We gave Ms. Rocket’s 2010 Tahoe to our daughter and she brought it over today for me to look at. We installed the third row seats and I cleared the drains in the doors.

My five point harness in the 330 expired so I replaced it with a six point harness today. New harness and new HANS… I’ll be ready for a Roebling Road in two weeks.

My riding mower, er uh, "Lawn Tractor" wasn't running very well and was backfiring so I pulled the flywheel to check the key and yep, it was sheared a bit. I'll get a new one in a few days and get it all back together. I think it was a couple of years ago that I had hit a piece of concrete in the backyard where a post used to be, replaced a broken spindle and put mulching blades on it. It ran fine but this time when I went to use it, it fired right up but started backfiring and would conk out. Funny I used a steering wheel puller to remove the flywheel.
Next up, I will pull the flywheel on my Dad's old mower and check the key in it and I also have a small Yard Machine mower and will do the same to it as well.
My neighbors across the street are moving and they had some pallets out by the road to be picked up so I snagged them. I made a little deck to park my mowers on. I want to put down some gravel and build a lean-to roof off the back of my storage building but this will at least keep them off the dirt and I do keep them covered up with tarps. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...432804fe8b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...593c948f26.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...c13a9b1959.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...3d0bbf27fa.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...ec4af22302.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...88043adbcb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...834fb03cc9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...c083ae42e6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...062e7cbe6b.jpg

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

Hahahahaha……Very true, your strap it on more than sit in it. I got lucky regarding to avionics. Although it may be limited, it’s adequate.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...113ecd8141.jpg
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Flys like a sport bike


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

Nicely done Baz! Wished I lived closer, cuz my 95 GMC K1500 needs a new one too. Where did you order it from, or was it a recover?

Cheers

Working on a limited edition U2 Dragonlady model to be displayed at Beale AFB in the main lobby or heritage room of the squadron.

Only 1600+ pieces
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Oh yeah…..that counts alright. [emoji2]

Not an easy thing to push through leather.


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Our grand daughter's birthday is coming up soon. She is crazy about wildlife. Because of white nose disease around here, the bat population has taken a terrible hit. She expressed a desire to put up a bat habitat. So, for her 9th birthday she will get to build a four chamber bat nursery. Today I cut up a half sheet of 3/8 ply and some pine board to finished dimensions. She gets to drill the scew holes and screw it together, then paint it some dark color ( to help keep the pups warm up here.) To help the bats climb up into the spaces, the interior panels have horizontal grooves cut about 1/2 inches apart. That meant about 300 passes through the table saw..
Oh my aching back.

Best
Les

Dead battery this morning in my truck. :(
Changed it and it started. ;)

Intresting i dont think iv ever seen a riding mower shear a key and iv fixed hundreds if not thousands. They just dont get the direct shock that a push mower blade does. But the flywheels are huge so certainly possible. If the push mowers are running bad at all its a no brainer I check the key and they are usually sheared.

Both of my walk behind mowers have symptoms of sheared keys, kick back when trying to start them, not running smooth or knocking sounds so yeah. I took the cover and recoil off of the Toro this morning and could see that the crankshaft and flywheel were off a bit, didn't have time to remove the flywheel before heading to work so I will work on that throughout the week.
With the riding mower, not long after I got it I was mulching leaves and hit a root which stopped it cold and snapped the pto cable, replaced the cable and all was good. A couple of years ago I hit that concrete that was in the ground and bent one of the blades and cracked a spindle. I replaced the blades and both spindles at the time and all was good, until now. I guess things got a little misaligned back when I hit the root all those years ago and has just gotten worse each time I accidentally hit something else. I also noticed after hitting that root, the engine started leaking oil a little bit making a grimey dirty mess under the mower and this could be caused by the engine timing being off a bit from a partially sheared flywheel key. I'll get it all back together this weekend and will see how it all goes.

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Steering became a little grabby when returning to center. The problem may actually be in the linkage or ball joints or worn pump but at least this factor will be eliminated. I'd gotten the fluid changed a couple years ago at the shop after the steering felt lighter during the hot summers, but it darkened since then. Their fluid used might be dubious. I changed it myself to Royal Purple using the 'dilution method'.

(The better one-way flush method is to split the return hose and drain that, but I was too lazy.)

I used 2.5qt with maybe a dozen plus refills which was pretty easy with everything in place. Wheels in the air. Engine running. Extract/fill. Turn lock-to-lock about 10 times. Leave fully turned and rev engine to flush the pump. Repeat. Have clean rag for the steering wheel and a ring of them around the reservoir.

I hate those crappy transfer pumps: two wet coiled hoses to flail around and drips everywhere. Should have used a big turkey baster but that was at least fast. I'm still looking for a single-hose cylinder type that looks like a big portable bike pump.

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For fluid transfers I usually use a clickity clack fuel pump. Its been the best solution iv tried. Clean and easy. They are like 12 bucks on ebay

Finally getting around to some modifications on the Honda Pioneer 700.

First off: install a mega yellow top battery for all the accessories. Winch, light bar, turn signals, horn, stereo etc. have had all the battery stuff for over a year. Didn’t install last summer then had our arses handed to us in Feb with back to back snow. Sure could have used the snow plow attachment sitting here too……[emoji849]. It’s how I earned the distinguished D.S.M. award for 2023.

Taking advantage of some open dead space under the driver’s seat. Modified a battery tray, welded some support brackets, coated in bed liner material and now decided to add additional bracing and a lip for it to sit on. That way, it won’t be solely supported by the top. Using threaded inserts for the attach points.

Mock-up with some scrap aluminum.
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Getting the Steele angle iron ready for high temp paint
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Cleaning up this Schwinn my neighbor gave me. Its a 1969. Doing an oily rag restoration. Took it completely apart and going at it with pb blaster steel wool and a razor blade to clean up the rust. I ordered a front tire because its completely bald. The back one had a big crack but i super glued it Ithink itll be fine. I'll probably get a blue seat and sell the purple one. Maybe put apes on it I have a set. Im not sure about the basket yet. It took the paint off the head badge so I kinda have to keep it http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1680959256.JPG
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I cut down a Christmas tree this morning. Let me explain. Almost 40 years ago, we would go up onto my FIL's wood lot to get our tree. For a few years, we would dig up a small tree, put it into a big pot and lug it home. We would use it as our Christmas tree then plant it in the spring. There were several trees around the yard which were the result of our madness. However not all balsum fir live long lives. After four decades one on the west side expired. It wasn't a bad day today and the wind was in the right direction so I fired up the chain saw and dropped it. The wife and grand daughter helped gather up the branches so they could be added to the brush pile. There are two small logs I might get some 2x4s out of.
I don't think that one owes us anything more.

Best
Les

My fence is looking pretty bad in spots. A couple of the posts have sunk so the top rails are very not-level, and some of the bottom rails have rotted away where dirt has sat, so the boards are only fastened at the top. The fence isn’t falling down or anything, just looks motley.

I’m too cheap to replace 100’ of fence. I mean, if it were cheap I’d do it, but it won’t be cheap.

So I’m doing the ghetto fix. Replacing the bottom rails and refastening the boards is easy. As for the not-level top rails, I figured out that backing out four 4” screws and using a Sawzall to cut two inaccessible fasteners is all it takes to detach the two top rails from the post. So I’m simply repositioning and re-fastening those rails so they’re level again. Then a bit of 4x4 to extend the post (cosmetic) and new post caps, and I’ll be good for another five years.

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Well I worked on another mower of mine, this one is a MTD Yard Machine.

Backstory: We had a big Oak tree that had fallen at the cabin a few years ago and I after the tree was removed there were big chunks of bark left under some leaves and I didn't know this and hit one big chunk when I was mulching up the leaves. The mower came to a dead stop but started right back up when I pulled the cord, but for the next couple of seasons it was struggling. Today I pulled the flywheel and sure enough the key was severely sheared. No stores around here have these things, not even Tractor Supply, so Monday morning I will get one from a local small engine repair shop. I spent the rest of the afternoon, cleaning up the mower and parts so it is ready to be reassembled once I get the key installed. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...b4a31f57ee.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...191d6ff37d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...38f30a2cb5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...c4cc58bba2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...30043ebbf3.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...7534efb60d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...59c66eec36.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...8bc6b7049b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...cbd2ebd98b.jpg

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Forgot to add that the Yard Machine mower was left in the storage building when we bought our house five years ago. I have been using it along with my riding mower and it has been a good one. It doesn't leak any oil whatsoever, the engine only had a little dirt on top and under the flywheel, I rinse my mowers off after every other use or so. Anyway, it was pretty clean, definitely worth fixing for sure.

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

That’s awesome! Those are true classics. Keep us posted.

Continued on the battery upgrade. Completely installed and ready for the battery. Rivnuts, which made this easy and lock-tight on all threads.

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Auxbeam control bracket and module also installed.
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Onward to the next step.


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Well, leveling the rails was easy, except for the rain that won’t stop.

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Next week, I’ll replace the rotten/missing bottom rails and straighten out the leaning posts.

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Trying to fix the leak in my espresso machine.

It is from the sight glass assembly. I tightened the lower fitting. No joy. Finally thought to tighten the upper fitting. Hoping that works.

Today I installed the new flywheel key in my riding mower, Craftsman LT2000. I cleaned up a couple of parts and the sticker on the engine cover had bubbled up a little, I removed it, prepped it and the cover, used some spray adhesive and reinstalled the sticker. Anyhoo, the mower works great now, has lots of power and no more leaking oil.

Next up, fixing the Yard Machine. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6a2fafc4f9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6040ed875e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...25a1214b8d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...946e824db3.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...ba5a5097a2.jpg

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Installing Stainless Mesh gutter guards from Home Depot. Nice product and pretty easy install.

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Rehabbing 40+ year old Montgomery Ward extension ladder given to me by my FIL. Aluminum ladder still in good shape but all hardware badly rusted and in need of a refresh. So far I have replaced inop rung locks with a Werner kit and replaced dry rotted stand off bumpers previously held on with electrical tape. I have a new rope and plastic end caps on order and as well as a pair of Werner PK80-2 Automatic Leg Levelers coming that I scored on eBay.

Note the flimsy OEM rung locks

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New rope pulley

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New stand off bumpers

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I replaced the flywheel key in the Yard Machine, got it all back together. It didn't want to fire up right away so I used some starting fluid spray, fired up and ran butni could hear some low rumble like popping, I think the valves need adjusting.
It also had a significant vibration so I pulled the blade and yep, it was missing a bit of material. I got some numbers off the blade and found one at Tractor Supply. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...76bc3f7bf8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...c1c2888d56.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...936de8ef08.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...2f995436e2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...9fb5467587.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f5017fe118.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...eda80cae46.jpg

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For the past few months I've been entertained by sudden loud banging which sounded like someone at the door. Mornings and evenings. A couple times there was a thump-screech-thump-thump-screech-screech fight between critters inside the wall. Some birds found my outside shower vent (3-flap plastic type no extra screen which closes normally) and decided they were going to make a nest inside. I'd get on the step ladder, turn on the fan, spray lysol, bang on the walls, and yell. Later that day or next day they'd be back at it.
It was finally warm enough to get up there and put some screen mesh inside. That should do it hopefully.

Replace the brake master cylinder in my E46, 330 this afternoon. I bled the brakes, but I need to use a friends device with the software to activate the ABS pump, to get all of the air out.

Trying to fix Rowenta steamer.

Discovered that I was “That Guy!!!!”

Since the green bomber isn’t my daily anymore and I only use it occasionally to haul stuff……. I neglected to check the brakes regularly. Put new meat under her with all the recent snow and the tire shop said “your brakes are gettin low”. Let’s just say that was the understatement of the year, so far.

So I fixed the issue today.

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A two parter.

Fix-It'ing #1.
Need to get the trailer out from behind the garage. It's been sitting behind the garage for 5 or 6 years. First had to cut all the brush that has grown up around and through it. Second step - air up the tires. Of course one of them won't hold air. I'd deal with that later. Now the big issue. This thing has a clunky hitch mount, and I can't get the damn thing to release. Fought with it about a half hour, finally gave up. I decided to replace it. Need to go to Menards. By now, it's about 5:00pm, and I asked the wife when dinner would be ready. "All I have to do is boil some noodles and warm up the alfredo sauce". Okay, I'll wait. 45 minutes later, dinner. Fine. Mistake #1 - Invite the wife to go along to Menards. We get there, she wants to look at flower pots. We're burning daylight here, but we go look at flower pots. Didn't buy any. I grab the stuff I need, except they don't have a 2" hitch. Plenty of 1 7/8. Fine, I pay for the stuff I got, and head for the other Menards. More daylight gone. Picked up the hitch, headed home. By now it's about 7:30, and it's getting pretty dark out. I got the hitch mounted on the trailer, should have quit there, but no, I wanted to pull the trailer out and over by the gate in the fence. In the dark, I couldn't quite see all of the trailer, and managed to tag the corner of the garage with the spare tire mount on the trailer. It's vinyl siding, so not too horrible.

Fix-It'ing #2. Trailer is out, car is delivered to the shop. On to repairing the siding. Today I learned that I should never be trusted with colors, and neither should the guy who built the garage in the back yard. I have spare siding from the garage and the house, but the house siding was easier to get to, so I pulled out a piece. Found out the house is "Pebble Clay", and the garage is "Natural Clay". Close, but not the same. Put the house siding away, pulled out a piece from the garage. I was able to nail the corner back on using different slots. There's a few nicks in it, but it's the back of the garage. Replaced one piece of siding with the spare piece, and I was able to use part of the larger damaged piece to replace the second damaged piece.

One other trailer fix. Our dog managed to pull the lens off one of the taillights and chewed it up. I replaced the whole light, and both lights worked when I transported the car. I still need to deal with that tire that won't hold air. I should replace it.

I used the software on a tablet to bleed the air out of the ABS system. When I went to drive the car, my DSC light, tire pressure light and brake warning light all came on. Pulled codes and it said the intake camshaft position sensor was bad. Replaced that this morning and changed front brake pads. No change in the lights.

Got to the track, unloaded, and the lights were still on. As I drove to the tech shed, they all turned off. 👍🏽🙌🏽😂

It’s a miracle!

I also had a but of brake woes today. Took the 911 for a spin and had the radio low i hear a squeaking from the rear brake. It goes away with brakes but the ebrake too which i thought was weird. And with the e brake off it returns even louder. I tore into it and no obvious trouble but i cleaned it all up a but and scuffed up the pads and rotor surfaces. Maybe it just got unusually hot and dusty. All seems well now.

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

Keeping with the “brake repair theme” [emoji2957]

Worked on the VariEze’s brakes this afternoon that haven’t been touched/rebuilt in decades. Pretty simple and Eze([emoji6] couldn’t help the pun fellers) now just double checking the plans to make sure I connect the lines properly. Yup, a leak started after just touching the calipers.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a68b2674af.jpg
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Oh yeah, got the 95 K1500 Thermostat, gasket and radiator cap replaced as well as a full coolant flush tonight. Now I just need to figure out where to recycle the old coolant.

I’m sore and tired….

Cheers


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Yep, at work we take the vehicles through a roll booth, kinda like a dyno. Sometimes we will have a rerun vehicle with the TPMS light on. In this case, we drive the vehicle into the booth, raise the retainers and once the vehicle settles on the rollers, simply accelerate for a few seconds, less than a minute, and the light will go off.
If performing the complete process the computer system for the roll booth cycles the abs pump, it communicates to the vehicle through blue tooth module that I connect to the obd2 port. Pretty cool stuff.

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Today's project - Under deck ladder storage

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I replaced the blade on the Yard Machine, you can see that the old one had quite a bit of missing material. I also reinstalled the coil after it checked out to be okay, I checked it with a multimeter. I made sure that it had spark, and yep, plenty of spark. I put it all back together and fired it up and it ran really well!!! I think I need to either replace the primer bulb or clean it because it took pushing on it about 10 times for it to want to crank up, but I didn't have to use any starting fluid this time. Yay!!! https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...455ed1d322.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...bd4a0edb2b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4b805c8ffa.jpg

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Finished installing my el cheapo cool shirt/cooler in my track car. I had the shirt from ages ago but had lost the cooler. I looked on eBay and found a DonJoy cooler along with the correct power cord to plug into the cigarette lighter for $75. Mounted it to the passenger floorboard with a car battery tray. Now I’ll be much cooler driving at the track this summer.

^with the underside so clean, I wonder if an oil application or wax like FluidFilm would prevent rust and clumping

A customer brought over her tractor to replace the belt. I ended up replacing the trailer axle. Long story but I sold her the trailer a year or two ago because her pickup was too high to safely drive up. She is a mexican cleaning lady and wants to expand her income her and her son are mowing the peoples lawns. Anyway its an old boat trailer and the stupid axle hubs are crappy the wheel bearings are shot and theres no way to replace them. So since its here and before the wheels fall off I went ahead and replaced it. I had a spare axle but the wheels that were on it were spindle mount so no 4 bolt hub. They were no good so i put the ones from my log splitter on it. But the bearings were no good in those wheels so i switched everything around. The new axles ended up being an inch too short so I had to cut and extend it. Finally got it all together it only took an afternoon and she'll be good to go. I probably wont even tell her I fixed it. Tomorrow ill cobble some wheels back on my splitter and thatll be that. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1681855502.JPG
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That's very nice of you, she's got a nice looking JD!!!

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Shes so funny. She bought it off some weird auction site got a great deal on it i forget the exact price i think 250 or so. She told me a story about how she drove it off the front of the trailer at a customers house. The ladys security camera wasnt working she said oh no you could have got the video of your life! After that she made a little wall in front with some angle brackets.