- Joined
- May 16, 2021
- Messages
- 414
I'm sure it takes a while yes. Hoping a yearly "drain and refill", with fresh anti freeze and
distilled water keeps me away from going through that.
What are you working on today?
- Thread starter Amkeer
- Start date
distilled water keeps me away from going through that.
Clean the bleeping engine bay… 
If that's the before picture, I don't know what to say.
Had an interesting one today: 20 years in the industry, and this was a first.
Customer brought her newer Civic in with a vibration complaint. Sure enough, at 55+ it had a wicked "hop" in the left front. The only way to describe it would be to imagine a blown strut combined with an out of balance tire.
Threw it on the hoist... only to discover that the bead on the newly mounted LF tire WASN'T FULLY SEATED! It held air, supported weight, but a good 8" section of the tire was resting below the lip of the rim (steel wheels). We took pictures of everything, inflated the tire to seat the bead, and recommended the owner go back and complain FIRMLY.
Oh, we didn't charge her either. Honestly, we were just happy nothing awful happened.
Customer brought her newer Civic in with a vibration complaint. Sure enough, at 55+ it had a wicked "hop" in the left front. The only way to describe it would be to imagine a blown strut combined with an out of balance tire.
Threw it on the hoist... only to discover that the bead on the newly mounted LF tire WASN'T FULLY SEATED! It held air, supported weight, but a good 8" section of the tire was resting below the lip of the rim (steel wheels). We took pictures of everything, inflated the tire to seat the bead, and recommended the owner go back and complain FIRMLY.
Oh, we didn't charge her either. Honestly, we were just happy nothing awful happened.
Got a foot of snow, heavy packing snow, so it’s been a day of shoveling and plowing. Putting my new invertor to use. Had to jerry rig the breaker panel to get one outlet to power up, so I could feed power to the fiber modem, so I could finally surf the web… no running water but gotta have me some BITOG, got priorities ya know.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2025
Done 4 brake jobs today. Two all around pads and rotors, two just fronts. All upsells from our express techs. I enjoy doing brakes so I didn’t mind it one bit. One oil change. That was about it for me. Hardly no work for anyone today. One guy was doing an all day electrical project and everyone else was doing just basic stuff. Being slow sucks except when you’re hourly and it doesn’t matter lol 
. Tomorrow lined up I have a suspension diagnosis customer is complaining it’s popping when they hit the brakes intermittently so hopefully I can replicate the issue. Also have one brake job and the customer is complaining it feels like the caliper is sticking. So we will verify that tomorrow and see what it is. And I’m sure there will be more flow in too. Wednesday and Friday are usually our busy days.
. Tomorrow lined up I have a suspension diagnosis customer is complaining it’s popping when they hit the brakes intermittently so hopefully I can replicate the issue. Also have one brake job and the customer is complaining it feels like the caliper is sticking. So we will verify that tomorrow and see what it is. And I’m sure there will be more flow in too. Wednesday and Friday are usually our busy days.
I don't want to disparage preventative maintenance, it's a good thing
But in all honesty, the dash on a Gen 4 (00-07) Taurus/Sable is gravy work, you're down to the heater box in ~45 minutes
You'll spend more time fussing under the hood getting the hoses off the nipples
If it's the iron block Vulcan V6, Ford has a Special VC-9 iron removing cleaner, to remove scale and deposits
But changing G-05 yearly would probably keep it clean
Excellent work
Man. I am sore today! went out FOUR times yesterday to clear that "cement". Wife went to work and came home at 1pm! Froze my RH thumb and finger tips on pass 3. Man they hurt when thawing.
And, No the fancy HD Toro Snow blower anticlogging system doesn't work - even with a heavy coating of ArmorAll the in the poly chute and recirc cubby the day before. Now the engine is surging under load and its low on oomph - gotta play with the carb on the LONCIN chinese ONV engine they use I suppose.
But, Thankfully we did not loose power for once. I am on the Brentwood border two miles from RT 125 in NH.
Hope you get juice soon! - Ken
Up near New London. Supposedly they got 19–and we got 26? I think more like 18, but as you said, heavy packing. I plowed twice yesterday and just got back in from shoveling, but that sun is warm and I should have nice clean pavement soon. Pull some snow from the eves, then sit back and wait for the power. [Being lazy and don’t feel like digging my work laptop out, my home office isn’t on the generator, and being in the basement, not heated either.]
Bunch of trees down on our road though, so while I had hoped for power back today, I’m starting to think it’ll be tomorrow. Will make a run out for more gas and water before long, maybe a shower too, friends across town are back online already.
If it wasn’t for the fact that my generator can’t kick the well pump on I’d sit back and call it a nice vacation…
The Ranger is out of the garage much to the joy of my parents. Reattached the TB, filled up the cooling system with distilled water for the first in a series of cooling system flushes. Looks like the Ford dealer used regular green, it’s gonna be switched over to Cor-Guard. Still need to wallet flush it and replace the O2 sensors.
I'm afraid to ask what a "wallet flush" is, LOL. I think that happens every time I take my daughter out for lunch. She's not shy about ordering the most expensive things on the menu.
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- Joined
- Nov 20, 2021
- Messages
- 2,210
Got to poking around on the 86 C10 and discovered the right rear axle seal is leaking. Towed it in the shop and got it tore down. It's getting new axle seals on both sides, new axle bearings on both sides, and new brake shoes and wheel cylinders. Oddly my local store didn't have any of it in stock, won't until tomorrow. So again, a ho hum day.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2023
- Messages
- 1
Not working on today but two weekends ago I changed the spark plugs in our 2010 Toyota Sienna.......4.5 hour job.
That was "fun" 3.5 2GR-FE.
That was "fun" 3.5 2GR-FE.
Those are gravy. 90 min job. Next time, remove the cowl....makes accessing those brackets a lot easier.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2025
Diagnosed the popping when coming to a stop. Ball joint was bad. Replaced both front ball joints as I recommend both. Then done an alignment cause I upsold that too. Tires were wearing on inside edge so I recommend it for that and the ball joint replacement as reason. I always advise to replace things like that in pairs that’s what I learned in school so I always recommend it. Then done the brakes on the car I mentioned yesterday too. Replaced the sticking caliper. That was the issue.
Then had a walk in oil, rotate, state, wiper replacement. I done that, it got towed back. Not my fault but the wheels which moved to the front had wheel weights that were hitting the calipers after they were moved. Didn’t make any noise driving out of the shop. Guy said he hoped on the interstate and it made a loud banging noise so he thought the wheel was coming off. Boss knew it wasn’t my fault he’s like it’s nothing you did you can’t avoid that and you didn’t balance the tires last so it’s nothing you done at all. When the advisor said it was coming back on a tow truck I was nervous as heck. I knew the wheels were tight as I have a process that I follow torquing wheels to make sure it gets done. I don’t let stuff like that bother me knowing it wasn’t my fault. Had it made noise before leaving I would have checked it.
Then had a walk in oil, rotate, state, wiper replacement. I done that, it got towed back. Not my fault but the wheels which moved to the front had wheel weights that were hitting the calipers after they were moved. Didn’t make any noise driving out of the shop. Guy said he hoped on the interstate and it made a loud banging noise so he thought the wheel was coming off. Boss knew it wasn’t my fault he’s like it’s nothing you did you can’t avoid that and you didn’t balance the tires last so it’s nothing you done at all. When the advisor said it was coming back on a tow truck I was nervous as heck. I knew the wheels were tight as I have a process that I follow torquing wheels to make sure it gets done. I don’t let stuff like that bother me knowing it wasn’t my fault. Had it made noise before leaving I would have checked it.
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2021
- Messages
- 2,210
Installed new axle bearings, axle seals brake shoes and wheel cylinders on the 86 C10. Also turned the brake drums. Got the carburetor back around lunch and installed it, dialed it in(just needed idled down a little) and changed the oil. Took in a 2001 Chevrolet S10 with a dead miss on cylinder 6. I'll mess around with it tomorrow.
Just finished putting together my first shop press, the $200 Harbor Freight special, and pressed my first bearing on with it. No more driving across the county to use my buddy's press.
Finally replaced the ignition switch in the Lexus. Symptoms were intermittent 1) no crank, 2) symptoms like poor battery cable connection, 3) normal crank after multiple key cycles. This eventually got worse the past few weeks to where it refused to crank.
Lowered to column to get access to the switch that was located on the back of the lock mechanism. The M4 switch mounting screws were a PITA to remove (and reinstall). The screw threads were upset to provide locking. I replaced them with standard button head socket machine screws. They're not backing out. When I pulled the switch off, its guts fell out.
Successful repair.
Lowered to column to get access to the switch that was located on the back of the lock mechanism. The M4 switch mounting screws were a PITA to remove (and reinstall). The screw threads were upset to provide locking. I replaced them with standard button head socket machine screws. They're not backing out. When I pulled the switch off, its guts fell out.
Successful repair.
Planning a hog wire and cedar fence and gate for the backyard side of the breezeway