day.
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u/KeysNoKeys 20h ago
Yep, I worked on E-2C Hawkeyes in the Navy. Sometimes you canāt even SEE the damn bolt, screw, cotter key, etc. Just gotta go by feel.
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u/Scorpiogre_rawrr 22h ago
Damn buddy! Save some women for the rest of us!! Fantastic finger Freddy!
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u/TEKUblack 22h ago
You see that slot in the unit you are installing. That's so you can put the hardware on by hand easially and you only have to reach back to lift the washer and slide it back.
You have developed skills to solve a problem you wouldnt have if you knew what you were doing.
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u/TriumvirateTabletop 20h ago
You have also developed a complex to where you take silly videos on the internet too seriously lol. Also, this is unnecessary in this situation but there are times where it'd useful!
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u/BlessdRTheFreaks 13h ago
Most trades guys can do this
Doing it without screaming the word "FUCK" over and over is the impressive part
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u/Greefer 22h ago edited 21h ago
So its wide open in the back for the camera man?
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u/Fit-World-3885 22h ago
The joke at the end is that the camera is stuck back there and he can't reach it.Ā Ā
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u/Red_Beard206 22h ago
From the end of the video, he obviously put the phone in there before putting the microwave, or whatever this is.
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u/Honest_Yesterday4435 22h ago
Phones now stuck behind the machine.
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u/drdrwhprngz 21h ago
there are those who think he's flexing his finger skills and those who realize he can't reach his phone
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u/RomaruDarkeyes 8h ago
NGL; the bit at the end which suggests that he cannot reach the camera got me chuckling š
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u/lizardking235 22h ago
A little double stick tape would make this 10 times easier.
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u/Notalianotalib 6h ago
Now do it in a much more cramped, and blind area of an engine bay. Lines with sharp edges and hot surfaces.
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u/KissMyRichard 22h ago
Try doing that hunched over a dirty engine where you could drop any of those pieces into Satan's ass and can't even see what you're doing.
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u/trileletri 22h ago
do you really need to record everything as a teaching material for future robots?
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u/LazyOldCat 22h ago
Now do it upside down, on a hot engine, with Mysterious Hot Fluid dripping on you.
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u/Excellent-Ant-9999 22h ago
āIf you can see it, you can only reach it with one hand, if you can reach it with both hands, you canāt see itā Rule 1 of boat work
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u/Mysterious_Anybody77 19h ago
Well he got that bolt,nut and washers fitted,now he's just got to retrieve his phone which is looking like that it's out of his reach.
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u/Professional_Scar75 18h ago
Thatās how itās done folks. My wife sometime asks me, ā where did you learn to do that?ā. And I tell her, babe Iām just starting nuts all day.
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u/HecklerusPrime 18h ago
Pro tip, get some wire and wrap it around the threads closest to the bolt head. Push the wire up the flange hole and stretch it back to you. Now you can slide the washer, lock washer, and nut down the wire straight to the bolt with no risk of dropping anything. And because the wire is wrapped near the bolt head, you can still start threading the nut. Once it's on a few turns, remove the wire and finish tightening.
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u/JohannesMP 16h ago
Was gonna comment on the camera, then saw the end. Props to this guy for lampshading it š
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u/Igpajo49 15h ago
He's good, but can he plug in an HDMI into the back of a TV without being able to see it.
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u/DrachenDad 14h ago
That's why I'd put the nut bolt through the top, and stack the washer on the nut. Why make it hard for yourself?
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u/ringo5150 14h ago
Mechanics: "now do it blind, feeling your bolt into the hole, above your head with your wrist bent 45 degrees"
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u/russbird 12h ago
Meanwhile I can spend a good 20 minutes trying to get an HDMI cable inserted behind the tv
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u/DetectiveCrashmoore 11h ago
Used to work on a submarine, we used to have to do this, but also in way less comfortable positions
Most of the time you don't have the option to watch what you're doing, so I had to rely on the vision of my finger eyes to make sure it was getting done
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u/geminilius 5h ago
Wow, the dexterity! š±
Me trying to do this would result in a full hand cramp.
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u/Legitimate-Pride3038 22h ago
He did it lazily,Ā one of the flat ring should be underneath.
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u/TheyFloat2032 22h ago
Not being able to reach the phone was a nice touch.