What are you working on today?

I'm working on becoming the [booming echo voice] O'Reilly Parking Lot Hero!!

Was at the local O'Reilly and a guy comes in to ask the employee if they could look at his '06 Rav4. He says "it's doing something he's never seen a car do before," which turns out to be the RH wiper not moving but the left behaves normally.

I'm then loading my truck in the parking lot and the employee comes out to observe: yep, one arm moves, one does not. She looks puzzled and tells him to pop the hood -‐ my first clue that she really had no idea what's going on. With the hood up she watches it happen again, then tells the guy she thinks he has a failing wiper motor.

Unable to take it any longer, I step in and pop the access cover on the RH wiper spindle. I tell him to cycle the wiper once more and of course the spindle moves. I say the nut looks like a 14mm because I'm clairvoyant (or maybe because Toyota loves 14mm) and send the wife to her/our truck for her socket set.

The kid is blown away that we carry tools. I'm blown away that anyone doesn't.

Five seconds later the nut was snugged (it was quite loose) and the wiper arm is working again.

I'm working on my superhero suit now. Not sure if it should be tight like The Flash or maybe have a cape like Batman? So many choices.....
 
redhat said:
It has been warmer here lately and I have been noticing that my truck is running warmer than it did last year. Nothing overheating wise, but the temp gauge has been creeping up more than I ever recall.I know they aren't the most accurate gauge, but my cluster has been rebuilt and isn't some failing 20 y/o stepper motors. Just seemed like something wasn't right. So I replaced the thermostat and water pump thinking maybe something is up. No change. Unfortunately all I could get/had on hadn't was a Motorad Ultrastat and a Gates pump.

Back to the drawing board. Did some looking back and noticed that the radiator I put in it back in Feb 2023, during the motor swap, was a 1" core. Looking up different available options, there is a 1-5/16" core with and without engine oil cooler. So I started thinking... maybe the core is too thin? Maybe the radiator is clogging up? Looking in my coolant bottle, I did see some sediment. Also, my radiator hoses are at least 7-years old and some OE. So I pulled the trigger and refreshed the entire cooling system. A few weeks ago, I went to the junkyard and pulled off of a 2010 Tahoe PPV a 7/9 blade 700w K5L heavy duty cooling fan assembly. So I decided to complement them with everything else a K5L heavy duty cooling vehicle would have.

New Gates hoses on everything, new heater hoses, new GM spring clamps (looked up a 2020 Savanah van and bough all the clamps listed for that)... got rid of the worm drive clamps on some things. New GM water pump, new GM thermostat, new coolant bottle, new Denso 1-5/16" core radiator (with engine oil cooler). I figured, if I am putting a radiator in it, it would be cool to have oil cooler lines. So I bought GM oil cooler lines for a Escalade -- wasn't too bad to do once you pull the front driveshaft and lower the front diff a few inches. Used a M8 flange bolt to bolt the line holder to the boss on the block. Even bought the $4 plastic line holder to secure the cooler lines to the back of the fan assembly. Replaced the AC tensioner as that was weak,

Flushed the block and heater core with the garden hose, blew both out as much as I could with the air hose. Filled up with Dexcool concentrate + distilled water aand drove it around a bit. Temps stay excellent. Then again today I drained the radiator and filled with fresh coolant just to cycle through any of the tap water I had in there. I'm not terribly concerned. I may do another drain and fill in a few weeks

Man am I beat, but pleased with the results. Might sound dumb but I am happy to have the additional oil cooling and happy with how cool it is staying. I love how it looks completely factory with the plastic clip and everything. Amazing. Will help when we travel/tow the trailers.

Additionally, with looking at the old radiator, 1/2 of it was gummed up with oily dirt/sediment on the exterior. Shortly after installing that rad (Feb 2023) had a power steering line come off and it sprayed oil everywhere. Perhaps this was also a contributing factor to its decreased efficiency.

One last thing, when I was under the truck, I found a ground that was repaired by a previous mechanic with a horrible crimp ring terminal. Was green and crusty and something that would completely cheeze-me-off when it fails in the middle of winter. Cut it back to clean, new crimp and seal weatherproof ring terminal and a liberal coating of Fluid Film. Glad to have found that.

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Nice work sir. Glad it paid off huge 👍🍻
 
03 accord in sig
the woman text me and said the battery light was coming on when sitting at a stop light. plugged my scanner in, alternator was being commanded @ 99% and system voltage was 10 v. out a new carquest premium unit in it. now idles with ac on full blast, brights in etc at 14.32v.

also, diagnosed a bad anchor branded front motor mount that i installed about a year ago. not going to bother with warranty, we ordered a genuine honda mount.

tore the interior apart and sound deadened the entire floor pan and installed a new carpet kit she ordered. much easier than i figured based on my last few carpet kits. i will be doing this to the 05 in my sig soon.
 
Removed the cowl from the f150, cleaned it, applied adhesion promoter and sprayed it with u-pol bed liner. It’s shrinking and starting to crack so this is a bit of an experience to see if I can stretch its usable life out. A new cowl is $300, so I don’t mind the experiment. Unfortunately, several clips are sacrificial in this arrangement and can’t be reused, and they are not stocked at AZ. Generics from Amazon will be Tuesday.

That looked so good, that the running boards (plastic) and rear bumper topper came off for the same treatment. Ford doesn’t do plastics great - the runnings boards have threaded inserts that hate life, and a couple self-stripped on the way out, which is a real face-palm. Eventually got them together after spraying. They look decent but not spectacular. The cowl looks good. Everything is at least black now.

I like U-pol products but the bed liner spray did spray some drips outward which made it impossible to get a great finish, and both cans, plus the adhesion promoter, started to chuff air while spraying smoothly at half the can. Pretty disappointing when paying $20 per can.

U-pol bed liner spray does not dry rubbery; it dries hard.

Ford cowl clips don’t come up without breaking. It’s a force-it-off and buy replacement parts. Another face palm. Clips are on order.

So PSA. if you take ford oem running boards off, they lose integrity and won’t go back together with the same strengths. If you pop the cowl off, you will need new “cowl retainer clips” for reassembly.

The bed liner looks good on the cowl especially.
 
redhat said:
It has been warmer here lately and I have been noticing that my truck is running warmer than it did last year. Nothing overheating wise, but the temp gauge has been creeping up more than I ever recall.I know they aren't the most accurate gauge, but my cluster has been rebuilt and isn't some failing 20 y/o stepper motors. Just seemed like something wasn't right. So I replaced the thermostat and water pump thinking maybe something is up. No change. Unfortunately all I could get/had on hadn't was a Motorad Ultrastat and a Gates pump.

Back to the drawing board. Did some looking back and noticed that the radiator I put in it back in Feb 2023, during the motor swap, was a 1" core. Looking up different available options, there is a 1-5/16" core with and without engine oil cooler. So I started thinking... maybe the core is too thin? Maybe the radiator is clogging up? Looking in my coolant bottle, I did see some sediment. Also, my radiator hoses are at least 7-years old and some OE. So I pulled the trigger and refreshed the entire cooling system. A few weeks ago, I went to the junkyard and pulled off of a 2010 Tahoe PPV a 7/9 blade 700w K5L heavy duty cooling fan assembly. So I decided to complement them with everything else a K5L heavy duty cooling vehicle would have.

New Gates hoses on everything, new heater hoses, new GM spring clamps (looked up a 2020 Savanah van and bough all the clamps listed for that)... got rid of the worm drive clamps on some things. New GM water pump, new GM thermostat, new coolant bottle, new Denso 1-5/16" core radiator (with engine oil cooler). I figured, if I am putting a radiator in it, it would be cool to have oil cooler lines. So I bought GM oil cooler lines for a Escalade -- wasn't too bad to do once you pull the front driveshaft and lower the front diff a few inches. Used a M8 flange bolt to bolt the line holder to the boss on the block. Even bought the $4 plastic line holder to secure the cooler lines to the back of the fan assembly. Replaced the AC tensioner as that was weak,

Flushed the block and heater core with the garden hose, blew both out as much as I could with the air hose. Filled up with Dexcool concentrate + distilled water aand drove it around a bit. Temps stay excellent. Then again today I drained the radiator and filled with fresh coolant just to cycle through any of the tap water I had in there. I'm not terribly concerned. I may do another drain and fill in a few weeks

Man am I beat, but pleased with the results. Might sound dumb but I am happy to have the additional oil cooling and happy with how cool it is staying. I love how it looks completely factory with the plastic clip and everything. Amazing. Will help when we travel/tow the trailers.

Additionally, with looking at the old radiator, 1/2 of it was gummed up with oily dirt/sediment on the exterior. Shortly after installing that rad (Feb 2023) had a power steering line come off and it sprayed oil everywhere. Perhaps this was also a contributing factor to its decreased efficiency.

One last thing, when I was under the truck, I found a ground that was repaired by a previous mechanic with a horrible crimp ring terminal. Was green and crusty and something that would completely cheeze-me-off when it fails in the middle of winter. Cut it back to clean, new crimp and seal weatherproof ring terminal and a liberal coating of Fluid Film. Glad to have found that.

View attachment 227736

View attachment 227737

View attachment 227738

View attachment 227739
Click to expand...
nothing makes me happier than GMT800 owners finding all the “newer” parts that fit and improve quality of life. the GMT800 platform is and will forever be my favorite vehicle platform. those K5L fans move some serious air don’t they? the engine oil cooler is a fine addition, GM added them to the escalades and 3/4ton gassers of the era but now anything gm V8 powered has them standard (truck/suv). cant hurt to have the cooling and heating potential.
 
BrendanC said:
nothing makes me happier than GMT800 owners finding all the “newer” parts that fit and improve quality of life. the GMT800 platform is and will forever be my favorite vehicle platform. those K5L fans move some serious air don’t they? the engine oil cooler is a fine addition, GM added them to the escalades and 3/4ton gassers of the era but now anything gm V8 powered has them standard (truck/suv). cant hurt to have the cooling and heating potential.
Click to expand...
I love the 800s but based solely on comfort if I had to travel cross country the 900 is more comfortable for me.

That said, the 900 with which I have the most seat time is my non-profit's '08 2500. It got the REALLY stupid TINY climate control interface. It's down really low with tiny digital numbers and symbols and even in my late 30's (when my vision was pretty good for the average human) I struggled to see it.

Also HATE the GMT900 4wd knob selector -- again, TINY orange lights to tell you if you're in 4hi, and hidden behind the steering wheel at that.

It's as though it was designed by people with better than 20/20 vision who only drive in low light conditions (both of my complaints are further washed out in bright daylight)
 
clinebarger said:
Probably depends on many variables, I don't carry tools unless I'm traveling or know I'm going to need them.
Click to expand...
Meh, just depends on where you live and how you most use your vehicles.

All of ours are potentially on-site service vehicles for the non-profit we volunteer for, and we live rural. 35 acres is a small lot.
 
BrendanC said:
nothing makes me happier than GMT800 owners finding all the “newer” parts that fit and improve quality of life. the GMT800 platform is and will forever be my favorite vehicle platform. those K5L fans move some serious air don’t they? the engine oil cooler is a fine addition, GM added them to the escalades and 3/4ton gassers of the era but now anything gm V8 powered has them standard (truck/suv). cant hurt to have the cooling and heating potential.
Click to expand...
Yes they sure do! Even on low they move a significant amount of air. I connected my MDI clone w/Tech2Win and commanded the fan relays... wow do they move air on high-speed... sheesh.

800s are my favorite platform as well. I don't think I bring it up much, but I've had for many years a 2005 2500HD 6.0 currently sitting inside, off the road, that in the next year or two I want to go through. That will be the eventual no-winter tow-pig. I truly think these were the peak of GM trucks. I have driven plenty of 14-up Silverados and cannot get comfortable in them. I really enjoy the interior layout, comfort, having temp/compass in the mirror and not hidden because CarPlay has your infotainment on your screen, lol. Radio dies, replace it, HVAC dies, replace the controls... there's something to be said about modules being separate pieces and not extensively intertwined.

Fortunately this Tahoe is in decent enough shape for a NY truck (lived in NC until 2016). When it comes time to replace, I think I'd be pretty hard pressed to not go down your way and bring another truck up. Our Suburban lived in DFW-area until Jan 2021, so I know how spotless they are. They are beyond stupid simple to work on and parts should be around for ages. The only thing that I do think about, and it isn't an everyday need, is if/when GM ever stops supporting certain older vehicles on TechLine Connect or SPS2 for programming/replacing modules. Again it isn't everyday that you need that, but if you do, you do.

With that said, one of my side-barred projects currently is fixing an actual Vertronix Tech2 that I have. I have a 2009-era DVD copy of GM SPS, either the last or one of the last DVD releases. I have an older Dell Inspiron with an SSD and fresh install of Windows XP... Once I fix that Tech2, and with an up-to 2009 copy of GM SPS module calibrations, I could potentially keep these things going in infinitum. I've also been collecting as many BINs of stock calibrations I can with a J-box and Universal Patcher/PCMHammer in the event HPT gets knocked by the EPA.

Good to keep these old things running.
 
D60 said:
I love the 800s but based solely on comfort if I had to travel cross country the 900 is more comfortable for me.

That said, the 900 with which I have the most seat time is my non-profit's '08 2500. It got the REALLY stupid TINY climate control interface. It's down really low with tiny digital numbers and symbols and even in my late 30's (when my vision was pretty good for the average human) I struggled to see it.

Also HATE the GMT900 4wd knob selector -- again, TINY orange lights to tell you if you're in 4hi, and hidden behind the steering wheel at that.

It's as though it was designed by people with better than 20/20 vision who only drive in low light conditions (both of my complaints are further washed out in bright daylight)
Click to expand...
I find 900 seats comfortable, much better to me (bigger guy) than the 14-up trucks. Especially the latest gen Silverado... maybe its just the base model seats in Dad's 2022 W/T, but those I do not like for long drives.
 
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2009 Honda Pilot. 210k miles. Lube day.
It just did a couple thousand miles on our Florida vacation. Not a single hiccup along the way. That's why I love this Pilot. So time to refresh its fluids, and probably refresh those yellow headlights.
- AmazonBasics 0W-40 A3/B4 and Honda A02 in for the engine.
- Honda DW-1 for the transmission.
For anyone wondering: 4qts of DW-1 and OEM oil filter were $49.16 from local dealer. Cheap enough to go OE ATF every Drain&Fill.

1000023764.jpg
 
The BEFORE is in post above^^^.

Here is DURING, sanding with 1500 grit:
1000023765.jpg


And here is the AFTER:
1000023766.jpg


Cleans up ok, but the inside is damaged. So next time will probably replace the headlight assemblies, as well as repair that "fender bender" on passenger side.
But for now - 1500 sandpaper, followed by "PlastiX" compound, followed by 5 coats of "NuFinish".
1000023767.jpg
1000023768.jpg
 
As mentioned in mu P0111 thread, had some ongoing issues with my Ram 2017 3500. P2281 popped up and likely the P0102 never went away.

When I last worked on the truck, I inadvertently left the MAF sensor harness off setting the code. The harness plugged back in but felt tight and code did not clear. Drove fine, as it should clear after somw drive cycles.

800km towing, no issues. Another 800 this last week and popped a code on the first half. On the return it derated but after a stop start cycle it ran fine.

Found the codes active and checked air filter, intake, boost tubes and my make shift EGR block off plates. All secure.

Cleaned the MAF and connectors. Battery disconnect and codes cleared. Runs fine but noticed the tuner must have got bumped at some point to the extreme setting. Oh well, will see how it all pans out.
 
The landscape/lawn service trailer I've modified returned. He wanted an angle iron frame on the tongue to bungee down his blowers. He was specific he didn't want a box with high walls, so I came up with this which he approved. This is my blower for illustration purposes-- he uses engine driven Stihls.
20240629_150715.jpg
20240629_150724.jpg

He also hated the ramp latches that came on the trailer, and both had failed and lost their springs because Carry On = the Dorman of trailers. He wanted me to use these pins he already had, so I came up with this. Much more secure and rattles less than the old setup down low.

After paint I attached chain to the pins so they can't be set aside and lost
20240629_212425.jpg
20240629_212443.jpg
 
clinebarger said:
Techline Connect/SPS2 has been running pretty good lately......I send GM many $45 payments each month.
Click to expand...
I hadn’t used it in a while and had to go through about a 35 minute update/install. Had a friend who did a write entire on a P59 with aftermarket radio and a weak battery. Ended up bricking it. They then somehow melted a hole in the PCB trying to short the one solder joint thinking they needed to solder to it.

I get called, show up and am like what are you trying to do. Had them get another P59 from the wrecking yard and did a R&R with the latest calibration per VIN.
 
D60 said:
Now installing the third Duralast Gold distributor in the '00 Xterra.
View attachment 226562
I've got an OEM on order from nissanoempartsdirect.com but they totally ghosted me the last week. No shipping info provided and no response to my inquiry. I'll have to get medieval tomorrow (Monday) and if no progress dispute the charge and order elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Don't be surprised if the Nissan VA part isn't anything special
I went through this with my 3.3 VG in my Villager

Post your latest parts purchase

It's the final OCI for the disappointment of a leased 2020 XT4 It's got 16k on it, this will be OCI 3 or 4 Warren SP 0w20, and the OE PF66 filter Should be adequate until the lease runs out in 4 months
bobistheoilguy.com

While prohibitively expensive, there's one good reman left
www.ebay.com

Motorcraft DA-2100 Distributor Asy Synchronizer XF5Z-12127-BBRM | eBay

NOS Original part with original box / bag or label. Genuine Part. Also Ford has two types of numbers for each part, one is the Part Number this number is the one you will find printed on the box / label or bag of the part, the other one is the ID or Stamping Number this number is the one you...
www.ebay.com
Here's a new Nissan part for less, I'd move fast 😲
www.ebay.com

Genuine Nissan Distributor Assembly B2100-0W00JNW | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Genuine Nissan Distributor Assembly B2100-0W00JNW at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
 
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I got called out to the car service my dad works for, because they got the word that I'm an expert on Keys now 🤔

2013 Dodge Grand Caravan that was intermittently not starting, until it wouldn't start at all
They had 3 different keys for it, all of which triggered "bad key" on the odometer screen
I tested them with the Autel KM100, all were dead RF wise
I knew they were the correct key for the particular van, they're labeled and the mechanical key cut was correct 🔍

I had one new Mopar Fobik left, but I wasn't sure if I could add a key without being able to actually turn the ignition on
I also didn't know if you can do "all keys lost" with only one new key to hand 🤷‍♂️

30 seconds later I had the Immo pin code, and 30 seconds later key # 8 was married to the PCM 🙄
Cue round of applause from shop bystanders who were tinkering with this van for a week 👏
They swapped TIPMs, the WIM, various wiring tomfoolery 🤨

Then I showed them the trick where I can drive away in any of their Prius's in a few minutes
That one kinda scared them

Kia Boyz ain't got nothing on me 😏
The owner came out and asked me to order a few Toyota proximity keys, and some Mopar fobiks to keep on hand for future use
It's a fleet of at least ~80 mostly 2010+ Prius/Prius V and '11-'20 Mopar Vans

Might be an agreeable side hustle for me 🧐
 
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