What are you working on today?

ripcord said:
After really reefing on it, the crash-bang always produces mixed feelings for me. The startle response followed by the, "Whew, it didn't bust out and kill me."
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If you really want the hair standup on the back of your neck.....Disassemble a few Chrysler overdrive units (46,47, 48RE/RH), The Direct Clutch Spring has around 700-800 pounds of force & the hub usually cocks on the Sun Gear while trying to relieve the spring pressure. Have to keep re-trying to get it released cleanly......Sometimes it will pop loose while the press is off the hub a little.
Trick is to never release the press all the way 'til your SURE the hub came off the sun gear cleanly!!!

This has injured & even killed some transmission builders over the years.....Thankfully I've only seen one mishap with these & no one got injured. A tech didn't get the hub released & moved the assembly over to the bench facing up, A few seconds later it released & blew a fluorescent light fixture in half & smashed a 3" piece of conduit above the light fixture flat shorting out the main service to half the building.
Sounded like a bomb went off & everything went dark, Late in the evening in the winter so it went pitch black.

Here's a video....This one released because the unit was still in good shape.

 
clinebarger said:
If you really want the hair standup on the back of your neck.....Disassemble a few Chrysler overdrive units (46,47, 48RE/RH), The Direct Clutch Spring has around 700-800 pounds of force & the hub usually cocks on the Sun Gear while trying to relieve the spring pressure. Have to keep re-trying to get it released cleanly......Sometimes it will pop loose while the press is off the hub a little.
Trick is to never release the press all the way 'til your SURE the hub came off the sun gear cleanly!!!

This has injured & even killed some transmission builders over the years.....Thankfully I've only seen one mishap with these & no one got injured. A tech didn't get the hub released & moved the assembly over to the bench facing up, A few seconds later it released & blew a fluorescent light fixture in half & smashed a 3" piece of conduit above the light fixture flat shorting out the main service to half the building.
Sounded like a bomb went off & everything went dark, Late in the evening in the winter so it went pitch black.

Here's a video....This one released because the unit was still in good shape.

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That's a big ole spring.

I still get the willies sometimes thinking back to when I was 19 or 20 and how much I had compressed the springs when doing my first frontend rebuild (64 Fairlane). I had little idea at the time how bad things could go wrong and how much more compressed I had those springs than they needed to be.
 
Worked on my fiance's son's 2008 Ford Focus yesterday. He calls and says it's not working right. It's 15 miles away so I take my scanner and it has three codes for some transmission issues. Car has 178,000 miles on it and has never had the fluid changed while he has had it and he got it at 89,000 miles. Transmission fluid is at the correct level but pretty dark so it does need to be changed but it may be too late at this point.

Codes are P0734: Gear #4 incorrect Ratio.
P0761: Shift solenoid C performance/stuck off.
P0978: Gearshift Solenoid valve C control circuit.
After seeing those codes we had AAA haul it to the house. I drove it down the road and it's not shifting good at all. Once it hits 2nd gear, the rpms increase but it doesn't shift into 3rd until you let off the gas. Kind of the same thing going from 3rd to 4th but not as bad and it will shift into 4th.

I used the bi-directional controls of the scanner and command all five of the shift solenoids on and off with the key on, engine off. I cannot hear solenoids A or B click at all which is just an on/off command. C, D, and E all have a very loud buzzing noise as you increase the percentage of pressure.

Service data wants you to Ohm check the wiring between the ECM and the transmission connector. I don't like Ohm testing wires, so I disconnected the connectors to the ECM and transmission and load tested each of the five wires with a power probe and test light and all wires tested out good.

Part of service information has you drop the pan and ohm test the internal wiring harness to the solenoids. I figure the wires to C-E are good since the solenoids all made noise when activated by the scanner. I'm not sure about A and B since I didn't hear them do anything but there are no codes for those two solenoids or circuit and the car will still shift through all gears, just not well.

I'm not sure how much more testing I'm going to do on this. I would not be surprised if there is some internal damage and I'm not sure if having the transmission fixed is even worth it on a car this old with that many miles on it. I could throw all new solenoids in it, but I hate throwing parts with no guarantee of a fix. I'm not sure if you can even get Motorcraft solenoids still and I would hate to use aftermarket ones in it. There are quite a few posts online of people replacing all of the solenoids and still having transmission shifting issues. We may take it to a transmission shop and see what they say.
 
wtd said:
{snip} I drove it down the road and it's not shifting good at all. Once it hits 2nd gear, the rpms increase but it doesn't shift into 3rd until you let off the gas. Kind of the same thing going from 3rd to 4th but not as bad and it will shift into 4th.
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Very similar symptoms on our '08 4R75 (which I realize is a very different trans) and a bottle of TransTune fixed it up. You don't have much to lose but ~$15
 
D60 said:
Very similar symptoms on our '08 4R75 (which I realize is a very different trans) and a bottle of TransTune fixed it up. You don't have much to lose but ~$15
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Thanks for that idea. I'm going to talk it over with my fiancé and see what she wants to do. I discovered that the car also needs a valve cover gasket since oil is leaking down into the spark plug wells. I replaced it when he first got the car, but I guess these just don't last. This poor car is beat to hell, so I don't know how much money she wants to put into it.
 
wtd said:
Thanks for that idea. I'm going to talk it over with my fiancé and see what she wants to do. I discovered that the car also needs a valve cover gasket since oil is leaking down into the spark plug wells. I replaced it when he first got the car, but I guess these just don't last. This poor car is beat to hell, so I don't know how much money she wants to put into it.
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We had to drive ours for awhile, then suddenly the 2-3 shift resumed normal operation. Fortunately, it was consistently messing up EVERY time, and then it just freed up and has been fine ever since. My wife drives the truck daily.

That said, I always go into these figuring 5% chance of success and 95% of no improvement and $15 wasted. It's definitely a Hail Mary
 
Addressed an annoying rattle that's been around since I bought this Expedition.

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Started cleaning the gasket surfaces on the Dakota's timing cover and water pump, ran out of abrasive wheels for the dremel. The gasket between the block and cover came off in one piece. The water pump was rtv'ed in good so most likely has been changed. I hope I don't regret it but not changing the pump. Screwed up the oil pan gasket pulling the cover off. Debating if cutting the front part off another a rtv'ing the gap will be enough, I don't have a engine hoist to lift the engine and pull the pan.I saw someone do that on a 318 but maybe their different. Probably should pull the pan and check a few of the bearings, oil pressure is really good though. I'm always nervous with gaskets.. how much to clean and if to use rtv. Also found a constant tension clamp on junker Festiva for the water pump end of the bypass hose, someone changed it to a worm clamp and had been seeping.
 
Started on water pump on '05 Dmax LLY

Cardboard to protect rad
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The crank bolt was tighter than anticipated. My 36" SnapOn in 1/2 dr (left) was flexing too much and it seemed to me I'd shear the anvil before getting the bolt to back off. I finally used a 50" cheater of 2" oilfield pipe and my inexpensive 3/4" dr breaker (right). Even so it was all I could do to get the bolt started.
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Thank goodness for uber cheap Chinese 3/4" sockets from circa 2004 that are 12 pt (required)
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My don't start the truck with the flywheel lock in place dummy reminder
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After reading stories of freewheeling impellers, I opted to tack it to the shaft
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Got the pump bolted up but then the wife rang the dinner bell.
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D60 said:
Started on water pump on '05 Dmax LLY

Cardboard to protect rad
View attachment 270142
The crank bolt was tighter than anticipated. My 36" SnapOn in 1/2 dr (left) was flexing too much and it seemed to me I'd shear the anvil before getting the bolt to back off. I finally used a 50" cheater of 2" oilfield pipe and my inexpensive 3/4" dr breaker (right). Even so it was all I could do to get the bolt started. View attachment 270143

Thank goodness for uber cheap Chinese 3/4" sockets from circa 2004 that are 12 pt (required)View attachment 270144

My don't start the truck with the flywheel lock in place dummy reminder View attachment 270145

After reading stories of freewheeling impellers, I opted to tack it to the shaft
View attachment 270146
Got the pump bolted up but then the wife rang the dinner bell.View attachment 270147
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Good work! I have the same 3/4" set but I got it in 2012, and it seems pretty tough! I have a similar 4' pipe for things like trailer hitch balls that have been on forever.... I do plan for what happens if it breaks, but so far its held up with 800-1000 ftlbs on it!
 
clinebarger said:
Make sure to torque the balancer bolt to spec!!!! It get's loose & it will shear the timing pin on the crankshaft & can lead to a fractured crank journal.
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Thank you! It's 75# plus 105* I think?

Also in thinking about it, is it the drive gear or impeller itself that can spin, or either? I may have tacked the gear needlessly and it should have been the impeller?

It was already assembled from MA so the impeller was literally out of sight, out of mind.
 
D60 said:
Thank you! It's 75# plus 105* I think?

Also in thinking about it, is it the drive gear or impeller itself that can spin, or either? I may have tacked the gear needlessly and it should have been the impeller?

It was already assembled from MA so the impeller was literally out of sight, out of mind.
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Correct.

Stock engines don't need the WP welded, But when welded you do both the impeller & drive sprocket.
 
Yesterday I did the first mow of the year. Mostly just green onions and weeds, but enough to warrant a pass over. Also ran the generators and burned some brush. Took in a 2010 Kia Sedona id been putting off for a radiator for a few weeks. It makes a whopping 5 mile round trip three to four days a week for work travel so they've been keeping the coolant checked and topped off. Did the radiator today and also changed the oil.
 
D60 said:
We had to drive ours for awhile, then suddenly the 2-3 shift resumed normal operation. Fortunately, it was consistently messing up EVERY time, and then it just freed up and has been fine ever since. My wife drives the truck daily.

That said, I always go into these figuring 5% chance of success and 95% of no improvement and $15 wasted. It's definitely a Hail Mary
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I did a little bit more testing yesterday. I cleared the codes and then turned the key on, engine off and re-scanned to see if anything came back immediately just to try and rule out an electrical issue. Nothing came back.

I then took it for a drive, and it still was doing the same thing shifting wise and then the wrench light came back on eventually. It did shift into all gears but the 2-3 and the 3-4 were delayed and the engine would rev up before it would shift. This time I let the car do its thing without letting off the gas. On the way back it did shift super hard in 4th gear one time.

I got back to the house and re-scanned it for codes. This time the only codes it had were: P0732: Gear 2 ratio incorrect and P0734: Gear ration #4 incorrect which that one was present before I cleared the codes. The gear 2 ratio code is new and the previous ones relating to shift solenoid C did not come back. Maybe activating it got it to unstick.

While monitoring the scan data of shift solenoids A & B while driving, they both stayed off almost the entire drive but I did see Solenoid A show On toward the end of the drive even though I was in 4th gear, and it still showed On when I got back to the house and just sitting still so I really don't know if they are working or not. They don't appear to be but no codes for either one and I know there are P codes for both of those solenoids since I saw them while looking for the code for C.

My fiancé either wants to fix this correctly or not put any money into it and try to get something else because her son is clueless about cars and lives on his own in a different town. He is almost 23 but has the maturity level of about a 17-year-old and he calls us anytime there is a problem with pretty much anything. She doesn't want this thing to totally break down and leave him stranded so she is still weighing the options right now.
 
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Follow along for my tale of woe: today I had to work on the floor (GASP!). The floor is hard and unforgiving, and so is my creeper. Plus the tools in my cart wind up very far away. Weird.

I serviced the trans in my neighbor's 2000 Cavalier with 2.2. Turns out this has the 3sp auto, which is impressive because he drives it all over the country (I mean like CO to the East Coast!!) and says he gets around 31mpg.
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I got an Auto Extra closeout filter and (rubber) gasket kit from RA for $1.38 LOL. I'm not thrilled on the rubber gaskets and I think the existing was OEM, but it was crispy and brittle or I might have considered reusing it:
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Very little on the magnet at 175k and the fluid wasn't even that dark:
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Who says you can't find uses for basic Dex/Merc these days? Yes, I realize Dex VI would also work, but it's more expensive typically. And yeah, I mixed Valvoline and Castrol. Is this like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters?? ;)
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