Continuing Thread: What Are You Fix-It'ing Today?

[dad911]

'Popped' out some dings/dents on the beater. Painless dent tool from Amazon ($30) works remarkably well.

[Baz]

Continuing work here at my place in an effort to downsize. Processing stuff in storage, re-organizing, disposing of things no longer of use.

I have a set of 7&8" factory Fuchs for the 951 and a pair of 9" replica Fuchs - all had tires on them. Took them to my local tire guy who removed the tires for me so I can easier sell the Fuchs.

He refused payment and only wanted me to go check out some irrigation stuff at his house so the whole deal took 1/2 hour (so far) and now I'm one step further toward downsizing.

I also have some Porsche engine stuff, including a 356 case complete with matching numbers, crank, & rods - never run. Is that a short block?

[Dmitry at Pelican Parts]

Both Koni and Hawk are having some great rebates happening this month if anyone is looking for a weekend project.

Koni is offering up to 46% off MSRP.

Hawk is offering up to $85 back.

Koni Shocks

Hawk Brake Pads

[Baz]

I'm going to do some repairs on my boat trailer. It's an '86 Magic Tilt.

Here is the manufacturer's ID plate. Anyone know the best method of cleaning it up so I can read the information better? I can make out the information if I squint and use a magnifying glass, but I'd just like to clean it without messing it up.

Other than just soap and water - any thoughts?

Thanks!

[Baz]

Worked in my garage both Saturday and Sunday doing some re-organizing.

Had a couple of tupperware type containers that were very shallow and large. Had them for a couple months or so and wasn't sure what I could use them for. It finally dawned on me....all the cutting/grinding discs and wheels for my angle grinder plus steel wool and sandpaper - all lightweight and in this type of storage container can be viewed easier. They also stored very well on some shelves I put up! Yah!

[GH85Carrera]

My project: This is the finished product, I did not take a picture before, but this looks just the same only it stands upright now.

This is a compost barrel. We throw in our grass clippings, and banana peels, a other organic waste in it to make soil. We can spin the barrel to mix things up, and let it rot. The frame is all made of solid plastic 2x4s. The uprights are bolted with 1/2 inch bolts to the base. One long threaded rod goes through the middle as an axle to rotate on. The uprights started to fail after several years of use. The plastic 2x4s were getting oval holes and one cracked.



I made some super duper oversized "washers" or reinforcement plates to hold everything solid again. I tried to get 3 inch wide aluminum bars, but the only place that had them was a 25 mile each way trip. So I went with the 2 inch bars which I suspect is plenty big. I cut them 9 inches tall, (it was a 36 inch long bar) and drilled the two 1/2 inch holes to align with the current base.



I then epoxied the bars in place to the plastic 2x4s and then used three self tapping screws per bar to hold them in place as well. I only have one vice to clamp one and clamps to clamp the other one.





The photo just above shows the 1/2 inch bolts in place only to align the plates with the plastic 2x4s to get clamped in place.



This is just the base. One of the uprights had cracked, which allowed the upright to lean forward enough it was off center and the entire rig fell over with a full load of compost in the barrel. I had to empty it before I could repair it.



The plates are solid and should hold it steady for many years. As you can see, there are casters on the rig as well. The rig was designed to just stay in one place. My wife decided it should have wheels. She bought some wheels that were wimpy and broke in no time. So I added some pressure treated 2x4s to the base, and some steel plates to attach bigger and stronger wheels to. She could give rides on the thing around the block now, but it gets moved a few inches at most so far.

[PRE-H20]

So this is my DIY project....... a bit nervous but I'm muddling through....... not to much out there on replacing this gizmo but I've read and reviewed the material and videos on it.

Got the connections out the way, labeled them, lined em up for re-connection, got to the LOWER bolt, removed pretty easily..... STOPPED. I figured I would stop while I was ahead with NO major disasters.

NOW.... I have to get to the top screw. Thats the tough one. I need to make some kind of tool/screwdriver to get to it.

Any ideas?

Tight space, No visual, flathead screw.

The good thing is that the lower screw is NOT tight just seated, I'm hoping the top one is the same so it will also come out easily.

Going back in either today or tomorrow........

Thoughts?

[john70t]

Digging in the rain.
SE Michigan mud is a combo of jello and glue when wet, but kiln-dried ceramic when dry.


Having a bad hammer day with offending spiral nail.

New shocks in the Command Unit, my 1999 Silverado with 239,000 miles. The uber-high-quality Pep Boys Mountain Ryders I pulled off appeared just a bit past their prime.





Truck handles a lot better with the new KYBs.

[DaveE]

I’m tuning up a rather ancient Vox AC100 bass amp this week. Caps, tubes, a few resistors to replace.

[Baz]

Re: My 2008 Estate by Whirlpool washer. Think I figured out why it's making that noise. Agitator dogs. Looks like one is broken. Have a kit coming on Tuesday.

Everything worked on the washer but it made a noise on the wash cycle. I also noticed my clothes got wound around the agitator.

Finally decided to remove the agitator assembly and sure enough one of the dogs wasn't engaging.

Very simple to work on - I was surprised.

Hope this fixes it - will report back.

[billybek]

My new KitchenAid dishwasher stopped washing.
Ran the test cycle and looks like the pump assembly needs changing.
Of course this happens on the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and the part wholesalers are not open....
Damn thing is only a couple of years old.

[JackDidley]

My buddy gave me a 4000 watt Coleman generator. We went to Rural King and bought a new battery and cables for it. 10 minute fix and it fired instantly. Also put some new wheels on it so it rolls nicely. Less than $50 all in. Topped off the tank, put it in the shed and now I hope I never need it.

[porsche930dude]

Welded up this beat up brush hog. Didnt want to kill my little mig so fired up the 40s arc welder and played around with that. It should last a few more years. I ran out of paint

[john70t]

Originally Posted by porsche930dude

I ran out of paint

Get a $18 mini HPLV spay gun from HarborFright and a big can of acetone. The plastic cup will probably break and need to be glued.
20-50% mix in a big glass container. Stir well and pour into cup through a paint filter. ~45psi air.
Use up close a foot or two away, with ventilation. Adjust as necessary.

This also works much better for wicker furniture. The thin mix coats all sides.
Forget those expensive spray cans.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by john70t

Get a $18 mini HPLV spay gun from HarborFright and a big can of acetone. The plastic cup will probably break and need to be glued........

They used to sell plastic cups cheap/bulk. Now I see they have an aluminum replacement.

If HF doesn't have, amazon likely does.

[billybek]

Picked up a new pump assembly for the KitchenAid dishwasher.
Pump was only marginally cheaper than the whole assembly and will end up with a diverter valve and actuator and a wash pump motor that is still good.
After getting the new assembly in place I disassembled the wash pump after removing it from the housing. Pump motor is fine and was still running when removed. The impeller's threaded hub was completely missing. Dishwasher is maybe two years old. WTF....
No signs of an impeller strike or foreign objects in the pump casing or impeller.

[porsche930dude]

I have all that stuff to spray the paint but i never take the time to do it.
Today workin on my stihl ms251 chainsaw. It was like new i found it in the trash but they ran it with the brake on and melted the oil pump right out of it. I bought a cheap 8$ one from china and it didnt fit the shaft so i sanded it out and got it on. The gears are too far apart to drive each other!I cant believe these chinese parts dont work!So I ordered some from pennsylvania. I think they are still aftermarket but maybe not as bad. My free chainsaw is adding up

[Baz]

[wdfifteen]

Our Stihl leaf blower would start and idle, but would only spool up to about half speed. I figured it was a clogged spark arrester in the muffler. I wasn't looking forward to taking it apart, but a quick look revealed that the spark arrester can be removed without taking the muffler off.



The spark arrester unscrews right out of the muffler.



The screen was almost totally blocked.



Burning the carbon out with a MAPP gas torch.



Spark arrester is clean and the leaf blower runs like new.