My friend Russell has this big truck... well, it's a 1 ton dually so i consider it to be big. Normally i try to avoid heavy stuff like this at home, but it's for Russell.

I used my transmission jack to lift the brake drums on and off, but i still had to balance them on it as I did it.

So the truck was losing brake fluid and the left rear had seized up one time. I replaced the leaking master cylinder, rear wheel cylinders, left park brake cable, and all the rear brake hardware, shoes, and adjusters.

I also found a N.O.S. (new, old stock) parking brake switch on ebay for this 1985 Chevy so now the little red light in the instrument cluster lets any and all drivers know that the parking brake is set. Of course, that feature still only works if you actually pay attention to it.

Posted by Scott Korb at 6:01 PM | Permalink

This is Matilda

Matilda is a 1999 Toyota RAV4 who was punched in the nose. My friends John, Lewis, and Geneva delivered her to me for a song.

After a few parts (her radiator and adjacent parts were pierced, bent and broken) and some welding, she is sound and presentable. I've never much been one for bodywork and paint though.

I only need to do a few more things for her to get on the road. All in all this makes me happy. All I need to do is sell her. I would keep her, but I really need a pickup truck instead.

2 pics after jump

Continue reading "Matilda" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 9:36 PM | Permalink

This weekend i replaced the timing belt on Jenipher's 2004 Tacoma Prerunner 3.4. She fed us curry chicken and built me a tool creeper pallet out of recycled parts, which is awesome. The cats took some notice.

But I have to mention this new tool I bought for removing and installing seals for the camshafts and crankshaft.

http://www.tooltopia.com/private-brand-tools-70960.aspx

I LIKE IT!

I bought it, along with the crank holding SST (special service tool)for the 3.4L and the cam seal remover/installer commercially available for Toyota V6's, all to make this job go smoothly.

And it did. It went almost terrifyingly smoothly. This truck is so lacking of the usual corrosion it gives me pause.

Also i really like my new tools... some of which I plan to use at least 10 more times -- but for the one I gave the link to.... That GDMF is the bomb. I will use it often. It works better for me than any other recommended SSTs from Toyota or any other manufacturer who has no recommendation for a SST or even any details on how to perform service....

example...
Detailed directions=
Disconnect negative battery cable, remove part, install part.
So that may be a slight exaggeration, but often it really isn't.

But I still really like this new tool kit.

AND

Jim and I watched a marathon of Frisky Dingo.

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:07 PM | Permalink

There is an aftermarket parts company called Dorman. Sometimes they have parts no one else has... not even the dealer. They have been around a long time.

Last year I was working on my friend's 1999 Camry, and I replaced many things. Dorman was the only aftermarket manufacturer at the time who I found sold both the oil pump seal and o-ring gasket in a kit, so I bought it. It's just rubber seals right? No big deal. Who can screw that up? Everything seemed fine.

Fast forward a few months. I put a Dorman upper control arm on my friend's Civic because it was very inexpensive (her choice) compared to the others available.... like 1/4 the cost. I should have known better, but it's just metal and rubber, right? Who can screw that up?

Well, that control arm makes a very disturbing knock noise over minor bumps. I think the interference fit between the arm and the included bushings is not so great, since that's where it seems the noise is coming from.

So... back to the Camry. Here it is just over a year later and the Camry has a terrible oil leak. By terrible I mean a quart an hour while the car is running. ONE QUART EVERY HOUR!!!!

After some investigation I have found it to be.... you guessed it.... the very same oil pump seal and gasket I replaced 13 months ago. Both are leaking. I had also replaced the crankshaft front oil seal and camshaft oil seal with Fel-Pro parts, and they were fine, but the Dorman parts only lasted 13 months... possibly less, as the leak was only brought to my attention when I was about to change the oil ("oh yeah- we meant to tell you we've been adding oil")

13 Months! They should last at least 7 years. The original parts lasted 11 years... and even then it was just the gasket leaking a little, and the seal not at all.

I've run into other parts manufacturers whose electrical parts seem to fail in 13 months. BWD is one example. Neihoff is another.

So I guess if it lasts a year, that's good enough.!?!

I spent 2 hours cleaning coked up oil off of timing belt cogs.... not to mention the time to replace the oil soaked timing belt (also only 13 months old)... and the amount of down time for the car. Now I'm waiting for the dust cover gaskets to arrive via USPS. The oil leak deteriorated the adhesive and compromised the gaskets.

DO NOT BUY DORMAN PRODUCTS!!!!!!

Posted by Scott Korb at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Lewis starting the cold engine (with no power to the glow plugs)

Me talking and playing (also no glow plug power, but Lew had already warmed it up)

Posted by Scott Korb at 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

My friend Lewis bought a military auction HMMWV (humvee) engine... 6.5 liter diesel.
It came in a big military crate, vacuum sealed with a dessicant bag, ready to be drop shipped from 10,000 feet.

well, sort of.

I guess they found a problem and that's why it was for sale.

We made it run inside the crate. That was awesome.

Comments are under pictures. The right sides of the pictures got cut off but if you click on them they should come up in a pop-up (disable that blocker for now).

HUGE intake manifold! There's an EPA sticker which mentions a national security emissions exemption. I'll try to get a pic of that later. done. click here for sticker pic

We ran 24V to the injector pump (help me out here Lewis) and 12V to the starter. 4 batteries in all.

...about the starter. The military crate needed slight modifications to accommodate it.

more after jump

Continue reading "national security" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I have the instructions to make it more smoothly.
-
-
-

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Hot as in it has heat now. Above is a picture of the interior of Elizabeth's 1990 Honda Accord with the dashboard and heater unit removed.

I'm told this car has never had good heat, even when it was new.. so it was kind of a leap of faith, in myself, to tackle this job. It acted like it needed a heater core. There is no way to prove it in this scenerio except to replace it. I tried to flush it. I spent a bunch of time to prove every other thing to be working correctly. I reached the end of my internal diagnostic flow chart, as well as several of Honda's charts, before I decided to spend a weekend replacing the heater core in this car.

After I got the heater core and heater unit in I put some new foam around the vents and some new sealer on some parts where the dash fits. You know how sometimes when you tun on the vents in an old car and little bits of foam dust comes out? I replaced that foam with new foam. Yayy!

So at this point Elizabeth came over to help. I asked her to come over to help me get the dash out, but I got it out myself earlier than expected. There's no way I was putting it back in by myself when there was help available.

She saw the car as in the above picture and asked "Is it supposed to look like that?" I said "No. It's supposed to have a dashboard in it." She was just in time to help put it back in.

So here it is now, with heat.

Using process of elimination and gut experience only feels good once one is vindicated. Then it feels Great!

Continue reading "HOT CAR" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 9:40 PM | Permalink

My friend Robin has a 1999 Toyota Camry. It was given to her with about 200,000 miles on it because "it needs a transmission"

So she took it to someone who I'm told "cleaned out the screens" and it worked fine... for a while. Then it didn't. She took it back and they flushed the fluid to no avail.

So she told me lots of different things about the transmission and the way it acts and what different mechanics told her about it. I fully expected to replace this transmission. So did she. So did at least two other mechanics who looked at it (I'm told).

Now I don't think I'll have to.

From the way it acted when I drove it I figured the torque converter clutch solenoid was stuck. Also the check engine light was on. I did a little research and removed the part in the above picture to test it. There is a little check ball in it that was stuck. Basically this keeps the engine and transmission locked together almost all the time so the car bucks like hell when you slow down.

This valve is supposed to allow flow from pressure to drain (in picture) but only when voltage is supplied to it. It was allowing flow all the time. So I hit it.

bang bang bang

click

ta-da-- little ball got unstuck.

good ol' 20th century Earth technology

Soooo... I'm gonna replace this valve if i can find one (it is proving to be surprisingly elusive).

I bought a code reader while I was in town today. I figured it's about time I owned at least a cheap one. The code on this Camry is P0770 "shift solenoid E (shift solenoid SL) malfunction". That's what Toyota calls this little solenoid valve which controls the torque converter lockup clutch. I think they used to call it a TCC (Torque Converter Clutch) solenoid valve. That's what i would call it.

Posted by Scott Korb at 6:57 PM | Permalink

That phrase hurts my brain. I could name more.
I blame it on the human psyche and a part called the starter.
To me, if it turns over, it does that. You turn the key and the engine turns... over and over and over. The "starter" works fine but the engine wont run. What's up with that?

I get to look at all kinds of vehicles which wont go.
You know that when you take it to your mechanic (or tow it) the problem can suddenly disappear.

People and their phrases can confuse me. Communication is key.

"starts but wont run" hurts too sometimes... same reason. Your definition of that might be very different from one of your neighbors'

"Turns over but wont start" causes much less pain for some reason, though usually they all mean the same thing.

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Everybody wins!
My friend and somewhat nearby neighbor Ty is a landscaper. I need someone to take care of my lawn. He needs someone to take care of his family's vehicles. win/ win

He thinks I'm getting the raw end, and maybe I am, seeing as I've been working on his 1986 Bronco II - ick. But for me it beats yard work.

The thing is, every time I go to fix something I find something else broken, or something breaks.

Case in point... and I don't even know for sure I was fixing something- mystery stall/throw parts at it.
Now, I don't like to do that, but I'm not driving an unregistered vehicle around all day so I can get stranded in it while I diagnose it and wait for it to cool down and start. His symptoms reminded me of this:
http://www.autosafety.org/ford-tfi-module-national-class-settlement
and I've had to replace these ignition modules before.

So I decided to replace it and let him drive it. My condition on this "fix" is that the vehicle needs to be registered for me to find/fix it if it does it again.

I also replaced his hall effects sensor (pickup coil). This sensor does the job of sending a signal to the coil to fire for each cylinder and it requires disassembly of the distributor- where I found a cracked roll pin... a disaster waiting to happen. The pin holds the distributor's drive gear in place. If it breaks the vehicle needs a tow.

All this time I have to jump start the vehicle almost every time I want to start it. Ty says "It does that sometimes." Well now it does it every time. And with the new ignition parts installed the thing starts on the tick but the battery light wants to come on and the battery keeps going dead after sitting a few hours.

Disconnect the alternator- BTW the connector is broken- The battery drain goes away. OK. We need a new alternator
... and a connector. I'm still waiting on the connector but the parasitic drain is gone and the battery light is out with the new alternator.

Next potential catastrophic failure- upper radiator hose was rubbing on the alternator belt. I found this as I was installing the new alternator. I loosened the hose clamps and rotated the hose away from the belt, but it's worn through to the cords. So now I need an upper radiator hose. What's next?

It still beats yard work.

Oh, and I made this tonight from some 4.3L Chevy engine parts:

Posted by Scott Korb at 9:30 PM | Permalink

It snowed here last night. I have a 4wd truck for such occasions, but I really didn't plan on going anywhere... well, I was going to go to Apex to work on my Acura, but since it snowed I stayed here and put a water pump on a Cadillac... which I was really supposed to be doing anyway.

Continue reading "pump" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

or spring washer
It's a type of lock washer
It's placed between the bolt head and what it is bolted to -theoretically locking the bolt in place by the tension it exerts.

I bring this up because I had a bad experience.
I replaced the noisy transmission bearings in Dreya's red Civic so they wouldn't explode.
Then I drove it 300 miles w/o issue, called Dreya and told her the car was done. The next day the shifter was slightly non compliant. I called Dreya back to tell her I had to keep the car until the weekend (another week) when I would have time to investigate and I parked the car.

Last Saturday I took the shifter linkage loose from the transmission to isolate it and shifted the transmission by hand... it seemed fine... at first. A little more wiggling around and I heard something fall down inside the transmission...tink-tink-tink-dink-dink and then suddenly the shifting was all wrong. Very very wrong.

So I had to take the transmission out and apart AGAIN.

I found that a bolt fell out. That's what I heard make the tink-tink-tink-dink-dink noise. The bolt and spring washer were found on the collector magnet inside the transmission.

It's possible I just didn't tighten the bolt when I had the transmission apart to do the bearings. The spring washer wasn't very springy though. This time I used thread locking compound on the bolt. I couldn't get a new spring washer.

That's a story of how I was very lucky.

So here's some pics after the jump... where the bolt was supposed to be, and where it ended up.

Continue reading "Wavy Washer" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:04 AM | Permalink

I am not a painter.
I am bad at prep.
I'm OK at masking sometimes.

"It just looks like a red car"
"unless you really look at it"
I was told by a friend.

So I made a red car red again I guess. I hope it lasts.

First I painted the grey/silver hood "Bright Red" and then dulled it with scotchbrite to kinda match the old paint.

I painted the pink/white/black-mold roof "cherry red" and have to wait 2 days before I can try to smooth out the lines.

The cherry almost matches the old paint, but i have zero blending skills.
I'll prob'ly take more pics after i do it if it looks somewhat better.

Continue reading "red car" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:22 PM | Permalink

but so far I was wrong, which is at least as distasteful.

Dreya's spark plugs look great. They're not the cause of the problem.

"What is the problem?" you may ask.
It has a cold misfire.
"The cause?"
Now that I've had only a cursory look I don't know for sure, but I suspect I won't like it.... not at all.
Symptoms suggest more diagnosis of the ignition system. I hope it pans out. My gut says something else. I hope I'm wrong.

Posted by Scott Korb at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

They have heat ranges. Who knew... OK, I do. But i don't think about it much. I mostly deal with stock parts and the stock spark plugs (stock brand too). But my brother would have thought of this right away I think, or at least after the first putt.

He's not a mechanic like me, but he plays one on T.V. -OK not really. He's just really smart.

Anyway, I made this car (Honda CRX DX/HF) with a custom transmission. When I went to buy spark plugs they gave me a choice. I chose "cold" because my custom trans runs high RPM for this 70HP 8valve engine.

fast fwd
I bought Dreya a 4spd 16valve 70hp Civic and we swapped the custom 5spd trans to it.

fine

later we changed the timing belt, swapped to a 90hp cam, ECU, and fuel system, and exchanged all the parts which go along with the timing belt except spark plugs and tune up.

Skip over-(I let Dreya do a lot of it and something minor had to be redone- it happens).

But she still has the custom 5spd trans for the 70 HP engine. Fuel economy was good. 38mpg

sputter soon after.

I changed the plugs (stock # for both the 16valve 4spd 70hp and 5spd 90hp) wires, cap and rotor button.
FIXED
no
months later sputter. I suspect the plugs are fouled.

If so I will try the the hotter HF plugs. This engine I created combined with this trans I created runs lower RPM than factory design. Sean might have thought of this if I'd told him about it.

An italian tune up could fix it right up I'd bet, but I'd prefer to attempt to modify this car to fit the driver on this occasion... bein' all customy like my brother.

He might tell you something opposite. I always tell him to stick to stock parts.

But I am. They just don't mix right sometimes.
----------------------

So she was getting 27mpg w/ the same spec engine, lighter car, and higher RPM trans.
Then ~30 in the newer stock 4spd heavier car too I think, and 38 with the 5spd in it.

I like the 38mpg for her. I just need to make it not cold sputter sometimes.

HOT PLUGS

[edited for memory]

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:29 PM | Permalink

updated 8/26 -@ end

I told Robin I had a good used axle for her CRX.

I had checked my parts car and it looked like the driver's axle was good... it turns out the outer boot was split in a way undetectable by the casual glance of a professional.

oops

Luckily I also had an extra driver's side axle with a known good outer boot. But it had a sliced inner boot incurred during removal or storage (I acquired this axle with a transmission I purchased).

I must've had that in mind before the casual check ;)

The lacerated boots are not so bad as the aftermath they cause.

Anyway, I used the axle with the good outer parts and installed all the good inner parts from the other.

A new axle is cheap, but it's cheap she ain't got.

I assembled an axle with known good inner and outer joints and boots.

And she can drive her car.

I spent all kinds of time making this axle but it was kind of fun.

And she can drive her car.

I probably should cash the check even though I don't want to.

no pics. I'll snap a pic of an axle for reference. Updated soon.

8/26 Update... I ain't got no pic.
Here's a howstuffworks page. This axle used a Rzeppa joint on the outside (hers was bad/torn/making noise) and a tripod (plunging) joint on the inner. There were snap ring pliers, new grease, and many shop towels involved.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constant-velocity_joint

Most or all of that info stuff is lodged in my brain pretty good... somewhere...
How can i increase my brain RAM? If it's brussels sprouts I'll pass.

Anyway, CV axles make for good robot-bear parts ;)

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm about finished with Miss Fuller's car.

I had a bit of a head scratcher with it.

It turns out I was sold the wrong thermostat. The part stores specify 190*F as the correct opening temperature for the T'stat in this car.

I looked up the Mazda spec, found the correct 180*F thermostat, and installed it.

Lo and behold the radiator cooling fan now cycles normally.

All that is left is to drive it.

Continue reading "mystery solved" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 1:21 AM | Permalink

I replaced a few parts on Margaret's car today.

I like how even the NGK plugs come in boxes marked Honda.

-all genuine Honda parts except for the new (not reman.) axle-
plugs
wires
dizzy cap, gasket, rotor button, fasteners
dizzy o-ring
left inner tie rod & clamp
valve cover gasket -old gasket turned to stone... chiseled out and remaining pieces are in picture.

and an alignment

I made another robot bear from old parts from her car and gave it to her

pic

Continue reading "Margaret's Accord" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Dreygon is the name of Dreya's Red 1990 Civic. The CRX (LE PEU) remains in my clutches for experiments, while i also get to experiment on the Dreygon. Muhahaha

So i bought this 4 speed hatchback for her to replace her CRX and of course it broke almost immediately... it is almost 20yrs old by the by.

The fuel pump went out. A tow and a pump and filter later she runs tall for a trip to PA in the winter... where she overheats.

Dreya can now change a thermostat on a civic in under 15min.

The car was making a noise I heard when I started it at 45*F. It made the noise consistantly but very briefly. I decided it needed a waterpump.

Last month we replaced the waterpump, which turned out to have a shot bearing (my mechanic instincts rock), as well as the timing belt, the accessory belts, and all related oil seals and pulley bearings.

At the same time i changed her camshaft to one with higher lift and duration (more air suction and for longer) and her ECU (computerized fuel management to handle the new camshaft)

We go from 70HP to 90HP @ no cost to you, using stock Honda parts.

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:46 PM | Permalink

updated 10/05/08

This blurry image is of a 1995 Chevy full sized van, sans engine. This is what I did at work today and some of yesterday. The "new to you" engine is back in it now, but only just. There's still a good day or so of work left.

I dislike Chevys right now.

Continue reading "sooo tired" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Miss Fuller's Jetta broke. She had it towed to her house and there I diagnosed it, then replaced the starter. The tow truck driver suspected the starter, but I had to be sure.

I tried to work on the CRX today, but didn't get much done. I dragged engines and transmissions around, swapped a few hoses, wire brushed some corroded aluminum... and I found out the intake I'm using has a busted TPS (throttle posision sensor) so I need one. I also found out that I have nothing to control the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) on the new engine. Those parts are not easily found.

And the awful red paint on the replacement engine's valve cover is proving to be a challenge to remove.

Continue reading "start me up" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:57 AM | Permalink

Have I ever mentioned my contempt for electronic carburetors? No? Just my lack of enthusiasm for carbs in general, i suppose. They are a miracle of technology, but complications are many... especially when you combine the old carb tech with computer tech.

So I thought this Tercel was done, as you might recall. I was given the wrong carb, but i made it work. I didn't like the way it worked, but it worked.

BUT then weeks later suddenly the car wouldn't start.
I of course blamed the "wrong" carb. I searched for the correct one. FOUND. I got all the eleventyhundred vacuum hoses routed right. Still no start.

It turns out the distributor crapped out. I had no spark. I changed the distributor and it fired right up. Add new plugs and it runs smooth. An extra bonus is that with the correct carb it actually runs right cold and hot. Higher RPM cold, lower RPM hot... as opposed to opposite or random RPMs with the carb I was provided to install.

I also replaced the thermostat. The engine had been running cold/rich. The 'puter needs to know it's warm to quit throwing buckets of fuel down the intake throat.

So I'm driving this car this week to make sure it's good. Once i'm confident it is (and I am, but I'll give it a week)... it goes back to Celina with no extra charge.... on the condition that it never darken my doors again.

Jump for some tech pics of what I was dealing with.

Continue reading "Tercel again/still" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:30 PM | Permalink

So this is what a lincoln towncar looks like with no dashboard or steering column.... from my phone camera.

I got this M.F. back together. It wasn't that bad. I wish the literature had told me to take the power seats out before I disconnected the battery. It did tell me it required 2 "technicians" to remove and replace the dash. I had a modicum of help for out, but for in, all me baby!

So this bastard Ford has a new heater core. hooray.
One of the 10yr old rear suspension air springs pooped out while I was fixing the heater.
Air springs... ugh! They are no spring!!! They are an air filled catastrophe!

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:31 PM | Permalink

Today I put brake pads on Sam's car. It was fun. It took no time and it made me feel good.

I also recently put a cylinder head on an old toyota tercel for another friend.
It has eleventeen thousand vacuum hoses.
I have upgraded its status from B.F. Paperweight to Well Running Vehicle.
The "new" carb is not correct for this model... it is missing a vacuum port.
Now it idles low at startup is all. Its fine.
It's old
It runs.
I am inexpensive.
I've been driving it for two weeks.
Its fine. Really.
Eleventeen thousand vacuum hoses plus several evsv (electrical vacuum switching valves), bvsv (bimetal vacuum switching valves), tvsv (thermal vacuum switching valves), and vdv (vacuum delay valves...or jets.. according to Toyota), plus the missing port.... it requires more effort than I can give for what it's worth. It runs great. Just low cold idle. Pooh.

I made some beer tap handles for Jason. I hope they work out. See them at his 'Tween party.

Dreya and i made a chicken.

Continue reading "decemberween" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:05 PM | Permalink

Continue reading "IM DRIVIN UR CAR/ DEPLETING UR O-ZONZ" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 9:08 PM | Permalink

I changed the anti-sway bars on David's Miata on Sunday.
I totally forgot he was coming over until he started ringin' the doorbell.
"Just a bible salesman... more sleep." I mumbled groggily to the Dreya.
"No, you have to work on cars." said she.
She was right.

It didn't take long to swap out the bars. He's supposed to be bringing me a jack and stands as a barter for it. He hasn't yet. It corners flatter than 4F feet. We took some sharp turns at high speed for a test. Very good.

I swapped out the left side ball joints on Brian's truck... I still haven't finished that... I brought home my torque wrench and the right socket to get it done, but I've been trying to work on Andrew's Camry. I got it partially apart but it keeps getting dark outside. I took some pics of stuffs but i can't find my camera right now. I'll post a pic anyway. Did i mention that Andrew's radiator is full of what looks like butter?

Continue reading "flat ridin' miata" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:38 PM | Permalink

Here's some pics of the late Sparky.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pearlfootprints/472347415/
Dreya got sandwiched between a pair of SUVs... hit in back and pushed forward.
She seems OK, just a little sore still.

That happened about 2 weeks ago.

I guess some other blogable stuff happened... I just keep thinking about that.
So, what else...
worked on the 'bird...
duckapus is done... back feet and spade tail attached...
... G's dragon is repaired and returned.
Brian's truck is here for more work (Truckasaurus).
And other stuff going on that might get posted...... Pantera, Cougar....

OH!
I was out at Robin's last week to do a clutch on one of the CRXs in her fleet. I don't care to work in dirt, but that's all she's got. I guess i'm spoiled. This wasn't just any dirt though, it was genuine tiger manure (~10yrs old). Best dirt ever. Really. It made me want to plant stuff.

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:45 AM | Permalink

I can't imagine why this truck blew a head gasket.

Continue reading "Chocolate!" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:31 PM | Permalink

That's plural ;-)
This is the 3rd 2006 Miata I've had in for lowering springs. This one was black, and the springs were from MAZDASPEED^TM instead of EIBACH^TM, and were red.

Dave was right pleasant to have around. He even let me drill two holes in his trunk for his new cargo net.

And he took the old springs away, as i already have 2 full sets (8 springs) to make something out of... but what?

Actually this is the 4th newish Miata i've worked on. Eric's Dad's needed an O2 sensor. I guess I never posted about it. I took out the front driver's seat to get a better angle on the wires. Kids these days... I mean Kars... nevermind.
I think it was a tad older than these 06s though, before they changed the body again.

Dave took some pics of today's project. Maybe he'll send them to me.
This time I'll host them here.
I found out Steve's red Miata picture links are expired :-(

Bonus belated Easter Pic

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:37 PM | Permalink

I did some work to Carlota's GTX today... clutch and front brakes.
couple pics...

redGTX

burninated clutch

Posted by Scott Korb at 8:36 PM | Permalink

transmission came in. Lewis and i worked on the truck all day Wednesday, and now it's done.
done-d-d-done-d-d-done-done-done (think William Tell Overture).

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:45 AM | Permalink

It was really bugging me that I didn't know why the master cylinder on the C10 was acting abnormally. I wanted to know why.

I put a tie-rod end and sleeve on the truck, and then did an inspection on the master cylinder. I found the problem.
continue to find a representative image of what I found on this new/rebuilt master cylinder. click for bigger.

Continue reading "OCD" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 2:08 PM | Permalink

More work on the C10. I replaced the LF wheel bearings. They looked a little burnt and felt a little rough. Right ones are worse. They're next.
I replaced the LF brake hose because it appeared to be holding pressure to the brake. Well, there was still some residual pressure. I thought maybe defective hose (it happens). After waayyy too much time trying to decide that the master cylinder actually was defying physical laws, I stuck a known good one on there I had laying around.

Son of a pink bottomed monkey.
Defective master cylinder in a way i've never seen.
20,000 brake inspections and this is the first one I found holding pressure like this.
(no residual valve, push-rod adjustment fine... for those in the know)

So there's still a few hours of light. Enough time to tackle the RF bearings, brake hose, and RF upper ball joint. I took pics of the ball joint. after jump.

Continue reading "frisky dingo" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:39 PM | Permalink

Actually, we haven't even begun Lewis' truck's transmission. It didn't get delivered.

Instead we looked at his Volvo yesterday. It's been running badly... misfire. It has many miles. like over 200K. I was afraid the valve timing was off, and that the timing belt had slipped. But it turned out the timing marks were just misleading me. The 2-piece crankshaft pulley had separated, allowing the two parts to spin independently of each other, so it appeared to me that the timing was way off. He's ordering a new pulley. It will ensure his timing marks are set correctly, his accessories spin at the correct speed, and since this pulley also doubles as a dampener for engine harmonic vibrations, we will assume the new one will compensate nearly as well as the original used to.

So the timing and the pulley were not the cause of the misfire. He had replaced ignition parts... plugs/wires/cap/rotor. We checked engine compression. It was more than fine. Lewis pointed out that it sounded like it had a vacuum leak. That turned out to be the problem. We installed a new intake manifold gasket and it runs much better. In fact it runs comparatively magnificently. Whoo-hoo!

Hopefully the truck trans will be in soon. In the meantime he picked up some other parts for the truck which i will install maybe today or soon. It has a loose upper ball joint and some other bad parts.

Continue reading "end transmission" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:19 AM | Permalink

Lewis left me with his red C10 diesel pickup. We installed a used transmission some months ago. It failed... lost overdrive i think. He's supposed to have a remanufactured trans w/ warranty delivered today.

In the meantime, he asked me to check out the front suspension and fix a leaking freeze plug. It has the aftermarket expandable plugs, which are fine except one needs tightened up... it happens to be located behind a motor mount bracket. I got to use the engine hoist. pics after the jump.

I noticed that his steering belt was also loose.... and it was missing a bolt... and a brace. WTF? I'll have to recheck Geneva's truck to make sure she isn't missing the lower brace too. But I don't remember it not being there ;) Apparently this P/S system is prone to losing parts... or having parts lost. I know 3 people with these 6.2 diesel chevys, and all 3 have/had P/S issues with missing or wrong bolts, and at least two missing the same brace.

Continue reading "diesel madness" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 4:02 PM | Permalink

I've been reminded that people name their vehicles. Sean still names his. I just worked on Sparky. And of course there is Mr. Hankey. I grew up with named vehicles. I guess being a mechanic has bittered me. My bird was once named. I s'pose it still is... firechicken, chickencoupe, fireturd... the Pontiac.... The "it's not a camaro"...

So Brian's truck is
TRUCKASAURUS
SUNDAY,SUNDAY,SUNDAY
...also saturday
or maybe only Brian's day off...

So anyhowl, I got all the P/S fixed. Sort of. I put a rebuilt pump on it and fixed or replaced all the missing/broken fragments.
It has a hydroboost brake booster which runs off the power steering... typical deisel stuff. The pressure defers to it and it's s'posed to have a reserve. The reserve don't work too good. It needs a new brake booster.
It also has transmission shifting abnormalities.
This may be delt with in later posts.
For now, Truckasaurus' basic power steering broken parts are no longer broken.

BTW, I'm getting the final replacement pieces for the OHChickencoupe's 'performance cam' this week I'm told. I might post about it if it dosn't break this time. The seat-in procedure is revised... @ more $$$$ for every oil change forever. Crap. It's a zinc thing. i guess EPA frowns on zinc now.

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:53 AM | Permalink

Posted by Scott Korb at 1:40 PM | Permalink

I found a civic wagon at the salvage yard and told Antny about it. He rushed right down to buy a headlight bezel. It had a broken piece, but we fixed it with what was left of the bezel on his car.
If they didn't want so much for the hood and fender, i'd pick them up too. Someday this car will be mine :-D

Posted by Scott Korb at 1:51 PM | Permalink

I went to the salvage yard yesterday. They didn't have any diesel pickups, but they did have some diesel vans. The bracket(s) I needed looked the same... turns out they aren't. The pump is even slightly different.

I went to the Chevy dealership and ordered the missing bracket brace, and figured i could repair the broken pieces.
broken brackets
fixed brackets

The brace won't be in for a while. The part was discontinued from GM, but there's a company which buys all the leftover stock GM wants to junk, and they had one. It's still coming from the GM dealership. It's just a little 'S' curve brace that's missing... caused all sorts of problems. And of course, I also found an SAE bolt in a metric hole, an offsize nut, a replaced generic nut, and another missing bolt. The diesel at the junkyard had a missing bracket bolt too, but otherwise looked mostly untouched.

I started to put it back together and realized i forgot to pull the pulley to check out that missing bolt behind it... D'oh. Take it back apart tomorrow. Brace wont be in until next week anyway.

I guess i could just leave it out... it's just one bolt ;)

Posted by Scott Korb at 5:19 PM | Permalink

click.it
Remember Brian's truck?

It's got some power steering problems.
One of the pump brackets is missing, and another is broken... probably because one was missing.
It would be nice if i could've seen the future, but who looks for a missing bracket? Not me.
especially when everything is covered in grime... ick.
For the record, i do not work on diesel engines.

There's a steering fluid leak. I noticed that when i did the shocks last time. Grime was everywhere.
"I can fix that" said i back then.
little did i know what i would get myself into.

There's a missing bolt (besides the missing bracket's bolts) which disturbs me. This bolt can only be accessed when the pump's pulley is removed with a special puller. Why the heck is it missing? Either it snapped off due to the missing bracket causing vibrations enough to do so, or it wasn't installed... by someone... someone who also forgot a bracket(?).

In times past I once pursuaded Sean to purchase a power steering pump pulley puller for a previous pursuit. Hooray! It's a practical piece, but pricey. On this particular pickup I have to pull the pump in order to pull the pulley with this pricey pulley puller, then peruse the pump to probe the pocket where that missing pin plants. Is it just not present or is it pulverized?

excuse me, i'll be back in a minute.

I'm back.
WTF is up with these diesels and their missing accessory bracket bolts? Geneva was missing some too. But at least all her brackets were there. If i can't find the parts at a salvage yard i'll have to ask her to let me look at hers again so i can copy it. And i'll have to weld Brian's broken bracket... blast!

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:46 AM | Permalink

i looked at an '02 mazda 626 today.
It has 71xxx miles but is overheating and has a misfire.
Both the front wheel bearings are loudly roaring.
The LF engine splash shield is missing.

Carfax OK'd this car a few years ago. It's been mostly fine until now i'm told... at least about the overheating and misfire. It needed a battery a while back.. decent car.

Logic and gut tell me it may have a bad head gasket due to the symptoms. Specs, age, and mileage tell me it should be something else. If only the symptoms would agree....

I fixed the misfire i think. Time will tell. Plugs @ 60K are recommended. I replaced the chewed up 'fan' belts too.

The coolant loss symptoms point to head gasket, but they don't scream it. I like it when they scream.

Coolant loss seems to be only coming from the cap releasing pressure... but it seems to build pressure prematurely.
It has slightly low compression in the left bank, specifically the center cylinder there. That cylinder had a VERY difficult to remove spark plug... like it was extra corroded.
"Technically" the comparative compression between the six cylinders is OK... within 15% of each other.... but the right bank is nearly dead equal between the three, and the left bank is lower, with the center cylinder reading lowest.... It's right on the line... 15% exactly.
I wouldn't bet my life on it being a head gasket, but I'd bet on it. I wouldn't bet on anything else unless someone gave me a good enough reason.

Sean came home.
I presented it to him 'cause he's real smart.
"I looked at this car. When it came in, the temp gauge didn't read hot, but it was bubblin' from the cap, and the cap fits and tests good."
"head gasket" said he.
Then i presented the age/mileage and lack of conclusive evidence (and trying to avoid the inevitable), and he hemmed and hawed like i, but still leans towards head gasket. We like it when they scream.

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:32 PM | Permalink

I went to inspect and repack the rear wheel bearings on Dreya's Lebaron the other day. The right outer bearing showed signs of wear so we replaced it. The outer race was gray and striped (precursor to pitting) and the bearing cage was rustified.
The left rear had a lot of play (loose) which i attributed to adjustment. The bearings looked OK, but then i realized the inner race was spinning in the hub. I can't get the looseness out of the bearings w/o replacing the hub. It's been like that for a while and the bearings still look good, so i don't think it's a saftey concern yet, but it can still cause tire wear problems. I'm looking out for an inexpensive used hub for it. It may be the cause of the rumbly noise i hear sometimes. The track bar had a loose bolt too. i tightened it.

Posted by Scott Korb at 8:04 PM | Permalink

my neck is red.
my face is brownish red.
my left arm is tan and freckled.
the rest of me is still pretty pasty.
and i lost my beard somewhere.

the corvette is done! Yayyy!

i had to do a lot of work to get the runout to less than .005" on the rotors, and i had issues with seized front line fittings, a hose leak, and forgetting to adjust the parking brake shoes, but it's done! DONE!

tomorrow i pick up sean from the airport... in Miami... before the superbowl.
I still need to change the oil on his lincoln. It tells me so when i drive it to roy's house to work on the 'vette. Today it also told me the fuel was low. I knew that. I guess I need to change the oil and add fuel tomorrow before i leave. Yuck.

oh, BTW, in my previous entry i said "I've ben working on this car since tuesday." That's not right. The parts came in tuesday. I started work wednesday after diagnosing and ordering parts sunday. It just seems like it ben longer ;)

stay warm

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:05 PM | Permalink

This 'vette is kickin' my ass.
Where's Mark Hamill when you need him?

I spent most of the day drilling out rotor rivets.
I've ben working on this car since tuesday.
I wish i had my shop press.
and some other stuff.
I still have one wheel to finish.
Plus i have to go around and make sure the rotor runout is in spec for all 4 wheels.
Ugh.

but at least i got to smack myself in the knee with an 8oz hammer.
Wheeee!
i mean ow.

The parts from VB&P are very shiny. Sorry, no pics.
it is a white 1977 corvette.
It had 3 leaking calipers and the rear rotors were junk.
We are doing all 4 rotors, calipers, master cylinder, hoses, and rear steel lines.
The VB&P caliper seals are redesigned to help prevent future leaks, and their cylinders are stainless sleeved to prevent rust.

I also saved Roy's snail. He didn't know he had a snail. O.Gogh (the snail) was living on the left rear brake, trying to grow his shell back after it cracked the last time the car moved. He now lives in a shrubbery. Oscar is about the diameter of a dollar (Sacagawea or Susan B.)

booo ;)
i just call him Ogo.

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:41 PM | Permalink

Here I am in sunny and 77 south florida. Sean is in belize. I'm warm, he's warmer. You are cold. Wear a sweater.... a sweaterr..... (ghostly homer/hamlet Sr.)

We got here Thursday night when it was only 50* and cloudy, but it got better. There is supposed to be another "cold snap" though. HA!

Friday Sean left for Belize, and i fixed the stereo in mom's civic, found a blinker and stop lamp out, and shorted out her tail lights. ooops. Saturday i fixed all of that and talked to Roy (mom's assistant's boyfriend) about his 1977 corvette. I forgot my camera.

Continue reading "And I do mean South" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:53 PM | Permalink

I put the new steering box and pitman on G's truck today.
If you check the pic after the jump, you can see the difference in the angle of the pitman.
Both boxes are near exact on center, but the one on the left has the pitman arm off by several degrees. There is a reference mark on the input splines (bottom on pic). Also the new pitman looks like it might squiggle over a little more than the other (new) pitman. I didn't notice that until looking at the pic.

These vehicles are designed by engineers, modified by bean counters, and assembled by robot monkeys, so the system is pretty much foolproof. The pitman only goes on one way, the steering coupler/column only goes on one way. Ta-da. Straight wheel, centered box.
The new pitman on the other box didn't even fit on all the way. I was right about the variable ratio box. She had one. Now she has a regular one, so now new parts 'should' always fit ;)
(monotone: New Parts Always Fit And Are Never Defective.)

The steering still doesn't feel quite right to me. It might just be my paranoid imagination, so I'd like to check it against a similar truck, like G's husband's :)
I quadruple checked the front end parts and still see nothing loose. Remember I was ASE certified for 10yrs and have 15yrs exp. The only thing i thought I saw was some frame flex. I don't think it's normal, but I could be wrong. There is a crossmember below the radiator which I can see bow slightly as the steering turns back/forth. I tried to check for cracks in the frame, but I don't have a lift to get a really good look. It's prob'ly just me being paranoid anyway. If the frame checks out fine, maybe we'll put a steering dampener on it.

Continue reading "G's truck" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:40 PM | Permalink

I helped vern pick up a 1969 mercury Marauder X100 today.
Here are the pics as they appeared on craigslist:

Continue reading "marauder" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:11 PM | Permalink

No, not ball joints.
This is mostly tech stuff, and kinda long, so don't jump if you're just looking for pics
this is the only one :)

Continue reading "ball joints?" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 4:33 PM | Permalink

Continue reading "al's jeep" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 1:58 PM | Permalink

Behold the mighty blue Chevy!

Continue reading "cavalier" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 4:56 PM | Permalink

Sean and Carlota went down to Florida for the race.
Sean was sans vehicle when he left.

The 323 was uncooperative.
We worked our butts off.
He halfheartedly tried to start the Suprang, but it looks like the coil went bad while sitting.

The 323, after enjoying us doing 4 days work in a day, decided to have no spark, and a shifting problem.

The no-spark seems to have healed itself now.
I think the ECU is based on one of Bill Gates ideas from the early 80's.
As long as all wires are connected overnight, w/o being disconnected/reconnected after trying to start... it then starts and runs fine.
The IGN Coil negative wire goes from a full 5V to properly grounded overnight. Go figure.
According to the wiring diagram Sean bought for his car, the only possible power source I can see to this wire with the IGN key off is from the ECU. The current flow normally goes the other way.
Once it decides it prefers the ground, it runs fine.

So I guess it's opposite from BillyG's. You have to leave it hooked up. Draining out the electrons and re-booting has a depressing effect. Try/fail and let it go into sleep mode for a few hours and it's fine. Maybe it's MAC based ;)

Now i also remember that this thing was blowing IGN fuses when we first got it, then suddenly quit that. WTF?

not sure on the shifting problem yet. maybe got water in the trans while washing... (hope).

other than that, i went out to Chatham County today to work on the brakes of a couple Hondas. Dogs, cats, and chickens took interest, and it looks like the Firebird is getting close to 20mpg hwy. Wow (for a 1968 musclecar).

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:12 PM | Permalink

I don't know if the 323 is gonna be ready for the race this weekend.
We've been kinda busy, and Sean still wants to get some painting done.
Plus, the new steering knuckle and inner tie rod were only just sent out today via US post.
Sean leaves Thursday morning, with or without the Mazda.

We can get by without the knuckle and rod I think.
I worked on the frame some today.
It broke my 4ton 'portapower' hydraulic ram. What a mess.

I bought a 10ton.
View image

Continue reading "323 frame" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 6:31 PM | Permalink

I went to the demo-derby last night.
State fairs make me feel icky.
Heck, most things make me feel icky.
Cars crashing on purpose is cool though.

Unfortunately, Vern's cars weren't in the events last night as promised. They were changed to the 2pm heat today. I didn't go. I hope Sean has pics.

I went out to Cary to change Carlota's ignition switch in her Mazda 323. and i forgot to bring my camera.
Last time she put her key in, the switch stuck in the 'on' position, and held her key hostage.

Her new keys say Ford on them... sigh.
I've done a few of these on the Escorts, so at least I remembered to bring my drill.
BTW, just to clarify, her AWD TURBO car is way cooler than any Escort, even if they do share a lot of parts.

Now that it starts again, she can drive it down to Gainsville and the GRM $2006 challenge race next weekend.

I just remembered.... I think it's s'posed to be illegal to work on cars in Cary (except auto shops of course).
I'm livin' on the edge baby!

Posted by Scott Korb at 5:18 PM | Permalink

The Mazda truck is all done and gone.
It has a bit of a stumbly fuel issue sometimes at warmed idle, but it drives well.
A rebuilt engine does not a new truck make :(

I'm hoping it'll clear up with some new gas and maybe some fuel system cleaner.
It might need a new "idle air control" valve.
I replaced the fuel filter, and some of the sensors which tell the computer when/how much fuel it needs, but there's still old parts. I love it when a plan comes together.

update: Soon after this it stalls sometimes. EGR solenoid went bad-new parts and old parts synchronizing I guess. Solenoid fixed it. No more stumble.

Anyway, today i got to do a wheel bearing on Mr. Hanky.

Continue reading "Mr. Hanky" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:11 PM | Permalink

boring.
i just got done with the first test drive of the mazda truck. It drives like the ford ranger it is.
hooray.

I worked on it about 12hrs today. I'm all icky all over.
I saw Sean off to work this morning, and was almost done when he got home.

Here's a pic from this morning of the engine's bottom end. I attached most of the top end parts, and flipped it over to put on the oil pump, pump screen, and pan.
View image

This afternoon i plopped the engine in place, and set about finishing the job.
View image
In this pic i have the heater hoses backwards... d'oh! It didn't take long to figure that one out.

By the time Sean got home from work, i was about ready to start it, and seat in the new camshaft. I ate first :)
After running about 1/2hr per the instructions, Sean helped me put the hood on. I got the shifter on and a few other things while the cam was seating.

I have to drive it around some more tomorrow, and change the oil again. I'll take a few pics of it as its finished product, if I feel up to it.

Posted by Scott Korb at 8:14 PM | Permalink

It was too wet to do much on the truck today. i didn't want any water in the new engine, and even with a tent it was unsatisfactorily wet out there.
Tomorrow I'll try to get an early start and get as much done as possible.

Today I tried cleaning out the oil pan and valve cover. The pan still needs some work. Ick.

i stopped at the parts store and got the rest of the new parts I'll need (hope that's all anyway). Most of these were required by the engine builder to be replaced in order to keep the warranty. Some were just bad or in poor condition.
I got quality name brand parts where I could. "Duralast" is autozone's housebrand, and I've found it usually of equal or superior quality to "carquest" and "napa" house brand in most instances. A lot of duralast parts look like they're actually ACDELCO parts reboxed.

Posted by Scott Korb at 4:44 PM | Permalink

i never thought I'd see flowing engine oil stand still enough to catch on film.
Remember the movie "The Blob"?
I tried to drain the oil, and figured either it already had been done, or it had run dry. None came out.

lo and behold, off comes the pan, and there's about a quart of blob in the pan.
View image

I got the rest of the parts off the old engine, swapped a few to the new one, and took the old core back for credit to order all the other new stuff required. View image

Sean and I leave for Iowa tomorrow and come back Mondy evening I think. I hope to have another post Tuesday with the truck almost ready to roll.

Posted by Scott Korb at 6:42 PM | Permalink

I got most of the parts off the old engine.
I like pickups because there's plenty of room to put stuff.

I got the valve cover off and decided i wanted to try to see how bad off this cam is.
The odometer has over 200,000 miles on it.

Using a 4lb sledge, I forced the cam forwards far enough to pop it from its journals and see the wiped out journal and bearing.
There's a lot of sludge in here too. I imagine the rest of the engine isn't far behind this wiped cam.

anyway, pics after the jump.

Continue reading "B2300" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 5:43 PM | Permalink

In this corner, weighing in at over a ton......
errr

This poor truck has a seized camshaft and some other problems looking related to overheating and/or oil starvation. I don't really know the story.
I ordered a rebuilt engine today at the request of the owner.
It should be here sometime Thursday.

Sean and I are going to Iowa this weekend (fri-mon).

I hope to have this truck done early to mid next week.

Continue reading "94 B2300" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 6:17 PM | Permalink

I finally got done with the Mazda pickup.

Now I get to work on the Mazda pickup.

Continue reading "Mazda hiccup" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 5:23 PM | Permalink

Ant and I went to the salvage yard today to look for a trans.

It's a U-Pull-It yard.
$2/per to get in.
No phone info.
Little other info.

We lucked out that they had a special on transmissions today.
me and Ant wandered for a long time.

No trans to be found, save one i could put my foot through from a crumply-round truck.
Lots of vehicles with missing transmissions though.

Ant also looked for a Plenum Snorkel for his Celica. lots of Celicas. All red. None compatible.

All in all I made out OK, but will always feel guilty for it.
A Fellow Dumbass left his 13mm snap-on wrench and a special pencil on one of the Fords.
I feel compelled to hold these items until the owner can claim them.

P.S. if F.Dumbass is reading, you may reclaim them,
But
you have to come get them, offer proof, and either
share beer,
relieve guilt, or offer a curse
(curse option is for gypsies only- i prefer beer).

Posted by Scott Korb at 2:00 AM | Permalink

It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly, a shot rang out! A door slammed. The maid screamed. Suddenly, a pirate ship appeared on the horizon!
My companion, a yellow canary, flitted about drunkenly.
The Red Baron, ignoring the pirates, insisted on riddling my doghouse with holes, as is his way.

Ooops.

It's almost 1:00AM on Friday. I have to redo the B2500 tomorrow.
This vehicle is mostly a Ford Ranger. I can't find anything Mazda about it except the upper ball joints are designed as slightly more serviceable. I documented B.joints on it a while back.

Continue reading "B2500" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:39 AM | Permalink

The Honda Del Sol is pretty cool. It's like a civic, except only 2 seats, and sportier. I guess it's a little sportier than the CRX which it replaced. BTW, if you can get your hands on a CRX HF, they get 50+mpg. HF is for High Fuel economy. They're also plenty torquey.
This 94 model Del Sol has a removable roof, and the rear windscreen rolls down. It belongs to my sister's neighbor Justin (I documented a clutch on his Hyundai a while back). He called Wednesday morning.
Wednesday afternoon Sean O. stopped by with his Mazda B2500. I worked on that all day today too. Thought done-not done. I'll relay that tale when it is done.

For now, be content with Justin's Honda.

Continue reading "del-sol" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:21 PM | Permalink

She's going back to Florida tomorrow :(

Good thing i got her car done ;)

DONE1.JPG
DONE2.JPG

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:07 PM | Permalink

It's not done yet, but we started it.
Antny helped a lot.
About 6pm I forgot how nuts & bolts worked. I had also forgotten to eat until just before that.
We're breaking until tomorrow, and going to eat Antny's birthday cake.

pics below

Continue reading "civic reborn" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:53 PM | Permalink

The Mazda runs... barely. The fuel system is full of tar from old gasoline. I didn't say it runs well.
The ant infestation seems to be dissapating though.
It has a two part fuel tank for balance, and thus 2 fuel pumps. Ugh.
The main tank has old gas.
The secondary tank fuel appears even older... cloudy, and mixed with solvent... or some sort of injector cleaner which never made it to the main tank. The transfer pump is inoperable at this time.

Even so, somehow the 323 has earned an exhalted space in the garage, displacing the Pantera.
I can think of quite a few reasons why it's in there actually.
I just feel bad that the Pantera is outside braving the piercing trees, plagues of birds, cats, squirrels, and of course, the recently arising daubers looking for a home.
----------------------------------------------

Continue reading "Mom's Civic" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:57 AM | Permalink

Andrew's radiator popped in his Camry.
We just put it in last November.
It's not supposed to pop.
In fact, the radiator cap is supposed to relieve pressure before it builds up enough to pop the radiator.
The cap was also put on in November.

I went out there today to look... emergency housecall. I'm not sure yet why it popped. The top tank separated from the core.
He's going to try to bring it by tomorrow for some testing. In the meantime, it seems to be running cool now and not leaking. I carefully pushed the top tank seal back in place, and maneuvered the metal core lip back over the plastic tank to hold it in place. It appears to be holding. Looks fine now.
The radiator has a lifetime warranty, so we'll be replacing it for free. Hopefully it will make it at least long enough to get it here from Durham.
I need to find out why so much pressure built up, and try to make sure it never happens again.

Posted by Scott Korb at 2:24 PM | Permalink

Pher and i changed her clutch today.
93 Nissan pickup 4cy.
Pher took lots of pics.

Continue reading "slippy" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:58 PM | Permalink

now I have 2 boxes of OE Miata springs.
weee
8 coil springs.

I guess i should make something out of them.

Bryan's 06 Miata is white. Otherwise it looks very much like Steve's. No pic.

Posted by Scott Korb at 2:16 PM | Permalink

Lewis and Geneva came by today with their 1983 C10. This one is also a diesel, like her other truck, and it also has an overdrive transmission... which is slipping and skipping.
We drove it around some, and checked out an oil leak. They fed me lunch at Mojoe's :)
We also changed the oil sending unit (gauge read way high).
Lewis is looking into replacement transmissions.
He's done a ton of work to this truck since they got it.

Pher's Nissan truck's clutch is going out, so I might do that soon.
Wednesday I'm doing more lowering springs on another new Miata.

Mom's visiting in a couple weeks. I get to re-seal the engine in her Honda (rear main+).

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:54 AM | Permalink

I've seen worse.
These two pictures are of valve cover gaskets.
The first pic is of a new gasket, fresh out of box.
The 2nd pic is of one that's old and brittle... and leaking.
At least it came out of the cover in one piece. I didn't have to chisel it out.

Hopefully this will take care of my sister Edith's oil leak problems.
Posing in the pictures is Antny, Edith's man.
If you can't see him, click on the pic.

Continue reading "rubber or plastic?" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:36 AM | Permalink

Vic came over with volvo problems.
The 'check engine' light was on, and the 'upshift' light was flashing... weird because it has an automatic transmission.
It had given her some acceleration problems, which seemed to have gone away... maybe bad gas?

Anyway, both lights went off after I disconnected/reconnected the battery. It ran and shifted fine. The trans fluid looks like it needs changed.

The engine light came on again.

I got to use Sean's OBDII tester, which his friend made. It didn't work well on the Volvo. It wont work at all on Fords. It works well on many other cars though.
On this Volvo, the code would clear itself before I could scroll down to find out what was causing it. The tester was showing eratic readings. After clearing the code a few times with the tester though, the light quit coming back.

So I don't know why it was lit. prob'ly a misfire code.
If it comes back on, i told her to go to Autozone where they have a more reliable tester.
They can tell her the code, and then i can try to figure out why it set.
They wouldn't test it before because it's pre 96, and so they assume their tester wont hook up to the diagnostic link.
I told her to correct them, or tell them it's a 96 until they get the tester plugged in.

In 1996 the On Board Diagnostic link was made uniform for all cars, mandatory (OBD II). Volvo started in 1994. Victoria's is a 95.

Continue reading "volvocar" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 4:46 PM | Permalink

Many years ago I traveled to New Orleans to put struts on my sister's Toyota. It was a difficult job, and the spring compressor I brought with me wasn't up to the task.

Toyota struts are unlike most others. They make you line up a notch in the rod with the upper seat. This is difficult to get right even with the right compressor. It's not enough to compress the spring enough to get the threads of the nut on. One must compress it enough to get the whole shaft through, and line up the notches. what a bitch.

Back then, Antny and I paid a visit to the local Midas shop, who let me use their Branick strut compressor. I thought it all worked out fine. I was wrong.

Continue reading "The Toyota Saga." »

Posted by Scott Korb at 3:36 PM | Permalink

I made the Celica's fuel gauge work.

Continue reading "fuel gauge" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:11 PM | Permalink

Hendrik and his Bug
they had a loose steering rod
mechanic make well

Continue reading "bugku" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:39 PM | Permalink

I happened across a local looking for a brake job.
Migel came over with his ford focus.

The brakes are OK to drive on, but sounded like a bus. They could use some work, but not absolutely necessary. I gave him the choice. He might come back for them.

I did change his spark plugs and wires for him. The engine light went off. Hope it stays off.

Continue reading "Freitag" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 8:20 PM | Permalink

I finally got my new strut compressor. It's not as nice as a Branick, but cheaper. It's not as easy to use as a clamshell compressor, but it looks a little more Heavy McDuty, and should work on more struts, like the ones on my sister's Celica. Someday I'll prob'ly get a good clamshell too.

So this spring compressor came from harborfreight tools. The box was beat to hell by fedex, but at least it came partially assembled... and they only stripped out one bolt... one that has to come out all the time for height adjustment.

pic links follow

Continue reading "New spring compressor" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 3:19 PM | Permalink

steve sent me a link to his photos of the spring install i did last saturday.

Continue reading "miata springs" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 9:42 AM | Permalink

exhaust parts came in early.
pic is of old system next to new one.
old system was patched in several places, making it all one piece, now broken and clattering.
new system consits of a muffler assembly (rear) and a resonator pipe (center), behind the catalytic converter still on car.
both pieces carry a lifetime warranty through Walker, sold thru advance auto.
add 2 gaskets and a bolt kit, and voila, quiet car, new cat-back.
yippee.

Continue reading "'zoss" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 8:57 PM | Permalink

I've got a honda accord, 1997, sitting here.
I put an axle on it this morning, and may be doing some exhaust/muffler work tomorrow.

I hope the exhaust parts fit. The first axle they gave me was wrong. They pulled the wrong part ...LH axle, Auto trans. This needed the RH axle, and has a manual trans. Way off.
The 2nd axle they gave me was boxed wrong. This car has no antilock brakes. The axle had an antilock exciter ring.
3rd axle was correct, so i took its picture ;)

Continue reading "another honda" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:45 PM | Permalink

I had a wonderful time at the Grillage in the Village today (yesterday?) We got there about 3 or 4 in the afternoon and stayed past 10pm. I got to use GrillZilla and eat cow :) Edith made yummy beans, and a great time was had by all. I even got to try the rope swing.

Before we (Edith, Antny, and I) headed out there, I worked on a couple of cars.

Continue reading "dear dairy" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 3:31 AM | Permalink

geo's done!!
YAAYYY!!!

the starter was shipped from Salt Lake City, and finally arrived today. It cranks wonderfully, and i drove it around awhile to get the engine hot, let it sit and heat soak, and it still cranks wonderfully... like it ought to...
unlike the last starter which apparently was thrown together in a mexican sweat shop.
I still can't remember the last starter's brand... it was like 'accu-spin' or something equally uncomfortable.

Continue reading "bosch starter" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 3:58 PM | Permalink

A co-worker of Sean's had been having some problems with his Taurus. The check engine light was on due to a misfire, and it was running quite roughly, so he brought it over for plugs and plug wires. I also changed the fuel filter. It runs much more smoothly, and after disconnecting/reconnecting the battery, the engine light shut off. I wanted to clear the codes with Sean's OBDII tester, but it wont communicate with Fords for some reason.

Anyway, here's 2 pics of the engine. The front 3 spark plugs were easy to get to. The rear 3 you can't see, and were a bit of a pain.

Posted by Scott Korb at 5:56 PM | Permalink

My sister's neighbor Justin wanted a new clutch in his Hyundai. While in there he had me put in a new rear main seal. The clutch was just about to the rivets.

Continue reading "FWD clutch" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:24 PM | Permalink

Defective starter. That's like 4 in the past couple years on different vehicles.

So I managed to turn the Geo's cold-start problem into a hot-start problem with a rmfg. starter. When it heat soaks, it just goes "click". I checked the connections and it still did it.

If I can catch Carquest before they restock, they have to give me back my money for it. No one else has one in stock, which could work to my advantage. I can order a BOSCH reman. instead of relying on whatever the 'brand of the day' is. Hopefully the Bosch starter will be more reliable.

I managed to find this out just before Phil&Robena were about to come pick up the car. Paying for a car to be fixed and having it still be broken is no fun for anyone involved.

I found out the Geo had a problem with the rear passenger door not opening, so i fixed that too. When I talked to Phil about it, i didn't know if it was possible for me w/o cutting the panel to get to it, but I managed to loosen the hinges and move the door out just enough to get the interior panel off and fix the stuck lock.

Anyway, the Geo will probably now be completely immobile for a few days while i wait for a starter, as I'll temporarily have no starter at all for it once i return the defective unit.
I'm moving it to my sister's driveway for that. Sean needs to be able to move the van, and i need some room to do the Hyundai clutch... which BTW was postponed until Saturday.

Sean's Cougar runs great. It sounds a little different with the new cam, and the power band is noticeably different. It popped the front oil gasket under the intake on the first hard accell. I'll have to fix that. The chrome water outlet is also leaking. Anyone owning one can attest to the "ooh it's chrome!... oops it's a piece of crap." syndrome. Both leaks are right above the timing cover in the front. Not too hard to repair once I/he/we get around to it.

Continue reading "Geo not done again" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:11 PM | Permalink

Geo's still done ;)
I parked it in the shade and started it early morning after sitting a day. Starts fine.

I sent off a couple parts for the Firebird to be rebuilt. If you recall it had low compression in #4 due to a leaky/sticky intake valve. Not sure the exact cause yet as the head needs to come off to find out. It runs fine, so i want a better head to just swap out when i remove this one to inspect. I'm sending off a higher compression head to be redone as a high performance unit to swap out. Also sent off a camshaft to be reground for higher performance and matched to valves. It should bring my engine closer to stock 1968 performance or better on today's pump gas, given the other modifications done.

Continue reading "still done" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 4:54 PM | Permalink

geo's done. i think.

sister's celica makes a loud noise from the right front sometimes.

Continue reading "6-10-06 saturday" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 4:29 PM | Permalink

Continue reading "fri, 6/9" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:19 PM | Permalink

still no luck on the GEO. tomorrow i hope to have better luck w/ some literature.

I had the tire swapped on the honda so the rim i got from the junkman now has the other tire back on it. I put the salvage yard tire in the trunk because it's not in too bad of shape.
It turns out the tire that was on the no-fittin' rim has some wobble now, and some edge wear. It could be from being on a rim that didn't fit the car right. Plus i found out that the rim which was on the left front has some runout. it took alot of balance weights. Those wheels are both on the rear now.

I was going to do lower ball joints on my sister's car, but didn't find the time. Maybe this weekend.

Continue reading "thurs, june 8" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 6:53 PM | Permalink

well, the junkman is supposed to come back today to give me my $ back on the dizzy. They don't have another one.

Continue reading "more geo" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:50 AM | Permalink

junkman took all the junk. YAYY!!

camry relay he brought was the wrong one.
honda wheel was correct, and came with a good tire.
honda's done, though it would be nice to put the matching tire on, and have them all balanced.

The Geo dizzy he brought has weak and intermittant spark. bleah. They're bringing me another one tomorrow. I hope it's better.

Posted by Scott Korb at 5:30 PM | Permalink

Salvage yard delivery.
He's bringing a wheel for the Honda, and some other stuff.
Maybe he'll take away some of the other junk here.
pics.

Continue reading "the junkman cometh" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:17 AM | Permalink

Geo
No spark, spark-start.
One second.

Starts right up for me. That's typical. I'm a mechanic. Of course it'll behave better around me.
Still, at least I had the spark tester hooked up. Prob'ly bad ign. module.

I guess I'll try to scrub all the oil off of the transmission, and look for the leak.
and look for a Honda Civic wheel.
and call Robena later (it's too early. need coffee)

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:34 AM | Permalink

It all started when i woke up... seems to be a rut I'm in ;)

The Geo was supposed to be hard to start. I figured because i was looking at it that it would, of course, start right up. About 9:30 I hooked up a spark tester to it and tried to start. It cranked about 1 sec with no spark, sparked and almost started... no spark, sparked and started. This all took less than 5 seconds. I tried again, and it cranked about 1 sec with no spark, sparked and started right up. WTF?

Read on.. and on.

Continue reading "another long day, long ramble" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:16 PM | Permalink

worked on G's Honda some more today.
Phil&Robena dropped off their Geo.
Sean went out to work on someone's 72 BMW R75

Continue reading "sunday, 04/06" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 9:00 PM | Permalink

i did the brakes on G's honda today. new ft pads, rotors, new rear cylinders.
It stops much more smoothly, but when it's real quiet out, and i have the windows up, I think i can hear a rotor or drum 'walking'... kind of a creaking as it walks in and out while stopping. At high speeds there is also a little shake. I'll have to get the runout gauge and check all the wheels, hubs, and brake components over.

The back left wheel isn't correct for the car, so that might be the problem. It doesn't seat against the hub. I have expressed my concern over this several times in the past, yet the wheel remains.

The old Honda of course needs struts, but most cars do, and they're not leaking. Hondas ride pretty decent even with old struts. They also wont cause a breakdown, so they're not really a concern right now. You have to pull it pretty hard around a bumpy corner to really notice them, unlike on some other cars.

Continue reading "G's honda" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 1:54 PM | Permalink

so no pics :(

I finished up the lesabre. Turns out my problem w/ passenger window was just that i bumped the master switch to 'lock'. D'oh. Thanks Steve.

I had to take out the back seat to do the rear struts. Bleah.

The lock switch just arrived, so now the power locks are all finished.

The back left window has a bad motor. Not sure if Steve wants it replaced or not. I need a break from the Buick for a little while anyway.

The stereo mysteriously healed itself when I took the dash panel out. I hope it stays that way. The dash panel was a big PITA.

I checked out all the brakes as I did the struts. They look OK, but the rears might have some issues in the coming months. Steve had requested that i inspect them.

Tonight Geneva and Lewis are coming by for dinner, and dropping off the Civic for brakes. It shakes badly while stopping.

Continue reading "forgot to buy camera batteries " »

Posted by Scott Korb at 2:58 PM | Permalink

edited again for i forgot a pic

doin' some work on Steve's Buick. I took more pics, but the camera battery died.
It's been said that when you have electrical work done, the last thing replaced was likely the only real problem. Well, I'm still waiting on the last piece for these door locks, and the rest is fixed :)

Continue reading "i hate wiring" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 8:24 PM | Permalink

Hendrik stopped by with his VW today. One of the rear brake pads had made it down to the metal.

It's fixed now :)

Posted by Scott Korb at 4:53 PM | Permalink

The blame lies with Ford on this one, and with Mazda for using it. They call it the B2500, but it's a Ford Ranger rebadged.

The brakes were thumping, the tires were wearing funny.

Continue reading "Forzda B2500 Ranger" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:05 PM | Permalink

yeah, right. That's what the guy working at NAPA today attempted to pass (in more than one way) off on Margaret when she came in with her cratered brake pads... brake pads which I installed recently. We're not buyin' that.

She had been getting some grinding noise and feeling while braking, most notably from the right side. When I took the right side pads off a small chunk of brake dust fell out into a small pile. That doesn't normally happen with disc brakes unless they've been extremely overheated... to the point where the rotors almost glow. Rotors change color after that (blue pearly usually). Her's looked fine, and cleaned up well.

Anyway, on both sides the brake pads had little craters in them. That's not really normal. I'd expect some lines, but not craters. One of the ones on the right appeared to have a hairline crack.

I think it's because I must not have bedded the pads aggressively enough last time after installing them. They were still not completely seated several weeks later when I installed the timing belt... a sure sign that she was not overheating them with her driving, and that nothing wrong in the system was causing excessive heat.

On to vaporization. My first question should have been to ask why NAPA would manufacture a brake pad that would vaporize at normal brake temperatures. Well, I knew they wouldn't, so I ask at what temperature copper vaporizes.

Continue reading "copper vaporization" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 1:28 PM | Permalink

I finished up the trailer brakes today.
1st I changed the transmission fluid on the 323. It's all done. The K10 is also all done, and gone. Brian said it drives like a completely different truck (that's a good thing).
I also stopped by the GM dealer to order the last parts for my lockup switch on the firechicken.
The parts counter attendant noticed the ASE certification patch on my sleeve
and gave me a 10% discount. Score!

Continue reading "2006-05-16 19:29:53" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:29 PM | Permalink

Got the shocks for the K10. It's all done and drives much better.
I took a pic of the rear shocks and left front pair (quad shocks).
Right front just looks like a mirror of the left, only not so much grime everywhere. The grime appears to be power steering fluid. It looks like it's coming from part of the hydroboost brake booster. It's so grimy and spread out I can't tell the exact origin.

Continue reading "shocks " »

Posted by Scott Korb at 8:20 PM | Permalink

The parts finally came in for the 323 rear brakes. I had noticed that the left rear pads seemed to be a lot thinner than the last time I checked, which was not many miles ago. The rotor was a little darker too, so i took it for a drive, and the left rear wheel was hot. The rest were not.

Continue reading "323 stuck caliper" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 5:22 PM | Permalink

I got to use another tool which has been neglected in recent years... one of my 4wd hub sockets. Today i repacked bearings, replaced a wheel stud, a steering link, and a steering stabilizer. I also taped up the exhaust, but I don't like muffler tape so there's no pic of that.

I did find an unfortunate reptile who thought that warm brakes were a good place to take a nap. It looks like maybe a silver skink, or some sort of salamander. It's not the first small animal who's made that mistake.

Continue reading "K10" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 4:33 PM | Permalink

Brian dropped off his 84 K10 last night. K designates 4WD, 10 designates 1/2Ton Chassis. It's a diesel like Geneva's, but hers is a C10 (2WD 1/2ton).
wanna see something cool? Of course you do!
click.it

Continue reading "K means 4WD?" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:07 AM | Permalink

Mr. Hankey

he has new tires and shocks/struts.
I'm becoming quite attached to this fine vehicle.

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:21 PM | Permalink

I worked on the Chevy C30 again today. The Banana (Ford Box) was out on a jobsite.

no pics. just boring, boring words.

Continue reading "more fleeting" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:07 PM | Permalink

I got to go out to Russell's business today to work on his dump truck and box van, a 1ton Chevy and a 1ton Ford, respectively. Russell graciously posed for a picture (he's the one on the right who's not a truck).

Continue reading "fleet maintenence" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 9:32 PM | Permalink

I forgot to take pics of Matthew's truck again. So I just took pictures of old parts from it.

Continue reading "F350" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 3:15 PM | Permalink

i forgot to post this pic the last time. No news is good news :)

Continue reading "rainy day. t-bird revisited" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:31 PM | Permalink

I checked out Jim-n-Pher's 98 Corolla Wednesday due to some serious road noise. I wanted to make sure the bearings were OK, and they're fine. 115,000 miles.
The tires are going bad. Especially the left rear, right rear, one of the fronts, and the other, in that order ;) Recommend new tires and 4wl alignment. I rotated them for now (so the order has changed), to see how much of a difference it made. It probably made it worse, but they're getting new tires anyway, so we left it at that.
No pics for you.

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:23 AM | Permalink

A friend of Sean's came over with a mercedes he's been working on. I guess I didn't take sufficient pics. Maybe i'm getting lazy. It has spikes running down both sides, and baby doll faces for the wheel center caps. Flat black body, red wheels, bullet tail lights... cool as all get out ;)

Carlota dropped off her 323 again for me to put a master cylinder on it, and Geneva's truck is having problems again.

Continue reading "rat-art benz? ...& other" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 9:29 PM | Permalink

I went to geneva's last night to spend today working on her truck. The wiring was a little fudged and it wouldn't start, and the steering column was partially apart from when they changed out some electricals. The the ign switch needed to be re-aligned because it was keeping the shifter from working correctly.

Continue reading "house call" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 8:44 PM | Permalink

I'm told if I dont have any comebacks, it means i'm not working on any cars. Well, I had two today, plus did some other stuff.

The Gabriel struts I put on Dick's Caravan last month decided to crap out. They started bottoming out and making all kinds of noise. We swapped them out under warranty, and I put on some new mounting plates and cushions to hopefully fend off any more problems.
The brakes i put on were also cooked, and the rotors warped. New rotors, warranty pads. Yayy.
No labor money for me. Too bad i dont make money on parts. My labor is guaranteed 90days even if not my fault. Longer if it is my fault.

Laurie came by with her Miata. I put brakes on it some time ago.

Continue reading "goodfriday" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 5:08 PM | Permalink

gotta love those suicide doors!

Jason's 1968 Thunderbird.
(pleasurizer shock doner)
It's a little rough, but a nice car. It wont hold an alignment and makes a scary clunk/clang noise around turns. These two things, coincidentally, are related ;)

Continue reading "Painless" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 6:16 PM | Permalink

Continue reading "Carlota Miata" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 7:34 PM | Permalink

I just had to share:

Also, please read Coop's blog on occasion for general ummm.... pleasure.

Posted by Sean Korb at 2:48 PM | Permalink

Here's that rusty pipe now.
pretty ugly,

Continue reading "323turbo II" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 10:00 PM | Permalink

Nice sleeper. It belongs to Carlota. She brought it here for an oil leak and an exhaust leak, under the hopes of just getting a valve cover gasket and some muffler tape. Poor, poor Carlota.
The oil leak soaked her timing belt. Yes the valve cover was leaking, as was the distributor oring. So were the cam seals and the front main seal. T-belt on this means water pump too.
The muffler tape i could swing, but felt like doing some welding instead, because i was bored and it was raining today.

Continue reading "323 1.6L DOHC Turbo" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:04 AM | Permalink

Sat, 3/18
Jon brought over his beautiful 1969 camaro for some ball joints, and a spring noise. I found a few other things, but that may be for another time.

The LF spring was rubbing on the frame, making a horrible noise. That is the main symptom.

Continue reading "jon's camaro" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:42 AM | Permalink

More welding on Eric's Dane Chariot. No pics of that yet. We put some shocks on the back of Matthew's F350. No pics there either.
Here's a good pic. I'll likely post more on this project tomorrow. It belongs to a man named Jon.

pretty 69 camaro / click for bigger ;)

Posted by Scott Korb at 6:57 PM | Permalink

Today Margaret came by to do some maintenance on her AccordLX. First i got the maintenance light to turn off. Hoorayy!! (it was easy)
Then I checked the engine chirp, which i felt sure would be the water pump, but it turned out to be coming from the A/C compressor. I dont believe it could cause catastrophic failure, even if the compressor eventually goes out. It spins freely & w/o endplay or runout... just chirps occasionally.

Anybys... we decided to go ahead and do the T-belt and H2Opump according to scheduled maintenance, to avoid the catastrophic failure those parts can sometimes cause when they fail... especially on the Honda interference type engines like this.

It all went smoothly except...

Continue reading "Margaret's Timing" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 1:39 AM | Permalink

Dick M. came by today for struts, shocks, and front brakes. The brakes were almost to the metal, and the van rode all mushy. He still needs to take it to get aligned since i cant do that here. It all went smoothly except the RF strut. A spring compressor slipped off and scared me half to death. Luckily i had another pair of compressors. They were much higher quality, and i dont think i'll be using the other ones anymore. Using all 4 compressors i was able to get the spring compressed enough to put the strut back together. Dick said "That looks deadly." It is.
Maybe someday i can get a wall mount compressor.
new parts
old parts
scary parts

Posted by Scott Korb at 5:32 PM | Permalink

This is a movie file sent from Jennifer of her antique Ford tractor with Geneva riding it.
geneva/tractor
click on the links to see the movie
& Jim-n-Pher's home site

I think this qualifies to go under the heading of "guest cars" because i've done a little work to the Ford in the past.

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:43 PM | Permalink

Victoria's radiator bought the farm. The side tanks are plastic, and one swelled up and cracked. Not surprising after 11yrs and possibly 150,000miles.

The car has no conventional radiator cap, only a pressure sensative overflow tank cap. After installing the new radiator, I let the car run until the fan switched on and off, but it never burped out it's air pocket until we actually drove it, then had to add about two quarts more. It might have one more burp left in it, so i gave her a gallon of coolant mix to take with her, with instructions to check the level next morning. At least it's not as bad with the air pockets as a Cavalier. In fact, the Volvo seemed very well engineered. It did take me quite a bit longer to do the job than I expected, but then I was treated to a Fudrucker's burger... YAYY!

Posted by Scott Korb at 11:33 AM | Permalink

Well, that got your attention ;)
The rest is pretty mundane. Margaret's honda had a nail in a tire, so I plugged it.

I like plugs better than patches on pneumatic tires. They work more consistantly, and are cheaper and easier to use.
Here are the pics that Sean took of the misfortune. In the first pic I dont know if I'm removing or installing, so just look at it again at the end ;)
View image
View image

View image

Obviously the camera is working again. Batteries. D'oh. Also the last Austin pic was pretty big i s'pose, so i half-sized these last ones. They're boring anyway. Maybe next week I'll do the timing belt on it :D
-scotty

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:27 AM | Permalink

The 1982 Honda Civic has one of the most elaborate choke/high-idle mechanisms I've ever run across. Rube Goldberg would be proud.
I checked what I could with a vacuum pump, and observed movement where I could while warming and throttling. It seems that the fast idle does not let off exactly when it should, but I can't get a good eye on exactly why. The choke just stays partly closed until you can coax the fast idle off. I think it might be a slightly worn mechanical part inside the choke housing, or just somewhere I can't see, rather than temperature or vacuum related. Carbs are not my strong point really, i prefer fuel injection.
Antny and I decided it wasn't worth taking further time on. It does eventually kick down. The car starts and runs fine. I'm afraid if we took further time to find the real fast idle culprit, we may find that said part was probably discontinued in 1989 anyway. If it ever gives cause for any real concern, we could probably just find an EFI system for it with a bit of work ;) It's a really cute old Civic Wagon.

So he went home.

I also checked my poor bird cylinder #4 out today. Looks like the intake valve is leaking :(
I wont know why until I take the head off. I'll take care of it eventually. It still runs well, but I'd like to get one of my extra cylinder heads dressed out and ready for a swap.
-scotty

Posted by Scott Korb at 2:46 PM | Permalink

Busy day. I got to look at Jason's new Pontiac GTO, which i prefer to think of as a Holden Monaro with a Chevy engine, but that's semantics. It is a very nice car and I like it alot. Here are a couple pics


Cool, huh?

Then...

Continue reading "saturday adventures" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 6:36 PM | Permalink

The Nissan Stanza taking up room in the yard has left for greener pastures. It belongs to our friend Kim, who decided it was not worth fixing after the clutch and a number of other things went out, or were on their way there.
It really wasn't a bad car, but it needed a good $1500 worth of work to make it an acceptable vehicle (in my opinion).

I didn't take any pics, as it was all so confusing, but I did learn the intricacies of how a trailer hitch works, after not getting it hooked solid to the Silverado1500 provided for towing. And she forgot to bring her key, which I stupidly handed to her the last time she visited, so they had to leave and come back whilst I shuffled vehicles around. I did manage to move the Stanza around a little even without the key, but the steering was locked. I could start it, but couldn't steer.

Anyway, after much car shuffling, the Nissan is gone, and the trailer is gone. The trailer should come back soon.

So... Kim's got her Nissan back. I don't know what she'll do with it.

Posted by Scott Korb at 12:01 PM | Permalink