What are you working on today?

The Ford. Changed gas cap. CEL on for P0420 and P0430.. maybe will eventually turn itself off.

The other one has no lights or problems. 9 more days.

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On my Kuat bike rack it appeared they anchored the stupid receiver adapter sleeve with an aluminum SHCS. Not surprisingly the head snapped off and the sleeve was floating around which made for a frustrating game of Line-Up-the-Hole each time I used it.

Rather than deal with trying to drill out the broken fastener -- even if it was aluminum -- I opted to just thru-drill a separate hole and drive in a 1/4" roll pin. AFAIC 1.25" receivers can crawl into a corner and die a slow death
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Roll pin in place:
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Tuesday
2010 Ford ranger 4.0 V6
Replaced Valve cover gaskets, plenum seals, several odd coolant hoses, heat control valve, dpfe sensor, changed oil

Wednesday
2001 Buick LeSabre
Replaced front rotors and pads, replaced rear pads, replaced driver's front window regulator

1999 Ford F-150
Repacked front wheel bearings, rotated tires, changed oil
 
It was hectic at work today. Short on people and no shortage of customers lol. Lots of easy work though like oil changes and rotations. It’s rough not up selling anything though because they have raised the prices up so much. It’s almost $100 for both air filters. Almost $300 for a battery replacement including battery. Today I walked in from lunch and a salesman was in my toolboxes getting tools I’m like hey bud what you doing, he said oh just need some tools to put on a roof rack and the service lane manager said you would not mind if I used yours. I said well he is not the one who makes the decisions of who uses my tools. I told him I don’t mind to help him out but don’t get in my tools without my permission that’s a big no. I don’t know why he was installing the roof rack in the first place. Normally we do that.
 
It was hectic at work today. Short on people and no shortage of customers lol. Lots of easy work though like oil changes and rotations. It’s rough not up selling anything though because they have raised the prices up so much. It’s almost $100 for both air filters. Almost $300 for a battery replacement including battery. Today I walked in from lunch and a salesman was in my toolboxes getting tools I’m like hey bud what you doing, he said oh just need some tools to put on a roof rack and the service lane manager said you would not mind if I used yours. I said well he is not the one who makes the decisions of who uses my tools. I told him I don’t mind to help him out but don’t get in my tools without my permission that’s a big no. I don’t know why he was installing the roof rack in the first place. Normally we do that.
Maybe he's a great guy but I wouldn't trust most salesman to hang a small picture and get it right.

Tell him as soon as he pays off your tool truck accounts he can then ask to borrow your tools.....but you'll probably still say NO
 
Strike two on defective aftermarket t-stats, this time on a brand new NAPA/Gates water pump with included t-stat. Head mechanic got me doing a water pump replacement on the company Chevy small flatbed truck. Speedrun through the job then fill system and bring up to temp. After letting it idle for 20 minutes, head mechanic double checked my work and felt the lower radiator hose. Hose felt cold which means t-stat is defective out the box, again.

Hooked a scan tool up to verify temps and coolant temp was hovering at 205F which was the same issue I ran across with the last aftermarket t-stat I installed on my truck. Head mechanic did not clear the truck to run and now waiting for an OEM thermostat.
 
2013 Ford Escape SEL AT cooler line Exchange

I am trying to figure out how to do a cooler line exchange on this Ford 6F35 transmission. The unit has 105,000 miles.

I did 2 drain and fills at 100,000. The fluid was better but still dark. I cannot find any information on a cooler line exchange. The local Ford dealer cannot do an exchange, just drain and fill.

The unit shifts well and has always been gently driven.

I would be grateful for any and all advice.
 
2013 Ford Escape SEL AT cooler line Exchange

I am trying to figure out how to do a cooler line exchange on this Ford 6F35 transmission. The unit has 105,000 miles.

I did 2 drain and fills at 100,000. The fluid was better but still dark. I cannot find any information on a cooler line exchange. The local Ford dealer cannot do an exchange, just drain and fill.

The unit shifts well and has always been gently driven.

I would be grateful for any and all advice.
Drain and refill a few times in a row. Fluid will eventually clear up.
 
1973 Chevrolet Camaro
Installed new hei distributor, spark plugs and plug wires, swapped out one Edelbrock 600 for a rebuilt Edelbrock 600, changed oil

2000 Dodge Ram 2500 V8
Replaced fan clutch, serpentine belt and belt tensioner
 
Previa coolant hose leak and valve cover leak have been resolved. Today's priorities: both drive belts and the wallet flushes.
The wallet flushes are complete.

I only used the finest-quality parts for this 31 yr old beast. Maybe I’ll sell it to @Bill7 🤔

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The engine coolant was drained and refilled twice - each drain removed 8.5 out of the 12 QTs. First time was when I was replaced the water pump, second time was when the hose decided to leak. So, the system should be >90% new coolant. I used a vacuum filler to refill since this van can be a major pain to burp.

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I think I forgot to document the last transmission fluid exchange - the fluid looks unusually clean. Oh well.

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Fluid level is perfect after a 20 mile highway test drive.

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Apparently the last brake fluid flush was in 2014. 😳

Shame on me.

I used up my two open bottles of Honda DOT3 and Toyota DOT3 from March to flush out the reservoir (fluid was black) and used a new 12oz bottle of Advics DOT3 to finish off each caliper. For the fluid exchange, I used my pneumatic vacuum bleeder, followed by old-fashioned manual bleeding.

@atikovi may approve of this final result.

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I forgot to take pictures of the rear differential fluid service but I can assure you that it was done. The fluid had been in there for 50K (M1) and “appeared” more discolored than I expected. I will say that the Valvoline flex-fill packs are a game changer.

Last, but not least. A quality wallet flush is not complete without an oil additive.

(For the record, I DID evacuate some oil via the dipstick tube before adding.)

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Yesterday I applied a can of fluid film to the underside. Today I drained and refilled the coolant. About 1 year/40k on the coolant.

Out: Supertech Asian blue.

In: Same.

Finally transferred to a job closer to home so I can start doing maintenance less often. No more monthly oil change.
 
Just replaced the valve cover gasket and did a Berryman’s piston soak on my 2009 Scion xB. There was still some solvent left in one of the cylinders after 24 hours. When I cranked it to clear out the liquid prior to reinstalling the plugs one of the rags I stuffed in the plug tubes was absolutely soaked with solvent and dislodged carbon particles.

Like the first time, it took a surprising amount of cranking before it started, and it coughed and stumbled a lot before smoothing out. It also smoked a lot for several minutes, though not nearly as bad as before. I filled it with a frankenblend of whatever partial bottles of various grades I had left sitting around with the thought that I probably should dump it relatively soon after dislodging all that carbon.
 
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