With today’s more sophisticated hydraulic systems and tolerances measured in microns, rigorous attention to cleanliness is the order of the day
by RALPH WINFIELD
Some of us started our “mechanics training” in the 1950s, when tolerances between metal components were not as close nor as critical as they are today. Neither diesel tractors nor hydrostatic drive units entered the small village garage of that era.
I learned to do valve jobs, piston ring and bearing replacements – and even repair tires. Clean up involved a putty knife, a can of gasoline, a brush and an old sheet or shirt for wiping.
Do remember that in the 1950s, if an engine had an oil filter, it was probably of the alternate-flow type.