Stuff you have fixed today

[qwakers]

getting near mot time for dads horsebox again. a spot of 'i should fix that as mots are expensive' lead to replacing the leaf spring buffers on the rear springs and removing and repainting the air tanks.

jack up under axle (i love the air jack), put massive axle stands under chassis, lower axle to full droop, hammer cold chisel into spring pack in leau of my portapower, cut old rotten buffers off, fit new...

i always double axle stand this, but couldnt this time as i didnt have enough cribbing.

 

[JOEPRO]

A few days ago but got this Stihl 041 running (was likely a couple decades since this 70s saw last ran)

 

[Geoffm]

Warning, contains farmer welding. People who actually know how to tig weld or of a delicate disposition are warned...
My office chair, which was a comfy leather item that served my father for several years and then my porky butt for another 12 years started moving much more than expected. Turns out the base had cracked and once it started to move, it ripped more and more. Surprised it didn't dump me.
I bought a new chair while it was in pieces but it is fake leather from Chinese plastic cows and feels wrong. Off to the workshop then instead of doing my taxes as it is much more fun.
Sanded back the paint and welded it - after I bought a new welder because the old one died - and a squirt of spray paint and together today. Feels much better and I suspect it had been getting worse for some time.

 

[dobbslc]

fake leather from Chinese plastic cows

 

[qwakers]

due to a slip with a drill bit i needed to replace the radiator in my race car.. slight issue is its custom made. (by me) and the base rad i started with is no longer available. that is a real shame because it was cheap, well made and fit (a standard car) perfectly.

the one i ended up buying was equally cheap, but a slightly thinner core and fitment was less accurate.


the two major issues where the ac mounting studs where too shallow so i ended up using spacers and longer bolts and where in the wrong place (only a few mm out so it still works), and the little angled brackets you attach the top mounts to where too short so you cannot get a nut in, so i ended up slotting the holes to make it possible. lastly and not a big issue, the fan mounting holes like the ac mounting studs where also slightly out of place. again it works, but the bolts only just go in.

nothing un-workable (at this stage) but annoying.


all welded up and pressure tested... then welded again to get rid of a boat load of pin holes and repeat until sealed...

and back in the car.

as you can see i also took the opportunity to heat wrap the intake pipework. i haven't had any iat issues, but no reason not to, at this point, especially as i had it.

i would like to know how people do this, especially on pipes with bends, without getting loads of creases in it....

 

[Blobber]

The last tube in my bathroom mirror gave up the ghost a few days ago.
View attachment 487279

Since I intend remodelling the bathroom, and the kitchen -View attachment 487280 in fact the whole flat, I made use of some LEDs that I had kicking around.

It's a bodge, but I couldn't be arsed spending too much time on it.
It'll do until D-Day
View attachment 487281
It's definitely better than the one tube tgat was down to.

Did you want some tubes? ive a box of them somewhere, cant remember what size they were though

 

[badabec]

i would like to know how people do this, especially on pipes with bends, without getting loads of creases in it....

I never could. I used to use plenty of stainless steel lock wire and a pair of Cubby Checkers (wire twister pliers). I put the loops about every inch. Still looked poor, but with the bonnet shut...

 

[Seadog]

Did you want some tubes? ive a box of them somewhere, cant remember what size they were though

A very kind offer, but I'll make do with this environmentally friendly setup for now.

Thanks

 

[Am333rcr]

I got the diesel space heater . Next door neighbour . I need it gone. It was work.

A new air pipe and fuel pipe. She started first time

 

[JOEPRO]

I got the diesel space heater . Next door neighbour . I need it gone. It was work.

A new air pipe and fuel pipe. She started first timeView attachment 487405View attachment 487404

Good job!

You will want to get some quality diesel fuel hose and clamps on the fuel line. (That plastic line will likely split or harden quickly)

 

[Seadog]

Not yet fixed, but...

A friend brought his Bosch SDS drill round to be looked at. A couple of days ago "it didn't sound right, and started to smell a bit". He gave it another try, just to make sure that things weren't right

The (remains of) bottom motor bearing

The brushes and commutator aren't looking too good, either.

 

[DAPPH]

The price of cheap Chinese unbranded SDS are ideal Most Bosch stuff seems tyo have it's origins there these days .

Just as the cheap Chinese made products were starting to come to the fore in the UK , Needing one to help with our renovations etc. I paid £90 at the local builders merchants for a heavy duty SDS 750 watt rotary & hammer , two speed drill , c/w a set of 10 drills & three chisels told, " It has a years warrantee , cheap enough to chuck it away if the brushes need replacing ....

21 years on it's seen a lot of hard action , three sets of brushes & I scrapped it as the hammer action died , the new replacement 750 watt cost £ 45 two years ago and it's already proved itself big time .

 

[Seadog]

I don't think that he'll mind spending £25-30 to see it working again.

 

[indykid]

A long awaited fix on the pulley of a Startrite Mercury mk2 bench drill where the drill has been run with the belt cover loose and it had eaten the top off the pulley so the belt engagement at the highest speed was pretty ambitious, certainly asymmetric. Built back up with weld and turned back on the lathe. Good as new now (though the spline shaft in the quill could still do with a bit more length due to cover damage too)

 

[qwakers]

You would not believe how relieved I feel right now....


2 weeks ago now dad got In his merc slk to go to a show at Hall for Cornwall and it wouldn't start. I get a phone call of course so over I go with the topdon and plug in to find no codes. Going through topdons guided diagnostics for no crank I found that circuit 15 (main ignition) wasn't being commanded on when the key was turned. Coupling that to the steering lock correctly disengaging when the key is inserted and pulling main power from the ignition switch with the ignition on then reinserting it turns the ignition on I diagnosed it as a bad ignition switch. I sent it off to autotronics who said it was fine and it must be the steering lock. every merc specialist i also contacted said it was the steering lock, but the failure mode did not match the symptoms. I asked them to plug a steering lock emulator in to confirm and it powered the steering lock signal line for 3 seconds then powered off, when it should stay powered up all the time the key is in so they agreed that It has to be the switch. They fitted a new pcb and posted it back. I just reconnected it and the car now runs. It is really nice to be right when everyone else including several industry professionals are telling you you're wrong...

 

[indy4x]

Fixed the central locking on my 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee

It would lock and unlock only the drivers door

The Jeep only had 1 remote fob, coding a new one requires a Jeep DRBIII diagnostic kit, these were dealer only and while there are still a few left in the UK the closest to me is either Norfolk or Derby!

Bit of Internet searching and in the US, the remote fob is actually coded to the passenger door switch pack so I wondered what would be the chances of the same setup being on a UK GC

I have a GC for spares with 2 working fobs so swapped over the switch pack and it worked

Few days later the issue with it only locking the drivers door started

Popped off the passenger door card to find the multiplug was not fully seated in the switch pack, reseated and all is good

 

[qwakers]

today together with dad i cleaned most of the fleet. no before pics because im embarrassed as to how bad they got. it did take 20 litres of algicide (mixed) to totally de green the lorries and the van. the car was filthy too, but nothing like as bad.

anyone who has large vehicles that spend their time living under trees, i can strongly recommend algicide.

ALGICIDE - Algae Remover | Industrial Cleaning Products UK

Algicide is a hard surface cleaner used for the removal and regrowth of moss, algae and fungi. Use on walls, patios, walls, paths etc.

www.molecular-uk.com

mix it 20-1, spray down, leave 15 mins and the algae just falls off with a pressure wash, no scrubbing no struggle, just washes off. then a snow foam and scrub down to get the road grime off which algicide wont touch, and its clean. takes a 5hr+ job per vehicle to 3 hours total for both lorries.

the van hadn't been washed since i rebuilt the engine january last year, so that looked how you would expect. it still needs a major decontamination and polish, but its a work vehicle, so it isn't going to get it.

the merc was just dirty. a snow foam , wash off, 2 bucket wash and rinse had it looking great.

i didn't get as far as my merc though. always something

 

[DAPPH]

today together with dad i cleaned most of the fleet. no before pics because im embarrassed as to how bad they got. it did take 20 litres of algicide (mixed) to totally de green the lorries and the van. the car was filthy too, but nothing like as bad.

anyone who has large vehicles that spend their time living under trees, i can strongly recommend algicide.

ALGICIDE - Algae Remover | Industrial Cleaning Products UK

Algicide is a hard surface cleaner used for the removal and regrowth of moss, algae and fungi. Use on walls, patios, walls, paths etc.

www.molecular-uk.com

mix it 20-1, spray down, leave 15 mins and the algae just falls off with a pressure wash, no scrubbing no struggle, just washes off. then a snow foam and scrub down to get the road grime off which algicide wont touch, and its clean. takes a 5hr+ job per vehicle to 3 hours total for both lorries.

the van hadn't been washed since i rebuilt the engine january last year, so that looked how you would expect. it still needs a major decontamination and polish, but its a work vehicle, so it isn't going to get it.

the merc was just dirty. a snow foam , wash off, 2 bucket wash and rinse had it looking great.

i didn't get as far as my merc though. always something

I wonder if the algicide will kill the green algae slime on the caravan & not damage anything , There is also a possibility of it being excellent for giving the solar panels a decent double de-gunge , this last FIT saw us get the lowest FIT payment ever .

 

[qwakers]

I got the recommendation from someone on here that uses it for exactly that. Just don't leave it on too long, or you end up with with white. residue on the glass. It cleans off, just annoying.

 

[DennisCA]

I fixed the discolored plastic and rubbers on my 850 this weekend when we had a spell of nice weather. Used a product called Sonax Plastic Renovator, silicone free. Used it on the Saab before with good results. There's also Concept Vista which people say good things about.

Some before/after shots:

Think you can see the difference better here:

Now the car looks a lot fresher IMO.

Before:

After: