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

[PD41]

Picked up a 1982 Honda FT500 Ascot today. Paid $550.oo
500 cc single cylinder street legal thumper. Honda only made it for 2 years.

All there but has been sitting 10 years, title is on non-op.
Dropped it off at a buddies that has been a bike mechanic for 30 years.
He needs some electrical work done on his house so we will swap labor.

It has compression and looks decent. Haven't told the wife yet. LMAO

[herr_oberst]

If I ever got back into street bikes again, I've always said I would start with the Ascot, but they are rare and hard to find in good nick.

But boy, I do like the cut of their jib.

(VT pictured)

[RANDY P]

Rear struts, brakes at all 4 corners on CTS-V.

So far survived a stripped shock mounting bolt (never let mag ride oil from leaky shock drip onto hardware- instant strip once you torque it ask me know I know) and 110deg heat in garage.

Nothin better to do, I guess.

[Baz]

Had some leftover washed shell from my job so spread it this morning in front of one of my driveways.

When I bought this place back in '97, I set aside a right-of-way in front to serve for deliveries, work applications, and parkage. It has served me well over the years.

I also had a couple new USA windsocks to hang up and swapped out a corroded flag bracket for one of them. The other I just hung from a Screw Pine branch.

[widebody911]

[jyl]

Worked on the Vanagon. Got it running, though idle is uneven. When moving it from street to driveway, brake pedal went to floor. Love it when problems multiply.

[74-911]

Finally got fed up with wasps and dirt dobbers nests so spent the weekend painting the ceilings of the front and back porch "haint blue". Not sure about the evil spirits but it does keep wasps and dobbers from building nests under the ceilings. YMMV however.

[Baz]

Interesting.......

[Baz]

Painted a ceiling. An unfavorite job.

[ckelly78z]

I have a 1968 John Deere 300 backhoe with a diesel motor. Ealier this year, I was pushing down a standing tree with the FEL, and popped one of the original hydraulic lines that control the bucket tilt (big oily mess). In order to continue working with the backhoe part of the tractor, I was able to "loop" the remaining line for that cylinder onto the other fitting, which rendered the bucket tilt function useless, but still allowed it to be raised and lowered. I was leary of what these new lines were going to cost to have new hydro lines cut/crimped by a local equipment shop...i'm guessing $75 each, and I need 8 of the 3/8" I.D. 24" long lines to replace all of the front hoses.

I checked online and found the exact 4000 psi lines I need from Northern Tool for $14.99 each...I ordered 8 of them, and will make another order for most of the rear lines next month.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Valves here are required to incorporate an anti siphon device and be placed 6" above grade. For the AS to work they have to be screws up.

Milt -

When you posted this, I remembered a photo I took during a trip I took to California back in '03 to attend a friend's wedding. He lived in Oxnard and I took a photo of his valve manifold in his backyard. I thought it was interesting that each zone had it's own AVB anti-siphon device.

Here we are only required to have one for the entire system.

Here is the pic I took:

[porsche tech]

A guy was going to throw away this Garmin golf GPS because the "battery was bad". He gave it to me and I found the little spring loaded contacts on the charger were stuck in. Fixed that, charged right up and works good. It had a nasty white band so I got a new black one for $10 on Amazon. It also syncs with my iPhone and acts as a Fitbit.

[fastfredracing]

Clutch job in a 997 c4 s today . It was slipping pretty bad, and burned up the flywheel, so I am replacing that and the RMS while I am looking at it . Finally bought the factory tool for the job, and am anxious to see how well it pushes the seal in. I've been using a home made seal installer, and it works, but you can screw it up if your not careful .
Also, after work, I am going to flush the trans fluid , and replace the trans filter , and clean out the solenoids on the trans on the gold 2003 Honda Accord that I am leaning on while taking this photo . I took it as trade on a Volvo I just sold, and will probably fix it , and drive it till some customer comes in needing a cheap reliable car . I love cheap easy car flips .
This is another great Baz thread, I like seeing what you guys are up to .

[Baz]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

---snip---
This is another great Baz thread, I like seeing what you guys are up to .

Thanks but I can't take credit for this thread, Fred.

It's JYL's.

I do agree it's fun to see what everyone is doing and for that JYL deserves MUCH credit!

=======

On the subject of Porsche repairs, not an hour ago, I was at my local tire shop getting some tire help for my Silverado, and they were working on a Boxster. They do more than tires there. Funny thing is the tech working on it said he looked the problem up on You Tube and they showed how to do the repair...ha ha. It was a bad "PCV valve" or whatever the equivalent component is called on a Boxster. Shooting oil into the cylinders. He showed me the fouled plugs.

The inside courtesy door light was on with the key off and he was wondering why that was happening. Good stuff....lol.

=======

Enjoyed your post, Fred. Much respect to you for your P-car knowledge. If you ever get down this way, I'll have to take you down to my P-car mechanic's shop and introduce you. Just Ivan and his son. Good peoples.

[jyl]

I finally figured out why the Zetec in the Vanagon has been stumbling, stalling, refusing to restart. I think it was various problems and then one key problem. The various problems were addressed by the time honored methods of randomly replacing stuff. New coil, ignition wires, plugs, fuel pump, fuel filter, check fuel pressure, check ignition wiring. Some of that helped, none fixed it. Finally I got the van to where it would start and run but the idle was unstable and weak. That turned out to be two ****ty quality Chinese rubber caps on two nipples on the plastic thingy attached to the intake manifold. They had fallen off. Place finger over nipples, idle great. Remove finger, van barely idles. Replaced with a loop of rubber vacuum hose secured with clamps. The samba guys told me to simply plug the nipples with RTV but I figure maybe those nipples could get used for something someday.

Then tried to figure out why van's brakes are so bad, like pedal goes almost to floor. Turned out to be very low brake fluid in M/C reservoir. Filled reservoir, bled brakes, much better. But still not great. These brakes have never been great. I'm taking it to a shop to do the brakes right, probably including a new M/C since this one has now been stroked past normal range. I am greatly sick of working on the van so want to pay someone.

Lastly I replaced gas struts on the 911 hood and decklid, and figured out why the turbo tail has been loose. Turns out that if you use the tail to lift the deck lid, you can eventually break the fiberglass mount points in the tail. Other thread explains.

Time for a shower.

[VincentVega]

Originally Posted by VincentVega

A squirrel or mouse had a nice snack on the harnesses for the injectors and coils of my truck. Then, as I move the heater hose a bit get a better look the hose breakes off the heater core. This is what I'm doing today.

This took a bit longer than expected. Not my DD so its been sitting while I work on other stuff. Heater core connectors are easy enough but the wiring was a bit of a chore. I didnt major in soldering in school so working in the engine bay with only a couple inches of spare wire made it fun. But, back together and it was only 3 eaten spots. So rewarding when it fired up and ran correctly. Good thing, I've been filling it with yard waste, I need to make a dump run.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by jyl

-snip-These brakes have never been great. I'm taking it to a shop to do the brakes right, probably including a new M/C since this one has now been stroked past normal range. I am greatly sick of working on the van so want to pay someone.---snip---

I can relate, John. Too bad you don't live around here, my mechanic Ivan does awesome work on brake systems. Hopefully your guy will get things right!

Originally Posted by VincentVega

This took a bit longer than expected. Not my DD so its been sitting while I work on other stuff. Heater core connectors are easy enough but the wiring was a bit of a chore. I didnt major in soldering in school so working in the engine bay with only a couple inches of spare wire made it fun. But, back together and it was only 3 eaten spots. So rewarding when it fired up and ran correctly. Good thing, I've been filling it with yard waste, I need to make a dump run.

Congrats, VV...always nice when your truck is operational! The few times mine has been down I always felt like I was missing a limb or something.

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by VincentVega

This took a bit longer than expected. Not my DD so its been sitting while I work on other stuff. Heater core connectors are easy enough but the wiring was a bit of a chore. I didnt major in soldering in school so working in the engine bay with only a couple inches of spare wire made it fun. But, back together and it was only 3 eaten spots. So rewarding when it fired up and ran correctly. Good thing, I've been filling it with yard waste, I need to make a dump run.

Hey, lucky you caught it in your garage. Mine let loose when I was taking my wife back and forth to the hospital when she was pregnant . I had to get water out of a stream where I broke down, and vice gripped off my heater hoses to limp home.
What a stupid design. a big , cheap , plastic pos quick connect, where a hose clamp has worked just fine for the last 50 years .
Good job on the wiring repair !

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Tonight I "fix'd it" (sorta) by buying a vintage french MABO tape measure to replace my father's, which I lost over 25 years ago. It was a gift from his father and law to him, and once it was lost, he let me know how much it meant to him.

Back then, he was pissed. It was one of the few times he came down hard on me, and rightly so. It was one of the few tools/ items he really had a sentimental attachment to.

He told me he expected an exact replacement, but in the 80's, it had been discontinued, and these were relatively rare. Before the internet, I even traveled to a MABO supplier, but their new ones weren't the same. As upset he was that I had lost it, I was just as upset I couldn't find a replacement.

We'll, it's a little too late, my dad died a year ago, and he wouldn't have recognized it anyway due to his dementia, but, thanks to ebay... one came up. I had to make things right.

A little sappy, but had to be done. bittersweet. These things really are cool too btw...