Hazards of Snow

[Jim Stoltz]

Got almost a foot of snow last night. I ran into an obstacle with the snow blower. Backed up and tried to plow through whatever it was. Turns out it was the power cord for the RV. And it was plugged in. It wrapped around the auger and was sliced in about 8 spots.Good news is I didn't get electrocuted. Bad news is I only have about a 4-foot power cord now.

[Russell E Johnson]

LOL, not funny but it is, I have ruined so many power cords in my life time that if I could put them all together the cord would probably be 400 feet long.  Never did one with a snow blower, my tool of choice is the circular saw. 

[Jim Stoltz]

Circular saw is pretty effective too. Electric hedge shears work well, too. Bright side is that it's a two-stage blower and it only made it into the big, slow moving auger. If it had gotten into the "thrower' part it would have been messy and probably would have torn the cable from the junction box inside the camper.

[david craft]

I had decided I would fab a hitch for a BMW. I could not understand why a class 2 was not available. It had a nice square box between the gas tank and spare that ran down the center of the trunk. So I got a bar onthe bumper and ran some stock up that box for strength. As I started drilling I counted 4 sheets of steel I punched where I only figured on 2. But like Jim, I just backed up and kept punching. Discovered 2 things later...the gas filled behind the license plate, and, BMW tanks cost about 500 dollares to replace...

[Jim Stoltz]

Don't get me started in BMWs. My GF has one and it's a great car, but nothing is simple or easy on it. It needed power steering fluid a couple of days ago. Can I get a $5 bottle of off-the-shelf stuff? Noooooooooo. I needed "CHF 11S Hydraulic Fluid", made in Germany for $20. But there's rarely anything wrong with it so I can't complain too much.

[Rich Thomas]

B.M.W.= Bring -  More -  Wallets.

[Jim Stoltz]

The dealers don't help either. I replaced an oil filter housing gasket a few weeks ago. Part was $15, took me half an hour. Dealer wanted $687.

[Ralph Javins]

Good morning, Rich Thomas; 

     Your translation of the acronym B. M. W. is correct for the owner-customer side of the counter.  Of course, as everyone knows already, it actually stands for the Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft, but we need to translate that into Enlgish for us here in the United States.  As you indicated, yes, for the owner-customer it does come out as "Bring More Wallets." 

     Then for those of us who worked at least behind the counter, or out in the back on the vehicles, that translation comes out as "Bring More Wrenches." 

          Enjoy; 

          Ralph 

          Latte Land, Washington 

          who still has his BMW training certificates, and

          most of his Matra tools for working on them,

          but all of his parts and the service and parts

          manuals are gone. 

[Jim Stoltz]

They're well engineered if not over-engineered. The dealer wanted $600 to replace the battery because in addition to simply replacing the battery, you need to reprogram the computer to let it know that it needs to change its charging strategy. I got some bootleg software and interface from China and an Autozone battery. It's been good for over 2 years now.

And there's no dipstick on the friggin thing. Oil level? Check it through a bunch of gyrations with a lever on the left side of the steering column.

Parking light bulb? Take the wheel off and inner fender out. 

Electric water pump? Yeah - $500 plus labor. In the bowels of the undercarriage. I'd rather have all the teeth pulled from my head than do that job again.

It is the Ultimate Driving Machine though. Powerful, precise and well thought out. That's why we still have it. It's a love-hate thing :)

[david craft]

Yeah i decided to elaborate. This hitch debacle was early on in my career, about 30 years ago or more. So, that 500 tag for replacement has gone up no doubt.

[Jim Stoltz]

When I was done shoveling I took a look at the power cord. It's nicked in about 8 spots, but only one got through the outside insulation, and then through the insulation on one (white) wire but the copper itself wasn't nicked. I taped it up for now but I'll probably replace it when the weather gets warmer.

[Jim Stoltz]

Back on topic - we're expecting another foot-and-a-half of snow. Blizzard like conditions with 45 MPH winds. I moved the old girl close to the house so I can power my natural-gas fired furnace in my house. And, I have the power cord 5 feet above the ground so I can't hit it with the snowblower again. I may clothesline myself with it, but at least I can't damage it.

[david craft]

Sure your not taunting mother nature with that 5' benchmark?