Trenched 110 feet for a new water line to the horse stables, and while I am there another 30 feet for a water line to the workshop. All the PEX A fittings are coming in the next few days. I am thankful for PEX, straight trenches basically didn’t matter. Giant underground Volkswagen sized rocks made that impossible anyway.
What are you working on today?
- Thread starter Amkeer
- Start date
2016 Buick Encore: serviced transmission, flushed coolant, replaced two-piece lugnuts with McGard.
Anyone who's ever handled one-piece lugnuts knows they feel heavier in hand. I engaged super geek mode and decided to weigh them. OEM 2-piece is 1.4 oz:
McGard is nearly 30% heavier at 1.8 oz:
I'm not a McGard fan boi, but O'Reilly can usually get them same-day from our local hub.
Now, for Sir Rants-A-Lot: I wanted to remove the front splash shield to get at the radiator drain. This requires FOUR bolts with a 10mm head, SIX bolts with a 7mm head, TWO bolts T20 Torx, and TWO push pins. There is no excuse for this, every one of these fasteners could be identical. And can we just stop with the 7mm already?? Just use 8mm.
With only 36,350 mi on the (old lady) vehicle, the Dex VI was pretty much black. So, if you have one of these weird little 1.4Ts with whatever transmission they glue onto it, I might spill 'n fill more often than normal.
Anyone who's ever handled one-piece lugnuts knows they feel heavier in hand. I engaged super geek mode and decided to weigh them. OEM 2-piece is 1.4 oz:
McGard is nearly 30% heavier at 1.8 oz:
I'm not a McGard fan boi, but O'Reilly can usually get them same-day from our local hub.
Now, for Sir Rants-A-Lot: I wanted to remove the front splash shield to get at the radiator drain. This requires FOUR bolts with a 10mm head, SIX bolts with a 7mm head, TWO bolts T20 Torx, and TWO push pins. There is no excuse for this, every one of these fasteners could be identical. And can we just stop with the 7mm already?? Just use 8mm.
With only 36,350 mi on the (old lady) vehicle, the Dex VI was pretty much black. So, if you have one of these weird little 1.4Ts with whatever transmission they glue onto it, I might spill 'n fill more often than normal.
Just the usual woes of loving in a cold and desolate wasteland.....
Couldn't figure out why the 6amp battery tender could not top up the dual batteries in the 3500. They are new and this thing has been plugged in for weeks. Well, the **** thing died.
Then went to start the Ford Flex, which of course was dead and no cords reached. Its charging now.
I have to head to town to pick up some 3 amp tenders for the Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500.
The other night I went to plug the 1500 in, finding the block heater cord so short, I cant even run it out of the hood safely. Must be the cold? Then I tried to unwind the new extension cord, only for the insulation to crack apart.
Its cold but not even that bad. Our ambient dipped into the low -30s but thats it.
Couldn't figure out why the 6amp battery tender could not top up the dual batteries in the 3500. They are new and this thing has been plugged in for weeks. Well, the **** thing died.
Then went to start the Ford Flex, which of course was dead and no cords reached. Its charging now.
I have to head to town to pick up some 3 amp tenders for the Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500.
The other night I went to plug the 1500 in, finding the block heater cord so short, I cant even run it out of the hood safely. Must be the cold? Then I tried to unwind the new extension cord, only for the insulation to crack apart.
Its cold but not even that bad. Our ambient dipped into the low -30s but thats it.
Finished the next round.....
The service tech never showed to fix the 325's hydraulic issue. They figure its a control valve. Turns out he is sick and no one else around to ket us know....
The 318G decided to give us hvac fan issues again. Not fun to run this thing in the cold with no heat. If you had no heat it better be an open cab so the stupid windows don't ice up. ... as usual, the connectors had a poor bite ot more corrosion. Cleaned them up with contact cleaner, dielectric grease and crimped them down a bit more. The fan works again. Of course you have to raise the boom, pop the cab and then contort your gibbled hips to get at it.
I just want to give JD a shout out for a fantastically poor design on this. The fan, wiring, connectors, relays, etc are all encapsulated in the duct work. Cool.... except that the fresh air intake has little protection from moisture. This moisture then circulates over all this electrical stuff...... hmmmm. When working in the rain, the filter gets soaked and then you have to mop up standing water in the ducting.
To top it all off, there is a kids camp going on here today, so old Brian with his narrow window of tolerance, has to mind his language.
The service tech never showed to fix the 325's hydraulic issue. They figure its a control valve. Turns out he is sick and no one else around to ket us know....
The 318G decided to give us hvac fan issues again. Not fun to run this thing in the cold with no heat. If you had no heat it better be an open cab so the stupid windows don't ice up. ... as usual, the connectors had a poor bite ot more corrosion. Cleaned them up with contact cleaner, dielectric grease and crimped them down a bit more. The fan works again. Of course you have to raise the boom, pop the cab and then contort your gibbled hips to get at it.
I just want to give JD a shout out for a fantastically poor design on this. The fan, wiring, connectors, relays, etc are all encapsulated in the duct work. Cool.... except that the fresh air intake has little protection from moisture. This moisture then circulates over all this electrical stuff...... hmmmm. When working in the rain, the filter gets soaked and then you have to mop up standing water in the ducting.
To top it all off, there is a kids camp going on here today, so old Brian with his narrow window of tolerance, has to mind his language.
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2005
- Messages
- 10,255
Today was my day off from work; I work a 9/80 schedule. Planned to do absolutely nothing but rest, but ended up replacing an old electrical outlet in my den. Didn't do more than 1 because my back and knees didn't like it. My house has a bunch of outlets that have backstab only connections, and appear to be original to the house which was built in 1978. Slowly getting them all replaced because we painted the rooms white and the outlets are black. 4 more to go, but no rush.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
A 9 YO decided to open the sunroof on the Mercedes 
and it stuck open (clack, clack, clack- nope ain't' gonna). Had to pull the rearview mirror and overhead switch console and crank it closed with a ratchet. First I lubed the slides up well with TW2000 and I won't worry about opening it again until Spring. 
The mirror is a total pain to make clip back in place. I was afraid I would break it.
and it stuck open (clack, clack, clack- nope ain't' gonna). Had to pull the rearview mirror and overhead switch console and crank it closed with a ratchet. First I lubed the slides up well with TW2000 and I won't worry about opening it again until Spring. The mirror is a total pain to make clip back in place. I was afraid I would break it.
Alright, last round of the day. I managed to install the battery tender in the Ram 1500 and tie it in with the block heater. Went well other than ham boning the wiring through the conduit above the fire wall. I ended up getting a smaller, 1.5 amp smart charger instead of the 3 amp "simple yet smart series" I normally get. It has some different modes and a variety of chargers on my fleet of garbage is not a bad thing.
Its going to sit in overnight to thaw out and be replaced with the Jeep tomorrow.
As a side note, my spelling is atrocious using this stupid phone. I really detsest not having a physical button to push. I am most certainly slow in the head and do not take well to technology.
Its going to sit in overnight to thaw out and be replaced with the Jeep tomorrow.
As a side note, my spelling is atrocious using this stupid phone. I really detsest not having a physical button to push. I am most certainly slow in the head and do not take well to technology.
Per the power company had to cut the tree’s a distance from the future new power poles.. nothing sketchy at all lol. None landed on the road at least and I’m still alive.
I have been obsessing too long about how short the bed is on my RTV. I have a second parts machine and tonight I needed a break from the water line repairs. I believe I have about 26 inches of clearance including the tailgate before the bed tilted hits the ground, giving a nearly 5 foot bed length as the end product.
A bit of rust needed to be wire wheeled off, and some more later on, but I was able to cut exactly what I needed off another bed, and mocked up it will look pretty good once welded up.
A bit of rust needed to be wire wheeled off, and some more later on, but I was able to cut exactly what I needed off another bed, and mocked up it will look pretty good once welded up.
The kids would be learning some new vocabulary if I was working on it.
Finished mounting the battery tender on the Jeep. Tied it in at the fuse block and ran the wiring under the plastic cover over the rad. Seems to work. Ran out of good zip ties so I made it work. Nothing fancy.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2026
Installed 4 new tires on moms Camry and then done an alignment and state inspection and machined the front rotors. It’s nice being at work when there’s no customers and no workers. Mom was mad the whole time because she wants a RAV4 and hasn’t been able to get one because she wants $200 payments instead of spending money on this car.
New WW hose and nozzles on 2015 F250. Over time the heat cycles make the plastic nozzles brittle and they snap. Press the WW button and it dumps a few squirts of WW fluid on your engine. I replaced one nozzle but when working to clean out the hose from pieces of plastic a plastic tee snapped. So I tugged a little on the other nozzle and it snapped. So two new nozzles and hose assembly and good for another 150K miles.
I believe on the 2015 PSD the turbo is between the two heads on top of the engine where the intake manifold is on most engines. One of the WW nozzles is pretty much on top of that area. So I guess it gets hot there
Ford should be able to figure out a better type or quality of plastic for the WW nozzles.
I believe on the 2015 PSD the turbo is between the two heads on top of the engine where the intake manifold is on most engines. One of the WW nozzles is pretty much on top of that area. So I guess it gets hot there
Ford should be able to figure out a better type or quality of plastic for the WW nozzles.
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2005
- Messages
- 10,255
Replaced 4 more electrical outlets today. Out with the old 1978 backstab-only outlets, and in with commercial grade 15A outlets with back wiring (not backstab). Probably going to start using the Decora Lever Edge outlets going forward. They're more expensive but easier to install, especially for a DIYer like me who doesn't do this work every day.
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DRL bulbs on a '18 Compass
As far as Stellantis stupidity goes, not too bad
4 bolts in the wheel well, and a pick to depress the lock tabs
$31 + tax for a bulb was highway robbery tho, RockAuto to the rescue
Like any newish car, it sets fault codes for everything
I wonder if this early built MY18 doesn't have SGW, because it didn't prompt me for it, and I could clear codes with ease
The '25 Snap On Triton was utilized
It also needed 1.5qts of oil
The reflash helped, but did not completely cure the oil consumption
As far as Stellantis stupidity goes, not too bad
4 bolts in the wheel well, and a pick to depress the lock tabs
$31 + tax for a bulb was highway robbery tho, RockAuto to the rescue
Like any newish car, it sets fault codes for everything
I wonder if this early built MY18 doesn't have SGW, because it didn't prompt me for it, and I could clear codes with ease
The '25 Snap On Triton was utilized
It also needed 1.5qts of oil
The reflash helped, but did not completely cure the oil consumption
All trenching finished Friday, 2 pipes laid today, the main pump house lines with cutoff switches connected, no leaks. Buried 95 percent of the trenches, will finish the two faucets and plug the line to the workshop for another day.
Slowly getting rid of the stupid stuff the previous owners of my WRX have done. Biggest thing was the darn wing. Thought I found a trunk that was exactly the right color, but turned out not so. I'll get it painted when it warms up.
What I started with
"New" trunk
Installed and sorta adjusted. Body shop will do the final.
Removed salvage yard writing
While I had the heater out, I did a quick late winter mini-detail. Rinseless wash, ceramic quick detailer, and scrubbed the windows.
Long story short, but I got a trunk that is the proper color and a guy 2 hours South in Virginia has a trunk with an STI wing... Threw it on real quick after work today.
Today, I changed the oil in the wife's car and then got to get Dad's old tap and die set out to fix the screws that snapped off while changing the license plates on my daughter's new Highlander.
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My wife does a lot of "biscuit eating racoon" and "cheese and rice." But me....nah, it's full-on no filter R-rated.
ANYWAY, mechanical stuff today: ran around with the wife then realized when I parked at our house the new-to-us '15 Tundra was at 142,000 exactly. I'm easily amused.
Then yesterday the heated steering wheel in our JL magically started working after several years of being inop. I had remembered reading that there was sometimes a wiring issue here even though most want to blame a failed "Comfort Module."
I did a short 3-mile drive and noted an odd sweet smell. I asked myself what was different today: hmm, the heated steering wheel is working. I shut it off and the smell slowly dissipated.
I removed the airbag today to check the connector and it's exactly like other failures I've seen:
I had to tug HARD to get it apart because it had fused itself. Note portions of the white male (BOOOO!! -- feel guilty for being white male!!) plug left behind:
New harness and clock spring on order