who is wrenching today?

[adairusmc]

I did some work getting my two arctic cat m800 sleds ready to ride today, now that we are gettting some serious rideable snow in our mountains.

My 2014 m800 sno pro limited needed to have the chain case oil changed, which is always a pain because there is no drain plug. They just want you to pull the whole chain case off, and let it spill everywhere, and refill once the chain case cover is put back on. Instead, I used a horse syringe i got at a rancher supply store with some tubing, and just sucked it all out and then replaced it with Amsoil chain case lube.

I also lifted it, adjusted the air shocks, checked the track tension, toe in/out, and topped it off with Amsoil interceptor 2 stroke oil.

I also did the same work on the 2013 sled, in addition to finally putting a lightweight exhaust like i have in the newer sled. The stock "suitcase" can weighs 22lbs, and the me replacement from SSI weights 4.9lbs, and adds another 2-3hp. Getting the beast out was tricky, but the new one installed with no trouble.

Both are gassed up and now ready to tear up the mountains of NE Oregon.

 

[NutBucket]

that's probably the difference. you can do a little for that with different linings. Fun stuff.
I got to the end of the first tank after clutch change. Despite all the hooning I could fit in on wet roads, I still got better than 46 MPG.

Did some searching on NASIOC and found that I've changed my brake bias about 5% rearward. Someone took the time to make up a spreadsheet of various brake setups and also made a calculator where you can compare current vs. planned combinations. Very cool!

 

[skyking]

That's nice
Much nicer than today. I started the truck, it sounded like 5 out of 6, smoking, rough. I figure what the heck, I have a short errand to run. Maybe it is a flaky injector. Oh, no. It is blow by city, every time I stop this cloud rolls out from under the truck ahead of me. I get the things loaded that I went to get, and then get rear ended on the way back home. Not bad, but certainly insult to injury.
Making arrangements to overhaul the Cummins now.
This is what a big chunk of change looks like:

 

[Harrod]

I put my winter wheels and tires on today again, and in the process somehow broke 2 of the wheel studs on my 2013 outback. Is there something about these cars wheel studs that causes them to somehow get cross threaded? The dealership has been doing the tire rotations on the car, and they broke when I was taking them off. I've had several other cars over the years and have never had issues with stubs snapping.

Here is an old pic with the wheels on the car.

 

[skyking]

I drove the truck up to a friend with a lift and big shop on Monday and started in on it. I drained all the fluids first, and lucky me, I found some bigger slivers on the transmission drain magnet. I got the drive lines, t-case, transmission, clutch, bumper, all the core support parts off Monday and pulled the engine Tuesday morning, delivered it to my overhauler.

d
I found a transmission overhauler who had transmissions in stock, and traded him my early G56 6 speed for a late one. The later units have a higher gear ratio throughout, except for 5 which is straight through. The gear change closes up all the shifts a little bit, with the exception of the shift to the taller OD 6th.
I loaded the 215 pound transmission in the back of the beetle and met the overhauler, who was making deliveries down south.
It went in easily using the engine hoist at our shop.

Getting it out with the overhauler's truck crane was a little more challenging.

Fresh new reman waiting to go back to the truck.

I have new Bosch reman injectors coming, an overhauled CP3 high pressure pump and limiting valve, and a new radiator. The old one had a huge dent in it from the previous owners. We always wondered how it held pressure

 

[skyking]

Parts are all gathered and the overhauler finished my long block in one week flat, really 6 days. It was remarkable, more like a NASCAR pit stop
He is a trusted friend of our online community, and does custom jobs only. Tomorrow I will go pick it up, he will install the new injectors and CP3 pump for me while I wait.

 

[msi1337]

I need to put in a new multifunction switch in my 04 Mustang.. The original one had failed and was making a buzzing noise when turning right, I replaced it with one I bought from CJPonyParts and it worked flawlessly for 1-2 months and now the replacement is making the same buzzing noise on both sides. I figured out that the initial problem wasn't related to the switch as much as some led bulbs I had put in the turn signals. Once I used all standard bulbs the noise went away. So, I didn't truly need to replace it the first time, but I went ahead and did it anyways (not a hard job). I checked all the wires for corrosion, melting, etc and could not see any issues. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I rotated my tires yesterday. Costco will do it for free, since I bought tires there, but they're always crazy-busy, with long lines and waits.

Spent about 30 minutes in line the other day, at 1 in the afternoon, only to find out they couldn't have it done before 8PM. Screw that. It took me less than 30 minutes to rotate them myself.

Costco, I am disappoint.

 

[skyking]

taking the turbo off the manifold, and seeing if I can do any port matching there. I picked up the engine yesterday and got it to the shop. It sucks to leave it till after the holiday.

 

[skyking]

I have the engine back in and the new clutch on. Today I will hang the transmission, transfer case, drivelines, and put the front of the engine back together and reinstall the front clip/core support.

 

[skyking]

got it running this morning and got my trailer home. new cam made quite a difference with boost and throttle response at low RPM.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Rode my bike to the dealer this morning for an annual service/inspection. They changed the oil, changed out the brake/clutch fluids, replaced the air filter, cleaned and adjusted the chain and gave it a good thorough inspection to make sure everything was adjusted property. I usually do this myself but it's good to have another set of eyes/hands look the bike over periodically IMO.

It was cold and rainy when I arrived there this morning so I snapped a pic.

 

[nitrous9200]

I got my car back from the body shop after almost two months, and as soon as I got home, a bit of mist and steam started coming out from the hood.
Apparently that small leak in the radiator had gotten a lot larger!

So, I spent about half of yesterday replacing that (plus new hoses). Definitely a PITA (as usual) but at least I should be set for another ~14 years.

 

[skyking]

Wife's beetle TDI has been slow cranking for quite a while now. I pulled the battery and had it properly tested, it was OK. Put in a reman starter and it spun up like mine does Funny when the starter costs less than a battery.

 

[evident]

This new years weekend I spent about a total of 8 hours replacing the door lock actuators on an accord. It was one of the biggest pita I ever had to do. Imagine only being able to use your thumb, trying to remove hooks blind and then putting it all back together, ugh!!

 

[JCH13]

Replaced both front axles on my friend's 2002 Subaru. Wheels-to-wheels in a little more than an hour. It's nice when things don't suck!

 

[skyking]

up there where you have the salt, that is great. I see and hear the horror stories. My neighbor has a yota forerunner from back east, it started leaking out of a rust through on the rear diff. We cleaned it up and welded on a patch

 

[mztykal]

Installed my diffuser on my BMW, had it sitting in the garage for 6 months. Also adjusted the side skirts and filled washer fluid. Nothing major yet,

Gonna tear down my mr2 soon, then I'll have pics!

 

[jlee]

Installed my diffuser on my BMW, had it sitting in the garage for 6 months. Also adjusted the side skirts and filled washer fluid. Nothing major yet,

Gonna tear down my mr2 soon, then I'll have pics!

Me too, heh. I want to get the head rebuild done by spring. What're you doing on yours?

 

[Squisher]

You know putting a new serpentine belt on a 2008 Prius shouldn't make me want to bitch out the Toyota engineer who said, let's make it so only a skeleton can reach down in there and do it.
I haven't done much work to this car, but every time I do it's a pain. 2 hr headlamp replacements, 3 hour engine battery replacements, and now an hour and a half and some seriously skinned knuckles along with using two 1/2" dowel rods like chop sticks belt change.

 

[skyking]

That belt is really easy to do when the engine is out........They don't build anything to be easy to work on.

 

[slag]

Starter on my truck went out last year and I changed it out over the course of many hours (truck was on incline outside of my garage and it was COLD outside). Well, I had to change it again, under parts warranty, this weekend, because when it gets cold, the starter spins up before engaging and it's hard to sell it like that. Much faster this time as I was able to pull the Tundra in the garage on a level surface and it was 70 degrees yesterday, but still not a fun job. Trying to sell the Tundra so I won't have any vehicle payments anymore.

 

[Yuriman]

Replaced my mirrors with cameras today.

 

[NutBucket]

Looks slick! Do you think you'll notice a difference in fuel economy?

 

[Yuriman]

Looks slick! Do you think you'll notice a difference in fuel economy?

Probably not until summer. When the weather is good, I can cruise between 100 and 120mpg, and this might be worth another 5-10 in ideal conditions, and proportionately a larger amount if I'm driving much faster.

EDIT: I've shaved some weight too, though, and the cameras have a wider FOV than the mirrors.