How many of you have a "book"?

NotMatt · Feb 20, 2008

I have myself what I call my "Big Book of Jeep and Toyota Stuff"... which is really a small black notebook that I write everything that might be useful down in. I keep it in the glove box of my Jeep. It's kind of old school, but it has a lot of the info I need right there. I have part numbers and applications for various pieces on my rig, plus lists for things that I need to do on my rig, and other tech info that I never remember (WMS to WMS dimensions for an '90 Ford Kingpin 60 anyone?).

Example... when I installed my OBA, I ended up using one extra pulley and setting up my factory 4.0 A/C compressor in the fashion I thought was correct for a 4.0 YJ with A/C, but none of the belts for any YJ with or without A/C fit, so I had to just measure and get the right belt by trial and error. I have the part number and application for the belt written down (it's a Dayco 5060890 89" 6 rib belt for a '92 Audi Quattro 100 2.8L "Multiple Accessory") so that if I ever need to get another, I know which one to get.

Another example... when you install a factory 3 row radiator out of a V6 toyota pickup into a 4 cylinder truck, you need a special Gates 21576 rad. hose because the upper neck on the 3.0 radiator is angled off to the side. Goldmine!

Beats having to remember all that stuff.

Anyone else write stuff like that down, or do you look the part up on the net, buy it, install it, and then forget what it was? I have so many pieces from various other rigs on my Jeep that I need to write it down to keep track of it.

I should probably start scanning the pages in as I fill them up to save as a backup copy.

Nuzzy · Feb 20, 2008

Nope. You're weird.

:fawkdancesmiley:

To seriously answer your question

I bookmark everything I find useful (threads, parts, buildups, etc). But no, I have no such high quality book :booo:

pokey · Feb 20, 2008

Yep, I do the same thing. was just updating it today while the wife and sister inlaw were shopping. I also have a lot of info written on the shop door as well.

darius · Feb 20, 2008

I have a good memmory..... Probably start losing that sooner than later though.

JOOP · Feb 20, 2008

mine is more like post-it notes all over my desk :redneck:

NotMatt · Feb 20, 2008

I am by nature not a very organized person, IE somewhat scatterbrained. I think of a million things at once that need doing on my Jeep or any other vehicle I'm currently working on. Then when it comes time to actually get to work, I stare blankly at it and try to figure out what it was I was thinking I needed to do.

One of my uses for my book is to make lists... I make lots of lists. Parts that need to be bought, stuff that needs to be done, etc. It helps me keep organized and make the most of the time I DO have to work on my projects. I finish one thing and cross it off the list, move on to the next that I have the parts, tools and motivation to work on.

When I go to the parts store or the hardware store with a list, I get in, get what I need and then some to avoid future trips, and get out. It seems to work well.

I just carry the book around with me pretty much, so I can write stuff down as I think of it. It's especially nice to have while day-dreaming at work. :redneck:

TigTorch · Feb 20, 2008

Yep, got one in every rig.

Pretty much just to record the mileage of the last oil change, but some other parts and lube intervals as well. Its nice to look at so I can kick myself when I realize its been 9000 miles since the last oil change.....

I never did this when I was younger, but as you get older you have too. I've realized that it isn't that your memory goes, it's that you have so much more ****, you cant keep track of it all !!

tlcruiser66 · Feb 20, 2008

I just save all my reciepts for my Cruiser and jot down what the parts were and where they go. I keep it in my filling cabinet with everything else thats important.
I should probably write all that down in a book so I can have a portable list with me.

84Toyota4x4 · Feb 20, 2008

NotMatt said:
I am by nature not a very organized person, IE somewhat scatterbrained. I think of a million things at once that need doing on my Jeep or any other vehicle I'm currently working on. Then when it comes time to actually get to work, I stare blankly at it and try to figure out what it was I was thinking I needed to do.

One of my uses for my book is to make lists... I make lots of lists. Parts that need to be bought, stuff that needs to be done, etc. It helps me keep organized and make the most of the time I DO have to work on my projects. I finish one thing and cross it off the list, move on to the next that I have the parts, tools and motivation to work on.

When I go to the parts store or the hardware store with a list, I get in, get what I need and then some to avoid future trips, and get out. It seems to work well.

I just carry the book around with me pretty much, so I can write stuff down as I think of it. It's especially nice to have while day-dreaming at work. :redneck:

I am the same way as far as not remembering what the hell I wanted to do, and sometimes I make lists of tasks. Theres one in my Toyota right now to remind me what I need to do to it because its always so long between uses, I forget what little things I needed to do from the last time I drove it. Although, most of the stuff on my truck is still pretty normal application, so I have no real use for the odd belt numbers and such that you speak of yet. My truck just isnt hardcore enough, haha.

My VW on the other had, has an engine that was never available in the US, so finding parts for that has been interesting. I'll probably have to start a book for that one. For instance, I just bought a valve cover gasket today at Napa for it, but I had to buy one for a 93 Golf with a 2.0, even though I have a 97 with a 1.8. The 2.0 and 1.8 have the same valve cover gasket, but the "set" for the 2.0 comes with the intake manifold gasket because you have to remove it to change the valve cover gasket on that engine, but mine you don't so I just dont use the gasket obviously. But, no one even LISTS a valve cover gasket for the 1.8, let alone stock it even though its the same one as the 2.0

Or, I had to buy a clutch for it, but I needed the disc for a 92 Golf, and pressure plate for a 95 Golf since the 1.8 tranny uses a different spline count than the 2.0, but the flywheels are the same. So, I couldnt just buy a kit for the 2.0 since the disc would be wrong, and I couldnt buy a kit for the 92 since the pressure plate would be wrong

~T.J.

cheesemaker · Feb 20, 2008

I started to when I started tearing into my truck, but as I got busier I didn't have time to write it down. But I'm slowly remembering and writing it down. I posted a complete list of how to swap a 22rte to a 22re, in complete. But there were shortcuts that Skinny and WT pointed out that I didn't need to do, but I wanted a 22re not a half breed 22re/22rte. That way I could sell the turbo motor with everything that is needed to work.

GRNTACO · Feb 20, 2008

Mine is mostly Tacoma stuff with a few Jeep PNs. All mine are bookmarks, Excel spread sheets, Word docs, Notepad and pictures all organized in folders on my laptop and a backup on my desktop.

Who writes stuff on paper anymore?:haha:

Turtle Bite · Feb 20, 2008

NotMatt said:
I am by nature not a very organized person, IE somewhat scatterbrained. I think of a million things at once that need doing on my Jeep or any other vehicle I'm currently working on. Then when it comes time to actually get to work, I stare blankly at it and try to figure out what it was I was thinking I needed to do.

One of my uses for my book is to make lists... I make lots of lists. Parts that need to be bought, stuff that needs to be done, etc. It helps me keep organized and make the most of the time I DO have to work on my projects. I finish one thing and cross it off the list, move on to the next that I have the parts, tools and motivation to work on.

When I go to the parts store or the hardware store with a list, I get in, get what I need and then some to avoid future trips, and get out. It seems to work well.

I just carry the book around with me pretty much, so I can write stuff down as I think of it. It's especially nice to have while day-dreaming at work. :redneck:

I think about my wheelin rig alot, an usually make a "parts" and a "to do list" a couple of times a week. doesnt mean i buy or do anything, it just helps me get organized. Very useful for wheelin rigs since aftermarket parts are a week to XX weeks out and I want to wheel in 2 weeks ect. Oil filter numbers for bigger filters, lower radiator hose numbers for 4.3 swap hose, measurements, and the parts Ive replaced on my towrig.

For oil changes on the towrig I write the change mileage in dry erase marker in the corner of the windshield. I need to figure out on oil change system for my wheelin rig, it just gets changed when I feel like it.

Cascade_Crawler · Feb 20, 2008

I dont have a book in each rig, but I do make lists. They are all over the shop, diagrams, sketches, lists of what I need, whats left to do, notes on what order stuff goes back together, part numbers, etc.

I found a list in front of me right now:

driveshaft length, tranny slope, pinion slope. Then a list of what to get when I go to tacoma screw on the way home from work.

4xjunkie · Feb 20, 2008

I have started one many times, and never seem to keep it very close. Not very good keeping track of it.

Pat · Feb 20, 2008

Mine started when I taught myself how to setup gears, I printed the spicer manual and put it in a three ring binder. I've been jotting down notes and adding to it ever since. I also have a bazillion bookmarks for web pages I will one day refer back to.

skrause · Feb 20, 2008

GRNTACO said:
Mine is mostly Tacoma stuff with a few Jeep PNs. All mine are bookmarks, Excel spread sheets, Word docs, Notepad and pictures all organized in folders on my laptop and a backup on my desktop.

Who writes stuff on paper anymore?:haha:

x2, without the jeep parts, organization, or backups. :redneck:

pokey · Feb 20, 2008

GRNTACO said:
Mine is mostly Tacoma stuff with a few Jeep PNs. All mine are bookmarks, Excel spread sheets, Word docs, Notepad and pictures all organized in folders on my laptop and a backup on my desktop.

Who writes stuff on paper anymore?:haha:

Do you take your laptop wheeling with you? How are you going to get the info you need in the middle of a long trip in the middle of Utah or such. Paper still has it virtues:cheer:

skrause · Feb 20, 2008

pokey said:
Do you take your laptop wheeling with you? How are you going to get the info you need in the middle of a long trip in the middle of Utah or such. Paper still has it virtues:cheer:

Ya, for starting the campfire when you break and are stuck in the middle of nowhere and it's getting dark. :haha: :haha:

GRNTACO · Feb 20, 2008

pokey said:
Do you take your laptop wheeling with you? How are you going to get the info you need in the middle of a long trip in the middle of Utah or such. Paper still has it virtues:cheer:

Actually I do take it, works great with the GPS and NG Topo. Ever heard of a power inverter? Paper is a waste.