My mechanic called me a Jew.

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,409
39
91
Ok, so I have a miata with a defunct AC and power steering system. With all the defunct parts removed, around 70lbs could be shaved off.
I took it in to my mechanic to get it removed. We agreed on a price of $100.

After he said he was done, I noticed he hasn't taken out the condenser, nor the power steering reservoir.

I asked him about it and why he didn't take it out. He mentions that it's a lot of work and that it's when AC is mentioned, the condenser isn't really assumed to be part of that.

Then I mentioned that it's part of the AC, and I originally told him I wanted to take out the AC and the power steering that didn't work anyways to save weight.

He called me a jew for being a cheapass, but then proceeded to take it out. The condenser really only took him about 3 minutes to take out. So much for a lot of work.

Was I being unreasonable, or should I avoid this guy? I always thought he was a pretty kewl guy. Builds racecars, and has a passion for cars, and doesn't afraid of anything. But WTF?!
 

Kromis

Diamond Member
Mar 2, 2006
5,214
1
81
Good thing you put this in Garage and not OT.

What was his attitude when he said it to you?
 

fleabag

Banned
Oct 1, 2007
2,450
1
0
He's a dickhead.. Just leave it at that.. Also next time, how about you try learning how to do it yourself unless of course you had a fully charged A/C unit when you asked the mechanic to remove it..
 

brblx

Diamond Member
Mar 23, 2009
5,499
2
0
power racks without power are generally shit.

can't you get a real manual rack to swap it with?
 

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,883
641
126
You're driving a car that originally came with power steering without it functioning?

I wouldn't call you a Jew, I'd call you dangerous.
 

cheesehead

Lifer
Aug 11, 2000
10,079
0
0
Take it to the better business buerau and/or small claims court. And hope the judge is wearing a yarmulke. :)

Un-powered steering and no aircon on a Miata? I suppose that's one way to masculinize the car. That said, anyone who calls Miatas "sissy cars" hasn't been in one. :)
 

thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,015
114
106
Pending ownage in 3..

(Just to clarify, Viperoni here is making an argument for running a power steering rack w/o the pump)

So? Doesn't hurt anything other than being a little harder to turn than a non-power steering rack. I'd want to keep the quicker steering ratio of the power rack if I got rid of my power steering in my miata too. Really only matters at very very low speeds. I drove around an old plymouth horizan beater for a long time with the power steering belt removed because the rack leaked like crazy.
 
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AMCRambler

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2001
7,711
30
91
I'd love to see him crank that tiny ass little wheel around for a three point turn without the power steering, lol. It would probably snap off.
 

dawheat

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2000
3,132
93
91
So? Doesn't hurt anything other than being a little harder to turn than a non-power steering rack. I'd want to keep the quicker steering ratio of the power rack if I got rid of my power steering in my miata too. Really only matters at very very low speeds. I drove around an old plymouth horizan beater for a long time with the power steering belt removed because the rack leaked like crazy.

With a Miata you should be fine without power steering. Heavier effort when parking, but should be ok. Wouldn't recommend this on a heavier, larger car.
 

Zargon

Lifer
Nov 3, 2009
12,218
2
76
I drove my old rwd 200sx like that all the time, no issues at all

the pump leaked like mad and was hard to find since the car was 20 years old, paid a guy 20 bucks to make a new smaller line that I looped back to the rack so it didnt ciculate

sucked when parking but fine above 5 mph
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Condenser serves no purpose except for AC, right? Thus it is part of AC as is the PS reservoir part of PS.

Whether you are a jew or not is beyond the point. But did he say it jokingly or in a derogatory way?
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,409
39
91
He's often sarcastic or uses hyperboles... but he obviously was trying to convey that I was being a cheapass.

I decided to just leave the power rack drained after reading this guy's comments who mentioned that he couldn't really feel a difference between a manual rack and a drained power rack. Plus with all the stuff removed, my car is in the 1900lb range. :)
http://www.specmiata.com/faq/?num=4&f_id=2&s_id=15&q_id=74
 

CupCak3

Golden Member
Nov 11, 2005
1,318
1
81
While I would not stop from going to his ship b/c of the Jew comment, I would think twice before going back b/c of how he did not do the job correctly...
 

Viperoni

Lifer
Jan 4, 2000
11,084
1
71
Please, tell me more. Enlighten me.

The key difference between a PS rack and a non PS rack is the fact that a PS rack circulates fluid through itself to reduce steering input effort.

A PS rack with its two lines joined simply recirculates the fluid around the rack.

Generally, non PS racks do not have the seals/dividers inside of them which would be required in a PS rack, but are still filled with fluid.

Thus, a PS rack with it's lines joined is more or less the same thing as a true non PS rack.

The other key difference is steering ratio. A non PS rack would have a shorter (numerically higher) ratio. This is to reduce steering input effort.


As you can see, a PS rack with it's lines joined is basically a quicker ratio non PS rack, which provides better steering response along with quicker steering.



QED.

Now for some real life experience, I joined the lines on my saturn's PS rack when my 2nd PS pump got killed, and drove like that for over 10k. The only difficulty was low speed parking. No steering wheel snappge like some of the LOL in the thread.

I wouldnt' do it on a heavier car (IE: 2700lbs+), anything with a very quick ratio, or very wide tires (225's or fatter) that I had to daily drive.
 

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,883
641
126
Now for some real life experience, I joined the lines on my saturn's PS rack when my 2nd PS pump got killed, and drove like that for over 10k. The only difficulty was low speed parking. No steering wheel snappge like some of the LOL in the thread.

I wouldnt' do it on a heavier car (IE: 2700lbs+), anything with a very quick ratio, or very wide tires (225's or fatter) that I had to daily drive.
You just affirmed my point. It's dangerous.

I understand that hypermiling is a religion, but it's not a cult I wish to join.