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

[RAFster122s]

Bosch had a universal single wire sensor years ago that was very inexpensive where the ones which were vehicle specific were much more expensive. It was a simple soldering job to attach the longer wire from the old sensor. I never understood the logic in pricing, guess it was a convenience issue as the connectors were nothing special.
I don't recall if the heated sensors had the same discounted universal setup with the short pigtail you soldered up yourself. Been too many years...

[BenelliSEI]

Neighbour brings his CFMoto side by side in my shop on Saturday. He managed to rip the LF brake hose off the caliper last Sping. I made him up a new one at the time, but he has been unable to bleed the brakes. We spent two hours trying with hoses, syringes and my Mity Vac with absolutely no luck.
 
The dealer said “they are tough to bleed”  and “can take forever”. In frustration my friend buys a new master cylinder. We change it out and same problem. Tim (the guy I race with) brings the pneumatic air bleeder from his shop and it makes absolutely no difference…….

I have the original unit apart, on my bench, and there appears to be nothing wrong with it. Except, the “tiny holes” from the reservoir to the main bore (two pairs of holes in a single, stacked master) are ridiculously small. I mean VERY small as in  preventing air from exiting the pressure cavity. I get frustrated, get out my tiniest drill and open the hole up to double what it was. Swap back the old master, bled it in five minutes and we were done……

Called the dealer and asked him if he wanted me to modify the “new” one. He said “yes” and the three he has in stock too. It takes 30 seconds so I told him I’d do all three for $200 and he had to refund my friend too. He agreed and will drop off and pickup!

[Stev-o]

Called the dealer and asked him if he wanted me to modify the “new” one. He said “yes” and the three he has in stock too. It takes 30 seconds so I told him I’d do all three for $200 and he had to refund my friend too. He agreed and will drop off and pickup!

That's unbelievable, John! 

[Stev-o]

Performed service on my "new to me" Honda generator.  Warmed it up a bit and drained the oil, it appeared dirty which was no surprise.  Just used what I had on the shelf - Mobil 5w-30.   After reading the manual, learned the air filter was a serviceable foam type. Pulled the air cleaner apart, simple single wingnut, but found nothing inside...WTH?!  No prob, Amazon to the rescue, ordered two for $10 delivered the next day.

[grcamna2]

Called the dealer and asked him if he wanted me to modify the “new” one. He said “yes” and the three he has in stock too. It takes 30 seconds so I told him I’d do all three for $200 and he had to refund my friend too. He agreed and will drop off and pickup!

That's unbelievable, John!

YEAH !! 

[BenelliSEI]

Called the dealer and asked him if he wanted me to modify the “new” one. He said “yes” and the three he has in stock too. It takes 30 seconds so I told him I’d do all three for $200 and he had to refund my friend too. He agreed and will drop off and pickup!

That's unbelievable, John!

Agreed…. Thinking back, we should have tapped away at the master with a small hammer. That might have prompted the cavities to release the air bubbles. What a shoddy design. My friend was pleased, but it drove us all nuts. And I broke the plastic handle on my ancient Mity Vac!

[RAFster122s]

Quality chinesium parts, eh?

[BenelliSEI]

Quality chinesium parts, eh?

Absolutely! Wasted 3-4 hours……

[BenelliSEI]

Performed service on my "new to me" Honda generator.  Warmed it up a bit and drained the oil, it appeared dirty which was no surprise.  Just used what I had on the shelf - Mobil 5w-30.   After reading the manual, learned the air filter was a serviceable foam type. Pulled the air cleaner apart, simple single wingnut, but found nothing inside...WTH?!  No prob, Amazon to the rescue, ordered two for $10 delivered the next day.

Those are the deals that make me smile. That genny will last forever.

[BenelliSEI]

Snow on the ground this am. Bolted on the snow tires to the wife’s FORD SUV. Washed up the mags and stored them away. The old Volvo C30 will go in the barn next. It’s useless in the snow…….

Our new Heat Pump seems to be working well. Discovered our electricity provider has an excellent website with tons of data on our usage on a daily basis and great reports and comparisons to year prior. It may be quite easy to calculate the operating cost of this furnace and even an accurate ROI. Great!

[Kelly E]

Today I got the cable guides cut off of the original steering shaft on the 01' Honda TRX 350 Rancher ATV. I welded them onto the replacement shaft and painted it. Pretty soon I'll be able to put the front suspension and steering back together.
I still have to rattle can bed liner the rear brake pedal and shifter. I started covering the bed liner with flat black paint to seal it up. I'm still cleaning hardened dirt off the frame and motor.
I'm looking forward to riding the ATV, I'll have to race my neighbor hauling the trash cans down to the road and back.

This is my first ATV and my son says I have to make a track down behind the shop with the tractor for the ATV and the dirt bike. I was planning to do it long before the boy thought of it.

[grcamna2]

Today I got the cable guides cut off of the original steering shaft on the 01' Honda TRX 350 Rancher ATV. I welded them onto the replacement shaft and painted it. Pretty soon I'll be able to put the front suspension and steering back together.
I still have to rattle can bed liner the rear brake pedal and shifter. I started covering the bed liner with flat black paint to seal it up. I'm still cleaning hardened dirt off the frame and motor.
I'm looking forward to riding the ATV, I'll have to race my neighbor hauling the trash cans down to the road and back.

This is my first ATV and my son says I have to make a track down behind the shop with the tractor for the ATV and the dirt bike. I was planning to do it long before the boy thought of it.

Does your boy ride the Kaw. 250 dirtbike you fixed-up for him ?

[dave500]

well coupla years ago i noticed the solenoid was hanging weird on my cars starter motor id fitted new in 2009 which replaced the aging bosch unit,it and had one of three small bolts missing,so back then i took it off replaced the bolt and regreased its reduction drive etc and blew the dust outta the brushes,the brushes looked to be getting towards end of life then so other day i thought id just order another starter motor and source brushes and keep the old one as a spare,well i got the new one and its not as per the add photo which showed one exactly like my old one,and #$%* me off course it doesent fit correctly,#$%*s!its an old holden v8 and like chevy the bolts go straight up,ok so the stock long bolt is way too long so as a test I used washers to see its not at all square and leaves the tin cover housing with a gaping gap!!anyway im gonna return it and ive already sourced an exact brand replacement,lucky I didnt need it on the spot?makes me wonder how many guys would just try and start the motor with it like that?the pinion could be outta line or any #$%* damaging the unit for no refund?only took 45 mins to do it all,unlike most modern cars where it would be a #$%* fight?

[grcamna2]

well coupla years ago i noticed the solenoid was hanging weird on my cars starter motor id fitted new in 2009 which replaced the aging bosch unit,it and had one of three small bolts missing,so back then i took it off replaced the bolt and regreased its reduction drive etc and blew the dust outta the brushes,the brushes looked to be getting towards end of life then so other day i thought id just order another starter motor and source brushes and keep the old one as a spare,well i got the new one and its not as per the add photo which showed one exactly like my old one,and #$%* me off course it doesent fit correctly,#$%*s!its an old holden v8 and like chevy the bolts go straight up,ok so the stock long bolt is way too long so as a test I used washers to see its not at all square and leaves the tin cover housing with a gaping gap!!anyway im gonna return it and ive already sourced an exact brand replacement,lucky I didnt need it on the spot?makes me wonder how many guys would just try and start the motor with it like that?the pinion could be outta line or any #$%* damaging the unit for no refund?only took 45 mins to do it all,unlike most modern cars where it would be a #$%* fight?

Dave,give that 'new' starter the 'drop test'  Drop a 12LB. sledge hammer on it a few times just to see how many times it will take to bend that 'cast' casing.

I like the original(Steel)GM starters from back in the day;a real work-out to lift it up under the car w/ one arm,while you carefully thread the bolts upward with the other hand. 

[BenelliSEI]

well coupla years ago i noticed the solenoid was hanging weird on my cars starter motor id fitted new in 2009 which replaced the aging bosch unit,it and had one of three small bolts missing,so back then i took it off replaced the bolt and regreased its reduction drive etc and blew the dust outta the brushes,the brushes looked to be getting towards end of life then so other day i thought id just order another starter motor and source brushes and keep the old one as a spare,well i got the new one and its not as per the add photo which showed one exactly like my old one,and #$%* me off course it doesent fit correctly,#$%*s!its an old holden v8 and like chevy the bolts go straight up,ok so the stock long bolt is way too long so as a test I used washers to see its not at all square and leaves the tin cover housing with a gaping gap!!anyway im gonna return it and ive already sourced an exact brand replacement,lucky I didnt need it on the spot?makes me wonder how many guys would just try and start the motor with it like that?the pinion could be outta line or any #$%* damaging the unit for no refund?only took 45 mins to do it all,unlike most modern cars where it would be a #$%* fight?

So frustrating! Even when the new stuff fits perfectly it seems so cheap and lightweight compared to the original…….

[RAFster122s]

Wonder if this is part of why so many cars are getting totalled by insurance?

[Don R]

 I got under the 69 firebird project, it had gotten out of level since I jacked it up under the axle and I had one jackstand a notch higher. Anyway, when the axle is hanging, the rear drive yoke hits the ends of the mufflers, there is no more room to move them to, so it needs smaller mufflers. These are offset inlet and center outlet, I spent a bunch of time on Summit racing, their web site sucks sometimes. Every time I look at the length of a muffler I lose the search and have to re-load all of the parameters.

 Edit: I think I'm just going to cut the offending corners off of the mufflers and plate them with Stainless steel.

[Stev-o]

I got under the 69 firebird project.... so it needs smaller mufflers.

Those mufflers look huge, Don.   Surprised you dont like Summit's website, I find it real good except when using my iphone.    I order quite a bit of parts from them, most orders arrive next day and free if the order is over $100.

[Don R]

I got under the 69 firebird project.... so it needs smaller mufflers.

Those mufflers look huge, Don.   Surprised you dont like Summit's website, I find it real good except when using my iphone.    I order quite a bit of parts from them, most orders arrive next day and free if the order is over $100.

  Actually, all of the 3 chamber mufflers are around 14" body length like the ones I have. I really need the offset in center out type.
 I minimized the screen while on Summit Racing and uncovered my back arrow, suddenly I could search the dimensions and not lose the search parameters every time. At times I find I need specific names or numbers when I know they have a part, things I am looking for are tricky to see.
  I do buy quite a bit there, I've even found motorcycle parts there, tires, Mikuni stuff, K&N and I get the racer net price, it's around 5% off I think. Often if I find something I want to look back at later I'll put it in my shopping cart.

[Don R]

 I dropped the rear axle to the bottom of its travel and the yoke hit the corners of the mufflers for sure. I pulled the exhaust back off and need to cut some tack welds and maybe remove a V band clamp that got finish welded on one side.
  If the mufflers can angle a few degrees outwards as they pass through the frame they can clear the driveshaft. The other way to get clearance is to modify the car's floor so the pipes can be a little farther apart, there is a half inch in each side of the frame opening to work with.

[RAFster122s]

Good exhaust specialists are artists who have excellent spatial and perspective perception to route things so they do not rattle or interfere when things that are suppose to move do their thing. Watch a few work and have them repeat business. The ones who aren’t were always a it’s to deal with with hacks for  solutions. Found one had used a thick hard rubber donut mount to wire in place to wedge between the muffler and body rather than rebranding a pipe where he F up the angles and clearance. He had the room and the nearly stock system he was replacing he didn’t replicate the bends when replacement of the cat to muffler pipe was done, custom bent because he didn’t have the replacement nor did he want to get it. Pissed me off when working under the car finding his hack!
Good you are finding a solution Don and getting ahead of it. I’ve had those kind of website things happen, the Kroger equivalent, Fry’s Foods app is difficult to get the coupons to load and stored for things on sale and selecting items in weekly adverts in app doesn’t load digital savings. Having worked in software I view it as added complexity to cheat you out of sales that drew you in, dirty greedy practice imho

Sorry needs to be pissed off section material…


Good luck sorting out everything and fixing the Pontiac

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