rattle_snake's random shop projects v0.1

[rattle_snake]

Perhaps

Water heater tank was shot at <4 yrs so swapped out the unit last night. Just took old to HD, no receipt, left with a new one. Had it installed by 1030p. In a house full of women, hot water is high priority.

 

[ntsqd]

Hard water? I thot ours was harsh.

 

[rattle_snake]

Yes our well water is fairly hard. Water heater is behind a functioning water softener so much less buildup. Last one was half full of crusties after 12 years.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

12 years isn't horrible out here, even with the water softener, but 4 is pretty bad. I figure 10 years and I replace them before it starts leaking on a Saturday night! At my old house I couldn't get the water heater to drain after it started leaking; that was a ***** to get out.

 

[plain2car]

agree with the above. we bought our house in 2010... A 2 st. with a gas W.H. we had a wtr soft. & R.O. complete system installed within 6 mo. right at 7 yrs our wtr heater failed. I got a very short & sicking lesson about "direct vent" water heaters!...AAARRRGGG!! I had a new electrical setup ran (code compliant) & a bigger electric heater installed for less than the new "direct vent" gas heater was going to cost W/O installation!! I did leave the venting in place for future use - if desired.

 

[rattle_snake]

Joys of home ownership
I was actually cleaning garage floor in prep for a party we were having that weekend (Shop and garage must be sterile looking) and found the pan full and piddling on the floor.....
So I cobbled up some PVC fittings to garden hose and ran out the overhead door until I could deal with it the next morning. But drain was plugged so back pressurized with compressed air to clear valve path. tanks connection gaskets shot. put in a long sharkbite slip coupler on pressure relief so it is quick connect for next time, haha.

 

[rattle_snake]

My older daughter got her permit and grandma's old set of wheels. So one more for old Dad to maintain.
I'm glad she is motivated enough to want to drive at all, instead of just staring at a tiny screen. The shame train (aka school bus) is providing some motivation, as is the 6:30 am pick up time to get one mile to school an hour later. She is a very level-headed and cautious driver. The other one, well we'll see, she is more like her dad....
2006 Honda accord that was well taken care of, partially by me. Step one was to toss the steering wheel cover. Polished the headlights. There are some decent scratches from my MIL's driving and parking 'style', my daughter is exited to touch them up and get some fuzzy dice on the mirror. I'm happy she is taking some pride in her set of wheels.

 

[rattle_snake]

Marc, any ideas for modifications or personalization?
GIANT rear wing, fart can muffler, tow hook, chrome fire extinguisher, fake hood scoop ??

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Well Justin...

LARGE...I mean HUGE "V-Tec" stickers, everywhere...and at least one "R-Spec" badge

100% yes on the fart can, but make sure it has multiple exits that shoot upward

3 tier wing off the trunk

Put the scoop on the roof

Ridiculously stretched tires

Maybe rivet a garage door seal to the front lip? Or just use zip ties.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

In all seriousness, that looks like a super clean first car for your oldest.

Glad she is taking some interest in it.

 

[ntsqd]

Zip ties, when used like you're fixing Frankenstein's appendages back into place, are so much more "racecar" that pop rivets.

 

[rattle_snake]

Spent some time on mothers day fixing Mommy-mobile #2. Struggled to prioritize her horse hauler burb for some time now. It drives OK but it and trailer needed some TLC. Since it sits a lot the windshield gets really dirty and washer system never worked. I have attempted to fix several times over the years. This time I just pulled the reservoir to properly inspect, but broke the ****** off the pump. But removing battery to get it out revealed a hole in the washer hard line. So put a new pump in and patched the line. Mrs. is very happy and that is the goal.
The poor thing drinks oil and coolant like a drunken sailor, inspected for leaks, topped of fluids and replenish extras on board.
Spent some time quantifying current leaks. Will kill battery in a few days when parked. Solar panels not enough anymore and having to jump start to often. So built a A/C powered charger for it. Float charger and a 25' cable. But even at 800 mA constant the battery won't fully charge. The burb draws 300mA with key off, not worth trying to isolate. with trailer it's 700 mA so pulled the old e-brake battery out of trailer which was consuming the current.

And the power door locks don't work much at all. maybe 1 out of 10 attempts with either remote or door switches. Could be one or all four doors. drive door is worst. I see mechanism move but not enough to lock/unlock. Same for others. Even with engine running and voltage at 14 they are intermittent. Pressing multiply times is worse and action fades to nothing. Checked fuses. Saw the note on fuse door and swapped the 'MR LOCK' 3 A for a 30 A. No change. Can't secure vehicle. Driver door lock tumbler falls into door, assume a new door handle bezel is needed. So burb peeps, what is the fix here?

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Is it leaking coolant or consuming it?

And what kind of oil consumption are we talking? Two avenues here in LS country, try switching to a 5w40 or 10w40, or run a pint of Kreen through it and clean it out.

Have you discovered any creative wiring, perhaps for a trailer brake controller, sub/amp, etc?

Do the manual locks on the doors slide easily, or are they tough to slide? Might just need a good lube job, generally unlikely for the actuators to all go out at the same time. With your heat, I could see them being dry and stuck.

Wish I could help on the exterior tumbler, I have never had to replace a GMT800 exterior door handle, but I would guess that's your issue. At the very least once you're there you'd be able to address the issue.

 

[rattle_snake]

I think it consumes coolant as I don't see it leak but it's parked in gravel. No overheating issues.
It was 1.5 qts low over 2 thousand miles or so. Guess that it's bad for a , uh, nevermind.

I lubed the driver door and it made no difference. they all slide fine. Seems like electrical issue as it is intermittent. Works fine randomly one out of 10. Like a voltage drop in whole supply circuit as they all won't lock, them just some, then none. If you press unlock three times in a row, each press of button results in weaker lock movement. The actuator all do something just not enough to actually lock or unlock the mechanism.

There is some creative wiring and evidence of things past. slices, taps, hacks. I put in a brake controller thru factory wiring. It does need a better audio system..

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Might be stuck rings from being sludged up. Kreen treatment and some heavier oil might be in order. I run Castrol in 95% of my stuff, their add packs are good and they are on the heavier end of the spectrum when it comes to weights.

Might look and see if the rear heater core lines are weeping or maybe the rear heater core.

 

[Mark_17]

Consuming oil and coolant isn't surprising. What heads are on it? My old truck had the 706 castech heads, which are prone to cracking and drinking coolant. Oil consumption could be stuck rings like Outlaw said, or the terrible PCV system ingesting oil. There was a fix in the later years, a newly designed PCV port in the valve cover.

The grounds on these weren't great either. I don't think rust is an issue for you but if work has been done before, they are worth looking at. You're familiar with old cracked wiring so I don't think I'm telling you anything you don't know.

Switches will also go bad. Do the locks work better when locking from the passenger side door?

Hope some of this helps.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Consuming oil and coolant isn't surprising. What heads are on it? My old truck had the 706 castech heads, which are prone to cracking and drinking coolant. Oil consumption could be stuck rings like Outlaw said, or the terrible PCV system ingesting oil. There was a fix in the later years, a newly designed PCV port in the valve cover.

The grounds on these weren't great either. I don't think rust is an issue for you but if work has been done before, they are worth looking at. You're familiar with old cracked wiring so I don't think I'm telling you anything you don't know.

Switches will also go bad. Do the locks work better when locking from the passenger side door?

Hope some of this helps.

Mark_17, good call on the 706s. I generally swap the LS2 valley cover on my stuff for the PCV, but that is also a great consideration. I've never experienced either issue myself, but know both are well documented.

 

[rattle_snake]

Switches will also go bad. Do the locks work better when locking from the passenger side door?

Hope some of this helps.

no lock action is the same from remote fob or door switch.

I did find some info on earlier GMT400s having a PTC thermistor built into the actuator. Not sure if my model has same to protect so from long button press but behavior seems applicable. Need some freeze spray to try.

 

[rattle_snake]

Dug the fan switch out of the old ford and opened it back up for another round of surgery. I guess I like this old stuff that can be worked on instead of disposable plastic.
I found applying pressure to certain area of switch body would get high fan speed to work. So inspected and reworked the shape of the center wiper to not bottom out in the insulated area of trough and ride up up on the contacts. Else the slide/wiper wouldn't contact the long center contact which is the power input. Smacked with hammer to flatten out the contour. Then re-swedged the cooked 'high' terminal. Bench tested and slapped it back in. Had to pull the stereo out so I turd polished install and improved a few aspects. Now I've got A/C in all speeds, and low current through switch so should last another 50 years. $0

old pick but shows the guts

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Another win for "old" technology!

 

[rattle_snake]

My old tech is working great! A/C blowing cold. high speed moves a ton of air but is REALLY loud. Decent trade off when interior is 140*.
Rolls 80 down the highway nicely for big old truck. Door seal leaks fixed. Enjoying all aspects while ignoring fuel cost, haha.
Gave the '14 F250 a bath and it's been sitting clean and full of precious diesel in the shop while I drive the old stuff.

 

[rattle_snake]

Shop project workflow volume has been lower lately with landscaping and other activities. Not as much broken stuff or delinquent maintenance, so that is good. Shop big door with 8500 won't stay shut, so always something. 12 blinkies.

So doing some items that have sat a long time. After last high-speed stuck accelerator incident in the Cobra, I just removed the floor mat that was causing it. The hook in the carpet was mostly ripped out. To fix, I put a 10-24 stud in the floor pan and drilled a hole in the hook to secure it. Now carpet is not responsible for locating or securing the floor mat. But just to be sure, I cut out the area around the gas pedal in the floormat itself so even if the mat comes loose it cannot bind pedal. Otherwise just enjoying the car. Now that it is hot I have been evaluating the newer Nitto drag radials. Motor makes less power and more traction from higher pavement/tire temps. Still doesn't quite hold 1st gear but doesn't just spin either, can launch fairly aggressively and mat the throttle in 1st.

Continuing with fixes on SWMBO's horse hauling suburban. She had made a comment some time ago about suppling others with loads of Rockford Fosgate equipment but her burb having a horrible audio system. So on the honey do list. The 'burb had a high end audio/video system in it at some point. Front doors had shot Sound Stream components but tweets were gone, OEM tweets there but not hooked up. The head unit had been replaced with a pioneer that has no provisions to drive separate speakers. So I replaced them with a set of pioneer coax's. One of the old drivers was trashed and buzzed, so now it's all good and Mrs. is happy (for now).
Took some more measurement on door lock debacle but not sure how to fix at this time. Actuators seem to get full voltage. already lubed mechanism.

 

[ntsqd]

How much current is flowing in those circuits? I recently had a 12VDC circuit that had full voltage, but had no current and the camper fridge wouldn't run. Replaced the shoddy OE camper wiring and viola!!! the fridge works now.

 

[rattle_snake]

I didn't measure current yet. I found a schematic and I believe there is a thermistor inside the actuator so voltage can drop across that instead of the coil itself.

I was able to fix a few non-working clearance lights on the Mrs horse trailer. Ended up being some questionable crimps that had corroded internally. Many are heat shrink but not all. In general, the wiring quality is good on this Titian 3H. Wife wanted to help so she replaced them and and now all lights are working. She was quite happy that they were repaired and that her handyman cares enough to fix. For me, it's far too irritating to know they don't work. The curse of OCD, but also satisfying to identify and resolve.

I noticed previously that Burb battery wasn't getting charged with my latest wiring mod. So I dug back into wiring box on trailer and found I had connected charger gnd to the running lights stud instead of gnd. Dooh! So fixed that too. Since GM products leave trailer power connected to battery at all times I charge burb battery through trailer/trailer plug so it can be left connected at all times.

Spent some time cleaning the interior of the '14 F250. Wish I could keep all my vehicles tip-top but life has a way of preventing that. Lately I have been doing a better job finding time to take better care of the fleet. Did a deep clean of cup holders, floor mats, jams, dog lick marks on windows and so on.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Cleaning my vehicles...all of them...used to be a weekly occurance. That was before kids and chaos. It's still one of those things that brings me joy and satisfaction.

 

[ntsqd]

In my family we affectionately call those dog marks on the windows "snorffle marks", based entirely on the sound made by them when making the marks.

 

[rattle_snake]

Puttering away on projects that have not made priority list for a long time. This lil' HF trailer hasn't be used much since acquiring the larger utility trailer, use of neighbor's tractor, and the fact that it had 2 blow out tires. I had fixed a few times so this round went with foam/no flat tires. Threw them on and pulled it around to the shop to deal with spacers, but one wheel had already wobbled it bearings out.


The wheels came with a spacer assortment but closest arrangement left a gap of 0.200 or so. Now this would be fine for normal people but given the recent catastrophic experience from excessive gap I had to make custom spacers with a non-zero axial bearing preload. So popped them in the lathe and made a prefect fitting spacer for an otherwise ************* trailer.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Probably doubled the price of the trailer...after it gets the Krylon overhaul

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice job on the wheel spacers Justin. I had to machine a couple for the front casters on my Toro ZTR mower at the end of last season as I couldn't take the wheel slapping back and forth inside the caster assembly any longer. I used aluminum for mine but wish I would have had some larger pieces of Delrin as I like your idea better.

 

[rattle_snake]

Not a lot going on in the shop lately. Took family lake camping last weekend at Roosevelt. Been keeping equipment in better shape so prep was smooth. I stored generator dry so no gummy fuel issues. Got on the road and could hear a hissing sound under power. Perhaps just my broken mind playing tricks? Trying to create things to worry about? Boost leak? At 19000 lbs I need all the boost I can get.

Pulled off highway to inspected. Everything tight. Had wife load engine with foot brake while I watched. I knew the '11-14 6.7 PSDs have issues with plastic cold side piping cracking or blowing apart under load. I could see oil mist blowing out cracks so knew it was done. No way I was going to attempt multiple 7% grades fully loaded. Probably would only go 10 mph w/o boost. So I started calling ford dealers until I found one with part in stock. Drove there are initiated parking lot swap. Needed a 11mm deep socket and 12" extension, but no deep sockets between truck and boat tools. I did have a goofy one-size-fits-all, 8 way swivel socket thing that would accept the long stud on spring loaded band clamp. just barely, using screwdriver on other end to turn. Got it swapped out and back on road. Trip saved. There were 5 other families coming, I'm always the initiator/enabler (aka guy with boat and stuff) so if I don't make it happen it doesn't.

Boat intermittent electrical issue popped up on launch ramp so I attempted to diagnose with boat full of people. Volt meter bottoms out erratically but with auto resetting circuit breaker I hacked in engine keeps running. Something is crowbaring the ignition circuit, not good. So I said F-it and launched anyway figuring I could get a tow if needed. Drive peeps around until I can't instead of accepting the excuse that it might fail. Wish it would fail so I can figure out what it is! But it was fine the rest of the day and all had fun.

Had a fun time on the 'chair


Still dealing with headaches and anxiety that make trips and vacations not enjoyable for me. Trying to do them anyway for the family as time is limited with kids growing up. Although this trip presented excuses to cancel I didn't give up. Shop time at home is good but can't just be a hermit and isolate myself all the time.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Glad you were able to salvage the trip!

Have you tried CBD for the issues?

 

[lilscorpion]

That chair looks like a blast. Glad the boat let you have the day off too.

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks guys. some more bad luck. Clutch cable broke on the cobra. It did give a warning but I forgot to investigate, then on next drive it broke on way home last night. Broke an inch off the quadrant/cam. Called a few tow outfits and time was out 1.5 to 2 hours so had wife come and take me to hardware store. Got a cable crimp, hammer and a fencing tool. But tow truck was there when I got back, which was better anyway, $0. So got it home without damage and should be easy fix. Other than pedal itself everything is aftermarket. Wondering if there is a mis-alighment that caused failure. Couldn't be my driving? Made a lot of passes at strip on Nitrous

 

[OutlawDrifter]

I will take the hydraulic clutch in my Z28 over this Mustang cable nonsense, 8 days a week!

Bummer on the cable. Need to fine tune the wife's cable tension on the Mach a touch more. Chirp was back after a day of driving.

 

[plain2car]

rattlesnake, sorry to hear about the cable. good that the tow was cheap! by chance did I see you last night loose a "heavy load" of pipe around 5:30 at chndlr hts and lindsey? if it was you hopefully nothing got too damaged or ran over I almost stopped, but I was heading different and I couldn't get turned around.

 

[rattle_snake]

yes that would have been me. lady behind me let me know so I went around the block to get my 2 sticks of 3/4 pvc. I was surprised that happened as I have never lost them like that before.

 

[rattle_snake]

I will take the hydraulic clutch in my Z28 over this Mustang cable nonsense, 8 days a week!

Bummer on the cable. Need to fine tune the wife's cable tension on the Mach a touch more. Chirp was back after a day of driving.

The giant DOHC heads leave little room for a hydraulic setup in my case. I ended up buy a Ford cable on amazon with next day delivery. Should have it installed and back on the road tonight. Spoiled having a lift for this type of job.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Quit stomping on that pedal so hard!

That's an odd break. Usually they seem to fray and stick before they just break. If anything, maybe the aftermarket pedal needs a travel limiter?

 

[ntsqd]

Not unusual to build an adjustable clutch pedal travel limiter in road race cars. Keeps from over-stroking a diaphragm clutch and speeds up the shifts. Sometimes this is nothing more than a coupler nut welded to the pedal arm at an oppotune location with a carriage bolt and a jam nut threaded into it. Carriage bolt because it has a nice, large and radiused head to make contact with the floor or firewall.

 

[rattle_snake]

Quit stomping on that pedal so hard!

That's an odd break. Usually they seem to fray and stick before they just break. If anything, maybe the aftermarket pedal needs a travel limiter?

Man I'm just granny shifting, I let off the throttle and everything
The stock plastic quadrant didn't last long after I bought it, haha.
The pedal assembly is stock with an aftermarket aluminum quadrant and a firewall adjuster. But I don't think there is a stop.

While I had cable out I checked cam alignment through cable hole and it is off quite a bit. So I think cable was chafing along the sharp edge of cam. There was slack in the assembly so long ago I shimmed it tighter to keep it from rattling. Looks like shim stack needs to be moved to the other side, although may need different size shim with larger ID. So I blame this failure on improperly installed aftermarket equipment.

Racked the car and swapped in the new cable. Kind of an up-and-down type job but still easier on my old man body with a lift (and A/C).


The old cable was not adjustable in length on the clutch end. New one is which is nice. This is one of my later versions of TOB free play devices. At this point it is doing nothing as there is no spring pressure, so I removed it. McLeod RTX dual disc inside which has half the pedal effort of stock. It does chatter at low RPM lug due to how the inner floating plate is secured. Upgraded the T56 with a 26 spline input shaft. It holds the 700 ftlbs on nitrous and will survive 6k clutch drop on slicks.


The new cable's firewall end was different and needed minimal mods to work with firewall adjuster. Got everything installed, adjusted and tested. Stopped for the night, but need to address the cable alignment issue before it's done.