Topic: What did you do to your non-motorcycle vehicle today?

[Dunk]

This is for the wife's '66 Thunderbird. Redoing the rotted out trunk bits. Typical trunk leaks, trunk floor and rear subframe rails are a mess but we'll get there. My '86 Ford is on the backburner until this is done.

[grcamna2]

This is for the wife's '66 Thunderbird. Redoing the rotted out trunk bits. Typical trunk leaks, trunk floor and rear subframe rails are a mess but we'll get there. My '86 Ford is on the backburner until this is done.

Worthy project 

[dave500]

make sure she goes to the library or youll have to take her T Bird away!

[ekpent]

make sure she goes to the library or youll have to take her T Bird away!

"And we'll have fun fun fun till her Daddy-------"

[Gurp]

Started to figure out why my sporty bobber isn't firing.
So far it's looking like heck with the stock stuff and just going to a single fire IGN unit.

[Stev-o]

This is for the wife's '66 Thunderbird. Redoing the rotted out trunk bits.

Does it have the 390 V8?  Great motor....

[strynboen]

put some light;s on the puch...the seat is not perfekt..korrekt for a 69..but better then nothing

[70CB750]

I replaced oil seal on the rear axle on Grand Cherokee.  Had to cut and split the old ring and bearing and press new bearing on.  It went smoother than I imagined.  Complete rear brakes tomorrow and she is back on the road. 

One little glitch - the holding bracket has four studs secured to it and one of them started to spin and I had to use vicegrips to hold it to crank that one down. 

[scottly]

My project lately has been resurrecting a 1968 Sears Suburban garden tractor that's been sitting for over 15 years. I changed the trans-axle oil, mounted the left side rear tire, and installed a new battery today, then started it up and moved it back and forth under it's own power. I still have a few issues to deal with, like the left front tire that needs a new tube (actually, it needs a new tire, as it looks to be the original Sears branded tire ), new air cleaner element, etc.

[grcamna2]

My project lately has been resurrecting a 1968 Sears Suburban garden tractor that's been sitting for over 15 years. I changed the trans-axle oil, mounted the left side rear tire, and installed a new battery today, then started it up and moved it back and forth under it's own power. I still have a few issues to deal with, like the left front tire that needs a new tube (actually, it needs a new tire, as it looks to be the original Sears branded tire ), new air cleaner element, etc.

scottly,that Sears looks very much like an IH Cub Cadet 

[jgger]

My brother had one simular. Had a big Kohler motor with an updraft carb, tons of torque.  You could tow a car with it.

[Dunk]

This is for the wife's '66 Thunderbird. Redoing the rotted out trunk bits.

Does it have the 390 V8?  Great motor....

Yes, factory 390 4 barrel. Engine rebuild project started with a small exhaust leak that led to broken bolts and pulling the engine. Should be plus a few dozen HP now. The rear axle was crusty and must have been full of water at some point, rebuilt with a limited slip. During initial test drives it broke the rear loose pretty easy limiting it to 2/3 throttle.

Fixed some other crusty bits the other day. Slow and steady on this one, it'll be a while.

[Terry in Australia]

My old $500 Subaru daily driver let me down today for the first time ever in 8 years. It fired up fine, but when I stopped for gas I went to start it and the battery was flat? Weird. I walked 1/4 mile to the auto parts store and bought the cheapest replacement battery, an adjustable wrench and some jumper cables. Carrying it back to the car was a good test for my back after surgery on Monday, but all good.

I was late for an appointment so just jumped it, I’ll test it when I get home and see if the battery is toast, or if it’s the alternator. Hopefully it’s the battery, I don’t remember ever buying one for it, so it’s at least 8 years old.

[RAFster122s]

Glad you didn't hurt your back toting the battery back to the car. They are heavy and are a workout to carry far. Glad you got it going again quickly. 8 years is a long time for a battery.

[Stev-o]

This is for the wife's '66 Thunderbird. Redoing the rotted out trunk bits.

Does it have the 390 V8?  Great motor....

Yes, factory 390 4 barrel. Engine rebuild project started with a small exhaust leak that led to broken bolts and pulling the engine. Should be plus a few dozen HP now.

Motor looks great! 

[Terry in Australia]

Glad you didn't hurt your back toting the battery back to the car. They are heavy and are a workout to carry far. Glad you got it going again quickly. 8 years is a long time for a battery.

Thanks David. I parked it at the venue and 3 hours later it started up like a new one on the old battery, so I’m assuming that the battery is on the way out, but the alternator is fine. I’m going to put my battery tester on it tomorrow when there’s room in the carport to work on it, and if the battery is toast I’ll install the new one. I need the car to drive to work at 5am each morning so don’t want to have to carry a spare battery just in case I need to jump it in the dark/rain etc.

[Terry in Australia]

Well I went out with my little charging system tester this morning, and was surprised to see that the 9 year old battery (found the sticker dated 9/14) was still showing as "good", so I fired the Subaru up and the tester showed that the charging system was also "Good". Not sure what happened yesterday, I'll try again on Tuesday after not driving it for a few days, and see what the tester says. Weird.

[Tintop]

Terry your battery issue reminds me of dealing with the battery in my MGBs.  The posts would oxidize, & I'd get a no start.  Quick clean with a wire post cleaner & all was good again. 

[Kelly E]

Terry your battery issue reminds me of dealing with the battery in my MGBs.  The posts would oxidize, & I'd get a no start.  Quick clean with a wire post cleaner & all was good again.

You forgot to mention that the battery in an MGB is under a metal cover on the floor behind the seats and is a pain to get to. Especially if you have a GT and you have to crawl over the seat back to get to it.

[Bankerdanny]

Terry your battery issue reminds me of dealing with the battery in my MGBs.  The posts would oxidize, & I'd get a no start.  Quick clean with a wire post cleaner & all was good again. 

I haven't had that issue with my MG, but my ex-wifes 2009 Pontiac Vibe, which was a joint venture between GM and Toyota and has Camry 2.4l engine, has had multiple issues over the years with excessive oxidation and premature battery failure. The most recent battery is a couple years old and I think holding up OK, but that is the 3rd battery I have put into it since buying it in 2014.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, it’s a head scratcher for sure, the terminals are clean, the clamps are OEM and tight, and both the battery and alternator checked out fine. The new battery is supposed to be the right one for the car but the negative post is smaller than the one in the car so I’ll take it back and swap it for the same one that’s in the car, which, coincidentally is a Supercheap Auto battery so I’ll buy the same one that’s in it now and swap it out. 9 years is pretty good for a battery so it won’t hurt to give the car a new one.

[scottly]

Terry, one time my '89 Toyota pickup started cranking the motor over slowly, like a battery going south, but not all the time. I replaced the battery, but the problem persisted. It turned out the starter motor brushes were worn out. If I had checked the battery voltage at the terminals while cranking the motor, I might have noticed the voltage didn't slump drastically, so the battery wouldn't be suspect, but the thought never occurred to me at the time, and even if it had, it would have been a bit hard to do without another pair of hands.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Scott, it’s weird, what happened was I started it normally, drove to the gas station and filled it right up. Got back in the car and it cranked normally but the engine wouldn’t start. That was the first time ever that it had done this. I tried again and the starter just ran out of juice. I don’t know if I had an air lock or something, but the battery was too flat to crank it.

I walked to the auto parts store and grabbed a battery and carried it back to the car. I was running late so just jumped it, and it was fine. I’ve driven it every day since, with the old battery and no issues. Being a Subaru boxer I can see the starter motor on top of the engine at the rear and it looks like it’s been replaced, maybe when my Ma had the car between 2015 and 2021. I’ll ask her if she remembered having it replaced.

[Gurp]

Ordered a flex plate and starter for my 93 K3500. Got a buddy that owes me cash so he's going to do the job and call our debt even!

[dave500]

its good when you call in a favour and it gets done!