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Along with the various jackstand comments, I'd like to add one little story about a freind who had his El Camino on jackstands on a concrete driveway with everything safe and kosher. He was undoing rear suspension bolts to change bushings and the things wouldn't loosen, so he was pulling harder and harder on the wrench. Finally at one point, the whole car started moving on him. It took a second of "wtf" but then to his horror he realized that the jackstands were all about to TIP OVER, he was pulling so hard. He let go of the wrench and fortunately it all settled back down straight. That would have been the end of him because of a stupid driveway accident, and it really freaked him out. The lesson I guess is to brace yourself against the car and not the ground when you have to put that kind of force into something that is supported in the air in any way.
So, if I see any particular black Impalas lurking around the neighborhood, I'd better go out and hide my A833... 
Actually the 4wd version has a big iron adaptor section to the transfer case instead of a tailshaft housing and I can't say if the tailshaft itself is the same. I'm hoping to use that trans behind the Chevy straight-six I picked up when CarJunkie closed shop, in a '63 Wagoneer that it woud be nice to cross the country in some day. You know, a while back I went calling on a couple local transmission shops looking for another one and they said they hadn't seen one of those A833ODs in years, they were an oddball back when and practically impossible to find now.
Back to magazine mistakes, which as Boxer indicates are really pretty rare thankfully as I guess info is looked over plenty before it makes it to print. Another favorite of mine was when the tech editor of a major title stated that one of the benefits of using a 1.6 rocker ratio over a 1.5 was that lifter loading on the camshaft was reduced because of the better ratio. Huh? Plenty of people wrote in and apparently convinced him otherwise, in those days he seemed to make such an error about every other issue.
I went on one of their tour things with the same guy where another writer had a Falcon with a large plastic fan that had four fastening screws going into it from the back, which stripped out to leave it hanging. I got involved in the repair and noticed the holes went all the way through the unit so I suggested just turning the fan around and screwing into it from the other side. I was the fool of the evening for offering such a plan, as the editor and the writer both believed with all their hearts that if you turned the fan around like that, it would then blow backwards. What? Look down on one of the blades from directly above, now imagine what would happen if you turned it 180. It'll be angled the same direction...it will not blow BACKWARDS, the pitch is the pitch! They actually set out from San Luis Obispo CA to Los Angeles the next day, in traffic, with no fan at all rather than just turn it around and risk having it blow backwards. I don't know how they did but to say I was a little miffed at the basic lack of understanding of mechanical things displayed there would be an understatement.
Anyhow, to anyone who is willing to step up and get dirty and try something then write about it, cheer up if I'm here picking on you a little bit as we know that you guys who are actually working on cars make for a more interesting read (and direct link to the subject) than the ones who seem to do a little task here and there and just farm the rest out with a description and credit. Boo-boos and all...hey, better you make 'em than me!
Originally posted by Scott Liggett
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Actually the 4wd version has a big iron adaptor section to the transfer case instead of a tailshaft housing and I can't say if the tailshaft itself is the same. I'm hoping to use that trans behind the Chevy straight-six I picked up when CarJunkie closed shop, in a '63 Wagoneer that it woud be nice to cross the country in some day. You know, a while back I went calling on a couple local transmission shops looking for another one and they said they hadn't seen one of those A833ODs in years, they were an oddball back when and practically impossible to find now.Back to magazine mistakes, which as Boxer indicates are really pretty rare thankfully as I guess info is looked over plenty before it makes it to print. Another favorite of mine was when the tech editor of a major title stated that one of the benefits of using a 1.6 rocker ratio over a 1.5 was that lifter loading on the camshaft was reduced because of the better ratio. Huh? Plenty of people wrote in and apparently convinced him otherwise, in those days he seemed to make such an error about every other issue.
I went on one of their tour things with the same guy where another writer had a Falcon with a large plastic fan that had four fastening screws going into it from the back, which stripped out to leave it hanging. I got involved in the repair and noticed the holes went all the way through the unit so I suggested just turning the fan around and screwing into it from the other side. I was the fool of the evening for offering such a plan, as the editor and the writer both believed with all their hearts that if you turned the fan around like that, it would then blow backwards. What? Look down on one of the blades from directly above, now imagine what would happen if you turned it 180. It'll be angled the same direction...it will not blow BACKWARDS, the pitch is the pitch! They actually set out from San Luis Obispo CA to Los Angeles the next day, in traffic, with no fan at all rather than just turn it around and risk having it blow backwards. I don't know how they did but to say I was a little miffed at the basic lack of understanding of mechanical things displayed there would be an understatement.
Anyhow, to anyone who is willing to step up and get dirty and try something then write about it, cheer up if I'm here picking on you a little bit as we know that you guys who are actually working on cars make for a more interesting read (and direct link to the subject) than the ones who seem to do a little task here and there and just farm the rest out with a description and credit. Boo-boos and all...hey, better you make 'em than me!
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