who is wrenching today?

[herm0016]

i put the 1000s on a chev. and i had the 5000s on another. the 1000s seemed to keep getting holes from nothing. the 5000s were much better. not sure on the suspension setup on those. McPherson? or separate shock/spring? will be interested to see how you fit them. it's a cool rig to keep around.

as far as wrenching, i need to do brakes on my transit, got the Lincoln / Kohler welder going for a job, and i'm due for oil changes on 3 things. spring is busy. i should probably do an oil change on the tractor as well. the lcd screen for the hours is shot. so its harder to keep track. need to take it apart and see if i can get a screen from digikey or something.

 

[skyking]

they fit right inside the rear coils so size matters.


They do leak at the top of the bag connection, people have added fix-a-flat on some. it is a big community with lots of fun stuff and the utility is hard to beat for a $3000 beater purchased many years and miles ago. I think it had 130K when I got it, now at 180.
50K miles @ ~46 MPG it has saved me some coin.

 

[herm0016]

nice. hopefully they hold up. maybe the red ones are better now. do you put some kind of puck on top and bottom to protect them?

 

[skyking]

nice. hopefully they hold up. maybe the red ones are better now. do you put some kind of puck on top and bottom to protect them?

 

[RearAdmiral]

WRX got an extended warranty for the DCM, which now that the 3G network was sunsetted, constantly tries to find it and drains the battery. I've had to leave it on a tender for months. I took it in for what they are calling a bypass box, got home and realized my microphone doesn't work now. Splicing the mic wire/s is part of the procedure so another goofed up dealer experience.

 

[evident]

Actually I was able to it open much easier than I thought. Still some effort but I used a regular sized hammer to shock it and there a convenient place for me to pry it off. Hopefully it goes back in and I didn't bend or break it somehow. A replacement surprisingly isn't that expensive and I can always find a junk yard part I guess but just hoping this one will work. Damn pos $3 o ring causing all this trouble

Now I discovered two more leaks. One from the petcock and another I cant seem to pinpoint. After i filled the radiator with more fluid i started noticing a slow drip underneath the transmission where the engine and tranny meet, the lowest point of the engine/tranny block. I can't for hte life of me trace it back anywhere. What would someone suggest for a next step? rent a coolant pressure tester from autozone?

I'm wondering if i never noticed this before since I had all of the underbelly plastic shielding on, or if it's because I had all of the rad fluid drained from my car for like two weeks while doing the water pump and some seals started drying up. either way it's a royal pain in the ass trying to chase leaks down. If i didnt have the whole car ripped apart already for my rack and pinion i might just take it to the shop to have them diagnose this.

 

[skyking]

It's a straight up bastard. One thing I would maybe try doing is if you have compressed air drying it out completely by blowing on it and then if you have to use a fan and just go away go find something else to do. Then put fluid in there and either rig up your own tester or borrow one.
Give it about 5 PSI and see if you can force a leak.
Don't go any higher. Don't go looking for trouble.

 

[herm0016]

Now I discovered two more leaks. One from the petcock and another I cant seem to pinpoint. After i filled the radiator with more fluid i started noticing a slow drip underneath the transmission where the engine and tranny meet, the lowest point of the engine/tranny block. I can't for hte life of me trace it back anywhere. What would someone suggest for a next step? rent a coolant pressure tester from autozone?

I'm wondering if i never noticed this before since I had all of the underbelly plastic shielding on, or if it's because I had all of the rad fluid drained from my car for like two weeks while doing the water pump and some seals started drying up. either way it's a royal pain in the ass trying to chase leaks down. If i didnt have the whole car ripped apart already for my rack and pinion i might just take it to the shop to have them diagnose this.

what engine/car? maybe i missed it in the posts. check your heater hose connections by the firewall. should be passenger side.

I had the heater T in my suburban blow out one day and made a hell of a cloud of steam blowing right onto the manifold. luckily near home. replaced plastic quick connect with brass and hose clamps. much better.

 

[Paperdoc]

You could try this. I believe the yellow-green colour typical of many antifreezes is because it contains fluorescene which glows in ultraviolet light. So if you get yourself a cheap "black light" and use it in a darker space, that light should make any leaked antifreeze glow so you can trace its path. First, check whether a small sample of the antifreeze mix from your rad does glow under that light.

 

[BoomerD]

I took my F150 to the Ford dealership yesterday to have the oil changed…does that count?

 

[evident]

what engine/car? maybe i missed it in the posts. check your heater hose connections by the firewall. should be passenger side.

I had the heater T in my suburban blow out one day and made a hell of a cloud of steam blowing right onto the manifold. luckily near home. replaced plastic quick connect with brass and hose clamps. much better.

It's a 2007 Lexus RX350 - 2GR-FE V6 transverse engine.


I just replaced a rattling / leaking water pump and as I was putting the car back together and filled it up with coolant i noticed a blatantly bad leak on the opposite end which turned out to be a pinched / flat o-ring that i replaced. I put everything back together and filled up with coolant but still have a very slow phantom leak from somewhere I cant pinpoint. there is a bubbling drip that shows up between my transmission bell housing and engine, the lowest point of the vehicle and directly above where I had replaced the Oring. I am wondering if there are small cracks from the original coolant leak that the rad fluid is leaking through. I did start the vehicle briefly to get the engine up to temp but I didnt run through the proper burping sequence yet. I just wanted to see if regular pressure would force a leak somewhere. I'll post pictures later today.

I think i'm going to pause from tracing down this leak and moving on to my rack and pinion, in which i already have about 40% of the parts ripped apart. That way I can get the tires back on, back the car out of the garage and hose it down properly, as right now i have spilled rad fluid all over the place from filling, the water pump that i replaced, and the o ring mess after.

 

[skyking]

I got the beetle apart and found I needed more parts.
THIS IS THE WAY

 

[skyking]

I rented a tool from Orielly to pull the front bearing and spindle apart. The outside inner race pulled out of the bearing assembly so I will have to grind and split that off the spindle.

 

[spdfreak]

Starting on the next project- 86 Honda Z50R. Probably the bike most people learned to ride on!

 

[evident]

for any of you gear heads working on rust buckets like me... I fully 100% recommend getting one of those induction heater things as part of your tool kit to get rusty bolts off of cars. This thing has been a lifesaver for me in getting my rack and pinion off my RX350. I wish i bought it earlier when i was working on my other car's front suspension overhaul.

one of these bad boys.

https://www.amazon.com/Solary-Magnetic-Induction-Automotive-Flameless/dp/B0851C6Q22/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3CJ24DOTQGSTB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.2b5JTHZJ2x3QHX6uE8ymWQYmBohn1qf62M3F3wh6ENTCLY1s20YQWCQyu3mCMQlB3RRtQWbAMHgbhRC4cLpWiU7vYH_sDpIvmHA5RJr_yyNfYS9l1Q0BBHJf_OxlMnxlP2mKpAMLtjyMyAMQQt54u1I9rhM1aZdKbmEJwV1QBgKRzSV_SKC1CXXx6TbCtE3zJsUa6iH2IkBD5vdRZrBvlO08Fb8hAljjyVGUtaTZGToa_CKdvHS12-qtv6rg0shWzUmDg112i6EKBBBZBKkxr-y4eWwQQAD-R6KZTfPwH4Y.r96nYqrr1-Ngknl3oxhRQsYVXSkbjN-ebw518Lvnlsw&dib_tag=se&keywords=induction+heater+bolt+removal&qid=1717000573&sprefix=induction+heater%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

 

[tcsenter]

Tomorrow (Sat), 2004 Trailblazer EXT gonna get a new thermostat/outlet, coolant temp sensor and cable, flushy fill, and maybe a new idler pulley.

 

[tcsenter]

So far so good, went from the wheel/fender well approach instead of top down. I do not think it was all that must easier, contrary to some reports, given the contorted access to install the bolts for the thermostat housing and how many times they fell while trying to position or get started. Only minimal skin lost and blood shed though, and no leaks (so far?).

 

[manly]

Finally swapped out my car battery; the original was from October 2013 so it was time lol. The AGM group 49 battery is over 50 pounds, and in a very awkward location in the side of the trunk. Probably will have a sore back tomorrow, but at least I didn't injure myself.

 

[evident]

Finally swapped out my car battery; the original was from October 2013 so it was time lol. The AGM group 49 battery is over 50 pounds, and in a very awkward location in the side of the trunk. Probably will have a sore back tomorrow, but at least I didn't injure myself.

11 year old battery? holy smokes. Did you like keep it trickle charged all the time and in the garage? i'd be scared to drive around with even a 5 year old battery and usulaly just swap out by then.

 

[manly]

11 year old battery? holy smokes. Did you like keep it trickle charged all the time and in the garage? i'd be scared to drive around with even a 5 year old battery and usulaly just swap out by then.

I did not do anything to baby the battery, and I don't drive daily. It was a Bosch AGM battery, and these have been known to last a very long time.

And yes, it was in the garage frequently (but not always). So it didn't bake in the SoCal heat.

I wasn't scared with the age because there were no signs of the battery going out; it probably would have kept going until who knows when.

 

[Paperdoc]

I have no direct experience on this, but I would bet the "SoCal heat" is less hard on the battery than northern cold that can get down to 35 Below (F) and worse overnight late January.That really reduces battery Voltage AND calls for extra starting amps with a stiff engine. So I think of 11 years on a battery as nearly impossible!

 

[tcsenter]

We go through batteries every 4 ~ 6 years here in the Central Valley. None of our vehicles are garage kept. But we do not ever buy the premium market batteries. Walmart or Autozone specials and not even their most pricey ones, either. When a battery goes here, it is usually in that first week of over 95 or 100 ' F temps.

And on the thread topic, replaced a window and lock switch assembly (drivers side) on our Hyundai. Easiest repair ever. $22 delivered for the switch assembly (new Chinesium). The first one was a dud though, it was working great for one day and died. Amazon shipped out advanced replacement, got that replacement installed and working. We'll see how long this one lasts.

 

[tcsenter]

And on the thread topic, replaced a window and lock switch assembly (drivers side) on our Hyundai. Easiest repair ever. $22 delivered for the switch assembly (new Chinesium). The first one was a dud though, it was working great for one day and died. Amazon shipped out advanced replacement, got that replacement installed and working. We'll see how long this one lasts.

Well H-E double hockey sticks, this one stopped working too! The original switch broke mechanically not electrically. Last Tuesday, I pressed the driver window switch down and felt something snap or crush under there. The spring back mechanism that returns the switch to the neutral position when released broke. Electrically, the original switch still works you just need to manually manipulate, pull it up or push it down, then return it to the neutral position.

It is this driver side window switch that keeps going non-op after either 1) actuating the window up and down several times, or 2) after being installed for several hours? But electrically now, not mechanically. That spring-back mechanism is working, it returns itself to the neutral position. And the switch "feels" like it should when manipulating. ALL other windows AND door locks work fine. I guess I'll go with a different vendor or have to bite the bullet and pay the $90 for genuine Hyundai replacement.

 

[Paperdoc]

I don't know whether this would apply to you, tscenter. I had a similar issue with a 2007 Hyundai Accent. One rear door window would not work. A few testing sessions led me to believe the problem was in the driver's door multi-switch. The tests verified that the wiring from there to rear door was all good. Apparently it sends power either to the rear window's motor directly, or to that door's switch, and it was doing neither. Close examination after removing the assembly from the driver door showed it was possible to disassemble the switch system to access its contacts. I did that and found no obvious dirt or damaged contacts. So I cleaned all contacts in that particular switch with fine emery paper, and re-assembled. Worked perfectly thereafter! No costs for replacement part.

 

[tcsenter]

Well as with previous time, I re-installed the original OEM switch and it works again. Just have to manually move the switch up or down and return it to neutral position. It is very touchy though when in the neutral position, just going over a bump will make the switch 'fall' out of the neutral position and drop the window down. You have to pull it back up to the neutral position. But that is all in the mechanical detente and spring-back part. Electrically, everything is fine. All windows and locks.

🤔