Is that a two inch piece of the seal just missing in the last pic? And it still moved? Wow.
What are you working on today?
- Thread starter Amkeer
- Start date
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
Fixed my Mercedes panoramic roof that wouldn't close all the way. Pulled the rear view mirror and overhead console to get to the motor. Manually cranked it back and then greased all the tracks and every piece of rubber that slides using caliper pin grease. I figure if it doesn't mess up the rubber seals in calipers it won't mess up the rubber on the sun roof.
It worked! Goes forward and back and completely closeses by pushing the switches again.
It worked! Goes forward and back and completely closeses by pushing the switches again.
Yes, when I took the piston out that’s what it looked like. Didn’t find any other pieces in the drum, but found some in the valve body. That’s why I said I am very impressed it actually moved forward.
Maybe they filled it with straight Lucas, lol
The fluid was roasted and black. Looked like diesel oil.
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2026
- Messages
- 148
2007 Toyota Camry
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
Any particular system or just the whole thing in one big lump?
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2026
- Messages
- 148
My youngest son was only home long enough for me and the wife to help him with some wedding reception decorations and the oil change. I had no warning he was comming home! He is best man and the wedding is tomorrow.
I topped off his ATF with about a pint of WS.
I checked the entire thing over and found an ABS speed sensor harness wire was chewed through and ordered that chunk of harness.
I topped off his ATF with about a pint of WS.
I checked the entire thing over and found an ABS speed sensor harness wire was chewed through and ordered that chunk of harness.
Changed my rear dif. fluid on my 2021 Honda HRV AWD.....Easy peezy....
Finished 1,500 Mile road trip in the ‘24 Tacoma hybrid. Gave it a quick wash and wax, and checked the oil. It has not “made oil,” this time (have also been running regular gas which yields higher rpm use - premium changes shift points to very low; premium also drives much better). We did a lot of mountain driving and I kept it between 2500-5000 rpm in autostick mode, and it showed itself as a surprisingly adept canyon carver for a pickup with a full bedrack on top.
Continued digging out a level section of the yard for an eventual shed, mowed and fertilized the lawn.
Electrician comes Thursday to finish wiring in the garage for tools and future-proofing for maybe-one-day EV/PHEV.
Continued digging out a level section of the yard for an eventual shed, mowed and fertilized the lawn.
Electrician comes Thursday to finish wiring in the garage for tools and future-proofing for maybe-one-day EV/PHEV.
It's 31c here today. While not crazy like you southerners, eith the humidity, it's cooking up here. I took the Trailblazer to town, fuelled it and snagged a can of refrigerant as the ac is not as cold as it should be. I'll need another can as it barely touched it.
I snagged some oil and a filter for my parents 2021 Grand Caravan 3.6. It was supposed to be done in April but ended up getting missed. It will get some Castrol Edge 0w20 and a Mopar filter. I'll head down for the weekend and get it squared away.
I snagged some oil and a filter for my parents 2021 Grand Caravan 3.6. It was supposed to be done in April but ended up getting missed. It will get some Castrol Edge 0w20 and a Mopar filter. I'll head down for the weekend and get it squared away.
2011 Silverado 4.8L/4L60 with a roasted 3-4 clutch, Input drum leaking at where the input shaft presses in was found as the root cause....Very common on ISS (Input speed sensor) 4L60's. Pump was also bad, Pump rotor had rutted the cover & housing.
Tore down a '08 core & it had a good pump & Input drum. Ordered & picked up parts.
Tore down a '08 core & it had a good pump & Input drum. Ordered & picked up parts.
3 loads of rock hauled today (60 miles round trip for each) and started the weekend early.
Ran a few towns over and picked up one of these Coleman B200RSV mini bikes. I’ve wanted one of these since I was a kid and would see them in the Northern Tool catalogs. I guess I’ve reached the age where I don’t feel like I have to ask permission anymore
. TSC is running a $200 off sale this weekend so I just went and got it.
Filled it with some premium non ethanol gas and some John Deere 10w30 break in oil. I figured I’ll run a tank of gas through it and change the oil again. From someone that hasn’t been on motorcycles or anything with two wheels much at all it’s a blast.
Ran a few towns over and picked up one of these Coleman B200RSV mini bikes. I’ve wanted one of these since I was a kid and would see them in the Northern Tool catalogs. I guess I’ve reached the age where I don’t feel like I have to ask permission anymore
. TSC is running a $200 off sale this weekend so I just went and got it. Filled it with some premium non ethanol gas and some John Deere 10w30 break in oil. I figured I’ll run a tank of gas through it and change the oil again. From someone that hasn’t been on motorcycles or anything with two wheels much at all it’s a blast.
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2025
- Messages
- 138
With the truck still moving with that much of the seal missing I would hazard a guess that the transmission pump has "still got oomph"
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2025
- Messages
- 138
1997 F150 4x4 Ball Joint Fiasco
A friend of mine noticed that his trucks steering had become just a tad “slack” on the road and had me take a look at it. I found it needed 2 tie-rod ends, a pitman arm, and to say that the lower ball joints were a “tad” loose would be a massive understatement. Whelp, time to order parts. Now, as I absolutely refuse to cut corners (costs) on parts for the automotive systems that will kill my a$$ if said cheap parts fail, I always choose at least the middle or higher tier of quality for such mundane things as brakes, steering, or suspension components, and always choose brands that (in the past) have most often been of decent quality. Although I very rarely order anything from Rock Auto, I do find their site to be invaluable for the above stated selection process. You can select which “tier” you want, and then order the parts from other online vendors. I went through my selection process and I selected DELPHI for the items I needed. I was ever so wrong to do so.
A toast to my sanity, which died on the lizard infested shores of madness.
As a number of people here can likely attest, tearing down an older trucks torsion bar suspension can quickly become a pain in the a$$. Years of corrosion really makes things……..interesting. The suspension fought me the entire way, and of course, I ended up divesting myself of a few pieces of “bacon” in a number of places. I finally got everything apart, although I was forced to use increasingly larger hammers, and was finally forced to break out the “blue wrench” in order to extract the torsion bars from the old control arms and adjusters. I then prepped for re-assembly, which included wire brushing all fastener threads for ease of assembly.
It all goes horribly wrong.
Now, I am quite sure that there are a number of individuals at this site that know very well what the result ends up being when you think the following, seemingly innocent, thought. “This reassembly is going very well” I have been turning wrenches for a very long time, and I know better then to make that particular statement. The only thought I can muster in my defense is that my brain, due to the oh so many hours it has logged since it emerged from the assembly line all those years ago, must have “blue screened” for a moment, but it was now far, FAR too late to retract that thought. I was 99% completed with the reassembly of one side, the last thing to do being to bolt in the shock absorber, when, imagine my surprise, I found the shock would not fit in the area of the new arm it was supposed to fit into.
On this vehicle, the shocks bottom retaining bolt passes through the side of the cast control arm, through the bottom of the shock, and then through a fairly thin, cast flange, which is part of the control arm casting. On the new, replacement control arm, this cast flange was over twice as thick as the OEM flange (at least 1/8” thicker than the OEM). I then checked the other arm, and yes, same issue. Both of the new arms are unusable as is.
I was not a happy "Wrench Turner" at that point. For giggles (after I had slightly calmed down) I went down to Oreillys (just 6 miles away from me) and checked out their “House Brand” of control arms, and found their parts to be better engineered than the Delphi brand because the shock just dropped right into place. Of course, the Oreillys “house brand” control arms are slightly over $100 more than the Delphi’s that I ordered online because A) they were Delphi and B) the cost was far cheaper than buying locally.
DELPHI, you are now on my permanent $hit list for suspension parts, and actually, probably every other part you decide to put your name on.
For any of you looking to do the same job, here are the 2 miscreants:
A friend of mine noticed that his trucks steering had become just a tad “slack” on the road and had me take a look at it. I found it needed 2 tie-rod ends, a pitman arm, and to say that the lower ball joints were a “tad” loose would be a massive understatement. Whelp, time to order parts. Now, as I absolutely refuse to cut corners (costs) on parts for the automotive systems that will kill my a$$ if said cheap parts fail, I always choose at least the middle or higher tier of quality for such mundane things as brakes, steering, or suspension components, and always choose brands that (in the past) have most often been of decent quality. Although I very rarely order anything from Rock Auto, I do find their site to be invaluable for the above stated selection process. You can select which “tier” you want, and then order the parts from other online vendors. I went through my selection process and I selected DELPHI for the items I needed. I was ever so wrong to do so.
A toast to my sanity, which died on the lizard infested shores of madness.
As a number of people here can likely attest, tearing down an older trucks torsion bar suspension can quickly become a pain in the a$$. Years of corrosion really makes things……..interesting. The suspension fought me the entire way, and of course, I ended up divesting myself of a few pieces of “bacon” in a number of places. I finally got everything apart, although I was forced to use increasingly larger hammers, and was finally forced to break out the “blue wrench” in order to extract the torsion bars from the old control arms and adjusters. I then prepped for re-assembly, which included wire brushing all fastener threads for ease of assembly.
It all goes horribly wrong.
Now, I am quite sure that there are a number of individuals at this site that know very well what the result ends up being when you think the following, seemingly innocent, thought. “This reassembly is going very well” I have been turning wrenches for a very long time, and I know better then to make that particular statement. The only thought I can muster in my defense is that my brain, due to the oh so many hours it has logged since it emerged from the assembly line all those years ago, must have “blue screened” for a moment, but it was now far, FAR too late to retract that thought. I was 99% completed with the reassembly of one side, the last thing to do being to bolt in the shock absorber, when, imagine my surprise, I found the shock would not fit in the area of the new arm it was supposed to fit into.
On this vehicle, the shocks bottom retaining bolt passes through the side of the cast control arm, through the bottom of the shock, and then through a fairly thin, cast flange, which is part of the control arm casting. On the new, replacement control arm, this cast flange was over twice as thick as the OEM flange (at least 1/8” thicker than the OEM). I then checked the other arm, and yes, same issue. Both of the new arms are unusable as is.
I was not a happy "Wrench Turner" at that point. For giggles (after I had slightly calmed down) I went down to Oreillys (just 6 miles away from me) and checked out their “House Brand” of control arms, and found their parts to be better engineered than the Delphi brand because the shock just dropped right into place. Of course, the Oreillys “house brand” control arms are slightly over $100 more than the Delphi’s that I ordered online because A) they were Delphi and B) the cost was far cheaper than buying locally.
DELPHI, you are now on my permanent $hit list for suspension parts, and actually, probably every other part you decide to put your name on.
For any of you looking to do the same job, here are the 2 miscreants:
- DELPHI TC5773
- DELPHI TC5774
Went to diagnose the speed related tick on the 3500 towing the 3 horse tag. Figured it was the trailer as there was some bearing play. Pulled all four wheels, inspected bearings and brakes. Freshened up the grease, retorque spindles as per Dexter and adjust brakes. Always a good excuse to do this. This took up my late morning. I parked it without a further test as I had other things to do.
Late evening, my wife and i moved the truck, issue still there. My wife drove and I ran beside. She said passenger side and was right. Sound coming from rear wheel area. Please don't be a u joint...... she needed the truck early next day for a 12 hour haul. Unhooked and into the shop. Thankfully not a u joint but likely e brake related.
Tore off rear brake and found the smoking gun. The e brake left the chat. Retaining pins must have rusted, the clips were loose rattling around, brake linings gone and one shoe was cockeyed, rubbing on the hub. The backs of the lugs rhythmically clicking. I gutted it and secured lever mechanism and it's roadworthy as parts are on oder.
Late evening, my wife and i moved the truck, issue still there. My wife drove and I ran beside. She said passenger side and was right. Sound coming from rear wheel area. Please don't be a u joint...... she needed the truck early next day for a 12 hour haul. Unhooked and into the shop. Thankfully not a u joint but likely e brake related.
Tore off rear brake and found the smoking gun. The e brake left the chat. Retaining pins must have rusted, the clips were loose rattling around, brake linings gone and one shoe was cockeyed, rubbing on the hub. The backs of the lugs rhythmically clicking. I gutted it and secured lever mechanism and it's roadworthy as parts are on oder.
We had an unusual downpour of rain this morning which has thoroughly saturated anything I had planned to work on today. 1.47” in about 30 minutes.
Decided to take the Coleman out and run some back roads after the sun came out. It probably has around 10 miles on it. Doing the first oil change now. I’ll probably throw some more John Deere Break In oil back in since I have a good amount in my stash from a project a few years back. It had the same silver glitter that all of these Chinese engines produce. It’s running great though.
Decided to take the Coleman out and run some back roads after the sun came out. It probably has around 10 miles on it. Doing the first oil change now. I’ll probably throw some more John Deere Break In oil back in since I have a good amount in my stash from a project a few years back. It had the same silver glitter that all of these Chinese engines produce. It’s running great though.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2026
- Messages
- 148
Oil change on 2008 Saturn Aura.
Picked up another Go Kart, sat outside for 5 years barely used. The gas was old, drained it out and put on a $13 Hipa carb, barely any oil measured on the dipstick, put in some used oil, running like a banshee. My kids (and me) are happy.
