What are you working on today?
- Thread starter Amkeer
- Start date
So, I got some work done on the Sunfire beater. New headlights in, another drain and fill of the PS reservoir and finally some brake work. I was able to knock the drums off, starting on passenger side. All looked good, wheel cylinder not seized and everything was cleaned and adjusted. I used the trick of putting the back end of a drill bit in the bleeder and gave it a heat/cool cycle. Wouldn't you know it, she worked. Bled that side.
Now the driver side, which is the one giving me grief. As I was knocking the drum off, I found it quite interesting that the shoes wouldn't let go, even though the lip on the drum wasn't that bad. So, once she was off, I noticed a few things missing, that and the wheel cylinder was wet.
I got the bleeder free and then inspected the brake lines. Too rusty to remove and I wasn't about to tear everything off. I gutted the wheel cylinder, buffed the pistons and buffed the inside. Nothing aggressive but enough to clean it up. I cleaned it up and put her back together while clamping both pistons with a C clamps. I bled it and tested the brake pedal. No more leaks.
Tomorrow I will order up some hardware and adjuster parts to fill the gap on what vaporized over the years.
Now the driver side, which is the one giving me grief. As I was knocking the drum off, I found it quite interesting that the shoes wouldn't let go, even though the lip on the drum wasn't that bad. So, once she was off, I noticed a few things missing, that and the wheel cylinder was wet.
I got the bleeder free and then inspected the brake lines. Too rusty to remove and I wasn't about to tear everything off. I gutted the wheel cylinder, buffed the pistons and buffed the inside. Nothing aggressive but enough to clean it up. I cleaned it up and put her back together while clamping both pistons with a C clamps. I bled it and tested the brake pedal. No more leaks.
Tomorrow I will order up some hardware and adjuster parts to fill the gap on what vaporized over the years.
Is it me or are the brake shoes almost new?
@53' Stude the shoes had plenty of meat left on them and other than chipping on the edges from removing the drum, Id day they were **** near new. Its too bad the wheel cylinder was leaking as otherwise they would have been reused.
I picked up new shoes at Napa and should have the hardware in tomorrow.
I have the hard brake line fittings soaking so hoping I'll get a chance to replace the hard lines and wheel cylinders this summer.
I picked up new shoes at Napa and should have the hardware in tomorrow.
I have the hard brake line fittings soaking so hoping I'll get a chance to replace the hard lines and wheel cylinders this summer.
Sounds like a solid plan. Thank You
Saturday picking up a new auction purchase, a fully loaded RTV 900 with a Curtis Cab, front winch, hydraulic dump bed, stereo CD Player, AC (hopefully heat too). It has issues of course which is my favorite kind.
The project Spiderbox go Kart has front end and rear joint rust issues, a bent spindle, and the GY6 is too far gone and is resting in the backyard metal pile for now. Instead will put on a Predator 212. Every single bolt is rusted and thread locked. Some parts came in yesterday, many more parts for it coming in this weekend. Ran some practice welding beads yesterday to get ready to re-fabricate the chassis.
The project Spiderbox go Kart has front end and rear joint rust issues, a bent spindle, and the GY6 is too far gone and is resting in the backyard metal pile for now. Instead will put on a Predator 212. Every single bolt is rusted and thread locked. Some parts came in yesterday, many more parts for it coming in this weekend. Ran some practice welding beads yesterday to get ready to re-fabricate the chassis.
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2022
- Messages
- 335
So I picked up the wife today and drove over to get fuel from a station located 15 mins away. Seems all the station in our area are using the Carroll fuels the van just isn't running right. Anyway, once home I thought best to check my handy work from yesterday where I added the lubegard to the transmission. removed the air box etc and checked the little breather hose where I filled the lubegard into. everything checked out. Then I thought I needed to check the brake reservoir. A few weeks ago had the brakes services at firestone.. What bothers me is no matter where I go, these shops do a courtesy check and top of the fluids.. I hate it cause they tend to over fill or fill these reservoirs up with something I don't like or use. Just the case with Firestone.. the topped off the brake reservoir so the fluid nearly ran over then put the cap back on super tight. it took channel locks to get the cap off and checked the fluid level.. was way over the max line.. No wonder the brake system seem to be very tight. using a turkey baster, i drain some of the fluid out and back down to a respectable level. took the van out for a drive and what a difference draining some of the brake fluid.
My 27 yr old CRV (92K miles) rear propeller shaft has been giving on and off clanking sounds for many weeks now, finally removed it. (Its U joints and center link are not designed to be rebuilt) I find the front U joint is rusting and loose, that's what has been making the sounds. In effect, the car is now front wheel drive only.
Suspension squeaks for some many weeks now, so while already under there, I silicone sprayed all suspension rubber bushings and where the front springs contact their top and bottom seats. Also where the front wheels pivot when making turns. Voila! No more squeaks.
Suspension squeaks for some many weeks now, so while already under there, I silicone sprayed all suspension rubber bushings and where the front springs contact their top and bottom seats. Also where the front wheels pivot when making turns. Voila! No more squeaks.
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- Joined
- Sep 20, 2022
- Messages
- 335
berniedd
I may have to do this myself, the front end is squeaking also. But it's not the bushing at the sway bar.. more over it's the new lowering springs squeaking in the poly isolators in the struts. new struts are on their way so I'll get the shop to grease the isolators when installing the new struts.
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Brought the '95 in for AC surgery. Everything went super smooth: new compressor, new accumulator, new orifice tube and new o-rings on every connection I could reach. Everything was flushed while it was apart so there shouldn't be anything but nice, clean R134 in the system when she's done. Currently sitting at the shop waiting on the AC machine to do it's thing.
Bonus picture: here's a shot of the massive DC-DC converter that powers the heated windshield. It's mounted behind the bumper on the RH side:
2014 Ram 2500:
-repaired left rear seat belt
-replaced center console latch
-installed some cheap Amazon steps because this truck is lifted to the stupid level
Then my buddy brought us a load of water in his '85 square body K20. He complained of a front clunk and my lift was available so I said let's check it out. Good thing we did because we found a broken front shackle.
I grabbed a drop of 3/8 x 1.5" flat bar and whipped out a replacement. The weird dog ear is a result of it being scrap.
I told him to place the dog ear up so it wasn't visible but he's a space cadet
-repaired left rear seat belt
-replaced center console latch
-installed some cheap Amazon steps because this truck is lifted to the stupid level
Then my buddy brought us a load of water in his '85 square body K20. He complained of a front clunk and my lift was available so I said let's check it out. Good thing we did because we found a broken front shackle.
I grabbed a drop of 3/8 x 1.5" flat bar and whipped out a replacement. The weird dog ear is a result of it being scrap.
I told him to place the dog ear up so it wasn't visible but he's a space cadet
Installed an OEM hitch and wiring harness on the new Honda Pilot Elite. No additional factory or dealer add-ons were installed, so bought the parts and spent the afternoon messing. Now that it's done, waiting another 182 miles until I hit 500 miles so I can give it some fresh oil and filter. Perhaps the dogs would like to go for a ride this weekend. 
2011 Acura MDX, No communication (Can Bus down), Dash lit up like a christmas tree...From a shop I do work for.
Traced it down to the AWD Control Module, Unplug the module & the Can Bus came back up.....But the module was not at fault, It wasn't grounded, Ground tested at 10.1vdc on the Pico.
Some body work had been done to the left quarter panel & a incorrect bolt (coated) was used on the gang of grounds. Sanded the paint off under the eyelet, Some moly paste to prevent corrosion & a new clean M6 bolt.
Some Pico snapshots of the clean Can waveform & a corrupted one.....
Traced it down to the AWD Control Module, Unplug the module & the Can Bus came back up.....But the module was not at fault, It wasn't grounded, Ground tested at 10.1vdc on the Pico.
Some body work had been done to the left quarter panel & a incorrect bolt (coated) was used on the gang of grounds. Sanded the paint off under the eyelet, Some moly paste to prevent corrosion & a new clean M6 bolt.
Some Pico snapshots of the clean Can waveform & a corrupted one.....
And all i accomplished was getting the rear driver side brake done on the beater Sunfire. Works pretty slick now! This weekend I will do the other side, scan for codes and check how the thermostat and O2 sensors are working.
2010 Nissan Maxima, No crank complaint....From the same shop as the above Acura. The starter solenoid can be jumped & start the car.
The Starter, ECM, TCM, PDM, Brake Switches, And Smart Key have been replaced, The original parts were in the front seat. The shop that subcontracted me didn't fire the parts cannon as they send all electrical diag work to me....The customer got screwed by one shop, Then another shop pads my bill (I'm not cheap) to get the vehicle diagnosed & repaired correctly.
It ended up being the Starter Control Relay in the PDM (Power Distribution Module), Both the relay in the original PDM & replacement IPM had been physically damaged by whomever tried to remove them rendering them inoperable.
I have hundreds of spare relays....But none would fit inside the IPM cavity.....Had to carefully dissect one & sand down the edges to prove out the diag. My local Nissan dealer parts department is horrible about answering the phone & never call back after leaving a message.....They'd probably want to sell the entire IPM anyway.
So it's a trip to the wreaking yard tomorrow armed with my muck boots & mosquito spray....I'll load up on fuses & relays!
Service information in AllData does not show the location for the starter relay & neither did the PDM cover, Kind of mislead to thinking it was soldered to the IPM board like some many of the relays are. Disassembled the spare/original PDM & found it was one of the 2 replaceable relays. That's when I noticed the relay had been damaged.
The damage was on the sides of the relays where you couldn't see when installed in the PDM.
Starter relay....Red circle.
The Starter, ECM, TCM, PDM, Brake Switches, And Smart Key have been replaced, The original parts were in the front seat. The shop that subcontracted me didn't fire the parts cannon as they send all electrical diag work to me....The customer got screwed by one shop, Then another shop pads my bill (I'm not cheap) to get the vehicle diagnosed & repaired correctly.
It ended up being the Starter Control Relay in the PDM (Power Distribution Module), Both the relay in the original PDM & replacement IPM had been physically damaged by whomever tried to remove them rendering them inoperable.
I have hundreds of spare relays....But none would fit inside the IPM cavity.....Had to carefully dissect one & sand down the edges to prove out the diag. My local Nissan dealer parts department is horrible about answering the phone & never call back after leaving a message.....They'd probably want to sell the entire IPM anyway.
So it's a trip to the wreaking yard tomorrow armed with my muck boots & mosquito spray....I'll load up on fuses & relays!
Service information in AllData does not show the location for the starter relay & neither did the PDM cover, Kind of mislead to thinking it was soldered to the IPM board like some many of the relays are. Disassembled the spare/original PDM & found it was one of the 2 replaceable relays. That's when I noticed the relay had been damaged.
The damage was on the sides of the relays where you couldn't see when installed in the PDM.
Starter relay....Red circle.
That Electrical diagnosis stuff terrifies me. CAN stuff steers me very clear of anything newer than 2010.2011 Acura MDX, No communication (Can Bus down), Dash lit up like a christmas tree...From a shop I do work for.
Traced it down to the AWD Control Module, Unplug the module & the Can Bus came back up.....But the module was not at fault, It wasn't grounded, Ground tested at 10.1vdc on the Pico.
Some body work had been done to the left quarter panel & a incorrect bolt (coated) was used on the gang of grounds. Sanded the paint off under the eyelet, Some moly paste to prevent corrosion & a new clean M6 bolt.
Some Pico snapshots of the clean Can waveform & a corrupted one.....
@clinebarger - I love hearing these kinds of success stories, although it emphasizes how many parts-changers are out there.
Correct troubleshooting is an art.
Correct troubleshooting is an art.
Hooked up the 6 horse last night and parked it by the barn to load up. Today, 2 hours before we are slated to pull out of the yard, notice the passenger front tire is half flat. Able to hold air long enough to get me to town and sitting in the tire shop getting it patched.
It's been a good run, just over 3 years on these 10 ply and this is the first flat...... man, that's good luck!!
It's been a good run, just over 3 years on these 10 ply and this is the first flat...... man, that's good luck!!