Mountains out of mole hills

OK here goes. A guys gonna do some routine maint. on his XJ. Check the valves. Breaks off cover bolt & posts for advice. I reply how I would drill out bolt, & as a last resort maybe a helicoil it the job gets sloppy. I'm instantly admonished for my lack of knowledge & the guy gets some very, very last last ditch advice (IMO) using JB Weld & a stud. A couple others chime in with a complete motor overhaul. For 1 broke valve cover bolt. Really? OK im done-fire away...

 

Don't worry mate,

I just read that thread and almost all of the solutions are workable, but all of the solutions (done badly) have potential to end badly.

Don't stress about it.

One day you will see a post from the next owner of that bike complaining about the dodgy repair the previous owner did with JB Weld.

 

WWJ - I agree with darkfibre.
Don't sweat it. With my short time here, it is evident that there are alot of really kind hearted folks who are looking out for everyone's best interest.

<soapbox>
Everyone feels like they are providing the 'best possible solution' within there own personal knowledge base - this can sometimes lead people to poo-poo other's well meaning replies.

Couple that with the curse of the typed word, and some posts come across as harsh when perhaps they were meant in a tongue in cheek, or light hearted manner - not as a personal, public bashing.
To summarize: Communication on a computer screen lacks the dynamics that occur in person and can lead to misscommunication and bruised egos.

And then there are those times when some people are just plain old Douchy McDouchingtons and would be best ignored instead of trying to get in a pissing match with them.

</soapbox>

 

when you ask for opinions you will get them. Some good some not. It is up to you to decide. Each member here will have a different opinion as how to solve a problem. Their solution is based on their experences, it might apply to your sutuation.
Don't worry about it, different opinions is what makes this site great.

 

IF their solution is based on experience. If only...

And therein lies the real problem; a good number of folks freely give advice based on something they've read, heard, or even just good old urban legends, NOT on their own hands-on experience.

If all of the advice given here were truly experience based, it wouldn't be as difficult as it is sometimes to separate proven solutions from theories or unfounded opinions.

But we also host a whole slew of "armchair experts" who feel the need to help. I have no problem with untried theories, it's when outright bad information is passed that it becomes an issue.

Your proposed solution wasn't off base.

 

Well said Fitz. You have the skills to read between the lines. Putting my thoughts into words is not my strong point.

 

WELL, I only suggested jb as a filler if the threads were under 50 percent.
And yes I do have experience 30 years of it working in machine shop doing lots of repair on broken smaller bolts. It does work . I've done it.
Yes, there is a potential for well meaning advice to go bad for sure.
Sorry if got you to have a conniption. Have a nice day

 

So who had a conniption? I assumed you were speaking from practical experience; I wasn't referring to you.

 

Hey, I sure didnt mean to start a war here. Here's a better example of the point I was trying to make (somewhat extreme).

New poster-"I just got an XJ & looking for information. This seems to be a really good bike".

Popular reply-"Unless you replace/rebuild every nut, bolt, component & wire, your bike is junk & you are dead".

Intimidated & overwhelmed, new guy sells XJ & spends his summer with his girl at the mall & watching golf on T.V.

In a perfect world-yes. In the real world-not gonna happen. We're all friends here, lets move on. Sorry for starting this. Happy trails.

 

well done, that was pretty good.

 

I used to contribute on another forum for ski boats. There was the resident forum mechanic who knew everything, and there was only one way to do things... his way... and if you weren't doing things his way then you were screwing up, and he loved to start arguements. Even though he had a mere 14,269 posts, not everyone agreed with him. I used to help many folks with Holley carburator problems as I know 4160's very well. As time went on it seemed like everytime I would say something I would have to spend lots of time defending my statements, as his only corrective action was complete and total rebuild, even if it didn't work after being rebuilt before. After a few months I just said the hell with it. He was just challenging me to see how much I really knew, but in the end I got tired of the nonsense and stopped contributing. Then I had a good friend come up to me one day telling me he had carburator problems and was reading my posts from 5 or 6 years ago that he found through a google search. He mentioned my advise/troubleshooting was spot on, and that the resident mechanic was just a tad off kilter. I felt good!

 

Let's erase the whole post and start over. By the way did the guy who started this post get his broken bolt out ?