Most parts store employees around me are idiots.

[JIMJAM]

I needed a 8mm x 1.25 tap and a matching bit. Also a M8 bolt 75mm would be nice.
30 minutes or more with the usual Autotzone,OReileys,Napa,,,, on the phone and got conflicting answers. Finally a woman who every other words was Uuuuhhhh..:ehh: said she had what I needed and it would be at the desk. Got there and UUHhhhhhhhhh.....:dunno: **In case you do not know this NEVER say DELOREAN. That will turn them into drooling Zombies.Might as well ask for a rocket engine for the space shuttle.
Anyways,I needed to drill out a stripped M7 and go to a 8mm. She gave me the bit and even to my weakening eyes it was obvious it was to big.UUUHhhhhhhH :jawdrop: No thats right she said and triple checked her book and ask another UUhhhh :8ball: guy.
Dropped by O Reileys who said earlier on the phone they did not have something and uuuuhhhhh :eek5:, well it was there. I showed him the bit and he said,uuuuuuuhhhh, thats to big! Ok, so then he goes gets another and I see him eyeballing them against the light next to the bolt I had. I ask if he had a chart and he said,UUhhhhhhhh :dead:, I aint got no chart. I told him I was not throwing darts that I wanted it to be the right size.He then told me as long as it was close the tap would take care of the rest. He then put it back and walked off.
I about got really bent out of shape but owning Delorean I know its just a test of will power,besides I am not going to jail over a few dollars in bolts. Went home,got the correct size via online sources and went bought it without even asking a single question.
Ok,mini vent over. Bottom line some of the parts store have good people and some are just dangerously dumb :screwy:

[Bitsyncmaster]

The drill is sized for 75% thread. To small and you will break the tap. To large and the threads will strip out.

Go to a hardware store. Taps should be packaged on a rack. Look at the package and it should say, 17/64" drill bit.

[Ikeaboy1]

'It's for an old tractor.'

It wouldn't save you from this situation, but it works waaaaay better than saying 'Delorean.'

[EdR5150]

Why deal with the employees when all parts finders and inventories are online? I refuse to deal with the employees. If I do deal with them, I hand them a printout from the website and ask if they can find or order that part #.

I've also used AutoZone's order online feature. Employees don't even ask questions at that point, they just get you your order, and try to get you out the door fast.

[JIMJAM]

I shop online a LOT.To much and this is one reason. I know that some of the guys who answered my call probably sat the phone down,finished what they were doing and then told me ,nope do not have it.
From what I understand from reading some forums from employees, most of the old school guys were ran off and replaced with just out of high schoolers at min wage. Their main job is to sell you addons. The old saying "If they leave just with what they came in for we did not make any money." applies.
Do not even get me started on the cheap chinese crap these places sell. OmG its a bunch of crap!!! Oh if we could go back in time we should have killed Walmart before it flooded the country with this worthless junk. But it was inexpensive and we bought it and ran the Mom and Pops out of biz. Thats for another rant.


Well Dave it looks like I got it done. I used a drill and went slow.Got it threaded at least as deep as the bolt stick out of the W pipe. I did a quick a dirty test and it seems to hold. Now I get rid of the old crap and replace the paper gaskets on the W pipe. Put back on the old WUR, tighten it all down,fire it up and go from there.

BTW-Ace hardware had the LEAST selection.NO m8 75mm and no tap. The closest one referred me to another store that was 18 miles away. The guy "thought" he had seen one but the guy who would really know for sure was taking a delivery and told me to drop on by and see what they had..ERRRR....

[Bitsyncmaster]

Yes it's a shame the mom and pop stores are getting replaced. Just 4 miles from my house is Dyson's hardware/lumber store. The owner "JC" and I know each other. Not only is he knowledgeable but his prices mostly beat big box stores. If I go in for one nut or bolt he just says no charge.

[NightFlyer]

Do not even get me started on the cheap chinese crap these places sell. OmG its a bunch of crap!!! Oh if we could go back in time we should have killed Walmart before it flooded the country with this worthless junk. But it was inexpensive and we bought it and ran the Mom and Pops out of biz. Thats for another rant.

Can't blame the WalMarts of the world for supplying cheap goods. You can, however, blame the mindless zombie consumers who buy it without even bothering to investigate where what they are are purchasing was made. Whenever I shop, I always check to see where the product was made - I guess in today's world, that makes me relatively rare (and especially amongst my generation). America receives preference, even if it's a higher price. Next is Canada, followed by western European nations and Australia/New Zealand. Next down the list are Japan and South Korea, followed by South/Central America nations, eastern European nations, and Russia. India, and all other Asian nations except for China come next. Finally, China is dead last.

By doing this, I actually own very few goods that are made in China.

[David T]

Can't blame the WalMarts of the world for supplying cheap goods. You can, however, blame the mindless zombie consumers who buy it without even bothering to investigate where what they are are purchasing was made. Whenever I shop, I always check to see where the product was made - I guess in today's world, that makes me relatively rare (and especially amongst my generation). America receives preference, even if it's a higher price. Next is Canada, followed by western European nations and Australia/New Zealand. Next down the list are Japan and South Korea, followed by South/Central America nations, eastern European nations, and Russia. India, and all other Asian nations except for China come next. Finally, China is dead last.

By doing this, I actually own very few goods that are made in China.

Try to find out where most auto shops go for their parts. In any large city there is always 1 or 2 go-to places where they can still look at a part and know what it is without scanning the SKW # or looking it up on a computer. Even in the "good old days" you never really could trust the parts guys. In all fairness, they are not mechanics. That was one reason I always tried to bring the old part with me to match up so at least it "looked" like it might work! Today, if a part is not a quick mover the computer gets it off the shelf so if it is unusual you have to order it anyway. By the time you drive all over and waste gas you could have ordered it and if you need it that bad you can have almost anything the next day if you order it early enough.

[Nicholas R]

Very rarely find autoparts stores to have tools like taps and drill bits. You're much better off at a sears or a hardware store.

Also, everyone on this site should have a McMaster Carr account. Great prices, huge selection, and very fast shipping :thumbup:

[David T]

Very rarely find autoparts stores to have tools like taps and drill bits. You're much better off at a sears or a hardware store.

Also, everyone on this site should have a McMaster Carr account. Great prices, huge selection, and very fast shipping :thumbup:

Not true. The larger independent ones will have kits for the "Saturday Mechanic" who screws things up bad enough to have to drill things out. Even metric. When I get caught and need a bolt RIGHT NOW I make one if I have to. If necessary you can weld two together to make a long one. It is handy to have a set of taps and dies in SAE and metric. M/C is VERY expensive, it is usually cheaper to buy what you need from a Delorean vendor, especially when you figure shipping. There is always something else you can also order from the vender like a filter or a strut to help with the shipping. BTW, in a pinch you don't even need an insert. You drill oversize, and tap the hole, screw a bolt in and cut it off flush. Now redrilll and tap to the original size. That is where a full set of taps, dies, and drills can come in handy!

[DMCVegas]

'It's for an old tractor.'

It wouldn't save you from this situation, but it works waaaaay better than saying 'Delorean.'

That actually is a really great idea! Unless I get some guy whose into tractors and wants to talk shop.... Then I'd be screwed. :drunk:
I went through the same thing many times before, and reached my breaking point with NAPA. I needed a hose to connect between the Clutch MC and the Fluid Reservior. I went in with the old hose as a sample, showed it to the guy, and simply asked for another hose of the same inner diameter that was resistant to DOT4 brake fluid. That's all I said. This guy wanted to know what it was for, and got indignant when I refused to tell him. I finally cracked and said that it was for a DeLorean, and that I don't tell people because if it's not in a computer they can't figure it out. The guy then cracked a cocaine joke at some other guy who didn't even know what the hell a DeLorean was. That didn't help his mood, and he then said that he couldn't sell me the hose because it wasn't "approved for my application". I thanked him for being another uneducated employee stuck behind a parts counter that is helpless without a computer telling them what to do, and then left. Save for an emergency of sorts where I needed wiper blades for a borrowed car in Kansas, I've never set foot inside NAPA since and never will.

If it makes you feel better, it's not just the DeLorean that I've experienced this with. I had a 96 Dakota Sport. An oddball truck that came from the factory with a lot of one-off parts for that particular year thanks to an early engine change over that most books never recorded. But I once had a 2004 Chevy Blazer. Save for maybe a full sized pickup, I don't know how much more of an ordinary, common vehicle you can get. But with the Blazer I had to argue what tail light to use. It didn't matter that I had the correct bulb in my hand that I pulled out of the housing right there in the parking lot. The guy insisted that the double filament bulb I was purchasing was wrong because the book said so.



From what I understand from reading some forums from employees, most of the old school guys were ran off and replaced with just out of high schoolers at min wage.

Now THIS I can absolutely believe. I used to go to one particular Checker that was staffed by nothing but older guys. Admittedly they were a bit curmudgeonly towards people that came in to buy the crap accessories and acted like know-it-alls. But no matter age or gender, they would always calmly answer questions and explain things to people who wanted to learn, and loved to talk shop about cars no matter what kind. I went there one night for some O-Rings for my intake manifold. The guy asked what the O-Rings were for, so I told him, and we wound up having a pleasant conversation. These guys were car guys in the truest sense of the words. They loved cars, and respected those of others. Never once did I ever hear them cracking wise about people's cars. Throwing stupidity back in people's faces? Absolutely. But they knew that people's cars were their projects that should be respected. Now days, it's all down hill thanks to sales quotas and people that can't live without computers and scripts telling them what to say. I mean granted, I understand it to a point. Such as when my father in-law was trying to prime a generator in an old Ford, and the VatoZone guys kept telling him to do it the GM way which was wrong and kept frying to voltage regulator. But there's just so much lost in the process.

[Jonathan]

Most parts store employees are idiots

Fixed that for ya Jim.


'It's for an old tractor.'

'92 Suburban also works (for batteries anyway). The fun starts when they ask what size engine in that 92 Suburban or trim level and you answer "sure" or "ok" or "umm, what are my options? (as you try to peak at the screen)"... just messin' with them a little bit can be entertaining.

I agree on not wasting your time saying DeLorean no matter how tempting. Yet when they ask you for what car and you say umm, not sure, or it doesn't matter, they don't know what to do next. Describing the part itself in terms of specs or dimensions is a painful lesson in futility. It's like they are robots or pieces of code and can't stray off the program or script even in the slightest if the request doesn't start with year, make and model.

Good rant subject Jim!! Nice!!!! I like it!! :)

[Exolis]

It makes perfect sense that no one is going to know what parts are for a DeLorean, knowing what you need and knowing the cross over is very good to know. When I got my new starter, I just asked for a starter for a 1991 Eagle Premier, got the starter with no problems.

[nkemp]

I went to Sears many years ago and at the tools & hardware counter I asked about a thread chaser. The young man looked at me a bit and said "I should check in the sewing machine department". One of the customers standing next to me suggested I look two rows back and near the bottom. I found what I was looking for.

[DMCMW Dave]

I went to Sears many years ago and at the tools & hardware counter I asked about a thread chaser. The young man looked at me a bit and said "I should check in the sewing machine department". One of the customers standing next to me suggested I look two rows back and near the bottom. I found what I was looking for.

Somehow I doubt Sears pays well enough to have a mechanic selling tools.

[DrJeff]

Somehow I doubt Sears pays well enough to have a mechanic selling tools.

Full disclosure - I had to Google 'thread chaser' after reading this. There go my career chances in Sears.

[Michael]

Full disclosure - I had to Google 'thread chaser' after reading this. There go my career chances in Sears.

They are kept near the sky hooks and 2x4 stretchers. I used to work construction back in my college summers...Needless to say my first week I was sent after all sorts of "needed supplies".

[nkemp]

You know what is hard to find in the US, adjustable metric wrenches. Lots of imperial/english but no metric versions. When will the US see the brilliance of metric!?

[DMCMW Dave]

Snap on will probably have them but at 2x the price you would expect. Right next to the left handed screwdrivers.

[dustybarn]

They are kept near the sky hooks and 2x4 stretchers. I used to work construction back in my college summers...Needless to say my first week I was sent after all sorts of "needed supplies".

Someone ought to compile a list of New Guy tasks. I'm sure every industry has them (when I was a tilesetter many years ago it was the " tile bender").

[Dangermouse]

You know what is hard to find in the US, adjustable metric wrenches. Lots of imperial/english but no metric versions. When will the US see the brilliance of metric!?

I lost the adjustable metric one I brought from the UK but I was able to file the "/" off a Craftsman adjustable English one and it works pretty good.

[Ron]

LOL Just for kicks, Google had 1.4M hits (https://www.google.com/search?q=adjustable+metric+wrench&rlz=1C1GIGM_enUS543US543&oq=adjustable+metric+wrench&aqs=chrome..69i57.11474j0j8&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=0&ie=UTF-8) -- made me think of the old commercial, "...a silly millimeter longer..." NM
Note they come in sets too!!!

[Jonathan]

I thought you needed an adjustable metric wrench to install a Johnson rod?

[nkemp]

... Google had 1.4M hits (https://www.google.com/search?q=adjustable+metric+wrench&rlz=1C1GIGM_enUS543US543&oq=adjustable+metric+wrench&aqs=chrome..69i57.11474j0j8&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=0&ie=UTF-8) ...

I love it! And one of the hits had a "... 8'' Metric Adjustable Wrench". Close, but I was looking for a full metric adjustable metric wrench. None of that mixed imperial/metric.

[dustybarn]

It's hard enough to find a metric adjustable wrench, but Whitworth adjustable wrenches are just about unobtainable nowadays, except from some boutique UK suppliers catering to the vintage motorcycle crowd.

:biggrin:

[Dangermouse]

You are looking for the wrong thing. You need a Whitworth adjustable spanner. ;)