Stupid or Not

[grantmc 59]

I bought a fan belt a few weeks ago and it had a warning on it: Do NOT try to fit whilst motor is running! And I thought who would ever be that stupid? Well today I found out there are people that stupid.

 

At a sailors' forum called CruisersForum.com (dominated by Americans) a guy asked this question yesterday? Can I fill my gearbox when under way on engine?

 

Here's the link. 

 

On first reading I figured it was a joke question and he was just trying to wind people up, but I actually think he was serious and others answered his query on that basis too. A few even suggested turn your motor off first.

[Island Time 1,230]

Yep the fan belt warning is FOR the stupid!

Those warnings should not be required, but they are part of the legal protection that seems to be needed for manufacturers today. 

I think the gearbox question was legit, for a person with no mechanical knowledge. 

[ScottiE 174]

But . . . if you buy a gear box surely it would come empty so that you can fill it with . . . your own gear?

[erice 732]

not sure if urban legend

 

betty crocker usa had an 0800 number for people using their pre-packaged cake mixes

 

1 guy rang to ask if when it said to use 2 tablespoons of oil

 

-   he could use motor oil....he had some of that in the garage, but none of the other stuff

 

another rang wanting to know why his sponge? had large white chunks in it

 

-   turned out the instruction "add 2 egg whites" had led him to believe he had to boil the eggs before adding the whites..................otherwise they weren't "white" were they

[Battgirl 23]

I don't know about stupid but thanks for a damn good laugh.

[Kevin McCready 83]

It's rude to laugh at people who haven't been born to this sort of stuff.

 

A few years ago I had never even heard of a bowline.

 

Until I actually owned a boat with an inboard engine I had no idea how to pop the morse handle (if that's what it's called) out against its spring, so I could rev the engine without being in gear.

 

I'm still learning how to use a jiggle hose properly.

 

How was I supposed to know that full and low markings on a dip stick in my engine are totally different to those in a car?

 

You wouldn't believe the level of assumed knowledge in Nigel Calder's diesel engine book that makes it a trial for someone who's never used a diesel engine before. eg he forgets to tell me to check my prop doesn't have weed on it in the "loss of performance" section!!! (p117 3rd edition)

 

And I bet a lot of you haven't discovered that if you wear glasses for astigmatism you need to know how to correct for your sighting error on a handheld compass.

 

So, go ahead, laugh at me. I don't care.

[wheels 543]

Ummmm, actually this is not such a silly question.

  Most Hydraulic Boxes need to be level checked with engine running, but Transmission in Neutral. This is because the Oil is constantly being pumped around and up through Oil cooler. When the engine is running, the oil level in the Box drops and thus the oil level needs to be lifted to the correct level while. When the engine stops, the Oil runs back and lifts the level in the box above normal level.

    Several boxes need a very exacting level as they can dramaticaly over heat if level is too high or too low.
Most smaller Manual Boxes don't have an Oil cooler. But for the large ones that do, the same applies.
    But please note if the Dip stick has a Cold and a Hot mark. Oil expands dramatically with increasing temperature and gearboxes  need to be checked Hot or Cold depending on instruction (Engine service manual should tell you which) or the stick may state the level for which.

I don't see a problem with the engine running. The shaft is usually a difficult place to reach normally anyway.

[Battgirl 23]

Kevin I agree its rude to laugh at people so its just as well what made me laugh was the things that I take forgranted e.g knowing to use vegetable oil for cooking and whether egg whites need to be cooked or not.