Above 1200 Sq/FT The Warthog Hidey Hole

[dittle fart around]

Andy,
One of our safety guys has a saying, "I'm the safety guy because I have already broken all of these rules before so I know what not to do." He is a good ol boy rancher that can have you in stitches from laughter.

JB

Our safety guy at the Navy shipyard was a victim of electrical shock while using a cheap multi meter. He was on the water front checking voltage when the meter exploded in his hands and blew him into the river. He was wearing a nylon jacket that melted up to the elbows.

After that accident, electricians could only use government issued meters and of coarse everyone was retrained. Everything in the safety manual is there for a reason.

 

[jbmatth]

It finally stopped raining non stop after 4 months and I had to get back to work.

Much easier to get things done when you can actually work on them. I finely had a dry, low wind, and free weekend a few back and was able to burn 3 brush piles I'd been building for the last 3 months but couldn't ever get burned. So much nicer not having that looming over my head. I'm sure you have lots of things to get done in the next few months as well.

Our safety guy at the Navy shipyard was a victim of electrical shock while using a cheap multi meter. He was on the water front checking voltage when the meter exploded in his hands and blew him into the river. He was wearing a nylon jacket that melted up to the elbows.

After that accident, electricians could only use government issued meters and of coarse everyone was retrained. Everything in the safety manual is there for a reason.

Fart,
Is it okay if I call you fart, or would you prefer Dittle Fart, how about just Gas Man? That hits pretty close to home, after I first bought my last house I had what I thought was a faulty breaker, tried to test it with my multi-meter and it did the same instant explosion in my hands. I lost all vision from the flash for a couple minutes, smelled burning wires and carpet, and had something burn a hole in my shirt to my chest.

Sadly most safety rules are written in blood after an incident occurred. The problem is there are so many rules that eventually you can't keep up and will inevitably miss one.

JB

 

[mybigwarwagon]

And I spoke too soon. It is going to rain for the next three days. Dangit.

 

[oldironfarmer]

I've known several refinery safety guys who were the survivors of severe burns. They make it easy to listen to them.

I take safety very seriously but some requirements which make no sense just drive me crazy.

 

[jbmatth]

And I spoke too soon. It is going to rain for the next three days. Dangit.

War Wagon, you need a shop pronto, get on that why don't ya?

I've known several refinery safety guys who were the survivors of severe burns. They make it easy to listen to them.

I take safety very seriously but some requirements which make no sense just drive me crazy.

Andy,
I've known a few from similar circumstances and you are correct, they make it easy to listen. You are correct, some rules are so over the top it can actually make the task more dangerous in other ways than before.


All,
Well the white truck is back together and was in one piece. It ran great for a few minutes... Then this happened:

It would run fine after clearing the codes and rev up with the pedal no issues, then at idle for 5 seconds it would go into limp mode. When I was logging the runs on my computer it would idle with timing in the high teens and throttle position sensor (TPS) near 12.3, when I hit the pedal it the TPS would track along with it and timing would increase as well. In limp mode the timing would actually go to -8° and the TPS wouldn't move even with the pedal floored. I went through a dozen or so possible problems and nothing seemed to work. I'm now to the point of replacing the throttle body (electronic throttle body) and I don't have a spare one of those to try first. Hopefully this works as I really don't know what else to do at this point.

JB

 

[mybigwarwagon]

War Wagon, you need a shop pronto, get on that why don't ya?

Yep. Just waiting on the mine to pay off
In the mean time I am growing gills.

 

[jbmatth]

Yep. Just waiting on the mine to pay off
In the mean time I am growing gills.

Don't bite a worm floating in the water, it is a trap.

All,
Good news is the throttle body on his truck fixed the issue, strange that it would go out at the same time I re-gasketed the engine but I'll take my wins where I can get them. One little fix left and that is to the blend door for the HVAC, I had a spare but it isn't exactly the same for some reason so I'll buy a new one, I hate spending other peoples money when I thought I had a free option.

JB

 

[iced98lx]

Don't bite a worm floating in the water, it is a trap.

All,
Good news is the throttle body on his truck fixed the issue, strange that it would go out at the same time I re-gasketed the engine but I'll take my wins where I can get them. One little fix left and that is to the blend door for the HVAC, I had a spare but it isn't exactly the same for some reason so I'll buy a new one, I hate spending other peoples money when I thought I had a free option.

JB

Thanks for the welcome to the thread was surfing and saw another GM junkie so had to chime in! Often times that issue can be "Fixed" on the offending throttle body by opening it up and cleaning out the moving parts well. Occasionally something will get stuck limiting the movement or rate of movement on the blade, causing codes to pop like popcorn despite the baseline functionality (push gas, blade opens..) working on it. If you haven't thrown it away might be worth cleaning it up and seeing if you can get a good one of the shelf for the next project

 

[Grizz1963]

Still watching quietly from the side.

Nothing of value to add, but admiration

 

[jbmatth]

Thanks for the welcome to the thread was surfing and saw another GM junkie so had to chime in! Often times that issue can be "Fixed" on the offending throttle body by opening it up and cleaning out the moving parts well. Occasionally something will get stuck limiting the movement or rate of movement on the blade, causing codes to pop like popcorn despite the baseline functionality (push gas, blade opens..) working on it. If you haven't thrown it away might be worth cleaning it up and seeing if you can get a good one of the shelf for the next project

I guess you could call me a GM Junkie but I also like Fords I just don't care for the mod motors they put in their trucks so I don't mess with them. I will have a returning Ford coming back in the next week or two and also the cobra is more of a Ford than anything at this point.

I didn't know you could open them and clean the electronic throttle bodies (ETB's) with the rivets on the electronics portion. I pulled the blade and cleaned as much of the gunk out of it I could (which could have caused the problem in retrospect, I've heard that you don't want to clean them as they are likely to fail because of just what Iced stated), but couldn't open that part. I will hang onto it and give it a shot but don't normally get into the ETB's very often.

Still watching quietly from the side.

Nothing of value to add, but admiration

Grizz,
Thanks for chiming in, I know it has been a little boring here lately so maybe I can spice things up a bit for ya.


All,
I replaced the blend door actuator on the white truck and all is well now, vacuumed it out and is ready for the trip this weekend.

I took the cobra out for a drive yesterday to come to work and it was running great...then it wasn't. I was at a stop light and the clutch pedal went from stiff to limp with a snap. (Please no phallic jokes ) I was able to get it moving by slowly forcing it into 1st (very little grinding) then rev matching to get to 2nd and eventually 3rd. I wasn't going to make it home so I carefully timed stop signs and made it to a buddy's shop:

Here is the part of the cable that broke by the pivot on the pedal:

It is tucked away for now but I'll load it on the trailer and take it home today to start taking it apart to get it fixed. I just hope it is the cable I believe it is but won't know until I pull it out.

Keep Moving Forward,
JB

 

[RickP]

Cobra is looking good for a springtime drive to work...
too bad the clutch didn't want to cooperate.

Nice save on nursing it through the gears to get to the garage - gotta' love rev-matching on the shifts!

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Bummer on the cable failure!

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Now that you are towing the Cobra on a trailer, I bet you are glad for those hard lessons you learned about trailers.

***** that it broke though.

 

[jbmatth]

Cobra is looking good for a springtime drive to work...
too bad the clutch didn't want to cooperate.

Nice save on nursing it through the gears to get to the garage - gotta' love rev-matching on the shifts!

It was a great drive Rick, I was having a really good time until then. Then it was full on emergency mode to try to figure out what I was going to do to get away from people and make it home safely.

I agree, being able to still drive with no clutch from a dead stop was a fun experience, I've done rev match shifts without using a clutch but never tried to start from a dead stop before.

Bummer on the cable failure!

Outlaw,
I would much rather this happen here and now than on the tour this summer in the middle of nowhere or in rush hour with lots of people around.

Now that you are towing the Cobra on a trailer, I bet you are glad for those hard lessons you learned about trailers.

***** that it broke though.

I am glad I've learned many lessons in the past on towing now that I have something important to me on one. All went well and I had it on the lift before the rain started:

All,
New cable ordered and made a little punch list of things I want to try to tackle before the tour. It is longer than I thought, I'll try to type it up if I can remember to take a photo of it.

JB

 

[jbmatth]

I made it back from my visit with my nephew in Memphis a few days ago and have been trying to catch up since. As a bit of an aside, if you haven't read about St. Jude Children's Research Hospital here is a link: About St. Jude

I was blown away by the services they offer to patients and their families as well as the great work they do in research to increase the survival rates of some terrible diseases. For instance when it was founded in the early 60's leukemia in the form my nephew has had a 4% chance of survival, today it is 94%. With were he is in the treatment his chances are higher than that now.

I'll catch ya'll up on my happenings in a later post, back to work now but wanted to check in.

JB

 

[shortykorte]

What is it they say about a road, a dead and a Ford. Lol. I’m thinking a 62 Vette will solve your clutch problems.
Good to hear your nephew is in good hands.


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[Finallygotit]

.......I’m thinking a 62 Vette will solve your clutch problems. ........

 

[jbmatth]

What is it they say about a road, a dead and a Ford. Lol. I’m thinking a 62 Vette will solve your clutch problems.
Good to hear your nephew is in good hands.


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

I've heard First On Race Day but the other isn't ringing any bells. To be fair I've been towed two times in Fords from mechanical issues. This one I did drive 5 miles or so without a clutch so it is hit or miss on the tow requirement for that one. With GM vehicles I think I've only had one and that was a brake failure. But two others that could have been if I weren't lucky, they were both pulley's that seized shredded the belt.

I don't discriminate against any vehicle...


except Dodge. JK

All fixed now.

JB

 

[jbmatth]

Before I get into the recent cobra work I'll tell another little tale, when returning the trailer for the co-owner to use this happened:

Second time this has happened too, pulley seized and shredded the belt. That morning I thought I heard some noise from up front but it went away shortly after (~30 seconds), I had other stuff to do under the hood so planned to work on it later...it didn't wait. It let go as I was pulling into a friends shop in town so we fixed it there. The other repair I had to make was because of some darn rats, they chewed the wiring for the clutch on my AC compressor...again. I need more poison I guess, I hate rats with a passion.

On to the cobra, I have the Hot Rod Power Tour coming up in a little over a month so I had a dozen or so things on my list to check or fix before the trip. Clutch cable went in without a hitch in about 10 minutes then I started knocking out the rest of the list which included an oil change, spark plug check, bolt check, fluid check, belt adjustment, fuel line relocation and shielding from chafing, adjust the fender mirror and tighten the mount, trim a screw that allowed the wing window to rattle, E-brake cable adjustment, and a few other small things. One of the big ones was to adjust the gas pedal:

It is a home made piece that is close enough to the trans tunnel that it rolls my foot to the side that then strains my knee and ankle. The fix:

One other more involved change was the main ground from the trunk mounted battery to the frame. Before it was 4 ga., it is now 2 ga. with crimped ends and 2 layers of adhesive lined heat shrink tubing:

Also replaced the ends on the battery cables the same way which were already 2 ga.:

The last two things on the list are to replace the coolant overflow tank as mine developed a leak, and figure out why the horn blows whenever the fuse is installed. Waiting on the tank so they will wait a little longer but I am ready to hit the road.

JB

 

[oldironfarmer]

Looks like you over tied the Cobra on the trailer. You could have saved yourself a couple of minutes.

Glad to see you spiffying it up for the tour. I like those big cables. They sure make a lot of copper in the crucible...

On a serious note, was your brake light switch cable hanging down only temporarily?

 

[jbmatth]

Looks like you over tied the Cobra on the trailer. You could have saved yourself a couple of minutes.

Glad to see you spiffying it up for the tour. I like those big cables. They sure make a lot of copper in the crucible...

On a serious note, was your brake light switch cable hanging down only temporarily?

Andy,
I guess I could have just used a couple of 1" straps and called it close enough but that has gotten me in trouble before.

I have a few extra feet of the 2 ga. but I'm not ready to melt it just yet, I do have some other things I need to bring over sometime though.

I'd like to say that was only a temporary dangle, but I can't in good conscience, it has been that way for years. However, that was one of the other little things I took care of while under there.


All,
I think I mentioned it but can't recall for certain, the last time I drove my S10 I thought I heard a new exhaust leak and the O2 readings were all over the map on the drivers side. I was also getting a lot of surging at low throttle and cruise. Originally I believed it to be a bad seal on the header collector gasket but upon closer inspection I think I found the culprit:

I like when the problems are that easy to find and fix. While I was under there I decided to add one more hanger for the exhaust at the back of the muffler. I had the extra stainless rod and scavenged the other parts from other scrap exhaust systems. The mount plate I had to make from other cutoffs but was easy enough to put together:

All and all a productive morning.

JB

 

[Finallygotit]

I hear nuts and washers are handy items.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

JB...exquisite work on that hanger! Better than factory in looks and form. A++ sir, treat yourself to a nice lunch today

 

[iced98lx]

doh! That'll create some leaks I suspect.

 

[jbmatth]

I hear nuts and washers are handy items.

Finally,
Yeah they typically help, oddly the other nut was still on and tight. As I learned in school 33% isn't passing...unless no one screws the curve.

JB...exquisite work on that hanger! Better than factory in looks and form. A++ sir, treat yourself to a nice lunch today

Outlaw,
I don't know if I'd go that far, but I'm happy with that one, the bend even if in the wrong spot turned out better than the first few I tried. I used a piece of pipe and a vice and it bent great.

I had a Super Sonic Breakfast Burrito for lunch, it was a nice treat, your bill is in the mail.

doh! That'll create some leaks I suspect.

Iced,
Not as bad as I'd have thought after seeing what was missing but still noticeable.


All,
I am working on a very unique addition that if it works will ensure you all think I have lost it.

JB

 

[Finallygotit]

..........All, I am working on a very unique addition that if it works will ensure you all think I have lost it.

JB

Uh-oh!

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Looks like you over tied the Cobra on the trailer. You could have saved yourself a couple of minutes.

This guy could give us all a lesson.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Welding your tractor to the trailer makes it difficult to back off? Wow, is all I have to say!

 

[Sifan]

Don't know about the routine but I'll give then a 9.3 on the landing

Interesting little mess in our area ... guy bought a garage package from Menard's. Didn't want to pay delivery fee, Menard's loaded on tandem trailer, bumper hitched to dodge pickup. Guy left, went about two miles and figured out load was too far back on trailer. Pulled into home depot and talked them into pushing the load forward. Evidentially still not loaded right as the guy drove 3 miles down the road and managed to roll and flip truck, trailer and load. Fortunately, no one hurt, but right in front of the local tv station and caught live on tv's weather camera. Somebodies are going to have fun figuring out who is going to pay for that one.

 

[jbmatth]

Uh-oh!

That about covers it.

This guy could give us all a lesson.

I saw this the other day but didn't think much of it until reading Sifan's response below. Will be fun to figure that one out.

Welding your tractor to the trailer makes it difficult to back off? Wow, is all I have to say!

Outlaw,
He may have cheated, but you could call it improvised winning for the more politically correct among us.

Don't know about the routine but I'll give then a 9.3 on the landing

Interesting little mess in our area ... guy bought a garage package from Menard's. Didn't want to pay delivery fee, Menard's loaded on tandem trailer, bumper hitched to dodge pickup. Guy left, went about two miles and figured out load was too far back on trailer. Pulled into home depot and talked them into pushing the load forward. Evidentially still not loaded right as the guy drove 3 miles down the road and managed to roll and flip truck, trailer and load. Fortunately, no one hurt, but right in front of the local tv station and caught live on tv's weather camera. Somebodies are going to have fun figuring out who is going to pay for that one.

I hadn't heard the rest of the story Sifan, very interesting. I'll have to see if I can find a link to the video that would be neat to watch. Also I don't believe you've commented on my thread before so welcome to the show.


All,
I finished the last couple of tidy up bits on the Lil' Blue Truck this morning and drove it to work. One thing you do when tuning an engine is to adjust the VE (Volumetric Efficiency) table to show the actual vs what the engine/computer expect to see. From my knowledge you want to get this error adjusted to less than 5% which is easy enough for the computer to handle those minor tweaks. I had all but a 1/2 dozen less than 5% and a vast majority of them less than 2%. So I'll change those and call it done for the time being and just drive it finely.

BBBuuuutttttttt... I realized that when I'm really pushing the truck in the high RPM ranges and wide open throttle I'm running out of injector duty cycle which means my injectors are too small to safely supply the amount of fuel I need in that range. They are handling it and could last for years but with the turbo planned I might as well install the bigger set and...start tuning all over again.

JB

 

[OutlawDrifter]

JB, have you done any calculations to see what you'll need for injectors?

I'm running Buick 3800SC injectors on my Z28, they are white in color and flow 41.5lbs @ 58psi fuel pressure.

 

[jbmatth]

I'm planning to run Deka 80 that will flow, as the name implies, 80 lbs @ 43.5 PSI according to their website. These will give me a little room to grow if I turn the boost up past my initial plan of 1 Bar (14.5 PSI) over ambient.

EDIT* I plan to run around the stock fuel pressure of 58 PSI with a boost reference fuel pressure regulator.

JB

 

[jbmatth]

All,
I am back from another week with my nephew in Memphis at the St. Jude's hospital a little earlier than expected. Why you ask, well he was released to return home! He will have to go back in 1.5 weeks then if all continues to go well he will be doing the remaining ~2.5 years of treatment at a St. Jude's affiliate in their home town. To say I'm happy for him and the family is an understatement.

To all of those who have donated to his treatment and the family I'll forever be your biggest fan and they really appreciate the help.

In other news related my SIL signed a contract with her school where she teaches to teach exclusively online classes for the next year at a slight pay decrease but will be able to keep her health insurance and retirement plan. This is only a 1 year contract that could be discontinued if the district deems it so. Saying that the funds that have been donated to them will be held for the time being in case the contract isn't renewed, other unforeseen costs arise. After his treatment is complete they plan to donate all remaining funds (if there are any) to St. Jude's in my nephew's name.

All in all I'm thrilled for the time being even if I've heard I can't drive to my house because the roads are flooded so bad. I have some garage related stuff to update ya'll on but that will have to wait, I need to try to make it home.

Turnaround don't drown,
JB

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Wonderful news JB! Good luck getting home! We have a lot of road closures up here as well.

 

[rixtrix1]

Good to hear, JB. Drive safe, no need to push it if you can't see the pavement!

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

 

[dchance]

JB great to hear the news about your nephew.

The bad news, it is suppose to rain tonight and tomorrow. Stay safe

Dwight

 

[DynoDave]

Excellent news!

 

[bj383ss]

Glad to hear about your nephew JB!

Bret

 

[Finallygotit]

Great news JB!!


Now, drive safe and get back to the wife and kids.

 

[shortykorte]

Good to hear your nephew got to go home.
Hope you can get home soon.


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