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What did you do "IN" your garage today?

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GrayFlattop

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2018
Messages
1,051
Location
Chicago
Swapped the winter rubber onto the Volvo and put the summer set in the shed. The snowblower went from the shed to the garage. We will see how long this effort keeps the snow away…

I wrapped up things early to take advantage of the wonderfully warm day to get some bratwurst and pork chops on the grill before dark. 55 today and a low of 5 is on the docket for Wednesday. Might be the last shot at grilling for a bit. I’ll do the service on the Toro tomorrow and shuffle things around / clean up.
 
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jblnut

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Jan 17, 2015
Messages
7,125
Location
In the Middle of MN
It’s finally time to close in the loft wall and fancy up the stairs !! My cousin Danny is the brains behind this project. I asked him to do this last winter when we got the wall up and he’s a busy guy so he just got here now. He’s the pinnacle of what guys want in GJ. He ain’t cheap and doesn’t do things cheap. He’s giving me a family discount and I’m paying cash for his labor so he’s knocking $40/hr OFF the bill. He works 90% in high end million dollar homes and has no trouble finding work.
IMG_2706.jpeg

This is all stuff I’m capable of doing but he did in an afternoon what would take me days so it’s money well spent. He hollered out measurements and angles and I played saw operator throwing him pieces as fast as I could cut them. I asked him if he could line up the ribs on the loft and stairs walls with the ribs on the ceiling and he said “if you don’t want it that way I don’t want to do it”. Yup. I’m more excited about that than having it all enclosed lol
IMG_2707.jpeg

An afternoon of work and I’m very happy so far. I’m planning on putting a 1” varnished red oak board on top the railing to cap it and either painting the plywood white or putting a tongue and groove something of sorts over the plywood. It’ll likely get painted. I think I may have another carpet installing cousin come put some industrial high traffic short nap carpet on the steps. We’ll see.
IMG_2708.jpeg
 

Mike S.

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 16, 2022
Messages
271
Location
Charlotte, NC
My reliable old daily driver is getting some much needed repairs and maintenance. New power steering high pressure line, all 3 engine mounts plus the the trans mount. New timing belt, tensioner, water pump and idler pulley. Valve lash adjustment and new spark plugs. Plus new o-rings for the leaky oil filter adapter and an oil change.

RL_service.jpg
 

PWC Repair

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Messages
3,187
Location
Arkansas
Well.........I tore down ANOTHER Rotax 800 from a different Seadoo. This one was locked up. I pulled the jet pump to make sure THAT wasn't the issue. Then I put big 'ol pliers on the output and turned the motor backwards. It would go either direction but lock up at a bit before TDC. Just yanked it cause everything was gross anyway. CHECK THAT OUT!! Broke a power valve and somehow did NOT damage ANYTHING! I could even re-use that piston if I wanted, just a light mark across the carbon deposits. Let me tell you.......this is usually major carnage city! I did a light hone and the clearance will be OK at std bore. Probably just all new gaskets and seals and one new piston on this one.
 

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Kent_B

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 4, 2013
Messages
1,406
Location
MI
Finished repairing wiring harness/connector issues on the POS Element (yes, the ugly one), topped off the fluids, and drove it up and down the road to test the new/used transmission. After I contacted the lady, she asked "Can you look at the radio too?, it doesn't make sound". I want this thing out of my life.
Even though I understand your being pressured from "upstairs," this is why I absolutely refuse to work on any vehicle where my name isn't on the title
 

SMOKEYBEAR

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 3, 2016
Messages
461
Yesterday and today, working on getting my new to me Jet band saw mobile. Double 3/4 plywood, hardwood band hoping to prevent the plywood edge from getting damaged, double locking casters, quick paint for my personal entertainment. Probably could of bought one for same or less money.


Sanded the excess glue off of the last of the 3 blocks that will make up the butcher block table I'm working on. Skipped the edges, they will get cut square once I get the three pieces together. I significantly underestimated the amount of work it's taking. I have no deadline, its a project for myself, so no stress. Plenty of work left to flatten and get the prepped to be glued together.
 

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Old Man Roger

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 6, 2017
Messages
17,733
Location
Palm Coast Florida
Well.........I tore down ANOTHER Rotax 800 from a different Seadoo. This one was locked up. I pulled the jet pump to make sure THAT wasn't the issue. Then I put big 'ol pliers on the output and turned the motor backwards. It would go either direction but lock up at a bit before TDC. Just yanked it cause everything was gross anyway. CHECK THAT OUT!! Broke a power valve and somehow did NOT damage ANYTHING! I could even re-use that piston if I wanted, just a light mark across the carbon deposits. Let me tell you.......this is usually major carnage city! I did a light hone and the clearance will be OK at std bore. Probably just all new gaskets and seals and one new piston on this one.
How? Did that chunk fall off just as the engine stopped running? I know I would never have that kind of luck.lol

As I was scrolling through your pics, I was saying to myself wait till he shows the combustion chamber, it’s gonna look like an inverted golf ball..lol Much to my surprise, I was wrong.
 

JohnX14

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Messages
600
Location
Boston 'burbs
On the plus side of the column I now have some free cabinets to put in the shed. The negative is that it has a gambrel roof and some of these cabinets are really long. Any reason I can't mount them sideways, so that the door lifts up instead of swinging out?
No reason at all. I built some cabinets that I plan to build doors for that open with a top hinge rather than side hinge. (If I ever get to that...)
 

rharman

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
8,894
Location
SoCal
It’s finally time to close in the loft wall and fancy up the stairs !! My cousin Danny is the brains behind this project. I asked him to do this last winter when we got the wall up and he’s a busy guy so he just got here now. He’s the pinnacle of what guys want in GJ. He ain’t cheap and doesn’t do things cheap. He’s giving me a family discount and I’m paying cash for his labor so he’s knocking $40/hr OFF the bill. He works 90% in high end million dollar homes and has no trouble finding work.
IMG_2706.jpeg

This is all stuff I’m capable of doing but he did in an afternoon what would take me days so it’s money well spent. He hollered out measurements and angles and I played saw operator throwing him pieces as fast as I could cut them. I asked him if he could line up the ribs on the loft and stairs walls with the ribs on the ceiling and he said “if you don’t want it that way I don’t want to do it”. Yup. I’m more excited about that than having it all enclosed lol
IMG_2707.jpeg

An afternoon of work and I’m very happy so far. I’m planning on putting a 1” varnished red oak board on top the railing to cap it and either painting the plywood white or putting a tongue and groove something of sorts over the plywood. It’ll likely get painted. I think I may have another carpet installing cousin come put some industrial high traffic short nap carpet on the steps. We’ll see.
IMG_2708.jpeg

The first step out those double doors is going to be a doozy!
 
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PWC Repair

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Messages
3,187
Location
Arkansas
How? Did that chunk fall off just as the engine stopped running? I know I would never have that kind of luck.lol

As I was scrolling through your pics, I was saying to myself wait till he shows the combustion chamber, it’s gonna look like an inverted golf ball..lol Much to my surprise, I was wrong.
I know right?! My best guess is that it happened after somebody shut it off. Like possibly the exhaust pressure at every stroke was enough pressure to keep the loose blade "pushed" up into position. Shut engine off and blade falls down into cylinder. Next attempt at starting and BAM......piston smacks the blade and breaks it off.....engine can't crank past TDC and luckily can't destroy itself. The Yamaha 800 engine is WELL KNOWN for breaking power valve blades. MOST times the whole blade just gets spit out the exhaust with little to no damage.
 

kaymccampbell

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 27, 2015
Messages
29,598
Location
Upstate New York
Repaired the big KitchenAid mixer. Relamped both big maglites with LEDs. Worked in lightburn. Designed a maker coin for a non-profit DD group. Went through a dozen iterations. Burned their first batch. Printed an invoice, bagged everything, and put it on a hook for tomorrow.

This is the 3D lamp with LED and nearly dead batteries on the left vs the 4D with original bulb and new batteries on the right.
IMG_20241210_144951.jpg
 

zmotorsports

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
Messages
21,441
Location
Northern Utah
Well.........I tore down ANOTHER Rotax 800 from a different Seadoo. This one was locked up. I pulled the jet pump to make sure THAT wasn't the issue. Then I put big 'ol pliers on the output and turned the motor backwards. It would go either direction but lock up at a bit before TDC. Just yanked it cause everything was gross anyway. CHECK THAT OUT!! Broke a power valve and somehow did NOT damage ANYTHING! I could even re-use that piston if I wanted, just a light mark across the carbon deposits. Let me tell you.......this is usually major carnage city! I did a light hone and the clearance will be OK at std bore. Probably just all new gaskets and seals and one new piston on this one.

I know right?! My best guess is that it happened after somebody shut it off. Like possibly the exhaust pressure at every stroke was enough pressure to keep the loose blade "pushed" up into position. Shut engine off and blade falls down into cylinder. Next attempt at starting and BAM......piston smacks the blade and breaks it off.....engine can't crank past TDC and luckily can't destroy itself. The Yamaha 800 engine is WELL KNOWN for breaking power valve blades. MOST times the whole blade just gets spit out the exhaust with little to no damage.

We used to see a lot of issues with power valves on snowmobiles when they were first introduced in the later 90's. Seems like the type (and brand) of oil used seemed to play a large role in how freely they moved, or gummed up. When they started to gum up, the spring pressure sometimes wasn't enough to overcome the gunk and they'd hang up and worst case, contact a piston. I started making it part of our pre-season check up service to pull them and clean them for our clients. Also, when boring and porting we'd add just a little more clearance to them and radius the edges just a bit more which seemed to help.
 

PhantomEB

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 6, 2006
Messages
6,787
Location
Medicine Hat, AB, Canuckistan
Gotta take my engine crane out of the car as I didn’t get home til 10:30 last night. Then put the gas bottle in to take in for a swap.

1PM she heads out for work so it’s a day of some errands to be ready for the weekend. Gonna find out how much my lease is on the Argon bottle to decide if I want to keep it for one more year to at least to use up some of the gas practicing TiG welding.

then I be cutting steel, putting stuff away and cleaning up. I was not happy to have to move stuff at 10:30 to put my car in.
 

Roger M

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 11, 2022
Messages
151
Location
Snohomish, WA
Nothing too involved today. Check engine light came on(and it seems the car went into some kind of half assed limp mode) in my old Volvo V70xc. The code was for the coolant temperature sensor.

I ordered a sensor and a thermostat. When I removed the thermostat housing, I discovered this(the one on the left)

20241210_144953.jpg

I didn't bother replacing the sensor. All is well for now and the Volvo lives to fight another day.
 

jblnut

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Jan 17, 2015
Messages
7,125
Location
In the Middle of MN
The back right tire on the skiddy went flat on the bottom so I jacked it up to see what was going on. GJ safety police must have been close by. There is a jack stand under there :lol_hitti
IMG_2709.jpeg

Well the picture of the dang lag bolt won’t load and the picture of the plug I put in hat pushed out won’t load either so you get to see this one. I said screw it and put in a tube. I booted over the big hole and found a couple more nails sticking inside that weren’t leaking yet somehow and pulled them out. Baby powdered the **** out of it and filled it up.
IMG_2712.jpeg
 

budo55

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 25, 2010
Messages
107
Location
Pure Michigan
Took advantage of the 47 deg weather and pulled the Deere x300 mower deck. Had my son help bring the snow blade for the Deere up from under the deck to the garage. Snow and bitter cold coming Wed night and Thursday.....rearranged the Honda 2 stage snow blower and Toro 16" Powerlite blower for easier access if needed. Still using the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared!
 

jblnut

ALLIANCE MEMBER
Joined
Jan 17, 2015
Messages
7,125
Location
In the Middle of MN
I ran to the local farm and fleet store and grabbed what they had on the shelf. It looked pretty decent. I had some 10-16.5’s on hand and some other sizes but have never needed, or wanted, to tube a 12-16.5 skiddy tire before. I will pick up another one from my tire guy with a metal stem like the other I use when needed. I had to feed cattle and needed something now or I’d have ran farther to get a better tube. We’ll see how it holds up :dunno:
 

CoogarXR

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
Messages
6,867
Location
Ohio
Opened my new pack of Harbor Freight impact Torx bits. I know this is a terrible idea, but I'm gonna do it anyway. I have a stuck balljoint. It has a Torx recess on the center shaft, and an 18mm nut. You're supposed to hold the torx and crank the 18mm with a wrench. Well it's almost off. It only needs about 3 more threads, but it's stuck. So I'm gonna just jam the 18mm wrench against something and try to hit the torx with my impact. I'll probably just break the bit, but WTF, I've got nothing to lose at this point. It's a lifetime warranty socket, and if it doesn't work, I've gotta cut the nut or balljoint off, which is the next step anyway. Pray to the ugga-dugga gods for me, lol.

Also took pictures of the CV axle so I could match it up to a replacment. There's like 3 axles it could be, and none of the year/make/model/vin things were definitive. Luckily I was able to make out the OEM part number. So the new axle is on the way.

Rock auto should have plaque in their lobby with my name on it after this job is done.
Replying to myself here, just in case anybody wondered about how the part in bold turned out...

Yep, I broke the torx socket. It was worth a shot, lol. I just ended up cutting the balljoint off with a mini sawsall. The balljoint metal was easier to cut than I thought it would be. So if anyone ever needs to cut a balljoint, it's no big deal. Had I know that, I wouldn't have even bothered with the impact stunt.

But that silliness aside, the new CV axle came in today, so I installed it. I installed the new balljoint too. The driver's side is ready to button back up, but my back is sore, so I'm stopping for the day. Lifting the bazillion-pound knuckle/rotor assembly and trying to get the strut to fit down inside of it, all while simultaneously trying to line the balljoint bolts up while prying down on the control arm just seems like too much for me today, lol.

I'm glad I broke the axle though, because when I went to replace it, I see that 3/6 of the bolts were tight, 2 were loose enough to be removed by hand, and the last one was missing! Hopefully that's why it had a shimmy. We'll see when it's back on the road.
 
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