What are you working on today?

A client has this monstrosity for a piece of machinery. It's always been problematic for them and I feel the whole thing is just poorly designed.
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Anyway the shaft keeps walking in these pillow blocks but they said the present spacing was appropriate, so I machined two spacers (left and right) such that when I pressed the top bearing both bearings traveled together. You can see the line where it was:
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The manufacturer of said equipment told them there should be divots in the shaft where the set screws reside, but there are none. Of course the manufacturer gave them the, "It's the first time we've heard of this" line

They wanted me to create divots so I thru-drilled one of the 7/16-20 set screws on the lathe. I then installed this crude guide into every hole and drilled a 9/64" starter hole, then removed the set screw and hand drilled 5/16" (which is about the major diameter of the set screw cup point). I was able to do them all without damaging the female threads

Here you can see my crude guide and the shaft has been drilled 5/16" in the hole:
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1978 Ford F-100 300 inline 6
Replaced broken choke cable, made a minor idle adjustment on the carburetor, changed oil

Spent the rest of the day doing inventory
 
Super busy at work today. I turned 21.4 hours. Done a bunch of recalls. A couple tires and some flat repairs. Also a TPMS sensor as well for one that was dead. My parents came by for a state inspection on mom’s Camry since it’s free because she bought it there.

Today the debate in the shop was whether or not people use anti seize on spark plugs. I’m in camp yes because I’ve had very seized plugs before that have required the use of pipes and very large ratchets or breaker bars and I’ve pulled threads trying to get plugs out. Once you’ve done that you’ll definitely use it. I personally don’t care what the manufacturer says they aren’t the ones taking out the plugs and their coating doesn’t work most of the time. Found out only me and the 81 year old mechanic are the only ones who do. I use anti seize on everything except wheel studs lol. I hate seized up stuff and stuck wheels and brake rotors so I put it on there so it won’t be seized up next time. I usually have to buy my own anti seize though because I’m limited to one bottle every 3 months now and since I keep 3 kinds on hand I usually run out of at least one that I use the most lol. They got tired of me always asking for $30 bottles of nickel anti seize and $20 bottles of copper so I have to get them on my own. I usually have them get the silver for me. I don’t know why they make a big deal about it I guess because the shop snitch teachers pet told on me lol. But overall I’m in camp anti seize on everything except wheel studs. The only exception is Subaru wheel studs because they cross thread all the time so I do use anti seize on those and reduce torque and on the GR86 since it’s a Subaru with Toyota badges.
 
AutoMechanic said:
Super busy at work today. I turned 21.4 hours. Done a bunch of recalls. A couple tires and some flat repairs. Also a TPMS sensor as well for one that was dead. My parents came by for a state inspection on mom’s Camry since it’s free because she bought it there.

Today the debate in the shop was whether or not people use anti seize on spark plugs. I’m in camp yes because I’ve had very seized plugs before that have required the use of pipes and very large ratchets or breaker bars and I’ve pulled threads trying to get plugs out. Once you’ve done that you’ll definitely use it. I personally don’t care what the manufacturer says they aren’t the ones taking out the plugs and their coating doesn’t work most of the time. Found out only me and the 81 year old mechanic are the only ones who do. I use anti seize on everything except wheel studs lol. I hate seized up stuff and stuck wheels and brake rotors so I put it on there so it won’t be seized up next time. I usually have to buy my own anti seize though because I’m limited to one bottle every 3 months now and since I keep 3 kinds on hand I usually run out of at least one that I use the most lol. They got tired of me always asking for $30 bottles of nickel anti seize and $20 bottles of copper so I have to get them on my own. I usually have them get the silver for me. I don’t know why they make a big deal about it I guess because the shop snitch teachers pet told on me lol. But overall I’m in camp anti seize on everything except wheel studs. The only exception is Subaru wheel studs because they cross thread all the time so I do use anti seize on those and reduce torque and on the GR86 since it’s a Subaru with Toyota badges.
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I’m not a mechanic so have little experience with it but I replaced the muffler on my old 93 Tercel last year. It lasted over a decade and because I used anti seize back in the day, I was able to remove it with hand tools, with no trouble or extra effort.

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AutoMechanic said:
people use anti seize on spark plugs. I’m in camp yes because I’ve had very seized plugs before that have required the use of pipes and very large ratchets or breaker bars and I’ve pulled threads trying to get plugs out. Once you’ve done that you’ll definitely use it. I personally don’t care what the manufacturer says they aren’t the ones taking out the plugs and their coating doesn’t work most of the time. Found out only me and the 81 year old mechanic are the only ones who do. I use anti seize on everything except wheel studs lol. I hate seized up stuff and stuck wheels and brake rotors so I put it on there so it won’t be seized up next time. I usually have to buy my own anti seize though because I’m limited to one bottle every 3 months now and since I keep 3 kinds on hand I usually run out of at least one that I use the most lol. They got tired of me always asking for $30 bottles of nickel anti seize and $20 bottles of copper so I have to get them on my own. I usually have them get the silver for me. I don’t know why they make a big deal about it I guess because the shop snitch teachers pet told on me lol.
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Dealership life is great hey? They seem to be able to afford anything except whatever the mechanics need. We don’t have to deal with rust where I am but the first dealer I worked for made us buy our own loctite because they were (insert australian word here). While people probably were using too much, effectively discouraging the use of it on critical components seemed counter productive.

Do yourself a favour and get into fleet or mining.
 
clinebarger said:
Got the engine out of the '14 Ram, Decided to pull the cab just to see how it went.....Don't think I'll do it any other way now!!
Had the cab up in 45 minutes after watching a few tutorials on Eco Diesel cab pulls.

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What are your thoughts on adding a few ratchet straps from the lift arms to the cab for extra insurance?
 
Test running the generator due to the snow-ice storm headed our way. Collecting the drop cords. Topping off the fuel cans. Pulling the snow shovel and my boots forward in the garage. I have found that the preparation that’s done, the less likely there will be a need for the equipment.
 
The Critic said:
2) Another neighbor came over for a first oil change at 5K on his new Toyota. I didn't even have to rotate the tires; he is going to claim his Toyotacare 5K.
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Rotated the tires for him. He decided against the idea of a 2 hr wait at the dealer for a 5K service (tire rotation and MPI).
 
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Got the Hemi tore down & inspected, Better shape than I thought it would be in.

The metal was in the bottom of the oil pan & on the 4 MDS Solenoid magnets, The VVT Solenoid is fairly clean.
Cam Bearings are in really good shape.
The Rod & Main bearing had some embedded debris....But the crank will polish out at standard.
Bores measured out good.
Has a worn Intake Pushrod....Not on the dead #5 but on the opposite bank #7
Threw the heads in the parts washer....Got 5 broken exhaust manifold bolts that need extracted.

I use a small slide hammer & wood screw to remove the MDS Solenoids after breaking the tops off & drilling a .093" hole in the plastic body.

I disassembled the offending lifter & the Axle has quite a bit of wear, All needles were intact/present having a lot off taper wear on one end.
The Camshaft....The failed lobe is so damaged, Nothing can really be discerned. Still have my reservations about using SADI cam cores with rollers based on how some of the other lobes look.

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2004 Dodge Ram 1500 2wd
Replaced upper control arms and lower ball joints, replaced front brake rotors and pads, replaced air filter, changed oil

2009 Nissan Armada 5.6 V8
Replaced spark plugs, ignition coil boots, air filter, changed oil
 
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