What are you working on today?

The ole' $500 auction Toro Z5000 was due for some new spindles, they were starting to get a tad bit crunchy and wobbly. It started to cut super weird. It's from ~2008, so I guess ~20 years on the same spindles is pretty good.

The new spindles are the cheapest ones I could find on Amazon. They listed a grease zerk, but they definitely don't have one. I really didn't expect them to, most don't unless they are commercial grade ZTRs. Even then, many don't.

Every bolt snapped taking the old ones out. Looking at the deck after pressure washing, it looks like I will be doing some welding and painting this winter.

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Save the old spindles, i did not buy spindles, i knocked the bearings out and replaced them, without removing the spindles, just removed the deck.


 
New Aisin water pump, thermostat and an off brand radiator for my 94 Tercel. It had been seeping coolant out of the weep hole for 5-6 years and finally gave up about a month ago. We were in the middle of field work at the time so I just ordered parts and parked it until I had time to work on it. Finished off with a quick pressure wash.

This is my local parts runner/errand runner and going to fires car. My turnout gear bag fits perfectly in the trunk. I live nearly in the middle of two of our fire stations so I carry my stuff with me and depending on which direction the call is and what is needed I go to one of the stations or straight to the call. With $5/gallon diesel we can’t dump the station for every little call(and shouldn’t even with cheap fuel).

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Great car!
 
Since Saturday:

1987 Chevrolet R10
Replaced rear brake shoes, wheel cylinders, hardware kits, axle seals, turned rear drums, changed oil

2015 Chevrolet Tahoe
Replaced thermostat, serpentine belt, AC compressor belt, spark plugs, plug wires, air filter, rotated tires, changed oil

2004 Chevrolet Tahoe
Working on installing a junkyard engine. Replacement unit is on a stand getting new rear main seal, timing cover gasket, front crank seal, valve cover gaskets, oil pan gasket, motor mounts, and extracting a broken exhaust manifold bolt
 
Great car!
It has been for sure. I bought it just after graduating high school for a college commuter and then used it for my two hour round trip to work when I worked for a truck dealership. Owned it 12 years with this and a failed distributor being the only real “breakdowns”. Everything else has been just maintenance
 
2019 Chevy Suburban L83/6L80, Belongs to a forum member. Driver side was a little warmer than the passenger side vent at full cold.
Verified the temp actuator was not moving all the way cold via scan data. Thankfully the actuator was at fault & the door is fine.
Speaking of 2019, I have a client with an L87 Denali. Was it plagued with the infamous '21+ problems? I know GM says no but of course they would.

A quick search brought up plenty of people claiming failure at 40k, 60k etc....but you can find anything on the internet.

He's got 70k right now and I almost thought it had a very slight knock when I was standing next to it, but I dismissed it.
 
It has been for sure. I bought it just after graduating high school for a college commuter and then used it for my two hour round trip to work when I worked for a truck dealership. Owned it 12 years with this and a failed distributor being the only real “breakdowns”. Everything else has been just maintenance
I sold mine a couple years ago at 367,000km. Was still running fine. Interestingly, the most recent work I did on it was also replacing a failed distributor…
 
Update on my last post where a neighbor attempted to jump start his 2000 Kia Sportage, hooked up the jumper cables incorrectly, and has a no start condition. The engine would fire when using ether only, the in-tank fuel pump was not working. I found that the main underhood 80-amp fuse had undergone “Thermal Runaway Mode” due to the jumper cable “oops”. When I saw that little gem, I said to myself, “self, I hope that this fuse is the only electrical item that took a hit”

Replaced the fuse, but still had no fuel pressure. Used the time tested method of “wacking” the bottom of the fuel tank, no response. Time to check for power at the pump. YAY! Kia actually gives you a access panel! Checked for 12-volts….NADA. Went back to the underhood distribution box (Type 1) pulled the fuel pump relay and tested the relay terminals in the distribution box.

  • Relay feed terminal: +12 volts.
  • Relay coil + terminal: +12-volts.
  • Relay coil terminal: no continuity to ground…...AAARGH!
Well, it appears that something else may have taken a hit from the jumper cable mishap. What the heck, I will splice in a temporary ground to the relay coil and see if the pump regains interest in life. Did that, and now have power to the pump, but pump is still DOA. Pulled the pump via that wonderful access cover and discovered that the pump filter screen had decomposed, crumbled, got sucked into the pump where it locked the pump rotor. This rig actually sits for a fair amount of time and I suspect that the fuel was starting to go bad from the residue on the pump “Can” surfaces and the slightly “off” fuel smell.

Going to install a new pump and see if the rig will start with my spliced in relay ground. I have no idea if the PCM controls the fuel pump relay ground, if something else does, or if a ground screw is loose, or if rodents chewed on something. I am beginning to suspect that the 80 amp fuse was not the only victim here. :oops:
 
Speaking of 2019, I have a client with an L87 Denali. Was it plagued with the infamous '21+ problems? I know GM says no but of course they would.

A quick search brought up plenty of people claiming failure at 40k, 60k etc....but you can find anything on the internet.

He's got 70k right now and I almost thought it had a very slight knock when I was standing next to it, but I dismissed it.

A 2019 would have a L86 which are not known for lower end problems.
 
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Update on my last post where a neighbor attempted to jump start his 2000 Kia Sportage, hooked up the jumper cables incorrectly, and has a no start condition. The engine would fire when using ether only, the in-tank fuel pump was not working. I found that the main underhood 80-amp fuse had undergone “Thermal Runaway Mode” due to the jumper cable “oops”. When I saw that little gem, I said to myself, “self, I hope that this fuse is the only electrical item that took a hit”

Replaced the fuse, but still had no fuel pressure. Used the time tested method of “wacking” the bottom of the fuel tank, no response. Time to check for power at the pump. YAY! Kia actually gives you a access panel! Checked for 12-volts….NADA. Went back to the underhood distribution box (Type 1) pulled the fuel pump relay and tested the relay terminals in the distribution box.

  • Relay feed terminal: +12 volts.
  • Relay coil + terminal: +12-volts.
  • Relay coil terminal: no continuity to ground…...AAARGH!
Well, it appears that something else may have taken a hit from the jumper cable mishap. What the heck, I will splice in a temporary ground to the relay coil and see if the pump regains interest in life. Did that, and now have power to the pump, but pump is still DOA. Pulled the pump via that wonderful access cover and discovered that the pump filter screen had decomposed, crumbled, got sucked into the pump where it locked the pump rotor. This rig actually sits for a fair amount of time and I suspect that the fuel was starting to go bad from the residue on the pump “Can” surfaces and the slightly “off” fuel smell.

Going to install a new pump and see if the rig will start with my spliced in relay ground. I have no idea if the PCM controls the fuel pump relay ground, if something else does, or if a ground screw is loose, or if rodents chewed on something. I am beginning to suspect that the 80 amp fuse was not the only victim here. :oops:
You did some good troubleshooting - please keep us updated.
 
Haven't done one yet, this was a 2015
MY11-MY20 XL30 Siennas are all fairly similar key wise
But a VIN check for the correct part number is best practice when cross checking the aftermarket

Push to start smart keys are more expensive, but not much more work
You do enough of these that a key cutter makes sense.
 
It has been for sure. I bought it just after graduating high school for a college commuter and then used it for my two hour round trip to work when I worked for a truck dealership. Owned it 12 years with this and a failed distributor being the only real “breakdowns”. Everything else has been just maintenance
I used to work in DC with a guy that commuted daily into town in one of these from … Pennsylvania. He racked up some miles on this little tarmac rocket and wouldn’t give it up for anything.
 
Another update. I have discovered that finding the "proper" parts for a Kia can be a chore. Finding the specific fuel pump assembly was, lets just say, a royal pain. It seems that KIA, back then, had a difficult time in deciding just what pump they should use.I used various online catalogs going by his year (his rig is a 1999) but the pump that the catalogs would show were totally different. So, I started to look at other years attempting to find the pump I needed, and started by going earlier. No joy. So I went to newer years and located it in 2001 and newer........:rolleyes:
 
My 2023 4Runner has about 45k on it so I am planning on changing the front and rear diff oil as well as the transfer case. Waiting for my supplies to come in so I can do that. Next on the list is transmission filter and fluid replacement. I put the Frantz bypass filter on it a few weeks ago, once I get these complete I am good for a while.
 
Speaking of 2019, I have a client with an L87 Denali. Was it plagued with the infamous '21+ problems? I know GM says no but of course they would.

A quick search brought up plenty of people claiming failure at 40k, 60k etc....but you can find anything on the internet.

He's got 70k right now and I almost thought it had a very slight knock when I was standing next to it, but I dismissed it.

I didn't think to ask if it was a pick-up with a L87.....If so, Any L87 can have a mis-ground crankshaft as I still have contacts & remember them saying L87 where failing in brand new '19 model T1 trucks.

Just so you know a L86/LT1 can be swapped into a T1 chassis truck with tuning (ECM must be unlocked).
 
My '79 went to it's new owners last weekend (happy birthday to me!), so I spent a few bucks on some lingering maintenance items for the fleet:

Did the yearly CAF replacement on our '06 Spectra, forgot to take pictures but the old filter was fairly clean. Installed a wholesaler closeout Champion carbon filter. Can't remember what brand came out, it was another closeout purchase from RA. I was planning on install a new set of spark plugs, however when I opened the eBay package it contained a set of 7092's... not the 7090's I ordered. I've already sent a message to the seller, I assume they'll make things right.

Moved on to my '95 Seville, which received a fresh set of Trico NeoForm wiper blades along with a front brake rebuild. After going through the effort of refreshing the entire rear braking system, it seemed logical to go all the way and give everything a once over. I was still experiencing some slight pulsation in the steering wheel, and the brake pedal still had a bit of "dead space" before I'd get any meaningful bite so I ordered up caliper bushings along with a cheap set of closeout ceramic pads and rotors and went to town.

The calipers themselves were in great shape, but the slide pins and rubber caliper bushings were stiff and bone dry. I stripped and cleaned the caliper slides, honed the bores of the caliper mounts with a drill and wire brush, lubricated everything and reinstalled with the new bits. Took her out for a drive to burnish in the pads and it's like having an entirely new braking system. Bite is immediate, the dead space at the top of the pedal travel having been eliminated completely by the freshly lubed slide pins. For the record, the pads that I installed have an FF friction rating, the same as the AC Delco Advantages that were removed.

Finished up by installing a new engine idler pulley and greasing the bearing in the tensioner pulley. I accidentally ordered two idler pulley's instead of an idler and a tensioner pulley (brain fart), however I already had the tensioner removed and in hand so I popped the dust seal and gave it a good packing. The idler pulley was my main concern, using a stethoscope indicated it was the noisy culprit, but greasing the tensioner pulley gave me some peace of mind for the future.
 
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I didn't think to ask if it was a pick-up with a L87.....If so, Any L87 can have a mis-ground crankshaft as I still have contacts & remember them saying L87 where failing in brand new '19 model T1 trucks.

Just so you know a L86/LT1 can be swapped into a T1 chassis truck with tuning (ECM must be unlocked).
Yeah it's a 1/2 ton pickup in Denali trim. So these were L87 in 2019? Or still L86?
 
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