What are you working on today?
- Thread starter Amkeer
- Start date
.40 s&w go BANGUnloaded salvage Ford 4.6 V8 I picked up Friday. It’s going into my nephew’s Crown Victoria with a spin bearing.
I’m going to do some maintenance while the replacement is out and on my new lift table and engine stand.
My niece brought the Mercury Grand Marquis out with electric issues. Tested the battery (Deka from 2020) and it comes back with barely any amps and a replacement recommended. Grabbed the Motorcraft 850 CCA battery out if my nephew’s car, installed it and then checked the alternator output. “11.5 volts”
Need the car to be operational today… no waiting. It’s a 135 amp version, and O’Reilly’s has one ready for pickup. It’s “only” $240 too! Bleah!
Went to pick up the alternator and my mom’s Silverado at Walmart (new tires, as the Coopers were 6 years old and dry rotted). New TPMS sensors and $112 later it was back on the road. The tires were needed now as one tire failed last Saturday on my nephew and it was a long afternoon fixing it. (got all of that convoluted connection stuff)?
Installed the new alternator in all of 4 minutes, and she went home without so much as an electrical hiccup.
So new tires, sensors, alternator, and a lightly used battery in two cars, and the start of an engine replacement on the horizon.
I’m going to do some maintenance while the replacement is out and on my new lift table and engine stand.
My niece brought the Mercury Grand Marquis out with electric issues. Tested the battery (Deka from 2020) and it comes back with barely any amps and a replacement recommended. Grabbed the Motorcraft 850 CCA battery out if my nephew’s car, installed it and then checked the alternator output. “11.5 volts”
Need the car to be operational today… no waiting. It’s a 135 amp version, and O’Reilly’s has one ready for pickup. It’s “only” $240 too! Bleah!
Went to pick up the alternator and my mom’s Silverado at Walmart (new tires, as the Coopers were 6 years old and dry rotted). New TPMS sensors and $112 later it was back on the road. The tires were needed now as one tire failed last Saturday on my nephew and it was a long afternoon fixing it. (got all of that convoluted connection stuff)?
Installed the new alternator in all of 4 minutes, and she went home without so much as an electrical hiccup.
So new tires, sensors, alternator, and a lightly used battery in two cars, and the start of an engine replacement on the horizon.
Attachments
Changed the oil in the Forester today. Stripped the head of the oil drain plug. Guess I over-tightened it last time. Had to use Vise-grips to remove it. Got a Dorman replacement from Advance Auto. Going to install a Fumoto valve on my next oil change.
Brake pads on a 2021 Chevy Express 4500 with 110,000 miles.
2011 Sonata stopped by briefly
Needed both low beam H7 bulbs, and both 2357 tails
...and 1.5 qts of oil, because Theta
Neighbor kids 2010 Civic was back for it's second time around
I didn't have a dashcam hardwire kit on hand, the camera didn't come with one, and tying the only 12v power point in the dash was found unacceptable
It finally came in, I found a fuse tap and a ACC switched fuse for the radio, now the camera is on and off with ignition, and the 12v power port is free for general use
At first I was aiming for the 12v power point wiring, but I later abandoned the idea after unnecessary extra disassembly
That's relative, as this took maybe 10 minutes to tear into
I think the dealer didn't do a very good job with dash reassembly after the last airbag recall
When I did it, the radio fit properly and there's less rattles
I'm not the biggest fan of this 8th Gen Civic, but this 2010 LX with 92k is a workhorse
Killer exhaust leak, ruins the drive IMO
I suspect it's this front flange donut gasket and spring bolts
It's coming back for an OCI tomorrow, I'll investigate further
I'm so proud of my HF special drain plug and fuse tray
It's like a charcuterie board, but for cars
Needed both low beam H7 bulbs, and both 2357 tails
...and 1.5 qts of oil, because Theta
Neighbor kids 2010 Civic was back for it's second time around
I didn't have a dashcam hardwire kit on hand, the camera didn't come with one, and tying the only 12v power point in the dash was found unacceptable
It finally came in, I found a fuse tap and a ACC switched fuse for the radio, now the camera is on and off with ignition, and the 12v power port is free for general use
At first I was aiming for the 12v power point wiring, but I later abandoned the idea after unnecessary extra disassembly
That's relative, as this took maybe 10 minutes to tear into
I think the dealer didn't do a very good job with dash reassembly after the last airbag recall
When I did it, the radio fit properly and there's less rattles
I'm not the biggest fan of this 8th Gen Civic, but this 2010 LX with 92k is a workhorse
Killer exhaust leak, ruins the drive IMO
I suspect it's this front flange donut gasket and spring bolts
It's coming back for an OCI tomorrow, I'll investigate further
I'm so proud of my HF special drain plug and fuse tray
It's like a charcuterie board, but for cars
My gasser OBS Ford truck is going to need a transmission fairly soon and I've been trying to decide if I want to keep it so I put a mechanical oil pressure gauge in it today. It read 62 psi cold at idle and 32 hot so I'm happy with that. I'm going to do a compression test tomorrow.
Finished bleeding the brakes and greasing the slide pins on the 3500.
Test drive was perfectly fine, no shake. I will hook up a trailer to take some weight off the steer axle and check again.
Then went to bleed the brakes on my polaris magnum. Was pleasantly surprised to find the bearing in the axle tube is shot and it was in the process of wiping out the rear brake and diff (yes I know it's called a gear case but I don't care and I call it a diff and I am glad it offends people) bearings..
Test drive was perfectly fine, no shake. I will hook up a trailer to take some weight off the steer axle and check again.
Then went to bleed the brakes on my polaris magnum. Was pleasantly surprised to find the bearing in the axle tube is shot and it was in the process of wiping out the rear brake and diff (yes I know it's called a gear case but I don't care and I call it a diff and I am glad it offends people) bearings..
Attachments
2010 Civic LX/92k came back for an oil change and miscellaneous care
4 qts Total 5w30 and a Bosch 3323 filter, should be more than adequate for a 6 month/5k OCI
Top off washer/coolant/brake fluid
Air up the spare, as it was flat
Clean the MAF with MAF cleaner, because I was bored
Reset the MM and label the filter/sticker with pertinent info
Replace the rear plate hardware with something proper
Zip tied some loose wiring to avoid it catching on the hot manifold
Observe a few other things wrong with it
The spare hold down is stripped and missing, that would explain a clunking sound
The prop rod grommet and hold down clip are broken, also explains some rattles
The brake pedal pad is worn, so my big feet slip off it
The front bumper is missing several retaining clips, probably some more rattles there
The upper i-MID display needs its solder joints reflowed, as the fuel gauge inverts itself at random
Also the speedo display sometimes loses a digit
One ignition coil connector is damaged, and is being held together with thoughts and prayers, it's also missing it's proper acorn retaining nut
Someone did upper and lower hoses at one point, and I'm less than satisfied with the outcome, plus the coolant is not the appropriate Honda Blue
There's a fairly major exhaust leak, gotta warn his mother that's a priority
It'll be back
They always come back
I think I earned my $60 on this one
4 qts Total 5w30 and a Bosch 3323 filter, should be more than adequate for a 6 month/5k OCI
Top off washer/coolant/brake fluid
Air up the spare, as it was flat
Clean the MAF with MAF cleaner, because I was bored
Reset the MM and label the filter/sticker with pertinent info
Replace the rear plate hardware with something proper
Zip tied some loose wiring to avoid it catching on the hot manifold
Observe a few other things wrong with it
The spare hold down is stripped and missing, that would explain a clunking sound
The prop rod grommet and hold down clip are broken, also explains some rattles
The brake pedal pad is worn, so my big feet slip off it
The front bumper is missing several retaining clips, probably some more rattles there
The upper i-MID display needs its solder joints reflowed, as the fuel gauge inverts itself at random
Also the speedo display sometimes loses a digit
One ignition coil connector is damaged, and is being held together with thoughts and prayers, it's also missing it's proper acorn retaining nut
Someone did upper and lower hoses at one point, and I'm less than satisfied with the outcome, plus the coolant is not the appropriate Honda Blue
There's a fairly major exhaust leak, gotta warn his mother that's a priority
It'll be back
They always come back
I think I earned my $60 on this one
People who substitute constant tension for worm drive are an L
These are replacement hoses, and they don't look very good
06 Silver Shooter, getting er stripped for LIM and injector replacement...
Yeppers, dat's whatcha git when ya don't keep on with the basic maint'nence like changing the belt grease oft'n nuff.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
Made the decision to upgrade the tires on the Maverick. Sliding off the road 3 times on the OEM tires was enough to convince me to get new ones. I will sell the half usuable OEM's on Facebook Marketplace. Hoping for $75
Finally got around to replacing the pads on the Kid's 2018 Jeep Compass.
I really hate working on that pile. I would be willing to listen to any convincing argument as to why wheel bolts are better than studs, and then I'd be willing to chain that person to a tree and let the ants get them.
Anyways. I don't know if the pads that were on it were factory or not, but it had the absolute sorriest braking response that you could ask for. Almost dangerous to a point. The initial grab from the front pads was so severe that it was impossible to drive around a parking lot without throwing your passengers up against their seatbelts every time you looked at the brake pedal.
When I got the rears apart, the pads actually had a shiny polished look to them, and you could tell that the rotors had barely been used. Not surprising since the front pads were so overly aggressive. --Edit-- I just remembered that I didn't even have to wind back the piston in the rear calipers to get the new pads on. There was that little wear on them.
The front sliders were just ever so slightly starting to stick, so those got cleaned and lubed and all the pads got replaced with Bosch Blues.
End result is the thing actually stops normally now. Good brake feel with no excessive grabbing, and the rear rotors actually contribute to the overall stopping of the vehicle. I don't know what pads were on there since they had no markings, but they went straight into the trash.
Ohh, and I bled almost a quart of new fluid through the system.
One positive I will say about the procedure, they make it super easy to get the rear parking brakes into service mode. There's a selection for it right on the radio. Yay Stellantis, now leave me alone and hope I never have to work on that car again.
I really hate working on that pile. I would be willing to listen to any convincing argument as to why wheel bolts are better than studs, and then I'd be willing to chain that person to a tree and let the ants get them.
Anyways. I don't know if the pads that were on it were factory or not, but it had the absolute sorriest braking response that you could ask for. Almost dangerous to a point. The initial grab from the front pads was so severe that it was impossible to drive around a parking lot without throwing your passengers up against their seatbelts every time you looked at the brake pedal.
When I got the rears apart, the pads actually had a shiny polished look to them, and you could tell that the rotors had barely been used. Not surprising since the front pads were so overly aggressive. --Edit-- I just remembered that I didn't even have to wind back the piston in the rear calipers to get the new pads on. There was that little wear on them.
The front sliders were just ever so slightly starting to stick, so those got cleaned and lubed and all the pads got replaced with Bosch Blues.
End result is the thing actually stops normally now. Good brake feel with no excessive grabbing, and the rear rotors actually contribute to the overall stopping of the vehicle. I don't know what pads were on there since they had no markings, but they went straight into the trash.
Ohh, and I bled almost a quart of new fluid through the system.
One positive I will say about the procedure, they make it super easy to get the rear parking brakes into service mode. There's a selection for it right on the radio. Yay Stellantis, now leave me alone and hope I never have to work on that car again.
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Installed a shift kit into the GM 4t65e transmission, long with new magnets, and a pan with drain plug.
All those Jeep cute utes are disposable and were built with that intention. Even the KL Cherokee is questionable at best. People will keep them on the road longer because of higher initial cost, but they're just an over-sized car with AWD
Hers isn't even that nice. It's FWD only. (Her buying this wasn't my choice, if you can't tell)
I wouldn't say I'm a Stellantis hater, but anything they make is way down my list of things to be excited about. The mixture of Italian, German, and dumb American engineering just makes them pretty close to crap in my book.