What are you working on today?
- Thread starter Amkeer
- Start date
Replaced perished upper steering column bushing. Upper pic shows the old plastic bushing, well what is left, as the small off-white bits around the column and in the shroud. Guessing ~46 years about the limit. Lower pic is the popular aftermarket upgrade nylon bushing which thoughtfully includes two captive Allen screws for extraction if needed. Porsche offers a spring steel bushing, but the original was some sort of plastic and I'm not a fan of steel on steel there. No play and very smooth rotation.
More tinkering with the Volvo this afternoon. I got new bolts for the resonator pipe and got it mounted up. Unfortunately, the sleeve coupler they sent with the kit is a tad big and doesn't want to completely seal the joint between the old and new pipes. I've had good luck with the stainless band clamps from O'Reilly's, I'll stop and grab a 2.25" clamp sometime next week. I've also got a rear exhaust repair hanger on the way, apparently rusted off exhaust hangers on P2 Volvo's are extremely common to the point there's several repair kits made specifically for them.
Being a new-to-me car, it got a new CAF as part of my maintenance regimen. The old filter was clean, but horribly installed and not great quality for being made in Germany. I installed a CHEAP "PTC" branded carbon filter which was much better built (in China, no less).
Our Kia came in next, it was a bit overdue for an oil change. It got an Auto Extra 1334 and 4 quarts of Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30, fresh from the current rebate offer. Spent the rest of the afternoon giving the interior a much needed deep clean after a messy winter season.
Swapped out a bad sway bar link on my son’s 2015 MKC. Made that tell tale rapid clunking sound. Now it’s all gone…
Since this post, the 11 Silverado has had the rebuilt 5.3 installed. We've also done some front end work and front/rear brakes to get it road worthy. The 06 Sierra got a new, color matching bed but not much else. Still haven't messed with the 10 model. We've been steadily busy. I've been doing a lot of his smaller service work while he's tackling the big jobs.
Spent all week down on the farm, spring break for the boys. Warm to freezing back to warm. Oldest boys friends stayed down camping for 3-4 days in the RV, 5 boys and no bath in the RV. The smell would make your nose hairs fall out. They had a blast thats all that matters. Quite a week!
Anyways back to the subject.. Got about 500ft of barb wire fence demo’d, spent couple hours cutting wood and got the boards oiled down on the 16ft trailer. Friday went to pick up the mini-ex for and with dad. Had .5hrs and changed the engine oil and hydraulic first thing. Just Quaker State 10w30 till 10 hours then will change to Delvac 5w40, Harvest king AW46 for hydraulic. Changed the torch plug for a ngk and put a temp fan in out of Aspire. Started digging the trench for the main electrical conduit. The boys even though city boys do quite well on either the tractor or the mini-ex. The oldest could dig a ditch for hours.
Back home… sore, tired and dirty. Time to recover lol
Anyways back to the subject.. Got about 500ft of barb wire fence demo’d, spent couple hours cutting wood and got the boards oiled down on the 16ft trailer. Friday went to pick up the mini-ex for and with dad. Had .5hrs and changed the engine oil and hydraulic first thing. Just Quaker State 10w30 till 10 hours then will change to Delvac 5w40, Harvest king AW46 for hydraulic. Changed the torch plug for a ngk and put a temp fan in out of Aspire. Started digging the trench for the main electrical conduit. The boys even though city boys do quite well on either the tractor or the mini-ex. The oldest could dig a ditch for hours.
Back home… sore, tired and dirty. Time to recover lol
Something simple today, Camry and WRX both got oil their Spring changes today.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
I love the little backhoe! Looks like a big toy, but I bet its small footprint helps get stuff done!
So far yes and just getting started. Haven’t used the hydraulic thumb yet. Combined with the tractor perfect combo, have a small trailer going to move it around the place easier.
Ignorance is bliss?? I really prefer to treat Sunday as a day of rest, but my wife was upset about insects and a few other things, and she’s not wrong, so I stayed in the game today.
Yesterday - put landscape bricks, new mulch (about 8’ circles?) around 2 trees in the front yard. Tore out the old metal stuff that was too small for the 15 year old trees. That required a tow strap. That project wore me out.
So today - too much squishing underfoot … pulled the lid and the septic was a foot higher than the send to the drain field. Pumped it down 18” and tried to send a snake to the field. It caught somewhere around 22’, kinked the snake line (too small of a snake, really, but it’s what I have), but might have poked the tiniest hole as it’s slowly draining now. Ordered some pricey miracle tablets as attempt #2 to unplug the drain field. A larger snake will be #3. Really hoping we don’t have to spend the equivalent of a used Honda just to bury it in the back yard.
Had I not have opened it, I wouldn’t have known!
***
Cant recall if I posted previously. Used that new ceiling-mounted “vivohome” 440lb hoist to pull the tent off the back of the truck. Flirting with 24mpg again. Hoist was good! Will keep the tent off until use.
Yesterday - put landscape bricks, new mulch (about 8’ circles?) around 2 trees in the front yard. Tore out the old metal stuff that was too small for the 15 year old trees. That required a tow strap. That project wore me out.
So today - too much squishing underfoot … pulled the lid and the septic was a foot higher than the send to the drain field. Pumped it down 18” and tried to send a snake to the field. It caught somewhere around 22’, kinked the snake line (too small of a snake, really, but it’s what I have), but might have poked the tiniest hole as it’s slowly draining now. Ordered some pricey miracle tablets as attempt #2 to unplug the drain field. A larger snake will be #3. Really hoping we don’t have to spend the equivalent of a used Honda just to bury it in the back yard.
Had I not have opened it, I wouldn’t have known!
***
Cant recall if I posted previously. Used that new ceiling-mounted “vivohome” 440lb hoist to pull the tent off the back of the truck. Flirting with 24mpg again. Hoist was good! Will keep the tent off until use.
I had to drop the pan on my old 6.0 Chevy box truck this weekend. The last couple weeks it has been showing signs of a failing oil pickup tube seal that these engines are known for. Also it was a great opportunity to replace the leaky pan gasket.
Of course I didn’t think to take any pictures….
Pan was pretty clean for 274k miles. Just a thin bit of crap on the outside of the pickup tube and some varnish on the windage tray.
Overall a pretty easy job, I spent more time cleaning up the old dirt encrusted oil on the outside of the pan than anything else. Got done and filled it up, oil pressure shot up to 45 PSI at idle immediately instead of the slow creep up to 30 I was getting. That O ring was toast.
Of course I didn’t think to take any pictures….
Pan was pretty clean for 274k miles. Just a thin bit of crap on the outside of the pickup tube and some varnish on the windage tray.
Overall a pretty easy job, I spent more time cleaning up the old dirt encrusted oil on the outside of the pan than anything else. Got done and filled it up, oil pressure shot up to 45 PSI at idle immediately instead of the slow creep up to 30 I was getting. That O ring was toast.
Spent yesterday loading scrap metal and spraying on the property cleanup job I’m working on. I’ve been looking for a gas powered chop saw to cut up scrap metal and semi trailers that can’t be pulled and decided to run over to Northern Tool to look around. I ended up buying a Husqvarna K770 that was a new return for 50% off. It was just pure luck that I found it. It was returned with a compliant of a fuel leak and defective clutch but doesn’t appear to ever have a blade installed or even used. I decided to gamble on it and as it looks now, fuel was spilled inside the case because there is residue everywhere inside it but with a full tank of fuel I can’t get it to leak anywhere. The clutch was not slipping rather someone had tightened the belt adjustment nuts with the tensioner loose. A simple belt adjustment cured that issue. I filled it with some fresh fuel and it started on the 3rd pull. I will be cleaning the carburetor as I’m not happy with how it idles. NT said they’ve been sitting on it for a year so I’m not surprised.
To top it off they are running a $200 gift card promo with a purchase of one of these and even though it was a “return” it rang up with the gift card anyway. I’ve only got around $450 in a $1300 saw.
To top it off they are running a $200 gift card promo with a purchase of one of these and even though it was a “return” it rang up with the gift card anyway. I’ve only got around $450 in a $1300 saw.
Ooof, that sounds like it's about to become very expensive!
I know the feeling, my system is 61 years old and on VERY borrowed time. I have it pumped every 1-1.5 years. Replacement cost is out of this world as I can no longer install a gravity fed system and have to go with a sand mound or aerobic system that cost more than my Tacoma new...
Hope yours is an easy fix!
That's a beauty. At one point in my life a K700 was an every day tool and I got good service from it. Definitely get a premium breathing filter to go with it, especially if you're cutting stone or concrete.
Resealed the oil pan on the 2003 Accord. It has recently sprung a quite massive leak and that's the only place I could see that oil would be coming from. I was the last one to have the oil pan off when I did all the oil seals on the engine at the last timing belt.
Good thing is, the Ultra Black will have plenty of cure time. One of the rear tires was a little more worn that I would like, so the wife is cruising around in the Acura this week while I wait for Thursday to roll around and get some tires mounted.
FWIW, it is a pretty easy DIY job for anyone curious. You have to pull the J-Pipe down and in northern climates, that could be a massive pain in the rear, but other than that, it is a straightforward nuts and bolts job. If you have access to a lift, I highly recommend it. Crawling around on the garage floor at 50 sucks a bit, but I have no lift.
Good thing is, the Ultra Black will have plenty of cure time. One of the rear tires was a little more worn that I would like, so the wife is cruising around in the Acura this week while I wait for Thursday to roll around and get some tires mounted.
FWIW, it is a pretty easy DIY job for anyone curious. You have to pull the J-Pipe down and in northern climates, that could be a massive pain in the rear, but other than that, it is a straightforward nuts and bolts job. If you have access to a lift, I highly recommend it. Crawling around on the garage floor at 50 sucks a bit, but I have no lift.
I’ve been reading, video-ing and talking to that wild-eyed guy in the building about how he’s repaired his… these are simple systems but finicky and … labor intensive to deal with!
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2025
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- 138
THOSE are some good looking case lugs!
