What are you working on today?

[D60]

A client bought an already-bro-dozed '14 Ram 2500 6.7 and was getting dash warnings for restricted air flow. Apparently not uncommon with aftermarket filters.

Anyway it was an AFE setup and I ordered him a new filter after researching the correct part. Retail on the filter is ~$120 but I actually managed to order thru AAP with a code and free shipping for $99 to my door (drop shipped from AFE).

I installed that today which was a bigger hassle than it should be. Had to use my heat gun to get the aftermarket housing pliable enough to shove the new filter into place.

Here's the old one, and that's an 8" caster to the left:

I didn't let him know I used a discount code and charged him $150 total. So much aftermarket stuff is dumb.....

@BrianF

 

[cptbarkey]

I'm always on the lookout for dead OPE, Friday hit big with a free Cub Cadet riding mower. It only has 55 hours, and fired up after a snort of carb cleaner. The underside of the deck looks a bit rusty but none has come through. I might grind it all off and repaint. It groans a bit going forward and backward, perhaps I bent something while towing it home with the tractor, was a bit rough with it.

Sunday however was different, My JD x354 has been broken for about a month (yet again) with something very wrong with the deck pulley system from hitting a limestone rock.

So I brought over my older Craftsman DLS3500, it survived a few sessions until yet again I hit a good chunk of limestone at the family ranch and bent the blade.

I will need to start combing the ground for the rocks out there, I have a welding rock bucket project in the queue and I finished a rock sifter a few weeks ago thankfully.

 

[BrianF]

Sounds about right, @D60. I read about plenty of similar issues using substandard aftermarket parts. Made to look cool, maybe sound cool but thats about it.

As well, you look at the diameter, which is usually larger than the standard intake ducting. Causes errors with the sensors due to flow velocities and such. Regardless, PIA.

 

[Creekside]

Finished installing an aftermarket water pump and hoses on our Kubota L245. It also got a new OEM fan, belt and engine harness. The pump was chattering when we bought it two years ago but we don’t use it much so I hadn’t worried about it. We’re getting ready to build over a mile of barb wire fence and I will use this to unroll wire and pull our supply wagon so I decided it was time to fix it. Hoses were cracking, belt was completely shot and the fan had multiple cracks in the plastic just due to age. I hated to chance sending a blade through the $500+ radiator. Previous owners squirrels had pretty well destroyed the front half of the engine harness and to my surprise it was still readily available and under $100. Topped it off with a fresh fill of OTR long life coolant that will probably outlast the tractor. Also replaced the glow plug indicator that wasn’t working when we bought it. Finished up with a dose of Schaeffer 219.

We bought this tractor as a package deal with a bunch of smaller 3 point attachments while I was looking for a 4ft rotary cutter for trimming our miles of electric fence. It was too good of a deal to pass up. I told myself I’d sell it but I rarely sell tractors(currently have 12) so it’s probably here to stay. Each one has a story or so they say. My parents use it to haul firewood when my 1025r Deere is busy so it does have a purpose. Last pic is when I drove to Arkansas to pick it up late one Sunday evening.

 

[Delta]

I pulled a stupid the other day. Drain line for the AC unit clogged up so I went up, cut and disconnected the piping, and blew the line. Well, apparently being 26 years old and a little bit of rough housing a previous slight crack got worse.

It was also cracked on the bottom. Got some epoxy putty and got some into the crack. Also used it as thread compound for the fitting. Installed new trap and crossing my fingers it works.

If it doesn't work, it looks like I'm gonna have to replace the unit. Parts are obsolete and a new pan is unobtainable.

 

[D60]

New headlamps on '11 Silverado. I went with Eagle Eyes (whom I usually consider junk) because they were CAPA certified and affordable.

I aimed them last night and my impressions are low beams are "ok" and high beams are really good. I don't know what factory low beams were like but I imagine these are close.

I used the bulbs already provided in the housings. The owner isn't easily able to change the bulbs himself and didn't want to go high-zoot at the expense of bulb life.

Also, the metal grille clips are a huge PITA, so much so I went looking for a special tool but came up with nothing.

 

[meep]

I pulled a stupid the other day. Drain line for the AC unit clogged up so I went up, cut and disconnected the piping, and blew the line. Well, apparently being 26 years old and a little bit of rough housing a previous slight crack got worse.

It was also cracked on the bottom. Got some epoxy putty and got some into the crack. Also used it as thread compound for the fitting. Installed new trap and crossing my fingers it works.

If it doesn't work, it looks like I'm gonna have to replace the unit. Parts are obsolete and a new pan is unobtainable.

A sticky goo tar product like gutter seal might stave off the repair a little longer?

 

[Delta]

A sticky goo tar product like gutter seal might stave off the repair a little longer?

It appears to be holding, so I plan to not even look at it funny in fear of it cracking!

 

[ripcord]

It appears to be holding, so I plan to not even look at it funny in fear of it cracking!

"It's only temporary if it doesn't work," Red Green

 

[wander2039]

After all day fixing servers, cameras and discovering cameras in our new vms decided change the rear pads on the X3. Mistakes were made… I knew I used all my luck lol. Couldn’t get the drivers side to retract fully and you have to be real careful not to exit service mode. It will push the brake piston out. Think I got it back in a not leaking. Took several attempts to bleed it but the pedal seems rock hard now. The passenger side was drama free. Overall was a fairly easy job if it wasn’t for the oops. Interesting it only had a brake sensor on the passenger side.. and I bought two.

 

[D60]

Very eclectic day. First went and put the new Murphy ignition controller on the old irrigation pump

Then went to troubleshoot a tailgate issue on a Polaris Ranger for my non-profit. It seems they used what appears to be a double lead plasti-screw, which I find fascinating @Zee09

Finally I got to troubleshoot a '14 E-series with a 4wd conversion (I believe from Advanced 4wd in SLC), but it's behaving like an angel now with zero codes, so they're going to keep running it.

 

[Zee09]

Very eclectic day. First went and put the new Murphy ignition controller on the old irrigation pump
View attachment 296371
Then went to troubleshoot a tailgate issue on a Polaris Ranger for my non-profit. It seems they used what appears to be a double lead plasti-screw, which I find fascinating @Zee09 View attachment 296372

Finally I got to troubleshoot a '14 E-series with a 4wd conversion (I believe from Advanced 4wd in SLC), but it's behaving like an angel now with zero codes, so they're going to keep running it. View attachment 296373

You do it all congratulations

 

[Zee09]

I spun a bunch of this today in many sizes. Oil filled Nylon ... Nyloil
The ribbons come off yellow...and makes no noise...bearing grade

 

[BrianF]

Had a quick trip to visit my aging parents. My oldest brother had also came over. He and I did some basic maintenance on my parents 2020 ish Grand Caravan. It has 25,000km and my mother said the brakes have gotten a bit softer. Well I am not sure if we helped but we did a brake bleed and tire rotation.

The old fluid was a dark honey color and we bled through a litre of fresh dot 3. Everything is clear now. Brakes work great but not sure if pedal feel is any different.

This fall I want to go back, bringing a bigger selection of tools (many if which they gave me) and do the slide pins on the van, then service the brakes and possibly drivetrain on their 2015 Ram 1500.

 

[BrianF]

On another note, used my old Trailblazer to do the 700km round trip and found the ac on the weaker side. Ill grab a uv light and see if the system is leaking.

I had it recharged several months back and it was uncomfortably cold.

 

[D60]

Pulled the input shaft bearing race from the snout of the NV4500. I got tunnel vision and made this WAY too complicated.

I added two holes to my Snappy puller to narrow it (arrows) and score one for having a DRO. I also turned the aluminum pusher block shown -- aluminum too soft but I was being lazy and steel would have taken a lot longer.

I had to wedge a screwdriver in there to keep the one jaw engaged enough.

Anyway, this actually worked. Then later I went looking for how others do this and, yeah, it woulda made more sense to just weld a disc in there and drive it out from the backside.

Apparently I just like doing things the hard way (heavy sigh)

 

[meep]

Installed a jack shaft garage door opener today. Soup to nuts it was 5 hours with figuring out Wi-Fi and cleanup.

Hanging the motor is incredibly easy - far better than a traditional. You bolt its drive shaft to the jack shaft and it gets one “L” bracket foot to lock it down. Thats it. Same sensors as anything else.

Some reading was required for adjusting it. Travel down, travel up, sensitivity. Gotta learn the blink sequences and read the chart.

I bought a chamberlain model and it includes an electric lock that latches every time the door is down. Looks like a deadbolt shooting through the rail.

The only snag was this - they rely on a little bit of gravity to get moving down. If the door doesn’t move quickly enough, it returns up, because it does not want to let the cable come loose off the hubs on each side. I had to set the door to not open quite as much, in order to be done tonight. This can probably be tweaked by elevating the top rails towards the back for a little more gravity feed (I don’t want to mess with the springs).

All in all, very nice unit. Hope to finish tweaking it tomorrow.

Note: chamberlain had 2 pages on setting it up, but not a single sentence on mounting, installation, or wiring. Really odd.

 

[14Accent]

The 45 year old radiator in my '79 finally decided to give up the ghost... It sprung a leak from the brazing around the heater hose nipple. I would have loved to have saved it and had it repaired, but the cost to do so just wasn't worth it given the cars age and condition. I really didn't want to spend $300+ on a plastic replacement, so I took a gamble on one of those eBay aluminum replacement units.

All I can say is... she's in there. Fitment was just as poor as the internet reviews would have you believe, but nothing that really prevented installation. The included drain plug bolt used an o-ring for sealing, but it wasn't an o-ring style bolt so all it did was squeeze out when said bolt was torqued. I ended up finding one of those rubber/steel A/C seals in my collection that was the perfect size and seems to be holding for now. Also, the coolant overflow tube nipple was 5/16 when it should have been 3/8

It's just about the easiest radiator in the world to replace, so if this experiment in cheapness goes south I'll just return it and get the Agility from RA. I'm positive the ridiculous price of the Agility is due to it being for such an outdated application, considering the 34" tow package radiator for a Silverado is only $115.

One huge difference: WEIGHT. The original 3-row must weigh 40 pounds, whereas this aluminum 2 row weighs maybe 15.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Today, new brake pads and rotors for the Honda Pilot. Wife is the one driving it primarily, but she doesn't tell me when things aren't right with it. I drove it a couple weeks ago, along with the in-laws in it, and noticed the brakes were quite noisy and pulsating. "Um, how long has it been doing this?". "Oh, I keep meaning to tell you my brakes are noisy and pulsating. It's been a few months.". Well, the rotors were replaced 70,000 miles ago, and it's got 120,000 on it now. Got the rears done today, and those stupid screws that hold the rotors on both needed the impact driver. Ran out of gas to do the fronts, so those will happen tomorrow.

 

[Pablo]

Today, new brake pads and rotors for the Honda Pilot. Wife is the one driving it primarily, but she doesn't tell me when things aren't right with it. I drove it a couple weeks ago, along with the in-laws in it, and noticed the brakes were quite noisy and pulsating. "Um, how long has it been doing this?". "Oh, I keep meaning to tell you my brakes are noisy and pulsating. It's been a few months.". Well, the rotors were replaced 70,000 miles ago, and it's got 120,000 on it now. Got the rears done today, and those stupid screws that hold the rotors on both needed the impact driver. Ran out of gas to do the fronts, so those will happen tomorrow.
View attachment 296839

Just me or no trust that jack?!?!?!