What did you do today?

[highup]

I haven't done any maintenance on my little pickup for quite a while. It was hard keeping the upper radiator hose from leaking and it was starting to get kind of firm. I replaced that this morning and it sealed up perfect first time.
Even though I put new spark plugs distributor cap and rotor on the rig in the last 6 months for some reason it seemed to be idling on evenly at times.
I bought some carburetor/throttle body cleaner and decided to remove the air cleaner and hose everything down inside the throttle body. It's amazing what something like that can do.
I got the throttle body injectors sprayed down and the inside of the barrels and butterfly valves too. There was some build up on one side, so I was sure that was the cause of my idle..... Not my plugs or distributor cap.
It did smooth out the idle so I continued spraying.....
I figured the inside was shiny and clean I might as well continue getting oil and dirt off the outside. As I move from the back to the front the spring at the base of the throttle body injector unit, the engine stumbled when I sprayed in one spot.
.... I'm spraying on the outside of the unit now not in the bores. That means one thing a leak at the base of the throttle body itself.
I went down and bought a new base gasket because tightening the bolts to the throttle body down into no good at all. I figured there might have been a small piece of the gasket that had deteriorated, leaving an opening.
An air leak on a carbureted vehicle makes it run crappy at idle. Cleaning the inside of my throttle body illuminated my idle problem. That would do nothing on a carbureted car.
Anyway I went down and bought a new gasket and some strawberry recliner and proceeded to start unplugging things so I could remove the throttle body and install a new gasket.
I am a bit blown away. I'll bet more than 50% of that gasket had disintegrated over the years.
Though my truck is 1988 and obviously has a computer. Even though the air leak was below the throttle plates, the computer must have compensated for the air leak and that's why it's driven so well for so many years. Once I took the throttle body off I checked the metal nipple where you connect the PCV valve. It was totally plugged up. I literally spent 10 minutes with a drill bit in my fingers, two picks, a handful of q-tips and half a can of carburetor cleaner to open up that plugged line. It's squeaky clean now.
This is the first time I've ever worked on a throttle body injection unit.
Once I got it put back together and before I put on the air cleaner I started the engine to be sure that the two fuel lines were not leaking. The engine came to a higher than normal idle, about 3,500 RPM. Normally it starts up and does 2300 RPM for 15 seconds then drops down to 800.
This time it stayed at 3500 and did not change a bit. Oh my God what did I screw up.
...... Then I noticed the two electronic plugs that I didn't plug back into the side of the throttle body. These are very very important. One is the throttle position sensor and the other is for the idle air control.
If you think those two things sound important..... yea, it appears they are because they're connected to the computer.
I'm a slow learner but I got a torn apart put back together tonight and it's idle is like a champ.
Tomorrow maybe a new door handle because mine is currently broken. I fixed it with black gorilla duct tape but even front ugly truck that's not so cool.
Next I need to check out the brakes and I may do that tomorrow too. That's always the easiest time to check the ball joints. I know one of them is pretty bad. I don't want to lose my steering at 60 miles per hour so I probably need to check it out.

 

[highup]

... that's it, ....that's all I did today.
.... Probably just 4 hours or so. I'm sure glad I decided to check these things out because boy oh boy these things needed attention.
By the time I get brakes on this rig I'm probably going to have $500 into a $500 pickup
I suppose I could buy a $2,500 pickup then start learning that truck and put $500 into it as I lear how poorly it was maintained.
... But then I'd be out 2500 bucks.
I figure every time I replace something on my beater pickup I know what works and what's been fixed and I know what doesn't need fixing.
When you buy a new-to-you used vehicle, you have to start from scratch and learn what needs to be fixed. I already know my vehicle, so I'm a little ahead of the game.

 

[zannej]

It's so humid here that even when it's 89° it feels a lot hotter. It's like being in an oven.

I got up very early and swpet the hallway. Then napped until afternoon. I decided to cook some hamburger stroganof. I went through my checklist- pans, utensils, milk, cream, sour cream, water, garlic salt, colander, etc. Forgot to check for the measuring cup. There are 3 different spots its usually in. I cooked the meat and started looking for the measuring cup and realized it wasn't in the usual places. I then looked in every cabinet, under the table, on the floor, in the sink, in the front room, in the living room, in my room, in the bathrooms, on mom's desk & all around it-- to no avail. I looked for other measuring cups that I know I had in my bathroom (for measuring out for floor leveling mix). That one was gone too. I couldn't find a single f****ing measuring cup in the entire damn house. I ended up having to set the meat aside under a cover and drive to the store to get a new one. I can't figure out what the hell happened to it all the measuring cups. We used to have a stack of them in the cabinet next to the hallway. It's really pissing me off that it just disappeared. It will probably turn up somewhere around my mom's desk eventually-- she was the last person to use it. But there are no working lights in that room and she has s*** piled up so high I can't find anything. I can't move anything without creating an avalanche of her stuff. She keeps griping about not having enough space on her desk-- well, if she didn't pile papers and junk up there it wouldn't be a problem.

Sorry, venting. LOL.

Forklift would have helped with that log. LOL.

As an aside, my brother found the air fryer (mom bought it a few years ago and it never got opened) and set it up yesterday. I've already had to clean it twice because he doesn't care to clean up after himself. I think that contributed to my frustration. I'm about to disappoint Mewlatto by getting up and doing some more cleaning.

I need to call the septic tank sucker to come drain the tank. He's a jerk so I will feel no guilt over having him stand out in the heat-- although, I will have to watch to make sure he actually drains it all the way and takes the solids. I also need to take my truck in for transmission fluid change and other maintenance.

 

[highup]

Well today my pickup got a new door handle. No more gorilla tape holding it in place. It broke halfway through my long carpet job and there's no way I was going to stop to replace it at that time. They're went another 28 bucks.
I have an S10.
My old jack stands we're getting older.... I decided 3 ton is better than 2 ton, so thank you China for my $50 jack stands. I know that I don't need 3 ton jack stands for my S10. I'm kind of thinking three tons in Chinese means one and a half tons. What's that old saying, it's better to be safe than flat? ...something like that. Since I've taken part of this week off there are things I need to check out. Brakes started to squeal so I don't feel comfortable checking out those and the ball joints using just a jack.
..... Oh, I forgot to show you my old gasket from the throttle body. There was a little bit more than this because I think it sealed all the way around both throttle bores, with the exception of a small portion of the front left side. I'm thinking there was probably a 3/4-in area that air could seep in. It's so strange that a computer can correct an air leak like that.
I'm kicking myself now because I should have taken a vacuum reading before and after installing the new gasket. That gasket was as crumbly as a well made pie crust

 

[Csason]

finished another church, Ministerio pan de vida

This makes number thirty something since 2016 lol

 

[Mark Brown]

finished another church, Ministerio pan de vida

This makes number thirty something since 2016 lol

I dont think that's how you get in man

 

[Don Monfils]

Highup, $28 for a door handle is cheap.
I broke the interior driver door handle off on my pick up truck (2014 GMC) I found a repair kit for around $100 but it look like it would be quite a challenge to install it. I called the GM dealer to see how much they would charge and it is $750
You have to buy a whole new door panel for $500 plus labor.
So I’ve been rolling down my window and opening my door from the outside for months.
I ordered a new truck, supposed to be in any day now. The 2014 is getting traded in.

 

[MikeAntonetti]

Tom, you might need to put a level on that tree.

Don, I pulled my passenger handle off from outside, asked if they would replace it, (2nd day I had it) no, was 250$

what’s the details on your trade in?

 

[MikeAntonetti]

I dont think that's how you get in man

that’s the only time he goes!

 

[highup]

I dont think that's how you get in man

He did them probono.

 

[zannej]

Glad you got your truck handle fixed.

I was staying home today. Had an allergy attack and couldn't stop sneezing. Resorted to using the nasal allergy meds. Killed my sense of smell for a few hours. Which worked out because my friend's gf asked me to come over. I grabbed some stuff from the store for her so she could cook. She had the baby & my friend's daughter there so she couldn't leave them and she didn't want to lug the baby around in public.

I washed the dishes for her because I could see she was overwhelmed. Then I completely butchered a bell pepper, an onion, and some chicken. I hate bell peppers but I couldn't smell it. So I was cutting it in to uneven chunks while saying "Die! Motherf***! DIE!". I cut the potatoes up too. Friend wanted them in 4 pieces. I knew that was too large for his daughter to eat without having to cut it up and they soak up flavor better when smaller so I cut them in to 8 pieces instead. Told his gf if he complained he could take it up with me. LOL.

When I realized how late it was I had to leave to go get groceries for mom. It ended up pouring rain before I got out. So I got soaked along with the groceries. When I was unloading them I slipped and torqued my shoulder again. I stopped to shout profanities for a few moments before I got it cooperating again and brought everything in. Drying off with my kitties. Mewlatto is curled up on me and Biscuits just finished humping my blanket.

 

[highup]

Highup, $28 for a door handle is cheap.
I broke the interior driver door handle off on my pick up truck (2014 GMC) I found a repair kit for around $100 but it look like it would be quite a challenge to install it. I called the GM dealer to see how much they would charge and it is $750
You have to buy a whole new door panel for $500 plus labor.
So I’ve been rolling down my window and opening my door from the outside for months.
I ordered a new truck, supposed to be in any day now. The 2014 is getting traded in.

I never owned something that I couldn't fix myself Don. Since I've been driving age I've had two engine blocks rebored, one transmission rebuilt, and had a machinist install valves in two sets of heads. I'd never done that before so I thought I'd just leave it to him. One set of heads was brand new and I spent 80 hours grinding and reshaping the ports..... Yet I was chicken to install the valve springs and seals.
When I was 20 years old I had a local shop redo the disc brakes on a Mercury cougar that I owned. I thought disc brakes were something fancy schmancy and I didn't want to mess them up so I had the shop do that. I had little idea at the time, that the average person could install disc brakes while blindfolded.
I got lucky being brought up because my dad did his own automotive work. Mostly brake jobs, regreasing front bearings and u-joints, valve adjusting and tune-ups. He had never stripped an engine down to the bare block and rebuilt one. I got gutsy in my late twenties and decided to give it a try. About 10 years later I rebuilt another engine. I probably rebuilt a couple dozen or two Rochester quadrajet and Holley carburetors. I even bought a reamer kit so I could rebush the throttle shafts.
Newer cars scare the crap out of me. I don't think I'd be able to do my own repairs anymore. I've never had anything that has anti-lock brakes, so I'm not sure how much different those are to do.
I've never had a budget for a new vehicle so I just keep repairing the ones I can afford.

 

[Mark Brown]

Brother, I have had 2 cars with anti lock breaks. Thing is, the mechanism isn't part of the break itself per se, its is an electronic control function so you would be fine.
I have a 2000 civic in my drive way right now that I bought to strip down and get some useful parts for my 92 Franken-civic. I bought it with a blown engine, number 2 piston is shot and it got all kinds of bad. My goal, for no reason other than because, is to strip that engine down and rebuild it in the hopes that I can learn enough about that to rebuild the engine and transmission in the car I run now. They are not identical engines, but there is not a whole lot of difference in honda B series and D series engines (yeah yeah there is) so I figure I might as well learn. It has always interested me.

Oddly enough, I have never paid for mechanical work. Half the time I dont even know what I am trying to fix but I know its broke. I had to do a starter on my step van, I knew it was the starter because it wouldn't start. Made sense to me.

Called a local auto parts store, they said bring mine in and they had one in stock. Right on! So I got on the internet and looked at starters for the truck, boom now I know what one looks like.... except there was no point of reference for size and I didn't know where I was looking. I called said parts store back and said as plain as I could... "would you kind telling me where I might find the starter" he replied with "its connected at the flywheel"
I sheepishly responded....."where is the flywheel"
"its attached to the transmission"
well at that I was off and running because I had helped a buddy of mine (I watched) drop the transmission in his Buick t type a couple of times and away I went.

This is also the same time I learned the hard way that when it says to disconnect the battery when changing a starter they are serious. I fuses a wrench to the frame of that truck.

Anyhow I am rambling for no good reason... I just wanted to say highup, don't worry I'm a cheap skate too

 

[highup]

You always ramble for no good reason. That said I think I got can you beat by a long ways
If the engine is shot and you're not going to try to rebuild it, have to take it apart. Take it apart slowly and observe how parts connect, and how parts wear against each other...... It's pretty interesting to see all those parts up close and personal and how they interact. I'm betting if that piston is shot it'll be interesting to look at that cylinder and see if it looks different than the others..... maybe try and spin the piston rings around and see how their carboned up. Some might be carbon that's more than the others and maybe that bad cylinder is totally different.
Same with the valves.
There are other ways to take an engine apart. You learn totally different things using the wrong methods.

From this video, my takeaway would be that you should put one of these engines in your Honda. Duramax engines are virtually unbreakable, even when you add lots and lots of beer.

 

[C.J.]

Good man Z, sometimes you just gotta let it out. If I saw you standing in the rain cussin to the air I woulda stopped and cussed with you.

So today, yesterday now, we’re shiplapping a house. Got 100’ of cord strung out, actually two 50’ cheapo cords. Air compressor, 3 fans and a saw all running off of the inadequate cord for all that amp draw. The kid is just mashing down on the saw. I can hear it groaning every time he cuts something. Not my saw so I just let it go. Anyway, when the air compressor and 3 fans are running and he’s mashing down on the saw at the same time, the gfci splitter breaker pops. Every time it pops I hear ‘Oh jeez’ and the kid walks over to reset the breaker only to pop it again a couple minutes later. I can’t take it anymore and it’s not even directly affecting me. I wanted to cuss but I didn’t. You got too much amp draw for too little of cord that your trying to pull it through. Either 1, get a bigger cord, I have three 100’ 10 ga cords in my van. 2, wait until the air compressor stops before you try and kill the saw. Or 3, don’t mash down so hard on the saw. Why are you using a 100 tooth blade (prolly dull) to cut a stack of shiplap anyway!

I was there in spirit with you, Z, cussin on the inside.

 

[highup]

CJ...... Why is your logic not logical to these guys.
My brother and I were working on a job.
We had some sort of repair to do and ran back to his house to rip a 2x6. It was straight from the lumber yard and not kiln dried.
He had a 50 ft 16/3 extension cord. One of those annoying flat cords. His lab had eaten it in half at about the 40 ft level. On the bright side, he had two extension cords
He had put ends on both of the cords so they were usable. We carried his saw outside the garage and used the longer section of his cord to connect to his saw, to rip this 2x6.
It was a Rockwell 10-in table saw. It bogged down like there was no tomorrow. We were barely outside the garage door so I suggested using the shorter part of the cord. I swear that saw gained 30% more power.
Watching that happen one time back in the 80s sunk in. I have a couple of 12s but no tens. My jobs are pretty tiny compared with the type of stuff that you do and it's always just me on the job.

 

[MikeAntonetti]

Think I run 10’s, I have 8’s and 6’s for 220, sufficient. I break down 220 on the stove and oven for two separate 20 amp adapter boxes. We need juice! My brother still doesn’t comprehend some electrical stuff, like when you’re plugged in all over the house and a breaker trips, leave it tripped and reroute the cord to an outlet that didn’t trip so you know it’s on a separate breaker, then reset the tripped breaker.

I’m very close to buying breakers and putting in wired pigtails directly into panel. If I don’t post, you’ll know I did something wrong.

 

[highup]

Well, I'm not just a habitat addict....
.... After leaving habitat yesterday, I decided it was time to take a visit to the pawn shop.
I'm trying to figure out a use for this motor. It purrs like a kitten and I'm talking smooth as silk..... It was 30 bucks. Is 1/2 horsepower, and the problem is it's 850 RPM. It says farm use and I think 100% duty cycle...... So that's a plus. It was a fan motor, something you might use in a large greenhouse.
I'm trying to figure out if using a large and small pulley, if the motor would make a decent grinder or maybe a benchtop type belt sander. 850 RPM is at least half the speed that you would want for a grinding wheel..... not that it won't work

If I could figure how to mount a Chuck on it, it would make a hell of a mixing motor for self-leveling concrete, but this motor is really heavy, so let's forget that idea.
Anyhow I stopped at the pawn shop today as you never know what tools might be there. They had a half inch drive pneumatic impact driver and a 3/8 in impact ratchet. Got them both for 15 bucks.
I took the half inch impact driver apart and cleaned it up inside then greased it and put it back together. It's just a cheap one made in Taiwan but hey, it was five bucks. I looked it up on the internet and just rated at 230 lb of torque which is probably All I ever need. A brand new up-to-date model identical to this would probably cost me $50 plus $10 freight so five bucks was a good buy for something that works pretty good.
The little impact driver, was made by Sanborn. And it's time I think that's equivalent to harbor freight or Campbell Housefeld. A brand new one of those is about 75 bucks and I got this one for 10 bucks.
I'm going to try the half inch on some lug nuts tomorrow so I can check my brakes which I didn't do today.
......it's not even Friday and garage sale signs are up.
Someone help me, for I have... ...
...never mind, I think I got this.

 

[MikeAntonetti]

Me pawn shop addict too, estate sales, auctions, thrift I try to control myself, everything should go in the dumpster is my opinion sometimes.

 

[highup]

Think I run 10’s, I have 8’s and 6’s for 220, sufficient. I break down 220 on the stove and oven for two separate 20 amp adapter boxes. We need juice! My brother still doesn’t comprehend some electrical stuff, like when you’re plugged in all over the house and a breaker trips, leave it tripped and reroute the cord to an outlet that didn’t trip so you know it’s on a separate breaker, then reset the tripped breaker.

I’m very close to buying breakers and putting in wired pigtails directly into panel. If I don’t post, you’ll know I did something wrong.

Boy the stuff you guys do amazes me.
When my brother and I work together with a couple of large jobs, it was just the two of us. I never messed with anything 220 and we never had to worry about power outages since there was only two of us working. Never used a compressor and a saw at the same time. You guys run into a lot of volume jobs and I totally avoided that. I'm too slow and nitpicky to work on jobs that need to get done quickly. It's a very rare day when I get within a thousand feet of a commercial job. My most recent job at the golf course is the first commercial work I probably done in 10 years. I hate commercial work because they just don't care. It's all about to gitter done.
And Mike, don't do that 220 bailing wire and duct tape thing in the electric panel. I need people to argue with. Rusty always agrees with me and there's no spice in that.