r/machinesinaction 20d ago

Imagine how good of a mechanic they could be if they had the proper tools...

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5.0k Upvotes

105 comments sorted by

313

u/MotorcycleDad1621 20d ago

It’s crazy to me they have access to these trucks, fuel, oil, and apparently SOME tools but don’t have anything other larger than that little bottle jack….

75

u/One_Tailor_3233 19d ago

But they used a rock to hammer that hydrologic piece and tons of crumbs flew everywhere never use rocks or concrete to hammer metal parts it's terrible idea

15

u/MotorcycleDad1621 19d ago

Yea, that’s a given…

11

u/HairballTheory 19d ago

Just like that Oil… given another go at it

2

u/TexasPirate_76 16d ago

Yeah ... I believe that may be original equipment.

5

u/crossavmx03 19d ago

Well they could use the other available hammers (rocks) that might not be as brittle

7

u/el_dingusito 19d ago

They need them soft rocks

5

u/Hotel_Current 18d ago

Like the ones from the 1980s. Those were good.

2

u/Charlie_Linson 17d ago

I don’t know why this just cracked me up lol

6

u/screw_all_the_names 19d ago

And then it cuts and he has an actual hammer in his hand.

1

u/BrainKaput 18d ago

I mean. For them it's been working for ages now.

1

u/Screwbles 16d ago

Really? You're kidding! s/

1

u/ChoP_BlocK 16d ago

So don't shake the baby?

2

u/cmslobe 19d ago

Crazy that the truck is 55 years old. Old things last new things aren't granted to last more 15 years.

139

u/No-Goose-6140 20d ago

And they dont even smoke while spraying gasoline to clean the cylinder

56

u/raaaarrrrrr 20d ago

Its probably diesel, and you could in fact do that with diesel while smoking without starting a fire.

-9

u/No-Goose-6140 20d ago

BS, diesel is for the engines, gasoline is for cleaning stuff

77

u/spankdaddylizz 20d ago edited 19d ago

Does Harbor Freight carry these calibrated rock stands? These guys get it done with what they have!

14

u/Curt28781 20d ago

I got some in my yard. $5/each.

2

u/spankdaddylizz 20d ago

I ain't no fool! They have to meet OSHA standards for jack stands. But, I'm gonna under bid you!!

2

u/NuclearWasteland 16d ago

Not any more they don't.

7

u/socaTsocaTsocaT 19d ago

You gotta get the Snap-On rocks, they're only $800/ set

1

u/septubyte 16d ago

The alternative is you fucking starve so ya. They get it done. Props but it's not ok

1

u/spankdaddylizz 16d ago

Ease up, OSHA.

1

u/septubyte 16d ago

Osha? You mean empathy?

55

u/Girderland 20d ago

This was fun to watch. Not exactly the safest way to lift something but bonus points for ingenuity.

53

u/Agathocles87 19d ago

Used to live in the third world. There are some truly great mechanics there, because it’s not a throwaway society. There’s no such thing as it’s broken so just buy another. You either fix it or you don’t have it. So the mechanics tend to become extremely good

25

u/Here4th3culture 19d ago

I’ve worked the trades for years, and by far the most talented tradesperson I worked for was a young Turkish man.

We were both early 20’s when we worked together. He could build a car or a house. He took apart, cleaned, and rebuilt a junkyard engine and transmission to put in his truck. We welded metal onto the rusted part of his truck frame and repainted it before putting his truck back together. Some of his tools were Turkish (220v) so we would tie into a two-pull breaker on the homeowners electrical panel. We would mix concrete with shovels instead of a mixer. Leveled patios using a tube filled with water to find level. Everything we did seemed old school but way better than than any modern method

12

u/ConditionSudden4300 19d ago

Best electrician I know comes straight from Africa. Dude smokes everybody in my shop.

3

u/Agathocles87 19d ago

Totally believe it. He must be pretty dang good

4

u/Agathocles87 19d ago

He must have been awesome

Yeah some of the old school methods are really good because they can’t glitch or anything

2

u/Holzkohlen 2d ago

I got a lot of respect for people like this. They just have to make do.

36

u/cherbonsy 20d ago

Love the obligatory "tap tap tap" at 2:14!

6

u/SpecialExpert8946 20d ago

That ain’t goin nowhere

21

u/Zigor022 20d ago

And here at my work with fancy computers and Snap on and Milwaukee tools the shop never has parts in stock or cant troubleshoot worth a damn.

17

u/tracyd103 20d ago

hey, those are OEM stones. You can't do better than that

10

u/bgriswold 20d ago

So it looks like this was put back together with all the old parts from what i can tell. The way the video is edited does not really make it clear what was bad. I am guessing one of the retaining rings broke? Based on the fact that outer and inner part of that hydraulic unit were not together when they were removed that is the only thing that makes sense to me.

14

u/mecengdvr 20d ago

It’s the ring that seals the piston that was bad.

2

u/slightlyassholic 16d ago

It's usually the seals that blow on a hydraulic cylinder. It's almost always the seal.

12

u/Seamusjim 19d ago

This reminds me of a quote from Stephen Jay Gould (famous scientist and science communicator) when asked to comment on the then recently revealed knowledge that's Albert Einsteins Brain had been removed post death and examined he said this;

"I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops."

8

u/ranger2112 20d ago

Reminds me of Bush mechanics on ABC. Aborigines needing to get from A to B, and improvising with whatever things they had.

7

u/30yearCurse 20d ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEkOT3IngMQ

This is how we fix things on Russian SpaceCraft... classic scene.

2

u/burnt-turds 19d ago

"American components, Russian components.....all MADE IN TAIWANNN!" lollllllll

6

u/Reit007 19d ago

Lack of resources makes you resourceful. I grow up in Iran and saw what miracles people could perform despite not having the right tools.

4

u/DisapointedVoid 19d ago

"Pass me the rock... no, not that one; the precision rock!"

5

u/htxthrwawy 19d ago

So.

I’ve worked in other countries with workers just like this.

Hate to spoil it for you. They do awful work with better tools. Much more likely to do something stupid and ruin good tools.

5

u/chief_padua 20d ago

Safety flopflips

3

u/FluxOperation 19d ago

Ugh they recycled the hydraulic oil. You gotta do what you gotta do.

4

u/Scribx1301 18d ago

Lack of tools is exactly why they are incredible mechanics

3

u/Oraclelec13 18d ago

They said that the necessity is the mother of all inventions!

2

u/BunnySlaveAkko 20d ago

Anyone have the source for this?

1

u/Crafty-Promotion3713 17d ago

No but I can tell from their pidgin English they’re from Nigeria

2

u/hyprkcredd 20d ago

Impressive!

2

u/Frosty_Gibbons 20d ago

Absolute legends! I enjoyed watching that

2

u/TrevaTheCleva 19d ago

If they only used new hydraulic fluid and a filter, they probably would not need to remove the cylinder at all.

2

u/el_dingusito 19d ago

Ya know it just goes to show you what kind of abuse some of those old ass trucks can take.

But still... some of that hurt to watch

2

u/mologav 19d ago

I have a feeling that they could afford some proper tools if they really wanted but they choose not to

2

u/5udeci 19d ago

What do you mean "could"?! I only see masters at their craft !

2

u/cbj2112 19d ago

Same shop in Bedrock that Fred takes the Flintmobile

2

u/FaithlessnessDue5362 19d ago

theses guys have a real skill that will help more than any degree, the ability to use what you have and its fucking incredible

2

u/[deleted] 19d ago

Imagine the insurance rate

2

u/Maximum_Activity323 19d ago

Who says he isn’t a “good” mechanic?

Watching that I’d say he’s a great mechanic

2

u/TirtyDoilet 18d ago

If he had great tools, he’d be a normal mechanic

2

u/Familiar-Regular-531 18d ago

They would be just a bit faster.

2

u/ipadtherefor 18d ago

Imagine how good these mechanics could be if they had the proper tools...

2

u/oldbluer 17d ago

Please do not trust a rock to hold… it can slip or just be crushed into pebbles.

2

u/turf_fergeson 17d ago

A bottle jack and concrete chunks aren't proper tools? Don't tell my uncle.

2

u/Chemical-Seat3741 17d ago

They go it to work, I'll give them props for that. Not ho I would've done it, but I can respect it.

2

u/martinaee 17d ago

So….. if the little rock pile fails you just, die? Neat.

2

u/johnsmth1980 17d ago

Doesn't make you a good mechanic to do dumb dangerous shit.

2

u/Background_Being8287 17d ago

Those guys make it work with what they have available ,hats off to them.

2

u/Doxkid 17d ago

These are exactly the same tools Valvoline uses to do my oil change.

2

u/Stalinov 17d ago

Grew up in the third world, there are still operational WWII trucks and converted busses in the old country. When you look at them, it's obvious that they're from another era, but they still look new because they replaced piece by piece, repair the body and rust and repainting.

2

u/Curt28781 20d ago

Jokes on you. It says OSHA in permanent marker on them. Also buy ten get one free.

2

u/SpecialExpert8946 20d ago

These are real mechanics. If I took that truck to a shop it would sit there for a week and then I’d get a call “looks like your hydraulic ram is busted we need to buy a new one and swap it out. Probably should replace the hydraulic lines while we’re at it. It’ll take 2 months and cost as much as I can get away with”

1

u/bigfathairybollocks 20d ago

I bet they do a cheap MOT and service on your Ford Focus.

1

u/MrEngineer_726 20d ago

I guess those proper tools would cost more than the trucks they fix...

1

u/Laffenor 20d ago

"GOODS ONLY"

1

u/Djuicec 19d ago

That's the proper tool

1

u/CocunutHunter 19d ago

Necessity is the mother of invention.

1

u/ShibaInuDoggo 19d ago

I think that they are good mechanics due to not having all the proper tools.

I'll take a bush mechanic and a farmer over a F1 crew any day of the week.

1

u/DollarsPerWin 18d ago

I would totally get behind a charity that provides basic tools, safety gear, nails, gloves, screws, and the like to developing countries so mechanics loke this can do their job easier and safer.

1

u/You_shantith_pass 16d ago

Should be a Mercedes commercial

1

u/CurseMeKilt 16d ago

Yeah so what is the official load rating of a rock?

1

u/a_natural_chemical 16d ago

Literally rocks and sticks. Wild.

1

u/FireLordObamaOG 16d ago

A lot of faith in those rocks

1

u/Butthurtz23 16d ago

Man, that's seriously beaten up from heavy wear and tear, and they managed to keep it going. I remember watching another video where you could actually see through the gaping hole on the floor bed of the driver's side, and they don't seem to be bothered and kept driving.

1

u/cooolcooolio 16d ago

I took a 6 month introduction course in mechanics when I was 18 and my teacher was a guy who used to work as a roadside assistance in the Soviet Union. He said he had a screwdriver, a hammer and a monkey wrench to fix anything.. and I believe him because he could literally fix anything and knew how just about any engine could run using the bare minimum, it was so cool

1

u/Lopsided-Egg-8322 16d ago

man these guys deserve proper tools..

1

u/BearNormandi 16d ago

Then they'd charge 10x the cost of the part and add $$ per hour.

1

u/pedalsteeltameimpala 5d ago

TONY STARK BUILT HIS SUIT IN A CAVE, WITH SCRAPS!

1

u/l0udninja 20d ago edited 19d ago

Somehow I have the feeling these dudes wouldn't use "proper" tools even if they were available to them.

1

u/Timsmomshardsalami 20d ago

Is that a filter?

14

u/Active-Map5884 20d ago

No, I believe it’s a hydraulic piston.

5

u/Timsmomshardsalami 20d ago

Damn if only i watched the last few seconds of the video😂

9

u/PiMan3141592653 20d ago

Seems like it's a small start/end cylinder. Like it gets the load pushed up a foot or two before the main cylinders take over. I'm guessing that while the bed is near the horizonal/down position, the main lift cylinders have a massive mechanical disadvantage and would be able to reliably lift the load. So this little cylinder gets the bed past that point so the main ones can take over.

1

u/ABraveNewFupa 20d ago

Very cool, what exactly were they fixing on it?

3

u/mecengdvr 20d ago

They are replacing the rings that seal the piston.

1

u/ABraveNewFupa 19d ago

Thank you! Thought the “washer” was the only new thing I noticed

1

u/richareparasites 17d ago

More skills than all of the current American regime put together.

0

u/Reelthusiast 18d ago

"Hard times make strong men."

1

u/Extension_Two_206 2h ago

The sheer fact they did all of this with hardly anything "tools", no gloves or modern equipment makes them "GREAT" mechanis