What are you working on today?
- Thread starter Amkeer
- Start date
Mass Air Flow and Throttle Body cleaning on my son's Forte. It has 198k and not sure it was ever done prior, I know I didn't in the past 5 years and about 50k.
I opened the TB flap slowly and held it open with a screwdriver handle. Microfiber rag stuffed in to capture junk, a bunch of good sprays and a small bottle brush to get all as good as possible. Afterward I gave all of it a good wipe with the microfiber. The MF was dirty afterward and all spots I could see were clean. I didn't take the TB off, didn't want to deal with gaskets and coolant lines.
I don't know if MAF was still damp inside or just all the rest but it cranked a lot before starting. Seems to idle a bit smoother, maybe placebo. It goes in for a Transmission mount in the morning.
I opened the TB flap slowly and held it open with a screwdriver handle. Microfiber rag stuffed in to capture junk, a bunch of good sprays and a small bottle brush to get all as good as possible. Afterward I gave all of it a good wipe with the microfiber. The MF was dirty afterward and all spots I could see were clean. I didn't take the TB off, didn't want to deal with gaskets and coolant lines.
I don't know if MAF was still damp inside or just all the rest but it cranked a lot before starting. Seems to idle a bit smoother, maybe placebo. It goes in for a Transmission mount in the morning.
I got the Polaris Trail 550 up and running. Set the carb slides at 1/4" which got me a very low idle. Synced the slides and idle screws, then brought it up to a nice even idle. Air screws at 1.5 turns out. Runs really nice.
Began working on the battery start. Tested key switch and have continuity with key crank. Checked further and have battery power at solenoid at crank. No click and no continuity when energized. Likely thats the culprit.
Began working on the battery start. Tested key switch and have continuity with key crank. Checked further and have battery power at solenoid at crank. No click and no continuity when energized. Likely thats the culprit.
You could probably blame it on Mr. Rusty Contacts
Finished the axles I was clearance cutting. Had several orders. Worked on a few link bar orders. Had to replace the bolts that hold the compound to the way on the lathe, which required R&I of both. Was going to take pictures but I was pressed for time. Took about an hour and a half. Tomorrow I'm going to do a few things to the Ford.
Boys and I worked on cleaning the creek today. Pulled 11 tires I think.. pulled out I think 5-6 last May before the tractor. Also a axle and one spring bunch of other little junk. Pulled out 6 bug trees that fell. Whats bad is this creek feeds our pond and the cities water source is the next pond down. They’ve probably been there for 20 years.
Sons 2019 4Runner.
Removed element3 pads that were squeaking bad from 3 months of use and replaced with the Autozone “OEM” (premium) pads. Not only were they silent, but the modulation was far better as well, all 4 wheels. ATF drain fill, oil change, PS drain fill and rotated the tires.
Of note: the last oil change was performed by a Toyota dealer in Arizona. During the OC we discovered that the fill cap required pliers to remove, and internally had shattered with plastic disappearing somewhere into the interior of the engine. When we pulled out the filter cartridge, we found a wrong size cartridge that was so short that oil could pass through unfiltered. The right size went back in.
Maxlife ATF with a very small splash of lubegaurd red went in the transmission. Runs and drives like a new car with 130k on it.
Removed element3 pads that were squeaking bad from 3 months of use and replaced with the Autozone “OEM” (premium) pads. Not only were they silent, but the modulation was far better as well, all 4 wheels. ATF drain fill, oil change, PS drain fill and rotated the tires.
Of note: the last oil change was performed by a Toyota dealer in Arizona. During the OC we discovered that the fill cap required pliers to remove, and internally had shattered with plastic disappearing somewhere into the interior of the engine. When we pulled out the filter cartridge, we found a wrong size cartridge that was so short that oil could pass through unfiltered. The right size went back in.
Maxlife ATF with a very small splash of lubegaurd red went in the transmission. Runs and drives like a new car with 130k on it.
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2005
- Messages
- 10,255
Installed a new OEM battery in my 2016 BMW 535d and registered it using Bimmerlink. My back hurts from lifting the old battery out of the trunk and hoisting the new one in. Those BMW batteries are HEAVY!
+2, it would have to be a direct hit to matter. And if the owner left the hitch in, more bad news for the guy hitting him.
First repair (not maintenance) on my Prius Prime:
Dome light wasn't coming on with the door. Switch up in the dome light cluster had loose contacts. Dismantled per a YouTube video (of course) but added an o-ring around the pair of contacts to keep constant tension on them. Dome light units on these cars snap into the roof metal with four "clicky pins" and need a trim tool to yeet down.
Also removed the warm glow of the 194 incandescent bulbs and replaced them with some slightly greenish Chinese LEDs.
Got the polarity right on both of them, first shot, a one in four chance, doc!
Dome light wasn't coming on with the door. Switch up in the dome light cluster had loose contacts. Dismantled per a YouTube video (of course) but added an o-ring around the pair of contacts to keep constant tension on them. Dome light units on these cars snap into the roof metal with four "clicky pins" and need a trim tool to yeet down.
Also removed the warm glow of the 194 incandescent bulbs and replaced them with some slightly greenish Chinese LEDs.
Got the polarity right on both of them, first shot, a one in four chance, doc!
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2008 Ford F150 4.6L w/ 188,850mi valve cover gasket replacement. I recommended changing the valve cover gaskets before doing an oil change since there were puffs of smoke coming from the engine. Wetness around the covers and 2 year old Dorman intake manifold from oil leakage from the valve covers. Not a lot of DIY videos on the 4.6L so some of the pics could be helpful.
Starting with the driver's side. The EGR tube will be troublesome in this side.
Intake, P/S bracket, harness, EGR tube will need to be removed/moved out of the way. I've completely removed the EGR tube. Valve cover bolts will be a mix of regular bolts and studded bolts. I didn't remember the exact location, all I know the studded bolts correlate to the wiring harness holders.
The EGR valve side of the tube goes a way in into the valve. Trying the no hack way by removing the EGR tube from the manifold. Plan B is to unbolt the valve from the intake manifold and bend the living bejeezus out of the tube.
#nohack. Deep Creep + MAPP Gas * Long Adjustable Wrench + Breaker Bar = Got the exhaust manifold side of the EGR tube loose. Ignore the typical Ford fender rust.
That's gonna smell when that Deep Creep gets burnt off.
Clean for 188,850mi. Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage 5W20 and an STP Extended Life oil filter (the VatoZone especial) every 6 months per the owner.
Crusty original gaskets.
Replaced with Fel-Pro gaskets. Includes grommets for the bolt washers. The washers are flanged with torque stoppers on the bottom end, make sure the bottom of the washers go over the tangs in the gasket to lock the grommets and perimeter gasket to the cover.
Don't forget to put a dab of RTV on the timing cover - head mating area.
Drivers side installed. There is a single 13mm bolt that goes on the bottom left of the valve cover. Put it back in the same place I'm sure the Feejord engineers did that for a reason. Slather anti-seize on the EGR tube fittings for the next guy (you) for future removal.
I thought the driver's side was hard but the passenger side is worse. Screw discharging the A/C you'll be fighting that hard line. Remove the front ignition coils and get most of the harness out of the way because two coils were the casualties trying to worm the cover out. Remove the battery for more room and disconnect the large harness from the ECU that drapes over the valve cover and bungee it out of the way. A plethora of extensions, wobbles and u-joints help but an 8mm 1/4" long socket & small manual ratchet wrench gets into those tighter spots easier. Installation is the reverse of removal, watch the wiring harness and ground strap running behind the head though.
Performed the oil change (with the same VatoZone especial). Changed out a failed Dorman thermostat that came with the intake manifold replacement where I kept seeing coolant temps hitting 213F prior to starting this work with a Motorcraft t-stat (now seeing 188-192F coolant temps) and topped off the washer fluid reservoir with a Sonax concentrate mix to 1 gallon of water.
Starting with the driver's side. The EGR tube will be troublesome in this side.
Intake, P/S bracket, harness, EGR tube will need to be removed/moved out of the way. I've completely removed the EGR tube. Valve cover bolts will be a mix of regular bolts and studded bolts. I didn't remember the exact location, all I know the studded bolts correlate to the wiring harness holders.
The EGR valve side of the tube goes a way in into the valve. Trying the no hack way by removing the EGR tube from the manifold. Plan B is to unbolt the valve from the intake manifold and bend the living bejeezus out of the tube.
#nohack. Deep Creep + MAPP Gas * Long Adjustable Wrench + Breaker Bar = Got the exhaust manifold side of the EGR tube loose. Ignore the typical Ford fender rust.
That's gonna smell when that Deep Creep gets burnt off.
Clean for 188,850mi. Pennzoil Platinum High Mileage 5W20 and an STP Extended Life oil filter (the VatoZone especial) every 6 months per the owner.
Crusty original gaskets.
Replaced with Fel-Pro gaskets. Includes grommets for the bolt washers. The washers are flanged with torque stoppers on the bottom end, make sure the bottom of the washers go over the tangs in the gasket to lock the grommets and perimeter gasket to the cover.
Don't forget to put a dab of RTV on the timing cover - head mating area.
Drivers side installed. There is a single 13mm bolt that goes on the bottom left of the valve cover. Put it back in the same place I'm sure the Feejord engineers did that for a reason. Slather anti-seize on the EGR tube fittings for the next guy (you) for future removal.
I thought the driver's side was hard but the passenger side is worse. Screw discharging the A/C you'll be fighting that hard line. Remove the front ignition coils and get most of the harness out of the way because two coils were the casualties trying to worm the cover out. Remove the battery for more room and disconnect the large harness from the ECU that drapes over the valve cover and bungee it out of the way. A plethora of extensions, wobbles and u-joints help but an 8mm 1/4" long socket & small manual ratchet wrench gets into those tighter spots easier. Installation is the reverse of removal, watch the wiring harness and ground strap running behind the head though.
Performed the oil change (with the same VatoZone especial). Changed out a failed Dorman thermostat that came with the intake manifold replacement where I kept seeing coolant temps hitting 213F prior to starting this work with a Motorcraft t-stat (now seeing 188-192F coolant temps) and topped off the washer fluid reservoir with a Sonax concentrate mix to 1 gallon of water.
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Nothing today, I'm taking a day off. I need it after fixing a bathtub leak in our upstairs bathroom. What a PITA getting to the leak from an access hole in a closet, the goal was not to open the kitchen ceiling. Success!
Finished my basement joist insulation project last night after work today is cleanup day just in time for Christmas 
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
One of our local doctors - who practiced late in life himself - was known to mock the Golden Years concept
LOL I'd probably like that doctor! As I would say to my mother God rest her soul. "Mom nothing good comes from getting old." Granted we all want to get old, there aren't too many options.One of our local doctors - who practiced late in life himself - was known to mock the Golden Years concept
Regarding "Golden Years," rusting, pitting, rotting, breakdown, and corrosion years is more fitting. LOLEasy stuff on '04 F250. New clutch master and slave cylinder (because the automotive industry is so racist, obviously). I'd never done one of these but was impressed by the "twist lock" installation of both cylinders.
New turn signal switch because the old one was not self-cancelling. And yeah, that's 244k freedom units on a 6.0 PSD - I'm as surprised as you
Of course both battery hold downs were missing because why would they be there??
New turn signal switch because the old one was not self-cancelling. And yeah, that's 244k freedom units on a 6.0 PSD - I'm as surprised as you
Of course both battery hold downs were missing because why would they be there??
Brought the diesel in for the night. Its only ran once in the last..... 30+ days?? Its been stupid cold and it threw some random codes again, found the batteries a bit depleted so the tender is plugged in. I mounted the Bully Dog using a pillar mount. Beyond +25 or -20 the suction cup mount wouldn't work. So that pretty much leaves a couple weeks per year. It mounts pretty clean and should last.
We are taking it on a road trip so checked tires, oil and washer fluid. Cleaned up some junk in it and she is ready to go. It will warm up to -23c by the time we hit the road in the morning.
We are taking it on a road trip so checked tires, oil and washer fluid. Cleaned up some junk in it and she is ready to go. It will warm up to -23c by the time we hit the road in the morning.