What Non mopar mechanic work are you doing

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Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
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So, I work on my family's vehicles as well as some customer work now and then. I used to do more customer work when I was in college because I worked on cars for fellow class mates.

Now I have a boring office job and I've really been missing the feeling of discovery by working on non mopar, modern cars with any set of problems you can think of.

I wish I had time to do a lot of customer work, simply to become a better mechanic.

What customer work or general work are you doing with any brand of car of any year?

I have a 1994 ford ranger that has a fuel cutting out problem while driving.
Also have an 04 kia xg350 with a crank but no start problem.

What do you have going?
 
Friday I got some circuit breakers in the mail. Today I tried to "finish up" the neighbor's generator which killed a breaker. "Easy Fix" NOT NOT !!!!NOT!!!!

This is a "Deere" for which "Deere" charges dearly for ANY documentation. Turns out LOLOLOLOL It's made by HOMELITE!!!

There's one tiny 4 pin connector going into the electrical panel that connects the regulator board. Molex sort of plug. One wire fell off. It will not be a fun fix

Fuel tank was bone dry I did not think much of it at first. It's a typical big plastic tank and turns out the outlet valve has vibrated loose and leaks. Not even sure if it can be fixed

The Briggs recoil is a flaming POS. I'm talking about the "bendix drive" that screws onto the crank which MUST ROTATE EVERY second that thing runs, meaning it's a "high wear" item

The bolts holding the shroud were 2x missing and one mounting hole cracked broken clear out of the shroud. The outer part of the recoil is riveted, and 2X rivets were gone (Pop rivets!!!!) so I put two machine screws/ nuts in

I did get it to run

The original problem is complicated because the owner uses only the 120V outlets and THEY ALL COME OFF one side of the "line" on a 240V generator, so only half the machine is doing all the work, and it "killed" the breaker.

So I replaced the one bad breaker and did some rewiring to split the outlets so that one is on each side of the winding.

I ain't done yet, and it will never be a "new new new in the box"

JD440G.jpg


Generic photo. I replaced the one bad breaker and added one. Think of this as the generator proper being the power pole drop to your house. It is a split winding, 120/120= 220V across the two.

But this was wired with ONE 15A breaker feeding BOTH the duplex outlets.

One was a 30A which fed the 3 prong 120V which is never used. That breaker went to a 20A feeding the 220V 4 prong at far right which is ALSO never used. The remaining side went through one 20A to feed the other side of the 220V outlet, and that side is what also fed the two 120V outlets.

I added one more to the far right and did a bit of rewiring, now one outlet is on the "red" side and the other is on the "black" side.

DO NOT EVER THINK, folks, that this is "high quality" stuff just because it carries the "Deere" name. it is Homelite. And it is not built to be "fixaticated"
 
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Friday I got some circuit breakers in the mail. Today I tried to "finish up" the neighbor's generator which killed a breaker. "Easy Fix" NOT NOT !!!!NOT!!!!

This is a "Deere" for which "Deere" charges dearly for ANY documentation. Turns out LOLOLOLOL It's made by HOMELITE!!!

There's one tiny 4 pin connector going into the electrical panel that connects the regulator board. Molex sort of plug. One wire fell off. It will not be a fun fix

Fuel tank was bone dry I did not think much of it at first. It's a typical big plastic tank and turns out the outlet valve has vibrated loose and leaks. Not even sure if it can be fixed

The Briggs recoil is a flaming POS. I'm talking about the "bendix drive" that screws onto the crank which MUST ROTATE EVERY second that thing runs, meaning it's a "high wear" item

The bolts holding the shroud were 2x missing and one mounting hole cracked broken clear out of the shroud. The outer part of the recoil is riveted, and 2X rivets were gone (Pop rivets!!!!) so I put two machine screws/ nuts in

I did get it to run

The original problem is complicated because the owner uses only the 120V outlets and THEY ALL COME OFF one side of the "line" on a 240V generator, so only half the machine is doing all the work, and it "killed" the breaker.

So I replaced the one bad breaker and did some rewiring to split the outlets so that one is on each side of the winding.

I ain't done yet, and it will never be a "new new new in the box"

View attachment 1715698653

Generic photo. I replaced the one bad breaker and added one. Think of this as the generator proper being the power pole drop to your house. It is a split winding, 120/120= 220V across the two.

But this was wired with ONE 15A breaker feeding BOTH the duplex outlets.

One was a 30A which fed the 3 prong 120V which is never used. That breaker went to a 20A feeding the 220V 4 prong at far right which is ALSO never used. The remaining side went through one 20A to feed the other side of the 220V outlet, and that side is what also fed the two 120V outlets.

I added one more to the far right and did a bit of rewiring, now one outlet is on the "red" side and the other is on the "black" side.

DO NOT EVER THINK, folks, that this is "high quality" stuff just because it carries the "Deere" name. it is Homelite. And it is not built to be "fixaticated"
My father in law is a farmer he says you know why John Deere is green? Some colour as money.
 
Have a 31 model a ford. Drove car into shop. Went through the car top to bottom. Even found a place to get the original engine bearings repoured. Ya you heard me poured. Anyway took this car for a ride everything good till 2 nd gear then the trany started to howl. But I replaced all bearings in trany $90 couldn’t believe the supplier had them in stock, all common farm bearings. LOL Thought bent shaft, worn case, looked and looked for this problem. Took car apart so many times I should have put zippers on it. So I started reading. The car has a flywheel housing then a bell housing then trany. Two top bolts in flywheel housing requires brass shims of 3 thou. A piece. Scratched head and put them in. To my amazement the trany shut up and hasn’t made a noise since. Blew my head.
 
Have a 31 model a ford. Drove car into shop. Went through the car top to bottom. Even found a place to get the original engine bearings repoured. Ya you heard me poured. Anyway took this car for a ride everything good till 2 nd gear then the trany started to howl. But I replaced all bearings in trany $90 couldn’t believe the supplier had them in stock, all common farm bearings. LOL Thought bent shaft, worn case, looked and looked for this problem. Took car apart so many times I should have put zippers on it. So I started reading. The car has a flywheel housing then a bell housing then trany. Two top bolts in flywheel housing requires brass shims of 3 thou. A piece. Scratched head and put them in. To my amazement the trany shut up and hasn’t made a noise since. Blew my head.
Saw a guy pouring bearings a long time ago. i have a babbit ingot kicking around in my shop
“Heavy pressure” is cast into it.
 
So, I work on my family's vehicles as well as some customer work now and then. I used to do more customer work when I was in college because I worked on cars for fellow class mates.

Now I have a boring office job and I've really been missing the feeling of discovery by working on non mopar, modern cars with any set of problems you can think of.

I wish I had time to do a lot of customer work, simply to become a better mechanic.

What customer work or general work are you doing with any brand of car of any year?

I have a 1994 ford ranger that has a fuel cutting out problem while driving.
Also have an 04 kia xg350 with a crank but no start problem.

What do you have going?
I think the 94 rangers have an inertia switch. Passenger side under dash mounted to firewall. Could be in kick panel. Google it first.
Contacts heat up.
Had a newer one, i started truck, walked around and sat on passenger side floor and reached under dash to wiggle the connector. I could stall truck and catch it before it quit completely.
One butt connecter to bypass switch until a new one with harness came in.
 
Seeing as my Fargo is near done i started on my best friend’s chevy. 1969 1/2 ton. Getting vortec,a/c and cruise control. wiring is insane, i took harness from donor truck. Im taking out all the unnecessary stuff. Theres a lot.
 
Seeing as my Fargo is near done i started on my best friend’s chevy. 1969 1/2 ton. Getting vortec,a/c and cruise control. wiring is insane, i took harness from donor truck. Im taking out all the unnecessary stuff. Theres a lot.
Good luck no I mean it
 
I had the hood hinges on my '53 Buick rebuilt because the hood has always fit very poorly; it's amazing how much of a difference it made!
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I had the hood hinges on my '53 Buick rebuilt because the hood has always fit very poorly; it's amazing how much of a difference it made!View attachment 1715698707 View attachment 1715698708 View attachment 1715698710 View attachment 1715698711
My dads car had a straight 8 in it. He had a lot of problems with cracking exhaust manifold. I believe that’s why he sold the car. I have a set of original GM manifold gaskets that dad had as an in stock item cool packaging
 
I am caretaker and chief mechanic for my MIL’s car, a 1991 Mustang convertible. This car has never really been driven in all of its years, and now has been off the road for almost 2 years. She has Alzheimer’s and if it were running she would try to drive it, so I’m very slow to fix it this time. I will be getting it out in the spring and fixing the ignition module, a common problem with these cars, and getting it ready to sell. It currently has 17k miles on it.

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Doing the "Regular Maintenance" on a Mercedes Sprinter which entails replacing everything. They call them Million Mile Sprinters, but you have to replace stuff before it breaks or it WILL leave you stranded. My "Million Mile 318" never needed a thing except oil and antifreeze changes. Even that stuff you bought whatever was on sale at the hardware store, and Dexron II went into everything. PS fluid is almost 40 bucks a litre, and a gallon of antifreeze is 70 bucks for the Sprinter. But hey, 30mpg from a diesel in a 1 ton chassis motor home.
 
My dads car had a straight 8 in it. He had a lot of problems with cracking exhaust manifold. I believe that’s why he sold the car. I have a set of original GM manifold gaskets that dad had as an in stock item cool packaging
That's a legitimate problem! I'm on my third manifold, and I had to buy it new, which was NOT cheap. I actually just got a pretty good deal on an intake and exhaust combo with heat riser. I bought it as a spare, because you never know!
 
Doing the "Regular Maintenance" on a Mercedes Sprinter which entails replacing everything. They call them Million Mile Sprinters, but you have to replace stuff before it breaks or it WILL leave you stranded. My "Million Mile 318" never needed a thing except oil and antifreeze changes. Even that stuff you bought whatever was on sale at the hardware store, and Dexron II went into everything. PS fluid is almost 40 bucks a litre, and a gallon of antifreeze is 70 bucks for the Sprinter. But hey, 30mpg from a diesel in a 1 ton chassis motor home.
Instead of mpg compare $per mile, sometimes
 
Instead of mpg compare $per mile, sometimes
That was my point. Luckily I have the last of the "good ones" with the inline 5 cylinder. After 2007, with all of the emissions stuff needed today, cost of running on of them is 0.15 per mile.
 
That's a legitimate problem! I'm on my third manifold, and I had to buy it new, which was NOT cheap. I actually just got a pretty good deal on an intake and exhaust combo with heat riser. I bought it as a spare, because you never know!
That's a legitimate problem! I'm on my third manifold, and I had to buy it new, which was NOT cheap. I actually just got a pretty good deal on an intake and exhaust combo with heat riser. I bought it as a spare, because you never know!
I know it wouldn’t be original but doesn’t anyone make a steel manifold for them. Just like the generator on my model A, no regulator has a cut out one little short you either boil battery dry or burn up generator. I want to drive car not fix all the time so converted it to 12 v put alternator and problem solved.
 
I know it wouldn’t be original but doesn’t anyone make a steel manifold for them. Just like the generator on my model A, no regulator has a cut out one little short you either boil battery dry or burn up generator. I want to drive car not fix all the time so converted it to 12 v put alternator and problem solved.
No...I think I can buy header flanges and make my own header, but I'd rather not if I don't have to. I've been using Remflex gaskets for awhile, and since they're graphite, they allow the manifold to move around a little, which might help. It's amazing how much it moves; you can see the evidence on the gasket itself.
 
Good luck no I mean it
Had a 96 Ford F-150 extended cab. Bought used off ford dealer lot low mileage. Around 150,000 kms. Some wire burnt in the middle of the main harness. What a f........ nightmare. Took a week after work to tear dash out take harness out and replace harness. It took another week in between to have harness rebuilt and almost thousand bucks. Apparently there was a recall that the dealer didn’t do found this out after the fact. Nothing from dealer except finger sold truck done only ford I’ll have is my 31 model A
 
I am caretaker and chief mechanic for my MIL’s car, a 1991 Mustang convertible. This car has never really been driven in all of its years, and now has been off the road for almost 2 years. She has Alzheimer’s and if it were running she would try to drive it, so I’m very slow to fix it this time. I will be getting it out in the spring and fixing the ignition module, a common problem with these cars, and getting it ready to sell. It currently has 17k miles on it.

View attachment 1715698719

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Sorry to hear about her mom
We have our mom (wife's mom) live with us, and with the alzheimers, things can get challenging

Let me know when that mustang hits the market...its kinda cute
 
Sorry to hear about her mom
We have our mom (wife's mom) live with us, and with the alzheimers, things can get challenging

Let me know when that mustang hits the market...its kinda cute

it will be in the spring, and I will be using the money to build a room on our house for her to move here. The car is still like brand new, only the tires have been changed. And, that was probably the longest drive it’s ever taken. I’ll let you know first before I list it anywhere.
 
Its that time of year for maintenance and a couple minor repairs on this workhorse. Case IH 585

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it will be in the spring, and I will be using the money to build a room on our house for her to move here. The car is still like brand new, only the tires have been changed. And, that was probably the longest drive it’s ever taken. I’ll let you know first before I list it anywhere.

if it will be enough to build that room it will be more then ill want to spend (but im a bit cheap)

i wish you all the best with her mom
about a year after her dad died, we decided to move and buy a house big enough to have her mom live with us
was a few years after that, that she got diagnosed with alzheimers

its been a real challenge but luckily, she has a non violent form and her long term memory is still decent
her short term memory is non existent though

there are days she will ask me the same thing over and over
but it beats putting her in a home
 
if it will be enough to build that room it will be more then ill want to spend (but im a bit cheap)

i wish you all the best with her mom
about a year after her dad died, we decided to move and buy a house big enough to have her mom live with us
was a few years after that, that she got diagnosed with alzheimers

its been a real challenge but luckily, she has a non violent form and her long term memory is still decent
her short term memory is non existent though

there are days she will ask me the same thing over and over
but it beats putting her in a home

It won’t be near enough to build the room, I know the price of these cars, even in the best condition like this one, is probably no more than $14k, tops. And, it won’t be a room for Nana, it would be a room for Nella, with a roll in shower bathroom, currently our biggest challenge. Nana can take over Nellas room. Nana just called me about 10 minutes ago, she wants to know when I’m buying her a battery for the car, my usual call of the day!
 
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