Tales Of A Mercenary Mechanic

[monkeyswrench]

Today was an ass kicker, but really shouldn't have been. First off, I'd like to extend my heart felt gratitude towards the Ford engineer that put struts on F150's. My he die a slow horrible death while listening to uncorked 13b rotaries. That was f'n stooped!

Got that done, and managed to keep my 9 fingers, so pretty good day up to that point. Another project on the to-do list was mounting a toolbox on a trailer. Aluminum box to wood deck, no problem. I took some 1/8th by 1 1/4 strap and made some plates to reinforce the area, so the bolts don't crack the aluminum...had that problem with flatbed pickups. There had been some thunder, but still sunny...

As I drill the deck, I start feeling rain drops...crap! I get the bolts in...need to be a 1/2 inch longer...crap! I find 4 new bolts, and get back to the trailer...and all hell breaks loose!

Me and a few of the locals took cover. It's only supposed to be a quick deal. Weather report said something like a 1/4 inch this afternoon.

A little over an hour later, it slows down finally. Still raining, but not horrible. Have to finish box mounting and hit the road.

Make it off the property, and about 300yds...well shit, the POS ain't gonna make it.

The water was going down, so I figured I'd wait a bit. I started preparing...moved tool box to front seat, and stuff into the back seat floor, trying to get weight on drive wheels. I also put the tow hook in. I figured it would make recovery of the car or my body easier.

A couple of trucks stopped to ask if I was alright. Nice folk out there...didn't pic on me at all for having that car out there. One of them came back by, and we got to talking a bit. He said this one and the next are hard bottom, and not too bad...but the next is pretty muddy leading up to it, and on side is washed out pretty good.

He turns to his son and says "we aren't doing anything right now." Turns to me and says "I got a chain, I can hook on that eye bolt and keep straight and help you though."

After 2 hours of watching the tide, I was chained up, and pulled like a flunkie behind a wake tractor. Did the same at the next crossing too!

I offered him and his son money as we were popping the chain off at the end. He said "no, no. I didn't do it for money, i did it for friendship. I won't take any money, pay it forward."

Gonna have to say, choked me up a bit. If it weren't for them, I'd probably be camped on the road. I heard there was another storm coming in later. 100 miles later, after river crossings and mud bogging, made it home. Always an adventure!

 

[The Chicken]

Today was an ass kicker, but really shouldn't have been. First off, I'd like to extend my heart felt gratitude towards the Ford engineer that put struts on F150's. My he die a slow horrible death while listening to uncorked 13b rotaries. That was f'n stooped!

Got that done, and managed to keep my 9 fingers, so pretty good day up to that point. Another project on the to-do list was mounting a toolbox on a trailer. Aluminum box to wood deck, no problem. I took some 1/8th by 1 1/4 strap and made some plates to reinforce the area, so the bolts don't crack the aluminum...had that problem with flatbed pickups. There had been some thunder, but still sunny...

As I drill the deck, I start feeling rain drops...crap! I get the bolts in...need to be a 1/2 inch longer...crap! I find 4 new bolts, and get back to the trailer...and all hell breaks loose! View attachment 1414404

Me and a few of the locals took cover. It's only supposed to be a quick deal. Weather report said something like a 1/4 inch this afternoon.
View attachment 1414410 View attachment 1414411
A little over an hour later, it slows down finally. Still raining, but not horrible. Have to finish box mounting and hit the road. View attachment 1414412
Make it off the property, and about 300yds...well shit, the POS ain't gonna make it.
View attachment 1414414
The water was going down, so I figured I'd wait a bit. I started preparing...moved tool box to front seat, and stuff into the back seat floor, trying to get weight on drive wheels. I also put the tow hook in. I figured it would make recovery of the car or my body easier.
View attachment 1414418
A couple of trucks stopped to ask if I was alright. Nice folk out there...didn't pic on me at all for having that car out there. One of them came back by, and we got to talking a bit. He said this one and the next are hard bottom, and not too bad...but the next is pretty muddy leading up to it, and on side is washed out pretty good.

He turns to his son and says "we aren't doing anything right now." Turns to me and says "I got a chain, I can hook on that eye bolt and keep straight and help you though."

After 2 hours of watching the tide, I was chained up, and pulled like a flunkie behind a wake tractor. Did the same at the next crossing too!

I offered him and his son money as we were popping the chain off at the end. He said "no, no. I didn't do it for money, i did it for friendship. I won't take any money, pay it forward."

Gonna have to say, choked me up a bit. If it weren't for them, I'd probably be camped on the road. I heard there was another storm coming in later. 100 miles later, after river crossings and mud bogging, made it home. Always an adventure!

Ha, ha! Probably nobody told you that 4 of those dogs are scared of storms and will crawl all over you in an attempt to get you to hold them and be their thunder buddy.
The fifth dog doesn’t give a crap, but will do everything he can to get you to rub his ears.

 

[monkeyswrench]

Ha, ha! Probably nobody told you that 4 of those dogs are scared of storms and will crawl all over you in an attempt to get you to hold them and be their thunder buddy.
The fifth dog doesn’t give a crap, but will do everything he can to get you to rub his ears.

Before the storm, probably thunder in the distance, opened the bay door to load tools up...four of them breeched! It took me 20 minutes to get all 4 out...the white fluffy one came back in and would skirt the perimeter

 

[monkeyswrench]

On the trip out to the Farm, the POS copped an attitude. Went into what can only be described as Flintsone mode. Downhills were doable, gravity on my side. Uphill, well those felt like I needed to get out and push. Friday got busy with family in a hurry, and then got a desperate call from a guy...

A guy had just made a deal on his 2019 Peterbilt. Buyer flying in from Montana to drive it home. Murphy reared his ugly mug, and flipped on a check engine light. In a 20min span I'd talked to both of them, they called me, never met either of them. So, I run over to where the truck is parked first thing Saturday morning. Fire up the scanner thing. There were a buttload of codes, but no active ones. Turns out, the guy had always used a mechanic that worked for the county. He's since retired, but would use the "work" scanner to diagnose, but never would clear the codes after swapping out parts. The freeze frame info supported this, as they were all older. No real reason for the light. So, I ask him how old the batteries were, and explain that low voltage will trigger a light when cranking. The truck had been sitting with the key on while scanning it. When I cranked it up, a warning flashed across the scanner "Voltage Under 11 Volts Detected" Cool, that was figured out. With it running, checked the soot loads and Def stuff, made sure it was good to go. Called Montana guy and let him know everything was pretty good.

So, Saturday afternoon I go back to pulling my hair out with the Prius. No codes, batteries doing good...I don't think it's electronic. The Prius sites are not filled with mechanical types, technodorks. So, I deduce my gas motor isn't making enough power, and the electric stuff is trying to shoulder the load...and failing. I did a compression test, and it was good. When doing that, I saw it has a VVT solenoid in the head. Well, if the valve timing won't advance, neither will spark. No codes because it has no misfires and other stuff is kind of working. Maybe? New solenoid is almost 100$. I wasn't willing to bet that much. So, grabbed one out of a wrecked prius at the wrecking yard. Popped it in, and it feels like a much faster Yugo again. Unfortunately, my Pyro is showing I have some restriction in the cat. I'll deal with that later. For now though, I think my gas saver is temporarily healed!

 

[monkeyswrench]

Ok, Ford TTB...twin traction beam. Really a pretty good setup, can get pretty good articulation and travel. When stuff breaks though, it can be a bitch. The left beam also acts as the carrier housing. So, the left axle has one u-joint in the knuckle. Since the right beam moves independently, it has a secondary u-joint, and a slip yoke, just outside of the carrier. On a long travel setup, when both beams are in droop, it's very important to have the suspension limited. If you don't, the slip will bottom out and hammer the u-joint. This one is limited, but age and use took it's toll.

Now, to get to that middle u-joint, you have to pull the axles. Left, just pull the spindle and it pulls right out. Right, we'll, it's a bitch. One may be able to get the U-joint pulled, but the axle seals were leaking as well.

To get it to this point though was massive profanity. The third member is held in place by the equivalent to cover bolts, and a pinch bolt on the rear. That bolt is usually hidden beneath the radius arm. On a stock truck, there is a bolt on the bottom, and the top bolt doubles as the coil spring retainer. This one had coilovers, easy-peazy...or so I thought.

Hiding up and to the right is where the 4" pinch bolt needed to come out. The 1 ¹/⁸ bolt on the left posed a problem though. It laughed at a 1/2 inch impact. It broke a 24" breaker bar. I scoured the shop, and found some burly sockets, but not a bar to fit them. I had to throw in the towel, and come back with the big guns...

This is my 3/4" drive breaker bar...and my size 12 boots for comparison. This thing breaks stuff loose, or just breaks it. I still had to put a 4ft pipe over the end, and my 225lb ass doing an odd combination of leg press and row to pop it loose! Bitches were tight!

Here's the pinch bolt, finally. These Dana 35's aren't equipped with a drain plug, and breaking the seal is a bit of a booger. I managed to do so without wearing gear oil...I was very happy, major win.

To remove the RH axle, you need to remove this E-clip. Gears looked good, and everything felt decent. Needed an oil change anyway...but really most of the PITA was for that clip.

The axle yoke itself took some damage. I'd previous to my first trip tried to locate some spare parts. Turns out these aren't as plentiful as they were. I cleaned up the area as best I could, and got all the u-joints pressed back together. It's not perfect, but functioning well. I put everything back together, put it 4 high and went down the sand wash, and did a 3pt turn. Best part, it made it back!

 

[Wedgy]

Good save! Dominate MW!

 

[17 10 Flat]

Im thinking if monkey lived in a more populated area he could open a shop and kill it...

 

[monkeyswrench]

Im thinking if monkey lived in a more populated area he could open a shop and kill it...

It's not so much the outside world. For the most part, things are limited by time constraints. If I were in a steady business location, or employed by someone else, I would need to be there a minimum of Monday through Friday, and at least 8 to 5. With the current household situation, that won't fly. So, it's not about making big money, it's only about making enough. That can vary from person to person. In our house, it may vary from week to week.

Bills get paid, we eat, rinse and repeat

 

[17 10 Flat]

It's not so much the outside world. For the most part, things are limited by time constraints. If I were in a steady business location, or employed by someone else, I would need to be there a minimum of Monday through Friday, and at least 8 to 5. With the current household situation, that won't fly. So, it's not about making big money, it's only about making enough. That can vary from person to person. In our house, it may vary from week to week.

Bills get paid, we eat, rinse and repeat

Gotcha...life is working for you, family first. !!

 

[monkeyswrench]

Gotcha...life is working for you, family first. !!

Actually, life isn't working for me...she kind of made me her bitch for the time being. It's alright though, nothing is constant but change. Work with whatcha got, "adapt and overcome"

 

[monkeyswrench]

Here's just a picture I took at the wrecking yard...thought some of you may find the inner workings of a CVT trans interesting.

It's a slightly more technical version of your SxS stuff. In this case, instead of centrifugal weights, they use a computer to vary hydraulic pressure into the driven and drive clutches. The "belt", is a very intricate metallic assembly, it kind of looks like a snake skin. The gear up top ends up kind of being a sun gear, and from there the planets operate against a drum which can be manipulated again by the computer to give you forward gearing, or a reduced ratio reverse. I don't like driving them, but impressive doodads none the less.

 

[PlumLoco]

My son just sent me a photo from work today. I always wondered how people got 75,000 miles out of a set of brakes. Now I know.

 

[warpt71]

Here's just a picture I took at the wrecking yard...thought some of you may find the inner workings of a CVT trans interesting. View attachment 1423353
It's a slightly more technical version of your SxS stuff. In this case, instead of centrifugal weights, they use a computer to vary hydraulic pressure into the driven and drive clutches. The "belt", is a very intricate metallic assembly, it kind of looks like a snake skin. The gear up top ends up kind of being a sun gear, and from there the planets operate against a drum which can be manipulated again by the computer to give you forward gearing, or a reduced ratio reverse. I don't like driving them, but impressive doodads none the less.

I have a Nissan with one of these transmissions, its the strangest thing I've ever driven lol I've learned to put it in "sport" mode so I can actually feel a shift, it still feels sloppy. I heard that they can be problematic, hoping mine will go another 100K miles

 

[Runs2rch]

My son just sent me a photo from work today. I always wondered how people got 75,000 miles out of a set of brakes. Now I know.

I just came in for an oil change! Don't you dare upsell me!!!

 

[4Waters]

My son just sent me a photo from work today. I always wondered how people got 75,000 miles out of a set of brakes. Now I know.

How do you not get over 75k on a set of brakes? LOL

 

[Eliminator21vdrive]

My son just sent me a photo from work today. I always wondered how people got 75,000 miles out of a set of brakes. Now I know.

I had one that went metal to metal for so long that the pas slipped down and cut what was lest of the rotor off the hat lol. I gave it to my supplier to hang on the wall

 

[monkeyswrench]

Happy holiday weekend!
Well, not much happening out this way. On Saturday I kind of did some "consulting". The gentleman with the nice 65 2+2 wants to lower the car more. So, went over and checked clearances and tire size, and formulated a plan.

Yesterday I woke up feeling pretty good, so did some yard work...like clearing a path to my shop. Jungle stuff!

Just when I thought I was going to get back in there a month ago, another wheel fell off the Monkey Wagon....had to regroup, which is more re-re-re-grouping. I think after this week I should be able to get back to some stuff. Literally, we'll see how tomorrow goes.

Today I woke up with an ass kicker of a cold. At 7am, drinking coffee trying find my head, get a text. Shop down the street. They aren't open today, but didn't finish...start...two rigs they promised for Tuesday.
Sure, why not...
One was a compressor service on a foam power pack. The other was a generator service on a spray trailer.

Of course, full of crap. This is also the most poorly laid out foam trailer I've ever seen. The "Yang Dong" generator is just the icing on the cake.

Smacked my head on that blue box (drier) twice! Finished up, came home and passed out for a few hours. The cold thing sucks!

 

[monkeyswrench]

Short week, and may have had the Rona...feeling better now, a bit snotty, but not dizzy and sweaty for no reason.

Wednesday I went and removed a mower deck. Same older lady with the little tractor. She plowed a rock, and the thing started shaking. Well, it being 95, and me dying, I got creative. My old pickup has no ac...the Ex has great AC!

Brought it home to figure out how the best way to fix it on the cheap was. They wanted a bunch for a new deck.

It knocked the spindle loose, and blew through the deck. Bent it on the way.

Backed it with a sledge head, and hammered it back into shape with a big cross peen.

Figured the cheapest, easiest way was to re-clock the new spindle. Used a transfer punch to mark my new holes.

Tools you don't need much, but happy when you have them. The other spindle didn't want to come apart with the impact, so big breaker bars were needed.

Ain't sexy boat or hotrod stuff, but it pays the bills

 

[Andy B.]

Is there anything out there you can't fix LOL

 

[4Waters]

Short week, and may have had the Rona...feeling better now, a bit snotty, but not dizzy and sweaty for no reason.

Wednesday I went and removed a mower deck. Same older lady with the little tractor. She plowed a rock, and the thing started shaking. Well, it being 95, and me dying, I got creative. My old pickup has no ac...the Ex has great AC! View attachment 1426536
Brought it home to figure out how the best way to fix it on the cheap was. They wanted a bunch for a new deck. View attachment 1426538
It knocked the spindle loose, and blew through the deck. Bent it on the way. View attachment 1426540
Backed it with a sledge head, and hammered it back into shape with a big cross peen. View attachment 1426541
Figured the cheapest, easiest way was to re-clock the new spindle. Used a transfer punch to mark my new holes. View attachment 1426545
Tools you don't need much, but happy when you have them. The other spindle didn't want to come apart with the impact, so big breaker bars were needed. View attachment 1426547
Ain't sexy boat or hotrod stuff, but it pays the bills

Just curious as we never know when we might be in that situation. Is there a reason welding washers in place wouldn't work? There's some things that pictures don't/can't show.

 

[poncho]

Short week, and may have had the Rona...feeling better now, a bit snotty, but not dizzy and sweaty for no reason.

Wednesday I went and removed a mower deck. Same older lady with the little tractor. She plowed a rock, and the thing started shaking. Well, it being 95, and me dying, I got creative. My old pickup has no ac...the Ex has great AC! View attachment 1426536
Brought it home to figure out how the best way to fix it on the cheap was. They wanted a bunch for a new deck. View attachment 1426538
It knocked the spindle loose, and blew through the deck. Bent it on the way. View attachment 1426540
Backed it with a sledge head, and hammered it back into shape with a big cross peen. View attachment 1426541
Figured the cheapest, easiest way was to re-clock the new spindle. Used a transfer punch to mark my new holes. View attachment 1426545
Tools you don't need much, but happy when you have them. The other spindle didn't want to come apart with the impact, so big breaker bars were needed. View attachment 1426547
Ain't sexy boat or hotrod stuff, but it pays the bills

I paid $385 last summer to get the mower deck tuned up for my In-Laws, sat for 4 years, when I got it going the belt wouldn't stay on.
The brackets holding the pulleys are made of paper metal.
Nice job and good on you for helping.

 

[monkeyswrench]

Just curious as we never know when we might be in that situation. Is there a reason welding washers in place wouldn't work? There's some things that pictures don't/can't show.

I had 2 thoughts: weld gusset washers in place, or weld a new "plate" in. I scrapped the plate due to time and money, need all the holes perfect. Washers were an idea, but the holes wallered out into big eggs. They are 1/4" holes, that became near 1" ovals. By the time the mushroomed metal was cleaned up, it needed a fender washer, and I had no source for thick, AN style ones and the deck is fairly stout metal, maybe 1/8th?

Is there anything out there you can't fix LOL

Yes...my damn POS is giving me fits! About to use all the gas I've saved to torch it

I paid $385 last summer to get the mower deck tuned up for my In-Laws, sat for 4 years, when I got it going the belt wouldn't stay on.
The brackets holding the pulleys are made of paper metal.
Nice job and good on you for helping.

Something I forgot to mention, this thing has brakes on the pulleys. The wallered out one tweaked the hell out of it, and had to be straightened up to be functional again.

 

[callbob]

Is there anything out there you can't fix LOL

Shit he could fix the crack of dawn.

 

[poncho]

I had 2 thoughts: weld gusset washers in place, or weld a new "plate" in. I scrapped the plate due to time and money, need all the holes perfect. Washers were an idea, but the holes wallered out into big eggs. They are 1/4" holes, that became near 1" ovals. By the time the mushroomed metal was cleaned up, it needed a fender washer, and I had no source for thick, AN style ones and the deck is fairly stout metal, maybe 1/8th?

Yes...my damn POS is giving me fits! About to use all the gas I've saved to torch it


Something I forgot to mention, this thing has brakes on the pulleys. The wallered out one tweaked the hell out of it, and had to be straightened up to be functional again.

That was just one of the issues on their deck, 42".

 

[monkeyswrench]

I'm creeping up on a thought...or driving it to a parking lot to torch...we'll see.

The absolute load is telling me the motor's winded, trying to run but not. Thus the red, bad news. The next things, the upstream and downstream Temps. The engine side of the cat is actually suppose to be cooler than the outlet. The catalyst is suppose to raise Temps as it does it's magic. If the engine side is higher, the cat is probably plugged if the Temps reach high numbers. I saw 1490 at 4200rpm...and 1500cc's of power.

Now, the weirdness of a Prius. It's an Atkinson Cycle. A motor designed for efficiency at the expense of power. Go figure. The intake valve actually hangs open long enough for almost half the air and fuel charge to be pumped back into the intake...making the displacement of the intake stroke half that of the combustion stroke. So, armed with that info, I don't know what is the same as normal motors, but thinking the cat is clogged and it makes the gutless wonder even more gutless.

 

[mash on it]

The third harmonic.
It's a thing.
That's all I got.

Dan'l

 

[monkeyswrench]

Honestly, I'm wondering about the backpressure...if that's a 3rd harmonic deal. Like the pulse on an expansion chamber. What's really annoying, all the Prius sites are filled with people that have lots of knowledge of batteries and wires, but no mechanic people. I've scoured the web, looking in all the rainbow warrior hybrid groups, and there is no mention of cam specs. Without that, I have no idea when the valve events take place, if there is overlap or scavenging and how much. I would think it would need some to draw the intake charge, but the motor is so goofy, it may rely strictly on the piston stroke...

The third harmonic.
It's a thing.
That's all I got.

Dan'l

 

[callbob]

Time for an LS swap?

 

[Rajobigguy]

Honestly, I'm wondering about the backpressure...if that's a 3rd harmonic deal. Like the pulse on an expansion chamber. What's really annoying, all the Prius sites are filled with people that have lots of knowledge of batteries and wires, but no mechanic people. I've scoured the web, looking in all the rainbow warrior hybrid groups, and there is no mention of cam specs. Without that, I have no idea when the valve events take place, if there is overlap or scavenging and how much. I would think it would need some to draw the intake charge, but the motor is so goofy, it may rely strictly on the piston stroke...

Kevin:
Have you looked at the T/E balance sensors located in the headrests?
In a Prius, when the T level exceeds the preset threshold and doesn’t have a corresponding E level to nullify the excess T the car will go into “limp mode”.
In your case trying to lower the T level in the passenger compartment may not be an option but by installing a 6 ohm resister on the output of the T side of the sensor may fool the computer into thinking that there is a low T level in the passenger compartment and restore normal driving mode.
Another option would be to wear a wig with a man-bun tied up in back. This should filter or altogether eliminate the excess T. Opening a pac of Midol may be able to raise the E level enough to balance out the excess T but there could be unintended side effects using this particular hack.

 

[TimeBandit]

I've never dug that deep into the why, but I have removed O2 sensors and drive it to see if that relieves back pressure to check for a clogged cat.

This helped me diagnose a G9 Civic and a G3 insight that had no power.

The power loss from a clogged cat is usually pretty dramatic I've heard of removing an O2 sensor and using a borescope to inspect. something else I've never done, but I just got a borescope recently.

On the G1 insight there is a guru who designed a lithium conversion for the high voltage battery and I know he's working on one for the early Prius.

I hope you find the culprit.

 

[Willie B]

Kevin:
Have you looked at the T/E balance sensors located in the headrests?
In a Prius, when the T level exceeds the preset threshold and doesn’t have a corresponding E level to nullify the excess T the car will go into “limp mode”.
In your case trying to lower the T level in the passenger compartment may not be an option but by installing a 6 ohm resister on the output of the T side of the sensor may fool the computer into thinking that there is a low T level in the passenger compartment and restore normal driving mode.
Another option would be to wear a wig with a man-bun tied up in back. This should filter or altogether eliminate the excess T. Opening a pac of Midol may be able to raise the E level enough to balance out the excess T but there could be unintended side effects using this particular hack.

… well, it’s 6:30 in the morning in North Hollywood, California … And I just woke up laughing reading this… The crazy part is there may be some truth to it. I don’t really know …I know nothing about Prius.

 

[lbhsbz]

Just pull an o2 and check back pressure.

Cam specs won’t get you very far since they advance and retard at the will of the ECM.

 

[monkeyswrench]

Time for an LS swap?

Problem is, the thing is an evil necessary. I drive a bare minimum of 40 miles a day, some days as high as 220 if I have an inspection in Flagstaff. Even with the DoD crap, an Ls isn't doing 45mpg

I've never dug that deep into the why, but I have removed O2 sensors and drive it to see if that relieves back pressure to check for a clogged cat.

This helped me diagnose a G9 Civic and a G3 insight that had no power.

The power loss from a clogged cat is usually pretty dramatic I've heard of removing an O2 sensor and using a borescope to inspect. something else I've never done, but I just got a borescope recently.

On the G1 insight there is a guru who designed a lithium conversion for the high voltage battery and I know he's working on one for the early Prius.

I hope you find the culprit.

Tried to pull the upstream 02, but it's in the manifold, and recessed, couldn't get to it to put a back pressure gauge on the thing.

Kevin:
Have you looked at the T/E balance sensors located in the headrests?
In a Prius, when the T level exceeds the preset threshold and doesn’t have a corresponding E level to nullify the excess T the car will go into “limp mode”.
In your case trying to lower the T level in the passenger compartment may not be an option but by installing a 6 ohm resister on the output of the T side of the sensor may fool the computer into thinking that there is a low T level in the passenger compartment and restore normal driving mode.
Another option would be to wear a wig with a man-bun tied up in back. This should filter or altogether eliminate the excess T. Opening a pac of Midol may be able to raise the E level enough to balance out the excess T but there could be unintended side effects using this particular hack.

Nah, I'm half Mexican and half German...I should have enough "T" to drink a keg daily and still get the hydraulics to work

Just pull an o2 and check back pressure.

Cam specs won’t get you very far since they advance and retard at the will of the ECM.

The placement is really stupid for the O2. It's essentially in the collector portion of the manifold, which normally isn't too bad. Apparently, Prius had some goofy crossmember I haven't seen on other fwd cars. That said, I hate front wheel drive stuff and don't work on much of it really.

The advantage to knowing any cam specs would be knowing valve events at startup. This is an early motor, and only has a primitive vvt setup, and only on the intake cam. At startup, and lower rpm's, not much control variation by the ecm.

 

[callbob]

If anybody can fix it, the monkey can I have no doubt. Was just kidding about the LS swap but how about a Corolla 4 banger. That’s what was in the last 3 company cars I had and got 40 or better in Colorado with mountain passes and driving it like a….company car lol

 

[Lunatic Fringe]

Time for an LS swap?

Or Briggs & Stratton if he's only wanting a mild performance upgrade.

 

[monkeyswrench]

Ok, last Saturday I swapped out the cat. Had success! F'k those techno dorks on the Prius boards, something straight mechanical. Should have listened to my instinct, but live and learn.

Busy week of weird stuff. I did 8 inspections this week, lots of broken new stuff. Put almost 700mi on the POS, so glad I got my mileage back up to 45. Early in the week, got a lead handed to me for what could be a big job. Major logistics involved, and it's currently at another shop 250mi away. I actually threw some help to the other shop, hoping to help the owner out. We'll see, may still head my way, stay tuned.

Did a couple services for people, nothing too exciting. Learned that backing a trailer up a 10ft wide, winding driveway is not fun, but doable. Been working in the evenings the past few days trying to unstick an exhaust valve on a 10k generator. The intake side gets cooled by fuel, the exhaust side gets coke cooked in the guide. Patience...and profanity

 

[jetboatperformance]

Ok, last Saturday I swapped out the cat. Had success! F'k those techno dorks on the Prius boards, something straight mechanical. Should have listened to my instinct, but live and learn.

Busy week of weird stuff. I did 8 inspections this week, lots of broken new stuff. Put almost 700mi on the POS, so glad I got my mileage back up to 45. Early in the week, got a lead handed to me for what could be a big job. Major logistics involved, and it's currently at another shop 250mi away. I actually threw some help to the other shop, hoping to help the owner out. We'll see, may still head my way, stay tuned.

Did a couple services for people, nothing too exciting. Learned that backing a trailer up a 10ft wide, winding driveway is not fun, but doable. Been working in the evenings the past few days trying to unstick an exhaust valve on a 10k generator. The intake side gets cooled by fuel, the exhaust side gets coke cooked in the guide. Patience...and profanity

Welcome to my world (inspections) so now that you have a "taste" would you rather drive to a shop and take pictures and prepare a report or bust your knuckles I only did 5 this week and only got threatened once by a grumpy Tech

 

[Rajobigguy]

Welcome to my world (inspections) so now that you have a "taste" would you rather drive to a shop and take pictures and prepare a report or bust your knuckles I only did 5 this week and only got threatened once by a grumpy Tech

When I was working I headed up just about every Root Cause Analysis at multiple locations. I was involved in so many that RCA became “Roger Caused Another.”

 

[monkeyswrench]

Welcome to my world (inspections) so now that you have a "taste" would you rather drive to a shop and take pictures and prepare a report or bust your knuckles I only did 5 this week and only got threatened once by a grumpy Tech

Still wrenching, as this is part time. What I really like about it is seeing newer stuff, causes and what brands and models have what problems. I definitely learn more than I would staying in my on comfort zone.

Only had 1 grumpy tech, but his writer was also grumpy...pretty sure that whole dealership Bad experience, after finally tracking down one, to find the tech...he handed me the keys and pointed in the general direction..."the red one", of which there were three. Then had to wait 20 minutes back in the office for the writer to show up again, because no one knew where the RO was. Local dealership, won't be recommending.

 

[jetboatperformance]

Still wrenching, as this is part time. What I really like about it is seeing newer stuff, causes and what brands and models have what problems. I definitely learn more than I would staying in my on comfort zone.

Only had 1 grumpy tech, but his writer was also grumpy...pretty sure that whole dealership Bad experience, after finally tracking down one, to find the tech...he handed me the keys and pointed in the general direction..."the red one", of which there were three. Then had to wait 20 minutes back in the office for the writer to show up again, because no one knew where the RO was. Local dealership, won't be recommending.

I have a cure for that "I politely say without cooperation and assistance I cant do this inspection , and begin to walk out I tell them alls I have to do is "pass Go" and collect my $$ if all else fails I take a pic of the dealer and leave, file my report with that information .... and their claim gets delayed They learn pretty fast

 

[monkeyswrench]

I have a cure for that "I politely say without cooperation and assistance I cant do this inspection , and begin to walk out I tell them alls I have to do is "pass Go" and collect my $$ if all else fails I take a pic of the dealer and leave, file my report with that information .... and their claim gets delayed They learn pretty fast

I haven't gotten to that point yet. I really have met some decent people...this shop sucked. I usually figure I've made the effort to get there, and in most cases there's a car owner that is waiting on me. My tolerance for assholes is pretty high, coming from a roofing home.

I'm only at about 80 inspections. It's a real eye opener, seeing that new stuff breaks a bunch. I'll stick to my 20 yo junk.

 

[jetboatperformance]

I haven't gotten to that point yet. I really have met some decent people...this shop sucked. I usually figure I've made the effort to get there, and in most cases there's a car owner that is waiting on me. My tolerance for assholes is pretty high, coming from a roofing home.

I'm only at about 80 inspections. It's a real eye opener, seeing that new stuff breaks a bunch. I'll stick to my 20 yo junk.

65000 (done and supervised) for Me since 86' lots of stories , Yesterday was a first , when the tech had a tantrum I went to the Service Manager , then the Tech slips in behind me and nuts up... Then made the really stupid mistake of telling me "he wouldn't do anything here but if He saw me out somewhere off premises " ......... that went from a verbal assault to a threat of physical violence with witnesses , young guy bad temper.... anyhow as you remember in the beginning I'm always there to help if you need it

 

[monkeyswrench]

65000 (done and supervised) for Me since 86' lots of stories , Yesterday was a first , when the tech had a tantrum I went to the Service Manager , then the Tech slips in behind me and nuts up... Then made the really stupid mistake of telling me "he wouldn't do anything here but if He saw me out somewhere off premises " ......... that went from a verbal assault to a threat of physical violence with witnesses , young guy bad temper.... anyhow as you remember in the beginning I'm always there to help if you need it

Well, people are getting less intelligent...we all see it

I've learned that giving a verbal report, make the taker laugh. Their job sucks I think, so giving them a laugh helps. For instance, at crappy dealer, called in and one of their questions is "any signs of abuse?" so, the first thing that popped into my mind was that some one had written in the dust on the window. "Well, kinda. Someone wrote "hoe" on the driver window dust."

I appreciate the help. It's been a good boost around here as well as an educational deal. A lot of the techs just seem to be happy I know the difference between a transmission and a differential. Oddly enough, I've run into at least one dealer tech that probably didn't. Funny though, that dealer has ads on the radio looking for techs, offering bonuses and all kinds of stuff. I think right now they have a porter as their lead

 

[monkeyswrench]

On to the tales of weird stuff. It turns out that a Harbor Freight Predator 9500 is a big damn generator. Me being currently "between" trucks so to speak, makes it a bit interesting. When I picked it up from the gentleman, he had himself a nice little tractor. Quite the show, pulling it out of the bucket and into the back of an Excursion. As comical as that was, it was not to be outdone by the dismount

I have no video or pics, because I was by myself...and had my hands full. I have an old 6ft dirtbike ramp. Steel, homemade, but stout. I lashed it to the bumper, and gently slid it to the ground. Hell, I was pretty proud of myself.
Note to self: Think I want a truck with a crane.

I'd already determined there was no compression. So, once it was home, I ran the same plug adapter, and ran an air hose to it. If you do this, set the regulator to 10-15psi. You really just want to hear where the air is going. Full shop air can blow out seals, and that would suck. Loosen up the rockers so the springs close the valves, and see what happens. The air came out the exhaust, valve not closing. No problem...well, a little.

The valve stem was coked with burnt oil, and not allowing spring tension to seat it. Pulled the valve keepers and springs, and the valve was very tight in the guide. Hosed it with two things, alternating.

The Gumout stuff is good for detaching carbon build-up, but evaporates fast. The Sea-Foam stuff is ok at decarbon, but creeps in good as a lube. I used a brass drift to tap the valve in, and then catch the retainer groove to pull it back out. Did that until it felt a little easier. Then round 2

This is a 1/4" stud remover socket. As you turn it counter clockwise, the rollers inside grip. So far, I've never had one damage a valve stem, like pliers would.

At this point, just keep turning, push and pull while spraying occasionally. Got it loosened up all through it's travel. Aired the cylinder up again, and checked to see if the valve still seated. Used the air to keep the valve closed for reassembly, used to use clothes line shoved in the cylinder, but moved up

Set the lash on the valves, and stuck it back together. Motor needs a service. I think that's part of the reason the valve coked up. It will get an oil change after I throw some SeaFoam through it.

 

[mash on it]

@monkeyswrench , I have the same genny. I have one of those 4' long by 20" tall aluminum 'bench' that I put behind the bumper of my pickup.(4x4 F250) One dead lift to the bench, and another to the tailgate.
Mind you, I have a hatchet wound in my chest. (Cabg-6) It's only 192 lbs. You got this. Luckily I don't have to do it often. But a few times a year.
I've slid loaded small blocks down hill with a 2x12 plank on the China wall more than once.
Force times distance.

Dan'l

 

[monkeyswrench]

@monkeyswrench , I have the same genny. I have one of those 4' long by 20" tall aluminum 'bench' that I put behind the bumper of my pickup.(4x4 F250) One dead lift to the bench, and another to the tailgate.
Mind you, I have a hatchet wound in my chest. (Cabg-6) It's only 192 lbs. You got this. Luckily I don't have to do it often. But a few times a year.
I've slid loaded small blocks down hill with a 2x12 plank on the China wall more than once.
Force times distance.

Dan'l

Probably how it will go back into the SUV...onto the work platform, then from there into back.
That same dirtbike ramp, I've slid engines from the ground up into the bed. Things get creative

 

[monkeyswrench]

Well, another interesting day. A guy called me the other day saying "Jeff" gave him my number. Well, he has an old ranch quad that stopped running. The rundown was he'd run it low on gas, switched to reserve, ran a few minutes and died. He was thinking the carb got fouled up from stuff switching it over. Sounded about right...

Pulled the carb, clean. Went ahead and checked the passages, and stuck it together. No joy. It was getting fuel, but no fire. Well hell...pulled the coil wire, and used a screwdriver. Lots of spark! So, pulled the plug, and stuck it in the boot...no spark! Plug must have cracked at the same time he ran it out, or it cracked and he just thought it was out of gas?

Ran down to the parts house, and got a plug. Yep, that did it. Reset the carb, and done deal.

BTW, after some thought and asking the owner if "Jeff" was into boats, I deduced he is from here. Thank you for the plug "Jeff", we appreciate it.

Got home, and started prepping for tomorrow. @mash on it is more of a man than me. 250lbs wasn't happening. So, the ramp came out again, and I slid it back into the Excursion. Then loaded the other stuff needed for my trip and projects tomorrow.

Saw this guy this evening. Not related to anything here, except I want one: paraglider with nightlights!

 

[The Chicken]

Reminds me-we have a quad that now needs your attention because it runs like crap after putting it on reserve.
So add that to your to-do list up here in the sticks!

 

[monkeyswrench]

Yesterday did some exploratory surgery...some large kind stuff. This is an older CAT motor. I thought it was a 3306, but I was mistaken, it's a D333. Different pump design and a 3306 has a spacer plate between the block and the head. The motor would turn almost a full rotation, then stop. It could be persuaded a bit more, then rebound...even with glowplugs out. I thought it was a busted crown, and a ring was making contact.

So, pulled the rockers and the exhaust manifold, and some really big head bolts. I then got really creative, and lifted the head up high enough to place some 2x4's under the ends. The wood won't mess up the surfaces. This head is roughly 300lbs.

The 6 cylinders still had crosshatch, and the pistons were intact and pretty much where they should be...crap! So, I stuck my phone in and took pics for a better view. Cylinder 1 looked like this:

Some damage, but pretty common for a diesel dirt worker. The big valve reliefs match up with the valves in the head. Now, cylinder number 6 on the other hand, well, it's more of a free spirit...

In the middle, there appears to be a crack. The other thing that kind of stands out, the valve pockets. Well shit. My new theory is the rod must be catching the crank. Unfortunately, I didn't bring enough containers to drain 10-12 gallons of oil. The oil pan is the size of a casket. Buttoned up the top end for storage and safe from the weather. Put engine cover, muffler and air intake back on.

In an upcoming episode we'll do a CAT rectal exam. Hopefully the crank isn't too scarred. If it's not too bad, some bearings, gaskets, a couple slugs and a rod and it may live again!

 

[4Waters]

Yesterday did some exploratory surgery...some large kind stuff. This is an older CAT motor. I thought it was a 3306, but I was mistaken, it's a D333. Different pump design and a 3306 has a spacer plate between the block and the head. The motor would turn almost a full rotation, then stop. It could be persuaded a bit more, then rebound...even with glowplugs out. I thought it was a busted crown, and a ring was making contact. View attachment 1433785
So, pulled the rockers and the exhaust manifold, and some really big head bolts. I then got really creative, and lifted the head up high enough to place some 2x4's under the ends. The wood won't mess up the surfaces. This head is roughly 300lbs.

The 6 cylinders still had crosshatch, and the pistons were intact and pretty much where they should be...crap! So, I stuck my phone in and took pics for a better view. Cylinder 1 looked like this: View attachment 1433786
Some damage, but pretty common for a diesel dirt worker. The big valve reliefs match up with the valves in the head. Now, cylinder number 6 on the other hand, well, it's more of a free spirit... View attachment 1433789
In the middle, there appears to be a crack. The other thing that kind of stands out, the valve pockets. Well shit. My new theory is the rod must be catching the crank. Unfortunately, I didn't bring enough containers to drain 10-12 gallons of oil. The oil pan is the size of a casket. Buttoned up the top end for storage and safe from the weather. Put engine cover, muffler and air intake back on. View attachment 1433809
In an upcoming episode we'll do a CAT rectal exam. Hopefully the crank isn't too scarred. If it's not too bad, some bearings, gaskets, a couple slugs and a rod and it may live again!

We just got one of these about a year ago and on Monday while cutting (profiling, milling....) the street every single oil pan bolt broke and it dropped the pan and 48qts of oil all over the street. No other damage, they shut it off, crank, rods and pistons all intact and in their proper place.

I don't know the torque specs but I'm guessing what happened was, let's say the torque specs for the pan bolts are 25ft/lbs but the Chineseium bolts are only good for 15-18ft/lbs and cracked, and the vibration from the engine and the grinding finally broke them. 48qts is a big ass mess to clean up