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I get to start troubleshooting my truck this afternoon after getting a couple job apps done.
I will not be enjoying it. Had the exact same problem several months ago, changed the crank and cam sensors, and finally got it going with a junkyard crank sensor. Was fine ever since, but now after sitting a couple weeks, it's having the same issues. I'll try the store-bought crank sensor again. It's in the garage somewhere. If I wasn't such a cheapass I'd be tempted to just to take it someplace and let them do it, and then sell the POS and buy a newer truck. I have an OBD2 reader, but it only shows codes, and only vaguely narrowed it down last time. *moved some plug wires so they weren't touching the engine and realized the seal on the 3-wire plug to the coil was missing from last time I messed with it, and probably had moisture buildup between pins. Dried out and now it runs fine. |
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Quoted: my project for the weekend..I just had this apart a couple of weeks ago to change the axle seal. took it in for a safety inspection and..all 4 ball joints were wore out. Original lower ones..third set of top ones. I was looking at over $1000 to have it fixed and aligned at a shop. So I spent $175 for a ball joint press, 3/4 x 36mm socket and a 3/4 breaker bar and just over $400 for the parts. I figure I'm saving $500... http://www.ar15.com/media/viewFile.html?i=70126 Going to tackle the other side tomorrow. I had the drivers side wheel bearing replaced at the stealership under warranty. I broke a snap on 1/2" drive extension and a 3/4" to 1/2" adapter trying to get the axle nut off...my 3/4 impact gun wouldn't budge it. It took the 3/4" breaker bar and 4 feet of pipe to get it off. The washer behind it was deformed...those morons must have put it on with a 1" impact gun. View Quote Could have saved yourself money/time down the road and just replaced the whole lower and upper control arm. Just would have needed to buy a torsion bar tool for like $75. And you would have new bushings and ball joints. Edit: more money savings, don't need tool. http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=5646786&cc=1441179 |
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Was doing weekly maintenance on my K5 Blazer (check fluids, tire pressure, lights, etc). When it came to the backup lights, I had nothing. hmm. So I started at the back and worked forward, kinda, Since it was both lights, figured the odds of it being the bulbs would be nil, but gotta do the simplest things first. First things first, checked the fuses, all good, moved to the back and checked bulbs, they looked fine, check the outlet, no voltage, checked the plug/play connections at tail lights, nothing. hmmm. So, I know im not getting voltage to the Backup lights but everything else is good Off to the manual/net. I found that the Neutral safety switch also houses the backup light connections. So, off to find out where that is on my truck, I found it (lower part of column near firewall). It looks fine, but I call up Napa and order one (10bux). Now to figure out how to get it out,,hmm, not sure about that one, thinking its just some plastic clips, but Ill wait til I get the part in hand tomorrow. So, as I sit here, decide to research some more. Well, come to find out, this is an Adjustable piece and low and beyond, someone had an issue with no backup lights, they said they moved the adjustment a few clicks and it was good to go. So, I ran down and moved it a couple lights and BOOM!!!!!!!!!! I know have backup lights. Ill still pick up the Neutral safety switch just because, it is a 30year old truck. But I couldnt imagine what a garage wouldve charged or told the customer had they brought something like this in. Im guessing they wouldve just wholesale replaced the switch and call it good. I realize not all vehicles will be fixed this easily but Im glad it worked out. lol View Quote Exact same thing happened to me except the damn reverse lights would come on in park |
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I think its more the concepts. Valve bodies are intimidating to a layman, and the concepts involved in how a torque converter works can be a little bit confusing... and how power flows through planetaries, which gears are held and which ones are driven, driving, etc is difficult for most people to understand. The actual mechanical pieces of automatics aren't that complicated. Some planetaries, clutches, bands, gears, servos are all pretty simple to work on. A little different than a manual but not difficult by anymeans. If anything easier because they are usually held together by snap rings, rather having to press gears and bearings of with the shop press. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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About the only thing I won't do is rebuild a transmission. With the advent of the internet and Youtube, it makes it a lot easier to be a shade tree mechanic. A transmission rebuild is the last thing on my "list", and while the idea of it is intimidating, I'm just saying "fuck it" and jumping right in. No reason to bolt a ratty transmission with 156k on it to a freshly rebuilt engine. Luckily the car the engine/trans is going into has a 95% similar transmission in it still, that is busted. I'll open that one up first and play around with it before I scrap it. Also, any excuse to buy more tools is a good excuse... They are not witchcraft as everyone claims. I rebuilt my first several months ago and it was fairly easy. Plymouth 727 torqueflite. All new bushings, seals, clutch discs, steel discs, springs, etc. Just take it apart in sections and keep them all organized, there are a few spacers that need to be in the correct position to keep endplay in spec. Hardest part was pulling a few bushings with a cheap HF puller. I think its more the concepts. Valve bodies are intimidating to a layman, and the concepts involved in how a torque converter works can be a little bit confusing... and how power flows through planetaries, which gears are held and which ones are driven, driving, etc is difficult for most people to understand. The actual mechanical pieces of automatics aren't that complicated. Some planetaries, clutches, bands, gears, servos are all pretty simple to work on. A little different than a manual but not difficult by anymeans. If anything easier because they are usually held together by snap rings, rather having to press gears and bearings of with the shop press. I completely agree. I have no idea how they work with all the air passages, tc, planetaries, etc. I blocked all that out and replaced parts, checked measurments, tested servos with air and buttoned it back up. Maybe it is witchcraft |
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Congrats. The satisfaction from a job well done never gets old.
I can't get over men that can't change a tire. |
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Exact same thing happened to me except the damn reverse lights would come on in park View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Was doing weekly maintenance on my K5 Blazer (check fluids, tire pressure, lights, etc). When it came to the backup lights, I had nothing. hmm. So I started at the back and worked forward, kinda, Since it was both lights, figured the odds of it being the bulbs would be nil, but gotta do the simplest things first. First things first, checked the fuses, all good, moved to the back and checked bulbs, they looked fine, check the outlet, no voltage, checked the plug/play connections at tail lights, nothing. hmmm. So, I know im not getting voltage to the Backup lights but everything else is good Off to the manual/net. I found that the Neutral safety switch also houses the backup light connections. So, off to find out where that is on my truck, I found it (lower part of column near firewall). It looks fine, but I call up Napa and order one (10bux). Now to figure out how to get it out,,hmm, not sure about that one, thinking its just some plastic clips, but Ill wait til I get the part in hand tomorrow. So, as I sit here, decide to research some more. Well, come to find out, this is an Adjustable piece and low and beyond, someone had an issue with no backup lights, they said they moved the adjustment a few clicks and it was good to go. So, I ran down and moved it a couple lights and BOOM!!!!!!!!!! I know have backup lights. Ill still pick up the Neutral safety switch just because, it is a 30year old truck. But I couldnt imagine what a garage wouldve charged or told the customer had they brought something like this in. Im guessing they wouldve just wholesale replaced the switch and call it good. I realize not all vehicles will be fixed this easily but Im glad it worked out. lol Exact same thing happened to me except the damn reverse lights would come on in park I could see that. and NOW, I know when I see a car driving down the road with reverse lights on (going forward) or they are flicking, what the problem is, lol. |
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A transmission rebuild is the last thing on my "list", and while the idea of it is intimidating, I'm just saying "fuck it" and jumping right in. No reason to bolt a ratty transmission with 156k on it to a freshly rebuilt engine. Luckily the car the engine/trans is going into has a 95% similar transmission in it still, that is busted. I'll open that one up first and play around with it before I scrap it. Also, any excuse to buy more tools is a good excuse... View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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About the only thing I won't do is rebuild a transmission. With the advent of the internet and Youtube, it makes it a lot easier to be a shade tree mechanic. A transmission rebuild is the last thing on my "list", and while the idea of it is intimidating, I'm just saying "fuck it" and jumping right in. No reason to bolt a ratty transmission with 156k on it to a freshly rebuilt engine. Luckily the car the engine/trans is going into has a 95% similar transmission in it still, that is busted. I'll open that one up first and play around with it before I scrap it. Also, any excuse to buy more tools is a good excuse... If you buy the really good manual for your specific transmission, it's really a lot easier to do than you think. I learned how to do it that way, and all the ones I've done are still out there working good. |
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Quoted: Could have saved yourself money/time down the road and just replaced the whole lower and upper control arm. Just would have needed to buy a torsion bar tool for like $75. And you would have new bushings and ball joints. Edit: more money savings, don't need tool. http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=5646786&cc=1441179 View Quote |
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Quoted: Mine is an 08..doesn't have torsion bars..coil over struts. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Could have saved yourself money/time down the road and just replaced the whole lower and upper control arm. Just would have needed to buy a torsion bar tool for like $75. And you would have new bushings and ball joints. Edit: more money savings, don't need tool. http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=5646786&cc=1441179 That's why I struck it out and added the edit. |
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Quoted: That's why I struck it out and added the edit. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Could have saved yourself money/time down the road and just replaced the whole lower and upper control arm. Just would have needed to buy a torsion bar tool for like $75. And you would have new bushings and ball joints. Edit: more money savings, don't need tool. http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=5646786&cc=1441179 That's why I struck it out and added the edit. |
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I love wrenching my own stuff! I do know my limit though, I don't have an extensive equipment set, so when I see that I need stuff I don't have I take the truck/van in. but if I can do it, I love doing it and saving some money. After doing something that was a little challenging you almost, ALMOST want to do the King Kong chest beat LOL I did it! roar! yea, sounds stupid, I bet we all get that feeling of Victory. |
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I love wrenching my own stuff! I do know my limit though, I don't have an extensive equipment set, so when I see that I need stuff I don't have I take the truck/van in. but if I can do it, I love doing it and saving some money. After doing something that was a little challenging you almost, ALMOST want to do the King Kong chest beat LOL I did it! roar! yea, sounds stupid, I bet we all get that feeling of Victory. View Quote That's real man stuff. Unfortunately, real men are becoming a dying breed. |
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Just ordered struts, shocks, valve covers, gaskets, a PCV valve and spark plugs for our '05 Maxima. Wish me luck.
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Quoted: I love wrenching my own stuff! View Quote I do know my limit though, I don't have an extensive equipment set, so when I see that I need stuff I don't have I take the truck/van in. but if I can do it, I love doing it and saving some money. After doing something that was a little challenging you almost, ALMOST want to do the King Kong chest beat LOL I did it! roar! yea, sounds stupid, I bet we all get that feeling of Victory. That's why I didn't even bother with my TDI timing belt. Not that i couldn't do it, but I know my patience limits, plus the tools and parts (about $700) where as much as the TDI forum guru to do it, plus I didn't have to buy the VAGCOM software to reset the timing. ETA: Plus my billing time would have tripled the cost. |
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Had the truck in to get the front end aligned. Tech said the drivers side was almost right on..passenger side needed a little tweak.
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Quoted: If you buy the really good manual for your specific transmission, it's really a lot easier to do than you think. I learned how to do it that way, and all the ones I've done are still out there working good. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: About the only thing I won't do is rebuild a transmission. With the advent of the internet and Youtube, it makes it a lot easier to be a shade tree mechanic. A transmission rebuild is the last thing on my "list", and while the idea of it is intimidating, I'm just saying "fuck it" and jumping right in. No reason to bolt a ratty transmission with 156k on it to a freshly rebuilt engine. Luckily the car the engine/trans is going into has a 95% similar transmission in it still, that is busted. I'll open that one up first and play around with it before I scrap it. Also, any excuse to buy more tools is a good excuse... If you buy the really good manual for your specific transmission, it's really a lot easier to do than you think. I learned how to do it that way, and all the ones I've done are still out there working good. That's the plan. Plus I have the cadaver transmission to run my experiments on first. |
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Was doing weekly maintenance on my K5 Blazer (check fluids, tire pressure, lights, etc). When it came to the backup lights, I had nothing. hmm. So I started at the back and worked forward, kinda, Since it was both lights, figured the odds of it being the bulbs would be nil, but gotta do the simplest things first. First things first, checked the fuses, all good, moved to the back and checked bulbs, they looked fine, check the outlet, no voltage, checked the plug/play connections at tail lights, nothing. hmmm. So, I know im not getting voltage to the Backup lights but everything else is good Off to the manual/net. I found that the Neutral safety switch also houses the backup light connections. So, off to find out where that is on my truck, I found it (lower part of column near firewall). It looks fine, but I call up Napa and order one (10bux). Now to figure out how to get it out,,hmm, not sure about that one, thinking its just some plastic clips, but Ill wait til I get the part in hand tomorrow. So, as I sit here, decide to research some more. Well, come to find out, this is an Adjustable piece and low and beyond, someone had an issue with no backup lights, they said they moved the adjustment a few clicks and it was good to go. So, I ran down and moved it a couple lights and BOOM!!!!!!!!!! I know have backup lights. Ill still pick up the Neutral safety switch just because, it is a 30year old truck. But I couldnt imagine what a garage wouldve charged or told the customer had they brought something like this in. Im guessing they wouldve just wholesale replaced the switch and call it good. I realize not all vehicles will be fixed this easily but Im glad it worked out. lol View Quote Good on ya. I always try at least. I figure if you can read, you can learn. |
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How about a non-vehicle aspect to the thread?
I just finished (well, almost... still have some trim/ridgecap to do) re-roofing my house, went from shingles to metal. My two oldest kids helped me, and though it took us pretty much all summer, it saved me about $10K, and gave the kids some first-hand experience doing real, practical, honest-to-god hard work. In fact, I do pretty much all of the home maintenanace/improvement. Fifteen years in this house, and so far the only professional help has been one plumber visit when the sewer pipe got clogged underneath the basement slab. Needed somebody with a decent roto-rooter. Other than that, I've done all the plumbing, electrical, and construction, and have done one garage-to-bedroom conversion, added 1000 sq/ft tri-level deck, remodeled a bathroom, the kitchen, and three bedrooms. They weren't just cosmetic remodels... had to move a window in the bath, and each time has been a strip-to-studs effort, replacing wiring, plumbing and insulation as I went. I hate to even estimate how much $$ I've saved by doing it myself, and I now know this house intimately. Which is a good thing, given some of the stuff I've uncovered in the process. |
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I have replaced brakes, exhaust systems, ball joints, suspension bushings, rebuilt manual transmissions and rear ends and rebuilt 2 engines in my 35 years or so of working on my own cars/trucks. THe only thing I pay someone else to do is rebuild automatic transmissions. I may try one or two of those now that I have a garage and will soon have lots more time (retirement is near).
I have saved untold thousands of dollars over the years doing it myself. My son and I are going through the front end of his F350 4WD right now. New upper and lower ball joints, new u joints, new tire rod ends, end links, etc. New seals, new hubs. Whole new front end (except for rebuilding the differential itself - we checked it and it looks good). The quote for that job was almost $1500 for parts/labor. He's got about $800 in parts and the rest is equal to 1.5 truck payments. Oh, if you need front end parts like this for your big Ford the cheapest place we found them was Summit Racing Parts. Summit charges just about 1/2 what the local parts outlets (places like Advance Auto Parts, Auto Zone, NAPA, O'Reilly's, etc) for MOOG suspension/driveline products. The MOOG parts are expensive vs. other brands, but have a lifetime guarantee. |
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How about a non-vehicle aspect to the thread? I just finished (well, almost... still have some trim/ridgecap to do) re-roofing my house, went from shingles to metal. My two oldest kids helped me, and though it took us pretty much all summer, it saved me about $10K, and gave the kids some first-hand experience doing real, practical, honest-to-god hard work. In fact, I do pretty much all of the home maintenanace/improvement. Fifteen years in this house, and so far the only professional help has been one plumber visit when the sewer pipe got clogged underneath the basement slab. Needed somebody with a decent roto-rooter. Other than that, I've done all the plumbing, electrical, and construction, and have done one garage-to-bedroom conversion, added 1000 sq/ft tri-level deck, remodeled a bathroom, the kitchen, and three bedrooms. They weren't just cosmetic remodels... had to move a window in the bath, and each time has been a strip-to-studs effort, replacing wiring, plumbing and insulation as I went. I hate to even estimate how much $$ I've saved by doing it myself, and I now know this house intimately. Which is a good thing, given some of the stuff I've uncovered in the process. View Quote I pick and choose what I'll do any more. I don't do roofs and I doubt my knees and back would either. If DOES help when you have family in the biz though. I just had a new metal roof put on the house, mudroom and garage, 6K total for everything and he tossed gutter guards on also. Was done in a couple days with his merry band of monkeys working. I'd probably still be working on it if I was doing it. I do most of my own vehicle work, only time I don't is when I need specialized tools I'll likely never need again or a lift and I have an excellent shop I go to that charges very fair prices and never rips me off. |
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... I do most of my own vehicle work, only time I don't is when I need specialized tools I'll likely never need again or a lift and I have an excellent shop I go to that charges very fair prices and never rips me off. View Quote I just found out Autozone rents out a lot of specialty tools. I needed a few things to replace a wheel bearing, paid $100 for the tools I needed, and I got all of my hundred bucks back when I was done. |
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I just found out Autozone rents out a lot of specialty tools. I needed a few things to replace a wheel bearing, paid $100 for the tools I needed, and I got all of my hundred bucks back when I was done. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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... I do most of my own vehicle work, only time I don't is when I need specialized tools I'll likely never need again or a lift and I have an excellent shop I go to that charges very fair prices and never rips me off. I just found out Autozone rents out a lot of specialty tools. I needed a few things to replace a wheel bearing, paid $100 for the tools I needed, and I got all of my hundred bucks back when I was done. Good way to go....however.....a repair gives you an opportunity to buy new tools! It's like buying new guns...never give up on that opportunity!! |
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Automatics do seem like a smoke and mirrors deal, but I've rebuilt a couple by myself and other than a few minor hickups requiring specialty tools or fabricating what I thought would work to get it apart and back together it was pretty straight forward. so far a TH400, a TH350 and a 700R4. several straight drive trannies and couple transfer cases.
It helps that My Grandfather sat me under hood of his 72 C10 when I was about 8 yrs old and had me change the plugs, I've been spinning my own wrenches ever since. Jason |
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Quoted: Good way to go....however.....a repair gives you an opportunity to buy new tools! It's like buying new guns...never give up on that opportunity!! View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: ... I do most of my own vehicle work, only time I don't is when I need specialized tools I'll likely never need again or a lift and I have an excellent shop I go to that charges very fair prices and never rips me off. I just found out Autozone rents out a lot of specialty tools. I needed a few things to replace a wheel bearing, paid $100 for the tools I needed, and I got all of my hundred bucks back when I was done. Good way to go....however.....a repair gives you an opportunity to buy new tools! It's like buying new guns...never give up on that opportunity!! ^ Truth ^ Which is why I'll probably end up with a shop press and a welder soon. |
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About the only thing I won't do is rebuild a transmission. With the advent of the internet and Youtube, it makes it a lot easier to be a shade tree mechanic. View Quote Same here. That and engine rebuilds. Wizardry as far as Im concerned. I'd rather do a swap. I havent taken a car to a mechanic in years. |
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