what did you wrench on today??

[rustybronco]

Windstar rear axle...

[dorkburger]

Our 02 was recalled for that. Then while it was sitting for that recall (Ford put us up in a rental) another came for front end corrosion related damage. Ultimately Ford gave us $5500 for it and crushed it. The local dealer was pretty horrid.

Nor did they see the humor in my writing in paint marker “ built Ford tough”’ next to the giant crack in the axle. It was our first and only new car purchase and wasn’t a good ownership experience as it had issues even before the axle recall.

[rustybronco]

This one also had the front sub frame and rear axle brackets installed. The brackets they installed on the rear had already rusted almost completely through. The great stuff foam they used to "seal" the inside of the housing sealed this axles fate. It accelerated the rust out by trapping moisture inside.

This particular vehicle has had so much work done to it over the years. I recently put on its second replacement power steering pump and a reman steering gear. In addition to that, intake gaskets because of a leak. Plenum gaskets, spark plugs, wires, IAC motor, MAF sensor, tires etc. Too many things over the years to mention. I had her convinced to part the vehicle out and purchase a newer vehicle, but circumstances which I can't get into say, she has to drive it a few more months.

[dorkburger]

Yikes.
Ours had its issues....
Front tires completely bald on the inside at 20k miles.
Original coolant looked like coffee with within a year.
Some sort of needed $700 engine repair.
Rear vent window motor failure- dealer fixed for free.
Drivers window motor issue- don’t recall what, but I fixed it myself. Something was binding and the motor would stop on a thermal safety I’m assuming.
Steel coolant pipe rusted thru and leaked.
Minor recall to due with the removable third row seat that had me carrying that boat anchor out of the basement to install.
Then the axle related stuff.

What really made me dislike the car was when we took a weekend trip with the neighbors in their Toyota Sienna van. That thing was so quiet and tight it made the Ford seem like a Conestoga wagon in comparison.

[aclaytonb]

Put a dyna ignition on the 550 today. Not a "huge" improvement up front but I am looking forward to never filing the points again.

+1 on the Sienna. 10 years of ownership on two different vehicles - only spent $100 in non-wear item maintenance. Thats my one vehicle that never earned a "what did I wrench on today" posting.

[Baatfam]

Finally got around to assembling the tool stand I bought last fall. It's a heavy duty universal stand, with a 500lb load capacity. Got it from Home Depot for $50.

Really nice to have the drill press up and running, not to mention the grinder in a permanent spot.

[dorkburger]

Bicycles..... and payback.
Prepped and checked the bikes and test fitted them on the car bike rack for our upcoming trip. Trued my back wheel. Installed an odometer on the wifes bike that she wanted. She needed a new seat as the finish on hers was flaking and leaving black marks on her bum. So in my natural form, I bought a seat cover and put her old super soft seat on mine in place of the narrow uncomfortable one on mine. Bliss.

And for the payback. My older son had long outgrown his bike and needed a new one. $415 later he had a really nice new bike purchased from the same spot where my mom spent much time and money at when I was his age and a full on BMX freestyle fanatic. They had a full row of old freestyle bikes on display from my era. Cool...

My 20 plus year old Trek is by far the oldest in the group..
http://Bikes by Glen Brenner, on Flickr

[Redman]

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My project of a removable ramp at my house for my brother's visit was sucsessfull in that he could get his wheelchair up and down it (with some help). He needs someone to open and/or close the door for him (since is slopped right up to the door) and should have someone helping push/pull (since it is steeper than should be).

Problem is that the longer section is about 10 ft long and is almost more than I can handle, and DOAH! doesnt fit in my shed.

So had another project to make that long section into two sections.

CUt the span in two and added legs there, and cross members there.
So now is about a 4 ft section on the porch, a 4 ft section on the steps and the sidewalk, and about a 6 ft section from sidewalk out into the lawn.
Other thing that I added was to add some hand holds underneath to use when picking it up and carry it -- that really helped.
And a couple coats of floor paint on the deck and underneath the lower section so can withstand some rain.
Each section can be loaded on red wagon and hauled out to the shed.

here is pic of one of the 4ft sections, loaded on red wagon for trip back to the shed.
can see the handholds I added, there in center in front and back.
can also see how I stored away some shims for if needed in the future. (porch and steps seem to be settling over the years).


Some of the tools I used were those I bought 40-45 years ago.
I recalled when I bought some of those tools (This was a significant thing for me, since I was raised in a household that had practically no tools.)
I do recall when I bought some of those tools, thinking that I would have these tools for a long time.
Was single and living in an appartment, thinking I might be getting married, maybe get a house someday, and could be using these tools someday for things unknown to me at that time.
Yah, when I was 20-25, would not have though that someday would be building a wheelchair ramp for my brother (younger brother).

.

[cowboyup3371]

Had to have a serious discussion with my mechanic - me - after I tried to ride my 550T for the first time in a couple of months. I aired up the tires, checked all the lights and oil level fixing the front brake light connectors, and wheeled the bike to the front of the garage when I geared up and pushed the start button. Ummm, tried to push it again and realized nothing was starting. I broke out the meter and verified the battery was good so I grabbed the test light and discovered I wasn't getting power to the kill/start switch. After finding and replacing a blown fuse, I hooked everything back up and tried to start the bike again only find the fuse blew again. Sadly I pushed the 550 back into the garage and took the Bandit out for the ride instead.

Afterwards, I went back over and began troubleshooting everything by first removing the headlight and then taking off the seat. Once I started to remove the tank, I discovered the starter relay wire had gotten pinched between the airbox and the side mounting bolt when I had replaced the air filter a few weeks ago. Fortunately the shielding was still in good shape so I pulled it out of the way and started the bike. I'm going to try and get it out this week to make my amends to it for not riding it as much as I should have.

[gsrick]

Finally got around to pulling the carbs off the '79 850 and cleaned them in the ultrasonic cleaner I bought off eBay. The bike runs good, but the choke was slow warming up the bike and it was running a little lean on the third cylinder. Of course three out of four gaskets ripped, so I broke out some gasket material the X-Acto knife and cut some new ones. I though I had some, but they were for CV carbs. I'll put the carbs back on tomorrow morning, tune and sync them and go for a test ride if it's not raining. I also got my front brake pads installed and flushed the system on my 1150. I think the carbs on it will get a soaking next.

[Jedz123]

That looks 10X better Bob!

[scratch]

Rolled my GS550 spare-part-pile-project out of the barn and fired it up for the first time... and got to hear the vintage V&H at last!
Some tuning and wiring still to go but that, first succesful light up was pretty exciting

[steve murdoch]

Congrats, Scratch.
What gear shift linkage is that?

[themess]

Electronics parts

No wrenching, but some preparation. I'm trying to get the window motors to work on a '96 Astro. The new motor didn't work in the van, so I want to test externally. I need to stick wires in connectors, attach to a battery, and use a fuse. So I went to find a fuse holder. Radio Shack used to be the easy source for such thing. In Lafayette, IN, there was a nice small store for radio/electronics/alarms/computer parts. In Albuquerque, there seemed to be no stores for such things. In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I went to Iowa Radio Supply, which used to be big and carried almost everything. Now it is tiny, and carries very little. I was able to find what I need for this task.

So it now appears that internet purchases are about all that is available for such items. Sad.

[scratch]

Congrats, Scratch.
What gear shift linkage is that?

I've narrowed it down to coming from either a 1982 GS750T, 1980750L or 1980gs550L. Had acumulated a lage collection of parts bikes while fixing up a few others and at one point just started stipping them down into save or sell/swap boxes, some orrigins were forgoten in the process.