who is wrenching today?

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Gerle

Senior member
Aug 9, 2009
593
8
81
Pulled my old drag truck out of its hibernation spot with my daughter (who has never heard it run) and began its reactivation. Started pulling the bed off yesterday evening. It has some rusty spots I need to repair.
Cab is mostly okay, a few minor spots I can address and blend in without painting the entire thing. Hood will be replaced with fiberglass.
I cannot believe how 32 year old paint was so easily rejuvenated. First I buffed it to see if there was some shine under that faded surface. Then I sanded/buffed a spot on the fender to see just how good it could be....and it looked like it was painted last week in that spot.
Here it is before and after the initial buffing. Painted in 1986.

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It's beautiful!
 

Yuriman

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2004
5,530
141
106
Pulled my car apart, vacuumed under the seats and hit some light stains on them with soapy water. Crawled underneath it and repaired damage to my underbody panels from the snow this past winter.

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I have a replacement driver fender. My ex crashed it a few years back and did significant damage, and I just haven't gotten around to putting that last piece on as it's a pain to remove. Not bad looking for a 250,000 mile car which has been through a ton of harsh, salty winters.
 

slag

Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
10,473
81
101
Took the head off my 2002 audi a4 3.0 liter due to coolant in cylinder 1. Took the head to the machine shop where they said it was warped and i had it pressure tested and made flat. Reassembled the camshafts and and exhaustt manifold on the head an am going to put it back in the car this week hopefully and get it running again.

Finally got this project done. Head is back on, Check engine light is now off, and the car runs and drives great. It got super cold for a couple weekends and I didn't want to be in the garage. I still have an intermittant ABS/TC light that i will track down, and the oil level sensor wiring harness is bad so I am replacing that tomorrow night when the part gets in. Other than that, the car pulls great and is fun to drive. Hoping to get $1900 for it.
 

thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,000
109
106
Drained the 5 year old gas out of the miata and put a couple gallons of fresh stuff in it. It runs better but still not right. I suspect now that my fuel pump is crapping out on me after sitting for 5 years. I can hear the fuel flowing but not the pump unless I pull the fuel line and even then I think the flow is a bit weak. Going to have to put a fuel pressure tester on it next.
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,511
219
106
Replaced the steering box and pitman arm on my gf's Silverado -- my god this is a terrible job without an impact gun! Got it done though.
 

thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,000
109
106
alright I'm stupid and forgot to connect a dohicky that is part of the fuel pressure regulator which is why it ran like poop. Have the classic HLA(lifter) noise that NA miatas are known for but I replaced all the damn HLAs back when I put the timing belt on this engine so hopefully that clears up after it runs for awhile. The bigger and much more of a PITA issue I have is a water leak on the front of the engine. It is either the seal where I replaced the busted thermostat housing or the water pump. Either way the front of the engine has to come apart to fix it. For now I just plan to throw a gallon of water in the trunk and drive it a bit, been too long. I also need to bleed the clutch more, get regular insurance on it, registration, and an inspection.
 

Raduque

Lifer
Aug 22, 2004
13,141
138
106
Did the brakes on the 08 HHR. I'm not gonna bother bleeding them, as I've got a dying battery on my hands. It'll be sitting at 6v in a couple of hours. Oh, and of course the stupid thing is in the back, behind a hatch with an electronic release and two layers of false-floor paneling next to the spare tire. Which means it's a special, expensive sealed battery!
 

Pacfanweb

Lifer
Jan 2, 2000
13,149
57
91
Didn't get much done on the race truck this weekend. A little bit Friday afternoon, that's it. Trading phone calls with the sand blasting dude to see how much he wants to blast the bed for me. That's the next big step I need done.
I want to get the bed shaped up and right, then I can go to town on the mechanicals and the other crap like a cage.

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thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,000
109
106
Wide awake and bored so I'd thought I go out and let the miata run for awhile if for no other reason than to see if the HLA noise would quit, also wanted to double check the water leak again. Fired it up and no HLA noise yay and topped off the cooling system and let it run for probably 30 mins and weirdly no coolant leak. Weird because it was leaking even with the engine off and cold and now isn't even under pressure. I don't know maybe I spilled coolant and it ran down the hoses somehow to the front of the engine but I don't think so. Whatever I'm just going to roll with it for now and keep checking. Still have to bleed the clutch and have a power steering hose that needs replaced but those are easy.
 

Pacfanweb

Lifer
Jan 2, 2000
13,149
57
91
Got the truck bed stripped. Was going to load it up and take it to the sand blaster this weekend, but it rained all day Saturday. Will try and get it on the trailer this week and get it over there.
 

Gerle

Senior member
Aug 9, 2009
593
8
81
Involuntary wrenching today. Took my 1990 Miata out for a test run, have had a slight problem with it running hotter than I like it to. Not overheating, but not where I want it to be either. Several burping sessions later it seems to run much cooler, especially after some time on the highway. As I'm turning around to go back home, the car just barely stutters, charge light comes on, and very soon after that the temp starts rising. Luckily I'm not on the Interstate by now, just barely made it off in time to pull in to a parking lot. Alternator/water pump belt slipped off the pulleys after a bunch of small lengths of the teeth disintegrated. I called my wife, she brought a bunch of tools that I asked for and picked up a belt at a parts store on the way. Replaced the belt in a few minutes , and back home we went. Temp stayed where I believe it should the whole way home, around 11-1130 on the meter. Great success!
 

thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,000
109
106
Miata is ready to go if I could just get the damn clutch to work. I tried bleeding it again a different way, nope, tried adjusting the pedal itself, nope, and I already replaced the slave cylinder since the old one started leaking. The pedal "feels" ok to me but it has been 5 years so I can't remember how it felt before. At this point I can only think of two more things that can be causing the problem, a bad master cylinder or the clutch itself has seized up from sitting for so long. At least masters are cheap and easy.
 

slag

Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
10,473
81
101
Worked on the 2005 F150 I picked up at the Copart auction earlier this spring. It has a cam phaser issue so I decided to replace them. I watched FordTechMakuloco's channel and he shows how to do it by just setting the camshaft to a "neutral" position and using the "cheese" to wedge in among the timing chain. Worked fine on the driver's side. Didn't work on the passenger side because, as I found out, my upper timing chain guide was broken. GRR.. Ended up pulling off the front cover to replace the guide and got it all back together Sunday afternoon. So much quieter now, I can actually hear the injectors. Total cost for the phasers and associated parts, oil, filter, guide, etc, was $380.
Not a bad job in all, but having to basically lay on the radiator and front support to get to anything in the truck really makes for a sore body.
On a side note, my tensioners and chains were in excellent shape, so no need to replace them. Had I known in advance I was going to remove the front cover, I would have replaced the oil pump while I was in there, but I needed the truck back together so I'll do that another time.
 

slag

Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
10,473
81
101
Finally got this project done. Head is back on, Check engine light is now off, and the car runs and drives great. It got super cold for a couple weekends and I didn't want to be in the garage. I still have an intermittant ABS/TC light that i will track down, and the oil level sensor wiring harness is bad so I am replacing that tomorrow night when the part gets in. Other than that, the car pulls great and is fun to drive. Hoping to get $1900 for it.

Oh, sold the Audi, the day I listed it on Facebook for $2050. Win!!
 

thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,000
109
106
Success. After two weeks of messing with the damn miata clutch I finally got it working. I had tried before putting it in gear, revving it up, pushing the clutch in, and dragging the brakes hopping to bust the clutch loose but this time I put it in 5th. After a few seconds I stopped hearing the brakes dragging and looked back and low and behold the wheels had stop turning. After that clutch worked fine :D. Don't know why I didn't think to try 5th gear before, it only makes sense duh. Went ahead and flushed the brakes since it had been sitting so long and put my new tags on it and it is ready to go with only one more problem. There is an 04 VW Jetta wagon TDI sitting behind it in the driveway with a dead cell battery. $160 freaking dollars for a new battery tomorrow and I should be driving the miata. I parked the Jetta 2.5 years ago when one of the shift solenoids starting sticking planning to fix it quickly lol yeah. Once the miata is out of the garage the VW goes in.
 
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thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,000
109
106
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Out of the garage for the first time in 5 years. Gave it quick bath and a drive to the gas station and around the block. Still have some bugs to work out but it lives. The biggest surprise for me was the VW diesel with a new battery fired up quicker after sitting for 2.5 years than my daily driver focus does. Also cleaned the VW and drove it around the block with no issues. After driving around a new car for a long time hopping into an older one the visibility difference is amazing. Can't see crap out of my 13 focus hatch by comparison.
 
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NutBucket

Lifer
Aug 30, 2000
27,033
545
126
All I did was replace the two hoses to the ps reservoir on the WRX. The rubber just got too hard after 13 years as fluid was seeping out.
 

repoman0

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2010
4,445
3,282
136
Installed VANOS fixes on my M3 to correct for BMW's notorious engineering failures on that piece. Re-timed the engine as part of the procedure and nothing has blown up yet in 60 miles so I'm going to call it a success. Also replaced the 14 year old spark plugs and did the first valve adjustment the car has gotten. Only four out of 24 were slightly out of spec but the engine is much less reminiscent of a sewing machine now when the hood is open.
 
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slag

Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
10,473
81
101
The vanos system is relatively easy to work on and its not an engineering failure imho, more of a failure of the seal type material if anything. It's a wear piece but their method of variable timing is so much better than ford's cam phasers, but i do agree less reliable than Vtec. Still, using parts from besian, not a horrible job and easy to get get to everything. Not too pricey either.
 

Gerle

Senior member
Aug 9, 2009
593
8
81
Fixed the non working high beam switch on the 1990 Miata. Removed some plastic trim, the steering wheel, and disassembled the light switch contact housing. The contacts were fairly dirty/corroded/arced, so I sanded them lightly. Sprayed with cleaner, applied some dielectric grease, and reassembled everything. The highbeams work now, very nice.
 

thedarkwolf

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 1999
9,000
109
106
LOL had the same problem on my miata that I fixed after swapping in the new drivetrain. I cheated though by pulling the whole thing out of my parts car before selling it and just slapped it in my 95. I did hold onto the corroded one just in case the parts car one also starts acting up.
 

repoman0

Diamond Member
Jun 17, 2010
4,445
3,282
136
The vanos system is relatively easy to work on and its not an engineering failure imho, more of a failure of the seal type material if anything. It's a wear piece but their method of variable timing is so much better than ford's cam phasers, but i do agree less reliable than Vtec. Still, using parts from besian, not a horrible job and easy to get get to everything. Not too pricey either.

Agreed, it was very cool to see it all apart and see how it works, pretty ingenious way of doing it. I will disagree with your first sentence though -- the seals might not be an engineering failure, but the S54 VANOS has another failure mode where metal tabs on the exhaust side hub can and often do break off. If one breaks, it usually stays lodged in the pump disk and all is apparently well. If the other happens to break before it's caught, the pump disk is no longer attached and the tabs go flying into the engine, right near the path of the timing chain.

The tabs break because the holes in the pump disk are too large for the tabs, so years of loose fit takes its toll on the metal. Beisan sells a redrilled disk with smaller holes and no documented failures so far. There's a guy on m3forum who saves the broken tabs whenever he does the work for someone -- looks like he's up to ~25 from his pictures :p
 
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jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,511
219
106
Helped this guy figure out that he had a seized caliper (after dragging him out of the middle of traffic). Autozone didn't have one on hand, so we couldn't fix it right there.

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Feb 25, 2011
16,776
1,466
126
Helped this guy figure out that he had a seized caliper (after dragging him out of the middle of traffic). Autozone didn't have one on hand, so we couldn't fix it right there.

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Haha, you're the Car Fairy.

(I've been called that. I hate broken things.)
 
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Feb 25, 2011
16,776
1,466
126
Replaced a driver side foglight housing in my '12 TL. (Mine caught a rock.)

It was surprisingly easy; jack the car up, go in from underneath, remove a couple screws, and it's right there. Except that the stupid screw/clips had been removed before, and damaged the plastic, and rusted all to hell. So I put it back in better shape than I found it, anyway. Stupid tech manual says to remove the bumper cover. Screw that.

Also did a little (very similar) exploratory surgery on my housemate's '13 ES300h (removing trim and pondering the underside of things.) It needs a new windshield wiper reservoir or pump (it's piddling on the floor), so I ordered both.