Fix or Toss

[slakjaw]

I fix

[Zeke]

I can fix some appliances, some are not worth the trouble. Mechanical equipment is a no brainer, usually. There is the story I related awhile back about taking the 8 lb. sledge to the POS Sears rotary mower WHILE IT WAS RUNNING! That was fun. No more Sears even if it does say Honda on it.

House stuff is the biggie. You really have to work on your own house before calling a contractor. What a bunch of idiots and I is one.

[RWebb]

if manf'd in Germany, FIX

if manf'd in China/Mexico/Brazil, TOSS

if manf'd in US, do not buy..

[MBAtarga]

I fix stuff around the house and even make stuff or replacement parts out of scrap/spare parts from other things broken beyond repair. I rarely throw anything away that can be used or made into something useful. In my basement shop, I've got 2 or 3 boxes filled with parts useful for stuff:

Recently:
- made a tool to remove the drawers from my recently purchased (used) Snap On tool box. I used the thin metal strips from old windshield wiper refills and taped them side by side and bent them to resemble the "tool" that Snap On charges $6.50 for.

- took an old bi-fold door knob (cheap plastic thing), sanded down the diameter to make it smaller in size, and then screwed that to the winding lever on a 300' surveyors tape reel, because the original know was lost.

- used the scrap casters from an old office chair and made a wooden dolly with a piece of plywood and scrap 2x4s.

[Dueller]

Originally Posted by ruf-porsche

Imobiliser relay? Did someone push the code on the OBC? What year is your 525IT? I have the Bentley manual and can check why the fuel pump is not getting any current.

Its a '92. Black, too


Probably my own damn fault. It was running perfect when I parked it 18 mos ago I just neglected starting it after a while. Decided to put it back in service. Drained the bad gas (including fuel rail). Put fresh gas in it. Stared fine with starting fluid and ran well while trying to prime pump. Thot it was the pump relay but no such luck.

It is throwing a "check control" "owners manual" on the dash msg center.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

TYIA

Jim

[VaSteve]

The 6 disc DVD player in the Pacifica broke. I thought I could fix it. I took it out of the dash and then took it apart. There were so many pieces and it was so complex, I had to give up. I was going to at least try and get the discs out. Well, I guess they will find Nemo at CARMAX when I trade this POS in.

I try and fix stuff, but it depends on my time, talent and whether I'd just like a new one. I have a million of those little screwdrivers, hexs, allens, torxes, so I can take damn near anything apart.

Most things aren't made to be serviced at home (says so on the case! ) or anywhere....

[mikester]

I am adventurous - things worth fixing - I try to fix. Things not worth fixing - I don't.

Simple as that.

For example, I have a Dell 17" LCD monitor that went on me a few months ago. I found that there is a common failure in this particular model and it is an easy repair for someone with a radio shack near by and a soldering iron.

I have both & I am actually good at soldering!

So I will give it a go in the near future once some other projects clear from my path.

I do my own basic plumbing but when it came to replacing some rotted galv pipes in my kitchen - well I paid the plumber to do that (felt a little guilty because the replacement PCV is so easy to work with) because I wanted it done that night. Redoing faucets and valves is easy, replacing fixtures...minor electrical.

A while back I had a ceiling fan I really liked but the wiring in it was starting to burn, not from the electricity but from the light bulbs being too close to it. I replaced it with a newer better quality unit but the newer unit didn't have the style this one had. I saved it in the box in the garage for a while intending to resurrect it. It stayed there for about a year taking up precious space until I finally just tossed it.

[Big Ed]

Originally Posted by Z-man

FWIW, I kept my 27" RCA TV for the past 20 years. About 15 years ago, the tuner on it went, so since then, I've been using my VCR's tuner! (Finally got an LCD TV this month!! Whoo Hoo!)

-Z-man.

What's a VCR?

[peppy]

I really have never been able to "fix" anything. I have rigged a few things.

I remember my dad putting pennies behind fuses to keep from blowing the fuses in our house.

I had a very good teacher. Most of our old power tools and gadgets have pull switches.

[herr_oberst]

Heres how bad it is:

I was building a shed this fall in my backyard, and the framing nailer broke (an old senco that weighs a ton), so I looked on craigslist and found a replacement nailer (porter cable, newer, lighter, plus a half box of nails - sweet deal for 100 bucks.

THEN, I got on ebay, found the part for the senco, and fixed it. I don't know why, I wont use it now that I have the update, but I just couldn't stand to have it sitting around broken, when parts are available to fix it.

I throw money away making my stuff last:-)

[JeremyD]

I try and fix everything I can on my own. Sometimes I get work down on the outboard (2 stroke Yamaha 115) just because I am not familiar with it. Easy stuff like plugs and oil is no problem. Not sure if I will tackle the carbs when they need rebuilding.

Everything else from the car to the house I usually tackle. Appliances - especially older ones usually aren't worth fixing but Pool stuff, boat stuff, house stuff - kids stuff - yeah I'll give a shot at fixing.

We used to joke when my Son was very young - he was constantly breaking his toys and would come running through the house yelling "Dad Dad - fik it, fik it...

I do put time limits on stuff to see if it's worth it. I've found I value my down time more these days...

[beepbeep]

Fix!

My Media-box (TVIX) died. Googled on it, seem to be common with PSU failures due to overheat. Opened up the box, found one transistor and one diode melt. Then I googled on Tranistor and diode numer, butchered an old PC power supply and found what I tought was good enough transistor/diode combo (transistor was right polarity, but a bit bigger). Swapped in them...and lo and behold, box booted up!

Other thing that was worth fixing is my old Bang & Olufsen stereo full-tube reciever from 1962. Couple of new tubes, few high voltage capacitors and light bulbs and it works as a charm. Rocks hard with it's 2 x 3W output

On the other hand, there were things that weren't worth fixing. My Audi S4 is one of them. I tought it was a good deal at the time...ended up replacing radiator, intercooler plumbing, whole ignition, complete front suspension (including brakes), plethora of bushings, god knows how many engine sensors, rear differential, ignition lock, stereo, cam belt, wheel arch...(i would like to know how to make font smaller and smaller )

In these times, more and more is worth fixing! Penny here and penny there...it soon adds up.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Big Ed

What's a VCR?

it's like an 8-track with pictures drawn inside - a whole buncha pictures

[tabs]

My motto is don't fix it if it is broken....just let it sit...

[on2wheels52]

I'll usually at least take the thing apart, am pretty good at diagnosing the problem and coming up with a low-buck fix. My kid's buddies were pretty impressed that I could keep their air-soft guns working when they were ready to toss them.
Jim

[kimlangley7]

Mechanical linkages... try to fix...

limited electrical malfarctions.. fix [operative word is "limited"..] tried to fix a panasonic projection TV with new 16 pin pieces... and no joy...