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 | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 09:08 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 | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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

redGTX

burninated clutch

Posted by Scott Korb at 08:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 02:08 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 04:02 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 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 01:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 05:19 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 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 07:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 07:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 04:33 PM | Permalink

Continue reading "al's jeep" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 01:58 PM | Permalink

Behold the mighty blue Chevy!

Continue reading "cavalier" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 06:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 05:18 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.

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 | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 08:14 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 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 06:42 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 05:43 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 06:17 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 05:23 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 02:00 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 | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 07:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 02:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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

Continue reading "slippy" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 02:16 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 | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 04:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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 03:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I made the Celica's fuel gauge work.

Continue reading "fuel gauge" »

Posted by Scott Korb at 07:11 PM | Permalink