What are you working on today?

Thanks to Fedex the tail pipe is in la-la land but couldn’t handle the noise any further. Put the Walker muffler on and used the left over pipe.. see if it ever makes its appearance on the porch. Put and screw in it and used bailing wire to hold it up lol. Kinda low after getting it down oh well, bringing the other truck back to look it over. *I just cut that pipe back to the joint.. better!
IMG_6886.webp
 
Last edited:
BMW N52 is losing coolant out of the plastic reservoir. Smelled it when I parked and checked. I could see a tiny stream of coolant coming from the side near the bottom. Common problem - these plastic bottles are consumables on BMWs. Ordered new bottle and a transmission thermostat. I'll see if I can get the hose o-rings from the local dealer.
 
In the land of Things that Make You Go Hmmmm, a 2017 Wrangler needed new headlight connectors due to broken lock tabs.

All I can reasonably find is an SMP S3076 and even RA wants $62! SeRiOUslY?!?!?!?!

It makes no sense because this connector was seemingly used in all Jeep and Ram products '07 to '14 and beyond! Why exactly are these so special???
Screenshot_20260408_153726_Chrome.webp


Anyway I finally found a 4-pack on Amazon for $14 and, honestly, they seemed great. I went so far as to use plasti-screws in the old ones, but still had a flakey connection:
20260408_153032.webp
 
In the land of Things that Make You Go Hmmmm, a 2017 Wrangler needed new headlight connectors due to broken lock tabs.

All I can reasonably find is an SMP S3076 and even RA wants $62! SeRiOUslY?!?!?!?!

It makes no sense because this connector was seemingly used in all Jeep and Ram products '07 to '14 and beyond! Why exactly are these so special???View attachment 332014

Anyway I finally found a 4-pack on Amazon for $14 and, honestly, they seemed great. I went so far as to use plasti-screws in the old ones, but still had a flakey connection:View attachment 332015
My brother's Cherokee needed new ones. The OEM didn't last a year and they had worked themselves loose/intermittent contact. So I hardwired aftermarket ceramic ones in.
 
Still fighting the CV shaft. One last ditch effort was to buy a puller and see what magic happens........ I loaded it up, cycle light heat (I don't want to melt the bearing seals as I still might need to drive the thing) and beat on it with the 8 pound. In the end (for today) I nearly smashed the windshield as the small impact socket went skyward with a hammer blow, my right index met the bumper lip and my wrist is beat to sht from the impact. Maybe, just maybe it cracked slightly? Maybe? Well, its time to cook supper and thank the good lord I'm not a mechanic full time. Kudos to them guys.

20260408_172048.webp
 
Going through my mom's storage units and loading up tools and equipment to haul off. We took a full stakeside pickup truck load of stuff to the dump yesterday. It feels like we just barely made a dent.
Metal to the scrapper can get you enough $ to pay for the gas to haul it there.
 
In the land of Things that Make You Go Hmmmm, a 2017 Wrangler needed new headlight connectors due to broken lock tabs.

All I can reasonably find is an SMP S3076 and even RA wants $62! SeRiOUslY?!?!?!?!

It makes no sense because this connector was seemingly used in all Jeep and Ram products '07 to '14 and beyond! Why exactly are these so special???View attachment 332014

Anyway I finally found a 4-pack on Amazon for $14 and, honestly, they seemed great. I went so far as to use plasti-screws in the old ones, but still had a flakey connection:View attachment 332015
How is this a problem in 2026??? or even in 1995? Like, we know how to make electrical connectors
 
2003 F150, 4.6L/4R70W. Combustion gases in the coolant/Building pressure. I'll have the heads off in the morning & at the machine shop.
Left-Lower chain guide was broken which is common on 2V Modular engines so it will get a timing set as well.

xpNzyYD.jpeg

xML2vGA.jpeg
Nearly guaranteed the oil pump pickup is nicely packed with pieces of guide(s). I'm convinced the large majority of 2Vs are driving around with broken guides. They don't slap like the 3Vs so you don't know until you open it up.
 
Selling the wife’s 2007 Accord so I am getting it ready for its next owner.

I decided to press new Genuine Honda bushings into the original control arms and reinstall them onto the vehicle. And perform an alignment, of course.

View attachment 332117

View attachment 332118

View attachment 332119

View attachment 332120
How hard of a job was that to do with a press? I need to do this in my Mazda and had been entertaining the idea of buying a harbor freight press and doing it myself. Always wanted to have a press and thought this might be a good way to fund the job. (Buying brand new control arm assemblies is about as expensive as two bushings and a harbor freight press).
 
Adding a stand alone 12 V power switch for the van fridge.
On hold.

Getting some nylon standoffs and I was out of 10-12awg ring terminal connectors (surprise!!) for terminal (marine fuse) block. But I did find my roll of red 10 AWG stranded copper wire and yellow (10-12) QD connectors for the switch itself. They provided some prewired - they called them 12 awg, but um........barely 14 awg.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9GCJSVK?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1
 
How hard of a job was that to do with a press? I need to do this in my Mazda and had been entertaining the idea of buying a harbor freight press and doing it myself. Always wanted to have a press and thought this might be a good way to fund the job. (Buying brand new control arm assemblies is about as expensive as two bushings and a harbor freight press).
Do it! The press includes 20,000 Man Card points. Most pressing is about prep and being conscientious: clean bores if rusty, I use a light coat of grease, bevel edges to aid in starting (where applicable) and take the time to make sure it drives in square or plumb. If you see it cocking, stop before you get into a situation you can't reverse.

For tight fits, if it's going well, DON'T STOP. Drive it home while things are good. Quite often stopping causes it to want to freeze up, possibly from initial heat/friction and then cooling
 
Back
Top Bottom