ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0

[zmotorsports]

With the wedding on Friday and it was a perfect day my wife and I were able to relax a little and enjoy the day.

Yesterday I decided to tackle a large project on our coach but NOT one I was looking forward to. I detected a hydraulic leak in a couple of hose fittings last fall and it had gotten worse on our Memorial weekend trip so I found some hose part numbers and ordered them a couple of weeks ago.

The hoses were from the street side main slide room cylinders to the synchronizing cylinder. They were leaking at the crimped ends. The new hoses arrived last week and I couldn’t wait to get them replaced as my wife and I would like to start our summer traveling here next month and wanted them replaced prior to our trips.

The hoses from HWH.


Everything at the ready.




Although this was far from a technical job, it was definitely a physically demanding one due to the tight confines of the storage bays in which I had to work in. Once the upper storage bay ceiling panels were removed it became evident how these manufactures do not plan on these components needing repairs. The number of tie wraps and location/orientation of the tie wraps show they are solely concerned with assembly and no thought given to future repairs.




Once zip ties were cut I connected a new line to an old line and pulled them through.












One down, one to go.




And of course, there’s that one zip tie that brings the whole job to a screeching halt because it was installed from the top when it was a bare chassis and no one thought it would have to be repaired from the bottom up.


Hoses replaced and now to start the bleeding process.


Bleeding process completed, the slide reconnected to the hydraulic cylinders and the slide ran in & out several times to ensure everything is functioning properly.


I decided to run a vacuum throughout the storage bays prior to putting everything back.


I’m glad that project is done and marked off the white board.

Today is the first day my wife and I have had to sit and relax in a while so we’re enjoying it by sitting on the deck and enjoying the back yard.

Thanks for following along and again, I appreciate all of the thoughts and comments over the last couple of weeks. Now that the wedding is over I promise to get back to projects and trip documentations.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Always learning from you Mike. Instead of just saying you had an oil and coolant leak, you walked us through the diagnosis and repair. Good stuff.

 

[jask]

agreed! thanks Mike

 

[zkdiesel]

Good luck in the rv repairs! They ****. And from experience once they start leaking around the crimps it’s gonna be a constant battle till all the lines have been replaced. Bobcat mini excavators from the 90’s are a prime example

 

[cweidert03]

Congrats on getting the wedding completed! I am sure you were very proud watching him walk your new Daughter-in-lawwalk out of the ceremony


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[gearhead1960]

Congratulations on the DIL. It's all about the family.....

 

[Duker]

Mike, I wanted to add my congratulations to the list as well. I hope you can now relax and get back to some RV’ing and 4 wheeling!




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[zmotorsports]

Thank you all for the kind words.

It was such as awesome day. They wrote their own vows and to listen to the thought and sentiment that went into each of their vows was amazing. I was blown over by the words they were using and by how much love they have for one another and it made me proud of my son and grateful to be a part of their ceremony.

My daughter-in-law had put so much thought into this whole wedding it was staggering. Evidently she had told my wife that she has been planning her wedding since she was a little girl but she just couldn't find the right guy and was beginning to wonder if he even existed, until she met our son.

 

[zmotorsports]

Here are a few pictures of the yard where the ceremony and reception was held. Her father’s passion was his yard and as a tribute to her late father she wanted her wedding in their back yard. It was an awesome tribute to say the least.

It was just a small and intimate ceremony with only about 75 people but it was perfect as well as the setting.










The cutting of the cake.


I was so honored that my daughter-in-law had asked me to walk her down the aisle and I almost made it before my emotions got the better of me.

It was a very special day that I will always treasure.

 

[zmotorsports]

After the ceremony my beautiful new daughter-in-law presented my wife and I each with a small gift and told us how much she was looking forward to being a member of our family and how she was looking forward to bearing our last name.

She told us that our son had shared exactly what our name meant to me and how proud I am of it and that she was honored and excited to carry it from now on as well.

I was so blown away by her comments and then when she presented my wife with a bracelet and me with a knife that had these engravings. It was almost too much and I couldn’t contain my emotions, again.

 

[aka Larry]

Congrats to your son and your new daughter-in-law Mike. The knife was really nice touch! Looks like your boy done good!

 

[zmotorsports]

Congrats to your son and your new daughter-in-law Mike. The knife was really nice touch! Looks like your boy done good!

Thank you Vincent. Yes, he did real well and they make a great couple.

 

[Ohmthis]

Congrats Mike! Another chapter in your book of life. Here’s a toast to many great family memories!!!

 

[zmotorsports]

Congrats Mike! Another chapter in your book of life. Here’s a toast to many great family memories!!!

Thank you. I appreciate that.

Chapter is right, my son and his wife are now starting a new chapter in their lives and my wife and I are starting a new chapter in ours being empty nesters.

Truth be told, I'm excited for both.

But, I do miss seeing my son and working with him in the shop on a daily basis.

 

[gearhead1960]

But, I do miss seeing my son and working with him in the shop on a daily basis.

Mike,

The real trick is to get both of them in the shop working on a project together with you..... The "dream team".....

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,



The real trick is to get both of them in the shop working on a project together with you..... The "dream team".....[emoji481]

Yeah, that would be awesome.

She’s already spent some time hanging out in the shop over the past year while my son and I have been working on his Jeep during a few projects but I don’t expect her to be out there much.

This whole shop, Jeep, Harley and cars in general are quite new to her as none of her brothers or her dad were into cars but I think she’s enjoying it so far. Several people who came through the line at the reception asked her if she liked cars because she will need to if she’s marrying into our family. She simply replied that she has figured that out and is learning quick.

I’ll definitely make sure to get the grandkids involved with shop projects.

 

[Boosted1]

Congrats Mike (and to your son & daughter in law).
Sounds like a win all the way around!

 

[shortykorte]

A very nice venue for a wedding. Sounds like a wonderful day and looks like you have a caring and thoughtful daughter in law.
I’m sure in a few years there will be little ones that will need Grandma time and QST with Grandpa.


Shorty Korte
Always remember quality in QST

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[zmotorsports]

Thanks guys.

It was a beautiful setting for a wedding and reception.

I want them to enjoy being married for a while before they start a family but I have a feeling it won't be long, at least not as long as I would like them to wait but they're not kids either and I'm sure they are excited to start a family of their own.

I'm not gonna lie though, I'm kind of excited for a little one or two to play with, especially quality shop time and Jeeping time.

 

[Finallygotit]

Mike, hearty congratulations all around. So much good going on here, it gives one renewed faith in humanity.

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, hearty congratulations all around. So much good going on here, it gives one renewed faith in humanity.

Thank you very much Dan.

I completely agree, this has been such a wonderful experience it has given me pause to reflect back on my own life and work towards a more grateful attitude about things.

 

[jackson1701]

Congratulations to all of you, its very easy to see that you and your wife did a great job raising your son to be a great man. It sounds like the two of them are an amazing couple. It's nice to know that there is still hope in the world with a younger generation!

 

[zmotorsports]

Congratulations to all of you, its very easy to see that you and your wife did a great job raising your son to be a great man. It sounds like the two of them are an amazing couple. It's nice to know that there is still hope in the world with a younger generation!

Thank you. I appreciate that, although I think my son came pre-programmed. I don't think I deserve all of the credit. He's really been a great kid all along. I gave a brief talk at the wedding luncheon and I mentioned that it was a joy and a privilege to watch him mature into the man he is and there was never any gray area with him, it was either black or white, right or wrong, no in-between. That's just the way he is wired and the way he was delivered to my wife and I.

 

[rmack898]

. That's just the way he is wired and the way he was delivered to my wife and I.

Maybe so but you and your wife wrote the schematic.

 

[zmotorsports]

Maybe so but you and your wife wrote the schematic.

Thank you Mac. I guess I was just downplaying me and my wife taking all of the credit. He really has been an exceptional kid all during his childhood.

 

[Ohmthis]

Thanks guys.

It was a beautiful setting for a wedding and reception.

I want them to enjoy being married for a while before they start a family but I have a feeling it won't be long, at least not as long as I would like them to wait but they're not kids either and I'm sure they are excited to start a family of their own.

I'm not gonna lie though, I'm kind of excited for a little one or two to play with, especially quality shop time and Jeeping time.

I know this is on every parents mind when their children get married. There is no right or wrong way to go in my eyes. Little miracles come when we least expect them to. My wife and I waited to have children later in life because I wanted to make sure I was “ready” (financially, maturity, mentally, and responsibility wise) I absolutely love watching my kids together with my dad. It’s cool to see from another angle how good of a dad he is. I know my kids have great memories of him and will continue to have more. Enjoy these times buddy!

 

[zmotorsports]

I know this is on every parents mind when their children get married. There is no right or wrong way to go in my eyes. Little miracles come when we least expect them to. My wife and I waited to have children later in life because I wanted to make sure I was “ready” (financially, maturity, mentally, and responsibility wise) I absolutely love watching my kids together with my dad. It’s cool to see from another angle how good of a dad he is. I know my kids have great memories of him and will continue to have more. Enjoy these times buddy!

Thank you.

I know what you mean by they come when we least expect them. I hadn't really given a lot of thought to when we would start a family after my wife and I were married. I had other things on my mind, in my eyes I had other priorities at the time.

Funny story about how/when we got pregnant though.... I was 20 and my wife was 19 when we were married. We rented a small house for about 14 months as I was having fun and my shop was behind my parent's house on their farm so I had what I needed and focused on playing, building bikes & cars and racing. My wife wanted a house of our own and I wanted a shop behind the house so we started to save and look at houses.

We found one we really liked actually sooner than I had planned where I could build a decent sized shop in the back yard. At the time we had only saved up enough for a deposit and about $20k for a shop which I knew wouldn't be nearly enough. After closing on the house I figured we were looking good and my wife started "hinting" that it may be time to start a family. I agreed because I didn't want to wait too long to have kids because my dad was older and was 62 when I graduated high school so I knew I didn't want to wait that long. I kept telling myself I wanted to still be young enough to enjoy my kids but old enough to be responsible.

I figured I would "negotiate" with the wife and so I told her we would start a family as soon as we (A) bought a house and (B) I got off swing shift and then I figured it would still be a while before we got pregnant.

Ha, ha, ha, not so long. We bought our house the first week of March in 1991 and a week later several of my fellow mechanics left our shop to go to a new location where we opened up a warehouse and I went to days. A week later my wife informed me that she was pregnant. HOLY ****!!! All three things hit me in the same month, house, day shift and kid on the way. I was NOT expecting that.

My wife was put on bedrest by her doctor by the end of the summer due to complications and I was trying to put in our yard and take care of all the household duties as well as working on cars on the side for extra money because we had just been reduced to a single income family with my wife on a medical leave of absence.

It was all worth it as our son who was born 2+ months premature @ 2 lbs/3 ozs was definitely a miracle. He was only given about a 30% chance of survival within those first couple of weeks but I prayed every one of those 72 days that he was in NICU that we would be able to bring home a healthy son and he would grow to live a normal and healthy life. That was 27-years ago and I have been blessed every day since.

So when you say these little miracles happen when we least expect it, you have NO idea how close to the truth that is.

I had no idea what kind of father I would be or how I would handle fatherhood but I had a great example from my dad and wanted at least be half the father he was.

 

[gearhead1960]

So when you say these little miracles happen when we least expect it, you have NO idea how close to the truth that is.

Mike,

You are so right! My wife and I had our first son with no issues. Our second son we consider our miracle baby as my wife had 3 miscarriages before he came along. That was after the doctors had thrown in the towel on why my wife couldn't keep a viable fetus....

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,



You are so right! My wife and I had our first son with no issues. Our second son we consider our miracle baby as my wife had 3 miscarriages before he came along. That was after the doctors had thrown in the towel on why my wife couldn't keep a viable fetus....

It sure makes you appreciate life and cherish our little ones that’s for sure.

 

[zmotorsports]

Tonight after work I started fabricating a cart or stand for my new Branick 7600 strut spring compressor. I don’t want to give up any wall space so I thought a cart that I could store in my storage bay and wheel over into the shop when needed was a better option for my situation.

I cut a couple of 1/4” x 2” x 6” plates to mount the compressor to and weld them to the post.


Post and base pieces cut and mocked into position.


Base welded.


Brackets bolted to the compressor and then welded to the post.




Base welded and phenolic wheels mocked into place ready to cut some mounting tabs for the wheels.


Thanks for looking.

 

[Nlped]

Mine is done a little like yours as far as ‘portable’. But I put a “receiver hitch” on one wall and mine hooks into that. Works like a champ and I can put it up in the loft when not in use.
Same receiver hitch is used for one of my grinders, a vise, and some weirdo clamps I use to hold parts when I weld. .

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[zmotorsports]

Mine is done a little like yours as far as ‘portable’. But I put a “receiver hitch” on one wall and mine hooks into that. Works like a champ and I can put it up in the loft when not in use.
Same receiver hitch is used for one of my grinders, a vise, and some weirdo clamps I use to hold parts when I weld. .

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I can see where that would work as well but I’m not getting any younger and wanted something a little more portable and easy to move into position as I age.

This should be fairly easy to move in and out of my storage bay as needed and at about 100 pounds much less stressful on my back.

 

[Nlped]

I can see where that would work as well but I’m not getting any younger and wanted something a little more portable and easy to move into position as I age.

This should be fairly easy to move in and out of my storage bay as needed and at about 100 pounds much less stressful on my back.

Totally understand that rational!


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[gearhead1960]

It sure makes you appreciate life and cherish our little ones that’s for sure.

Except when they need money.....

 

[zmotorsports]

Except when they need money.....

Luckily we’ve moved past that as he makes much better money than I do as he has an awesome job and an even better start in life.

 

[zmotorsports]

A couple of weeks ago I had a neighbor ask me how I keep the edges of my lawn so straight and at the perfect angle.

I jokingly told him I merely keep my edger calibrated.






Today while I was replacing the worn blade on my edger and thought I would have a little fun with him.

I text him these pictures and told him I was calibrating my edger.






I think I may be a few thou off. [emoji38]

 

[shortykorte]

1/2 Cup would be proud of those edges. Wish I could get my grass that healthy and green.


Shorty Korte
Always remember quality in QST

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[losdudes]

That’s awesome

 

[gearhead1960]

I text him these pictures and told him I was calibrating my edger.

Did he buy it?

 

[zmotorsports]

Yeah, he got a kick out of it.


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