What are you working on today?

Worked on the Polaris 550 fan today. Couldn't get it to fire at all. Carbs are feeding fuel into the crankcase and it gets the plugs. Compression, while not representative because I never checked when it was in the first time. 100psi mag side and 80psi pto side. Well that ain't good. Plugs never showed any sign of running lean.

While cranking it with the air box off, I saw reversion as it coughed out fuel vapor from the pto side. Well, the thing has reed valves, that ain't good.

Pulled the carb and there it was. Broken piston skirt. Bits of it caught by the reed. So at this point, its a tear down and minimum top end. Hopefully the cylinders are good.....

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Wish I could offer you a suggestion, but unfortunately good aftermarket motor mounts seem to be a unicorn. I feel blessed that I was able to get OEM for my Corolla. Kind of makes me want to buy another set just to have down the road!
This is actually not a horrible plan if you truly think you'll have a vehicle long term. I once saw TMT say he hordes quality brake calipers while OEM is still in production. I've never felt the need to do that, but hydraulic motor mounts use OEM magic and when they're gone, they're gone.

Also CCN has said if you own a car with a transverse motor and the "third leg" mount down low and centered, you will eventually get bad vibes (The Beach Boys are not happy) at idle. So far I'd say he's correct!!
 
2014 Ram 6.7 brodozer:
-engine oil change
-replaced both fuel filters. The engine bay one was leaking because the cap was loose. Theoretically I was the last one to touch it, but I'm pretty sure the owner is on drugs so anything is possible.

Still, I've been careful to not overtighten these stupid plastic caps that need a stupid 28mm socket (nah, I'm not bitter) so I'll start using a higher Gutentight value.....and I lubed the threads/o-ring with Mission to reduce friction

-reduced TPMS thresholds to 35psi (brodozer is on 37s, yo!!) with AlphaOBD. I will say AlphaOBD is almost scarier than FORscan because it's like "conversationally cryptic". Everything is buried in weird menus and without a road map it's easy to get lost. In contrast FORscan doesn't really try to be conversational, which is almost easier.

-jumpered the coolant sensor to eliminate the Low Coolant warning

2001 4Runner:
-tried to diag an intermittent no-crank but it was of course well behaved and cranked over DOZENS of attempts throughout the day. So, no idea.
 
Fuel filter on 98 ranger 2.5 2wd supercab. 360k miles. I'm ashamed to admit, may have just pulled the factory filter. Good news, they had removal clips installed. Made it easier once I figured out how to use them.
 
Pulled the pto jog on the 550 fan. Looks like she ran hot. Piston scuffing and the skirt was shattered.

The bad: lots of little aluminum debris to clean out and the plastic reed cage is broken. The mag side has light scuffing and what appears to be rust remnants.

The good: I can mail order the reeds, the local power sports shop is ordering me some standard size pistons and has the top end gaskets in stock. As well, this thing has cast iron liners so I'll give it a light hone as they are in great shape.

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2001 SportTrac:
-left rear door reached a point where it simply wouldn't open from either handle. I've done at least three other vehicles where this has been the case, but this one ate my lunch.

I found a thread from '14 about inserting a "tiny screwdriver" in "a hole" in the latch and popping it open, and of course pics were dead from 11 years ago. I tried every possible combination of holes and screwdrivers with zero success.

I finally decided to remove the door from its hinges, and there is a hole in the latch to access the Torx head of the striker post. BUT you CANNOT just feed the striker post out the latch. You must leave it within the latch and bring the entire door and post toward the front of the vehicle together.
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The next problem of course was parts availability. O'Reilly can only get the front latches. I wound up getting a $32 SheeMar from RA plus $32 Express shipping. The other option was SKP which I imagine is identical.

IME many of these obscure latches fall out of the mainstream brands like Standard, Dorman etc and are relegated to super generic Chinese stuff on RA and they're usually all over ebay. You can't select shipping speed on ebay, though.
 
2014 Highlander:
-engine oil change
-replace air filter

~2005 Admiral gas range:
-replace control board. All I could find on ebay was white, which is dumb for a stove top and ugly. But this was ~$130 shipped and looks like new ranges these days are $700. We've got a bun in a different sort of oven so I guess I should be fiscally responsible, and repairing appliances fits the bill. Heaven knows I can't reduce the tool budget.
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The BAKE switch had collapsed, making for a prolonged affair with a blunt object to turn on the oven
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2014 Highlander:
-engine oil change
-replace air filter

~2005 Admiral gas range:
-replace control board. All I could find on ebay was white, which is dumb for a stove top and ugly. But this was ~$130 shipped and looks like new ranges these days are $700. We've got a bun in a different sort of oven so I guess I should be fiscally responsible, and repairing appliances fits the bill. Heaven knows I can't reduce the tool budget.
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The BAKE switch had collapsed, making for a prolonged affair with a blunt object to turn on the ovenView attachment 317665
I 100% support these types of repairs! You probably saw my post a few months ago about repairing our 8-ish year old Maytag dryer when the drum motor failed. $40 beats the pants off $700+ for a new unit.

On another note, the Copart Volvo was delivered this afternoon! Pretty darn quick considering the auction closed on 12/23 and we got 7+" of snow here this past Sunday night. I didn't get home till after dark, but initial impressions are good: clean leather, no obvious body damage other than what was listed, and all the original documentation INCLUDING the original window sticker. Pics will be coming tomorrow.
 
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@about 114k. Doing the gallery gaskets as a preventative measure. Gaskets were still intact. Found one screw that was completely loose!



Replacing all the guides, main chain, tensioner and waterpump while here.

Almost done putting it all back together lots of work on this one.

Side note , since 70k miles I've ran Valvoline MST 5W40 (left over from when I had my Camaro and now Mobil 1 0W40 (last 4ish OCIs) very clean in here!
 
replace control board
I've done this twice on our oven, that we bought new in 2004.

Also did one for my in-laws in SoFlo. A "technician" came out and told them parts were NLA because it's a Kenmore from 2016/7? :rolleyes:
I did the research, cross-referenced a few part numbers, special ordered a new controller and bingo! Worked like new again.
 
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@about 114k. Doing the gallery gaskets as a preventative measure. Gaskets were still intact. Found one screw that was completely loose!



Replacing all the guides, main chain, tensioner and waterpump while here.

Almost done putting it all back together lots of work on this one.

Side note , since 70k miles I've ran Valvoline MST 5W40 (left over from when I had my Camaro and now Mobil 1 0W40 (last 4ish OCIs) very clean in here!

Yikes! I didn't watch the video yet. Is this a Toyota?
 
Transmission filter/fluid on 2011 Mazda 3 for wife. Someone had been there and used an obscene amount of RTV. Job took 2 hours longer than necessary just cleaning RTV. Ugh, done. Threw in a new air filter as well, way easier than the cabin filter.
 
Today I replaced the rear wheel hubs on our 2015 Subaru Forester with 146k miles. The hubs have been noisy for a while. They are infamous for rusting in the knuckle. They were, but the following technique made short work of it.
Heat the hub on the outside of the brake backing plate, spray PB blaster on the seam. Heat the knuckle on the backside of the brake backing plate, spray PB blasteron the seam. Hit the wheel hub from side to side to unseat it. Clean and liberally apply anti seize on all surfaces during re assembly.

Also pictured are a new serpentine belt tensioner and pulley which I swapped out due to age and mileage.

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I got the tires pumped up on my new Volvo and took it for a quick spin before pulling it in for the night. All things considered, I'm quite happy with the purchase! The interior needs a deep clean and a few cosmetic repairs, but it was a non-smoker car which is huge. The steering wheel is cocked about 30 degrees to the left, it looks like the LF strut took a bit of a whack in the collision but that's an easy fix. At 100k, it could use struts and mounts regardless of their current condition.

It'll need tires for sure, it's wearing a mismatched set of '19 dated Altimax RT43's up front and ANCIENT (circa 2011) Goodyear Assurance's on the rear. Looks like another set of Kumho LX Plat's are in my future, after the suspension is repaired. The center exhaust resonator is rotten at the seams and a little raspy, I've already got a mid-pipe coming that cost me a whopping $35 shipped from eBay.

There's a bit more damage down the left side than I'd seen in the Copart pictures, but it's minor and a good buffing should make the entire car look 10 times better than it does now. I love a good detail day, so I should have my hands full come spring.

The underside is extremely clean for the age and mileage, something that's far from guaranteed here in the Midwest. There's a tiny seep from the turbo oil drain where it enters the pan, and what looks to be a small power steering seep at the pump inlet but otherwise it's dry as a bone. The air filter looks new, drive belt looks new, and I was happy to see a Continental timing belt kit had been installed ~35k ago.

Without further ado:
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