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

[70CB750]

Installed the completely rebuilt starter/ generator in the golf cart…… NO spark?

See the orange wire that feeds the tiny coil? Half way along the last stretch, it had turned to dust, under the sheathing! Shortened it up for now, but soon to be replaced!

Runs like a champ again.

Good catch!  I love simple fixes like that.  That said I am chasing issues with Red and so far getting nowhere.

[Terry in Australia]

I changed oil in 2015 Camry.  Seems like a no brainer, but it was quite the pita.  They use a cartridge filter and the housing needs a special wrench to get it off.  Also putting it back together I #$%*ed up the little plug in the middle and had to make a new one.  Luckily it was M20 and - thanks to dealing with Honda motorcycles - I have the M20 die.  Still, twenty minutes job turned into most of the afternoon.

[RAFster122s]

The kind of thing John ran into on the Golf cart takes many cars off the road because people cannot find those kind of wire failures easily. Volvo in the 80s was trying to embark upon recycling of their cars at end of expected life or post accident, a swedish requirement and they were experimenting with methods to get wire stripped down from its insulation to aid in that recycling effort. A wire maker working with them in that effort... Well, they screwed up the formulation on the wire insulation and it was breaking down in 10-15 years instead of the 20 year goal. Some cars started having issues after only 10 years. The replacement harnesses were super expensive and the engine bay heat and oil accelerated the breakdown and harnesses were 1000 to 1500 and a 8 hour labor charge so it was a very pricey repair that saw many owners abandon them or trade the car with these problems.
I had the misfortune of the engine harness failure from wire that lost its insulation and a connector block popped out of its holder on the firewall allowing the harness to shift and then chafe against the intake manifold on a K jetronic equipped B21F motor and my wife drove it. It smoked the harness when she made a turn into the library not too many miles from home. I investigated and found the damage and a snow storm with blizzard hit the next day and I bought some insulated Carhartt bib coveralls and spent 3 days rebuilding the harness in my driveway. Tearing apart the torched engine harness and point to point repairs with tinned electrical wire, wire numbers and some good crimp spade connectors. Car survived another 5-6 years before problems developed I got tired and decided it was time to change the car for another with only 225k miles on it because rust rot in rear fenders was making it look pretty tasty...wasn't worth putting couple grand of body repairs into. Eventually a class action suit against Volvo by owners was won and engine harness proves dropped to around 400-450. Another failure mode started being seen was black wire rot like John had because the insulation allowed moisture inside the harness.. I cut open a harness sheath on one 83 240 turbo and the insulation of the engine harness had hundreds of small insulation segments that had crumbled off the wire and was gathered in the stealth. The car had green corrosion on the wiring and found one section of black wire rot as I suspected the harness was what caused the car to be taken off the road. Showed my friend whose car it was and it became a parts car at that point. Worth more for other running cars for unobtainable parts than it would have been worth to invest in trying to get it running.

[Terry in Australia]

I haven't driven my twin turbo Subaru ever since I bought the Ford truck a couple of months ago. One annoying thing about the Subaru is that it's always had a parasitic draw on the battery, probably due to the alarm system that eventually flattens the battery if not driven for a couple of weeks.

Recently I bought a remote battery isolator and today I had a little bit of time to install a fresh battery, and the isolator. Apart from the fact that the battery should last a lot longer when it's switched off between drives, it's also a handy anti-theft device. Easy to install, and works great.

Subaru Battery isolator by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 

[BenelliSEI]

Race car needs some work! Replacing both front wheel bearings, brake pads and new tires. The rears were down to the backing plates so need to give the discs a skim. Two front subframe bolts are loose, so an end to end bolt check is on the “list” too. My helper provides the usual support……

[Stev-o]

Recently I bought a remote battery isolator and today I had a little bit of time to install...

Hey Terry....havent seen that type of "isolator" before. My buddy was having battery drain issues with his Hummer and I advised him to install a battery switch, simple and works great...

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/diehard-battery-terminal-safety-switch-top-post-quick-disconnect-eliminates-battery-drain-45147/12257759-p?product_channel=local&store=8770&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&store_code=8770&&&&&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw1emzBhB8EiwAHwZZxdQkAHnfDIUbfPQRp_hbzUZeGFZj8quy3u3LEbI_dKk7zsujbRkhVBoCiDUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[BenelliSEI]

Recently I bought a remote battery isolator and today I had a little bit of time to install...

Hey Terry....havent seen that type of "isolator" before. My buddy was having battery drain issues with his Hummer and I advised him to install a battery switch, simple and works great...

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/diehard-battery-terminal-safety-switch-top-post-quick-disconnect-eliminates-battery-drain-45147/12257759-p?product_channel=local&store=8770&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&store_code=8770&&&&&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw1emzBhB8EiwAHwZZxdQkAHnfDIUbfPQRp_hbzUZeGFZj8quy3u3LEbI_dKk7zsujbRkhVBoCiDUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

My favourite. Massive, inline switch.

[BenelliSEI]

Need to try some different rear pads. These worked well, but not for 8 hours! Fortunately the Supra discs on the rear of the LEXUS are massive. Off to Tim’s shop to give them a light “skim”.

[Stev-o]

Recently I bought a remote battery isolator and today I had a little bit of time to install...

Hey Terry....havent seen that type of "isolator" before. My buddy was having battery drain issues with his Hummer and I advised him to install a battery switch, simple and works great...

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/diehard-battery-terminal-safety-switch-top-post-quick-disconnect-eliminates-battery-drain-45147/12257759-p?product_channel=local&store=8770&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&store_code=8770&&&&&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw1emzBhB8EiwAHwZZxdQkAHnfDIUbfPQRp_hbzUZeGFZj8quy3u3LEbI_dKk7zsujbRkhVBoCiDUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

My favourite. Massive, inline switch.

John - what is that on?

My fav...is on the boat. It has two batteries so this switch can isolate them. For instance, when playing music at the beach, I just use one battery so as not to drain both [boat has an amp that draws quite a bit of power] When starting motor, use both.

[grcamna2]

I haven't driven my twin turbo Subaru ever since I bought the Ford truck a couple of months ago. One annoying thing about the Subaru is that it's always had a parasitic draw on the battery, probably due to the alarm system that eventually flattens the battery if not driven for a couple of weeks.

Recently I bought a remote battery isolator and today I had a little bit of time to install a fresh battery, and the isolator. Apart from the fact that the battery should last a lot longer when it's switched off between drives, it's also a handy anti-theft device. Easy to install, and works great.

Subaru Battery isolator by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Terry,the 'On Off' switch next to your black - Neg./Earth terminal;is that a remote which you operate from in the house,etc. ?

[grcamna2]

Have any of you members installed a smaller version of battery/main power disconnect on your Honda motorcycles ?

[BenelliSEI]

Recently I bought a remote battery isolator and today I had a little bit of time to install...

Hey Terry....havent seen that type of "isolator" before. My buddy was having battery drain issues with his Hummer and I advised him to install a battery switch, simple and works great...

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/diehard-battery-terminal-safety-switch-top-post-quick-disconnect-eliminates-battery-drain-45147/12257759-p?product_channel=local&store=8770&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&store_code=8770&&&&&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw1emzBhB8EiwAHwZZxdQkAHnfDIUbfPQRp_hbzUZeGFZj8quy3u3LEbI_dKk7zsujbRkhVBoCiDUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

My favourite. Massive, inline switch.

John - what is that on?

My fav...is on the boat. It has two batteries so this switch can isolate them. For instance, when playing music at the beach, I just use one battery so as not to drain both [boat has an amp that draws quite a bit of power] When starting motor, use both.

Steve….. In the LEXUS race car.

[Terry in Australia]

I haven't driven my twin turbo Subaru ever since I bought the Ford truck a couple of months ago. One annoying thing about the Subaru is that it's always had a parasitic draw on the battery, probably due to the alarm system that eventually flattens the battery if not driven for a couple of weeks.

Recently I bought a remote battery isolator and today I had a little bit of time to install a fresh battery, and the isolator. Apart from the fact that the battery should last a lot longer when it's switched off between drives, it's also a handy anti-theft device. Easy to install, and works great.

Subaru Battery isolator by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Terry,the 'On Off' switch next to your black - Neg./Earth terminal;is that a remote which you operate from in the house,etc. ?

Thanks Bill, the beauty of this one is that I don’t have to fart around lifting the hood to turn my battery on and off, the remote in the pic just clips onto the keyring, and so I can switch the power on or off with the remote. I told Spotty and he showed me that he’d already installed one on his CB750 based dirt bike to do away with an ignition switch. I might install some more on some of the modern EFI bikes that I don’t ride often enough to save the batteries.

[RAFster122s]

 
These fellers are sum thing else altogether

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, looks like something Derek from “Vice Grip Garage” would do.

[dave500]

got next door mates Leyland p76 brakes fixed!this was his dads car,he got it going few weeks ago,drove it down,said no brakes need bleeding etc,all we got was mud!i said lets get new master,flex hoses,rear wheel cylinders,front caliper kits etc,all good now,this has the 4.4 alloy v8,hes had it resprayed,itll be nice enough once finished,the P76s cop a lot of flack as they are a #$%* box,but at time goes by you look back and these are a rare car with only18,000 built,ive been in a few of these back in the day (mid 70s) whereas so many havent even seen one?with hindsight glasses on everyone says they went like the clappers?not with the 2 barrell ww2 stromberg man!!like 253 holden v8s,guys always tell me how they flew and nothing could catch em,it aint so full stop.

[Terry in Australia]

I remember them well Dave, a truly horrible car. There’s a reason that they’re so “rare”, nobody with any sense of taste in cars would buy one! Still, if you keep anything long enough someone’s gonna want to buy it, so who knows? Might be worth it’s weight in empty beer can by now? I’ve still got my dad’s’84 Ford Falcon wagon with only 115K km (72K miles) on the odo and mint condition (under an inch of dust in his garage) and as much as I like it I can’t park it outside for fear of rust creeping in, it’s totally rust free now, so when my Ma falls off the perch and I sell her house, I’ll need to sell the Falcon too.

[Kelly E]

I remember them well Dave, a truly horrible car. There’s a reason that they’re so “rare”, nobody with any sense of taste in cars would buy one! Still, if you keep anything long enough someone’s gonna want to buy it, so who knows? Might be worth it’s weight in empty beer can by now? I’ve still got my dad’s’84 Ford Falcon wagon with only 115K km (72K miles) on the odo and mint condition (under an inch of dust in his garage) and as much as I like it I can’t park it outside for fear of rust creeping in, it’s totally rust free now, so when my Ma falls off the perch and I sell her house, I’ll need to sell the Falcon too.

I'm not familiar with the Australian Falcon wagon but I have seen some badass wagon builds. A buddy had a 66' Dodge wagon with a 425hp 440ci. It surprised a lot of people. The best one was a Volvo 122 Amazon wagon with a B18 built for boat racing. He used to embarrass V8 cars all the time.

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah mate, if it wasn’t one of the cars of the era that attracted rust like I attract potholes I’d do something with it, it’s in beautiful condition but needs the fuel tank flushed as last time I started it, it ran like sh1t.

An Aussie Ford “Barra” engine with some tweeks would really liven it up and it had really good brakes and handling, but on a quiet day you can hear them rusting, so no good for me if I can’t park it in my garage.

Here a pic online that is the same model/color as mine, was a nice car to drive, I might have to drag it out of the garage this summer and sort out the rancid fuel etc and take it for a drive. It hasn’t turned a wheel since Dad died in 2015, but my Ma keeps paying the registration every year so apart from a couple of issues, it’s still road legal.

[70CB750]

Fixed a mower somebody gave me.  Wheels had crappy,plastic bushings, all busted.  I made new ones from aluminum.   Not a big deal, nothing precise, but do you recognize the piece I sourced the aluminum from?  It's the weird looking black piece of metal on the right.

[RAFster122s]

That a U-Joint?

[BenelliSEI]

Slipped in Friction Dynamics “high performance” brake pads to the race car. We’ll see if these rears will last 8 hours (unlike the last brand)? Waiting for Toyota LF wheel bearing to complete that corner. It’s a long weekend here, so nothing until Tuesday.

[70CB750]

That a U-Joint?

No, piston from an AC compressor. 

[Don R]

 I began a shopping list for the 4.040 bore chevy small block. It gets Vortec heads on a traditional 4 bolt main block. I briefly considered buying a 383 stroker crank (385) but that requires rods and pistons and I already have those.  I need the roller cam and lifters, dampener, gasket set, cap, rotor, wires, etc. I also have a 780 holley and hei distributor.

[dave500]

put a 45 degree brass elbow on my briggs powered toro ride on mower oil drain,why do they have the drain plug so it makes a mess no matter how hard you try not to?