1996 John Deere LX188 with a lot of hours on it had a drivetrain noise while mowing and the then drive went out. Got everything off and found the aluminum drive pulley had the splines worn out, steel splined drive shaft seemed fine though. Ordered a replacement pulley and plastic fan blade that mounts on top of it. Pressure washed the trans. off so it’s clean for reassembly. Might grab a new belt as well.
What are you working on today?
- Thread starter Amkeer
- Start date
Swapped in a "fake" Delco/Bose radio into my daily driver. I say fake, because I swapped the non-amplified tuner/amp box for one from a standard radio. Added a new aux in jack too. The old one was quite worn after almost 10 years and a teenager with flaky cables for a lot of those years.
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2018 Colorado: rear pads and rotors.
I removed Carquest ceramics that were quite low:
At 140k that means this vehicle is now getting its third set of rear pads. Seems to be the new generation of trucks that eat rear brakes.
I didn't realize Brakebest offered a "Pro" line but it was available so I tried it. The rotors are fully coated. Seems fine, but I did get some squeal near the end of bedding once the brakes were hot. It went away once cooled. And the noise might have been coming from the front which I did not service ‐- I couldn't tell.
I removed Carquest ceramics that were quite low:
At 140k that means this vehicle is now getting its third set of rear pads. Seems to be the new generation of trucks that eat rear brakes.
I didn't realize Brakebest offered a "Pro" line but it was available so I tried it. The rotors are fully coated. Seems fine, but I did get some squeal near the end of bedding once the brakes were hot. It went away once cooled. And the noise might have been coming from the front which I did not service ‐- I couldn't tell.
Completed a much needed repair on the minivan before the cross state trip.
The transmission cooler lines were hacked up by someone in its past, and they did a p*ss poor job at it. They removed the crimped parts and put rubber vacuum line in place with cheap clamps. I know these were poorly put together because in one instance a year or so back, my sister-in-law had one of the clamps fail and lose a ton of transmission fluid a few miles from the house.
We patched it up and I made note to look into replacement.
I had to remove the screw-in click to fit connectors because they weren’t clicking to disconnect. The wire clip in there had gunk jammed on the outer circumference of the connector, blocking it. I cleaned and reinstalled the clip, put a new rubber o-ring on the two that use them and installed the new lines. They click fit in, no leaks, no problems.
Sprayed some brake clean and wiped down the area since those hacked up lines had leaked and sprayed transmission fluid all over the area.
Van is 300 miles away now and had no problems. Job done. Maybe my brothers wife may stop hating it now?
Photos attached.
The transmission cooler lines were hacked up by someone in its past, and they did a p*ss poor job at it. They removed the crimped parts and put rubber vacuum line in place with cheap clamps. I know these were poorly put together because in one instance a year or so back, my sister-in-law had one of the clamps fail and lose a ton of transmission fluid a few miles from the house.
We patched it up and I made note to look into replacement.
I had to remove the screw-in click to fit connectors because they weren’t clicking to disconnect. The wire clip in there had gunk jammed on the outer circumference of the connector, blocking it. I cleaned and reinstalled the clip, put a new rubber o-ring on the two that use them and installed the new lines. They click fit in, no leaks, no problems.
Sprayed some brake clean and wiped down the area since those hacked up lines had leaked and sprayed transmission fluid all over the area.
Van is 300 miles away now and had no problems. Job done. Maybe my brothers wife may stop hating it now?
Photos attached.
A Northstar tried to die, so I had to intervene 
2000 Eldorado ETC
It's owner couldn't see the trouble, and he was stuck on a bridge, so he poured enough coolant/water in it to limp it back home, stopping periodically to let it cool
Are the head gaskets done, only time will tell
It had a P1258 (Engine Overtemp code) which means it hit 270°F for 10 seconds or more
That means it inhibited the A/C, forced the fans to high speed, and went Camel mode alternating cylinders to air cool itself
The failure was the radiator drain plug disintegrating
How that happened I have no idea, I found the other half laying on the ABS pump
Did I mention this cars hard to work on?
First attempt, I tried a Dorman drain plug
The old wallet with wings burned me yet again, it wouldn't tighten down no matter what I did
I removed the remnant of the old plug, but no matter what I did, it wouldn't click on and tighten down
Must be half a mm different, luckily the part is discontinued from GM
I found a NOS OEM part on eBay
Finally got it tightened down, all back together
Topped off the coolant, let it purge to the best of my ability
It doesn't blow any smoke, and it doesn't sound any different, seems to hold its coolant
After a major overheating event, it needs an oil change
I drove it for an hour or so last night, to see if it held pressure
It lives to die another day
I'm gonna berate it's owner that more preventative cooling system maintenance is required
My final words to the Northstar
Maybe for the owner too
2000 Eldorado ETC
It's owner couldn't see the trouble, and he was stuck on a bridge, so he poured enough coolant/water in it to limp it back home, stopping periodically to let it cool
Are the head gaskets done, only time will tell
It had a P1258 (Engine Overtemp code) which means it hit 270°F for 10 seconds or more
That means it inhibited the A/C, forced the fans to high speed, and went Camel mode alternating cylinders to air cool itself
The failure was the radiator drain plug disintegrating
How that happened I have no idea, I found the other half laying on the ABS pump
Did I mention this cars hard to work on?
First attempt, I tried a Dorman drain plug
The old wallet with wings burned me yet again, it wouldn't tighten down no matter what I did
I removed the remnant of the old plug, but no matter what I did, it wouldn't click on and tighten down
Must be half a mm different, luckily the part is discontinued from GM
I found a NOS OEM part on eBay
Finally got it tightened down, all back together
Topped off the coolant, let it purge to the best of my ability
It doesn't blow any smoke, and it doesn't sound any different, seems to hold its coolant
After a major overheating event, it needs an oil change
I drove it for an hour or so last night, to see if it held pressure
It lives to die another day
I'm gonna berate it's owner that more preventative cooling system maintenance is required
My final words to the Northstar
Maybe for the owner too
Nothing major today, just replacing the 10 year old splash shield under the Chrysler. It had started to sag a bit. I told my son not to straddle any dead animals or he might scoop them up and bring them home.
Well now we don’t have to worry about that.
Ah yeah! No more saggy bottoms around here!
Well now we don’t have to worry about that.
Ah yeah! No more saggy bottoms around here!
Did you pick that up locally? It looks like shipping could be expensive?Nothing major today, just replacing the 10 year old splash shield under the Chrysler. It had started to sag a bit. I told my son not to straddle any dead animals or he might scoop them up and bring them home.
Well now we don’t have to worry about that.
View attachment 223844
Ah yeah! No more saggy bottoms around here!
View attachment 223845
$1200 all in with new headlights, bumper cover, hood, grill, bulbs.
A Northstar tried to die, so I had to intervene
2000 Eldorado ETC
It's owner couldn't see the trouble, and he was stuck on a bridge, so he poured enough coolant/water in it to limp it back home, stopping periodically to let it cool
Are the head gaskets done, only time will tell
It had a P1258 (Engine Overtemp code) which means it hit 270°F for 10 seconds or more
That means it inhibited the A/C, forced the fans to high speed, and went Camel mode alternating cylinders to air cool itself
The failure was the radiator drain plug disintegrating
How that happened I have no idea, I found the other half laying on the ABS pump
Did I mention this cars hard to work on?
View attachment 223764
View attachment 223765
View attachment 223763
First attempt, I tried a Dorman drain plug
The old wallet with wings burned me yet again, it wouldn't tighten down no matter what I did
View attachment 223766
I removed the remnant of the old plug, but no matter what I did, it wouldn't click on and tighten down
Must be half a mm different, luckily the part is discontinued from GM
I found a NOS OEM part on eBay
View attachment 223767
View attachment 223768
Finally got it tightened down, all back together
Topped off the coolant, let it purge to the best of my ability
It doesn't blow any smoke, and it doesn't sound any different, seems to hold its coolant
After a major overheating event, it needs an oil change
I drove it for an hour or so last night, to see if it held pressure
View attachment 223769
View attachment 223770
View attachment 223771
It lives to die another day
I'm gonna berate it's owner that more preventative cooling system maintenance is required
My final words to the Northstar
Maybe for the owner too
I've had one of those petcocks split like that on a GM car too. I keep a spare in the glove compartment now. Don't use the petcock to drain them anymore either.
Yep, pull the lower rad hose for me unless I know I'm replacing the radiator anyway, then I'll chance the petcock if it's easier for draining.
Got my APU mounted on the truck frame for the last time today. Got too dark on me tonight to get any pictures. I also finished the panels up for it. I need to get rivets tomorrow to put the latches and hinge back on. Tomorrow I’ll work on mounting the hvac module in the passenger toolbox under the sleeper and start mounting the condenser.
2018 f150 has been throwing p0471, exhaust pressure. Found there’s a TSB for the sensor. $50 for the oem part, 15 minutes to change. It’s no fun driving while the engine light is on, as it holds back power which is really notable on hot days. Reset the error and hope to see success driving tomorrow. Also ordered and replaced broken plastic bits.
Ran downspout drains under the mulch also and made cement end caps. Used 2” pipe for the run but also fed it from a 27” 4inch stack, which if there’s too much rain will load up and provide pressure for velocity. This seemed harder than it should be, only because so many different tools and trades were needed to do it. Did 2 today, have 2 more like this waiting.
Ran downspout drains under the mulch also and made cement end caps. Used 2” pipe for the run but also fed it from a 27” 4inch stack, which if there’s too much rain will load up and provide pressure for velocity. This seemed harder than it should be, only because so many different tools and trades were needed to do it. Did 2 today, have 2 more like this waiting.
Recently reacquired my old 2003 Corolla. Still runs beautifully but does need some TLC with 247K on it now. Have a list of items but knocked through some of them today.
- Front driver knuckle/bearing/ hub assembly and some new lug nuts
- front driver ball joint
- driver rear bearing and hub assembly ( sucker was hard to get off)
- oil change
- cleaned MAF
- denso air filter
Still need to do valve cover gasket, possibly intake manifold gasket (need to investigate), PCV valve, leaking power steering hose, motor mounts. Also needs a really good cleaning and detail but that was enough for today.
- Front driver knuckle/bearing/ hub assembly and some new lug nuts
- front driver ball joint
- driver rear bearing and hub assembly ( sucker was hard to get off)
- oil change
- cleaned MAF
- denso air filter
Still need to do valve cover gasket, possibly intake manifold gasket (need to investigate), PCV valve, leaking power steering hose, motor mounts. Also needs a really good cleaning and detail but that was enough for today.
The Mad Max SJ Forester was back for an oil change. I also rotated tires, serviced the rear diff and did a spill 'n fill on the CVT.
I used Castrol Transmax Universal CVT/ATF. Will gravity stop working? Will a bus load of nuns perish? Probably, to both. I got to use my MityVac MV6400 for the first time. It was certainly much more enjoyable than depressing the little hand pump plungers 6000 times to put about 6 qts back in the trans.
I found that live data in my Xtool for Subaru is formatted way different than anything I've seen before. I also couldn't get trans temp to read in F no matter what, but I just converted from C manually
I also discovered the high-end GSP axle on left front already has a failed inner boot. These GSP Revolutions use a TPE outer boot, but rubber or neoprene inner.
I checked my records and the axle was installed ~6 months and 23k miles ago. @slacktide_bitog For now I'll warranty through RA and exercise the definition of insanity, installing the same junk part and expecting a different result. Despite the bumper the vehicle is not driven offroad or "overlanded" or lifted
I used Castrol Transmax Universal CVT/ATF. Will gravity stop working? Will a bus load of nuns perish? Probably, to both. I got to use my MityVac MV6400 for the first time. It was certainly much more enjoyable than depressing the little hand pump plungers 6000 times to put about 6 qts back in the trans.
I found that live data in my Xtool for Subaru is formatted way different than anything I've seen before. I also couldn't get trans temp to read in F no matter what, but I just converted from C manually
I also discovered the high-end GSP axle on left front already has a failed inner boot. These GSP Revolutions use a TPE outer boot, but rubber or neoprene inner.
I checked my records and the axle was installed ~6 months and 23k miles ago. @slacktide_bitog For now I'll warranty through RA and exercise the definition of insanity, installing the same junk part and expecting a different result. Despite the bumper the vehicle is not driven offroad or "overlanded" or lifted
Replaced both wheel hub bearings on the 2008 Chrysler Town & Country.
Installed new Mopar OEM splash shields as well. I got to use my wheel hub bearing removal tool on the left side (right side came off easily from just the impact). New bearing hubs installed without drama.
Rides quiet and smooth, even if the bearing hubs are aftermarket. On this old van, going OEM on the hubs is very expensive (but the splash shields are conversely very cheap), so these should be on it until it goes to the scrapper in a couple of years.
Installed new Mopar OEM splash shields as well. I got to use my wheel hub bearing removal tool on the left side (right side came off easily from just the impact). New bearing hubs installed without drama.
Rides quiet and smooth, even if the bearing hubs are aftermarket. On this old van, going OEM on the hubs is very expensive (but the splash shields are conversely very cheap), so these should be on it until it goes to the scrapper in a couple of years.
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- Nov 20, 2021
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- 1,642
Thursday
1997 Chrysler Concorde 3.5 V6
R&I upper plenum, replaced spark plugs, plug wires, ignition coil, pcv valve and hose, various small vacuum hoses, air filter, changed oil.
Been home not feeling well since Thursday afternoon. Started feeling a little better yesterday. Might mow the grass today.
1997 Chrysler Concorde 3.5 V6
R&I upper plenum, replaced spark plugs, plug wires, ignition coil, pcv valve and hose, various small vacuum hoses, air filter, changed oil.
Been home not feeling well since Thursday afternoon. Started feeling a little better yesterday. Might mow the grass today.
I hope the ick passes and you feel better soon!
I spent a while with the OM and changed a few setting/options in my new car. Gradually getting it all figured out and configured as I prefer. The OM is over 600 pages of micro-print. I remember 50 years ago when they were 1xx pages of paperback book size print.