Scott's Garage Stories

[signcrafter]

Figured it was time to start my own thread about my daily adventures. Nothing too interesting or special about my life but thought I would do this more as a journal for myself. A little over 6 years ago we made the move to Iowa. The wife's place of employment closed up her location when they bought a few other locations out. She was a manager so was offered a job if we wanted to relocate, they would pay for everything. Decided to take a chance and go that route. After 6 years here she decided she wasn't happy with how things were at her job and she missed family back home to Wisconsin. She found a job back home and decided to start the move back. A few months ago, during the worst time to buy a house, we bought a house back there. Her and the kids are there and I'm still in Iowa. I did concrete in the summer so told the guy I worked with I would finish out the season so he wasn't left hanging. I also was in the middle of a bunch of projects on the house and in the shop. Your own stuff always comes last when there are paying jobs out there to be done so we were fixing up an older house and had a bunch of things started that needed finished. And to help with the moving costs and expense of two mortgages I have been doing work on cars and houses along the way. Will keep track of the moving adventure and setting up the new shop as I go. Told the wife to get whatever house she wanted to as long as there was enough room to at least store my stuff for now. She found a nice ranch house with a 4 car garage, original 2 car with another 2 car added on at some point. It's about 1200 sq ft so a little smaller then I have now and the layout isn't the best but will do for the time being. I do a little bit of everything, have done remodeling and construction most of my life and started fixing cars back when I was 16 and couldn't afford to pay others to fix my beaters. Just kept learning and expanding over the years and as people found out I knew a few things they would bring their stuff to me to fix. It's how I've paid for all my tools over the years.

During the week I work on the Iowa house and load up my 16x7 enclosed trailer with another load and head up to Wisconsin on most weekends and do the stuff the wife wants to do to the house up there. Overall the house is good but they had cats so we started ripping all the flooring out right away and then the wife wants to do this and do that. Got it livable for her until I'm fully up there with all my tools and then will finish up the work on that house as she wants. I won't bore you with most of the house repairs unless I run into something interesting. But will post car repairs as they come in and then the moving and setting up of the shop up there. It's pretty much a blank canvass. The walls are insulated and the original garage ceiling is. So I will insulate the addition ceiling in the near future. Need to install a sub panel out there and run new electrical. Also will be adding a heater to keep it above freezing. Then start setting up shelving and laying out the tools. The hard part for me is I do mechanic work and also woodworking and remodeling and a little of everything. So I have a bunch of tools and materials to fit in this space. We live in a small town in Iowa so "stock" a bunch of stuff since running to the store for a small thing as needed usually isn't an option.

Once we sell the Iowa house I will decide what I want to do to the shop in Wisconsin. Originally we talked about doing an addition to make the garage deeper. That is still on the table but depending on how things fall into place when organizing what I have I may save that money and just redo the trusses to make the ceilings tall enough to put a lift in. Haven't really had time to sit down and figure things out yet, that will come when the time is right.

So last night I had a 2007 torrent dropped of for an oil leak, was just an oil filter adapter gasket. A few weeks ago I had a 2016 Ram come in for heater controls not working. Was at a dealership and they told him it needed one or two modules, they weren't sure exactly and that it would be 2800 dollars. I had fixed a car for him a few years ago that was at another shop for a month that they couldn't figure it out so he brought his truck to me after the dealership gave him that news. Diagnostics was fairly simple, hooked scan tool up and pressed buttons on dash and it showed computer was receiving the commands. Removed glove box to get to the HVAC module and tested power and grounds and then ohmed out the canbus lines and all were good. So tried to order a new HVAC module and found out it was on a 2 month national back order. Finally got that in last week and had him drop the truck off last night. Put it in this morning and all is working as it should now. I noticed the old one had 4 screws holding the cover on so because I'm a curious person I opened it up. Noticed the circuit board was crusty in a few places. Just for fun I cleaned it up with some rubbing alcohol and Qtips and while I still have the truck I put it back in and wouldn't you know, it works now also. If I had known that was all it was and that it was possible to open this module up and clean it I could have saved him some money since the new module was around 600 bucks. But my knowledge of circuit boards is limited so I did like most shops and just replaced the module to be sure to fix it right the first time. Only reason I even opened the old module up is because of my curiosity. It's fixed now and still saved him a good deal of money over what the dealership quoted him and he is happy.



The rest of the day I'll make a trip to scrap yard which is 35 minutes away. Have a bunch of rotors and other stuff along with a stamped steel tub I removed from a house when I did a bathroom remodel a couple months ago. Take a load of cardboard to the landfill, I order a lot of packages so cardboard adds up fast and it's easier for me to break it down and take it to dump then to set it out at curb most of the time. Also have a bunch of 5 gallon jugs filled with used oil I need to run to the landfill along with a rubbermaid bin full of oil filters. Have a few trash cans full along with other garbage so will take that to the landfill also if time. A friend of mine called this weekend and said his slop sink was backed up in his basement. He is a painter and washes his brushes out in it. But when I pulled the pipe going into the old cast iron soil stack 4 feet away it was all crusted up. He decided to just replace the soil stack so I will cut it off where it comes out of the basement floor and redo with PVC up to where it goes into the first floor. I will need to support the weight of the cast stack when I cut it out. So tonight I will have to run to town and pick up the fittings I need, have some but not all. A day of running around but that's all part of the game I guess.

 

[signcrafter]

Got all my dump runs out of the way on Tuesday. Made 285 dollars at the scrap yard. And I don't take time to sort many things out. Basically just put copper in one bin and then separate the rest by magnetic or non magnetic. It's a small town scrap yard and I make 3 or 4 trips there a year just to clean out the shop. I tell them I'm not a scrapper so I don't separate or clean anything and they have treated me good over the years and give me a fair price overall. I'm sure I could get more for my stuff but I don't have the time. It's been warming up here so the ground has been a mess with the thawing and rain while the ground still has some frost in it. Then got a load of garbage to landfill, used oil and filters to landfill in their drop off site, tires to the junkyard which takes them for 2 dollars each, and a load of recycling to landfill-mostly cardboard boxes from parts and tools I order. That cleaned up some space in the shop. I made it to town yesterday and picked up everything I needed from Menards so will do the plumbing job today.



Yesterday I had a 2016 F350 dropped off for coolant leak. I had replaced the water pump on it last week because it was leaking out the weep hole. Guy called this week and said it had a leak again. When I did the water pump I vacuum filled it and also pressure tested it and didn't have any leaks. When it got here I didn't notice any leaks on the ground where he parked. So pressure tested it again and it was holding. He had sent me a pic of the leak so I had a general idea where the leak should be at. I got under the truck and wiggled some hoses and fittings and it started leaking. I had suspected this fitting from the beginning. But, the water pump is right above it and there was staining on the water pump snout and could see it leaking when pressure tested it so I repaired that and when it didn't leak under vacuum or pressure I just figured it was dripping from pump down onto these fittings. His truck is lifted and bounces around a lot so this fitting must leak intermittently when it's bouncing around. When I took this fitting off I could see crusty where it had been leaking. I put a new oring in from my stock and pressure tested it overnight and this morning it hadn't dropped at all. I did order a new hose/fitting yesterday and that will be here today. The new oring should be good enough but the hose/fitting wasn't too much so I'd rather go with a factory part rather then an oring that I had to measure from the old one which was flattened. Rather be sure it's fixed right when possible.


This same truck also had a check engine light come on with a P24A0, Closed loop particulate filter regeneration control at limit-temperature too low. These diesel exhausts are still fairly unfamiliar to me, even though I have one. So I have been trying to study up on them and learn exactly how they work and what happens when they have issues. Did a little googling to get a direction. Found a ford pin point test RC and have been following that and also looking into the freeze frame that was captured when code was set. But need to wait till new coolant hose is here this afternoon before I can start it up and finish the pin point test. But so far what I've learned is that there are 4 EGT sensors in the exhaust and when the truck needed to regen one of the sensors wasn't at a high enough temp to do the regen. This can be caused by a few different things ranging from a skewed sensor to bad injectors. So I will have to finish diagnosing this later when I can fire it up and do more testing after fixing cooling leak.



I also had that 2016 Ram back yesterday. When I diagnosed the HVAC module on it a while back it had a misfire that you could feel pretty good. He said he had plugs for it and was going to change them but was a little nervous to do it and not over torque them and cause issue. He also doesn't have a garage so he asked me to change them out. Which I did a couple weeks ago while we were waiting for the HVAC module. This is the 5.7L hemi that has 2 plugs per cylinder. After I changed the plugs it still had a slight misfire, was running way better but not perfect. I had found 2 coils that had crusty or burnt springs in the tube from the COP to the plugs. So I put those two coils in front so they were easy to change and told him he needed 2 coils. I got them and installed them yesterday and truck idles nice and smooth now.



Going to go help a friend replace his cast iron soil stack with PVC today. Will be a fun day with that, not really. LOL.

 

[zmotorsports]

Scott, just noticed your thread and wanted to subscribe to see what repairs you're doing as well as to follow along on the new house/garage after the final move.

Best of luck with the move and setting up the new shop as I know that can be a stressful time.

 

[signcrafter]

Scott, just noticed your thread and wanted to subscribe to see what repairs you're doing as well as to follow along on the new house/garage after the final move.

Best of luck with the move and setting up the new shop as I know that can be a stressful time.

Thanks Mike. Doing it mostly for a journal for my journey. Wherever that leads me.

 

[signcrafter]

Today I helped a friend replace his cast iron soil stack. Tied in the washer, slop sink, 1st floor tub, 1st floor toilet. Got it all done and he was super happy at how clean it looked. But went to test and had a leak. At first I thought it was my fernco at the top of the PVC where I tied back into the cast going up into the wall but the clamps were tight. This all came about when he asked me to see why his slop sink wasn't draining and when I pulled things apart the cast lines were clogged. When I first looked at this with him I saw some staining coming from above and mentioned it to him. When we tested things the leak was coming from above. This is next to his basement stairs so he pulled off a sheet of the wood grain paneling to expose the drywall behind it. There was already a hole there where somebody had made another repair in the cast iron so I just had to make it bigger. After I cut it open I saw this pipe had been leaking for who knows how long. Guessing me cutting the cast iron in the basement vibrated it enough to open this crack up more and cause a bigger leak. But at least we caught it now and I will fix that in the morning and call it good.


After that I picked up my oil cooler hose from napa this afternoon and replaced that. Pulled a vacuum on the cooling system and then went to grab something to eat. Short side note, when I came back from Wisco over Christmas I came back to a fridge not fridging. I tested the compressor and found one leg was open and the compressor was around 200 bucks plus charging it with 134A so I decided it wasn't worth fixing. I have most of the stuff to charge it since I do work on car AC systems and have my EPA license to buy the refrigerant. But this fridge is almost 20 years old and while I'm not a throw away person sometimes it's just not worth it. So I've been eating out or buying just enough food to cook and eat at each meal. The fridge that came with the house in Wisco was a side by side and the wife does no like them. Just not enough room for a pizza or lots of other things. We have a second fridge that was in the shop in Iowa and I moved up to Wisco a while back as a second fridge in the basement. So we decided to buy a new fridge for up there and bring the side by side back to Iowa to go with the house here when we sell it. But that's made things interesting for me here. I'm a simple man and while I enjoy cooking good meals for the family I can survive on the bare minimum. But when you don't have a fridge simple things like condiments and leftovers make things interesting. So tonight I grabbed a sandwich at a local place and when I got back an hour later the gauge hadn't moved at all. I then refilled the cooling system and was able to start it up and check a few things for the other code it has. With some advice of another member on here I was going to do a manual regen but it was getting late and with the high idle it does for almost an hour I will wait till the morning to do so I don't upset any neighbors. Will be watching the 4 egt sensors and see if anything is out of normal.

I also took the time to measure the oring that came with the new hose. That's all this fitting really needed but because the old one was flat, or square, I couldn't get a good measurement of it. So for the 40 or so dollars for the new hose I just got one to be sure. But before I installed the new one I pulled the oring out and got a good measurement so now I know the oring is a 210. Years ago before everything became throw away I got into rebuilding air nailers and other tools. Mostly for myself but also did for others to help pay for parts. I would order orings from mcmaster or grainger in 50 or 100 packs and then put together kits to fix certain air tools. Didn't make much money at all but it did pay for my materials to fix my own air tools for free. This was back in the ebay and craigslist days. I also rebuilt nicad battery packs for a while too. Also to pay for the battery cells so I could fix my own for free and learn something new. So after putting the correct oring in the old coolant fitting I have a "reman" fitting if I ever need it, my truck happens to be the same as this one so it's come in handy working on both of them and being able to compare things. This is one of my oring measuring tools. I also have one that spreads out kind of like a belt measuring tool. But with the cone type you just stick the oring in the grooves to get the diameter of it, this one happens to be a 2. Then slide it down the cone until it is snug, 210. Have used this cone a lot over the years.


Received a couple of packages today. One from Rockauto which has Ujoints and seals for the front axle outboard ujoints on my 2015 F250. Last weekend I was up in Wisconsin and the truck was making some noises so after some investigating the Ujoints seem to be the source. I've done this on another truck in the past and already have the special seal driver needed. So I will be changing these out tomorrow. Will get some pictures of this when I do it.

The other package was an autel maxvideo mv105. I have an endoscope that I have used with my laptop but that is kind of a pain. The scan tool is always within reach when in the shop so it was just natural to get a video scope to use with it instead of dragging out a computer to capture a picture or video in hidden places when needed. They are also only 49 dollars so pretty affordable.

 

[signcrafter]

Started the morning out working on the 2016 f350. It has a code for EGT too low to regen. After some advice from another member on here I ran a manual regen using my scan tool and watched the 4 EGT sensors to see how they reacted and they seemed to react as they should. So it doesn't look like a skewed sensor so that pretty much leaves injectors. Talking to the member he said there was a reflash for the PCM out there. So I informed him that I cleared the codes and did a manual regen and to drive it and see what happens. If it comes back to take it to dealer to do the updated flash and go from there. If that doesn't solve it then it most likely needs injectors. Was my first time doing a manual regen and that is an interesting process. Truck idles up to 2000 RPMs and holds it for a long time. I didn't time this one but was around 30 minutes I believe.



Then I needed to replace that cracked section of the soil pipe. Got there and opened up the wall a little more and it switched to copper just above this fitting. So cut that out and put PVC in and tied back into things. Wasn't too bad and he is supper happy all that old cast is out of there. Only hiccup was I needed a copper to PVC 3" fernco and living in a small town we have a farm store and true value. Neither had the correct fitting. So I had to do the 30 minute each way drive to a store that had one.


I had a lot of other stuff to do but the Daughter that is still in Iowa asked if I wanted to come over to her apartment and have supper. The other night we had supper together and then did a little grocery shopping for her. She said she has been eating sandwiches for a while just because they are cheap and quick. We picked up a few different things that were on sale and are easy to make but she didn't know how to make a lot of the things. So we started with some chicken wings in air fryer with orange sauce on them. Then made some steak sandwiches using quick steak and french bread and provolone cheese. Quick steak is a frozen chopped steak that breaks apart when you cook it and makes great steak sandwiches quick and easy. Then I showed her how to make some creamed corn by frying up some bacon and then adding corn and a sliced jalapeno along with a block of cream cheese and some heavy cream. A little salt and pepper and a dash of sugar. Makes a great side dish and the leftovers will last her a few meals this week. I also picked up some twice baked potatoes from the meat counter at the store. I've made many twice baked potatoes over the years but they are something that when you make them you make a bigger batch. It's a lot of work for 1 or 2 and they aren't too expensive from the store. Showed her how to make them in air fryer. Also got a couple apple maple bacon brats and showed her how to cook them in air fryer. They are great for breakfast also. I also gave her a ton of other ideas on what she could throw together with some similar ingredients. She has been living on her own for about a year and half now and she never really learned how to cook when she was at home. With us moving 6 hours away she is going to be here on here own unless she decides to move back with us. So it was nice to have her ask me to show her how to do some of this stuff.

Going to get up early and change out my outboard ujoints on my front axle. Finish loading up the trailer and head out tomorrow night or Sunday morning to bring another load to Wisconsin. While up there I have to replace a limit switch on a buffet heater at one of the restaurants I did work for up there. So I ordered parts for that. Then do some drywall work on our house up there. The wife decided she wanted a barn door on our walk in closet. So I took out the double door that was on there which left a 38" opening and the barn door calls for a 36" finished opening. So I will add a 2x4 and drywall it and slap some corner bead and mud on. We weren't supposed to do any work on the new house until I was up there with all my tools but wife decided we needed to rip out the carpet since they had cats and one thing led to another and we spray textured the walls and ceiling and painted it. Still have to do base trim and new carpet but that can wait a bit. I did find a quik drive stand up screw gun on marketplace up there so told the guy I would pick it up Sunday. The subfloor is a little squeaky so will screw it down good before putting new carpet down. I'm getting older so the stand up screw gun will be nice for the back since I won't have to be bent over for a few hours screwing the floor done in each room. Also need to skim coat the other 2 bedrooms so they are ready for texture one of these days. It isn't ideal having 2 houses you are working on 6 hours apart, even with multiples of many tools I never seem to have what I need when I need it.

 

[nadogail]

I have found that as I have gotten older i look at things differently; your comments about the Stand Up Screw Gun resonated.

 

[signcrafter]

That is for sure. I've abused my body since I was a kid and I'm paying the price for it now and will continue to pay as I get older. The nice thing about getting older is there is a few more pennies in the piggy bank so when there is a tool or something to make my life easier I get it. There will be a lift going into the new shop one way or another. Getting too old to lay on my back all the time. Need to get everything up there and see how things layout and decide if I need to add onto the shop or if I can just put new trusses on to raise the ceiling height so I can fit a lift in there. But someway or another there will be a lift in the near future..

 

[signcrafter]

I also received the OBDii bluetooth adapter I ordered the other day. This is the one I went with, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DFYMTS6/?tag=atomicindus08-20. I don't have any experience with these and haven't looked into what software to use with it but I've wanted one of these for a while to keep in each vehicle. A few friends of mine in Iowa have also asked if there was a scan tool for 100 or so bucks to be able to read codes and whatnot once I leave. So I ordered this to try out and see what all it can do and if it does a decent job I will recommend it to others.

 

[captain14]

Sounds like this will be an interesting thread to follow.

Good luck on the move. You don’t realize how much you have until you have to load it, haul it and unload it at the new location.

“How many steps do I have to climb to get into that new house again? “

 

[signcrafter]

Sounds like this will be an interesting thread to follow.

Good luck on the move. You don’t realize how much you have until you have to load it, haul it and unload it at the new location.

“How many steps do I have to climb to get into that new house again? “

Thanks. And that is very true. I had a good deal of stuff when I moved to Iowa but it fit into a 2 car garage for the most part. When we bought this house in Iowa it came with a 1200 sq ft shop so there was room to acquire more things. More of the shop equipment that I've always wanted but didn't have room for. A big parts washer, tire machine, wheel balancer, racks for 6 gallon boxes of oil, a desk for paperwork and much more. Another thing is since we live in a small town I try to "stock" common things that can stop a project. Things like hardware, cotter pins, orings, and the list goes on and on. We have a napa and an oreillys along with a true value and a farm store which all close fairly early and not open 7 days a week, everything else is 30 or so minute drive each way. I have my own hose cabinet like the parts stores have just so I can make sure I have whatever I need. I stock fluids and other stuff. Some think it's crazy but my shop really only has one stall so if I run into an issue I'm dead in the water and at the mercy of online ordering or running to town. So all these things have to be moved also.

The good news is the new house has no stairs besides going to the basement. The Iowa has is built into a hill so the house stuff all had to come down the stairs to move. Good news is I got most of that moved already. I just have my chair and a bed here yet. So stairs are pretty much done with. Just the heavy shop stuff and all the small shop stuff. Which is a double edged sword since I use most of that stuff to make some money during the week to help pay for the move. But once the house is ready to be listed I will have to say no more work and start making trip after trip in my 16x7 trailer until it's empty. Until then I'll be moving the less used stuff. I'll get some pics of the new shop over the next few days. It's just two 2 car garages all open. So the layout isn't the best but it's a starting point.

This morning I got up and got some coffee and now changing out the Ujoints. Then load up the trailer and will see how tired I am if I want to leave tonight or early in the morning. The older I get the less I like driving at night in the cold pulling a trailer.

 

[LXCam]

Scott, just noticed your thread and wanted to subscribe to see what repairs you're doing as well as to follow along on the new house/garage after the final move.

Best of luck with the move and setting up the new shop as I know that can be a stressful time.

Ya what Mike said. Lol


Moving a collection especially when split between two states is a hell of a struggle bud. As you know it only took me 3.5yrs to end my bistate battle and it’s not something I wish on anyone.

And one word of advice. Oh it’s great having an assortment of all the misc hardware, orings and what nots. But whatever you do. Don’t let it become an 7ft high wall of death.

 

[signcrafter]

Ya what Mike said. Lol


Moving a collection especially when split between two states is a hell of a struggle bud. As you know it only took me 3.5yrs to end my bistate battle and it’s not something I wish on anyone.

And one word of advice. Oh it’s great having an assortment of all the misc hardware, orings and what nots. But whatever you do. Don’t let it become an 7ft high wall of death.

I'm already there Cam. I'll grab some pics later today. I have an section of metal shelves 8' tall by 15' long that is my hardware store. Being that I not only work on cars but also have been in construction in one shape or form most of my life including building restaurants, I have a large assortment of stuff. Most of it's fairly organized but I will try to put some time and effort into getting it more organized as I move. I say that now and have said that in the past and usually doesn't happen because life gets busy but I'll try my best this time. I also have another section 12' long that is different types of things, fittings for pipes, hose fittings, brake line and fittings, nylon fuel fittings, coolant line fittings, oil drain plug assortments, garage door hardware, closet organizer hardware, and the list just keeps going. These are all organized in the shoe box size clear plastic bins or the cases they came in. When I do a job for someone I hate trying to figure out exactly what I need. So I buy extra and buy things I may need. This saves me time and money by not having to run to the store for onesy twosy type things. I didn't make much money on jobs when I first started but over the years I've accumulated a good stock of things and it's nice to have. I'm pretty sure I have more pvc fittings then the hardware store in town. You just have to when you are doing something. Right now I'm envisioning 1/3 to 1/2 of the new shop will be shelving and because of the layout and wall space I think I'm going to have to do something like grocery store shelves or have an aisle or two in order to fit everything. I'm going to pack up some of my stuff on my shelves that don't get used much and take that and some of the shelving up there this weekend.

Right now the shop up there is a mess because we been throwing stuff in it as I bring it up and also all the stuff we have been ripping out of the house as we update it and also the **** the old owner left behind. The weather has been cold and I haven't had time to get a heater installed yet. And at this point as spring gets closer that may just wait until fall. But it's supposed to be nice this week and wife is on vacation and I'm planning on staying till Wednesday so we will make a trip to the landfill to make room to start laying out my stuff. That will be a challenge in itself since wall space which is a premium in a shop is very limited. Have 2 16' overhead doors and a 8' overhead. Three man service doors, and a 5' slider that goes to a 3 seasons room. Wonderful layout for an average home owner but not ideal for a shop layout. Wife loves plants and was all excited about a 3 seasons room but my only requirement when she was looking at houses was a shop of some sort or room to build one. She has a whole room full of windows in the house for her plants so the 3 seasons room may be getting enclosed or even torn down to make an addition. Time will tell.

 

[signcrafter]

Played with the new obdII bluetooth thing a little bit and not real impressed with it. It shows a decent amount of sensors but didn't see anything like wheel speed sensors or a bunch of other things. I'm guessing it be alright for basic code reading and trouble shooting but was hoping to get some decent live data out of it. I will play with it some more and I'm not sure if I have to use their app or if this obd thing can be used with any app? Maybe there is a better app that will work with the same obd plug?

Got my ujoints and new seals in and rotated the tires. I built this wood jig a few years back to do ujoints. My bjp1 fits in the grooves and it makes ujoints pretty easy. Before this I had to support the axle and bjp and everything. And even with the bjp that has the adapters that snap together it was a pain. So I built this and it gives me a 3rd hand.


This is the seal driver specific to fords. I bought this a few years ago to do a job and have used it a few times since. It's almost 15 pounds of solid steel that has been machined. You beat on it to drive the seal onto the axle and it's designed to stop when the seal is at the correct place. Then when you put the axle back in the axle tube you use the same driver to drive the axle/seal into the hub and set at correct depth.


This is the dust shield that keeps dirt and liquid from getting into the axle tubes. The axle tubes are dry but have a seal to keep them clean. The plastic one that is on the axle shaft is the old style that is factory. It comes out pretty easy. The new style is shown that is much heavier duty and an actual seal. I used a big 1" drive socket and extension to drive it into the axle tube. Then put axle in and used the seal driver to seat the seal in the knuckle.


I also rotated my tires and when I did I found this oil dripping down the engine. There is only a couple things this can be, CCV which was replaced a few months ago or injector seal. When I changed the CCV some oil spilled and I didn't clean it up since I did it out of the shop and didn't have brake clean. So today I cleaned everything up and will monitor things and see if it was leftover residue or if I have a leak and will deal with it.


A friend called and asked if I could look at his wife's car. He is a manager in the meat department at a local store. He has treated me pretty good over my time here and even gave me 4 free tickets to a race and big name concerts last year. He said they went to start one of their cars after sitting all week in negative degree temps it was acting funny. He said ever since they have had it you have to push the gas pedal to get it to start. Said that is "normal", I said not really. I started it up and battery and alt tested out good. No ECU codes so looked at fuel trims and long term is neg 24ish. Between the negative fuel trims and the need to push the gas pedal in to start the car it's sounding like a leaky fuel injector. Could be a bunch of things but that is the quick thought. Also had a high oil level so that is another clue. I only brought my battery tester and scan tool with me so couldn't do much more testing. Told him to drive it and I would be back next week if we need to do more testing.

But when I went to grab my scan tool and battery tester my diagnostic bench was a mess that needs some attention. Even though I am moving I plan to set up the bench the same way. Half of it is electrical diagnostics and half is key cutting and programming. I had it fairly organized at one time but things have gotten out of control. So need to take an hour or so and redo things to get them back in order. So even though everything is getting moved it will be nicer to move if not a big spaghetti pile and will be ready to set up over there.



Tomorrow I will finish loading the trailer and head out to Wisco.

 

[signcrafter]

Sunday I got up at 4am and backed the trailer into the shop and started loading it up. Got my 15" planer in there but that was a challenge by myself. Google is saying it's right around 500 pounds. I have it on a little rolling stand but getting it over the ramp door edges was tricky.


Got to wisconsin in the afternoon and after unhooking the trailer I ran to the store to get some 2x4s and drywall. A while back Sam's club had a few barn doors on clearance. Our master bedroom walk in closet had two 18" doors instead of one 36". The wife didn't like them so when she saw the barn door for cheap that is what she wanted. But the barn door is for a 36" max finished opening. And obviously when I tore out the old closet door it left a 38" rough opening. So I nailed a 2x4 on one side and then dry walled it. Got the corner bead on yesterday and will finish that with a few coats of mud. Then texture that spot and repaint it and it will be ready for the barn door.


I was never a fan of finishing drywall. But about 10 years ago I had a decent sized job so I pulled the trigger on some corner tools to help speed things up. Got a mud tube that you fill with mud and use different heads to apply the right amount on inside and outside corners. A roller to roll inside corners and another to do outside corners. The some other tools like corner flushers. It was a pretty large investment at the time but its proved to be well worth it. I still would like to get some boxes that are used for doing **** and rolled edge joints but havent had any bigger drywall jobs to justify them yet.


We also made a trip to the landfill to clean the garbage out of the garage. Today I will unload the trailer and start moving things around the shop. I dont have too much up here so I'm sure things will change as I bring more. But have to start somewhere. Tomorrow morning I'll go replace some upper limit switches and burners on a buffet at one of the restaurants I used to do work for up here. They have been calling me for work once they found out I was moving back. So looking like I may be going back into that field of work once up here but we will see where the cards land. Then head back to Iowa. Not sure if I will take the car or truck this time. Car is due for oil change and one tire has a slow leak with temp changes so might take that sand get those taken care of and come back saturday.

I'll get some pictures up later this morning.

 

[signcrafter]

Didn't get any pictures of new shop before I headed out yesterday afternoon back to Iowa. Was a busy couple days getting as many hunny do projects done for the wife while I was up there. Got our master closet drywalled and corner bead on and a couple coats of mud on. This weekend when I go back I will put the final coat on and then spray texture it and get some paint on it so I can get this darn barn door on and one step closer to finishing our master bedroom update. Still needs trim and carpet. I also got the new ceiling fan/light up and the bedroom door didn't shut right. House must of settled over the years and ever since we moved in the door never shut correctly. So I ripped that out and rehung the door so it closes correctly now.



We have a closet off the kitchen hallway that had some crappy shelves installed. This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Closet shelves are so easy to do correctly to make sturdy and maximize storage. We will be redoing the kitchen at sometime down the road but for now I just wanted to redo this closet quick to maximize storage and make it solid. A quick trip to menards to get a couple 23" wide shelf boards and some 1x3 pine boards and a few heavy duty shelf supports. I cut the 1x3s to length so I could screw them into the studs on each side of the closet. Then used one shelf bracket in the center of the shelf. Could easily put a couple hundred pounds on each shelf and they are cheap and easy to do. Every closet is different but it still baffles me when I see closet shelves cobbled together and can't even put 20 pounds of stuff on them before they fail. The little ones testing out the first of 3 shelves.



I picked up the quikdrive stand up screw gun while I was up there. It is in good shape overall, the guy said he only used it for a couple of rooms. I need to get a box of screws now so I can get our subfloor screwed down before installing new carpet. I don't see me using this a whole lot but looking forward to trying it out to save a little wear and tear on my body. I've never used one before but have only heard good stuff about them. For 75 bucks I think it will be a good addition to the tool family. Once I get a box of screws I'll give it a once over and make sure it works as it should.


I had planned to load another trailer load to bring up this weekend but being that I didn't get back to Iowa till late Wednesday night I didn't want to rush things. Been a long week already so I figured I would bring the car back and service that and head back up this weekend. Car needs an oil change, tire rotation and two of the tires have been leaking slowly with the temp that have been going up and down like crazy. So I will pull them and see if I can find a leak and then clean the rim good and install new valve stems. Wife doesn't need to be worrying about keeping them aired up while I'm not there. I also have a VW routan being dropped off today for what looks to be trans cooler lines leaking. Then on Friday the daughter is dropping her car off so I can do plugs and replace the serp belt on it and go over things on it. Short week here in Iowa. I will clean up the shop because when you start loading a trailer of stuff to move things get a little messy. I'll start taking down the shelving units and staging another load to go up there when I bring the truck back next week.

 

[signcrafter]

Stopped at the worlds largest truck stop on the way back. I try to take different routes to and from when I go now because the most direct way that I have driven several hundred times now is boring to begin with and the more I take it the more boring it gets. So trying to switch things up to see new scenery and stay awake. I've been here a few times and it's a pretty neat place. Has a huge truck accessory store with just about anything you could want in there. Also has lots of trinkets and other things along with a handful of restaurants. Think it even has a lounge and movie theater for truckers. There is a trucking museum out back also but I've never taken the time to check that out. Worth a stop if you ever driving I80 by davenport.



I also have a mercury mountaineer coming in tonight with a blinking OD light. Pretty sure these have the trans where you have to fill from the bottom of the pan and let it drip out. I have done a few of these in the past and I told the guy I would check the fluid level and add if needed but anything more and he will have to go somewhere else. These trans have some issues and anything more then low fluid most likely will need trans pulled to fix. I just don't have time to do that right now. Hopefully for him it's just some fluid but we will see. A few years ago I built a ATF filler from a pump up garden sprayer. The 5r55 trans on fords and this mountaineer is just an 1/8" pipe thread to fill it. But with all the newer trans needed some sort of special fill procedure I thought I would get a set of adapters to use when I run into them. I don't do a ton of trans fills so I searched amazon and found what I thought was a complete set for a decent price. These are just a chinese set but look to be well built and a pretty complete set for anything I may run into. But, as with any knock off set there is always an issue. These have a quick connect end to use with their pressure fillers. They don't seem to work with my mityvac stuff. So I need to figure out what type of quick connects these are and either buy one to adapt to my filler or just bite the bullet and buy their filler. I will have to figure out what my best option is. They sell their own pressure filler with a smaller set of adapters for 99 bucks. The reviews on the pump get mixed reviews so not sure I want to get the pump. Think I would rather try and figure out what quick connect it is and adapt that to my pump I have now.

 

[zmotorsports]

Hey Scott, that truck stop along I-80 in Iowa was ain interesting stop alright. My son and I stopped there back in April 2017 when we were driving our coach back to Indiana for paint. That place is definitely huge.

 

[signcrafter]

Hey Scott, that truck stop along I-80 in Iowa was ain interesting stop alright. My son and I stopped there back in April 2017 when we were driving our coach back to Indiana for paint. That place is definitely huge.

Hey Mike. I like to wander around the truck store and just take in all the different accessories they have. Some pretty unique stuff in there. The first time I stopped a few years back I had the kids with me and they have a semi you can climb around inside the store. They enjoyed that.

 

[signcrafter]

Yesterday we got 6 plus inches of snow and for some reason the roads were pretty crappy. Usually the plows can keep them decent for decent drivers. You will always have those that will never learn how to drive and you can't help them, and for some reason Iowa seems to have more then the normal amount of them. I didn't get on the interstate yesterday but when we get an inch or two of snow the interstate usually looks like a junkyard of cars scattered all over. On my trip back from Wisco this past weekend there are still a couple cars left over from the snow storm just before Christmas. I would think the state patrol would have them towed for safety reasons but they are still out there almost two months later. When I went to Wisco just after that storm in the end of December there were over 100 cars and semis in the ditch in my first 90 miles. It's crazy how many end up in the ditch. One thing I've noticed about a lot of Iowa drivers in my time here is they like to be on their phone, all the time. And they don't hide it, phone in hand up on steering wheel while speeding 80 MPH down the road. I've also seen tablets on the steering wheel watching movies while they are driving.


Had a guy call me because he slid into a curb "going 5 MPH" in his f150 and a quarter of the lip on his aluminum rim is gone. He made it to work so I called the junkyard here and was able to get a rim for him. That is one nice thing we have here is a decent junkyard that you can still go pull your own parts at. I picked up the rim and met him with a jack and impact at 4 when he was done with work and pulled his old tire and ran it to shop and got his tire changed out the the new rim. His wheel isn't straight anymore but I didn't see any obvious damage so told him to get an alignment and see what they say.


Had the volkswagon routan dropped off yesterday for oil leak. It has the 3.6 in it and the oil filter housing/cooler is leaking. They make a gasket kit for it so I picked that up along with upper and lower intake gaskets since you have to pull all that off to get to the oil cooler that is in the valley of the engine. But once I got down there I could see that it needs a new housing and not just the gaskets. Of course the parts stores in town have to order it at a tune of 350 bucks for a one so I just ordered one online. I try to support local when I can but if you are going to charge me to order it in and I can get it just as quick and save some money I might as well do the work myself. So I buttoned that back up for now and will have to tear it back down when parts get here. It also had some transmission lines leaking and nobody shows a replacement. Even dealers said they are no longer available. This engine and basically the whole van is the same as a grand caravan. And they show a replacement set of lines for them that look identical. So I picked up a set of them and will replace them this morning and hopefully they are the same and can at least get that knocked out. Just seems weird that parts stores and rockauto don't show a set of lines for this vehicle.


I also emailed the amazon seller of the ATF adapter kit ad they said they don't sell just the pump or just the quick connect adapter. They did say they hook up to air compressor hoses. So I will see if they do in fact work with a type of air quick connects. That would be a little bulky but if it works I will adapt my current pump up sprayer to have a air compressor fitting to use with these. I don't see me needing them often but I do like to have the tools to do a job when I run into it.

 

[signcrafter]

Got parts ordered for that routan and got the trans cooler lines replaced today. They were in fact the exact same as the caravan. Also fun fact when I hooked my scan tool up to read trans temp when I was checking the trans fluid level I clicked on volkswagon and it would not decode the vin. So for fun I went to chrysler and it decoded everything and let me proceed. To check the fluid level you have to have a special dipstick that is basically a MM ruler at the end of a flexible metal rod. Then you need a chart showing what the fluid level should be at different temps. Get the trans fluid temp up and put dipstick in and pull out and compare the reading to the chart. I didn't take any pictures of this process. I'm bad at remembering to take pics. But it was right in spec so I sent it on its way and will get it back next week when parts are here. This is one of two of the specialty dipsticks I have for chrysler vehicles. I had to buy another one a couple weeks ago to check a 2017 jeep cherokee. This one you have to pull a plug that is in a real **** place that you get to by removing the drivers side tire and going in there. Then put this stick in there.


Had a mercury mountaineer dropped off today that owner said had flashing O/D light which means some sort of trans issue. So I will get that on stands and do the fill procedure on that and see how the fluid level and quality is. Told him that is as far as I want to go and he said that is as far as he wants to go with repairs on the vehicle so we will see what happens.


Daughter dropped her car off and I got the spark plugs replaced and a new valve stem on one of her tires. She had a leak in it a couple weeks ago and I didn't find any nails or anything. So I pulled it off the rim and cleaned it all up. I also removed the valve stem and ran to napa to see if they had one. There was a newer guy working and he said he had never heard of replacing just the valve stem on a tpms sensor. Told him it's standard procedure when putting new tires on and that I was pretty sure they had them down an aisle I pointed to. He didn't seem interested in working and I was in a hurry so I just left. I put a standard valve stem in her rim for the time being and ordered a bunch of different valve stems to "stock". These are the joys of living in a small town. The next day I was at napa and asked the manager who I've know for years and knows his stuff about it and he said ya they have them all right where I had told the guy. Oh well, I will be set on valve stems for a while now. Stories like these are why I have a whole shop stocked with all sorts of stuff because when I need something it's always a hassle trying to get stuff. I also got a serpentine belt for her car but it's a stretch belt and when I was watching a video on replacing it some dealer techs were saying how it was one of their least favorite things to do. I have a couple different installers made by lisle I think. But after seeing it can be a bear I googled to see if ford had a specialty tool and found one made by cta. This is a two part kit that you remove a bolt from the engine and screw in a temporary bolt that allows you to secure a guide wire to keep the belt from slipping off the water pump pulley. Then you put a wedge on the crank pulley and turn the crank with breaker bar to rotate and belt goes on. I ordered one and told the daughter we would do that next week. I'm sure if I wanted to I would have been able to get that belt on using zip ties and or pliers but the older I get the more I would rather just buy the correct tools and wait to do it right. Especially since once I cut the old belt to get it off the car is dead in the water.

I tried the trans adapters with air quick disconnects and they don't work. So I guess I need to decide if I want to order their filler that comes with another set of adapters or just return them and go another route.

 

[signcrafter]

Been a busy week and I didnt take many pictures. Really need to do a better job taking pictures as I work. Left early sunday morning for wisconsin. I had taken the car to iowa so I could do an oil change and fix a slow leak in the tire. Leak ended up being the rim needing a cleaning.

The mountaineer was about 1.5 quarts low on fluid. I filled it and drove it and it seemed to he doing good. But learned this week it is stuck in 1st gear. The vehicle isnt worth sticking much money into so think that's all she wrote for that vehicle.

Got to Wisconsin sunday and didnt do too much, just spent some time with the family. Monday we did some work around the house and more family time. Around Christmas time I got back to iowa to find our fridge there stopped working. Was a pleasant present to come back to. I did some testing and found compressor was bad. Looked into replacing it but between parts and the price of r134a it just wasnt worth fixing a fridge that was almost 20 years old. The fridge that came with the house in wisconsin was a side by side which the wife hates. So I suggested we get a new fridge for the new house and bring the other one back to iowa to sell with that house. She was all on board for that idea. So monday our new fridge came. Stuck the other one in the garage for now and I will take it back to iowa with me when I go. Be nice to have a fridge there again. It's amazing how much you appreciate a fridge when you dont have one. Simple things like condiments and being able to buy food and not have to use it all for one meal really make eating meals pretty rough. I did have a college size fridge downstairs but didnt want to dig that out and bring it up just for me. Was "roughing it" for the last couple months. Since it's just me there was a lot of eating out and gas station food for breakfast and lunch and supper I would usually get something from the meat department case and cook for myself. A brat, or stuffed pork chop, or whatever else was on sale or looked good.

The water line for the old fridge was in the basement and was a saddle valve on 1/2" copper pipe which I hate. Saddle valves should be banned instead of gas stoves. So I brought my plumbing tools with me and cut that section of copper pipe out and soldered in a tee. Then ran copper over to just below the fridge and put a valve on for the 1/4" braided line going up to the fridge. When we redo the kitchen I will put in an ice maker valve box in the wall but this will do for now. Water flow increased from a trickle to actually being able to fill a glass at a normal rate.

Shortly after we moved in the bath fan quit working. Which wasnt a bad thing since it is vented into the attic so needed to be redone anyway. We bought a new one and the insulated vent line and a outlet to go threw the gable end of the house about 20 feet away. So yesterday I drill a hole with a 1/4" long bit from the outside and climbed up in the attic to see where it came out. Once I knew it was in a good location I drilled the 6 3/8" hole threw the side of the house and stuck the vent in and screwed it to the house. Then caulked it before the storm came last night. Today I will take the old fan out and make the hole bigger to accept the new fan. Then run the vent line and connect it all up. Then we will be set for getting the humidity and condensation out of the bathroom. Sometime down the road that bathroom will be gutted and redone also. But needed to male sure no mold until then and now the vent will be done already. We also have a half bath that doesnt have a fan so sometime I will run a smaller fan in there also.

While i was up in the attic i drilled a hole in the top plate of our living room wall. I will use this to fish wires down for our security camera system. I put a reolink system in our last house and had good luck with it so we bought another one for this house. I got the nvr all set up a while ago but havent had time to install the cameras yet. Today I will cut a hole in the wall for the low voltage cut in box and run a few of the ethernet lines for a few cameras. Then drill a hole and mount the cameras and run the lines threw the attic and down the wall. Terminate them into the Jack's on the wall plate. Then run patch cords from wall to nvr. This is the way I think looks the cleanest. Only going to install 3 or 4 of the cameras for now just so the wife feels safe. We live on culdesac in what seems to be a safe neighborhood but having cameras you can watch from your phone just adds a layer of feeling safer.

We got about 3 inches of snow last night so I got that shovelled this morning. Another round is scheduled to start later this morning and calling for 15 to 18" by the time it's done. I will stick around wisconsin and do snow duty so wifey doesnt have to. Will also stop by moms and grandmas to do their driveways for them. I used to do everyone's until I moved to iowa so they should enjoy not having to go out and take care of snow this time.

So while I'm here in wisco I'll keep knocking some of the wifes hunny do list projects out. She should be happy with the cameras, bath vent, and I will get the barn door hung along with many other small tasks. Also have some more work at one of the restaurants I used to do work for. Will squeeze some of that in to make a few bucks and keep them happy till I get up here and have more time to do more work for them.

 

[signcrafter]

Nothing too exciting for the last week. Got about 12" of snow so got that all cleaned up so the wife wouldn't have too. Also ran to mom's and grandma's and took care of their driveways and sidewalks. I spent the week knocking some projects out at the new house in Wisco. Got a few cameras installed and wires ran so the wife feels more comfortable. We have cameras at the Iowa house and once you get used to having them you miss when you don't have them. Spent a day in the attic running the ethernet wires to all the POE cameras. Then terminated them and got it all cleaned up. Just have them on a small monitor in living room for now. I did buy an HDMI splitter so I could run it to up to 4 monitors. I've never used an HDMI splitter before so not sure if quality will drop or not. But plan on running a cable to basement so we can see them while down there since we spend some time with the kids down there playing pool and other stuff. Then want one in the shop so I can see if someone pulls up in the driveway if I'm working in the shop. These will need about 25' HDMI cables, think I read somewhere you can go up to 40' or so on HDMI. Will see how this works out. I think I can also use smart TVs as monitors and download the camera app on the TV just like I do on my phone. But this is one area I have not kept up on. I used to keep up on all the technology stuff but just haven't felt the need to stay up on things so this is one area I don't know a ton about. But like everything else I will figure it out and get it to work one way or another.

Got the old bath fan out and new one installed and insulated duct ran. Works great and no more moisture in the bathroom.
Then just worked on little stuff around the house and shop. The shop was a mess from moving stuff and just throwing it in there and also from all the projects around the house. I unloaded another trailer load of shop stuff and then loaded the trailer back up with the old dishwasher and some of the garbage and metal from things like old abandoned electric base board heaters that were left on the wall until I ripped them off before texturing the walls. Easier for me to run them to the landfill and scrap yard in Iowa during the week then it is in Wisco and I get the same fuel milage with a lite load in the trailer as I do pulling it empty. The wife found an appliance dolly on marketplace so we went and picked it up Saturday. It's a 1200 pound rated one from northern tool that sells for 250 new. He was asking 120 so I offered 100 and he took it. It's in good shape so we got a pretty good deal and it works a lot better then my usual method of using a regular dolly and a ratchet strap. Plus this one has the rubber bands for going up and down stairs and the extra set of wheels that come out so the dolly can sit at an angle when needed.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200737755_200737755

Got half the garage cleaned up and started trying to organize some things. Old owners had a ton of shelf brackets and crappy boards all over the garage so I have been taking them down and throwing them away so I have a fresh start. Not sure how to layout the shop yet. I've done a few rough sketches but it will probably come down to me getting most of my stuff up there and then move it around 10 times until it falls into place and I like it. Would be nice if I could come up with a layout before hand and get all the electrical and air ran but I do things the hard way and even if I did get it all planned out something would come up where I would have to move things and then move the electrical and air. So I will just wait till things are there and laid out until I do any electrical. I will be running a feed out to the garage for a sub panel and run everything from there. The inside panel is right next to the garage so that will be easy enough. The walls are already covered in wood panels so I will just run conduit for everything. I did about 2 years of electrical right out of high school and really liked it but I was working for a small company and wasn't going anywhere and before I got a chance to go to a different company I had another job offer as a union carpenter that was too good to turn down at the time. We mostly wired houses so I didn't get much conduit bending experience but over the years I've done my share and find it rather enjoyable. I still have to google the bend calculations each time I do it but something about running conduit and making it look good is enjoyable.

Got back to Iowa yesterday and the oil filter housing/cooler for the routan was here so I put that in and got that done yesterday. I used my mityvac to **** down the coolant in the radiator so I didn't have to go under the car and mess with the petcock. Worked really good and got enough coolant out that when I pulled the oil cooler it didn't spill but a few drops. Then sucked up the oil in the valley of the engine that had been collecting from the cooler leak. Put new cooler on and new manifold gaskets and got it all back together. Had some other parts show up while I was away and also the tool to help get the stretchy belt on daughters fusion so will knock out a few other projects this week. Getting a lot of rain today so will spend the day cleaning up the house and shop.

 

[signcrafter]

Had a thought tonight while still trying to figure out these transmission filler adapters. When I can't figure out something it eats at me and I can't stop thinking about it until I figure it out. If I can't find something, which seems to happen a lot, I go crazy and will stop everything and tear everything apart until I find it. But while thinking about this and deciding I should probably just go ahead and order the chinese filler that works with these adapters for 100 bucks I remembered I have an old airlift coolant filler on the shelf that has a quick connect fitting on it. I bought it used many years ago and a while back napa had one for a good price so I bought a new one. Since then my old airlift brand has just sat in it's case. I decided to see if the quick connect on it was close and it is very close and I think it will work. So now I can either take the fitting off the old air lift and adapt it to fit the pump up garden sprayer I made into a atf filler or still buy one of the chinese sprayers for 100 bucks. I'm not against buying the filler but just bugs me that I have to buy it with a smaller set of adapters even though I already bought the larger set of adapters to have a more complete set for anything I may run into. And that it's a chinese knock off.



Was just searching amazon to take a look at the filler that goes with these adapters and ran across this, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGNVZ839/?tag=atomicindus08-20. So looks like I have more choices. Can either adapt the airlift fitting I have, order this set for 25 bucks and use the valve/fitting from that with my homemade pump and the adapter set I bought, or spend 100 bucks and get a whole sprayer that comes with valve and fitting for the adapter set I already bought.

 

[Monza Harry]

That fitting looks like it is from the "Jiffy-Tite" line of fittings.
Summit carries them, I wasn't finding the dimensions I was looking for, to narrow down wich series you will need.
Harry

 

[signcrafter]

That fitting looks like it is from the "Jiffy-Tite" line of fittings.
Summit carries them, I wasn't finding the dimensions I was looking for, to narrow down wich series you will need.
Harry

Thanks Harry, looks like you may be correct. I will do some googling today and see if I can narrow down which fitting it is now that I have a name of the type of fitting. Always learning something new on here.

 

[signcrafter]

That fitting looks like it is from the "Jiffy-Tite" line of fittings.
Summit carries them, I wasn't finding the dimensions I was looking for, to narrow down wich series you will need.
Harry

Looks like you are correct. Summit has jiffy-tite fittings but one fitting is more then the amazon set that comes with the fitting and a valve and a hose connector. I realize the amazon one is probably cheap chinese stuff but since this isn't a high pressure or critical thing, I think I will probably either get that amazon set I linked to with the valve and quick disconnect or just go ahead and get the whole filler for 100 bucks, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099N7KHLQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20. I will think about my options but thank you for the lead on the fittings.

 

[Monza Harry]

No problem signcrafter! Most common sizes in the mould world [that I get to play with anyway] is 2 series (1/4") series (3/8") & 5 series (1/2") I'll edit in sizes after work for those three size fittings. Harry
Edit:
2 series ****** it 0.372" OD
3 series ****** is 0.530" OD
5 series ****** is 0.780" OD

 

[signcrafter]

No problem signcrafter! Most common sizes in the mould world [that I get to play with anyway] is 2 series (1/4") series (3/8") & 5 series (1/2") I'll edit in sizes after work for those three size fittings. Harry
Edit:
2 series ****** it 0.372" OD
3 series ****** is 0.530" OD
5 series ****** is 0.780" OD

Just measured with caliper and they around 0.36x" so they must be the 3/8" option. I'm still thinking for the few times I need these things, especially since gear lube started coming in "bags" that make it easy to fill diffs, I may just try my luck and take a chance on the knock off filler on amazon that is meant to work with these adapters. Wouldn't hurt to have another fluid filler in the shop anyway. Not a fan of cheap when it comes to tools like this. I bought the knock off adapter set because they are just metal pieces so not much to screw up and the mityvac version is way more expensive.

 

[signcrafter]

Not too much done today. I did some work around the house and also worked on cleaning up the shop since there was no shop work to do today. Trying to get better at putting tools away after finishing a job. I took one of my work carts up to wisco and my other one has a stihl concrete saw torn apart on it so don't have a "work surface" at the moment. I have my service cart but when working on a car I pull tools out of it and usually don't put them back till after the job is done. Usually put them on a work cart along with the parts.

Then cleaned up my mityvac fluid extractor and all the hoses in the parts washer along with my funnels and oil drain pans while I was at it.

I got an email from autel last week about some webinar on diagnostics using their tools so I signed up for it. Tonight is the first of a 6 part series. Autel and NGK are putting it on so hopefully will pick up a few tips.

 

[Monza Harry]

Those fittings (Jiffy-Tite) aren't usually too expensive if you buy, say Foster brand from a hydraulic/industrial supply house a 253 fitting should be under/about $3.00 Can., cheaper in the US, the female (sorry I don't remember the #) was around $7.00 last I bought one. Summit was just to help with pic's and numbers, but they do offer a good option for quick hassle free purchases with fair shipping if you can't find a reasonable local choice. Harry

 

[signcrafter]

The last couple days I had a little pontiac SUV come in for a rattle when going over bumps. Took it for a drive and it had a rattle, figured end links or something so put it on ramps and couldn't find any suspension issues. Had worn bushings in control arms but nothing that would cause a definite rattle. Was getting a little frustrated so started looking for other issues and wasn't finding anything. This vehicle was a salvaged title and had been in a front end crash at some point but current owner has had it for about 3 years and rattle just started. As I was pulling myself out from under the car on the creeper I just happened to put my hand on the trans mount and noticed it was cracked in half. So got one of them ordered and will replace that when it gets here.


Another guy called me and said his dishwasher wasn't draining and asked if I could look at it because his wife was tired of washing dishes by hand. Stopped over and took a look and he said he installed the dishwasher himself so I asked if he attached the drain hose to the top of the counter to create a loop. He said no he just drilled a hole and stuck the drain hose into the basement. The dishwasher isn't next to the sink like a normal setup so at sometime someone ran a 1.5" PVC line over to the dishwasher and put a P trap in but it's not vented and the drain hose is kind of like a roller coaster. So I told him I would pull the dishwasher and see what I find and redo the drain line and vent it with an AAV. We also noticed some crusty build up on a copper pipe from a slow water leak at one time. He asked me to solder in a new section of pipe. We looked at his main water shut off in the basement where the meter is and it was an old gate valve so I told him while the water is off I would solder in a new quarter turn shut off so he wouldn't have to use the old shut off. But noticed a slow leak on the old valve. I'm friends with a guy that works for the city water works and asked him about getting the city to shut off the water so I can replace that valve and he said to try the curb stop and if it's not turning easy to give him a call and he will stop over and shut it off for me. So those are on the list to do sometime.

 

[signcrafter]

Then I had the stretchy serpentine belt for the daughters 2018 fusion. After reading about these belts being a pain I ordered the tool to install them on this engine. You take one bolt out of the timing cover and install a stud that you then put a bent wire over and secure with a nut. This helps keep the belt from coming off the other pulley while getting it on the crank pulley. Then there is a wedge looking tool that hooks onto the crank pulley and when you rotate the crank with a 19mm socket the wedge will guide the belt onto the pulley. It worked really good and glad I spent the 20 or so bucks on the tool. I'm all for ordering tools to make the job go better and eliminate as many headaches as possible. I will probably never use this tool again unless I run into another engine it works on. But that's alright with me and if I do run into another one of these I have the tool.


When I took the tire off her car the lugs had your classic swollen nuts infection. Even with my 19.5mm socket it wouldn't get a couple of them off. I had to use my damaged lug socket to rip a couple of them off. So I ran to napa and get new ones for that wheel and they are getting almost 10 bucks a piece for a lug. But I needed them, again, small town issues. So today I ordered new lugs for the rest of the wheels so she won't have issues if she ever needs to change a tire.


I also had a 2008 silverado 5.3 dropped off that check engine light came on. Codes for a misfire and when I read misfire data cylinder 7 was missing bad. He bought the truck new so I asked if he ever had plugs done on it and he said no. When I checked miles the truck has 166,*** miles on it with original plugs. So I told him he needs a tune up and go from there. Picked up some new iridium ACdelco plugs and wires today so will get them installed and see what else if anything it needs.

Have a 2014 ram getting dropped off for oil change and a civic that went into the ditch last week during the storm. Have to see what all is wrong and take a look at bumper cover.

The other morning when I was going to get coffee and some parts it was colder so I used the remote start on our truck. As I walked by the front of the truck to get into it I noticed a noise coming from behind the grill. I had thought I hard something a couple of times over the last month or so but this time it was more pronounced. So I popped the hood and checked the pulleys and using my stethoscope I could tell an idler pulley was bad. So I ordered motorcraft OE idler pulleys and new serpentine belt and will replace those when they get here. Also ordered OE brakes for the rear, I won't say what those cost but like everything else rotors have gone way up. But would rather have OE brakes when I got 115,*** miles out of the last set they make more sense then some cheaper ones that will have to replace a few times in that mileage.

 

[captain14]

We looked at his main water shut off in the basement where the meter is and it was an old gate valve so I told him while the water is off I would solder in a new quarter turn shut off so he wouldn't have to use the old shut off. But noticed a slow leak on the old valve. I'm friends with a guy that works for the city water works and asked him about getting the city to shut off the water so I can replace that valve and he said to try the curb stop and if it's not turning easy to give him a call and he will stop over and shut it off for me. So those are on the list to do sometime.

When you install the new 1/4 valve will you remove the old valve or just add the new 1/4 valve past (behind) the old shut off? I’m asking since this is on my to do list at some point. I have another section of galvanized pipe further in the house that needs to be replaced and figured while the water is off, I can add the 1/4 turn shut off at the same time.

 

[signcrafter]

My plan was to just add a new valve. I do this whenever I am doing other work and find an old valve I need to use to shut off the water. Usually when you use the old valve to shut off the water and then turn it back on you will have a leak coming out of the packing around the valve handle stem. Usually you can give the packing nut a turn and it will seal back up. But I don't like taking that chance. Also old valves don't always seal the best and shut off all the water. So usually I will just add a new valve in after the old valve and then once I turn the old valve back on and tighten the packing nut I tell people not to ever use that valve again, just use the new valve whenever you need to turn water off or on. That was my plan here also until I saw the old valve is already leaking. So we will need to replace the old valve this time just because it's already leaking. This valve has a bleeder cap, so when you shut it off you can open this cap and drain the house side lines. But this cap has been leaking and is very corroded so needs to be replaced.

The way our water supply works is we have a curb stop buried around 5' deep out at the curb. Then in the basements we have the water line coming in with a valve on it and then the water meter. So if I just shut off the old valve at the water meter I don't have to mess with the curb stop valve which sometimes can be an issue. So when you don't have to mess with curb stop and just shut the old valve inside house off and install new valve just after old one that is the quick and easy way to do it. Then the only reason to ever use the old valve again would be if they have to replace your water meter. But even then the city will sometimes just use the curb stop for that if they see your old valve is questionable.

 

[captain14]

Great. Thanks for the insight.

Last time I shut off the water and it didn’t leak but a friend recommended I do the same when I was asking him about the galvanized pipe repair/ replacement to copper.

I still have a few pieces of galvanized pipe left.

 

[signcrafter]

Didn't take many pictures this week but I got the 08 silverado tuned up with new plugs and wires and no more misfires. At 166,000 miles I think he got his moneys worth out of the old ones. Got the trans mount in the pontiac torrent. Got my rear brakes changed on my F250 and did the idler pulleys and serpentine belt. Still have a diesel particulate sensor to replace and then do a trans service and change the coolant. Did a couple oil changes this week also. That's it for car work this week. I do have a motorcycle oil change for next week on a honda fury and then an older crown vic that the guy says pulls to the left and he would like fixed because it's sentimental to him.

Got over and redid the drain for the dishwasher so it's draining great now. Whoever installed it since it's not next to the sink just tied into a drain line and it wasn't sloped right nor was it vented at all. Didn't get the water valve changed out yet. Did pick up a new valve and wow have those gone way up from a couple years ago. I have a whole bin of valves I have bought over the years with probably 100 or so valves in it but I never seem to have the one I need. Just the way things work out. But it's good to have them because they have saved me many times when I do have the right one and need it for an emergency repair. I always buy two of something if I need one, or buy a few different types just to make sure I have what I need. So I have leftovers all the time. Being in a small town you almost have to "stock" some things because running into one unexpected issue can mean stopping all progress for a couple hours to run and get a part. ***** having money ******* in things just sitting on the shelf but it also doesn't take very many times before it pays for itself. Dishwasher does spray a little bit out the front door after it fills when it first starts the wash cycle and the pump kicks on spinning the arms. I'm not an appliance repair man but I always like learning new stuff so I did some googling and if the arm is clogged or "bent" in some way it will spray water out the front of the door. I thought the arm looked a little crooked when I looked at it but didn't pay much attention to it, again, not a appliance repair man. So my guess is that the arm is broke in some fashion and when it starts to spin it splashes the water in the bottom just enough to kick some water out since the door isn't really 100% sealed. This would make sense because it only leaks right when this arm starts up. I will look into more when I replace that valve for him. I don't like not being able to figure things out and he's given me a lot of work over the years so I will look into this further for him to see if I can figure it out.

Today I'm working on loading another trailer load and will head up to wisconsin tomorrow sometime I'm guessing. No snow in forecast but calling for winds and I80 ***** pulling a trailer when it's gusting. I've been taking random routes every once in a while just to switch things up so if it's windy maybe I'll just take some back roads. Adds an hour or so to the trip usually but that's alright. Once I get up there I unload trailer and start moving things around in the garage to see what fits where. Going to do up a scale drawing and post on GJ to get ideas and see how others might set it up. Now if the weather would just warm up I could throw all the wife's outside **** outside where it belongs. Talked to the town about putting up a shed and they gave me the numbers for the county and have to go through them. Hopefully I can do a decent sized shed to get all the lawn equipment and patio furniture and all that **** out of the garage. Not sure if I mentioned it or not but the plan is to make it a 2 story shed, if allowed, so the 2nd story can be a "tree" house for the kids. Daughter has been wanting a tree house for years and time is flying by so need to do that if we can. It would be a win win for everyone if we can do that. Then just do some work around the house and have a Bday party for the little guy who is turning 3 on Tuesday.

 

[signcrafter]

Kind of turned into a weekly update posts but that's alright. Spent the week up in Wisconsin. Was the little guys 3rd Bday last week so we took him to a trampoline park, which I found out I'm way to old for! Then went to a hibachi grill for supper. Took him to the store and let him pick out a toy, he got a flat bed semi with a bulldozer that runs and works and makes noises. I was going to come back to Iowa Thursday or Friday but ended up staying and came back yesterday morning. Finished up the drywall around the closet opening and spray textured that and got it painted. Just have to hang the barn door now and that will be done for the wifey.

On the way up there got a call from mom saying her snowblower broke and they just had a storm. It was the drive engage cable so I got her the part number and had her run to the hardware store and get a new one. I stopped there on my way into town and changed that for her.

Was a week of electrical work. Redid the basement lights and got them on a switch. Replaced a bunch of outlets throughout the house. Over the years I've found some sketchy stuff when you buy a house so for a couple hundred bucks I go through and replace outlets and switches as time permits. Usually find stuff like back stabbed outlets which I can't stand along with lots of other interesting stuff. This house didn't find anything too bad but it was built in the late 70s so receptacles were showing age and it's cheap insurance to just replace things. We do have an addition that was put on sometime, just a sunroom that was built sometime. That one for some reason they left the grounds off the outlets, they were in the boxes but just didn't feel like wrapping them around the screw I guess. The wife took over this room and has filled it with plants, happy wife happy life I guess. But we got all new outlets in and fixed any issues we ran into. Then made my way into the living room and replaced those outlets. There were no lights in the living room, just the bottom half of receptacles were switched. When I switched the receptacles I kept both outlets on the receptacle hot all the time. Wife wanted can lights in the ceiling, so went with the wafer style lights. I posted a thread in the electrical section here about how many and location. Seemed like most suggested 10-15 lights in a 21x11 room with 8' ceilings. I thought that was way too many so decided on 6. Two rows of 3 lights. Each row is 3' off the wall, so 5' between them. Then I went 4' from the other wall and then just centered that middle light. I was only able to get 4 of them installed because we have an 1/8" coat of sand texture plaster on our walls and ceiling which killed my 6 3/8" hole saw in 4 holes. I ordered a new carbide grit hole saw to finish the last two holes next time I'm up there. But I was able to run all the wires to the lights and fish a wire to the switch to switch them so I won't have to go back up into the attic to finish the last two lights. To get power to them I knocked out the switch box and used a flexible long drill bit to drill threw the top plate in the wall and then fished the wire down from the attic. So I was able to get the 4 lights up and running for her and they are plenty of light for that room, 6 will be perfect. I would not want 10 or more as some suggested, and that coming from a guy that likes a lot of light. Will have to finish them up next time and call that room done for now. We are going room by room and skim coating the sand texture and then spraying a knock down texture and new paint and living room also needs new flooring at some point.

When spraying texture I was using my dewalt/emglo portable compressor I've had for about 17 years now. It's been a pretty good compressor and I've worked it hard over the years. I haven't used it in a year or two so when I fired it up it wasn't building any pressure. Then after cycling a few times it would build pressure but once I shut it off it would leak out the unloader valve. Looks like I need to tear it apart and see why the check valve isn't closing like it should. Guessing it's stuck open from not being used. I didn't have time to tear it all down and check into it more. It was working good enough to get the texture sprayed so I left it at that for now. But as soon as it cuts off at 200 psi it starts leaking out of that area and will cycle on and off if not using it. So will need to figure it out but I have 2 other portable compressors to use for now.

Knocked another project out while I was up there. Daughter has wanted her own little "hide out". She claimed the area under the stairs as hers. Under the stairs is framed and finished on the two sides so just the back end was open. I framed that in and ran electrical for a light and outlet for her. Drywalled it and started to finish the drywall. We have a book case that we put down there for now and she wants to use that as a secret door, watches too much TV I think. But sounds like a fun project. I framed the opening a few inches smaller then the book case. I still have to look into some sort of hinges for the book case and also need to make some sort of rollers for it so it can swing open. Going to do some sort of low voltage lock with a button behind a book or something. Her idea was to pull a book and it would open. Will have to see what I can come up with to make it work how she wants.

Spent a few mornings doing some work at one of the restaurants I have done work for over the years. Their cup rinser was leaking water so I tore that apart and replaced an oring to get that working again. Also needed a condensation drain for their salad bar so I ran that to the other drain I did a while back. Also changed the valve and hose they use to fill the buffet table with water every morning. Fixed a few of their toilets that were running all the time. They have a handful of restaurants and I've done a lot of work for them over the years and was their first call when they needed something, either a big project or a small odd job. It's amazing all the odd stuff you get to do to keep a restaurant running. He also said he wants insulation put in above the suspended ceiling in another of his restaurants that is about 6000 sq ft. This would be a night time job which I'm starting to not like to do anymore. But it's nice money so I most likely will end up doing that in the next few weeks when I go back up there, or at least start it.

Back to Iowa now to work on the house here some more. Had a crown vic dropped off for a power steering fluid leak and a few other things. Still have to do an oil change on a motorcycle also. I'm not a motorcycle guy but I've done other work for this guy before and he can't find anyone in town willing to do an oil change for him and he used to do it himself but can't anymore. I told him if he wants to bring it over I will change it for him under his instruction if he brings the oil and filter. He laughed and said it's only one bolt and a filter. I'm always willing to learn something new but still since I'm not a motorcycle guy I feel better with him her even though I'm sure it is an easy job. I did order a thin drain pan for motorcycles and an oil filter wrench for his specific motorcycle, honda fury.

 

[signcrafter]

Last week we had some storms roll through Iowa so I stayed until Saturday morning just to be there if something happened to the house. Went from 76 during the day to 28 at night. Luckily they all missed us so I headed out for Wisconsin Saturday morning. On the way up there the wife sent a text saying she fell. The sump pump decided to stop working and the basement had water on the floor and the washing area has painted concrete so it was slippery and when she went to do some laundry she went for a ride. When I got up there and confirmed the sump pump wasn't working I ran to menards quick and bought a new one and a dehumidifier. Got the new pump working and it goes into a pipe buried in the yard. Saw that was backing up so cut it off and ran a hose out away from the house. I don't see where the pipe daylights so not sure where it goes, I will probably dig it out this summer and run a new pipe out to the ditch. But for now it will do. Pump was running non stop for about 2 hours before it got the water level low enough to cycle with the water level. By that time it was getting late and I've been up since 4AM so I left the fans go all night. In the morning I started cutting the carpet out and cut the paneling about 20" up from the floor. Cut out the insulation and got everything dried out. The basement was finished but it was your typical 90ish basement with wood grain paneling. We had planned on gutting it at some point and redoing it but wasn't high on the priority list until this weekend. I got the carpet ripped out. The wife's knee was bruised but after a couple days it was better.

Got some shelves and started unpacking and organizing the kid's toys. It's amazing how many toys you collect. Still have a long way to go but got a good start on that project.

One of the rooms has a cork floor that is glued down, very well. We were going to use that room for our exercise room, have a treadmill, bike, elliptical, and a wight machine. Cork would have been a decent floor for in there but I'm going to rip it up now. My big SDS chippers and blade bits were in Iowa so that will have to wait until next time. I looked at getting another 6" scraper bit but they were 190 bucks and I already have 2 so decided that can wait. Those bits work great on removing tile and thinset and even for an ice scraper in the winter.

My plan was to only stay till Tuesday and come back to Iowa to get some more work done and bring another load up this weekend and spend Easter there. But the basement swimming pool issue changed that so I came back to Iowa this Saturday morning. Before I left one of the restaurants called me because their ice machine wasn't working. I trouble shot it and the dump valve was stuck open. Told them I could order one and fix it but it would be about a week before I could get back to install it and if they needed it sooner they could call someone else but they said they would wait. I'll go install that tomorrow and clean the machine good and get it adjusted right.

While I was up there a friend called and said his van was leaking fluid and he had no power steering. He left it parked at work until I got back and could take a look to make sure he could drive it home. I will have to go look at that this week. He has a truck also so was driving that and said he had no heat. When I got back to Iowa I told him to bring it over and both hoses going to heater core were warm so that wasn't plugged. Was a little low on fluid so I pressure tested it and was leaking out the lower radiator hose. Ran and got a new hose and thermostat and got him up and running again. The factory clamp broke and wasn't sealing anymore.

I also have an oldsmobile 3.5L that has a coolant leak on the crossover pipe gaskets. The gaskets are only 5 bucks a piece but it calls for 7 hours of labor because the exhaust from the front goes to the rear right next to the crossover pipe so there is only 1/2" of room to get to bolts. Not sure he wants to stick that much money into it or not. Will have to see. Then a 2015 ford transit connect that needs the serp and AC belts replaced along with cabin and air filters.

 

[signcrafter]

Been a while since I updated this. Been busy and just haven't kept up on here. Still dragging this move out and working on both houses. When I'm up there I also am putting in work at a few restaurants I have done a bunch of work for over the years. Have to go there Monday and cut out a section of concrete patio so they can fix a gas leak. One of the lines running to one of their outdoor firepits is leaking and it's all under concrete. Back in Iowa just been working on the house and car repairs keep coming in.

This week I've done a blown out spark plug in a guy's 2003 F250. He called last week and said his truck broke down and he had it towed home. Said it doesn't have spark plugs but sounds like older cars did when they spit a plug. Told him I would take a look at it. When I got there I let him know he does have spark plugs and he assured me his does not. LOL. He is an older retired guy so I figured he wasn't used to coil on plug systems and that is where his confusion was. I told him he was half correct, it does have spark plugs but in a minute I will show him where one cylinder doesn't have a plug anymore. When I found which one it was and showed him the plug I noticed there was a thread insert on the plug already. He said "ya I've had 3 of them repaired". Hmmm. I've never ran into one of these before, have done a bunch of 2004 and up 3 valve spark plug removals when they get stuck but never ran into the infamous plug spitting 2 valves. After talking to ZKdiesel he recommended the cal van kit and said it will work even were it has already been repaired once and failed. So ordered that kit and got that done with a new plug and coil.

Then the same guy asks if I can change his fuel pump on his 56 bel air. Being that this car was built 25 years before I was, I told him I'm sure I can but have never done one before. Got that done today also and he was tickled to here that car fire up for the first time in 3 years. He doesn't get around the best and is partially blind so it's just been sitting since he saw a fuel leak. He assumed it was the pump but when we took it off I told him I was suspect of the short fuel line transitioning from the metal hard line to the pump. Sure enough as soon as he cranked it there was fuel leaking out. So we put a fitting in the pump and just put a section of rubber fuel hose in there for now and got it running for him.

Also had a kia sorento with a valve cover oil leak. Working on a passat now that has a trans code in it and she said she lost power going up a hill. I replaced the water pump and thermostat housing on it a couple months ago and she had said she wanted plugs and trans service done when I get time and then last week the trans issue popped up. I did plugs and now have to lift the car and do a trans service and see where that leads. Also have a few oil changes to do this week before I head back up to Wisco to spend the holiday with the family.

Doing a bunch of drywalling at the house here. We had started a bunch of projects and just never have time to get any of them completed. Some were started because we wanted to do them and some were started because an issue forced us to do them. Laundry room was a rotten galvinized vent pipe that would leak when it rained. So that wall has been torn up for a year or two now because once that was fixed it was on to the next project. This is something I told the wife I didn't want to happen at the new house. Told her that I didn't want to start anything at new house till we were done at old house and sold it but that didn't last long. She wanted carpets ripped out since old owners had cats. Then walls textured and painted, then sump pump went out and finished basement got wet so had to open those walls up and deal with that. Now that it's summer she wants to work on the yard. The list just keeps growing and projects keep getting started. But once the old house is done I want to focus on wrapping any on going projects up before starting new. I've always had issues with completing things to a point. Pretty sure I have ADHD and I will start something and get it to the point that it's livable or working and then move on to something else that came up and not go back and wrap up the last bit of the last project. Something I need to work on. Doesn't help when you always are being pulled in every direction all the time.

Going to pick up another section or two of shelving for the garage up in Wisco and start getting that organized. I've been bringing trailer loads of stuff up there and it's just thrown in there for now. I have enough shelving I think but it's just going to be easier to get another couple sections and get them up so I can just pack up a couple sections at a time from Iowa and when I get to Wisco there will be an empty shelf to put things on right away. Then repeat till done.

I'll get some pictures up from my phone later.