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

[BenelliSEI]

Tim and I spent several hours on the LEXUS, last night. The team is headed to Mosport this weekend. We are entered in two, eight hour enduros. One on Saturday and one Sunday! This car was built by three Toyota engineers, for the US Grand Am Series, they built three cars and this was #3, the “spare”. Big six cylinder, six speed gearbox, massive disc brakes all around. It’s a tank.

Changed all the oils and coolant, end to end “bolt check”, and didn’t find much else to do. Today the plan is 8 new tires (one set a day), brake pads and full alignment. As usual, we’ve left it all to the last possible minute. So far, no “issues”!

Assuming I get out, this will be season 54.....

[CycleRanger]

Changed the oil in my Craftsman mower.
Woo hoo.. 
It's only 17 years old but as mentioned above those Kohler engines are terrific.
(I think my "Craftsman" mower was made by Cub Cadet.)


Oh, and now I want a MityVac! 

Got one of those too! Probably +20 years old. For years, when I changed the oil, I put it up on a pair of saw horses and pulled a plastic drain plug, from below. Last time, the head snapped off. We have a great mower shop in town, so off I went (with my Owners/ Parts Manual in hand) to pickup a few bits, including the drain plug. The nice lady behind the counter is incredibly knowledgeable and had my parts gathered up in seconds. Then she says: “ever read that manual?”. Mmmmm, sure I do.

“You should read the page on Oil Changes”. Turns out all you need to do is tip the mower on it’s side. The oil fill pipe is perfectly tied into the crankcase to ensure a total drain. Tried it last week, works great! No lifting, no tools required. “instructions are for people who don’t know what they are doing”?

Oh I guess I should have said riding mower. 
I had to ditch the push mower when acquired an acre of grass to mow. 

[scottly]

Last month I put the 1968 Sears Suburban garden tractor to work, shifting dirt and gravel from the drainage ditch that runs across one corner of my property, that gets plugged up with sediment since the town "improved" the drainage across the road. The little tractor did well, but is now burning a bit of oil, and I fear the main drive V-belt may not have much life left. It did move a fair amount of material, and did it easier than I could have with a shovel and wheelbarrow, as I have done in the past, not to mention that it was fun!;D
 

[CycleRanger]

Last month I put the 1968 Sears Suburban garden tractor to work, shifting dirt and gravel from the drainage ditch that runs across one corner of my property, that gets plugged up with sediment since the town "improved" the drainage across the road. The little tractor did well, but is now burning a bit of oil, and I fear the main drive V-belt may not have much life left. It did move a fair amount of material, and did it easier than I could have with a shovel and wheelbarrow, as I have done in the past, not to mention that it was fun!;D

Nice! I'd like to find one those old ones to restore.

[dave500]

chugg chugg fun!what motor does it have?

[BenelliSEI]

I’m looking for a Massey Ferguson lawn tractor too. Years ago they made one that has body work to match my ‘60s MF135.

[grcamna2]

Last month I put the 1968 Sears Suburban garden tractor to work, shifting dirt and gravel from the drainage ditch that runs across one corner of my property, that gets plugged up with sediment since the town "improved" the drainage across the road. The little tractor did well, but is now burning a bit of oil, and I fear the main drive V-belt may not have much life left. It did move a fair amount of material, and did it easier than I could have with a shovel and wheelbarrow, as I have done in the past, not to mention that it was fun!;D

Nice! I'd like to find one those old ones to restore.

I like that late 60's Cub Cadet style with a strong frame;they could be completely rebuilt and those would last a lifetime.
They modify that type for small tractor pull competitions.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Replaced the original battery in my 2012 Corvette. Only got 11 years out of it! WTF?! No tender use while gone either

[Tintop]

I’m looking for a Massey Ferguson lawn tractor too. Years ago they made one that has body work to match my ‘60s MF135.

THe MF 135 is my favourite tractor.  Probably a childhood thing from watching them @ the Royal.

[ofreen]

Replaced the original battery in my 2012 Corvette. Only got 11 years out of it! WTF?! No tender use while gone either

I'll bet you don't 11 years out of the new one.  Batteries aren't as good as they used to be.  Crappy lead.

[scottly]

chugg chugg fun!what motor does it have?

Hey Dave, it's a Tecumseh HH120, which translates to Horizontal, Heavy Duty, 12 Horsepower. It's a thumper at 453cc, and has the electric starter option, where the belt driven generator doubles as the starter. This 1968 motor came with solid state (electronic) ignition!!

[grcamna2]

chugg chugg fun!what motor does it have?

Hey Dave, it's a Tecumseh HH120, which translates to Horizontal, Heavy Duty, 12 Horsepower. It's a thumper at 453cc, and has the electric starter option, where the belt driven generator doubles as the starter. This 1968 motor came with solid state (electronic) ignition!!

How long have you owned it?
The unit looks in great condition/well cared for.

[scottly]

chugg chugg fun!what motor does it have?

Hey Dave, it's a Tecumseh HH120, which translates to Horizontal, Heavy Duty, 12 Horsepower. It's a thumper at 453cc, and has the electric starter option, where the belt driven generator doubles as the starter. This 1968 motor came with solid state (electronic) ignition!!

How long have you owned it?
The unit looks in great condition/well cared for.

Well cared for? This thing has been sitting outside, exposed to sun, rain, wind, hail, and snow for the 15+ years I've owned it.

[grcamna2]

chugg chugg fun!what motor does it have?

Hey Dave, it's a Tecumseh HH120, which translates to Horizontal, Heavy Duty, 12 Horsepower. It's a thumper at 453cc, and has the electric starter option, where the belt driven generator doubles as the starter. This 1968 motor came with solid state (electronic) ignition!!

How long have you owned it?
The unit looks in great condition/well cared for.

Well cared for? This thing has been sitting outside, exposed to sun, rain, wind, hail, and snow for the 15+ years I've owned it.

Solid manual transmission? what type of clutch ?

[dave500]

im keen on the "extra strength connecting rod"i gotta gets me one of those!

[dave500]

wife said her brakes make a funny sound,1999 hyundai she bought new,went test drive and shudder from rear,weeping wheel cylinder contaminated shoes,its sunday so great!!local place had shoes and wheel cylinders in stock so i got it done,filthiest part of any vehicle?bastard adjustment no slot in the backing plate like bendix or pbr?gotta trial fit and remove drum to set it,no self adjust mechanism either?i did all this 7 years ago,remove hub makes it easier.

[RAFster122s]

Glad you got it done Dave, now wife is safe again. Cheap cars often are the hardest after they go past their expected life because like your brake wheel cylinder, they don't make them to be maintained easily as they don't expect them to last long. It is odd though how long some last with a bit of attention and care...
Today's cars are not engineered to last much beyond warranty in many cases, for some brands. Wife bought cheap Chevy before we were married and literally had the dealer service mgr tell me you get what you pay for... That was the last Chevy I have ever owned and I will not consider one 45 years later... Car was still under warranty when they said that to me!

Good on you for getting it done and safe again.
David

[dave500]

yeah RAF,its a cheap n cheerfull little car that has cost #$%* all along the way and at 250,000 kays its still a little gem!i keep on top of it when its needs service etc,the paint is still glossy n smooth and its quite rare to see em around now?they made thousands and thousands of them that most just drove into the ground?i reckon its a very durable car properly maintained.

[simon#42]

chugg chugg fun!what motor does it have?

Hey Dave, it's a Tecumseh HH120, which translates to Horizontal, Heavy Duty, 12 Horsepower. It's a thumper at 453cc, and has the electric starter option, where the belt driven generator doubles as the starter. This 1968 motor came with solid state (electronic) ignition!!

12 hp isnt that more than your honda ditch pump !

[grcamna2]

wife said her brakes make a funny sound,1999 hyundai she bought new,went test drive and shudder from rear,weeping wheel cylinder contaminated shoes,its sunday so great!!local place had shoes and wheel cylinders in stock so i got it done,filthiest part of any vehicle?bastard adjustment no slot in the backing plate like bendix or pbr?gotta trial fit and remove drum to set it,no self adjust mechanism either?i did all this 7 years ago,remove hub makes it easier.

Good work Dave;no adjustment slot to work through the backing plate??    What kind of engineer designed that?
Were you able to turn-down the sharp edge on the inner part of the drum so that you can remove it multiple times to tighten the adjuster w/o dragging the shoes off? 

[Terry in Australia]

We’ve got two Hyundai’s here, the ‘97 model I paid $2100 for in 2002 and my uncle’s 2002 model that I bought from my cuz when my uncle died. Seriously for “cheap” cars, they’re the best little cars ever made. Apart from tyres, brake pads, an exhaust and a windscreen, nothing has ever gone wrong with them. Compared to my son’s girlfriend’s 2013 VW Polo that was dealer serviced from new and sh1t the bed @ 50,000 miles and the estimate to do an engine rebuild was $10k, the Hyundai’s run rings around that Euro trash. They told the mechanic to keep the car, and bought a Hyundai i30.

My little truck is going great, still likes a sip of oil every 1000 miles or so, but otherwise runs perfect. I drove 450 miles on the weekend to visit my 94 year old Ma for mothers day and take a look at a 1924 BSA my cousin wants me to drag home, and the little truck was a joy to drive. I may have gotten a red light ticket on the way home, which will cost a bomb, but I can’t blame my little truck for that.

[BallAquatics]

Oil change and tire rotation.....

[70CB750]

Oil change.  Gotta say I like the cartridge filter - Chrysler 300 - accessible from the top.  Easy and cleaner than metaĺ filter on the side somewhere. 

My son's Dodge 1500 has likely the worst filter location I ever seen. 

[BenelliSEI]

Race Report. We did two X eight hour races at Mosport this weekend. Spectacular blue sky and sunshine all weekend. For the first race we did shorter driving stints, bed in new brakes and tires, tried a few changes to the car and generally got up to speed (We missed the first event three weeks ago).
Finished 6th or 7th in Class.

Sunday I started and raced the first two hours. We pulled off three great pit stops (fuelling and driver changes) and the car never missed a beat! Everyone drove really well, turned fast and consistent lap times and we won our class! Laughed our butts off and had a great weekend.

We got a poster and new hats too!

[RAFster122s]

Congratulations on a successful outing with great results! You got your groove back!
Really cool first event for the team.
So, how much you owe the wife for racing on Mother's Day?
David