What did you, yourself, Repair recently?

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SternWake

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I take a bit of pride in that I have not paid anyone to work on my Vehicle since early '08 when I had a junkyard axle rebuilt with new bearings.

Well in the last week:

I've replaced my Wiper linkages, painting under the cowl and linkages black after treating for rust. No more slop or chattering. So much better. So easy.
I found an Intermittent wiper relay in a junkyard from a dodge caravan. same appearance but some Different part numbers, but plug and play to replace the one which smoked 13 odd years ago.
Satisfying to have intermittent wipe feature again. A similar relay on Ebay was 47$ and a NOS(new, old stock) one was 189$.

I attached a junkyard acquired Captains chair to my Swivel base. So much more comfortable. No welding required. just a Drill and an angle grinder with cut off wheel to adapt one to the other. I wonder how much my old chair contributed to my flare ups of back pain.


My junkyard run was inspired by one of the connectors at my engine computer This connector is no longer available for purchase new. It was causing occasional stalling and no start situations that was temporarily remedied by a wiggle remanipulation and immobilization. I should have attended to this known issue long ago but procrastination is the first step to any process and I excel at that first step.

I'd found another connector from that same 89 or 90 dodge caravan, Cleaned it up, re enforced the tail end to protect the 14 wires and waterproof it better, and spliced it in today taking each and every step to ensure best connectivity and weatherproofed ness.

For 8 years I've been getting a code 53, Internal computer fault detected. Now it is gone. I thought the old compromised connector, had compromised the ECM itself, but was wrong. Some of the wires inside this connector were 5 volt signal sources for the sensors and 9 v signal for the other section of the circuit board. If these were not getting a delivered 5 or 9 volts, fuel economy and power could have been affected too.


I also bought another door pop out window as I needed the locking hardware and did not have the tools on me to remove them from the window, so I bought whole window.
My entire bill at the junkyard was 45$ or so.


A remanufactured ECM was delivered today, but, it is faulty and will be returned. I still desire a back up ECM for my next roadtrip though.

I can't imagine how much I would have been charged had I had to have somebody else attend to these issues. It would have been a lot, and I can guarantee they would not have done as good a job.

So,......... What Did you, yourself, perhaps with some help, repair recently?

What you had repaired today by a shop, or someone else, is a different thread entirely :) and one which I will not be the author of.
 
Finally fixed the awful grinding noise that my sliding door was making when closing it. I found two bushings that were worn out causing them to scrape against the rail rather than roll. So I bought a couple of little nylon spacers for a grand total of $1.20 and drilled them out to the appropriate inner diameter. Took the door off and all I had to do was knock those old bushings off, tap the spacers onto the post where the old bushings used to be, put the door back on and now it is gliding along like butter on a hot griddle!

SternWake, congrats on the new chair and on the other fixins! I myself am due for a good old treasure hunt in the junkyard. Need to find me a swivel base that will work in my van and that I can weld to this Toyota Supra seat that I have been hanging onto for a couple of years.
 
Nicely done, It's even more satisfying when one can modify something to make it work properly.

I wish more cars/ trucks had Dual armrests on the chair itself. I could get away with a right armrest only for the driver's seat, but two would be more comfy on the longer drives.

There is a special tape one can apply to the track of a sliding door to make it quieter, iF in that be a concern. The VW vanagoners swear by this stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000REGUE4/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title
 
Cutting out and welding rocker panels, welding fish plate frame repair pieces and drilling out and taping new threads on two broken exhaust manifold bolts. Oh yeah, rust never sleeps.
 
On my 'new-to-me' 1988 Ford E150 Conversion Van......
Both the wiper switch and the headlight switch are faulty. Headlight switch is loose in it's mount, broken internally, but it is still useable.
The wiper switch is broken internally and totally inoperative. Both are housed in the small left panel in the dash.
Tried to cannibalize parts from my old rusty 1986 Ford E-150 cargo van. The light switch will swap over (have yet to do that). The wiper switch is different, as the 1988 has the delay function added, and the connector is completely different.
I ordered the new wiper switch from RockAuto online. Must be careful as they show about six different versions/part numbers. Look at the pictures carefully! It worked, and now the wipers work.
 
I painted my van! The old clearcoat was a mess and had to be completely sanded off. Many small dents had to be filled in. Removing the windshield fluid nozzles involved disassembling the dash. I'd never done any of this before so it took a long time but the results are great! I also got to spend some quality time with my dad, who had a paint gun.

Replaced the starter contacts in the middle of a road trip. It would occasionally not start if it got too hot under the hood.

I have a TPS sensor and new plugs/wires/cap/etc to go in, just haven't found the time yet.
 
Nothing has actually need repair, recently. Some remodeling, the solar panel install, but no actual repairs...
 
Quit bragging Serephim. Surest way to anger the gods and they will summon a gremlin to break something.
I super glued my lip to my finger last night trying to fix a little solar light. I'm over the trauma now.
 
Don't know if it counts but I hooked up a 20watt solar panel to trickle charge my starting battery so I can use it to keep my phone/kindle/mifi charged and listen to the radio. Also replaced a cracked leaking propane line this week. Got a working stove and furnace, I'm ready for colder weather now!
 
Replaced a router on my mother in laws home LAN. Had to clone it from the old router to get the internet provider to accept it
 
Had to replace the radiator on the Mazda pickup a few days ago, stop leak just wouldn't do the job. Now I need to replace the idler pulley since I replaced the radiator it decided to start making a squealing sound.
 
dragonflyinthesky said:
Quit bragging Serephim. Surest way to anger the gods and they will summon a gremlin to break something.
I super glued my lip to my finger last night trying to fix a little solar light. I'm over the trauma now.

Pictures? Lol
 
One assumes you're working on an engine? *grin*
 
Epoxied the knob on swivel seat, oil change and lube, replaced cracked exhaust manifold, added two mufflers (four now, and I can hear the radio!), cut off and lowered the base for my air ride seat- now it can get the movement it needs to function properly.
the base required metal blade in a sawzall and drilling four 1/2'' holes through doubled 1/4" steel....wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated, glad it's done though.
Added wheel spacers 'tween the duals- the side walls were rubbing and heating the tires, also it was a real bear to put on tire chains if I needed them.
Planned on replacing all the fuel line with nylon to get rid of the(rusty) metal line- bought wrong size.....Thirsty likes the big stuff :-(
 
Must be nice to be someplace or have someplace where you can work!

I keep looking out the window at the snow and ice (and rainstorms earlier this week) and the BWMP (named it the Big White Money Pit for now...lol) and know that nothing is getting fixed or installed until spring!

All I'm doing is chalking up the dollars on the shopping list and bookmarking suppliers...sigh!!

The list keeps getting longer!
 
Almost There,

You got to find projects you can work on completely inside. I've got a list of stuff that I transfer into the bored nighttime activities list, Like cleaning fan blades or installing aftermarket LEDs into small gooseneck 99 cent store housings or adding more attachment points like pad eyes or rope cleats so I can tie my surfboards to the ceiling more securely or to have someplace to hang clothes hangers or wet towels, ect.

I have a method to elevate my mattress off my bed platform, not only to dry it out underneath, but to have a large worktable for interior projects.


I accomplished nothing today but a little spring cleaning, but I did drive it for the first time after having replaced that engine computer connector, and the throttle response is quite different, as if I am carrying around 750 less lbs inside.

I don't think the sensors were being fed a true 5 volts from the ECM, and thus were not getting the correct values back from the sensors with the previous connector, which was affecting fuel/air ratio, as well as spark timing, because it feels like I have another 75 Lb/ft of torque, and the exhaust smells different, cleaner.

Perhaps my loss of local/city MPG was not due only to larger heavier AT tires.
 
well I am in the middle rebuilding a diesel engine that will go in my truck. once the engine is ready(mid 2015 I hope) my whole truck will get rebuilt top to bottom front to back. this includes transmission, transfer case, rear axle, front axle, complete rewire and various other things. after the truck is done, I will start my trailer build. I will built a toy hauler type trailer from scratch. this will be my retirement home. highdesertranger
 
Recently replaced the valve stem seals in my Chevy G20 hightop. It's a pain to do while the engine is in the van especially with old arthritic hands. Took me awhile but I'm now retired so I have the time. Also replaced the front and side door seals. Next up is straightening out some creative wiring that someone has done in the past.
 
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