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

[A930Rocket]

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.

[HobieMarty]

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.

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[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by rsrguy

Not alot of real-estate for avionics in those birds you must be an obgyn.

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.




Flys like a sport bike


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[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by Baz

Yesterday was a big day because I got the headliner replaced in the Silverado!

STOKED! The person who did it has a lot of experience and she did a great job!

Here's the old one:

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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[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

I’m not sure if this counts, but I replaced the shoestrings in my Topsiders. The kit comes with a metal needle about 4 inches long. You thread the leather strip into the back of the needle and push it through the brass holes and leather.

Oh yeah…..that counts alright.

Not an easy thing to push through leather.


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[oldE]

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

[URY914]

Dead battery this morning in my truck.
Changed it and it started.

[porsche930dude]

Originally Posted by HobieMarty

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.

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.

[HobieMarty]

Originally Posted by porsche930dude

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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[john70t]

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.

[porsche930dude]

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

[bugstrider]

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……. 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.



Getting the Steele angle iron ready for high temp paint







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[porsche930dude]

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

[oldE]

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

[jyl]

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.

[HobieMarty]

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.

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[HobieMarty]

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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[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by porsche930dude

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

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.






Auxbeam control bracket and module also installed.




Onward to the next step.


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[jyl]

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



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

[jyl]

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.