What are you working on today?

[wings&wheels]

Headlight relays, marine battery master switch and replacement battery vent for the new to us 911 Turbo. I am a proponent of battery switches on seldom used cars that may be left unattended and, despite my inclination towards originality, the headlight relays (eliminates full lighting power from flowing through the column and panel switches and a lot of wiring) are a universal recommendation by both indy's I use and pretty much every other owner I talked to. Any and all mods I do will be completely reversible.

That relay and fuse panel intimidates me

 

[wander2039]

The Kobalt 80v chain saw is something.. as heavy as a gas saw but its so much easier to run. Cut these trees little closer to the ground. Like to cut all the trees out of fence line on the house side and put up a wooden fence, after the house in place maybe. After this lots of spreading fescue grass seed… lots. Hopefully the rain is gentle enough tomorrow.

 

[cptbarkey]

Tested the extended dump bed, it did exactly as I hoped, except the left rear tire started losing air quickly. I knew it had a slow leak, but 1700ish lbs of gravel the tire didn’t like. The hydraulics laughed and begged for more weight, which means I might make some raised bedsides. I know I was far past the “book” capacity.

Installed a toolbox on the front pushbar, tossed in wasp spray, a socket set, some hand tools. swapped the left rear tire from the parts machine.

Sometime last year I bought quite a bit of used tin. The ranch has a tall second carport that hasn’t gotten much use, so I am now converting it into a semi outdoor welding/workshop, the ends will be open but the walls are now enclosed. Lots of opportunities I need to think about, such as a gantry, outdoor lighting and a large fan.

 

[Motu]

Some Triumph variant with a tube shock conversion? Do you have the Churchill tool (IIRC) for the rear hubs?

1977 MkII Triumph 2000. What's the Churchill tool ? We used to borrow the puller from the dealership back in the '70's, but other tools can work...if you are careful, it's easy to bend the flange.

 

[wings&wheels]

1977 MkII Triumph 2000. What's the Churchill tool ? We used to borrow the puller from the dealership back in the '70's, but other tools can work...if you are careful, it's easy to bend the flange.

The official tool was referred to as the Churchill tool, at least here. May have been the original manufacturer. Appears that the 2000 used the same semi trailing arms as the irs tr’s.

 

[Stimp]

Replaced the rear brakes on the Cayenne @95k mi. Noticed recently the rear brake dust went from black dust to gritty metal. There was no noise or grinding, but it needed checking. Powerstop had a kit w/fully coated rotors, Z23 pads, hardware, and sensors for $220, so it made sense if I was in there to just replace everything.

Brakes still had some life, but were starting to wear into the sensors. Also rotors had a slight lip and looked pretty bad. Greased everything with ATE Plastilube and flushed the brakes with Bosch ESI6 fluid.

 

[D60]

2021 Honda CR-V:
-replaced front pads with Akebono (owner wanted a pad slap and it did work out just fine). At 140k freedom she still had ~3mm
-indexed the left wiper arm down as it was violently hitting the A-pillar....?
-serviced CVT with Honda fluids

2015 Honda CR-V for a girl at our non-profit:
-engine oil change
-since the CVT service was fresh in my mind, I serviced hers, too, but with Transmax. The vehicle still moves on the Transmax and gravity appears to still work. Weird.
-replaced front wipers
-cleaned our Adobe mud/mag chloride build-up from wheel IDs

 

[panthermike]

Getting a 2003 Matrix ready for a cross-country trip to give to my father-in-law.

- coolant service
- transmission service with pan and filter replacement
- intake manifold gasket
- transmission mount OEM
- pcv valve and hose - OEM

Have a mobile mechanic coming today to do the rear brakes including the drums and shoes, hardware, flush and wheel cylinders. He will also do the rear motor mount which is kind of a bear. Could do that myself but I just don't want to hahaha. For $285 bucks I'll take it.

Will have a couple more things to do but getting a good chunk of it out of the way.

 

[Kennedy01]

Do you need a dealer license technically? In CO if you sell more than X number of vehicles per year you're supposed to have one. Many shadetrees skirt it by never titling the vehicle in their name.

I've always considered this but it seems difficult to find anything with enough meat on the bone after even a low purchase price and then repairs. Clearly, it's an art and I'm not sure I have the skill to choose 'em correctly

Same thing here, you can sell just a few a year without license, and a lot of folks flip like you mentioned. Never titling in their name. We aren't going to do that. The 11 will be first up on the market. I might hang on to the 06 Sierra for a while after we replace the bed and do the other things it needs. When I get the lift finished I'm going to put the 10 model on it and pull the transmission. We're planning to have the 11 ready for tax refund time, and the 10 will be put out for sale sometime in the summer.

On top of these he has about 10 other vehicles lined up for major repairs.
99 GMC Jimmy head gaskets
05 f150 timing chains, guides, phasers
09 Impala rear main seal
15 Silverado front end rebuild
06 jeep Wrangler clutch
12 Silverado full AC
10 Sierra 2500 front end rebuild
89 f150 fuel tank replacement etc (longer timeline on that one)
99 cavalier head gasket
10 Honda Odyssey timing belt, water pump

 

[Creekside]

New SKF U joints for the Super Duty axles. The grease worms must’ve eaten all the grease out of the old ones. 206k miles on my 2016 and they’re still tight. This truck was parted out at 158k miles in this condition .

 

[mcm0455]

I just finished swapping over back to the 19's on Michelin CC2's from the 17's with Blizzaks. Snowfall has been below normal so no need grind down the winter tires.

 

[D60]

First service on the wife's '15 Tundra purchased last fall. I got it from Courtesy Acura in Denver and since they said they had changed the oil and it was obviously very clean on the dipstick, I left it alone.

Well the plastic filter housing was stupid tight. In fact nothing was getting it to budge so I finally put my 1/2 mid-torque on the 1-1/16" hex, reasoning a quick "shock" might snap it free. This actually worked great BUT it started to twist the hex off the aluminum cup. I'm bummed because I like this older version of the Motiv more than the new onesView attachment 324687
Perhaps the greater takeaway here is that Courtesy Acura in Littleton CO doesn't know how to change oil on a Toyota

Then I figured I'd change the front diff fluid while I was in the area. I was smart enough to make sure I could get the fill plug first, and this wasn't too tight.

BUT THEN the front diff drain refused to move. I can actually fit my BIG 2967 in there, and even THAT wouldn't move it. I tried my 36" Snappy breaker bar -- nope, just gradually rounding the 10mm hex. I finally had to heat the pig with the blue wrench, at which point she came out with ease.

Faced with a partially rounded 10mm female hex, I didn't want to reinstall as it was. I found a metric flange nut and welded it onView attachment 324688

Now I can remove with a 17mm socket as God intended -- so much better
View attachment 324689
I filled with 75W90 Daily Protection (gasp!). The front diff seized as soon as I backed it out of the shop because I didn't use synthetic. Remember: you read it on the internet so it has to be true.View attachment 324690

Quoting myself because it turns out my plastic filter housing did suffer damage in this debacle. It was never lost on me that this was a possibility, but I had to get it off one way or the other.

Large puddles running off the skid and no oil on the dipstick alerted me to the dripping housing, cracks seen here:

Moving the support tube to my new OEM housing:

Installed:

I pretty much feel the same way here as I do about Pentastar oil coolers, Toyota 2.7 bypass tubes or Ford 4.0 thermostat housings.....let me see if I can find the words.... ah, yes: PLASTIC IS DUMB

 

[wander2039]

New rear tires for the X3 at Costco this morning.. and before a storm. I hate going to Costco on a normal day when I feel ok. Worked on the frig when I got home.. Frigidaire Professional junk! Changed the filter couple weeks ago and water dispenser stopped working after that. After a bunch of troubleshooting figured out the plunger for the source must of broke off. Frig isn’t even 4 years old. Pushed what was left and shoved part of a wire tie in it.. fixed! Have to be shut off the water source now to change the filter.. or have the teenager change it

 

[TnT_M]

Installed a tall toilet in our basement bathroom. Last one done in the house. Now the man cave is matching the rest.

I didn't do electrical today. I have a couple PITA outlets to do in the house and then the garage. It's still a little chilly to do the garage. Long range forecast shows I should be good soon, which means the Cobra should be back home the end of March.

 

[tbm3fan]

Before I can put the 410 FE back in I need the hood ready to go so the new engine is covered. That meant getting both sides of the hood painted one side at a time. I always do the underside first as it is always the dirtiest and needs the most cleaning and prep. The exterior only needs wet sanding with 600 grit before color. Under side needs epoxy and color. Yesterday I finally had temperatures for painting the under side.

 

[BigBear4583]

2006 Explorer 4.0v6
220k mi

- New PCV
- sway bar bushings
- Repositioned the weatherstripping and siliconed it for a quieter ride
- 12v light on the shifter
- replaced the microguard filter after 1k miles (liked the last two I’ve cut open, sent one to Whip City Wrencher for a video and he said it had a tear so I pulled off the MG on there and plugged in an ST2. 1500 more miles and we’ll do a full change with something better)
- Motorcraft plugs and wires. Looks like she’s running lean?

 

[D60]

2006 Explorer 4.0v6
220k mi

- New PCV
- sway bar bushings
- Repositioned the weatherstripping and siliconed it for a quieter ride
- 12v light on the shifter
- replaced the microguard filter after 1k miles (liked the last two I’ve cut open, sent one to Whip City Wrencher for a video and he said it had a tear so I pulled off the MG on there and plugged in an ST2. 1500 more miles and we’ll do a full change with something better)
- Motorcraft plugs and wires. Looks like she’s running lean?

View attachment 326564

Have you had the joy of the broken plastic rod in the shifter yet?

 

[The Critic]

Last weekend:

2017 Honda CR-V 1.5T, 150K:
Replaced engine oil and filter, Performed Tire Rotation, Replaced Cabin Air Filter, Drain and Refill CVT Fluid, Drain and Refill Engine Coolant, Brake Fluid Exchange, Replaced Missing Undercover Fasteners.

Found a minor seep on the CVT housing and a torn Lower Engine Torque Rod. CVT seep will not be fixed but driver is returning at a later time to replace the Lower Engine Torque Rod.

Today:

2003 Honda Accord 2.4, 145K:
Replace engine oil and filter, Tire Rotation

2013 Lexus ES350, 84K:
Replace engine oil and filter, Tire Rotation, Replace Cabin Air Filter

2026 Toyota Crown Platinum 2.4, 809 miles:
Replace engine oil and filter.

Also washed three vehicles, so quite the busy afternoon!

 

[BigBear4583]

Have you had the joy of the broken plastic rod in the shifter yet?

Not yet. Bought the truck 15k mi ago, great maintenance history but ticking things off one by one. One of the sway bar bushing bracket bolts did not come out peacefully, so have to go back and drill the remainder and find a new bolt. Got to love suspension work on a 20 year old rust belt vehicle.

 

[D60]

Last weekend:

2017 Honda CR-V 1.5T, 150K:
Replaced engine oil and filter, Performed Tire Rotation, Replaced Cabin Air Filter, Drain and Refill CVT Fluid, Drain and Refill Engine Coolant, Brake Fluid Exchange, Replaced Missing Undercover Fasteners.

Found a minor seep on the CVT housing and a torn Lower Engine Torque Rod. CVT seep will not be fixed but driver is returning at a later time to replace the Lower Engine Torque Rod.

View attachment 326586

Today:

2003 Honda Accord 2.4, 145K:
Replace engine oil and filter, Tire Rotation

2013 Lexus ES350, 84K:
Replace engine oil and filter, Tire Rotation, Replace Cabin Air Filter

2026 Toyota Crown Platinum 2.4, 809 miles:
Replace engine oil and filter.

Also washed three vehicles, so quite the busy afternoon!

When I was bedding brakes, that 1.5T coupled with the CVT sure seems in no hurry to get moving. Maybe you can adapt -- I always feel like I'm slipping a clutch in a CVT so admittedly I'm a little light on the skinny pedal. Psychologically, it just seems like there's so much bluster for so little action.....