What are you working on today?

Changed the oil filter belts on the compressor no clue when last changed. Took a filter part listed for a pinto found that interesting.

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D60 said:
A LONG TALE OF WINTER RECOVERY, er, RECOVERIES:

STAGE 1:

Last night in their XJ my buddy's wife stabbed the brakes when she shouldn't have on a snowpacked curve. Note these are VERY rural dirt county roads (we saw a total of two other vehicles throughout the entire ordeal)

They partially wrapped the front clip around a steel fence pole (H-post of what looked to be 2-7/8" oil field pipe) and were stuck. So, about 30 minutes before dark I get the call I knew I shouldn't have answered (he only calls when there's a problem and while he can always rely on me I can rarely rely on him).

I agree to go try to recover him or at least give him a ride home. With new BFGs and the factory rear locker my SuperDuty yanked him out with minimal drama.

As we're using my pry bar to try to get the fender out of the LF tire (this is where unibodies suck because it's more stout than JUST a fender and plastic liner), literally tossing pieces of the plastic fan shroud into my bed, and assessing if he can drive home, a newer Taco drives past on this S-curve. They were going plenty slow and I remember being grateful they seemingly knew how to drive in these conditions-- but mostly I was heads up in case they lost control. In snowy driving conditions I trust myself and never trust other drivers.

STAGE 2:

So I start following him home and it's just a few miles. Things are going good and I'm thinking how lucky he got and I'm looking forward to the bacon cheese guac burgers waiting for me at home.

We come up a rise and I'm trying to understand the lights I see facing in my direction but off to the side, down a steep embankment. Yep, it's the aforementioned Taco. On it's lid. Never mind, they can't drive. And I can't for the life of me understand how they pulled this off.

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The driver has a door open and is standing outside the vehicle. He says he's fine and I ask him what he needs from me. He asks if I can give him a ride home and I say of course. Well, then I hear a baby crying. Holy ×÷+*!! Turns out his 3 month old and wife (or gf) are also in there, but thank god everyone's ok.

My buddy in the XJ is slowly losing coolant so we agree he'll continue limping home as I work to load up the young family. The woman isn't wearing shoes, walking around in socks, and by now it's definitely under 20*F

STAGE 3:
I start off with the young family loaded up. The road is quiet, straight and flat. We come upon my buddy in the XJ, driver's side stuck in the left hand ditch!! How the he** did he pull this off?

At this point I determine I've entered the Twilight Zone. Vehicles are going off the road in places I'd never dream of such occurring. So, we strap him out a second time.

I get the young family home and finally get home myself to a warm fire and burgers.

The SuperDuty never missed a beat. I drive the 6R140 in manual, always a gear lower than I should be so I have a bit of compression braking when I let off the throttle. I kill traction control because I learned to drive without it and can't stand the interference. Combined with new BFG ATs the truck is VERY sure-footed.

NOW, FOR THE SERMON:

If you live in snow country, have good tires.

In EVERY vehicle I carry a recovery bag. It can be a canvas tool bag and need not take up much space. In there I carry a 30' strap (20' is often too short) and it should have LOOP ENDS. Straps with metal hooks are WalMart garbage.

NEVER PUT A LOOP OVER A TOW BALL. Have a plan for recovery points on YOUR vehicle. Figure this out now in your garage, not on the side of the road. If you can't find anything, a rear receiver can be an option. Up front see if there are tow hooks you can bolt to the frame or unibody. Don't just look aftermarket-- try the classifieds or eBay for OEM tow hooks. 2nd Gen Tundras and GMT400s are just a few options. Ask local 4x4 shops -- most aftermarket bumpers require OEM hooks to be removed.

Even on most cars it's possible to install hooks just behind a bumper valance that are barely noticeable and don't significantly reduce approach angle in large dips, etc. Consult a local fabricator or machinist if you must.

I carry a receiver clevis mount and two clevii in my bag. After last night I think I'll add a second clevis mount and a hitch pin in case the other vehicle has a receiver.

A clevis mount just makes life a bit easier. With a 2" receiver you can slide the loop end in and run the pin thru the loop. Practice this in your garage, too. If you have a 1-1/4" receiver this won't be an option, so get a clevis mount.

Take good care of your strap -- it's an investment that can save the day. Store it neatly rolled in your recovery bag and don't put it away wet (they'll rot and mildew).

Do this now, seriously. Go to your favorite retailer and find a 30' strap, then build your recovery bag around that.
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You were a God send to the Family that rolled the Taco in that freezing weather. You had a long day/nite but you definitely are one of the "good guys!!!"
 
2010 Ford Edge 3.5 V6
Replaced spark plugs, ignition coils, upper plenum seals, air filter, rotated tires and changed oil. Also replaced the dipstick as the old one broke off in my hand when I did the initial check after running the engine.

1989 Toyota pickup 22RE
replaced throttle position sensor, adjusted timing.
 
At work I moved two servers into one. I was rather impressed how well it went. But I've moved the same applications, databases and setup IIS and sql express 3-4 times over 13 years. And it's not really in my job description. Most of the stuff I do isn't but good luck trying to get IT to handle.

Got home and scrubbed the kitchen, the wife needs to stay away from cocoa powder! After the kitchen was cleaned finished all the whole tiles I could now it's time to fill in the blanks and grout.

This is one of those days you feel like you really accomplished something.
 
I pulled a drum on a Nissan Hardbody to inspect rear brakes. I wanted to take the lip off the drum and was wishing for a 5 on 6.5 axleshaft of some kind. I could make a fixture but didn't want to invest the time, so grabbed the ID with my 3-jaw, but runout was still atrocious.

I finally decided to just try my M12 belt file, and it actually worked great. I thought it might take forever, but it went quickly.

edit: I need to start sourcing trashed semi-float shafts and lopping them down for fixtures for this purpose. TIR need not be perfect just to remove a lip where the shoes obviously don't contact
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2002 Kia Spectra 1.8 4 cylinder
Replaced valve cover gasket, blower motor, passenger rear taillight/brake light bulb, repaired driver's front headlight harness, changed oil

2005 Mazda 6
Rotated tires, changed oil
 
2010 GMC Yukon Denali AWD, 6.2L/6L80E, Both engine mounts.....Not my favorite job by a long shot, But I'm the most experienced at them & didn't want any morale issues on a Friday after a week of freezing temps, So I took it on myself.



2012 Ford F150 4x4, 3.5L Ecoboost/6R80, New customer referral, Back story.....

Had shifting issues, Not very clear on what the trans was doing. He took it to a transmission shop in Grand Prairie, TX to have it repaired. According to the receipt, They installed a Lead Frame.
The shop called him saying it needed a rebuild as the Lead frame didn't fix the unit, The customer decided to pay the shop for their work & get a second opinion.

Scanned for DTC's & it had a P0729......6TH Gear Incorrect Ratio. Checked the fluid level & it was close enough, Although the ATF was pretty dark.
Cleared the DTC & took it for a test drive, It's missing 2nd & 6th gear (Before going into limp mode).

My first thought was the Intermediate (2-6) Clutch is burnt up & it really does need a rebuild.....But why replace the Lead Frame for this condition? Called the customer & advised to let me pull the Valve Body to inspect the work done previously & air check the 2-6 Clutch.

Pulled the Valve Body & found the 2-6 Clutch tube seal missing:rolleyes:. The 2-6 Clutch air checked good & clutch clearance looked well within spec.
Replaced all 4 Center Support tube seals & the Transfer Adaptor, Filled it with fresh Motorcraft LV ATF, Reset the adaptives & performed a quick learn of the clutch volumes. Test drive was flawless after the last bit of self learning got completed.

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Not much today just training on the computer. Slowest week we have had in a long time I guess because of all the snow. I’ve spent the last week still thinking about whether to stay with Toyota or go back to Subaru. My heart tells me Subaru but my wallet and everyone else tells me Toyota. Both have their pros and cons. But they put me to strictly working on Toyota training they really want me at Toyota. I hate representing Toyota but if we can negotiate the pay I want it might be worth it. Only things most of us done today was program keys and basic stuff. Not bad but certainly not fun. I think we had a total count of 17 cars. It always seems our dealership is slow when others are booming. Possibly because of location. The town my work is in is smaller than my hometown so I’m sure that’s for something to do with it and every other dealership is cheaper in our area too. Got several no’s this week because of price.
 
How many Toyota dealers in the country? How many Toyotas on the road? How many Subaru dealers? How many Subarus on the road? Subaru may be the preference but Toyota is the money. And if you can get several more dollars an hour while learning the more marketable and usable skills all the better.
 
LDB said:
How many Toyota dealers in the country? How many Toyotas on the road? How many Subaru dealers? How many Subarus on the road? Subaru may be the preference but Toyota is the money. And if you can get several more dollars an hour while learning the more marketable and usable skills all the better.
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1,277 Toyota dealerships and 944 Subaru. We sell way more Subaru than we do Toyota though. Subaru is our leading seller then Chevrolet then Toyota. Around here I see way more Subaru than I do Toyota probably because Toyota has been notoriously bad about warranty especially the last few years. Seeing all the Chevy’s just tells me brand loyalty will sell a car no matter how terrible or junky it is. I see a ton more Chevy than Toyota around here too. I’d get treated a lot better at Subaru but they will pay me more at Toyota. Personally I’d rather have happiness than money. I’m honestly surprised here to see how many would rather be miserable than be happy. On another forum everyone said they would rather be happy and I agree with them. Toyota also has some very annoying designs to deal with and they are horrible to their customers because they know they will come back either way. We sell on average maybe 10 Toyota a week whereas Subaru 20-25 per week.
 
AutoMechanic said:
1,277 Toyota dealerships and 944 Subaru. We sell way more Subaru than we do Toyota though. Subaru is our leading seller then Chevrolet then Toyota. Around here I see way more Subaru than I do Toyota probably because Toyota has been notoriously bad about warranty especially the last few years. Seeing all the Chevy’s just tells me brand loyalty will sell a car no matter how terrible or junky it is. I see a ton more Chevy than Toyota around here too. I’d get treated a lot better at Subaru but they will pay me more at Toyota. Personally I’d rather have happiness than money. I’m honestly surprised here to see how many would rather be miserable than be happy. On another forum everyone said they would rather be happy and I agree with them. Toyota also has some very annoying designs to deal with and they are horrible to their customers because they know they will come back either way. We sell on average maybe 10 Toyota a week whereas Subaru 20-25 per week.
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That's interesting. I'd have thought the gap would be greater. Here you see at least a dozen Toyotas to one Subaru. Based on prior conversations it has sounded like they do not treat you all that well and don't pay you well. My thought was Toyota would have more marketability. If you could get several more dollars per hour, and alter your habits, you could save up a good bit and in a few years change jobs to somewhere paying better and treating people better. That still may be the best long term plan but with this new information the two may not be as far apart as it sounded.
 
2017 Jeep Renegade - Son's car, it had a dead battery this morning. Old battery was some no-name that was in the car when we bought it used in 2021. Installed new Interstate H6 AGM.
 
Towed a guy to the gas station with a strap. He’d run out of gas pulling folks out of ditches with an mdx. Kinda cool.

laid down two rolls of insulation in a friends attic to reduce freezing pipes recently installed up there. Got 70% off on a bunch of warped 2x4s and used those to floor in a good section of it while up there. the cold wasn’t too bad once I started moving. But it was still cold!

my wife has adopted my favorite ryobi work light. Bought another.
 
After about 3 months of small to medium tractor practice projects, finally built enough confidence to extend a natural spillway and diverting the water away from my mother's house. I have more contour lines (swales), tributaries and some side ditches to make along the property roads in the future. I want to divert it all to a new pond eventually. Its supposed to rain the next 3-4 days so will monitor and patch it if there are any breaches.

Used rocks in various places to slow down the water flow.

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The start of the change, the normal flow was to the right where the water encroached on the back house patio, and travels further to erode and damage other out buildings.
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Every second on the tractor is absolute fun.

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