ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0

[Firstram]

I was nearly through the hole when I heard the faint "crack" or "ting" sound and I knew what it was. YEP, as soon as I pulled the tap handle off the tap the broken piece fell out.

Since it’s been such a brittle part, why don’t you re-temper the anvil. You could draw back the notch just a little if you’re careful.

 

[jhn9840]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family Mike. This thread and your YouTube channel are both fantastic.

jhn9840
John

 

[Finallygotit]

Merry Christmas Mike!

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Merry Christmas! Thanks for contributing so much, we all appreciate you sharing your knowledge and enjoy seeing your family prosper!

 

[LXCam]

Merry Christmas to you and yours Mike.

 

[PugetDude]

Tis the Season! I knew that eventually someone would post a Christmas picture of George Jones on his way home from the liquor store.

 

[Jayman17]

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to you Mike. Keep up the great work!

 

[Bob Heine]

(I think files are a WAY underutilized tool in my toolbox)

Marc, I couldn't agree more. About ten years ago I bought handles for all the files that didn't come with one so I would have fewer holes in my palm.

I'd be surprised to know how many times I pull a small chainsaw file out of the drawer during a year and a chainsaw is not the intended victim.

@WoodsTruck, I have a second collection of files in the workshop/shed that includes a couple of chainsaw files with the angles on backing plates. I also bought some new triangle files for sharpening hand saws. I can tune up a handsaw in a few minutes with them. I labeled them and store them in the drawer shown above.

She's probably right, but don't tell her I said that.

Mike, unless your wife is way different than mine, she's always right. The one time I thought she was wrong it turned out once again I was.

 

[BORING HOP YARD]

Merry Christmas Mike, thank you for sharing

 

[Trapps]

Merry Christmas, Mike!

 

[Swanny1953]

Merry Christmas, Mike! I look forward to your continued ruminations in the new year! Thanks for sharing your projects and experience with all of us - let the learning continue!

 

[Jgaz]

Merry Christmas Mike to you and your family.
Thank you for your well documented and very informative posts.

Edit: Duplicate pictures posted

 

[zmotorsports]

Thank you all for the warm wishes this Christmas. I hope everyone had a great Christmas with loved ones.

The wife and I are very blessed and have thoroughly enjoyed the time we have spent with our kids and grandson.

It has been a nice recharge and a reminder of just how blessed we are.

Now I'm ready to hit 2025 running.

 

[CGarage]

@zmotorsports If you were close to me, I would be on your waiting list, no matter how much you wanted to charge me or the wait time!

Me too! I’d even buy him the tooling for my other vehicles he is not (yet) setup for.

 

[CGarage]

Merry Christmas to you and your family, Mike.


I just wanted to add, seeing your step by step, methodical process when working on the F-350 is extremely valuable as a training / teaching tool.

Your systematic, check-list based approach is the right one.

I have, unfortunately, seen far too few technicians in the US follow this.

Seeing the professional and experienced approach you take is so valuable and it provides insight as far as what to look for when evaluating and selecting a mechanic for a repair.

 

[CGarage]

Mike, you have around 18,000 posts with round-about 28,000 reactions.

Your instruction and guidance is truly valuable.
I wish more individuals with your level of knowledge, experience, and professionalism contributed similarly.

 

[PugetDude]

Your instruction and guidance is truly valuable.
I wish more individuals with your level of knowledge, experience, and professionalism contributed similarly.

Some of us have to occupy the other end of the bell curve...

 

[zmotorsports]

Merry Christmas to you and your family, Mike.


I just wanted to add, seeing your step by step, methodical process when working on the F-350 is extremely valuable as a training / teaching tool.

Your systematic, check-list based approach is the right one.

I have, unfortunately, seen far too few technicians in the US follow this.

Seeing the professional and experienced approach you take is so valuable and it provides insight as far as what to look for when evaluating and selecting a mechanic for a repair.

Thank you very much for the kind words. I had a similar conversation with the owner of the Buick the other day when he picked it up. I mentioned I like clients like him and his wife who we shared the caring of their vehicles as a partnership versus just being the mechanic who worked on their stuff. He was very complimentary on the fact that I didn't just throw parts at it nor money and that we had conversations around what I thought needed to be done immediately and when I thought could be postponed if needs be.

For me I hear that all too often and I think those are missed opportunities for mechanics to really connect with their clientele. Vehicle maintenance should be a partnership and not one-sided. And in doing so it should be gone about methodically rather than just "winging it" by fixing the easy stuff and cherry picking the repairs.

Mike, you have around 18,000 posts with round-about 28,000 reactions.

Your instruction and guidance is truly valuable.
I wish more individuals with your level of knowledge, experience, and professionalism contributed similarly.

Thank you, I actually didn't know anything about the reaction scores until a few months back when it was brought up. I'm flattered by those who have made comments and who value my input but I would also like to share that I learn from everyone else just as much as I hope people learn from me. This form is also a partnership in respect that information is shared and not merely one-sided.

 

[Bob Heine]

Some of us have to occupy the other end of the bell curve...

Scott, I wish you hadn't mentioned bell curve. Some of us work outside it.

 

[CGarage]

Mike:

Would enjoy seeing the shop chemicals you decide to keep.

I quite enjoy seeing the tooling as well.

I have bought items I have seen you use to have on hand for basic maintenance tasks. Thank you!

 

[zanyad]

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you and yours!

 

[rharman]

Some of us have to occupy the other end of the bell curve...

Scott, I wish you hadn't mentioned bell curve. Some of us work outside it.

Hey, be proud of yourselves. It's the 1%'rs that support the other (upper) 99%...

 

[ntsqd]

I don't think that patch means what you think it means.

 

[PugetDude]

I don't think that patch means what you think it means.

?

 

[steves_001]

Merry Christmas (belated) and Happy New Year! Looking forward to your ongoing projects and adventures.

 

[InDaRed2]

I have that same set of wrenches in my dad's box I inherited from him.

Actually now that I think about it, there might actually be a spare 1/2" in a box around here somewhere too.

 

[bigdave_185]

Happy new years @zmotorsports

Thank you much for the explanation in great detail. Sorry folks keep bringing your gear sets to build. I guess you could toss a few in with no prep or precision and see if that slows down future work ……… something tells me that’s just not in your DNA.
We just dropped off an 05 drw Duramax at Allopro for a whole new rear end and full undercarriage fluid change. It’s been abused on the farm way too long. I’ll let ya know how well that works out for us

 

[PhantomEB]

Thank you all for the warm wishes this Christmas. I hope everyone had a great Christmas with loved ones.

The wife and I are very blessed and have thoroughly enjoyed the time we have spent with our kids and grandson.

It has been a nice recharge and a reminder of just how blessed we are.

Now I'm ready to hit 2025 running.

Same here Mike. It was great to hear all the family props on the work done in the yard, shop and on bronco. Brother in law said it perfectly, all that needs to be finished it my curb appeal plans in the spring then he’s looking forward to how we update the house finally.

Father in law piped up more power in the shop too! Of course the master electrician in the family has to throw that in!

 

[zmotorsports]

I appreciate all of the comments and kind words.

It's been a busy week here as I've been trying to get a few small jobs completed that have been on my "to-do" list before going into the new year.

Also did a little detailed cleaning and organizing in the shop getting it ready to go into the new year ready for workflow.

My Snap-on dealer said he has a surprise for me after I showed him some recent pictures of my shop. Last week when I stepped onto his truck he was playing the Tool Box Tours video of my shop in his truck. He informed my that he gets quite a few comments about my shop and tool setup from others on his route and that he brags to people that he knows me and I'm on his route, but not sure why that is brag worthy to be honest.

I'll try to get a few pictures posted of some of the work over the last week but if I'm being honest, I was so engrossed in just enjoying the shop and working with my son a couple of the days, that I didn't take many pictures.

I hope everyone is able to get it out to their shops and enjoy them going into the new year and I really appreciate everyone taking the time to continue to follow along on my various projects.

 

[Scuderia-F1]

I appreciate all of the comments and kind words.

It's been a busy week here as I've been trying to get a few small jobs completed that have been on my "to-do" list before going into the new year.

Also did a little detailed cleaning and organizing in the shop getting it ready to go into the new year ready for workflow.

My Snap-on dealer said he has a surprise for me after I showed him some recent pictures of my shop. Last week when I stepped onto his truck he was playing the Tool Box Tours video of my shop in his truck. He informed my that he gets quite a few comments about my shop and tool setup from others on his route and that he brags to people that he knows me and I'm on his route, but not sure why that is brag worthy to be honest.

I'll try to get a few pictures posted of some of the work over the last week but if I'm being honest, I was so engrossed in just enjoying the shop and working with my son a couple of the days, that I didn't take many pictures.

I hope everyone is able to get it out to their shops and enjoy them going into the new year and I really appreciate everyone taking the time to continue to follow along on my various projects.

I totally get why he’s bragging about it. Heck, I brag about how you’re my internet friend and tell shortcut chasers that Mike has the right tool for the job, so better not be slacking on my watch, or I’ll be taking it up with my mate Mike….

 

[zmotorsports]

I totally get why he’s bragging about it. Heck, I brag about how you’re my internet friend and tell shortcut chasers that Mike has the right tool for the job, so better not be slacking on my watch, or I’ll be taking it up with my mate Mike….

Thank you Anders, or I mean "mate".

 

[Scuderia-F1]

Thank you Anders, or I mean "mate".

 

[SilverJimmy]

He informed my that he gets quite a few comments about my shop and tool setup from others on his route and that he brags to people that he knows me and I'm on his route, but not sure why that is brag worthy to be honest.

Mike, if you really want to know why he’s proud to show off your shop you should ride with him and see what a large part of the shops that he goes into look like. Just make sure you’re up on all your shots and vaccines! My wife also ran a route for 14 years. She had certain shops that she knew that the bathrooms were “safe” the rest of her route she would go to large chain department stores if needed! We just had our 22nd anniversary yesterday, so I think she’s forgiven me by now!

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike:

Would enjoy seeing the shop chemicals you decide to keep.

I quite enjoy seeing the tooling as well.

I have bought items I have seen you use to have on hand for basic maintenance tasks. Thank you!

@CGarage , here are some pictures of the chemicals that made the cut and remained on the shelf for use after the purge last week. As far as penetrants go, I ended up keeping both the Knock'er Loose as well as the PB Blaster, but mainly because the cans are nearly full and I can't bring myself to toss them out so I will use them until depleted but after that I think I'll just stick with the old tried and true Kroil (Aerokroil) and quit wasting money on all the others. If I'm being honest, after nearly 40-years of wrenching on all kinds of fasteners in a wide range of environmental conditions, I personally don't think there is any one special sauce for rusted fasteners. I think something is better than nothing and one of the best of that "something" category is in fact, Kroil. If that won't seep down into the cracks and crevices of the corrosion, then heat is your best friend. Fortunately, the days of needing heat to remove a stubborn fastener are very far and few between.















Hope those pictures help. These are just the ones I keep within easy reach above the workbench.

The chemicals that stay are on the carts are a couple cans of brake wash, Kroil, PB Blaster and ZEP Powerhouse. I have both tool carts loaded with the same chemicals.

 

[zmotorsports]

I was able to get some random projects crossed off of my "to-do" list over the past week.

One of those was to go through the records for our coach and replace the failing accordion style records file that was tearing and had been duct taped together multiple times, with an old file box that the wife had kicking around in the basement.

I have the original file folder that came with the coach that has information about the various options and appliances in the coach, I had added to it over the years as we've replaced and/or modified the factory options, but I have kept the OEM file holder. I then had the accordion style one that held all of my various receipts and literature on various other modifications and repairs that I have performed on our coach. The file was looking very worn, and I've had this hard side file holder sitting on the bench for several months now waiting for me to transfer the records over. I finally took some time to go through the records and transfer the ones still relevant and discard others.



I now have room to expand in the hard side file holder as the old one was pretty well at capacity. I guess we'll keep the coach now that I have room for records of more mods and repairs.



I also did a lot of detailing around the shop. I was nearly out of C25 gas on my Miller MM251 so I ran to my local welding supply store and exchanged the 300 cubic foot tank and while the welder was out away from the wall, I pulled all of the rest out and did a detail cleaning behind all of the welding and machining equipment along machinery row. Then the next day while the weather was a bit warmer, I opened shop doors and blew the shop out. We have had unseasonably warm weather here along the Wasatch Front for the past week with highs in the upper 40's and rain for 5 days straight, so it wasn't bad having the shop doors open for about an hour to blow it out and let the dust escape.

 

[zmotorsports]

On Thursday of last week, my son brought his 2002 Silverado 2500HD over and we finally got around to replacing his interior that has been sitting in the shop for a couple of months. My wife and I bought him new material for his two front seats for his birthday, which was in October, but we haven't had the time to replace it.

I didn't snap any pictures of the before while in the truck, but the driver's seat was in very poor condition. The OEM material had torn and foam was coming out in chunks. I almost forgot to take any pictures as we just started early on Thursday morning, cranked up the heat and the stereo and with coffee in hand attacked the truck's interior.

Driver's seat out bottom cushion removed.


Bottom cushion material ready for removal, then foam replacement and material replacement.


Bottom panel completed.


I am really surprised how well The Seat Shop material matched the OEM. Dead nuts on. This way we only had to do the front two bucket seats as the back seat is still in "like new" condition.


Driver's seat completed and ready to reinstall.


One down and one to go.


Passenger's seat in progress.


Passenger's seat completed and ready to reinstall.


And that's a wrap.


That gave the ole' girl another lease on life and she should be good for a while yet. She's holding up well for a 23-year old truck with 300k miles on the clock. My son takes pretty good care of it and so I see no reason why it won't go a long while yet.

Thanks for looking.

 

[zmotorsports]

Then on Friday, my son brought his WJ over to the shop so he could perform a LOF service on it and rotate tires.

I was doing a little cleaning in the shop and it was nice to just hang out with him two days in a row in the shop.

Just as he was finishing up his Jeep and set it down on the ground to torque the wheels, my DIL brought our grandson over to the shop for a visit. He loves hanging out in Papa's shop and I love having him there. He thinks he is so much older than he is and doesn't want to play with toy tools, he wants to play with the real things and he has to be doing whatever his dad is doing.

My son was checking the tire pressures and he was right there in the middle helping him, then dragging the air hose around to the next tire.


And trying to do it himself.




Then when the Jeep was done, my son was backing the Jeep out of the shop and my grandson had to buckle himself in to go for the short drive from the shop to the backyard. He knows he needs to seatbelt in and my son has him saying "safety first" when buckling up. It is so damn adorable when he says it.



I can't believe he only 21-months old and his vocabulary and word usage is so amazing. He will walk to my toolbox, open a drawer and point to the various tools and he knows what many of them are already, the others he asks, then goes "wow". We also had to measure him and mark it on the door frame as he's growing like a weed. He didn't want to go in the house and wanted to stay out in the shop, which did my heart good.

 

[zmotorsports]

Wrapping up the Christmas week, I brought he wife's daily into the shop and gave it a full service as well. It was within a few hundred miles of needs a service but seeing as how I had time and I want to get a few other side jobs going in the shop, I figured I'd knock out the service and it should be good for a couple of months.

So Saturday morning with coffee in hand, I headed to the shop and cranked up the stereo to enjoy a few hours of quality time in the shop.


I moved the two cooling hoses out of the bracket to gain access to the transmission fill plug, then removed it and stuffed a rag over the hole to allow it to vent while draining, yet keep dirt out of the fill port.


A couple of engine covers removed and fender covers in place to protect the paint.


Oil filter was replaced while the engine oil was draining.


New drain plug seal was installed and lower control arm and K-member wiped down to remove oil droplets from the filter replacement.


Then attention was turned to the transmission drain plug. Oil still looks nice and red in color and no odd smells.


Only a small amount of normal deposits on the drain magnet.


Transmission drain plug cleaned, old seal/washer removed so a new one could be installed.


Nice day to be working in the shop with it snowing in the mountains and raining outside. Nice and warm in the shop with tunes playing. Doesn't get much better.





Stay tuned for a few more pictures.

 

[zmotorsports]

Continuing on with the service on the wife's daily driver.

With new drain seal/washer, the oil drain plug was torqued to spec.


Same with the transmission drain plug.


Then the tires/wheels were installed in their newly appointed positions and they were torqued to spec.


Lastly, after filling the transmission, the two cooling hoses were reinstalled in the factory clip and everything was double checked.


Engine oil poured in, then engine covers reinstalled and wiped down.



And the routine service is complete.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Boosted1]

Those seats turned out great. Looks new.
And having done that job myself, your Before and After photos make it look easier than it is, haha.