Above 1200 Sq/FT 86's 20HP shop

[ClappedOutBport]

I've found new and used sectors, and only used pitman arms. That makes sense.
Cylinders probably need to be new. What a pain. I don't need added projects.

What's up with the cylinders?

 

[86turbodsl]

I'm moving from a single cylinder that "assists" on the one side with the spool to a pair of cylinders mounted on the tie rods for each wheel. That's the way the 550 Factory Oliver loaders/tractors/forklifts were. This 551 was made for Oliver by KD in Texas. Their own design. With this change, the steering gear just provides input to the spool and synchronizes the hydraulic cylinders. Very minimal torque passes through the gears. Right now, all the torque for the Left wheel steering passes through the geartrain. It appears to have been fixed at least 1 time before now. So that's 2X minimum this failure has occurred.

 

[86turbodsl]

Sounds like you could have found your Video Crew! Your son might be a natural.

Well, we shall see!

 

[ClappedOutBport]

I'm moving from a single cylinder that "assists" on the one side with the spool to a pair of cylinders mounted on the tie rods for each wheel. That's the way the 550 Factory Oliver loaders/tractors/forklifts were. This 551 was made for Oliver by KD in Texas. Their own design. With this change, the steering gear just provides input to the spool and synchronizes the hydraulic cylinders. Very minimal torque passes through the gears. Right now, all the torque for the Left wheel steering passes through the geartrain. It appears to have been fixed at least 1 time before now. So that's 2X minimum this failure has occurred.

I gotcha.

 

[bulletpruf]

Yeah, no insurance other than required. No collision. WAY too much for collision in this state. He's paying out of pocket. Right now we think about 1000 USD and free labor.

Hey, free content right???

Making lemonade out of lemons!

 

[86turbodsl]

So i've made no progress on the forklift so far, but most of the video stuff has shown up, i've solved a minor hurdle installing filesystem drivers on my debian install to read an sdcard from the gopro, it's now working and i can read gopro vids.

Work is a hassle, i'm hoping it slows down enough soon to do some WFH. Might be a rough month.

I really need to order forklift parts but have been too busy during the day. I am doing my former admin's work now too. yay, i just love purchasing and accounting work... i need a new profession....

 

[86turbodsl]

Really nice weekend weather, i did get some things done. Picked up a truckload of rough sawn white oak for decking on the gooseneck trailer. Plan is all the diesel escorts go bye-bye. But it will be a bit of a slow process. Still have to move the axles and rewire/paint.

Got the subframe from the audi cleaned up and painted. Still pulling parts on the engine, everything is a struggle. Everything is rusty crusty. Had to pound a torx socket into every allen headed crankshaft bolt to get it out. Now working on the aluminum power steering pulley off the hub. Of course it's siezed, and the bolts to remove the pump from the bracket are behind the pulley, and the front cover for the timing belt is trapped behind it, so the pulley HAS to come off or the timing belt cannot be changed. Real smart design...

One of my big projects ends today, so i may get to WFH tomorrow, we shall see.

 

[Strouty]

Sounds like you were busy for sure, we aren't going to have too many more good weekends, so I hope the WFH is a go.

 

[bulletpruf]

Really nice weekend weather, i did get some things done. Picked up a truckload of rough sawn white oak for decking on the gooseneck trailer. Plan is all the diesel escorts go bye-bye. But it will be a bit of a slow process. Still have to move the axles and rewire/paint.

Got the subframe from the audi cleaned up and painted. Still pulling parts on the engine, everything is a struggle. Everything is rusty crusty. Had to pound a torx socket into every allen headed crankshaft bolt to get it out. Now working on the aluminum power steering pulley off the hub. Of course it's siezed, and the bolts to remove the pump from the bracket are behind the pulley, and the front cover for the timing belt is trapped behind it, so the pulley HAS to come off or the timing belt cannot be changed. Real smart design...

One of my big projects ends today, so i may get to WFH tomorrow, we shall see.

Working on old rusty stuff is a character building experience...

 

[86turbodsl]

Sounds like you were busy for sure, we aren't going to have too many more good weekends, so I hope the WFH is a go.

At this point, it looks like WFH is only good for Thurs. I may try to sneak home after lunch and do a afternoon WFH. We'll see. Forecast is 78F today!

 

[86turbodsl]

Made it home a whopping 1/2 hr early. Whee....

I have blasted the last coolant pipe, crank pulley and alt bracket. They are primed and drying in the hurricane force wind outside. Should be no problem to paint black by dark.

 

[86turbodsl]

I thought i had all the coolant pipes done, i found one more under the timing covers. Also rotten looking, along with all of the fasteners. I'm going to have hundreds in fasteners when i'm done with this thing...

 

[Strouty]

That stuff adds up quick, at least it isn't stuff that is too hard to find, I am running into that now with one of my latest projects.

How are things going overall?

 

[86turbodsl]

Very very slow. I pull a component off, it fights me, the fasteners fall apart and i am struggling to keep everything organized. The shop looks like my car exploded in it. Once this thing is done, i think i need to spend a considerable amount of time organizing. I clearly do not have enough storage and organization to handle huge projects like this.

On the plus side, i have pretty much everything here, the engine and trans are back together, the cams are locked, the crank is locked, the coolant pipes are cleaned and painted, orings are here, most fasteners are here, and working on getting timing belt changed. Timing was off quite a bit. First time i've used the crank lock pin. Been just being careful for last few times. Nope. Use the crank pin.

I think the biggest issue i have now is keeping everything organized so it can go back together properly.

I have about 1 weekend left before it gets cold. We'll be into heating in another month and then it'll slow down again.

 

[Strouty]

Yes, cold is almost here, looks like we get some 30s overnight, but still 50s during the day, I am OK with that.

Organizing is really tough, I am trying to setup a dedicated "in progress" area to store the project(s) at hand, it just keeps getting larger though and then it doesn't work the way I intended. If you figure it out, let us know!

 

[86turbodsl]

I think i'm going to just have to bite the bullet and clear a space and work on it a bit at a time.

 

[bimmer1980]

Do we get to see a picture of the shop landscape before you start clearing?

I do understand the bombshell of parts for a project.... I have the top end of my Bridgeport Mill tore apart right now to put in new plastic bushings, bearings and belt....... Not nearly as bad as your project, but it still makes a mess....

 

[86turbodsl]

Lol, amateur...

Yeah, i can take a few photos or even a VID! My kid is working on his truck right outside the big door, he can barely stand to come inside.
"this shop is a disaster" is what i hear from him.

I have all the gopro stuff here now. I don't think i'm going to start in the middle of this mess though.

 

[86turbodsl]

Do we get to see a picture of the shop landscape before you start clearing?

I do understand the bombshell of parts for a project.... I have the top end of my Bridgeport Mill tore apart right now to put in new plastic bushings, bearings and belt....... Not nearly as bad as your project, but it still makes a mess....

I need to do that job on my bport too. I may hit you up for some tips later.

 

[ClappedOutBport]

Dude. You have got to get some southern cars. I've broken 1 bolt on my car. 24 years old, 193k miles. It was an exhaust bolt. This northern **** is just that. :/

 

[86turbodsl]

Dude. You have got to get some southern cars. I've broken 1 bolt on my car. 24 years old, 193k miles. It was an exhaust bolt. This northern **** is just that. :/

I buy almost everything in the south! Trouble is you still have to maintain them up here in the north! Car came from Seattle. Over 200k I put on it in the snow. 317k now.

 

[Strouty]

Just so you know, Seattle isn't South.





Honestly, I would prefer a Seattle car to a southern car any day, not as much baking sun to cook the interior or heat to dry out all the rubber.

 

[86turbodsl]

True. My f350 interior is smoked

 

[86turbodsl]

Here's where we are right now: I have most of the fasteners i need already, there may be a couple stragglers here and there. I'm not putting the TTY fasteners that are typical in all VWAG products. I'll use locktite where appropriate..



You can see a great amount of parts sitting around. I'm struggling for space and organization in this space. Too many projects really.


These two piles of 2x4 sat in the area occupied by the bridgeport now. For years i saved these after the house was finished. I finally got off my rump and did something with them. It had 2 goals. Get rid of wood piles and make storage. More later.






The timing belt job in process. Dealing with issues as i find them.. At this point, the only thing that would be a show stopper would be internal engine damage. It's tired, but it's still decently running. I have a future engine swap planned, it needs to last long enough for the development car to get the TDI or the Passat to get the M/T. Only thing i'm missing on both cars is the clutch and flywheel assembly. And the addition of a rear diff on the dev car.



A shot of some of the parts that are from the drivetrain pull. Cat and downpipes are the only things not being reused. The level of disarray, while embarrasing, shows how much help i need on organization.



This bunk of particle board in the house garage was an auction win, about $2 a sheet. I have no where else to store them at the moment. I bought for cheap shelving.



and the main use i decided for the stack of 2x4 is shelving. I decided it was no longer worth waiting to use them. I knocked this set of shelves out in an afternoon. We loaded it up pretty much yesterday. it got my whole office cleared out of vintage computers and a whole lot of the floor cleared off in the basement. I even have room for my beer making equipment and probably the christmas decorations also, but have to switch tote sizes.

We have another good weather week, although raining today, temps are near 70 all week. My boy's last truck part comes in tomorrow. I think i'm going to take the day off Friday and we will get paint on his parts, since it is all downhill after Friday.
He's got over 1100 in parts in repairs for his truck. At least its all available...

 

[Strouty]

The shelving was a great use of the wood, good luck with your son's truck.

 

[bulletpruf]

It looks like we have similar taste in homemade mobile work benches... The wood was salvaged from the NATO base where I was working in Italy. Just had to buy the casters.

The Wilton was newly restored when I took this pic several years ago. It's bolted to the bench, but no longer shiny and unblemished.

The grinder now has its own stand with casters, so it gets wheeled out into the driveway if/when needed.

 

[racer-john]

Here's where we are right now: I have most of the fasteners i need already, there may be a couple stragglers here and there. I'm not putting the TTY fasteners that are typical in all VWAG products. I'll use locktite where appropriate..



You can see a great amount of parts sitting around. I'm struggling for space and organization in this space. Too many projects really.


These two piles of 2x4 sat in the area occupied by the bridgeport now. For years i saved these after the house was finished. I finally got off my rump and did something with them. It had 2 goals. Get rid of wood piles and make storage. More later.






The timing belt job in process. Dealing with issues as i find them.. At this point, the only thing that would be a show stopper would be internal engine damage. It's tired, but it's still decently running. I have a future engine swap planned, it needs to last long enough for the development car to get the TDI or the Passat to get the M/T. Only thing i'm missing on both cars is the clutch and flywheel assembly. And the addition of a rear diff on the dev car.



A shot of some of the parts that are from the drivetrain pull. Cat and downpipes are the only things not being reused. The level of disarray, while embarrasing, shows how much help i need on organization.



This bunk of particle board in the house garage was an auction win, about $2 a sheet. I have no where else to store them at the moment. I bought for cheap shelving.



and the main use i decided for the stack of 2x4 is shelving. I decided it was no longer worth waiting to use them. I knocked this set of shelves out in an afternoon. We loaded it up pretty much yesterday. it got my whole office cleared out of vintage computers and a whole lot of the floor cleared off in the basement. I even have room for my beer making equipment and probably the christmas decorations also, but have to switch tote sizes.

We have another good weather week, although raining today, temps are near 70 all week. My boy's last truck part comes in tomorrow. I think i'm going to take the day off Friday and we will get paint on his parts, since it is all downhill after Friday.
He's got over 1100 in parts in repairs for his truck. At least its all available...

I wish I had that space

 

[scooterbum46]

I thought FSD referred to surfaces above ground level. Apparently it is contagious and will spread to floors. Holy lost needle bearing Batman! (Just kidding, I was recently reminded that mazes are supposed to be outside the shop).

 

[83VillageRepair]

I spent the whole weekend trying to get the floor to be visible in my shop so I feel your pain.

 

[bimmer1980]

I gotta give -86 credit for putting it all out there!

The struggle is real....

Hopefully you are on the upside of getting the car put back together.

I would probably shut the shop door and walk away if that was my place... Whew. Hopefully after the car is done that you can find the time and energy to do a bit of 5S..... While working on the boiler.... ;-)

 

[bimmer1980]

A couple of additional thoughts as I look at your shop, tools and projects.....
Instead of having an unrealistic goal to be as urber organized as some garages on here (I admire them, but I will never achieve that level, nor do I really care). Rather, a slightly different approach....

I would suggest a couple of guiding principles:
**The floor must be clear enough to run the forklift.
**The vehicle lift must be able to have a vehicle be put on it.
Then work to build up on these two high level goals/habits to eventually have just one work bench that is clear.
Acheive the above by finding a method of storing tools, parts, etc that work for you.

I do understand the current vehicle situation, and that it has to be completed prior to making real progress on the other items....

I also think that remembering the two (or more) guiding principles will help you avoid purchases or projects that don't fit the scope. (Modify so it works for you...)

Candidly, I admire the guys that do vehicle and machine restorations. I want to be able to do that.... But I've figured out that I really don't enjoy the actual process of doing that. I enjoy reading about it, but having the machine tore apart and parts everywhere is just not me (and the endless cleaning of parts). I have a couple in motion now, and I look forward to them being done. When I see stuff at auction or craigslist or facebook, and I think, wow, that would be cool, then I'm reminded of how much hassle it would be to repair and it makes and easy pass. So I'm trying to make better buying decisions.

I also have some high level goals for myself, and that has helped me to avoid some distractions. I recently sold a vehicle that had taken up space in my garage for over a year. I'm glad it's gone. It has give me the space to do something better.... My mill and lathe are in the process of being spooled up.. (bearings for Bridgeport, but no stripping paint,etc). Functional upgrades only.

But I digress on my ramblings....onward and upward, we are pulling for you!!

 

[86turbodsl]

Those are definitely goals for me. I see two major obstacles right now:

1. I don't have enough functional vehicles for every driver. This is a huge issue and one i've been fighting all year.
Some people would throw in the towel and write a check. But this is very very difficult to do right now because of several factors, such as very high used car pricing at the moment and lack of repair part availability is affecting everybody. New cars are all VERY expensive and not interesting at all. I'm finally down to just the mortgage, at a very good rate and making progress on finances. I don't want to derail that. Plus i just wrote a big check to the IRS (a story all in itself) and while i could buy another car, i don't want my working capital drained that much.

2. I don't have my shop organized at all. I'm trying, believe me i'm trying. But for me to make significant progress in this area, i really need some floor space to work in. See #1 above. Related to #2 is my tools keep breaking. I need that to stop. So for now, i'm sort of in a holding pattern. Catch 22 might be a good descriptor.

The parts for the forklift showed up (minus the cylinder changes i want to make) But i might wait on that cylinder change for a bit just to
keep things moving for winter. I need to split the forklift anyway for a clutch change and that would be a good time to make that change.

In the meantime, i'll keep working on the Audi, cleaning and my boy's truck while weather allows. Going to be busy fall this year...

 

[Johanfpa]

Totally understand where you are coming from 86Turbodsl and I'm sure with your skillset + time you will get there. It would be easier if one had a money tree but in the real world you need to make do and your engineering knowhow, turning your hand to anything is priceless because not everybody can save money this way.
Hope you get your workshop heating fine tuned this winter!

 

[bulletpruf]

Hope you get your workshop heating fine tuned this winter!

Non-concur! If he gets it straightened out, then what would we have to look forward to every fall???

 

[bulletpruf]

A couple of additional thoughts as I look at your shop, tools and projects.....
Instead of having an unrealistic goal to be as urber organized as some garages on here (I admire them, but I will never achieve that level, nor do I really care). Rather, a slightly different approach....

I would suggest a couple of guiding principles:
**The floor must be clear enough to run the forklift.
**The vehicle lift must be able to have a vehicle be put on it.
Then work to build up on these two high level goals/habits to eventually have just one work bench that is clear.
Acheive the above by finding a method of storing tools, parts, etc that work for you.

I do understand the current vehicle situation, and that it has to be completed prior to making real progress on the other items....

I also think that remembering the two (or more) guiding principles will help you avoid purchases or projects that don't fit the scope. (Modify so it works for you...)

Candidly, I admire the guys that do vehicle and machine restorations. I want to be able to do that.... But I've figured out that I really don't enjoy the actual process of doing that. I enjoy reading about it, but having the machine tore apart and parts everywhere is just not me (and the endless cleaning of parts). I have a couple in motion now, and I look forward to them being done. When I see stuff at auction or craigslist or facebook, and I think, wow, that would be cool, then I'm reminded of how much hassle it would be to repair and it makes and easy pass. So I'm trying to make better buying decisions.

I also have some high level goals for myself, and that has helped me to avoid some distractions. I recently sold a vehicle that had taken up space in my garage for over a year. I'm glad it's gone. It has give me the space to do something better.... My mill and lathe are in the process of being spooled up.. (bearings for Bridgeport, but no stripping paint,etc). Functional upgrades only.

But I digress on my ramblings....onward and upward, we are pulling for you!!

One thing that helps me stay on track is my YouTube channel. I am curious to see if it will be same the for @86turbodsl once he starts posting content. Anyway, in past years, when I would get frustrated or bored with something, I would push it off to the side and go buy another project car (or 100+ vintage chainsaws, like I did in Italy when I got frustrated with the Alfa). Now, I am focused on creating content and making progress on my main project, and I don't want my viewers to think that I'm some douchebag who can't finish anything.

I suspect shooting videos will also be a forcing function for some level of garage organization, but time will tell.

As for the workspace, looking at the photos does make me twitch a bit, but I have and can function - perhaps not at a high level - in what looks like a disorganized mess to most folks.

What helps me -- only one major project going on at a time in the garage. Example - the ZF-5 transmission is in a million pieces, so I can't tear down the transfer case (or my spare ZF-5) until it's back together. It may end up taking more time in the long run, but having two major components in pieces at the same time really jams me up for flat surface space, and it increases my general anxiety level, too.

One major project at a time will be tough for 86, given his current vehicle situation, but it wouldn't be a bad long-term goal.

 

[86turbodsl]

Non-concur! If he gets it straightened out, then what would we have to look forward to every fall???

Ha! You can be watching me fiddle with oil burners while i watch you fiddle with Dana 60s..

 

[Strouty]

I thought FSD referred to surfaces above ground level. Apparently it is contagious and will spread to floors.

The worst part is that you can get FSD through the internet.........

 

[86turbodsl]

I got the timing belt job done last night, now it's all down hill from here, just wrapping up what's already apart. I sure hope we pick up speed. My boy got another job, he's going to be using my truck and we're almost into winter. His core support showed up today. Damage looks like $1150 for his deer hit. Now that it's out of HIS pocket, he's become very aware of his surroundings. Just like me learning i guess, no better way than if it costs you personally.

 

[Strouty]

When it is your money it definitely hurts more...

Hopefully things go back together better than the way they came apart.

 

[bulletpruf]

I got the timing belt job done last night, now it's all down hill from here, just wrapping up what's already apart.

Famous last words!!!

I sure hope we pick up speed. My boy got another job, he's going to be using my truck and we're almost into winter. His core support showed up today. Damage looks like $1150 for his deer hit. Now that it's out of HIS pocket, he's become very aware of his surroundings. Just like me learning i guess, no better way than if it costs you personally.

Big difference when you have skin in the game, isn't it?

Glad to hear that he got another job. What's he going to be doing?